At home with David Cunliffe

Written By: - Date published: 10:38 pm, May 12th, 2014 - 117 comments
Categories: leadership - Tags:

A really nice piece from Campbell Live tonight. It’s useful to see the leaders of political parties at home. It gives a better sense of who they are than the stage-managed set pieces and soundbites we usually see them though.

And from the Campell Live piece it’s clear that David Cunliffe is the kind of decent bloke you’d want to be looking out for our interests. His wife Karen is extremely accomplished too. A perfect couple.

Looking forward to his chat here tomorrow evening.

Recommended viewing.

 

117 comments on “At home with David Cunliffe ”

  1. Mike the Savage One 1

    So far I had some doubts about David Cunliffe, but the Campbell Live visit to his and his wife Karen’s home, and the rather friendly conversation and general presentation have given me a more positive impression of the man leading Labour.

    His wife’s environmental passions do add to a positive flair about the Cunliffes. They will have their challenges too, I am sure, but I have gained more trust in David after seeing the program. He is not the smart acting “fake” John Key often is, David is actually a somewhat natural, and soft guy, who I would rather have as leader than the present PM.

    But then again, such shows performances may also be seen a bit like staged performances, are they not?

    At least David is able to be a reasonable contender for the job. Things may look up.

  2. Tamati 2

    Cheesy as anything. I can see why he was reluctant to do it in the first place. The last thing I want to watch when I’m cooking dinner is politicians cooking dinner.

    • Kevin Welsh 2.1

      Is that you John?

    • karol 2.2

      Did you watch the CL segment, then?

      Did it show Cunliffe cooking?

      • David H 2.2.1

        I saw him beating the batter for pikelets for the sons afternoon tea. As for food it was Fish n Chips and a beer while waiting. How more down to earth can you get?

        • karol 2.2.1.1

          Yes. I meant he wasn’t cooking dinner as Tamati implied.

          • Tracey 2.2.1.1.1

            good catch karol. i didnt watch it, was out, and didnt watch key. hence iha e no comment on it. tamati however

    • Mary 2.3

      Maybe you’re more into watching a prime minister wave cooking utensils abusively in front of their spouse’s face?

  3. Clemgeopin 3

    it was a very nice interview, just as those with Key, Hone and Norman were. Cunliffe and his wife,Karen, were very impressive. They responded very well to the questions when addressed.
    A great idea from Campbell Live to show our leaders in a different setting.

    • David H 3.1

      I have watched all of the At home with the leaders.

      Key well that looked forced sausages and eggs at his ‘beach house’ and the thing with the ponytail had me cringing.

      Hone Hawaria at their home. I have been watching Hone grow as a politician over the years now when he speaks people of all races listen.

      Russel Norman. At their home (and mung beans for Campbell) a good joke. I didn’t know he was married to Anna Paquins sister. The Greens have grown into a political force (no matter what Key shouts and blusters I think he’s scared)

      David and Karen. Well what to say. Nothing like what he has been portrayed by his opponents on both sides of the house. You can see the upbringing of the parsons household, gentle and quiet, non of the I’m important persona, that you get with Key. And to think David nearly followed his fathers choice of vocation. Lucky for NZ he didn’t.

      Now we have the rest to look forward to. Next Jamie Whyte.

  4. Kiwiri 4

    Lovely!

    I like that very much!!!

  5. Will@Welly 5

    Labour’s secret weapon. Karen – environmentalist, and look at the way she is able to turn her hand to virtually anything. Hens, bees, neighbours dropping off scraps in return for eggs, jam maker, pikelet maker. you name it she does it. None of this la-de-da farmers market $$$15-00 a pop an egg brigade for the Cunliffe’s.
    And I’d like to see John Key around a bee hive. It’d take more than an itsy tiny smoker to take the sting out of them if they knew he was around.

    • Ad 5.1

      She has stood by him through all the shit – much of it internal.
      So she’s David Cunliffe’ secret weapon, rather than Labour’s.

    • Rosie 5.2

      Behind every Great Man is a Great Woman! (but not one to be in that Great Man’s shadow, so better still, beside every Great Man is a Great Woman) Karen Price is a very impressive woman.

