Work needed

Written By: - Date published: 9:17 pm, March 8th, 2012 - 81 comments
Categories: privatisation - Tags:

Does anyone have a job for a 60 year old? Job experience as follows:

  • 7 years on the Alcoholic Liquor Advisory Council (maintains strong industry relations),
  • Minister of Revenue with 3 governments (4-time winner of least memorable minister award),
  • member of 4 political parties (proven flexibility).

Cause, after voting for asset sales in the first reading, Dunne seems determined to make sure that he’s going to need a new job in 2 years.

(btw, yup, that’s all Dunne’s done since he left uni, apart from a few months at the Department of Trade and Industry, it was 7 years in a soft job, then into Parliament).

81 comments on “Work needed ”

  1. Zony2012 1

    Lmao.

  2. fender 2

    I’m sure the parasites Dunne is hanging with now will line him up with something. Key will take him on as gardener or pool cleaner at one of the mansions. Don’t worry about Dunne, he will get a payback for playing lapdog to these pricks. Pete George however won’t do so well when UF evaporates………..

  3. That protest can’t come soon enough imo.

  4. johnm 4

    I wouldn’t be too sure, the brain dead voters in Ohariu might vote this zombie back in for the umteenth time : he’s one of their kind after all!

    • Janice 4.1

      Everybody deserves to be represented by their own kind in parliament, even idiots, alas perhaps these are over represented.

  5. Policy Parrot 5

    If they pass his pension bill, which outlines a prescription by which you take your pension early, you get a smaller amount, from age 60; he can simply become a pensioner at the age of 62. With addition of the MPs super scheme, and 30 years service in a high salaried position, he is hardly going to be broke.

    If he wanted to work, he could always get a gig modelling hair product.

  6. Georgecom 6

    Maybe Dunne will get his income splitting idea through parliament this term, with some modifications. Rather than modifying a persons tax bill according to the number of non-working partners, your tax is reduced according to the number of political parties you have (1) started (2) belong to and (3) buried. Dunne’ll end up with a tax rate lower than Mitt Romneys.

  7. hellonearthis 7

    This National run government is going to be worse than the ‘think big’ disaster of the Muldoon years.

    • burt 7.1

      Yeah, nationalising everyting is doomed to fail…. That socialist Muldoon was a disaster….

  8. Colonial Viper 8

    He’s survived the cage fight that is Parliament longer than most. Time to make him tap out, though.

    • Hami Shearlie 8.1

      With his support for asset sales it seems pretty clear he doesn’t intend to stand for parliament again. But it might be a shock to Pompadour Pete if the nacts don’t last the full term! After all, that $250,000 ministerial salary is something he’s rather fond of, CV!

  9. infused 9

    He was never going to stand again.

  10. Should we examine the outside parliament/bureaucracy/union experience of other MPs? What about starting with Labour? Then have a look at Greens?

    Dunne gave a strong speech in parliament yesterday on the MOM bill: http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/11829

    • Colonial Viper 10.1

      A strong speech, good idea, maybe Dunne could pick up work as a Toast Masters coach?

    • Jackal 10.2

      You’ve linked to that already Pete George. Nobody is interested in what a traitor has to say.

      • Rich 10.2.1

        It isn’t a very opaque alias “Pete George” => “Peter Dunne”.

        Why doesn’t he give up pretending there’s more than one person in his party? Jim Anderton did that and never looked back. Also, Peter Dunne’s United Future has a ring to it: P-DUF.

      • infused 10.2.2

        How is he a traitor?

        • Jackal 10.2.2.1

          Peter Dunce is a traitor because he mislead the public into believing he was opposed to asset sales and then supported National’s Mixed Ownership Model Bill when it has been shown there is absolutely no financial benefit to New Zealand in selling our assets. He has betrayed his country and is therefore a traitor.

