Arrival

Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, October 9th, 2017 - 61 comments
Categories: Deep stuff, film, greens, political alternatives, sustainability - Tags: , ,

This Guest Post is by Standardista Incognito.

Spoiler alert: reading this may spoil the fun watching the movie Arrival for the first time!

In the recent movie Arrival aliens land on Mother Earth. Well, technically, they don’t actually land but their ‘ships’ just hover in the air like giant upright cumin seeds. As usual, us humans want to know whether they’re here to eat us, use as incubators for their offspring, or simply kills us for fun – yes, we’re a trusting bunch; I wonder where we get this from – and the simplest way to find out is to ask (strike me down with a feather!). This is why the heroine gets recruited; a young single female professor of linguistics (jawohl, mein Herr!) heading a crack team of specialists to learn how to communicate with the aliens before we shoot them back into space (this was before Trump became POTUS; he’d use Twitter to communicate with aliens). The hard-science physicist in the movie is male, of course, and looks like your average Hollywood actor adding a little bit of romance so not much stereotyping (another ‘quirk’ of our language) there either.

The aliens, who happen to be a cross between giant octopus and jellyfish (but they’re given nicknames so all is good – for now), have a weird alienesque way of communicating but us humans are so darn clever that we figure it out! As it turns out, the aliens are here to give us a ‘tool’ or ‘weapon’ and here the proverbial Babylonian confusion of tongues surrounding words, language, interpretation, and meaning starts to backfire; all trigger-happy world leaders (that’s all the ones with nukes BTW) are ready to bunker down and nuke them aliens.

Fortunately, our heroine is a quick learner and has become rather fluent in the alien language and can now interpret the past as well as the future as a result – the language is strangely holistic and conceptual compared to ours, which is linear and starts at the top left, going to the right, with punctuation, etc., to convey rather basic meaning. This happens to be the tool/weapon that the aliens were giving humankind (don’t ask; apparently, the aliens will need our help in 3,000 years’ time). One of the messages is that mankind has to work together or face uncertainty, which is like facing doom, of course.

So, in effect, the aliens gave us nothing in a literal sense but taught us something (a language, which is a bit of an anti-climax for those who might be expecting something more tangible or ‘grandiose’) that we humans were capable of all along. The key is in language, perception (of space & time), communication, and true collaboration. In short: unity, which naturally encapsulates the concept of belonging. There are several interpretations doing the rounds about knowing the future, e.g. it is meant to be and we go along for the ride and experience & enjoy (or suffer) the consequences or it is open-ended and subject to change because of free will (yes, that old chestnut again).

For quite some time now neoliberalism and free market speak have pervaded our lives and invaded our language, perception, and communication as well as stifled true collaboration and killed off community spirit. In short: disunity and separation. There have been calls for change; calls that are getting stronger (and more desperate). Several people have suggested the need for a new narrative, a new language, to replace the free market speak and help us see our world (space & time) and our place in the world (meaning of life) in a new light. People are story-tellers and we need a new story in order to discard the old one or build on it rather – a new chapter – because almost nothing is as compelling as a story that is embedded and enforced in (daily) experience even when it does not stack up against reality because stories reflect our beliefs of how things are and/or ought to be …

Recently, the Green Movement (no, this is not a Borg Hive full of slimy green aliens) arrived here on Mother Earth. Well, technically, they have been here for some time but were largely ignored because they were judged pretty harmless tree huggers and earth rooters although they also talk about alienesque things such as climate change, environment & eco-system, sustainability, holistic, social justice & equality, tolerance, diversity, democracy, community, post-capitalism, etc. But they appeared non-threatening to us non-trusting humans and we gave them nicknames so all was good – till now.

The message of the Greens is the same though: we have to work together for all mankind and this planet or else … You don’t have to be an alien versed in future-knowing holistic language to know what is going to happen in the future, according to the Greens. In fact, you don’t even need to be a linguistics professor with a crack team. The message is simple: learn this new language (not a second one at Primary School) and change your ways, or not, as you wish, in the full knowledge of the consequences.

