An unfortunate rush to judgment by the media?

Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, September 17th, 2019 - 124 comments
Categories: jacinda ardern, labour, national, paula bennett, same old national, uncategorized - Tags:

It feels like Jacinda Ardern and the Labour Party have been hung drawn and quartered when it comes time to discussing the sexual assault allegations.  But was there a rush to judgment?

I mean I can understand the relative motivations.  From the left is the realisation that we have significant problems with sexual violence and we need to do better.  And from the right there has been this salivating realisation that they could really hurt us.  Just see the regular outpourings by Paula Bennett or the hysterical mutterings of Matthew Hooton if you need evidence.

Labour’s Council member Simon Mitchell, who is a very experienced and adept lawyer, has made a public statement which directly contradicts the essence of some of the allegations that have been made.

From Andrea Vance at Stuff:

The lawyer that led Labour’s investigation into the conduct of a parliamentary staffer says he wasn’t told of sexual assault claims.

Simon Mitchell, an Auckland employment and family law specialist, issued a statement through his own lawyers on Monday.

Mitchell says that “at no point” did a young volunteer tell him, or the panel, that she was sexually assaulted.

And he says he had his computer “forensically analysed” to prove it.

The allegation is that the committee of which he was a member has ignored the sexual attack complaint even though he and they were told about it.

A letter from Mitchell’s lawyer Penny Swarbrick to Stuff says: “Mr Mitchell is gravely concerned at allegations that he was the recipient of verbal and written disclosures of a sexual assault by the subject of the investigation … regrettably the statements by the complainant that Mr Mitchell received such information are untrue.”

The letter also says that claims the woman provided documentation in emails to the panel are “not credible”.

And further:

Mitchell says the woman emailed on [March 9,2019, the day of the first interview] to say she planned to read from a document and asked for it to be printed off. The email had no attachment, Mitchell says.

Mitchell asked her to contact assistant general secretary Dianna Lacy “who I am told printed a copy and gave it to the complainant”. He says he was never given a copy.

“I have subsequently (last week) been given a copy … and it does not contain any details of the sexual assault against her,” he said.

He goes on to say that she never raised the sexual assault allegations at the interview.

The article then says this:

Mitchell met again with the woman on May 29 “to clarify the allegations and the matters that we were investigating,” his statement says.

“At no time during that meeting did she say that she had been sexually assaulted by the subject of the complaint… at the conclusion of the meeting she said that she would provide me with more detailed information in the next few days.”

In June, she sent an email with three attachments, but none refer to sexual assault, he says.

So to recap:

  1. The initial email sent to Mitchell in March 2019 did not have a statement attached to it.
  2. A statement provided at the time to Diana Lacey at that time did not contain a reference to a sexual assault.
  3. He asserts there was no mention of the sexual assault at the March meeting.
  4. At a subsequent meeting in May 2019 he asserts the complainant did not make a complaint about a sexual assault.
  5. A subsequent email sent in June 2019 did contain a statement but there was no reference to a sexual assault.

I know Simon quite well.  He is very experienced and sharp.

I am expressing no opinion about the veracity of the claim itself.  I am aware that these situations are very complex and non disclosure is the norm.  And human beings will not necessarily get things right when they are trying to retrieve the details of conversations that happened six months earlier.

There will be a formal inquiry by Maria Dew QC.  There will be secrecy as to the terms of reference at the requests of the complainants and the details of the result will not necessarily be disclosed.  This has not stopped the usual suspects from going into conspiracy mode.

https://twitter.com/MatthewHootonNZ/status/1173450001273380865

I suspect this story has some way to go still.  Particularly given Paula Bennett’s approach to the issue.  Call me old fashioned but using Parliamentary Privilege to smear senior staffers and make allegations they are not able to reply to is not what I would call a victim focussed approach.

124 comments on “An unfortunate rush to judgment by the media? ”

  1. Ad 1

    Mickey stop engaging with the beltway crap, and go out knock on some doors and get some votes.

    Focus man.

    • Peter 1.1

      Maybe it's easier to focus when you've washed the showers of shit from the likes of Matthew Hooton and Paula Bennett off yourself.

      • cleangreen 1.1.1

        ‘This was bound to happen’ since the National can only retake the power using dirty politics again.

        We hope that the electorate remember all the lies and corruption we witnessed with the 9 yrs of the John Key Government.

        If labour want to recapture their dignity here they need to finally start their own media platform of the promised ‘free to air (no advertising) public current affairs channel’ to get their policies ‘inbreed’ into the NZ voters minds before the election and do this now not next bloody year.

        “Lets do this Jacinda”!!!!!

  2. lprent 2

    Copying the comment I just finished – elsewhere.

    One of those is Simon Mitchell. I've known him for about 25 or so years on a moderately casual basis. He is a lawyer, so knows exactly the consequences of any outright shading of the facts if it heads to court. He has a pretty good reputation in the employment law area.

    Personally I have never known him to lie or even to be particularly evasive – which has always been welcome (I'm kind of blunt). Might not tell you everything he knows.

    In this case the framing from one of the complainants is that he was informed of a sexual complaint and is lying – which is a direct attack on his reputation. So it appears that he has decided to put his position in public. Probably to the concern of the parliamentary wing.

    The spinoff has his full statement

    I have to say that is a clear and direct statement targeted specifically at matters of fact that can be determined. As is the response from the complainants lawyer which is a direct refutation of Simon Mitchells statement of facts. Obviously both cannot be correct and are diametrically opposite.

    The complainants are hugely disappointed that Mr Mitchell has come forward with his statement just as the complainants and the Labour Party are making some positive progress.

    I would anticipate that they are. I can't imagine Simon Mitchell making a statement like that without having the required evidence to back it up. It is way easier to make accusations against a organisation than it is against individuals.

    By effectively targeting the members of the panel with statements about the individual volunteers on it saying they are lying, they have just hit the issue of making statements of fact about individuals and the personal liability that goes with it. Also moves it well past the limits of the parliamentary side to control it.

    I would say that this will be heading towards court.

    And I reiterate my original point – there is no way that the Labour Party should get involved in these kinds of disputes about bullying or sexual misconduct. They are legal matters and have specific remedies inside the legal system.

    That being said, if you were involved in a bullying situation, then Simon would be exactly the person you’d want to determine and resolve it. He would also be the first to point any claim or sexual assault directly to the police as the only avenue of redress. As well as being a lawyer and required to do that, I don’t think that he’d ethically do anything else.

