A Handy Clusterfuck?

Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, February 5th, 2020 - 46 comments
Categories: Bernie Sanders, democracy under attack, Politics - Tags: ,

What might an entire establishment that loathes and fears the prospect of a particular nominee being successful do if that nominee was about to confound their well publicised expectations?

As of the time of writing, the Democratic machinery in Iowa is not giving a reason as to why it can’t release election results in a timely fashion.

One thing is for sure. This bullshit steals the Bernie Sanders campaign’s fire.

As others have pointed out, the Iowa caucus isn’t really very important in terms of numbers, but it’s hugely important in terms of media coverage. Media coverage is the springboard campaigns seek as they head to subsequent primaries.

Let’s be clear. Sanders won. But media is focusing elsewhere. That’s ‘less than optimal’ for the Sanders campaign. Meanwhile, Pete ‘CIA’ Buttigeig claimed victory on the basis of nothing whatsoever.

Sanders’ campaign has released the numbers it has received from precinct captains from some 60% of precincts. (video link)

Post re-alignment, Sanders sat at 29.4%. Buttigeig 24.87%. Warren 20.65%. Biden 12.92%. Klobechar  11.18

That is consistent with the results the Sanders campaign previously released with reference to 40% of precincts. (See the update to yesterdays post)

So what’s going on?

Buttigeig gets the final pre-election poll buried because his name allegedly wasn’t offered to some interviewees. There was an app of dubious pedigree that fell over too, but a paper trail of the count…so why the delay? (Apparently, Uncle Joe’s insisting he reviews the results before they’re released!) – (video link)

The pre-election poll that was spiked was presumably recording non-aligned vote totals –

According to leaked results verified by FiveThirtyEight, the final Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom poll of likely Democratic caucus-goers before Monday’s first-in-the-nation caucuses had Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders leading with 22%, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in second at 18%, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 16%, and the former vice president in fourth with 13%.

And Biden, who placed fourth in Iowa is apparently responsible for the delayed release of results.

If Biden had been contesting the results, then sure, people have a right to challenge a result. But this is something else. This is preventing a result from being made public.

So yeah. Trump will make hay off the back of this clusterfuck and the Democratic establishment gets to muddy the waters on Sanders’ popularity.

A sad day all round for democracy in the USA.

Thankfully, as I’ve said before, there is a very healthy on-line independent media presence in the USA. So this bullshit from bad actors may well bite them in the arse. Here’s hoping.

46 comments on “A Handy Clusterfuck? ”

  1. Billy 1

    Sanders is a nightmare for the military-industrial complex and the "intelligence community"; very difficult to control him with no footage of him raping kids.

  2. James 2

    “Let’s be clear. Sanders won.”

    @62% reported so far he’s not.

  3. Nic the NZer 3

    I think this might be taken as a positive actually. It shows the robustness built into the caucus process. With all the public scrutiny of the process the result appears credible despite the undermining effect of DNC, and Shadow incompetence.

    Who says Pete isn't just basing his results (a win) off a personal pre-release of the app.

  4. RedLogix 4

    Maybe all the candidates should just get a gold star for trying … devil

  5. AB 5

    If Biden is 4th (as is being reported) then he's toast – or at least the toaster is on and the Biden slice has been placed in the slot. It will be harder for him to raise new money, he's not competitive in New Hampshire, and he's relying on South Carolina to revive his campaign despite his poll lead eroding there. Good riddance if it happens – though establishment money will just migrate to Bloomberg or Buttigieg so in a way it just shifts the problem around.

    Warren should do well in New Hampshire, but after that she won't due to poor support among African Americans. It will then be time for her to withdraw and endorse Sanders. She won't – nor will there be calls for her to do so. Though when she enjoyed a narrow poll lead over Sanders there were calls for Sanders to withdraw. Consistency is not a feature of the affluent liberal commentariat.

    Looks like Mayo Pete might come in a plausible-looking smidgeon ahead of Sanders in Iowa. It might even be true – how can we know? I'm not sure it matters – close 2nd will do. In any case, if Sanders wins Iowa the media narrative will be "Iowa doesn't matter". If he doesn't win Iowa the narrative will be "a body-blow for Sanders in the crucial Iowa campaign".

    Fun and games.