There is one slight problem though. Although it is a story this is not a movie!! The Greens are working on a new comprehensive & integrated language to replace unfettered capitalism and to achieve this task they need our collective help now, not in 3,000 years’ time. Meanwhile, some fearful people are chomping at the bit to (politically) destroy & annihilate the Greens (the messengers) because capitalism and greed is good, you know. The Greens are calling for unity to save this planet from the insidious destructive power unleashed by us humans that has been desecrating the environment & invaluable eco-systems – please note: not just (!) limited to the causes of climate change – and literally & figuratively been destroying lives as well as causing accelerated extinction of whole species. All we need to do is to develop and speak a new darn language! Our first words will be like a baby’s first utterances, we won’t all learn at the same rate – we have to respect this; we need to guide and help each other – and we won’t all become fluent. How hard can it be …

Post-script: The director of Arrival is Denis Villeneuve who also directed Blade Runner 2049.

The Greens are not the only ones trying to develop a new narrative that is appropriate for the crises we are facing.

61 comments on “Arrival ”

  1. Robert Guyton 1

    Light Green, dark Green, shallow Green, deep Green, forest Green, field Green, young Green, old Green, overt Green, covert Green?
    Which Green?

  2. Bill 2

    Well, the Greens may or may not be suggesting something beyond capitalism. Sometimes they embrace socialist ideas and concepts and sometimes they’re happy enough to embrace capitalist ones.

    What they don’t do on those occasions when they do drop the ideological chains of capitalism and markets (and this is a positive observation) is offer up any concepts, approaches or ideas that aren’t rooted in socialist thought.

    So yeah, not quite sure where you’re getting the idea that a wheel is being invented from Incognito.

    • weka 2.1

      I think the post is pointing to wider green politics and its pushing beyond traditional left/right, capitalist/socialist political framing. Hence the need to learn the new language.

      The Greens in NZ obviously have to work within a neoliberal political system that has potential to move more towards social democracy, and they’ve chosen to work pragmatically by getting as close to governmental power as they can without compromising their principles.

      But the Charter clearly talks about things that are not the norm in mainstream politics. Using decision making processes that empower the people affected by those decisions. That humans are part of nature (which can sound either self-evident or can open the way to a very different way for humans to organise especially in relationship to the rest of nature aka what we call resources). Non-violence.

      Those things can be taken at face value, or they can be part of a deeper understanding of green politics on its own terms. To do that requires learning a new language.

      • Bill 2.1.1

        Using decision making processes that empower… – socialist.
        That humans are part of nature – socialist.
        Non-violence – socialist.

        ie – very much part and parcel of some major strands of socialist thought/philosophy.

        So no need for any “new language”… the wheel has already been invented and just needs attaching to an appropriate vehicle.

        • weka 2.1.1.1

          Yet there is a language that green politics uses that I think you don’t yet recognise exists independently from socialist thought (although I agree there are overlaps).

          For instance, humans being part of nature in its deeper sense isn’t something I’ve seen from socialists, but would be interested in some reference points so I can compare.

          I’ve seen non-violence concepts from native peoples that aren’t based in socialism. Again, there are overlaps but I don’t see them as interchangeable.

          When I learned te reo I was able to understand thing about Te Ao Māori (and the world in general) that I couldn’t understand before. There is a decolonising of the mind that happens with all those (socialism, green politics, indigenous thinking), but I would say that necessitates learning three languages not assuming that one covers the others.

          • Bill 2.1.1.1.1

            Murray Bookchin would be reasonable place to go to get a taste for socialism’s “deeper sense” of nature. And you could (if you really wanted, though I don’t recommend it) have a look at some of the Primitivist stuff – or delve into the writings of the earlier anarchists/socialists for stuff.

            Overlaps. Sure. I don’t know of any political thought/philosophy that sits in splendid isolation. That appears to be somewhat the case being made by Incognito for ‘The Greens’, not the case being made by me for any particular strand of socialist thought.

            • Incognito 2.1.1.1.1.1

              I do indeed argue that a new language is needed by which I mean to include a new story & narrative. You’ll note that many others are making similar arguments, all from their respective angles. For example, and coincidentally, ANZ chief economist Cameron Bagrie said:

              New Zealand’s economy is in a transition of old economic drivers stepping aside for a new “social-justice” version of capitalism.

              https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/97609526/primary-sector-well-placed-as-economy-undergoes-transition

              George Monbiot is another example of someone who’s been arguing for a new language and narrative, e.g. http://www.monbiot.com/2017/08/11/natural-language/

              or

              But because we have failed to understand what is possible, and above all failed to replace our tired political stories with a new, compelling narrative of transformation and restoration, we have failed to realise this potential.

              http://www.monbiot.com/2017/09/11/how-do-we-get-out-of-this-mess/

              There are so many other examples …

              But the general shortcoming, if you like, of these arguments, notwithstanding how compelling they may sound and how much they may resonate, is that they remain linear, hierarchical, and reductionist IMO. I’d include in this criticism recent political events in the USA and UK that appeared to gain traction in generating movement & momentum and a chance of progressive changes.