    • lprent 2.1

      ditto…

      https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/09/16/811922/labour-party-doubles-down-on-its-version-of-events

      National Party deputy leader Paula Bennett, who has been advocating on behalf of some of the complainants, said Mitchell's decision to release a legal letter and media statement showed that Ardern had "no control of the process".

      "On the very afternoon that the Prime Minister has gone out and just announced that she's got these two processes underway and that she's going to show all of this respect to the victims, one of her own council members that was involved in those decisions has made a statement that is very much victim-blaming, and yet again hangs those victims out like that."

      What does this arsehole think people are – self-interested drones like her?

      This does start to explain why she has been making statements about individuals only under parliamentary privilege. Weak evidence and effectively attacks outside of the politicians on individuals. Ok if you can keep everyone behind a faceless curtain like 'the labour party' – which can't effectively fight back.

      Jacinda Ardern doesn't have as much 'control' over members of the NZ Council. The council itself doesn't have much control. They are all volunteers with expenses covered at the most. The council itself is the ruling body of the NZLP. Ardern is a member of the council and leader of the parliamentary wing of MPs

      This isn't like the National party. The Labour party is almost entirely volunteers

      Paula Bennett really is a complete arsehole. A contemptible politician playing this while aware of the facts. Ducking under parliamentary privilege to avoid being a party to the evntual litigation.

      You can see why Simon Bridges isn't involved in this. As a lawyer he'd probably be looking at the questions of evidence and liability and getting terrified.

    • Darien Fenton 2.2

      Simon Mitchell is a much respected employment lawyer with many wins taking on some of NZ's worst bosses. He is a kind, honest, competent person and I can understand why he felt the need to defend his reputation, even though are saying it wasn't helpful. The other members of the panel will be feeling pretty targeted as well and must be gutted. I agree that the Labour Party Council should only have been involved to the extent of their mandate under the LP constitution. which is about the conduct of party members. This may or may not have been what they were doing. We simply don't know.

      • Anne 2.2.1

        Hi Darien,

        I also think it was appropriate that Simon Mitchell issued his statement. As a high profile lawyer holding down an important position within the party, he was entitled to promptly clarify the media-driven speculation. A regular TS commentator, Dukeofurl postulated a plausible answer to the disappearing email attachments here:

        https://thestandard.org.nz/an-unfortunate-rush-to-judgment-by-the-media/#comment-1655835

        If it proves to be something along these lines then I look forward to the profuse apologies from Paula Bennett and that posse of tabloid hacks journos who have been conducting their ritual witch-hunt on Labour – especially Jacinda Ardern – at the slightest pretext.

        Oh well, it costs nothing to dream.

  3. weka 3

    From the left is the realisation that we have significant problems with sexual violence and we need to do better. And from the right there has been this salivating realisation that they could really hurt us.

    Best summation of the parliamentary politics at play.

  4. MickeyBoyle 4

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/115837166/labour-lawyer-i-wasnt-told-of-sexual-assault-claims

    Either Mitchell is lying or this individual victim is lying. I'd be interested in hearing what the other complainants have to say. What a messy situation.

    • weka 4.1

      On the emails, I'm still not clear if they're talking about the same emails, nor what technical issues might have happened to explain the discrepancies.

      With the meetings, I think it's really unfortunate that Sarah didn't have representation with her, a support person and note taker, or lawyer.

      However I can see a situation where someone in a meeting might be talking on the understanding that the other people in the meeting had emails outlining sexual assault allegations and referring to those, whereas the others in the meeting didn't have the emails and missed the references. Yes, talking about sexual trauma with people you don't know in a formal setting where there is a serious power imbalance is really hard.

      I don't know what happened. I am suggesting that it is possible that neither side is lying.

      As a feminist focused more on the politics of rape culture and what can be done to make Labour, parliament and NZ safer in that regard, I think not framing this as one side is a liar would be much more helpful.

      • MickeyBoyle 4.1.1

        Good point Weka.

      • lprent 4.1.2

        I think not framing this as one side is a liar would be much more helpful.

        Reading carefully in the two statements, there seems unlikely. Completely ignoring the sexual assault issue and just looking at the two statements

        https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/16-09-2019/two-statements-on-the-labour-party-inquiry/

        According to Simon Mitchell's statement from his lawyer, before the meeting with the panel on March 9th, he was sent an email referring to an attachment, that wasn't on the email. A second email was directed to someone who could print the attached document – which was done and the copy given to the complainant at the meeting. The panel weren't given a copy. She read from that.

        Simon claims that there was nothing said in the meeting about sexual assault. He also says that reading a subsequent print out of that document that there was nothing in there about sexual assault.

        The complainant 'Sarah' in her lawyers response says

        In the earliest email, sent by the complainant on Mar 9, 2019 at 9:35 AM to Mr Mitchell, the complainant attached two documents, one outlining the sexual assault in depth (this document contained sexual assault in the file name of the document) and the other the complainant’s testimony, which also outlines allegations of sexual assault.

        It is possible that there weren't attachments when it arrived at Mitchells computer. All that takes is that the AV discards them or about 15 other possible causes.

        There is no statement about Simon Mitchell emailing back about the missing attachment, if she had a second email sent or where she had a copy of the printed document at the meeting from. There is no statement that the panel members read the document had copies. She says that she read out the information about sexual assault.

        It is like the completely different process prior to and during the meeting.

        The rest of the statements have the same degree of fundamental disagreement about specific events despite agreeing in several deliveries of emails.

        It seems unlikely that there could this degree of disagreement between two people or that there could be this degree of missed emails.

        • weka 4.1.2.1

          Where is the transcript of the meeting?

          It's entirely possible that one or more people in the whole situation is lying. But we don't have all the information and what we do have isn't that clear. Add to that the sexual assault, because it's entirely pertinent to communication (given and received).

          I guess it comes down to what people think is important.

          For me it's that this gets looked at in a rape culture context and the need to address that as a society. This cannot be done primarily via the justice system. I've pointed out before that to get better laws and legal processes we need MPs as lawmakers who understand rape culture. We don't have this yet in Labour (some MPs get it, others don't, their internal processes aren't good enough yet).

          For me this is more important than proving who is telling the truth. Not because the truth is unimportant, but because it's not a trial and there are other, better ways of creating something good from this whole mess.