  6. florabunda 6

    Biden and Saunders, yesterday's men who never were impressive, and with as much chance of becoming President as me – both, if they had any integrity, would stand down and support 2 of the women who would discomfort Trump, he cannot deal with strong articulate and intelligent women – his increasingly enraged attacks on them would show him for the corrupt fool he is.

    It's called strategic planning, which the US Dems seem to lack.

    • mike 6.1

      'Biden and Saunders, yesterday's men who never were impressive, and with as much chance of becoming President as me…'

      Couldn't agree more.

      With a mad extremist president to defeat the democrat party needs to choose a recognisable politician, to steady the state after these disruptive radical tantrums. Not another radical who wants to whip the whole thing round into yet another divisive environment. Extremist tribes from either direction somehow finish up sounding exactly the same. i.e. shouty and narrow-minded.

    • Siobhan 6.2

      I think the average American is more concerned about voting for someone who has the credentials and history to actually help deal with the dire state of the Nation, their personal debt levels, lack of secure housing, college fees, Health care, wages, employment rights etc etc ..than the thrill of having 'a woman' beat Trump…but if it means that much to you I guess you can enjoy Nancy Pelosi 'humiliating' Trump with the impeachment..or not, as the case may be..personally, as a woman, I've always found it highly insulting for anyone to suggest that someone should be voted for on the basis of gender.

    • adam 6.3

      So where were you florabunda to support Tulsi Gabbard when people have been slagged her off?

      Just asking.

  7. McFlock 7

    The caucus results will be made public. Each caucus knows what they voted, it's built into the process. So the outcome will be robust.

    As for "shadow", three campaigns paid for services and software, and two of them got nowhere. So bit of a conspiracy fail all around.

    • Phil 7.1

      So bit of a conspiracy fail all around.

      Twitter has been painful today. All the Brosephs are seeing conspiracy *everywhere* when cock-up is both more plausible and factually defendable. I get that they don't like that the Dem establishment don't like their guy, but they gotta pick their battles smarter than this.

    • adam 7.2

      The problem of which there are many;

      Firstly Clinton advisers are behind the app. And they don't exactly have a decent record in relation to progressive/social democrat democrats.

      Second the Des Moines Register ran this last week, and the lack of transparency from the DNC and Iowa Democrats leadership – is way beyond Frightening, and into the realm of stupidity. Which of course in this environment helped this shit start. They only have themselves to blame.

      https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2020/01/29/iowa-caucus-cybersecurity-measures-ramping-up/4612169002/

      Third, this is a gift for trump.

      Fourth – and possibly worst of all, the DNC and state leaderships have a track record of being quite shitty to progressives. And this did nothing to change that image of the DNC nor the state democratic leadership. If anything it just helped confirmed/reenforce an image of them being corrupt. When they should have done their utmost to dispel that image.

      • Climaction 7.2.1

        Sup broberns

        good to see the dark hand of the clintons at it again. Imagine if she was president?

      • McFlock 7.2.2

        1: yawn. That doesn't affect the tally. Let her go…

        2: The paper trail and methodology of caucuses means that even a compromised app can't change the outcome. The app is fucked, but it cannot change the election. All it can do is screw up the early announcements for a day or two.

        3: yeah, but I'm more interested in it being a gift for obsessive conspiracists. Nobody is saying that deploying a broken app is a good thing. But it doesn't advantage anyone.

        4: "progressives" who see corruption everywhere might be able to persuade others of thge existence of that corruption if they can point to who benefitted from that alleged corruption. For example, the dolt45 QpQ with the Ukraine would give him political dirt against Biden. What does an obviously broken app that can't even change the election outcome give any of the candidates, or the she-devil herself? Que bono?

        • adam 7.2.2.1

          1. can't your read – "advisors". You saw clinton and think I was talking about that muppet – irony much.

          2. About transparency and you go all strawman.

          3. Blame the left – sheesh that old chestnut.

          4 That Voucher, what That Voucher? And what with all the strawman arguments about the app? The point was simple, appearance mean somthing in politics and the DNC and local party leadership have the appearance of being craven fools. They doubled down on that. Good luck trying to convince people they are otherwise.

          • McFlock 7.2.2.1.1

            1: if the clinton bit was unimportant, why include it? Could it be that without the name of dooooom your implication of bias (bias for no benefit and guaranteed to be detected) would not exist?