              By default, as a direct consequence, such reductionism and associated limited concepts lead to a one-sided view. Correspondingly, lack of imagination and creativity will never lead to real, meaningful and long-term solutions that are sustainable. In fact, they become just variations on a theme, which is exactly the familiar pattern that we have been seeing over the years; plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose …

              I believe that the greens are ahead of all those others in that they are trying to reconcile the environment, social justice, and economy into one comprehensive and integrated story with its own unique language. Obviously, this language integrates existing elements but new concepts will emerge and (truly) new ways of thinking not just variations on an all-too-familiar theme.

              Does this make (more) sense?

              • Bill

                Does this make (more) sense?

                Yes and no. Yes insofar as a new narrative needs to be articulated. Within the confines of capitalism (as I’ve argued before) that can only be a variation on liberal capitalism or social democratic capitalism.

                That’s where I see the Greens – straddling those capitalistic possibilities.

                Beyond that, on the basis they recently had a self identifying anarchist as a co-leader (as well as formerly having prominent MPs from the more recognisably radical side of the tracks), I’d posit a guess there is or has been some strand within the Green Party quietly trying to push beyond capitalist mind sets.

                But a unique language? I know of no examples and on the off-chance you could provide an example or two, I’d question the point of it. Politics is about communication, not obfuscation.

                Anyway, something I stumbled across yesterday after sign-posting Bookchin (above) was a reiteration of something I’ve generally been critical of the Greens for.

                Unless growth is traced to its basic source-competition in a market society-the demand for controlling growth is meaningless as well as unattainable. (Bookchin – “Death of a Small Planet”)

                I believe the broader Green movement just doesn’t grasp that – what with recurring talk of “green growth” and whatever.

                • Incognito

                  Thanks for the reply and I’ll try (very hard) to be brief.

                  FWIW, I also believe we need to push beyond capitalism.

                  One example of a unique language that comes to mind is neoliberalism and market speak and how these have invaded our language (and thinking). My argument is, and I am parroting others, that we need a new narrative/language and not a counter-narrative (e.g. anti-capitalism), which would be akin the pendulum swinging to the opposite extreme that is equally bad, but something that rises above and goes beyond the current one (e.g. post-capitalism, TBA).

                  I’ll read the Bookchin piece later but may thanks for the link.

  3. tracey 3

    The fact that four guys, including a former Green Leader, sat on a panel yesterday and thought there needed to be rules, legislated, for how to talk to each other, was telling to me.

    • weka 3.1

      What did you think? (I just watched it and am having to recover from agreeing with Prebble).

  4. lurgee 4

    I think the Greens would do better if they dropped all this sort of waffle and adopted a more hard-headed approach to politics.

    Green supporters have argued that Green politics is an irreducible whole and you can’t have the environmental bit without the social reform bit and vice versa. It’s High Church stuff, not something you commoners can understand. That seems, to me, to be a fairly obvious attempt to keep their special little party out of the mainstream, so there can be footstamping and “I told you so”-ing when things go wrong; but no real commitment to actually stopping them going wrong in the first place.

    What percentage of New Zealanders actually buy into the Green philosophy? i think many would be attracted to a generalised environmental movement, shorn of its quasi-religious Gaia-ism. I don’t think the vanishingly small percentage who actually buy into the whole Green package will actually ever be a significant force in New Zealand politics, so the Greens – or at least environmentalists – should have a think about what that means. The only way to actually influence is power, whether actual or de facto. The way to power is to maximise vote share and support. Maximising vote share and support means offering a manifesto that lots of people will support, not one that will appeal to the composting toilet brigade.

    • weka 4.1

      “The only way to actually influence is power,”

      So says the old boys paradigm.

      Your comment is full of rhetoric designed to marginalise, but seems incapable of engaging with the issues presented. Maybe you don’t understand them (fair enough) or maybe they upset you. But the whole ‘you’re a bunch of whatevers who will never do any good unless you become the establishment’ is precisely why the Greens need to exist 🙂

      Change always comes from the edge first.

      • lurgee 4.1.1

        Your comment is full of rhetoric designed to marginalise, but seems incapable of engaging with the issues presented.