          It's really unfortunate that this has gotten to the lawyer making public statements stage. I think there is responsibility on all the people involved for why it's gotten to this, but I probably see National and the gotcha MSM as the main problem. It's clear that no-one will be allowed to resolve this as adults with compassion and reconciliation and instead everyone is being egged on to conflict and finding the people who should be taken down.

          • lprent 4.1.2.1.1

            There was apparently a hand written set of notes. No transcript and my guess was not recording either. I wouldn’t run many meetings like that. That was bad.

            It appears to have not been sent to Sarah until well after the results of the panel were passed to her. That was just stupid. A written transcript is pretty important to be seen by all parties.

            That appears to have been amateur hour for possible criminal complaints or where there is requirement to have a fair hearing. In other words the kind of thing that you get at a police station.

            Basically if the NZLP isn’t set up for a possible investigation of possible crimes, then they shouldn’t have been running it. However that is what the panel members and Haworth are claiming that they weren’t doing.

            Which is Sarah is claiming that was what they were doing. What I can’t see is why anyone would set up a meeting like what she described for possible sexual assault allegations. Especially a lawyer who specialises in employment law.

            This kind of meeting is pretty much what would happen in employment disputes where the conversations are not monitored because the idea is to see if there is common ground, notes are there to form a subsequent agreement if one is possible, and everyone wants a off the record discussion before they go legal.

            Which is what this sounds like it was set up as.

            • Jill 4.1.2.1.1.1

              The Labour Party Council has a sub- committee that hears complaints about members. There had been complaints about bullying from Young Labour around the time of the Summer Camp incidents at Waihi, and after the investigating into these, there was an invitation for anyone else with complaints to come forward.
              Also when we received the Nerruman Report, we accepted most of her recommendations and a policy on behaviour including alcohol use, having a responsible person, etc, at Labour Party events was agreed and sent to all LECs and sectors of the Party.
              Note this did not cover behaviour that occurred in a private home.
              I am no longer on the Council, but I don’t think it was envisaged that an allegation of serious sexual assault was going to be tabled when the panel was set up. In fact Simon Mitchell is reported as having opened the investigation by saying explicitly it was not to hear allegations of a sexual nature, hence why Honey Heemi told Radio NZ she thought the panel was set up to investigate allegations of bullying. I do not believe the serious sexual assault allegation did get raised with the panel as I know all those who were on that panel and there is no way they would have ignored it had it been raised.
              This does not mean the serious sexual assault did not happen, that it was not raised with other senior Party officials, and that support and counselling was not offered. The Party is accused of having a rape culture and being cruel and heartless. That is not my experience.
              Finally, while I acknowledge that victims do not always choose to disclose what happened to them to the Police or their employer for their own protection, unfortunately if they don’t, the perpetrator may go on to commit other such crimes.

              • Dennis Frank

                Good to hear your view from the inside (as it were) – it makes the situation more comprehensible to those of us on the outer…

              • lprent

                I do not believe the serious sexual assault allegation did get raised with the panel as I know all those who were on that panel and there is no way they would have ignored it had it been raised.

                This does not mean the serious sexual assault did not happen, that it was not raised with other senior Party officials, and that support and counselling was not offered. The Party is accused of having a rape culture and being cruel and heartless. That is not my experience.

                That was my understanding as well. One of the irritating things was that at this end was that I simply didn’t know who was on the panel. If I had and I knew them, then I’d have happily pointed far earlier my personal assessment of their likely action would have been.

                It is one thing to say in general that ignoring a sexual assault was unlikely. It is a completely different things to know that a particular person wouldn’t have. I bet that Simon Mitchell is rope-able about the outright lying by complainants, media and the complete hypocritical political gutter feeder Paula Bennett.

                Also when we received the Nerruman Report, we accepted most of her recommendations and a policy on behaviour including alcohol use, having a responsible person, etc, at Labour Party events was agreed and sent to all LECs and sectors of the Party.

                Which is pretty much what I expected. There is little else that the NZLP could cover. Since this appears to be behaviour prior to the report….

                Finally, while I acknowledge that victims do not always choose to disclose what happened to them to the Police or their employer for their own protection, unfortunately if they don’t, the perpetrator may go on to commit other such crimes.

                It is a source of intense frustration to me that is the case. My own partner was rather adamant that she wouldn’t go to the police if she was in that position. And you can see the reason why when you look at the history of the police in dealing with sexual assaults. Even if you leave aside Rotorua in the 1980s and the roastbusters, just looking at the K3 coding issue was enough to make my blood boil when soemone pointed out Kirsty Johnsons article on it.
                https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12043031

                But the problem is that just encourages sexual assault because there is no come back.

            • Cricklewood 4.1.2.1.1.2

              Must say i'm astounded, Given what the panel was set up to investigate, the background and experience of Simon Mitchell (as you describe above) that minutes wern't taken at every single meeting and promplty circulated to those involved for approval as an accruate record. I struggle to make sense of that to be honest.

              That basic step which someone involved in employment law should be very familar with would have been saving alot of grief right now.

      • Anne 4.1.3

        I am suggesting that it is possible that neither side is lying.

        To me it is becoming increasingly clear that is what happened.

        No-one apparently advised the young lady to take a support person who could help her to clarify the situation. She was 19 and probably has never been in such a situation before. She would have been very stressed (but hiding it) and may not have expressed herself clearly. As a result the message she was trying to get through to the panel was lost.

        I have to say it would not have helped that one of the panellists kept dodging outside to answer her telephone. That would have been disconcerting for the complainant and may have put her off her stride.

        • weka 4.1.3.1

          wow, I didn't know that had happened.

          I've been in a meeting like that, where the panelists were just downright disrespectful, not intentionally but oblivious to how stressful it was for me and what needed to happen in the meeting to make it just. The power imbalance was blatant. I will say that when panelists/officials are people who see themselves as good people trying to do the right thing, it's hard for them to see where they are getting it wrong, especially around power.

          • weka 4.1.3.1.1

            which panelist kept leaving to answer the phone?

          • Anne 4.1.3.1.2

            I've been at a similar meeting. The subject matter was different. Three men (no woman) and one was sitting on top of his desk looking down on me. It was pure intimidation. I was terrified but managed to keep my cool and avoided being tripped up by them. The aftermath suggested they were annoyed they hadn't slayed their quarry. No, I had done nothing to warrant the behaviour but they wanted to believe I was guilty of something.