      • Rosemary 10.2.3

        That’s right. I’m sick to bloody death of Pete George repeating what’s become a ridiculous response. Once or twice as part of the discussion – fine – but we’ve dealt with that now. Your repetition shows you support asset sales, also fine. even if you do try to mask that with the “I’m all for public debate blah blah blah, but if you want to continue the discussion properly address the current point, which is that regardless of the precise words Dunne used, he made people believe that he and UF did not support asset sales.

        • Pete George 10.2.3.1

          he made people believe that he and UF did not support asset sales.

          Nonsense. People chose to misrepresent what he said and what UF advertised, and others believed that. It’s still happening. They just don’t want to admit they’ve been duped by their own side’s propaganda.

          I keep repeating because people keep showing their ignorance, or refuse to accept facts.

          • Colonial Viper 10.2.3.1.1

            *Shakes head*

            Dunne has the power to be recorded in NZ’s history books as a politician with backbone, standing, defending future generations of NZers by protecting our economic sovereignty.

            But he’d prefer his Ministerial salary for another 2 years, no contest really.

            • rosy 10.2.3.1.1.1

              Until PG can reason away PD saying he knew that people voted for John Key despite asset sales – as he said in his Deloittes speech – anything he says is hollow. That portion of the speech has been linked to at least 3 times on this site (by Jackal and me) and strangely Pete has no comment to make on it.

          • Jackal 10.2.3.1.2

            Could you link to where Peter Dunce said he supported National’s asset sales then Pete George? You keep repeating because your argument is a broken record.

            • Pete George 10.2.3.1.2.1

              United Future didn’t campaign on supporting asset sales, they campaigned on acknowledging the right of National to promote their major policy, and they campaigned on putting limits on how far any asset sales could go (they negotiated most of those into the C&S agreement).

              United Future’s position now is to ensure there are adequate limits and safeguards on the MOM – those issues are being discussed and negotiated with various parties.

              Working in a coalition no party can get to have all it’s policies progressed, compromises have to be accepted. If Labour were able to lead a coalition they would have had to compromise, the Greens would have had to compromise much more.

              And a few people on blogs don’t get to dictate.

              • McFlock

                Pete, the fact is that UF gave a lot of people the impression that they wouldn’t support asset sales. Now Dunne is in a position where only his active support will enable them to be sold. 
                     
                You can fiddle that all you want, but Dunne is actively selling assets when he could prevent it. This will piss a lot of people off.
                   
                I’m sure Chauvel will have fun campaigning against the man whose vote sold us down the river and cost the country billions. 

          • Rosemary 10.2.3.1.3

            Piss off, we’ve heard it before.

          • Rosemary 10.2.3.1.4

            “Nonsense. People chose to misrepresent what he said and what UF advertised”

            No, you are not listening to what people are saying about what they genuinely believed Dunne was saying. Dunne created the perception that he was against asset sales – that is what his words made people believe. It’s easy to go back in hindsight and dissect every single word and say “no, just look at the precise words Dunne used, he did not say this…”, but you simply cannot deny that the average person would receive his message was he was against asset sales.

            “They just don’t want to admit they’ve been duped by their own side’s propaganda.”

            Whose propaganda? If it’s the left’s you’re talking about then I haven’t been duped by anything because if you’d been listening to what the left is saying you’d know that the position is how I’ve already set out: that regardless of the semantics-based argument about the precise words Dunne may have used (that you are referring to to say Dunne did not say he was against the current ‘partial’ sales) the average person received the message that Dunne was against those sales. This is the “fact” that forms the basis of where the discussion currently is, but you keep harping back to proclaim the irrelevant point “but Dunne didn’t say that”. This is not the point. Meaning is in how words are used and in the context of their usage, meaning is not situated in the words themselves. It is the overall way in which words are conveyed from which meaning is created. Dunne created a very wide perception that he was against the sale, partial or otherwise, of the power companies (and of Air NZ). If you’re talking about being duped by the propaganda around what Dunne said, then yes, I certainly have been, in exactly the same way as the many many thousands of people led to believe Dunne was against all asset sales. Dumb of us all, I know, but that doesn’t change the “facts”.