        (Some of) the Greens supporters’ rhetoric seems designed to insure they are marginalised and thus incapable of engaging with the issues confronting us.

        Maybe you don’t understand them (fair enough) or maybe they upset you. But the whole ‘you’re a bunch of whatevers who will never do any good unless you become the establishment’ is precisely why the Greens need to exist 🙂

        Or maybe I am frustrated at seeing insufficient progress in the face of onrushing calamity.

        Change always comes from the edge first.

        Fiddling while Rome burns, and all that.

        We’ve been waiting quite a long time and the Greens are still in the margins, and not changing much.

        And I don’t accept that they have influenced other parties and made them Green by default, because a) the major parties are not very green, by and large, and b) where they have become a bit green in places, its probably in spite of, not because of, the Greens.

        • Steve 4.1.1.1

          The other day i emailed a reply to ask Greenpeace, why it was,that they made their focus, on banning the use of “single use” bags. I said, why not push for adoption of single use paper bags as an ok replacement?. That way you’ll more than likely have loads more people happy in getting behind you.I said , its better,perhaps, that you wouldn’t want to overlook the fact that not everyone will “always” be able to pre plan their weekly shopping

          They never even returned a reply to me.Evidently the only time i’m worth approaching is when they are after my support and/or money donations.Anyway, i’ve now unsubscribed from their emails.Why would i continue to support them?.It seem mighty obvious, to me anyway, they don’t give a damn what anyone else may think about things they do.Don’t care to even reply?

          Years ago.We even used to use flax products in NZ. Flax possibly makes good strong paper.And whats even better, flax help to provide “wildlife habitat” and water buffer zones that might otherwise end up being drained.But, in my opinion Greenys don’t seem to often want to help produce some incentive “along” with their schemes.They far rather just go straight for the throat with demands.And then if they feel too many people are too slow to agree to “jump” on their band wagon.Those folk are just the blatantly bloody-un-thoughtful folk too evidently

          I didn’t this past election.And i wont be voting green party, ever again either,unless i see change. I’d like to vote Greens.I’ve always been a real staunch conservationist,at heart, my whole life.But, i feel, i’ve seen too much silly shit happen, that in effect has helped to cause harm that had actually need not need to happen

    • RedLogix 4.2

      Seen the movie twice now (both times on awful cattle class flights over the Pacific) … and what an excellent movie! Inspiring exactly as Incognito describes and highly recommended.

      It’s a sleeper, starting low key but gently building to the most excellent climax and twist at the end. Also … spot the New Zealand reference at one point.

      The idealist in me loves this kind of thing, but how this might translate into real politics is something I too struggle with. Lurgee has a real point, it’s good to think about this kind of thing, but ultimately politics (as distinct from value systems) is about negotiating concrete interests with people who don’t share your values and watched the movie only half-way before they channel flipped.

      • weka 4.2.1

        That is true, but where Lurgee’s argument fails is that he suggests that the GP are crap at being pragmatic. I can’t see any evidence of that in his comment. What I see are a bunch of slurs and pejoratives that tell me he doesn’t like their values or ways of operating.

        Worse, his argument appears to be that the Greens should become mainstream to gain power. But from a Green pov, the mainstream view is the problem (e.g. climate change), and so they seek change not power as a primary motivator. The priority is to make NZ mainstream more Green not to make Green more mainstream. What would be the point of gaining power if you had to become like National or Labour and thus lose the policies that would affect the change you desire? It just doesn’t make sense.

        • Ad 4.2.1.1

          At 6% and close to power the most pragmatic thing the Green MPs could do is exactly what they are doing: not make too much noise, wait for the argy-bargy to die down, and get as much influence you can once it’s settled.

          Maybe it’s not ‘being tough’, maybe they are simply tacticlaly smart, and I would prefer to believe the latter under Shaw.

          Maybe next election if they get a better result, tear up the Labour compact, and get ready to deal as a player rather than letting Labour do it all for them.

        • JanM 4.2.1.2

          Exactly – ‘for what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul’

        • Steve 4.2.1.3

          “What would be the point of gaining power if you had to become like National or Labour and thus lose the policies that would affect the change you desire? It just doesn’t make sense.”