            They were Public Service managers.

            PS. I was not informed about the meeting in advance either.

            • weka 4.1.3.1.2.1

              it was different subject matter for me too. I can quite easily see how someone who was still traumatised would struggle in a setting where a) people didn't know about the sexual assault and b) didn't know how to work with survivors.

              The coming and going on the phone thing is completely unacceptable even if one thinks the meeting was about bullying. If it was an emergency or urgent set of calls then reschedule the meeting.

      • SHG 4.1.4

        With the meetings, I think it’s really unfortunate that Sarah didn’t have representation with her, a support person and note taker, or lawyer.

        Given that she is a young Labour member and volunteer, and she was telling an awful story to people in a meeting set up by the Labour Party, Sarah was probably under the mistaken impression that everyone there was there to support her. This is hopelessly naive, but understandable.

        • Dennis Frank 4.1.4.1

          Yes, and there's also the fact that she was responding to Labour's inducement. She explained that to the Spinoff. After the summer camp thing Labour requested any further victims to declare themselves. She was right to expect a sympathetic response to her complaint. I agree that it seems hopelessly naive, but you can understand her feeling that the process was a set-up. To re-victimise her.

    • Dennis Frank 4.2

      Spinoff's response to Mitchell: "The complainant (the person called “Sarah” in the Spinoff’s article of 9 September) has records of three emails sent by her to Simon Mitchell between 9 March 2019 and 21 May 2019 in which Mr Mitchell was made aware of there being allegations of sexual assault. These emails have been provided to Labour Party lawyers Kensington Swan, who have been requested to provide the emails to the reviewers conducting the independent review of the internal investigation."

      My guess is that the Spinoff would not tell the public this unless it was true. Looks like the emails identify Simon Mitchell by name as recipient, else why would the Spinoff journos be so forthright?

      • lprent 4.2.1

        I’d be very interested in if the emails were supplied as electronic or printed.

        In particular if they still countian the routings. Then it would be possible to look for copies in the various systems if there are differences between them.

        • Dukeofurl 4.2.1.1

          Email attachment problems in parliament as well

          https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/313249/labour-mp-outraged-at-blocked-emails

          "When he sought clarification from Parliamentary Service, Mr Hipkins said he was told they had blocked it on the basis the document attached to his email contained "sensitive words" that were in violation of government security classifications"

          Maybe email attachments security software has watchwords that are likely to occur in a complaint about sexual assault ?

          • Anne 4.2.1.1.1

            Maybe email attachments security software has watchwords that are likely to occur in a complaint about sexual assault ?

            It's possible then the complainant’s attachments were blocked which could explain the conflicting stories.

            • Dennis Frank 4.2.1.1.1.1

              Only partially. It would explain the competing perceptions of the emails, but Sarah told Spinoff she made the complaints verbally, in person, as well.

              • Anne

                I did give a possible explanation @ 4.1.3 for that verbal exchange which I understand took place when the complainant was interviewed by the panel .

                Even typing the words "interviewed by the panel" sends shivers up and down my spine. I've been through that scenario more than once and it's just so hard trying to get your point across to people you know don't understand what you are trying to tell them.

                I'm not casting aspersions on the senior members who made up that panel. I'm sure they were doing their best. But individuals who have never been through the type of experiences a victim is trying to describe, often don't pick up the signals you are sending.

                I truly think this is exactly what happened in this case.

    • SHG 4.3

      Either Mitchell is lying or this individual victim is lying. I'd be interested in hearing what the other complainants have to say. What a messy situation.

      Let us not forget that Sarah is only one of twelve people who have complained.

      Also, let us not forget that where sexual assault/rape/harrassment is concerned, only a fraction of the incidents ever result in complaints.

      What I'm saying is, don't fixate on what Sarah did or didn't say to the Labour Party's lawyer as if answering that question represents any sort of achievement.

      [lprent: Lets not forget that the panel and everyone else in the Labour process have been saying that the sexual assault/rape allegations weren’t raised to them. You have just asserted that it was. That is defamatory.

      Please keep trying to make me liable. I am really looking forward to kicking your snarky lying arse off the site permanently.

      Second warning. ]

    • Jimmy 4.4

      Mitchell I believe, is using the services of an employment relations lawyer that our company has used in the past from SBM legal. Not sure if that's a good sign or not.

      • lprent 4.4.1

        Simon Mitchell is an employment relations lawyer. Perhaps that will allay your concerns. /sarc

        Lawyers tend to separate themselves from performing their personal legal cases themselves. With good (and if you think about it) good reasons.

        The most extreme case comes when you watch a private prosecution by a litigant. Watching Dermot Nottingham in court over the last few years trying to present a case against me and others has been a revelation of incompetence, why personal involvement is a bad idea, and the patience of judges for lay litigants.

        They don’t exhibit the same patience for lawyers – in fact they tend to towards the contempt of the competent to the amateur and exercise the sarcastic with of the Socratic method.

        Not sure how well the magistrates or mediators fare if it is that kind of level. But this does look more likely to be a court issue.

  5. weka 5

    "The initial email sent to Mitchell in March 2019 did not have a statement attached to it."

    I think you mean the initial email received? (Mitchell can only see what he received).

    In the earliest email, sent by the complainant on Mar 9, 2019 at 9:35 AM to Mr Mitchell, the complainant attached two documents, one outlining the sexual assault in depth (this document contained sexual assault in the file name of the document) and the other the complainant’s testimony, which also outlines allegations of sexual assault. Attached is a screenshot of this email and the attachments.

    https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/16-09-2019/two-statements-on-the-labour-party-inquiry/

    We don't know if those are the same emails. I guess we will wait for the inquiry, but it shouldn't be too hard to make a timeline of both sets of emails and see which each are talking about. At the moment it seems unclear.

  6. TheBlackKittenReturns 6

    So what was she complaining about then? If there was no sexual assault mentioned. I am sure someone here can enlighten me on that.

    And Mickey, you may want to remember the fuss the left made when John Key was pulling the poneytail of some waitress in front of his wife. I find your comments about the right quite rich due to this. What you are basically saying is “it’s ok when the left do it”? Sorry life does not work that way.