            “I keep repeating because people keep showing their ignorance, or refuse to accept facts.”

            We know what you’ve said about what you say are the “facts”. Are you saying that you will keep repeating yourself until people agree with you about what those “facts” are? Does this mean you’ll keep repeating yourself until people start saying “yes, Dunne did not say he was against all asset sales. Silly us. What the heck have we been on about? For heaven’s sake, it’s our own fault for not seeing that Dunne was going to support “partial” sales of the power companies. Yes, Pete George, you are right – we, the people of Ohariu, voted for the “partial” sale of our power companies”? Don’t you believe people when they say that they thought Dunne was against asset sales? Don’t you think this is important? Thousands of people received that message. This is the relevant “fact”.

            • Pete George 10.2.3.1.4.1

              No, you are not listening to what people are saying about what they genuinely believed Dunne was saying.

              What people “genuinely believed” is not my responsibility. If they believed some of the things Phil Goff claimed about asset sales they would have been a long way from reality.

              If people of Ohariu believed everything Charles Chauvel claimed then they wouldn’t have had a great grasp of reality either.

              Peter Dunne and United Future campaigned on limiting asset sales but recognising the right of National as the major party in a coalition to progress it’s major policy. Most of the UF limits were negotiated in the confidence and supply agreement with National. That’s how coalition government works.

              It would be quite improper now for Dunne to reneg on that. Of course that’s what some on the left are maneuvering for, they lost the election but want win after the fact by bringing down the government. Asset sales and people in Ohariu who didn’t vote for Peter Dunne are being used.

              • McFlock

                What people “genuinely believed” is not my responsibility. 

                 
                Yeah it is. You campaigned on it.
                You were either shit at getting the true message across, or you were good at getting a false message across.

                   
                Which was it?

                • Rosemary

                  Precisely, Pete George, precisely. Which is it?

                  • Not our fault if the media and public chose to ignore UF policy. It was available for anyone that bothered to check it out. I posted some here and was usually attacked and abused for doing so.

                    Rosemary, how many voters who voted for for Peter Dunne are you talking on behalf of?

                    The advertising and campaigning was clear.

                    Everyone should have known that Peter Dunne would support National if elected, that was made very clear.

                    If voters were unaware of any of that they have themselves to blame – probably for listening to Goff, Chauvel and Hughes, who were the ones grossly misrepresenting.

                    McFlock and Rosemary, you both seem to be afflicted with the looney left and Labour disease – everything has to be someone else’s fault.

                    • rosy

                      http://www.unitedfuture.org.nz/peter-dunne-address-to-deloitte-business

                      Asset sales are on National’s agenda, but the jury is very much out on just how comfortable New Zealander’s are with this policy.
                      – My take on it is that Kiwis are not very comfortable at all with it – most certainly not with anything close to open slather.
                      – The many people who want John Key back in power for the next three years, want him in spite of asset sales and not because of them.
                      – I sense very strongly that New Zealander’s do not want to give National a blank cheque on asset sales.

                      Comment, Pete?

                    • That’s why UF campaigned on not giving a blank cheque on asset sales, of ensuring limits and protections. These were negotiated in the coalition agreement.
                      [Pete George. As a UF candidate. Please confirm that your party never campaigned on selling any assets and the C&S agreement contains no reference to your party voting for the mixed ownership model. Eddie]

                    • rosy

                      That’s why people believed Peter Dunne might not have supported asset sales.

                      That’s why Peter Dunne is fully aware Nationals ‘mandate’ is not as it seems.

                      That’s why Peter Dunne can refuse to support the asset sales programme as the public confirm their opposition.

                      That’s why voters are not to blame if they did not realise Peter Dunne would unquestioningly support National’s asset sales programme.

