Advertising, getting it right and getting it wrong

Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, November 3rd, 2008 - 62 comments
Categories: election 2008, labour, Media - Tags:

Labour’s new ad is one of the best political ads I’ve seen.

It’s just a really well written script: acknowledging the success of the Right’s ‘time for a change’ meme and undercutting it, getting in some positive points on Labour that are forward-looking, and getting in the sting on Key. ‘Mary’ is what National calls a ‘Labour plus’ voter(as was revealed in the secret agenda tapes). She says she had thought that ‘the new guy’ deserves a chance, a view that many Kiwis will have held or heard, but she has changed her mind because she can’t trust him to deliver for her family, whereas she knows Labour delivers. That will resonate with many voters.

In contrast, take a look at ACT’s latest ad (which, inexplicably, they were playing at quarter to nine in the morning).

Amateur hour. ACT used to be the most well-funded party for its size, now they can’t even afford a decent ad. Maybe the money-man has got them to give to National instead.

62 comments on “Advertising, getting it right and getting it wrong ”

  1. yl 1

    is the act party ad a spoof?

    surely they cant run that on t.v.

    The labour party one is alright, it didnt blow me away, but i would imagine it would appeal to the middle class NZ. It is good that it targets those ideas of ‘time for a change’, and ‘john key cant be trusted’.

    But act party one looks like it is been recorded on a cellphone.

  2. Janet 2

    And the Act one encourages drivers to take their eyes off the road to talk to the passenger – behaviour that really scares me.

  3. Im a little underwhelmed.

    It’s a nice ad, it’s solid, but not really one of the ‘best political ads’ i’ve seen.

    Putting the obvious ‘cheese’ top side, the ‘you may know a few things about trading currency mr key’ isnt really going to change any preconceptions. The argument that Helen knows how to lead the country better because she’s spent her entire working life in politics is already wearing thin.

    If that’s the final assualt im a little worried.

  4. yl. I know, that ACT ad is so bad, as I was watching it, I was also checking my watch and thinking ‘what the hell?’ who is watching TV1 at 8.45 on a Monday? a few tens of thousands of people max and not exactly the target audience for ACT.

    I think the Labour ad hits the spot, it’s uncomplicated and direct. it feels honest, and that’s why it works. Sure it’s not naturally catchy or iconic ad, like the Two Johns one is but it gets the message through. That’s what counts

  5. Chuck 5

    Labour got $1m of taxpayer money to fund their TV and radio advertising.

    Act is getting $100,000.

    Parties cannot spend their own money on radio and tv advertising.

  6. Valid point SP, but im not that convinced that it does get the point across.

    Point: You cant trust John Key
    Backed up with : John Key was a currency trader

    Point: You can trust Helen Clark
    Backed up with: you can’t trust John key

    I just don’t think theyve given anything new here.

  7. I’m the only strongly political person in my flat (with one moderately, 2 miniorly and 2 not all political) and when we first saw that add yesterday we were all sitting around having dinner, at the end of it every one was kind of shell shocked. “Dude, that was brutal”

  8. Chuck. That’s for the cost of placing the ads, not the cost of making them.

    Killing, you reckon it’s too far? It’s interesting because people say they don’t like negative ads but they do work. Look at the dancing cossacks ad, thats way over the top but it worked. Very few people will change their vote away from Labour because they think this ad is too hard (and if they do they’ll as likely go to the Greens as National). On the other hand, the meme of the ad will flow through to the voting intentions of many Labour Plus voters.

    This is the kind of hardedged politics that a lot of left liberals are afraid of.

    Wellingtonian. I don’t think ads are really for communicating a new idea, they’re for crystallising an existing idea into something very simple. Hence the success of the Green ads.

  9. Chris G 9

    killinginthenameof,

    The labour one or act one?

  10. Jeeves 10

    I watched the Labour ad last night, and everyone in the room (2 x hardcore Nats, 2 x moderate social democrats wavering between Labour and the Greens) thought the ad was patronising, insincere and mostly ineffective. The line it was trying to spin is probably the right line for Labour. It’s just that the ad was so blatant it didn’t really conjure up the right emotions.