    Fact is the Labour Party and Jacinta told everyone that their core values were not to allow or tolerate females facing any form of intimidation in the workplace and for their rights as a women to be respected. What has been alleged by Sarah shows the exact opposite has occurred in the Prime Ministers office for Heavens sake. It’s no different to if I was elected based on saying I wanted to increases everyone’s wages and I then went and abolished the minimum wage. It’s hypocritical and going against your core values and why your voters voted for you. It must be very disappointing for those who really believed in Jacinda.

    • weka 6.1

      "What you are basically saying is “it’s ok when the left do it”? Sorry life does not work that way."

      Really? Because I thought he was saying that Labour are looking at where they failed and National are being arseholes. Which is how I see it too.

      From a feminist analysis of rape culture, National are making things far, far worse here than they need to be. Maybe they lack the skills to support survivors, or maybe they're happy to sacrifice these particular survivors and survivors generally to gain political advantage (both imo). This matches my observation of National over a long period of time. It doesn't help survivors to pretend somehow that what National are doing is ok, or to ignore the damage National are doing, because Labour fucked up badly as if we should only focus on them.

      • marty mars 6.1.1

        "From a feminist analysis of rape culture, National are making things far, far worse here than they need to be. Maybe they lack the skills to support survivors, or maybe they're happy to sacrifice these particular survivors and survivors generally to gain political advantage (both imo). This matches my observation of National over a long period of time. It doesn't help survivors to pretend somehow that what National are doing is ok, or to ignore the damage National are doing, because Labour fucked up badly as if we should only focus on them."

        This is the analysis I want to read – ta weka

      • KJT 6.1.2

        Thanks Weka. Some good analysis here.

    • … you may want to remember the fuss the left made when John Key was pulling the poneytail of some waitress in front of his wife.

      I certainly do. The fuss was to a significant extent about the National Party's response to the news that its leader had amused himself with repeatedly humiliating a low-wage worker serving him by pulling her hair, despite her requests for him not to do it. The party's approach was that humiliating servants is just a bit of fun and that physical assault isn't a crime if there are no injuries. It also involved getting the victim's employers to pressure her into giving an interview to a Nat-friendly journalist as a damage-mitigation exercise. None of those involved has ever expressed the view that the party's approach to the incident wasn't exemplary.

      Comparing that response with Labour's response to these allegations is quite instructive, and if anything supports Micky Savages comments in his post.

      • TheBlackKittenReturns 6.2.1

        At what point do I say that Nationals handling of the ponytail affair was great? Let me simplify it for you. My point is the lefts response to the Key saga was no better than the rights response to Sarah’s allegations. Mickey, and the left are acting like National are blowing the Sarah thing out of proportion. Perhaps so, depends on your view of it but the left also blew the pony tail saga out of proportion.

        • weka 6.2.1.1

          What was Labour's response to Key's harrassment of the waitress?

          While it's true that some on the left will also misuse situations to score politic points against National, there are some important differences here. One is that the left has politics based in ethics that guide responses to abuse, sexual assault, and harassment. The right doesn't. ie the left leads on addressing those issues. Not perfectly, and I have plenty of critiques of the left on what they don't do, or what they do badly. But there is still an important difference here.

          The other is that National have a long history of supporting rape culture in the Key years,

          https://thestandard.org.nz/moving-on-after-fjk/#1

        • Psycho Milt 6.2.1.2

          …depends on your view of it but the left also blew the pony tail saga out of proportion.

          Not really. In the hair-pulling case, a lot of people on the left were outraged that their prime minister had repeatedly assaulted a waitress and then set her employers and a tame journo on her when she spoke out about it. In the current case, a lot of people on the right are professing themselves outraged that Labour didn't do a very good job of investigating complaints about a party member. Only one of those seems out of proportion to me, and it ain't the hair-pulling one.

          • SHG 6.2.1.2.1

            is it the one that involves a man holding a woman down by the throat and forcing his fingers into her vagina?

            just kidding, I know that whatever John Key did must be worse

            #keyderangementsyndrome

            [hard to see what you bring to the site overall. Lynn has you on two warnings (lying, defamation). I’ve already warned you on this topic to be careful about not causing aggro in the conversation. I see that Lynn warned you recently about doing KDS soundbites. I think we can do without the hassle at the moment. Two week ban. Bans from me will now increase exponentially – weka]

            [lprent: damn – I was hoping for enough rope so I would deal with him more permanently. I’m not sure that this small animal was worth a reprieve. ]

            • Psycho Milt 6.2.1.2.1.1

              You seem confused. The Labour Party doesn't get to investigate allegations of serious crimes and prosecute them, you're mixing them up with the Police. Nice attempt to exploit someone else's misery to score cheap points on a comments thread though, you must be very proud.

  7. mosa 7

    " We don't know if those are the same emails. I guess we will wait for the inquiry, but it shouldn't be too hard to make a timeline of both sets of emails and see which each are talking about. At the moment it seems unclear "

    And that Weka sums up this whole mess.

    More level headed mature individuals would wait until the inquiry has reached a conclusion.

    • Peter 7.1

      Politics is not about level headed mature individuals. For National it is about conniving desperate ones polluting the minds of gormless ones.

  8. MickeyBoyle 8

    In regards to "Sarah” are there not many other complainants that came forward and complained about inappropriate behaviour? I was of the understanding that this was a multiple victim investigation? Did these other people not officially complain or have any correspondence with Labour officials?

    • Dennis Frank 8.1

      Spinoff informed us that Sarah is not the only person who complained about sexual assault. Didn't provide any details of any other incidents though. The purpose of the panel was to investigate bullying so most complaints were about that.

      • MickeyBoyle 8.1.1

        Thanks.

      • Dukeofurl 8.1.2

        "Spinoff informed us that Sarah is not the only person who complained about sexual assault"

        The party panel wouldnt be telling complainants what 'other complaints are' of if there was any at all.

        Sarah may have 'heard about' from others.

        Why would she moving away from her credible story into 'rumours' about others is a worry.

        Is Spinoff a Journalist- Copywriters website playing a drip feed of information

        • Rapunzel 8.1.2.1

          When you say "heard about" Winston Peters on the radio when I was out referred to something that tends towards that and referred to A, B abd C. If I heard it right "C" sounded to be the complainant about what "A" allegedly "did to" "B" and that it would become clear after the investigation. That also tends towards it being said that Bennett was basing her allegations on 2nd and/or 3rd hand information.