                    • UF have made commitments via the Confidence and Supply agreement:

                      There will be no sale of any part of Kiwibank or Radio New Zealand

                      Introduce statutory limits on the sale of public assets to no more than 49% of shareholding to private interests including limits on the extent of single entity ownership

                      The Government has identified the initiatives on National’s Post-Election Action Plan as priorities and United Future acknowledges the electoral support for this plan. Accordingly, United Future agrees to support the legislation required to give effect to the plan, insofar as it is consistent with this agreement.

                      http://www.unitedfuture.org.nz/confidence-and-supply-agreement/

                      UF had a responsibility to honour this agreement – that’s how our MMP works.

                    • rosy

                      The confidence and supply agreement signed AFTER the election.

                      Peter Dunne has an electorate. Given to him. One of the anomalies of MMP – I hope you have your next party lined up PG.

                    • McFlock

                      Pete, a few points:
                        
                      “Supporting National in government” != “voting for everything National does”
                          
                      The media blatantly misrepresented NZ1, and they managed to get their message out reasonably well. Maybe it was because when, e.g. Winston was doing the talk politics thing at UO, he actually answered questions clearly and with specifics. Dunne waffled.
                               
                      A party is, in some ways, like any other brand. If a large number of people went into Kmart to buy fried chicken, then yeah Kmart’s message communication sucked. There seems to be a large amount of confusion about what Dunne’s message was before the election. A few people, okay, maybe they’re a bit dim and not in the target market anyway. But there seems to be widespread surprise that Dunne is in no way moderating National asset sales policy. This rests with whomever was in charge of UF’s communication, including its leadership and candidates, in exactly the same way that Labour comms are getting shit for not clearly and loudly standing labour beside the unions.
                             
                      Dunne is the sole vote enabling our country’s assets to be sold. He knew that would probably be the position when he signed up to the confidence and supply agreement. He signed it anyway. To argue that he doesn’t want to be a prick, but earlier on he made a commitment to be a prick, so sadly he needs to honour that agreement and be a prick even though he might not really want to… well, that’s just hoping that the nation is more stupid than you have any basis to believe.
                        
                       
                       

                    • “Supporting National in government” != “voting for everything National does”

                      No. Dunne has indicated support for the Mondayising bill, National haven’t.

                    • Eddie: Please confirm that your party never campaigned on selling any assets

                      In the last election UF did not campaign on selling assets but campaigned on putting limits on sales, which acknowledged there were likely to be some sales.

                      The C&S agreement contains no reference to your party voting for the mixed ownership model.

                      Not specifically, but as I’ve aleready posted:

                      The Government has identified the initiatives on National’s Post-Election Action Plan as priorities and United Future acknowledges the electoral support for this plan.

                      Accordingly, United Future agrees to support the legislation required to give effect to the plan, insofar as it is consistent with this agreement.

                      And the Action Plan includes:

                      Extend the mixed ownership model to four SOEs,
                      reduce the Government’s stake in Air New Zealand,
                      and use the proceeds to create the FIF.

                      http://www.national.org.nz/PDF_General/Post-Election_Action_Plan_.pdf

                      The Action Plan was released before the election, on 23 November.

                      http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?ArticleID=37648

                    • Rosemary

                      “…you both seem to be afflicted with the looney left and Labour disease – everything has to be someone else’s fault.”

                      Perhaps you’d be correct if it were just the two of us who didn’t understand that Dunne would be supporting the Nactoids. But there are thousands of people who believed he wouldn’t. If you want to keep on treating people who voted for UF thinking it’d be a vote against asset sales with such contempt, then do it. You’ll pay for it dearly, that’s if you haven’t already. If so many people received the wrong message from UF’s campaigning then you should be apologising, not blaming the very people you looked to for support, and who voted for you believing Dunne was against all asset sales. Your position is arrogant beyond belief. The issue has moved a long way from who’s fault it is that so many people misunderstood UF’s policy, but you keep blaming the voters. You’re saying “we never said we wouldn’t support National’s plan to sell shares in the power companies. If people thought that we did say that then they’re silly or stupid or naive for not understanding our policies properly”. What a great way to do politics? Your attitude towards voters will certainly be the death of UF. As far as I’m concerned, I’d like you to continue with it so we can finally see the end of such a pathetic excuse for a political party. UF has become a joke. The sooner it f@#ks off and dies the better.