          No real need.They already doing well enough on their own steam anyway

          Green party have often become their own worst enemy.They demand everyone (jump on their bandwagon) agree to “work in” with them,while in return Green party still refuse to work-in with the very people that they also ask to agree to be voting for them

          This perhaps “help” to explain why they haven’t done so well,so far, as they might have?. No sense comes from trying to “demonize” everyone, and “pretend” as if perhaps folks really must only ever want money

          • weka 4.2.1.3.1

            I have no idea what you are referring to. I have noticed that you have a beef about the Greens and greenies in general that is based in anecdotes about how they haven’t responded to you personally in ways that you want. I find it helpful to not tie political parties into personal gratification that way.

            • Steve 4.2.1.3.1.1

              That’s where (i feel) you are wrong Weka.If i’m the only one, with which the Greens wont respond.Like you say.Then this still wont help to explain, why it is, that they still seem to get so few votes.Will it? .

              Miles of NewZealanders would love to feel they could afford to vote Greens.We cannot.The Greens seem to continually forget to take a pragmatically balanced approach

              Now perhaps this can help explain why the Green get so few votes.Or do you feel, NewZealander are generally slash and burn demon type folk?

              • weka

                There’s lots of reasons why the GP vote dropped, or hasn’t risen in the past. But honestly, if you take umbrage at an organisation not replying to a random email, and then attempt to tie that to politics, it makes me think you have an issue with greenies. I’ve had the Greens not respond to emails, I just assumed they were busy.

                “Miles of NewZealanders would love to feel they could afford to vote Greens.We cannot.The Greens seem to continually forget to take a pragmatically balanced approach”

                By all means make the case for that. I don’t see it myself.

                “Or do you feel, NewZealander are generally slash and burn demon type folk?”

                Plenty are. Plenty aren’t. The Greens are leading edge, that’s not going to be comfortable for many people.

                • Steve

                  Oh well.I’ll bow out, and leave you to it.But it seems pretty obvious loads of people must have issues with voting Greens.Votes (action) tend to speak far-louder than words ever do?

                  “Plenty aren’t.”

                  Correct.So where is that correlating Green vote gone to then?

                  No sense in Greens not waking up.I know of loads of people down south,all still Greenys at heart,conservationist landowners yet wont vote for the Green party.Feel it would be mighty silly to continue to do so.Far too much like voting for arm chair conservationist.We watched as loads of land was turned over into pasture.For valid reason we couldn’t argue with.Why? ,because we were also being faced with the same problem ourselves too (huge land rate rises)

                  Green party is doomed.Unless it become more pragmatic in its approach.Conservation will still be bound to continue, but it may be other parties that may become far more “progressively” involved.

                  At the Green parties loss

                  • weka

                    The Greens just got Labour to front foot on environmental issues. That’s how the Greens effect change. It’s not a loss for the Greens, it’s a win.

      • Phil 4.2.2

        Weka, as I see it the fundamental problem is our current economic system which is a pyramid scheme that requires growth because the vast majority of money is created as debt. This drives the obsession with economic growth which in turn drives population growth (the easiest way to achive economic growth) and the destruction of the worlds ecosystems including via climate change.

        Many people seem to forget that the economy is a human construct and that we are free to choose an economic system that achieves whatever we wish. I would say that the current system which gives 8 individuals the same wealth as the poorest 50% of the worlds population is a very undesirable one.

      • Incognito 4.2.3

        Some people argue that politics is (about) conflict resolution. The movie was all about conflict resolution at different levels (e.g. personal, team, national, global) and in different ways (e.g. collaboration, military action). And the movie was about making choices, whether you know the consequences or not, and fully accepting these. Not a huge gap to “real politics” to bridge, is it? I guess it depends whether you see political pragmatism and green ideology as light-years apart or as the two ends of the circular language of the aliens in the movie that don’t quite meet but are, in fact, very close; the small gap perhaps signifies the tension (or conflict) that can be bridged by choice and free will …

    • Incognito 4.3

      I do understand what you’re saying and that it may all sound too esoteric to be ever accepted as mainstream. This is why I think the greens and others need to work on creating and moulding a compelling story that resonates with the “commoners”. It has been done before with socio-economic and political ideologies and there is no logical reason as to why it cannot be done again. Once it is there the language will ‘speak for itself’; it will not be highbrow, sciency, or quasi-religious although it may invoke these kinds of sentiments with some, initially. Once people realise that the greens are about inclusivity, not acting at the expense of others or the environment, and unity that paradoxically encourages diversity and individuality I think it will have a much larger appeal.