      Have really enjoyed seeing Rus Le Roq, Hone and David in their home settings, where their personal self can come to fore and they express their humanity differently from the political setting they operate in, which is normally the only way we can view them. It’s good to see where those individuals are coming from, as well where and how their foundation beliefs are formed.

      Wouldn’t want to see too much more though. Beyond that it could become voyeuristic and their lives at risk of being trivialised.

  6. Shorts 6

    I want to see more of the man Campbell filmed….

    That was a stunning piece, anyone who sees it will know why Cunliffe is a man to vote for! And wow his wife…. She was totally awesome!

    More of this please camp labour

  7. Stuart Munro 7

    I like him. He’ll make a great PM. Some of his coalition partners are pretty good too. Just as well, because there’s a lot of work to do.

  8. her 8

    How does having an education, a job, bees and chickens make you aggressive?

    He really is a little creep.

  9. Ad 9

    Post probably better titled “At home with Karen Price”

  10. Belladonna 10

    It was a lovely show and seems to have been well received by the media who seem at long last willing to speak positively about David. Karen is a real asset and came across as an impressive woman. I still need to hear Labour offer more help to low income people before I commit to Labour though. Beneficiaries are still not being offered much by Labour unlike low and middle income workers.
    Surely Labour need these votes and cant afford to ignore them.

    • karol 10.1

      Harawira’s at home on CL, was also excellent, showing him to be genuine, down-to-earth, and committed to helping Maori and all those on low incomes.

    • Mary 10.2

      How ever pleasant Cunliffe came across on tele last night won’t change the fact that Labour is not a party for the poor. As we’ve been constantly told for a long time now, Labour is a party for workers. Labour has of course always said that it’s a party for workers, it’s just that now when they say it beneficiaries are excluded. Once upon a time the distinction wasn’t made because unemployment was correctly viewed in structural not personal terms but Labour’s been sucked into believing right-wing generated propaganda that’s corroded our values as a nation so Labour too must now treat the poor with hatred and disdain because, after all, that’s what the general population believes so why not?

  11. amirite 11

    Good on David, he was somewhat subdued, taken away from the spotlight by his amazing wife – and it seems that he didn’t mind that at all. Much more natural than his performances in the House which sometimes sound too much like sermons.
    Just be yourself, David.

  12. Harry Holland 12

    I’m slightly embarrassed to confess that something as ‘soft’ as this has probably sealed my vote for Labour at my first election since resigning from 15 years of Green Party membership.

    • karol 12.1

      Russell Norman’s CL at home was retty good, too., Showing how committed he is to his poitical values. But Norman had already developed more of a strong public persona.

      • yeshe 12.1.1

        Hi Karol … these CL pieces seem to have ignored Metiria as Greens co-leader .. do you have any idea how the decisions are made in GP about this ? Recently it seems Metiria is only sometimes remembered as co-leader, and it irks me !

        • karol 12.1.1.1

          I am not a Green Party member. I have no idea how those decisions are made. But, as I show in my post today, Turei has had Campbell Live into her home fairly recently and generally got quite a bit of coverage for that. Tried to counter the tendency to treat Norman as de facto leader in my post today.

    • Mary 12.2

      Oh no! Why did you give up on the Greens?

      • Harry Holland 12.2.1

        I didn’t give up on them entirely Mary. The days after the split from the Alliance were fun. The greenviews mailing list was lively and open (a bit like the standard is today) but these folks are now professional politicians and I find it harder to relate to Norman, Turei, Clendon, Delahunty, Hughes etc compared to the sense of brotherhood I felt with Fitzsimons, Bradford, Locke, Tanczos, Kedgeley, Ward. Since I find it harder to relate to them leaving was inevitable – not keen to put billboards on my house, make phone calls, deliver pamphlets, and scrutineer for folks I’m ambivalent about.

        • Mary 12.2.1.1

          I guess I see hope in the Greens and Mana because I see no hope with Labour, have given up on them 110%, feel nothing but disdain towards them because of their blatant hypocrisy when it comes to the poorest among us, abandonment of traditional values and so on. Can’t take one word seriously because they’ve backtracked on everything since the early 1990s, have made things worse to boot with no evidence they’ll change and every indication we’re in for more of the same. Just sick of them.