    • How about a “strong speech” on NOT selling our SOEs, followed by crossing the floor and voting with the Opposition?

      Wouldn’t that be nice, Pete?

  11. Carol 11

    This outline of the Dos resume is spot on, and funny in a sarcastic way. But why lead with his age? This is the least relevant point in his CV.

    And PD’s support of asset sales, after seeming to oppose it earlier, will be his main and lasting legacy.

    • “after seeming to oppose it earlier”

      That’s opposition promoted misinformation. Dunne has been consistent, as has United Future. Unlike some.

      Goff strongly opposed the MOM in the election campaign, having supported MOM as recently as 2010, and being a part of setting the Air NZ MOM – but admittedly has been a part of more outright sales than mixed ownership over his long parliamentary career.

      • tc 11.1.1

        Consistently shifting his position to ensure he stays in the trough Petey boy, weasel words time is over matey this is nz future he’s selling out here.

        He’s no fool so now is the time to make a stand or lie down with the asset stripping dogs and spend the rest of his days never quite being able to rid himself of that moral itch that’s if he has any of those Christian moral values of the do onto others variety.

        • Pete George 11.1.1.1

          He is making a consistent stand. Derogatory attacks based on bullshit show up the weakness of the opposition.

          • muzza 11.1.1.1.1

            Excuse me, stage hand….Can we get a fluffer over her, get Pete George in, he’ll do it!

          • Colonial Viper 11.1.1.1.2

            The fact you follow a loser National aparatchik says something about you Pete, although I am not sure what. Making the country poorer while you run intereference for him, you can be proud of the difference you are making.

          • tc 11.1.1.1.3

            Now your sounding like a teenager doing the Egyptian fish routine….living in de-Nile, your morals are as low as his Petey that’s why you can’t see any issue because you have no high ground to get perspective from.

            Wibble on while your idol sells out instead of standing up for those that need it! it’s what you do best.

      • Kotahi Tane Huna 11.1.2

        Goff used to support asset sales? Wait a second? Isn’t that the argument that was lying in the corner with its chest all caved in in the last scene? Oh my gawd Pete’s got a zombie!

      • “Goff strongly opposed the MOM in the election campaign, having supported MOM as recently as 2010…”

        Rubbish.

        But even if correct, if Goff did cartwheels naked down Lambton Quay, would that be a good thing to emulate??

        Honestly, Pete, Dunne is is own man. He should be able to make his own decisions without pointing fingers at someone else.

        You really need to talk to your leader and talk some sense into him. Unless he wants to be remembered in the same vein as Douglas, Richardson, and Bradford – he’d better do some serious navel-gazing and working out what the right thing to do is.

        Because I can guarantee you one thing; this will be his last term as an MP if he votes with National. Guaranteed.

        • Pete George 11.1.3.1

          Honestly, Pete, Dunne is is own man. He should be able to make his own decisions

          He is and he made his own decision several months ago and is being consistent with that decision, and reiterating his right to maintain the same stance.

          Just because a few people at The Standard, who are more likely to abuse and misrepresent Dunne than anything, want to reinvent a past election and get him to side with them, it doesn’t mean he should somersault for them.

          • Rosemary 11.1.3.1.1

            If there was another election people wouldn’t be duped into believing that Dunne was opposed to all asset sales and they’d vote Dunne out. You are getting tiresome, Pete George. Think it’s time you took a break.

    • mikesh 11.2

      He did the same thing with the Electoral Finance Bill, supported it until the very last minute , and then changed his mind and voted against it.

  12. higherstandard 12

    Cushy diplomatic job or local QANGO/SOE board directorship…… isn’t that the way parliament works ?

    • Jackal 12.1

      It’s who will employ that bouffant we should be worrying about.

      • higherstandard 12.1.1

        As above – he has been on the taxpayers tit his entire life and I would be surprised if that doesn’t continue through to his death.