    • lprent 8.2

      The contention of the volunteer council panel members including Simon Mitchell and the party president who was (also?) involved in some initial interviews is that sexual assault allegations weren't raised.

      This is a rather large and diverse audience to try to keep quiet if it was raised at that panel meeting.

      Jacinda Arden appears to have been looking at correspondence and is unhappy about the process, but doesn't state the source (as far as I can see) of that correspondence.

      I'm unhappy about the process as well – but for different reasons. As soon as either an sexual assault or a physical assault came up, the Labour Council should have backed off and urged that the complaint be taken to the police.

      You do mediation or whatever about bullying. But any assault is a criminal issue.

      • "You do mediation or whatever about bullying. But any assault is a criminal issue."

        Absolutely! The mere mention of sexual assault would be like a red rag to a bull – prompting immediate action at a higher level.

        It is inconceivable that council members, if confronted by allegations of sexual assault would not have backed off and referred to complainant to the police.

      • Jill 8.2.2

        You do not know that the complainant was not advised to go to the Police, but chose not to. From what I have read the complainants wanted the Party to deal with their complaints. I have what is called these days "lived experience" of sexual abuse. There is no way I would have gone to the Police not only to protect myself but to protect other people.

        On the subject of who was on the panel, another panel member was Tracey McLellan who is an experienced union organiser with a background in psychology from a union that has an extensive anti-harassment and anti-bullying programme, including for their delegates. I was on the Labour Party Council with her and I can say she is very compassionate and very astute.

        Many of us on the Labour Party Council at the time I was involved (up till last year) have had sexual harassment training and experience. I was a trained sexual harassment contact at AUT when I was a senior lecturer there in the 1990s and I have worked with victims of sexual harassment as a union organiser ever since. I offered, through the Labour Women's Network, to be a support contact when allegations were raised in late 2017. It is quite galling to hear experts lecturing us on how we need to have training.

        I support Jacinda in saying Labour should have a "victim centred" approach and indeed the complainant did receive support from the Labour Party Assistant General Secretary Dianna Lacy as she said so herself to Alex Casey in the Spinoff. But the targeting of the Council and of the entire Labour Party is in my view misplaced. It was a Parliamentary staffer who is accused of bullying, sexual harassment, and sexual assault, but as soon as he resigned, that was the end of attention on him.

        [Deleted your surname from the User Name. Please let me know if you want to use your full name here and I will approve you as first-time user under your full name – Incognito]

  9. tc 9

    Hoots, Gooner, Vancealot, Hosk, Duplicitous, Pullya, Soimon etc etc the list goes on it's basically down to those who are in the parliamentary wing and those outside it.

    All working to the same ends and similar techniques.

  10. michelle 10

    I am sure things will change now a lawyer has come forward is lets see how far pull da benny is prepared to go

  11. JessNZ 11

    Thus why trial by media is a joke. All the media (or the opposition) needs to be is exciting and popular each day – right or wrong.

    A real trial has some responsibility to get all the facts in order and then draw a conclusion.

  12. JessNZ 12

    I would like to know – if the RW got their wish and got Ardern to resign over this media shitshow, who else in NZ politics would anyone possibly want to lead?

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018706655/preferred-pm-polling-s-proving-pretty-unpopular

  13. greywarshark 13

    Edit
    Scenarios:

    What a marvellous web to trap 'fly' people from Labour in. (Excellent work from Crosstext?) National initiative to embarass Labour and create an ongoing stain that they can bring up at will for the next century. Knowing that the matter will require secrecy out of respect for the complainant, but offers high public interest and Gnatty 'whispers' can abound to media. Is payback for Labour stance re Jami- Lee Ross that hurt National.

    Woman has a real grievance, has problems with operating important matters in her and the nation's life, from her hand-held Smart phone or the like. So has become confused and then angry that so little consideration has been given to her and forced the issue in a vengeful way by going to Gnats? If so Labour officials have brought this on themselves by not having or following respectful and effective process that should apply to any citizen.

    Woman has real grievance, and is disappointed with response from Labour, feels brushed off, and is confused between what she thought she would do, and what she actually did? She has aroused emotional sympathy from sensitive people of the female gender who will take up the cudgels for her complaints relating to sex and lack of respect for her complaints of violation at face value?

    Woman is making a point, running a test case, her thoughts are that she should reveal Labour's masculine and callous bias against women?

    It appears that whatever the scenario, that the Labour people involved were careless and buck-passing and unwise. I think that is a fair judgment on them.

    • Anne 13.1

      Is payback for Labour stance re Jami- Lee Ross that hurt National.

      No. Labour made a point of staying out of that debacle. Jacinda Ardern is on record making it clear it was a matter for the National Party to resolve and she would not be commenting. It's called having principles which Jacinda has in spades. Bennett has none.

      If it was payback then it would be because they lost the treasury benches in 2017.

      And no. The sexual assualt complainant ‘sarah’ has said she was not one of those who approached Paula Bennett.

      • weka 13.1.1

        Anne, did you comment the other day about Labour's response to JLR? I'm trying to find the comment that described this but can't remember who made it or key words.

        • Anne 13.1.1.1

          I recall mentioning the JLR case in a comment where I listed three instances of abuse within the National Party in recent years. But I think others might have gone into more detail, Don’t remember who.

          I do recall Jacinda's comment where she made it clear she would not be commenting on the JLR case because it was an internal matter for the National Party.

          Oh, I do remember PG taking umbridge at my list, claiming they were nothing like the current Labour case. 🙁

          That might have been the catalyst for me telling him to “eff off” – which he’s been in a funk about since. 😉

        • lprent 13.1.1.2

          It was pretty much like it was here. Very low key. Labour really didn’t say much at all.

          News media were all over it. Despite it looking like there was something seriously pretty disturbed going on.

          Mickey was doing posts as news came up. I think we were mostly looking on with astonishment. I stepped in a few times when there was speculation on names of female MPs.

      • ianmac 13.1.2

        Grey. You would not find a single comment from Labour re the 4 women complainants over the Jamie-lee Ross episode. Jacinda consciously issued the position which was to let the issue be resolved by the people involved for the sake of those hurt. Of course the complainants had to sign a confidentiality agreement and the issue was disappeared.

        • gsays 13.1.2.1

          The truly despicable angle in both these cases, is Bennett's attitude.

          I seem to recall in the taped conversation between Bridges, Bennett and Ross, the implication that several victims could be 'found' to put pressure on Ross to comply.