  13. vto 13

    Yep, it came across well. But some 2c says that if looking for the edge over Key in the upcoming campaign then David should get some colour in his cheeks. Go fishing on a sunny afternoon once a week for an hour or so. Stand on a riverbank or seashore. Get the suns reflection off the water. The resulting freshness and outdoor glow will leave Key and his pasty lack of muscles in the dust.

    Just a thought, you know – at the top it is the smallest things that tip the pendulum. And when seen alongside storys like this by Campbell Live it could really add up.

  14. anker 14

    I like the fact that here is a couple who are obviously very well off, but are not engaging in the trappings as such. Time spent at home is growing veges, feeding chooks, tending to bees etc. All really wholesome, non-commercial stuff. Its the way many of us of a certain age were brought up, before things became a lot more (unfortunately), materialistic. I think that speaks volumes about who the Cunliffe’s really are. Two INCREDIBLY bright NZders who have done well, and sure have a flash house, but still live the old values (like scraps for eggs, old style NZ community).

    • Awww 14.1

      I like that too.

      Really enjoying the series with the leaders, makes me feel more optimistic about our future.

      • Mary 14.1.1

        I’m looking forward to seeing Jamie Whyte.

        • Mary 14.1.1.1

          I want John Campbell to ask Whyte why he talks the way he does.

          • phillip ure 14.1.1.1.1

            @ mary..heh..!

            ..it’s called rand-speak..

            ..and the general contempt for all others he wears on his sleeve.

            ..that’s his own addition/affectation..

            • Mary 14.1.1.1.1.1

              Yes, the way he conducts himself makes him his own worst enemy. How on earth anyone would vote for him is beyond comprehension. Am looking forward to hearing what he’ll have to say after the election.

              • and he is the best they have got..!

                ..where is their candidate..?..what’shisname..?

                ..do they have him locked in a room somewhere..?

                ..or is he still hiding behind hedges..’?

                ..waiting to jump out and scare people..

                “..hi..!..i’m what’shisname..!’..

    • karol 14.2

      Yep. And Karen can pilot planes, too.

      • Rosie 14.2.1

        There’s no end to her talents! Never mind David Parker as Deputy Leader. When Mr C is away on PM’s business oversea’s Ms P can jump in the Cessna, head to (the other) Beehive, run the country, whilst simultaneously battling environmental crims!

        • tinfoilhat 14.2.1.1

          I’ll think you’ll find Karen has been fighting for rather than against environmental crims.

          • Clemgeopin 14.2.1.1.1

            Please confine any fair or unfair criticism that you may have directed at the politician, Mr Cunliffe, but leave his wife and family alone, as that is completely wrong and unfair. I hope you understand that.

            • tinfoilhat 14.2.1.1.1.1

              “Please confine any fair or unfair criticism that you may have directed at the politician, Mr Cunliffe, but leave his wife and family alone, as that is completely wrong and unfair. I hope you understand that.”

              I was responding to the comment above where Rosie suggested that the person in question battled environmental criminals which is completely untrue. I would also comment in the same manner if the partners of the Green party politicians were portrayed untruthfully for political purposes.

              • Rosie

                I was being playful tinfoilhat. 🙄

                I’m guessing you did watch the show last night where Karen Prices work as an environmental lawyer was discussed. I’m not sure how you get the impression that she is somehow supporting those organisations or businesses that as a result of their business operations the environment is compromised and damaged.

                • tinfoilhat

                  “I’m guessing you did watch the show last night where Karen Prices work as an environmental lawyer was discussed. I’m not sure how you get the impression that she is somehow supporting those organisations or businesses that as a result of their business operations the environment is compromised and damaged.”

                  Oh I don’t know perhaps her published CV misled me ?

                  http://www.chancerygreen.com/index.php/what-we-do/10-our-people/14-karen-price

                  • Rosie

                    Alright alright Tinfoilhat. You posted at the same time (see post below), I thought that maybe I should do a google search and sure Karen Prices’ work history is easy enough to find.

                    No need to be sarcastic.

                • Rosie

                  Er, a brief (and hopefully momentary) pause in my enthusiasm. Ms P has represented the reprehensibles’ and not so much the environmentalists.

                  http://www.chancerygreen.com/index.php/what-we-do/10-our-people/14-karen-price

                  Still, her work is her work at not that of her husband’s, our new PM after 20th September.

                  • Rosie

                    Further to the above: Our work doesn’t always define us, nor are our roles fixed.