  13. David Cunliffe flayed the coiffured one in Parliament yesterday.

    His comments are about 7:45 minutes in and include the following:

    “And there is Peter Dunne, always the swing vote, but this time he matters.  This is the Peter Dunne epitaph bill.  He will go down in history at the perpetual 150 pound straw in the wind who this time blew the wrong way.  This time who sold out a generation by selling billions of dollars of their birthright.  He can hang his head in shame.”

     

    • Funny isn’t it, always trying to portray Dunne as swinging in the political breeze, but now trying to sway him with a barrage of bollocks – and he stands firm.

      Cunliffe tries to argue the wind is blowing from the left and the right at the same time and get’s caught in his own whirlwind of bombast.

      • Ordinary_Bloke 13.1.1

        Hey Pete, would you care to add some evidence to your fine rhetoric ?

        I can’t see any to contradict

        “And there is Peter Dunne, always the swing vote, but this time he matters.  This is the Peter Dunne epitaph bill.  He will go down in history at the perpetual 150 pound straw in the wind who this time blew the wrong way.  This time who sold out a generation by selling billions of dollars of their birthright.  He can hang his head in shame.”

        • Pete George 13.1.1.1

          Do you think he should break his campaign and confidence&supply commitments?

          The shame is on those blowhards in the breeze of defeat and duplicity.

          Labour spent much of their last term waiting, expecting voters to flock back to them, thinking 2008 was just a poll fluctuation that was undeserved. They even complained at Greens encroaching in ‘their’ voters.

          How much of this term are they going to spend trying to re-fight the campaign they lost in 2011? At what cost?

          Serious question?

          • Kotahi Tane Huna 13.1.1.1.1

            How long is the stigma of treachery and shame going to attach itself to the name “Dunne”?

          • Frank Macskasy 13.1.1.1.2

            Dunne’s “Committments” consisted of promising to oppose the sale of Kiwibank and Radio NZ.

            That would be fine except…

            John Key promised not to sell Kiwibank, and National made no mention of selling Radio NZ when they listed the energy companies and Air New Zealand for part-privatisaton.

            So what’s the point of promising to “oppose” something that even National was not planning to do?!?!?!

      • Colonial Viper 13.1.2

        LOL trying to portray Dunne standing firm on damaging NZ’s future as a moral thing to do. Get out of here mate.

  14. Pete 14

    Dunne is a good local MP, which is why people vote for him. We also vote for him to keep Chuckles out, which is further icing on the cake.

    Oharuiu is an educated and wealthy electorate with the highest number of families earning between $70,000 and $100,000 per year. I think it’s fair to say we understand strategic voting.

    Say what you will about him, but he has single handendly achieved far more than most in parliament. Remind us how many government positions the entire Green Party has held in the last 20 years?

    • Colonial Viper 14.1

      And it doesnt hurt to have some new no-risk investment opportunities for all that cash sitting in the bank.

      • Pete 14.1.1

        Which is why this new group of “concerned Orahui citizens” – well, mainly just Gareth Hughes – are wasting their time.

    • Treetop 14.2

      Tell me what Dunne has achieved for his electorate?

      What a run down shabby place the Johnsonville Mall is.
      Transmission Gully has not eventuated in the whole time that Dunne has been the electorate MP.
      The main road through Johnsonville is so busy and narrow that the traffic competes with pedestrians. Without the zebra crossings the road would be chaos.

      The final lethal act for United Future, who could not make a go of it in their heyday and in spite of MMP. Dunne is not satisfied to annihilate his party, he wants to annihilate the future of the country.

      • Pete George 14.2.1

        New Zealand has managed to survive much more than a bit of bugger all assets being sold.

      • mikesh 14.2.2

        The Johnsonville Mall is not his responsibility.
        Transmission Gully is just another RONS that we don’t want.
        The main road through Johnsonville is no better or no worse than the main roads of most of the small towns in this country.