          Similarly here, not a thought for the victims, just politicising another's pain for their own gain.

          • Anne 13.1.2.1.1

            As soon as it appears online I will link to Paula Bennett in the House just now. After asking question after question that were either inaccurate or out of order and designed to create disorder, Speaker Mallard refused to let her ask any more questions. He should have thrown her out.

              • gsays

                Thanks Anne, however I need to shower after watching that heartless, desperate display by the deputy leader of the National Party.

                Whomever is advising the member for Upper Harbour, they are doing a terrible job.

            • Dukeofurl 13.1.2.1.1.2

              She is going for the Evening news headlines.

              And to think back to the Richard Worth escapades , barely 9 months after the 2008 election, Labour came aware of the situation and let a quiet word to national party.

              And when it all blew up , Whaleoil was leaked harmful information about the complainant womans family , as we now know was a Dirty Politics hit job direct from the beehive.

          • New view 13.1.2.1.2

            Am I mistaken or did the alleged victims not approach Bennett. Ifs that’s the case she should ask as many questions as she can I should have thought. We know Bennett is an opportunist but shouldn’t you be aiming your arrows at Sarah?! Simon the Lawyer and other staffers involved. Your fixation on Bennett is verging on illogical.

            • Pat 13.1.2.1.2.1

              it would appear that Bennett wasnt approached by anyone directly involved…but she has manufactured a narrative to infer that she was

      • greywarshark 13.1.3

        I wrote the above because these are things that will come up as questions or reckons in people's minds. It is good to keep getting solid info arising from this unpleasant miasma.

        Mickysavage's post above does a lot to clear the confusion. But most people won't see it unfortunately.

        I put up again some of the main news releases.

        Newshub had been looking into complaints against a Labour staffer made as early as March 2019, involving seven, apparently all women. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/09/labour-assault-bullying-claims-everything-you-need-to-know.html

        The individual 'Sarah' tells her own story Sept 9th: https://thespinoff.co.nz/unsponsored/09-09-2019/a-labour-volunteer-alleged-violent-sexual-assault-by-a-senior-staffer-this-is-her-story/

        Sept 11th item backgrounds and updates: https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/11-09-2019/fresh-evidence-emerges-confirming-labour-was-told-of-sexual-assault-allegations-on-june-11/

        Sept 11th: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/11/new-zealand-labours-president-resigns-over-handling-of-sexual-assault-inquiry

        Sept 16th: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/115837166/labour-lawyer-i-wasnt-told-of-sexual-assault-claims

        Anne thinking about what you have said.

        Although PM Ardern made it clear that officially Labour would stand clear from the matter of JLR, there was plenty of unofficial Labour discussion about it. That would have been bruising to National and further soured their dispositions and revealed their lack of principles, which they could well be eager to rebound to Labour.

        The main person we have heard about, Sarah, didn't go to Paula Bennett. Then the other complainants who did are of interest. What is their situation in all of this? Did they approach Ms Bennett without advising or consulting 'Sarah'? It is mentioned that the other complaints were about bullying which is what the Labour panel was set up to deal with. Did they feel dissatisfied with how they were dealt with, and what did they want to happen?

  14. ianmac 14

    Q2. Today

    Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her and her Government’s statements and actions?

  15. Sacha 15

    Ardern urges a stop to public speculation: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/398937/pm-jacinda-ardern-calls-time-on-public-exchanges-over-sexual-assault-allegations

    "We do need to get away from this claims and counter-claim situation," Ms Ardern said.

    "A victims-centred approach of course would mean that we put the complainants at the centre, that means giving them the space they haven't clearly had to date to have their voices heard."

    She said Mr Mitchell's statement was motivated by a desire to defend a reputation, but that no one was served by this.

    "My view is we need to call time. The QC is now available for complainants to have their views heard. We do need to demonstrate what it is that the Labour Party knew, what it did about those claims that were brought to it. That will be dealt with as well.

    "But now is the time, rather than having this contested in the public domain, which does not serve the complainants, that is the place for those things to be dealt with."

    She acknowledged that the situation was brought into the public domain due to a failure of the Labour Party's internal processes, when complainants believed they were not getting redress.

    • Formerly Ross 15.1

      She said Mr Mitchell's statement was motivated by a desire to defend a reputation, but that no one was served by this.

      Mr Mitchell is clearly served by defending himself regards the insinuation that he and his fellow inquiry members have been slack and have misled the PM. He is permitted to refute that insinuation.

      • Sacha 15.1.1

        'Permitted' by who though? Tacit and structural power is at the core of situations like these.

        • SHG 15.1.1.1

          But an important white male lawyer can't be publicly contradicted by a young woman. Such a thing cannot be allowed to stand – no matter what Jacinda says about avoiding a trial by media.

          [lprent: Not what anyone, including me, has been saying at all. What they have said is that individuals who have had an allegation of lying made against them in public have the right to refute it in public regardless who it is. If you wish to address that, then please do so rather than dick waving the snarky comments.

          BTW: If you want to get booted from here, then please keep lying. I’m getting a bit sick and tired of you spinning things. I’d prefer to keep warning until I can ban you permanently. So please take all of the rope you want.

          This is you first warning… ]

    • Incognito 15.2

      More concise: STFU!

  16. formerly ross 16

    What this issue demonstrates is that when there’s a leadership spillage in the National Party, as there will be, Paula won’t be standing by her man but will be gunning for his job.

  17. Booker 17

    The minute Paula Bennett strangely turned up as somehow privy to secret information about an internal Labour Party issue I started to worry.

    Is this another Donghui Liu affair which will turn out to be fabricated? I hope not because there are very real problems with people being able to open up and report sexual assault, but would I put it past National to misuse the #metoo movement and the increasing tendency to view accusations as guilty until proven innocent to their political advantage? Of course I wouldn’t, because they have a history of disgusting acts.

    Now it seems we have a PM who says the first she heard of sexual assault was in the Spinoff (and yes I fully believe her on that), the party head says they handled the complaints appropriately, and is now gone, the Parliamentary staffer says they didn’t do it, and now they’re gone, the lawyer involved says they can prove sexual assault was not mentioned in any complaints, and the media are having a field day.

    National have a history of using media partners to defame Labour, and I hope for the wellbeing of our society they haven’t stooped this low…. but this is really getting dodgy.