                    I got thinking about a family friend, a lawyer who worked for the Crown in the early days of the Treaty negotiations – he represented the Crowns interests. Did that make him opposed to the right of Maori to have stolen lands returned to them? No. He was interested in the cultures of others and understood the power colonial governments had over indigenous peoples, around the world, and was supportive of moves for such people to reclaim their lost lands and traditional ways. He was a good person who had inclusive social values

                    None of this is relevant though as it’s David Cunliffe people are voting for, not his wife.

      • So what we’re really saying is David and Karen are the political power couple you’d most want to have on your team when the zombie apocalypse comes?

        • Rosie 14.2.2.1

          Now there’s an idea Stephanie. Of course, Ms P will be fully prepared for such an event should it arise. I bet there’s a well stocked zombie apocolypse “Go Bag” in the hall way cupboard, should it be required in such an emergency.

    • Rosie 14.3

      +1 anker. They are a family who can demonstrate that the acquisition of wealth does not need to equate to flashy shows of materialism and excess environmentally damaging consumerism.

      Unlike another “leader” we know.

    • ianmac 14.4

      Yes anker and it must seem to lay to rest the idea that somehow the Cunliffes are lolling around in luxurious splendour as per the Key dig at David’s address.

    • Chooky 14.5

      +100

  15. TightyRighty 15

    definitely the worst house on the street. how could anyone not see they represent the kiwi battler.

    • Tiger Mountain 15.1

      Money bags ShonKey seems to attract support (too much) from the aspirational bennie basher section of “kiwi battlers”. Are personally well off people allowed to represent the less well off or not? Come on Tighty, what say you.

      • TightyRighty 15.1.1

        I have no problem with it at all. My problem lies in david cunliffes ability to talk out of both sides of his mouth. He pretends he’s some working class boy with deep ties to the movement, when all he really is a political opportunist. I can see the propaganda minds at work in the war room, john key has been successful, so lets let david be seen to be successful but we’ll balance it out by getting some workers in to plant a vege patch to add the down home touch. well played, well played.

        • Colonial Viper 15.1.1.1

          David Cunliffe is no doubt a very capable politician. Being able to “talk out of both sides” of the mouth is part of a core corporate skillset; it’s one reason why Key and English would have preferred the far less experienced and less articulate David Shearer. The Left is very lucky to have a capable leader like Cunliffe in its midst.

        • karol 15.1.1.2

          Talking out of both sides of his mouth is one of Key’s major skills. He often does it with the same utterances – seeming to say one thing, but literally meaning another. And as for his state-house-to-PM line of success, claiming he understands ordinary Kiwis’ experiences?….

        • framu 15.1.1.3

          “I have no problem with it at all”

          yes, such a non issue that you and the rest of the NZ birthers keep bringing it up

          your entire complaint is that hes too wealthy to represent the kiwi battler. ie: hes faking it

        • Murray Olsen 15.1.1.4

          Do you have any evidence that David Cunliffe or anyone else got workers in to plant a vege patch? I doubt it somehow, but your politics of envy is making you look even uglier, TR.

    • RedLogix 15.2

      Yes I can see how that’s a really bad look TR. If you are going to represent most New Zealanders I’d agree – you have to get rid of the mansion.

      And possibly the bach in Hawaii as well.

  16. tinfoilhat 16

    Is this how banal NZ MSM coverage of the election and politics is going to become ?

    Stage managed pieces with the respective ‘leaders’ ?

    Honestly what conclusions anyone could come to about the things that really matter from this rubbish is anyone’s guess.

    Let’s all remember that the Auckland mayor had a number of puff pieces about what a wonderful religious chap and family man he was prior to the last couple of elections, that’s about all these pieces by Campbell live are worth.

    • Craig Glen Eden 16.1

      John Key whole persona is media made ( 36 million to media works insured that) not just his political one. The RWNJ really dont want people to see what a great guy Cunliffe ACTUALLY is. It was a really nice piece that only card caring Nats would dislike.

      • tinfoilhat 16.1.1

        “It was a really nice piece that only card caring Nats would dislike.”

        Well as I’m a card carrying Green and dislike these puff pieces i guess you’re wrong on that one.