            2: the process and results are still transparent, moreso than NZ elections in fact because it's as if everyone in the polling station sees the results for that station as they are recorded. The app does not create the votes or make the final confirmed count – it was merely supposed to be the courier for the immediate feedback. The final results were always going to be audited.

            3: not blaming "the left", just obsessive conspiracists.

            4: Voucher? What the hell are you on about now? If you think this is another way for the dems to appear to be "shitty to progressives", how does the shitty app hurt Bernie?

            Seriously, what is the professionally-victimised "progressive" thought process here: votes all collected and publicly documented, app goes down, something something, Buttigieg steals victory. How does that middle bit work in your brain?

            • adam 7.2.2.1.1.1

              Clinton advisors – I probably should have put "the people who lost to trump". But then again you would have come up with some other form of shitfuckery on that.

              Why is transparency somthing you despise? And why do you keep talking about the app, and not the process, which is what I was talking about – process. Is it a deliberate misdirection or somthing else?

              Conspiracies are real and they do happen. But you'd blame this mess (however it happened) on the people who are upset by it – than the appearance and ability it gives trump and co to attack the left. MMMM OK.

              I've never mentioned vote stealing or any of the bullshit straw men you keep throwing up. The app is just part of what happened – how it looks is the important part.

              Honest, fair play, and a fair go. But no it's 'playing the victim' when raising the point of honesty and transparency.

              Let's end this, I can't be bothered having another discussion with you, when you spend the whole time making up straw men to knock down.

              So have a nice day.

              • McFlock

                Complains about straw men, and says I despise transparency.

                You can't even explain how the process is opaque or could even be regarded as dishonest. A fuckup, for sure, but how can it be regarded as dishonest when all the caucus results will be open to the public and everyone at the caucuses knew what their results were at the time? It just doesn't make sense.

                • RedLogix

                  I think you are right in terms of the technical result in this specific primary. I am not aware of any reasonable grounds to quibble the actual outcome at this point in time, although I'm sure there are some who are making that case.

                  But stepping back one layer you really have to question the credibility of any vote counting system that is so closely linked to one or more of the candidates. It would be like having the National Party as the sole funder of the NZ Electoral Commission; no-one would be comfortable with that even if they ran it impeccably. Even less so in the aftermath of a fuckup of this magnitude. Adam is right, appearances matter.

                  In the same week the Dems have handed Trump two powerful wins, first an inevitable acquittal in the Senate and now this humiliating debacle. The Dems really are off to a roaring start to re-electing him.

                  • McFlock

                    The electoral commission administers all points of the voting process, from vote collection to result verification.

                    This app was a goddamned messenging service.

                    If the Google gazillionaire was running, it's the same as if caucuses were texting in the early results over android phones,

                    Sure, the dems need to look at themselves about how human networking got them to shell out cash for a bullshit product, but to argue that it implies the results are somehow untrustworthy is plain nuts.

                    • mauī

                      No, no, no… It's more like the election using this new product called, lets say "Google Docs" to compile the results and Google squillionaire just happens to be running in said election. The only people keeping the faith… would be naive dems.

                    • McFlock

                      OK, let's go with that. Google doc would probably have been better, anyway.

                      How would the google doc make the election untrustworthy? We're not talking about voting machines that have no paper receipt or audit trail. Everyone at a particular caucus knows what the result was. What is the penalty for failure of this google doc system?

  8. Dennis Frank 8

    The Dems in Iowa even stiffed one of their own: "Blank space has to be filled with something. Cable news, in particular, abhors a vacuum. As the night wore out, the lack of results forced it to feed off scraps. At one point, CNN interviewed Shawn Sebastian, a precinct official who had been waiting for more than an hour to report results by phone. While he was talking live to Wolf Blitzer, Sebastian finally got through; he told Blitzer he needed to go, but by the time he’d said that, his call had been dropped. “They hung up on me,” Sebastian said, and laughed." https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/iowa_democratic_caucuses_results.php

  9. Dennis Frank 9

    More fustercluck: "As New York Times opinion writer at large Charlie Warzel wrote on Tuesday, “in place of definitive results, an information war has broken out, unleashing reckless speculation, conspiracy theories and deep anxiety.” https://www.mediaite.com/politics/what-is-shadow-inc-explaining-the-iowa-conspiracy-theories-embraced-by-democrats-and-some-cynical-republicans/

    “The Democrats’ technology failure created an information vacuum that was quickly seized upon by trolls and political operatives alike to cast doubt on the electoral process and sow division,” he detailed. “By failing to deliver as an anxious nation watched, the Iowa Democratic Party helped transform the caucus into a petri dish for conspiracies. Democrats floated suspicions of their own party; Republicans amplified them and tried out theories of their own; unsubstantiated claims of meddling or hacking rattled around picking up shares, likes and retweets.”