    The quality of election ads this time around is low. Whilst driving in the weekend I listened to an ACT radio ad with Heather Roy talking about something (not quite sure what) about families. It was drivel. The National ads are mediocre. Frankly the only decent ad was the union ad mocking John and Bill wanting to sell everything off (and while it was hilarious, it was almost so outrageous that it was ineffective).

    What has happened?!

  11. Bill 11

    Nah. Over directed and cheesy are my first impressions.

    “Give the other guy a chance.” (handing bottle to baby…JK?)
    “…my family’s future” ( redirect eyes to baby)

    and those sincerely insincere eyes trying to express fear of ‘the hard times ahead and the scipted sighs during the ‘talk up Nat good points to cut them down’ segment?

    last thing. Any lip readers out there who can fill in the deleted dialogue when she hands the bottle over?

  12. “Chris G
    killinginthenameof,
    The labour one or act one?”

    The Labour one.

    “Steve Pierson
    Killing, you reckon it’s too far?”

    I don’t think so, it certainly caught their attention, but I don’t think it makes a particularly outlandish claim, it kind of made me feel like yikes the gloves are really off now, but I don’t think the content of the ad is such that it reflects badly on Labour. I think part of the “shell shocked”-ness comes from the strength of the delivery of the speaking from the actor.

    I think its strength is that, while being a strong opinion, it is still one that is quite reasonable to hold, and having it delivered by an actor sitting there speaking, gains a lot more traction than a faceless voice over making an outlandish claim, dancing coassks style.

    The only other thing I would have liked to see Labour using in advertising would have been a series of Red\Blue graphs, of things like crime rate, average wage and stuff. While a lot of bill board campaigning is about branding rather than policy, some of the graphs that you guys have posted here are pretty darn compelling in the message they send. This does run the risk of course that its not too hard to mislead journalists with statistics, and it would only take 1 National party press release on the topic to be picked up and printed to potentially damage the whole series of ads.

  13. Mike 13

    “Mary the Mother” = “Joe the Plumber”

  14. Chris 14

    Unforunately Labours ad was patronising.

    Playing on the fact Key was a currency trader is ineffective as it then opens up the comparison about the raising a family comment.

    Only Key has done that. Not Clark.

    [lprent: Don’t be a offensive narrow-minded idiot. I haven’t had kids either. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been involved in the lives of the other kids in the family. I know that Helen and Peter are both involved in the lives of their extended families.

    You’re defining ‘family’ as some kind of micro unit. That tells me that you’re probably not kiwi (in my terms – 4 generations plus), maori, or polynesian. Family for us is extremely wide, and we’d find your comments offensive in the extreme.]

  15. Ebolacola 15

    You know in the long run negative campaigning is gonna depress voter turnout which is bad for the left, lets win the argument on policy instead of mounting personal attacks on Key.

  16. DeeDub 16

    The production costs of these two commercials would not have been wildy different IMHO. But man, there is paucity of talent in front of and behind the camera (actually all the way to the concept and the script) in the ACT advert!! How embarrasing for them…..

  17. Daveski 17

    The only thing they could have added to the add was the woman doing a Cossack dance on the kitchen table.

    And Helen knows all about families because … ?

    Now, if I tried that line, I would expect LP and others to boot me from here to KB. But this is Labour’s line of attack???

  18. outofbed 18

    and what about the ACT illegal Green party rip off ?

  19. Felix 19

    Mike.

    Is anyone pretending “Mary” is a real person?

    Is anyone unaware that she is being played by an actor?

    Do you realise that this is an advertisement in an election campaign?

  20. tsmithfield 20

    Unimpressed with Labour’s advertising efforts so far.

    Firstly, it is a well known maxim in marketing that any publicity is good publicity. Most of Labour’s ads have focussed on John Key but have not given any positive reason to vote for Labour. The result? People have their livingrooms continually filled with images of John Key. I think that most people tend to mentally switch off when the ads come on or mute the sound as we do, so they often may not pick up on the logic of the message. However, they will be constantly reminded of JK. So Labour may have actually been helping National.