    • Dennis Frank 17.1

      You mean all those complainants (12 according to one report) aren't really members of the Labour Party, it's just media aligned with National claiming they are? I thought it was an internal Labour process that produced the complaints. I don't see how National could conjure that up. Making the complainants anonymous does help create public speculation that they are National plants, but really it's too much of a stretch.

      Paula's just being opportunistic: complainants need someone to fight from their corner, due to the lack of victim's advocates in the process, so seems unsurprising that they asked for her help to advance their complaints.

      • Booker 17.1.1

        Who in their right mind would go to Paula Bennett for help with this!? Going to see Little Miss “I’ll leak personal details when it’s to my political advantage” about a sexual assault complaint?

        • Incognito 17.1.1.1

          Who says it was meant to be a strictly logical and rational decision?

          Maybe it was one of those chance situations, e.g. another person (PB?) at a particular time and place? Or something that got picked up by chance and one thing leads to another?

          Almost everybody seems to be scratching their heads and searching for logical rational answers or explanations when there might not be (m)any – human behaviour is much more influenced by emotional and sub-conscious impulses than we like to acknowledge or admit. In hindsight, we often try to ‘rationalise’ our actions but we are kidding ourselves by putting a nice spin on things to feel better or less bad about ourselves – we are more ‘skilled’ at this than we realise, IMHO.

    • Sacha 17.2

      Cluthcing at straws. This is Labour's mess to sort out.

  18. Alan 18

    well said Dennis, suggesting that this is a National Conspiracy is laughable.

    [lprent: Perhaps you could try to use the Reply button? Hard to know who are responding to because of your simple incompetence. Dennis Frank perhaps…]

    • Kat 18.1

      You may be right Alan, to design and carry out such a Machiavellian and sordid conspiracy National would most likely require some outside assistance, similar to "Dirty Politics". They couldn't possibly be that stupid……..could they. Yes just being "opportunistic" must be the sole reason.

      • JohnP 18.1.1

        This sudden belief that Simon Bridges' National Party would suddenly become expertly competent manipulators of members of Young Labour, having spent the last two years failing to distinguish between their arse and their elbow, is certainly remarkable.

  19. ianmac 19

    Q2 was interesting. Paula Bennett had questions disallowed, warned about question aimed to be disallowed so she could use them in public using Parliamentary privilege. Did it once too often then lost the rest of her questions.

    The final response from Jacinda was brilliant. Re what actions are benefitting the complainants. Should be posted on every news outlet.

    https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=208832
    Specially from about 4:40

    • Sacha 19.1

      Yes, quite the performance. I wonder why questions ruled out of order would be subsequently covered by privilege?

    • Formerly Ross 19.2

      Yes, Paula's questions didn't get any traction and she was effectively wasting Parliament’s time. But I was surprised that the PM seemed to get Louise Nicholas's name wrong.

  20. McFlock 20

    This could be cover-up, bluff, crossed wires, misunderstandings, all sorts of stuff. We won't know until after the inquiry comes out.

    But after Howarth's abrupt resignation, I think the appropriate expression is "once bitten, twice shy".

    • Sacha 20.1

      after Howarth's abrupt resignation, I think the appropriate expression is "once bitten, twice shy".

      Or 'twice bitten, once dead'.

  21. Marcus Morris 21

    Not sure if this has already been said or not, my apologies if it has, but this whole nasty saga has Crosby Textor all over it and Bennett would be a very willing tool for them. Attack politics relies on spreading fake news and innuendo as widely as possible in the sure knowledge that some of it will stick. Mitchell had no option than to go public – Bennett forced him into this by naming him – I am a little disappointed that Jacinda admonished his actions in her press meeting yesterday.

  22. Kat 22

    Marcus, I am very impressed how Jacinda cleverly admonished further public litigation in her press meeting yesterday.

    [lprent: This site has nested comments – if you want to reply to someone then use the reply link. Otherwise your moronic trolling comment gets even more meaningless after a few intelligent people have actually used the reply facility. ]

    • Kat 22.1

      Please accept my apology for not pressing the reply facility.

      "moronic trolling comment…." I think its best if I leave you with that one.

  23. Matthew Hooton's site has gone offline… http://www.exceltium.com/
    How strange.

  24. peterh 24

    There has been a huge amount of stuff said and written about this, the only thing we can be sure about is there is a conflict between a male staff member and several female staff members, and two people have resigned , when this is sorted there is going to be a hell of a lot of people who have made statements that will be proved to be wrong, well good luck to them

    • ianmac 24.1

      peterh: The most outspoken in Bennett's team will cry, foul, whitewash, coverup and certainly won't apologise for the hurt to the complainants.

  25. peterlepaysan 25

    Some actual facts would be useful.

  26. JustMe 26

    Out of all this, and in my opinion, Paula Bennett is coming across as someone who lacks morals or let alone any sense of credibility. She is opportunistic and of course self-serving. She is someone I wouldn't trust as far as I would like to throw her. How a so-called office worker in parliament would want to go to her or let alone trust her considering her past track record really beggars belief???!!!!!

    I have also completely switched off from reading the tabloid NZ herald(deliberate putting the word herald in lower case here). Its(the heralds) almost religious obsession to take down Jacinda Ardern and the government is coming across as highly hypocritical especially as they(the herald)lacked any voice of condemnation when John Key was pulling mostly young human females ponytails, Aaron Gilmore was bullying a waiter, Paul Foster Bells workplace bullying and Paula Bennett's breach of the right to privacy for beneficiaries that criticised the National government of the day, Gerry Brownlees's 'running late for a plane', Bill English demeaning NZers by telling us we are living beyond our means whilst he was 'too busy' Double Dipping.

    The level of mainstream media involvement in events now that shows how clearly and deeply the mainstream NZ media are into the NZ National Party pocket is concerning.

    I request a major review or enquiry is lodged in regards to the political influence a previous government has on the mainstream NZ media because it's dangerous and shows how manipulative the mainstream NZ media has become especially at the whim of the NZ National Party.

    If the mainstream NZ media are allowed to continue in the manner they are then I think all NZers should be worried. A controlled media who are in the pocket of a political party that conducted witch-hunts on those journalists that deeply questioned especially intelligently the antics of the past National government and is still under the total control of the NZ National Party to this day is a media that is rotten to the core.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    4 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    7 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    8 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    10 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    13 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    15 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    18 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
  • 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
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T10:25:55+00:00