      If the greens drop the ball and become a “generalised environmental movement” then somebody else will take over the quest – it is only inevitable.

      • weka 4.3.1

        Do you think such a story can be constructed deliberately? (as opposed to arising organically albeit with some intervention).

  5. savenz 5

    Labour and Greens have a tendency to become obsessed by micro issues that they campaign on, but are NOT pressing issues that most people are concerned about.

    The ‘warm dry’ house campaign for example. Prisoners are housed in warm dry accomodation but not something anybody aspires to. Freedom and human rights are more important and democracy is under threat at present. Getting a home is more pressing if you are homeless . Trying to keep your job to pay for your home with zero security is more important than the state of the home.

    Last election Labour became obsessed by first home buyers, again a very niche group. This election Greens became obsessed by beneficiaries and having the most female MP’s on their list (a Clinton moment). Who the F cares? I’d prefer hearing about policy that helps women (or even better, people) from the Greens than self congratulation about numbers of MP’s. Most people were more impressed when Jacinda told the MSM to politely F off when asking about her maternity aspirations.

    If the Greens want to stay in power, they need to really focus on what went wrong this election and communicate the bigger picture. Go back to being Green in the environmental sense and freedom in the societal sense. We need the Greens – they are the future.

  6. mlpc 6

    I think this piece confuses The Greens and the greens.

    The Greens aren’t environmentalists who want to save the planet. They are a combination of crypto-anarchists and anti-capitalists, for whom the environment is secondary.

    But it would good to have a strong environmentalist party.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 6.1

      Prior to returning to Wellington in 2010, Shaw worked in the consulting division at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Between 2011 and 2014, Shaw worked as both a consultant for HSBC bank on “environmental awareness programmes for future leaders” and also at Wellington social enterprise the Akina Foundation.

      So that’s what an anti-capitalist crypto-anarchist looks like these days! Good to know 🙄

      On a more serious note, get your amygdala checked. It’s making you look like a scared little moron.

      • mlpc 6.1.1

        Shaw was a management consultant. So what? Stalin trained for the priesthood.

        And, on an even more serious note, drop the persona; abuse. Did no one ever tell you it means you have lost the argument?

        • One Anonymous Bloke 6.1.1.1

          Too funny. You call the Greens names but the moment it gets turned around you suddenly discover the ad hominem fallacy. So we can add hypocrisy to delusions and stupidity.

          That’s a criticism of your behaviour, by the way, not a personal attack. Suck it up.

          All you’ve revealed here today is that you have no idea what the Green Party’s policies are. Either that, or you wouldn’t recognise an anarchist anti-capitalist if one set your lawn on fire.

          • weka 6.1.1.1.1

            Is ‘crypto-anarchist’ and ‘anti-capitalist’ name calling?

            • In Vino 6.1.1.1.1.1

              Yes it is – and mlpc shows in that comment that he (?) has no understanding of the Green movement – only his (?) own wishful thinking.

            • One Anonymous Bloke 6.1.1.1.1.2

              Applying labels to people is straight out of the ad hominem playbook. There’s nothing substantive in Mlpc’s remarks whatsoever.

              Mapp does it too: we’re “Standarnistas”, and that’s a rebuttal of our arguments, apparently.

              Edit: comment made prior to seeing R/L’s moderation. Having a low opinion of someone’s unsubstantiated pejorative comments is a bannable offence? Or is it cuss words? I’m none the wiser. Then again, my word isn’t worth shit either: thought that was the point of the policy about unsupported assertions of fact.

              [RL: Quibble all you want, but it was the unnecessary aggro that earned the holiday.]

              • weka

                I think you should have been given a warning, but each moderator has their own limit re the aggro and it’s not like this isn’t a pattern with you.

        • Robert Guyton 6.1.1.2

          “Shaw was a management consultant. So what?”
          Is every politician’s previous occupation and training made redundant by your “so what?” filter, mlpc? Can we apply it to the politicians you favour? Could you give us a name to try it on?

    • Ed 6.2

      The economy relies on the environment,

      • mlpc 6.2.1

        Quite so. But it is naive to imagine that The Greens can manage either, or even want to.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 6.2.1.1

          Says who? Your word isn’t worth shit.

          [RL: Take a week off until 17/9. You know better.]

        • weka 6.2.1.2

          They do want to, and they have a competent, costed set of policies that show that.

        • Robert Guyton 6.2.1.3

          Why do you say that, mlpc? What details of Green management brings you to your conclusion?