        Even so, Dunne has achieved stuff all for the Ohariu electorate. He is popular mainly becaus e he works hard at being seen at every local function.

    • Treetop 14.3

      “Remind us how many government positions the entire Green Party has held in the last 20 years?”

      Well let me see, there has been a steady growth in the number of MPs in the Green Party.
      The Green Party is now the third largest party in parliament.

      I take “government positions” to include one vote, one MP.

    • Pete, I hate to break into your little “lovefest” with Peter Dunne (what IS IT about “Peters” at the moment?!), but Dunne’s ‘success’ in Ohariu hinged on two factors;

      * a “wink and a nod” from Dear Leader, which annoyed Katrina Shanks no end,

      * 1,775 Green voters being Noddys and giving their ELECTORATE vote to Gareth Hughes rather than the Labour guy.

      http://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/post-mortem-1-green-voters-in-electorates/

      Had those Green voters* not been so ‘purist’, and given their velectorate vote to Chauvel, Dunne would’ve been Goneburger by dinnertime.

      (* Disclaimer: I’m a Green supporter.)

  15. Mark 15

    I love how defeatist you all are. You can’t stop asset sales without Dunne, and yet you still continue to abuse him over his hair. Surely sucking up to him would make a little more sense?

    Or maybe it’s that you are smarter than you look and know that Dunne won’t back down on his plan (that’s right, look back to United Future’s 2008 manifesto and see who Key got the partial asset sales idea from!). Maybe you remember he came in to parliament under Labour in the 1980s and backed the Roger Douglas faction’s economic ideals – he’s bringing back the 80s! He’s not inconsistent – it is in fact the major parties that have switched sides on asset sales over the past 30 years.

    Will he stand in Ohariu again? As you all point out his CV is pretty limited and given he’s been doing this 30 years he clearly enjoys it… Would he win Ohariu again? Given the vocal opponents of asset sales are Labour party members they will hardly influence his majority. And now that Katrina Shanks has been demoted for going against the party line and as such National doesn’t have a familiar face there, it would not be unprecedented for them not to stand at all. And let’s not forget Charles Chauvel has completely shut up shop in Ohariu after he picked the wrong side in the leadership struggle and was dropped down the ranks… Even if Ohariu voters remember/are reminded about asset sales in 2014, there will be no stronger candidate than Dunne. And lets be honest, why are National pushing ahead with the sales this year? Voters have short memories.

    I guess in summary, there was an election in 2011 and you lost. The people spoke and voted for asset sales. You can’t win them all.

    • mikesh 15.1

      The majority of voters didn’t support National, or a National led government. John Banks got into parliament only because Epsom Nats had what was in effect a two bites at the apple. And as far as asset sales were concerned the only substantial party which didn’t make it into parliament, the Conservatives, were neutral on asset sales and favoured a referendum on the issue.

  16. johnm 16

    Dunne is rubbish, refuse pure and simple. but the ohariu assholes voted this rubbish in to cover shonkey’s scrawney pathetic ass. NZ you are rubbish.

    • johnm 16.1

      Got that NZ? I no longer respect NZ it’s a sucker hole for selfish garbage Shonkeys and Dunny rubbish . I am sick of these fucking bastards infesting parliament. Shonkey is Americanised garbaaaaage.

  17. johnm 17

    GOT THAT NEWZEALAND? YOU’RE SUCKER RUBBISH. THESE BASTARDS MUST BE FOUGHT OTHERWISE THEY’LL SCREW YOU UP THE NEOLIBERAL ASSHOLE. YOU FUCKING SHEOPLE.

    [lprent: Don’t SHOUT. Annoys me even when it is in context. ]

  18. johnw 18

    What annoys me is the expense of the protection squad for Dunne, to avoid him getting kneecapped when he goes out in public, for many years to come

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  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    4 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    4 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    10 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    12 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    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
  • 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
    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
  • 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
    4 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
    5 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

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours 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
    7 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
    9 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
    10 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
    24 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
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