    Secondly, Labour’s advertising strategy needs to be seen in the context of current events. Labour sending out messages that you can trust us but not the opposition is likely to be taken with a “yeah, right” attitude due to the rather public stuff-ups recently, Labour’s insistance of courting NZ First despite the strong wiff of corruption in that direction, and the fact that the “two johns” ads were judged to be misleading by the BSA. You can trust Labour? Yeah right.

  21. Daveski. The question is which party has the best policies for Mary’s family, not who has the most children.

  22. insider 22

    But steve by personalising it about Key and his former job Labour makes it as much about who can be trusted to know what is best for a family, and the aging childless Helen Clark may not withstand that comparison too well. If they’d said “I thought which party was good for me, and just don’t trust National…” then they may not be open to the counter.

    And of course by saying things are going to get really bad my response is, well you’ve had 9 years to make us more resiliant and we are still going to crash, so your recipe hasn’t worked.

    It’s far from being one of the best ever political ads even in this campaign – I think it is sounding a bit desperate and very risky becasue Helen and Labour are not appearing that trustworthy at present. PS I thought it was Helen Kelly for a sec

  23. renamed as Idiot troll 23

    [deleted]
    [lprent: If you don’t know how to write a comment, then don’t write here.]

  24. Rod 24

    No, the Labour ad is too clever by half. An amateur effort.

    It openly portrays a very threatening future under Labour compared to the brighter future message out there from National. A silly thing to do in advertising.

    It leaves Mr Key’s name as the last name/brand you hear and think about afterwards, notwithstanding the Labour splash screen at the end. Bad advertising tactics.

    And it is so obviously trying to play up the Labour strategy of building fear of losing the DPB among single mothers that is is not funny – a factually wrong strategy – trading in fear, even.

    The ACT ad may have been made on the cheap, but it is on message and very clear. The listeners they are after couldn’t give a hoot about the cameraman’s competence.

    I think you are looking at the ads through the eyes of a committed Labour voter, not as either a swinging voter or an advertising professional.

    [but I’m not a Labour voter. SP]

  25. tsmithfeild. It was the ASA, very different from BSA. And their decision is crap – Labour says National would cut Kiwisaver in half, in fact it would cut it by 44-49%.

    insider et al. watch any attack ad, it always mentions the other party predominantly. And, insider, as an insider you might be able to tell us how any government can totally fortify a country against the worst economic conditions since the great depression. Labour has done as well as it could have by getting unemployment down, government debt down, and having money ready for infrastructure investment.

  26. r0b 26

    And of course by saying things are going to get really bad my response is, well you’ve had 9 years to make us more resiliant and we are still going to crash, so your recipe hasn’t worked.

    If the global economy crashes NZ will be affected, there’s no escaping that. But Labour’s careful management over 9 years means that things won’t be as bad here as they could have been. The recipe has worked just fine.

    You don’t need to just take my word for it. See for example this Treasury summary:

    Economy well placed to meet challenges in 2008
    The New Zealand economy is well placed to meet challenges in 2008 but uncertainty and market volatility is likely to persist in the short term. In addition, the current high inflation environment further complicates the outlook for 2008. However, the sound fiscal position; the prospect of tax cuts; and the ability of the Reserve Bank to move quickly on interest rates, if growth and inflation drop more quickly than expected, mean that the New Zealand economy is well placed to meet potential challenges over the next year.

    Or how about Reserve Bank Governor Allan Bollard in January this year:

    New Zealand had responded positively to significant global shocks in the past few years, and there was no sign of those shocks abating, Dr Bollard said.

    “We have enjoyed a decade of growth, the longest period of economic growth since the post-World War 2 era. Inflation has been low, averaging 2.2 per cent since 1998. …

    “We have been able to absorb recent shocks reasonably well because of the improvements in our economic institutions and policymaking frameworks, avoiding the boom-bust cycles of the 1970s.”

    Though it is very early days even new policies like KiwiSaver are starting to show their potential in this respect:

    According to funds industry performance analyst FundSource, net outflows for the quarter of $48.6 million would have been much uglier without KiwiSaver inflows of $353 million. … Mr Atkins said the high voluntary uptake suggested a big proportion of the funds would be invested in growth assets. “This will provide a boost to the financial services industry, with greater funds under management also potentially boosting local equity markets.”