    • greywarshark 6.3

      So Rw. Diss the people who have been cursed in all ways for decades for being the only continuing environmentalist party, and say wistfully it would be good to have one! mlpc you are a real mlpc.

    • Incognito 6.4

      If you are correct, and you might well be, then I am not talking about The Greens. And if the greens are “a strong environmentalist party”, as you seem to suggest they are or should be, then I am not talking about them either. I was talking about the ‘message’ rather than the ‘messenger’. Words (e.g. labels, stereotypes) do sometimes get in the way of meanings, intentions, and concepts …

      Edit: you could check out the link in the post-script; it has nothing with either The Greens or the greens 😉

  7. Ant 7

    A new narrative which places the needs of the planet first, (and thus our own) no matter how skilfully presented, (I nearly said marketed) is faced with the formidable hurdle of human selfishness. To replace “what’s in it for me” with “what’s in it for us” overlooks that most of us are programmed to short-term goals and survival.

    Despite dire and convincing persuasion by climatologists over the past few decades we persist in voting in climate-insensitive governments. Rene Dubos (So Human an Animal) laments our extraordinary ability to adapt to worsening conditions rather than taking collective steps to initiate genuine transformation.

    Ethologists weigh in with the illuminating example of rats presented with 3 runways, – only one with cheese at the end. Attaining success on runway no. 2 the rat will go down no 2 a second and a third time. If the cheese is moved to runway 1, the rat will abandon runway 2 early on and trial the others. The extrapolation (sadly) is that humans will persist down runway 2 indefinitely, as being right is more important than securing the cheese.

    A huge responsibility rests with those who have moved beyond the competitive consciousness to the cooperative one. It needs to be demonstrated as viable in terms of inspiration, stimulation and life-style satisfaction. If sufficient numbers of us can be seen “getting the cheese” it may just be catching.

    • Incognito 7.1

      Thank you for your comments, which I agree with to a point. Briefly, I believe that we can do some (?) re-programming and move beyond the ‘basics’ of short-term goals & survival. Quite similar to Jung’s concept of individuation, for example.

      I’ll just leave with a quote by Mahatma Gandhi:

      Your beliefs become your thoughts,

      Your thoughts become your words,

      Your words become your actions,

      Your actions become your habits,

      Your habits become your values,

      Your values become your destiny.

  8. Robert Guyton 8

    When soldering, the application of a flux helps the hot iron draw the solder along the line needed to create the join. I see The Greens as both flux and hot iron. In my imagination.

    • Incognito 8.1

      You have a fascinating imagination, I must say 😉

      • Robert Guyton 8.1.1

        I’d expected someone to respond, “For flux sake!”
        “And in his brain he hath strange places crammed with observation”
        Comment assigned to me in House of Residence Yearbook. Today, I discovered that the full quote (Shakespearean) runs:
        “And in his brain, Which is as dry as the remainder biscuit After a voyage, he hath strange places crammed With observation”
        Ha!!

  9. Stuart Munro 9

    There is something of consensus among political pundits (not an entirely reliable source) that recent elections here and in the UK illustrate a kind of watershed or cleavage from neo-liberalism, which has been the reigning paradigm (at least in the dominant media) for perhaps three or four decades.

    One potential of the Greens lies in offering an alternative movement politics, complete with a more inclusive vision of community and the environment. This would appropriately develop in a devolved fashion – sharing cuttings or other renewable resources across the back fence more than theory out of the contemporary progressive ‘intelligentsia’. It is the truly broad based movement rather than the telegenic leadership that typically engages with the more significant public concerns and muddles its way through the messy business of creating workable solutions.

    • Robert Guyton 9.1

      Spot on, Stuart.

    • Incognito 9.2

      I agree, although the issues go back further than neoliberalism, which IMO coincided with other changes occurring and speeding things up to a kind of ‘tipping point’. The “watershed” of recent is, in my view, that more people are now openly talking and discussing a breakaway from neoliberalism (and capitalism) as a possibility. This creates the future and reality because once you think it is possible it becomes possible, i.e. ‘believing is seeing’. And then it comes down to the further choices we make …

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • 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 ...
    57 mins 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
    1 hour 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 ...
    2 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
    2 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
    3 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
    6 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    8 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
    9 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
    11 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
    23 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 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
    7 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
    7 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
    21 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days 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
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
    This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti.  Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T04:03:36+00:00