    According to Warzel, the problems stem from “a potentially deadly combination of techno-utopianism and laziness.” “Reports suggest that the app was engineered in just the past two months,” he explained, noting that “the app was not tested at statewide scale or vetted by the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity agency.”

  10. Cinny 10

    Had a chat with a lady from the USA today. She told me that they used to only have to take in their vote card to vote, but it's changed, and now a person needs two forms of ID instead. She said that this change makes it very hard for people on low incomes and the poor, as often they don't have passports or drivers licences etc and often only have one form of 'approved' ID. She believes as a result it excludes them from voting.

    Also asked her about their caucus meeting procedure (thanks McFlock for the info last night). She said it's a truly bizarre system that doesn't make sense, because results are determined by who can make it to the meeting place on time. Too bad if you don't make it there in time, or have to work etc etc, so it's not a true representation of how people feel.

    She liked the idea of our advance voting. Election day over there is a holiday.

    I also discovered that many people voted for trump because they shared a common view, for example, pro lifers. Turns out that now, they are looking elsewhere, because sharing one common view is not enough motivation to vote for an arsehole.

    Meanwhile Nancy Pelosi is all shades of awesome for tearing up trumps state of the union speech, how cool was that?

    • Anne 10.1

      I guess she tore it up because it was all lies. 😎

    • James 10.2

      Even if you don’t like the man, or his political views, or even his personal ones – you should still respect the office.

      It was a disgusting thing to do. I hope to see her face when trump gets re-elected.

      • WeTheBleeple 10.2.1

        'You should still respect the office' Only a sycophant would respect that office right now. It's a corrupt cesspit of shit.

        • James 10.2.1.1

          That’s your view. There are still millions of people in the US that will vote for him.

          • WeTheBleeple 10.2.1.1.1

            Vested interests and useful idiots. A piece of shit is a piece of shit, even if it has a fan base.

      • Incognito 10.2.2

        Oops, he ‘forgot’ to shake the Speaker’s extended hand. He didn’t mean to be disrespectful.

      • Cinny 10.2.3

        Apparently the whole 'respect the office' is a big thing over there, it's almost like a cultural thing and it is part of the problem. It's like…'they are the president now and you don't talk ill of the president'.

        Talk about living in the dark ages with that kind of mindset. It's not like a person is going to get marched off to the town square and placed in the stocks anymore for calling out bad leadership.

        Why did the fabulous Nancy rip up the script… we saw trump reject her handshake and later Nancy released a statement…

        The manifesto of mistruths presented in page after page of the address tonight should be a call to action for everyone who expects truth from the President and policies worthy of his office and the American people. The American people expect and deserve a President to have integrity and respect for the aspirations for their children.”

        And she is bang on, fact checkers back her up, SOTU was full of propaganda.

  11. James 11

    Update:

    “Let’s be clear. Sanders won.”

    @71% reported so far – he’s not.

  12. mosa 12

    How Did Iowa Get So Thoroughly Caucus Blocked?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQgohRj5tOs

    • Dennis Frank 12.1

      Stephen provided your answer: the elderly volunteers encountered difficulties trying to download the app onto their garage-door opener… 🤣

  13. aj 13

    I find it very hard to disagree with the thrust of this article. Bernie should have been more ruthless.

    " For Bernie Sanders supporters, the true debacle of the Iowa caucus meltdown was not the failure of the Shadow app, but rather their candidate’s failure to claim victory when he had the chance. Instead he unwisely ceded that role to the corporate candidate extraordinaire, Pete Buttigieg. It stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump, who for all his faults would not have hesitated to declare victory, and who would have energized his supporters with the statement and cowed the party establishment."

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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
  • 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    11 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
    13 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
    14 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
    1 day 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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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