    In short, this ad is right to highlight concerns about possible difficult times to come, and right to portray Labour as well prepared and the most capable of getting us through them.

  27. Rod 27

    [but I’m not a Labour voter. SP]

    Oh, sorry SP, no offense intended.

  28. Phil 28

    OOB,

    Heather Roy explained that at the ‘meet the candidates’ event in Kelburn last night. They put two add’s together, and the wrong one got sent for broadcast. She agreed that it was a illegal and they were at fault – presumably it gets dealt with (or already has been?) between the two parties.

  29. ok after watching the ad a number of times, and showing it round the office, the feedback was very similar:

    * The ad is extremely dark and depressing – it leaves you with a bad impression, which flows onto the labour party
    * Are economic times so bad that swing voters can’t afford lightbulbs? Paiting kiwi families as struggling – with more struggles to come – hardly flatters labour
    * It comes across as patronising – this may come from the sub-standard acting, or in the case poor direction of the talent
    *The way the actress pronounces “money.. trading” with a pause and the look of confusion on her face, makes it seem that labour supporters are confused by economics, and are unsure of what a ‘money trader’ is. It also paints a rich v poor mentality.
    * The line ‘you may be good a trading money’ scores points to key. It associates ‘key’ with the word ‘good’.
    * Clark will ‘be there for our kids and jobs” – we exactly does that mean?
    * ‘I can’t trust you’ is backed up only by painting Key’s past job in a bad light. Which fails.

    It’s a very amatuer contribution. While the 2 Johns ad was passable and in theory a good idea, this has just failed.

    And the negative, dark, depressing nature of the ad will not help the cause.

    I’m EXTREMELY disappointed by this. Labour needed a knock out blow, not a limp wristed tap on the cheek.

  30. coge 30

    The Labour ad looks awfully close to the anti-smoking advertising. I was half expecting her to light up. Overall I think it preaches to the converted. Or at best the apathetic voter, which is probably the intention.

  31. outofbed 31

    phil The one that they replaced it with is also illegal

    Party of law and order eh ?

  32. insider 32

    Steve/r0b

    Not debating the rights and wrongs re the economy, just pointing out there are really strong counter arguments that easily and quickly come to mind that go against Labour – so it is a risky ad from that pov and not that compelling. I’m not sure the community likes the politics of fear this tries to portray

  33. Ianmac 33

    Wellingtonian: It says more about the company you keep that a meaningful critique. Am I surprised?? NA!

    [play nice, wellingtonian is alright. they’re not trolling and they’re actually a leftie I think. SP]

  34. the company i keep?

    of the people i showed it to this morning, 2 are national voters, 4 are labour voters, 1 act and im not sure about the others.

    Of which all 7 work for an ad agency.

  35. vinsin 35

    Wellingtonian while i agree this isn’t a knock out blow i think it’s still a very effective ad.

    – It appeals to its base support very well.

    – It manages to walk the very thin line between fear-mongering and negative criticism of Key.

    – It’s easy to empathize with the mother – this can’t be said for Key’s current adverts.

    – It moves the issues into the home without actually expressing anything new and it manages to have all the right images and clues that work on people without them knowing it.

    I think the best thing this ad does is it manages to contrast Mr Key’s ads. If you were to play the ads side by side you would have Mr Key walking around shaking hands and smiling, looking incredibly well off surrounded by other rich looking people. Then you have the labour ad, you have a mother feeding her child, talking realistically and genuinely about the current situation of the world, and why she can’t trust John Key. When she says, ‘you may be good at trading money,’ it works as an insult wrapped in a false compliment, then at the end when she says, ‘when it comes to my our family, i just can’t trust you,’ that compliment becomes a slap in the face.

    Wellingtonian
    *The way the actress pronounces “money.. trading’ with a pause and the look of confusion on her face…

    Don’t you think this is meant to infer that perhaps John Key is shady, i think people will get it instinctually without even knowing it.

    Rod
    It leaves Mr Key’s name as the last name/brand you hear and think about afterwards, notwithstanding the Labour splash screen at the end. Bad advertising tactics.

    Bad advertising? Possibly. But what is the overall message you get at the end of the ad? “You can’t trust John Key,” sure it mentions him but only after saying, “You can’t trust him,” so it leaves the viewer with a negative impression of him. This is better than not mentioning him at all.

    It’s a very good ad, it attacks without being nasty or dirty. It unleashes fear without being too pessimistic. These fear based attack ads work, they did for Hillary Clinton in Ohio, and with only a week to go before people vote the backlash will be minimal.

  36. I would have had the setting slightly lighter and had her delivery of the contraversial line a bit softer but it does the job damn well.

    Wellingtonian, imagine its 1975 and you’re showing around the dancing cossacks ad to a bunch of ad gurus, everyone would have been critical of it – simplistic, childish, negaitve, extreme, but that’s because you’re used to marketing products not undertaking attack ads, it’s quite a different thing.

  37. insider 37

    SHe’s probably in the dark because she has been forced by Lab/greens to change her lightbulbs…

  38. I struggled how you can say this ad isnt too pessimistic.

    It paints a very bleak picture, both in tone and mood – but also the message.

    It stops just short at taking lyrics directly from ‘The man comes around’ by Johnny Cash:

    “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts
    And I looked and behold, a pale horse
    And his name that sat on him was Death
    And Hell followed with him.”

  39. and, yet, she doesn’t seem to think lightbulbs are the defining issue of the election. guess those Labour plus voters don’t care about the same issues as you Kiwiblog Right types, eh?

  40. vinsin 40

    Wellingtonian it’s not pessimistic it’s realistic. Economies all over the world are struggling, fact. Saying, ‘tough times are ahead’ is being realistic.

  41. SP – The lack of lighting in the house is probably preventing her from reading those ‘Right wing leaning MSM publications – controlled by their capitalist fat cat masters’, which, if she got a chance to read, she might be a little better informed – she might figure out who ‘that other bloke’ is and might learn what a ‘money…trader’ is. She might also figure out that ‘trust’ is a funny word to be using when talking about the labour party.

    Probably why she looks so depressed and hysterical. I would be too living in that cave. Is that even her baby? In that light how does she know? Oh well, as long as those eco bulbs are compliant.

    And just to qualify your ‘Kiwiblog right types’ comment – I vote UF.

  42. vinsin – you could argue either way. There’s a difference between fear mongering – which i DO think this ad does – and being realistic.

    This doesnt inspire me with confidence.

  43. tracey 43

    remember JK thinks blind kids, if they work hard enough, can go to Kings and St Cuthberts. Yup, he’sin touch alright.

  44. tracey – they can’t ? What’s next from you? Children from poor families won’t ever be able to earn over $50k later in life?

  45. “coge

    The Labour ad looks awfully close to the anti-smoking advertising. I was half expecting her to light up. Overall I think it preaches to the converted. Or at best the apathetic voter, which is probably the intention”

    Funny, I was going to say it reminds me of a drink driving ad a the start but now you mention it, an anti smoking ad even more so!

    What about Nationals “Labours legacy” ads? Apparently Labours legacy is a dozen moral panic head lines. Pity they didn’t use actual statistics, but then again, that paints labour in a fairly good light, so of course they wouldn’t.

  46. insider 46

    Tracey

    Your implication is worse – that they can’t.

  47. Evidence-Based Practice 47

    St Cuthberts and Kings and all the other private schools and most high decile schools do not welcome and never have welcomed disabled kids. And even those who reluctantly let them attend certainly do not practice full social and educational inclusion. Their whole school cultures are based on being exclusionary and elitist.

  48. John Stevens 48

    Yep, it should read ‘Party vote Hydra’.
    You are getting the Greens/Labour govt, not Labour led.

  49. SP – Re: dancing cosacks.

    I can’t with 100% certanty say that the feedback would of been different, but i feel the cosacks was funnier, smarter and more effectively targeted than this offering.

    I just feel it’s poor. The idea was right in it’s infancy, but the execution and ‘meat on the bones’ of that concept just doesn’t sit right.

    *People who didn’t trust key before still won’t trust him
    *People who want a ‘change’ a probably still going to want a change
    *People who were undecided about key are unlikely to be swayed by this – unless they are reasonably gulliable and are moved by statements that aren’t Immediatly backed up by fact.

    But more dangerous is:
    *People who are of the opinion that Labour have been too negative previously, will think they are even more so now
    *People who were sitting on the fence, and have been starting to get a little fed up with the muck raking on both sides, might find this as ‘enough is enough’ and swing away from the red.

    It’s just to gloomy for my liking. You may find that this ad does more harm than good.

    The controversial line just doesnt do ENOUGH. ‘I can’t trust you’ – but why? You havent ACTUALLY told me why i cant trust him? Is it because he was a currency trader? Is that relevant?

    And why can I trust helen? Because ‘she’ll be there for our kids and our jobs’ ? What’s does that actually mean? Apart from sounding completely ‘hokey’.

    I see that the ad is now in a banner ad on stuff with text next to it “there for our kids and our jobs” – that is just incredibly poor english – setting aside the fact that they’ve crushed the video so small now its distorted.

    The labour08 choice of online media is another sticking point for me. Why bother pumping your money into stuff.co.nz and nzherald.co.nz which draw their audience from National supporters (just look at their online polls) – pooooooor media buying there.

    I’ve really enjoyed reading your responses here, and youve all made some valuable points, but i just think this is amatuer hour. I had high hopes for this ad.

  50. QoT 50

    A slightly irrelevant point, but: I first caught the Labour ad when making dinner with the TV on mute, and momentarily thought the actress was Antonia Prebble/Loretta from Outrageous Fortune. Which made the whole thing slightly surreal.

  51. My wife has no interest whatsoever in politics. We saw the “Mary” advert last night, after which she said to me “They’re really scraping the barrel now” – kind of sums it up. Best political advert ever? I don’t think so!

  52. Rex Widerstrom 52

    Interesting that Wellingtonian’s “focus group” work for an ad agency and aren’t impressed. I’ve shown it to a few Aussies who’re either advertising or media people this morning and they aren’t impressed either – with either effort.

    The consensus on Labour’s is best summed up by the reaction of Jeeve’s group:

    …patronising, insincere and mostly ineffective

    To which I’d add that the actress seems to have taken “talking to the public like a kindergarten teacher” lessons from Jenny Shipley.

    Act’s left most dumbfounded. The general consensus was that one was left with the impression Heather Roy couldn’t learn, retain and then speak more than one sentence because that was all she got out before a ghastly jump cut, usually to an unrelated setting.

    From a professional perspective, politics aside, they’re utter crap. Whoever dreamed them up and conned the respective parties to pay for them is either an amateur or a charlatan.

  53. Rex said : “From a professional perspective, politics aside, they’re utter crap. Whoever dreamed them up and conned the respective parties to pay for them is either an amateur or a charlatan.”

    You’ve hit the nail on the head with that one.

    Same goes with the ACT one. Incredible that it’s seen the light of day.

  54. DeeDub 54

    @ Wellingtonian:

    I expect an advertising expert of your stature, who throws away phrases like “that is just incredibly poor english” when commenting on other peoples work, to at least walk the talk, buddy!?!!

    ” …feedback would of been different” – ‘would’ve’ perhaps would’ve been more appropriate to use there?

    “It’s just to gloomy for my liking..” – really? And WHERE is ‘gloomy’ and how do I get ‘to’ it?

  55. I’m typing on a blog. Not creating an ad campaign here – so excuse me if I only glance over my posts to proof read.

    I also didn’t say I’m an ‘advertising expert’. But I do work with them.

    Did you have fun working on the ad by the way?

  56. Wellingtonian,

    does it not occur to you that fear(howsoever slight) is an appropriate human response in the face of a harder reality..?

    As to lightbulbs, I have attempted to discover from their makers why the intensity of light from them is somewhat low.. are they not aware of likely complaints.. and how this might deter folks from buying them in their better interests(not least energy saving and $s).. as I’m waiting for answers it occurs to me that in fact incandescent bulbs put out too much light.. and how this could be bad for our eyes.. yes, tis possible to buy a lower wattage, screen bulbs with shades and so on, but the energy saving and $s is unlikely to be affected by this.. so aren’t we back to having our eyes ‘tune-in’ to lower intensities.. and what might be harmful in that..?

    Two sides at least to every story.. so let’s have more give and take..

  57. Lampie 57

    As to lightbulbs, I have attempted to discover from their makers why the intensity of light from them is somewhat low.. are they not aware of likely complaints.. and how this might deter folks from buying them in their better interests(not least energy saving and $s).. as I’m waiting for answers it occurs to me that in fact incandescent bulbs put out too much light.. and how this could be bad for our eyes.. yes, tis possible to buy a lower wattage, screen bulbs with shades and so on, but the energy saving and $s is unlikely to be affected by this.. so aren’t we back to having our eyes ‘tune-in’ to lower intensities.. and what might be harmful in that..?

    My God, for starters two different light sources. Comparing them is like comparing an apple to a pear. How effective i the light? That is something to the individual as we precive light differently. Energy savers can be used in situations such as areas requiring ‘a light’ and over long periods, ideal for hallways and such. For reading, suggest incandescent or halogen as colour matching good. incandescent produce more heat than light which makes them inenifficent as to energy savers. Excuse spelling.

  58. Lampie 58

    Labour ad a good one and good from a point of marketing. Never get your CEO to tell the message. Also good use of association.

  59. DeeDub 59

    Wellington said: “Did you have fun working on the ad by the way?”

    LOL. Not me, mate. I work in the music industry.

  60. tsmithfield 60

    I know some of you are having orgasms over this Labour ad.

    However, I think it comes across as forced and over-acted. This is a major problem for the credibility of the ad as viewers would likely realise that the person in the ad is acting rather than speaking from the heart. Therefore, viewers would likely wonder if she really believes what she is saying or is just being paid for stating these views.

  61. very off topic but :

    “Dear Supporter

    We have a concept for a full-page NZ Herald advert that makes use of the fantastic images from the ‘VoteForUs’ website, as a beautiful montage of selected images.

    It’s a great advert as its fresh and not a usual political ad. It utilises the incredibly high profile we have of our ‘Votefor me’ campaign. However to run this advert on Thursday would cost $21,000 or $27,000 for a guaranteed placement in Section One.

    Unfortunately we have now committed all our budget, so if you like this advert and know anyone who might like to donate some money to the Greens to enable us to run it, please get them to pledge an amount via email to me. This would have to come through today though to enable us to run this ad!

    Our campaign is going really well and we just need to keep the momentum going in this last week. This advert would be one way we could keep this momentum up.

    Re. Apology for previous email

    Our sincere apologies for including email addresses in the previous bulk message. It was an honest mistake and we were horrified to see that the email included all those names, as it was never our intention.

    Thank you for your continued support of our campaign,

    regards

    Gary Reese
    National Campaign Manager
    Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand”

  62. People are going to sympathize and listen to a woman with a baby over a deputy leader driving dangerously down the road (how did she manage to turn the car without hitting anyone?). Actually, the ACT spot is also talking about children and family, but I didn?t even realize that the first time I watched it. Until I listened closely the second time, I didn?t even really think about what she was saying. That?s just a poor delivery of a message. ?Amateur hour? is right!

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Recent Posts

  • Stories of varying weight

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • Balancing External Security and the Economy

    New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    18 hours ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: The unravelling of the offsets

    The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • What makes us tick

    This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    24 hours ago
  • Foreshore and seabed 2.0

    In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

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    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

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    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

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    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

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    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

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    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

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    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

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    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

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    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

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    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

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    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

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    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

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    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

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    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

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    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

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    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

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    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

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    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
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  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

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  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

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  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

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  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

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  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

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    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

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  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
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  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
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  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
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  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
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  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
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    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

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    1 week ago
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    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
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  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
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  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

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  • 'Pacific Futures'

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