        • Colonial Viper 16.1.1.1

          But as a card carrying Green and someone actively engaged in politics, you do understand and accept the importance of media puff pieces during an election year, right?

          • tinfoilhat 16.1.1.1.1

            Oh indeed CV, it doesn’t mean I have to approve of the practice however.

            • Craig Glen Eden 16.1.1.1.1.1

              Well Ive re posted Russel Normans at home piece with John Campbell to because I think its important that people get to know a bit about him as well. While I can appreciate your anti stance lots of voters want to see this soft media stuff.Sadly the left have been to slow to recognise that it is this stuff that has meant John Key has stayed so popular for so long, even when he and the National government have been straight out corrupt in my view, people still think Key is ok.
              At the end of the day what many on the left dont understand is we have to win and to win you have to campaign smart, imagery and narrative is important, you can have the opinion that its not right ( soft Media) but voters who like it dont give a shit what you think. In Cunliffes case people have been feed a narrative that he is not liked and that he is a rich smarmy bloke bla bla. So it was particularly important that people got to see David Cunliffe in a different setting being who I know he and many others know he is.We need a Labour/Greens Government in my view and if that means some soft media so be it.

              • Colonial Viper

                Sadly the left have been to slow to recognise that it is this stuff that has meant John Key has stayed so popular for so long

                Yep. Too many on the Left think that Policies and Issues are the be all and end all of peoples voting decisions.

                • karol

                  For some of us, it’s not that we aren’t aware of how media puff pieces influence voters, it’s that we think there needs to be a shift to more focus on policies and values – the puff pieces, infotainment approach is out of the “neoliberal” playbook, and tends to work to reinforce their underlying values.

                  • Craig Glen Eden

                    “Neoliberal play book” call it what you want their will always be a large chunk of voters that want this stuff and if the left dont get better at it we will have the nice MR Key until he decides he wants to move on.

                    • karol

                      Infotainment has always been around. However, the “neoliberal” corporate media shift has resulted in it becoming very dominant. Team Key and the Nats generally, would rather focus on this stuff, personality politics, smears etc, than on actual policies and issues. If Kiwis knew more about Nat policies, and their impact on NZ, they would find it far harder to get elected.

                      Of course, a certain amount of “kissing babies” has long been part of political campaigning. But, if the left allow it to remain dominant, the values of corporate-led, middle class supporting, individualism will continue to permeate politics.

                    • Colonial Viper

                      Well if the Left want to play a different game it better get its own media channels up and running…I know you know this because you have put significant thought into the issue.

                      Labour should have been facilitating soft media MSM coverage on Labour’s front bench over the last 6 months. By this stage in the election cycle, voters should then be entirely comfortable with who DC etc are as ordinary Kiwis SO that the issues can then take prominence.

                  • Populuxe1

                    It’s less that it’s “out of the “neoliberal” playbook” and more that the neoliberals consciously make a virtue of not patronising ordinary people for wanting to see politicians in a human and accessible light. That’s probably why they tend to be quite successful at monopolising politics in the OECD. Russel and Hone can see the utility in it without suggesting the masses are morons even if you cannot.

                    • framu

                      “not patronising”, or “leveraging peoples behaviour for their own end”?

                      they arent doing it to be benevolent – they’re doing it to get power and influence, and i would suggest that what the punters in punterland think doesnt really matter beyond buying into whatever idea is being spread

                      that attitudes not owned exclusively by the right of course

                      all it is is advertising and marketing – and advertising and marketing is almost always about manipulating your audience

              • Ad

                DC is getting that.

      • Murray Olsen 16.1.2

        I don’t like any of them. With the Key one, I didn’t even like the subject matter. I see at as a banalisation of politics, but I also know when I’m in a minority and just have to live with stuff I don’t like.

  17. Don't worry be happy 17

    David Cunliffe you make me proud. Karen Price, you rock.

  18. Enough is Enough 18

    You think that wasn’t stage managed?

    • RedLogix 18.1

      Everything on TV (or any media for that matter) is stage managed to some degree.

      But what you could ask is; do you think the whole show was a fake? Do you think that the things you saw this family doing were simply made up? That none of the things you saw were parts of their ‘real lives’?

      And if you are going to make that argument, do you have any evidence to support it?

      • Enough is Enough 18.1.1

        Stage Managed does not mean fake.

        It was more stage managed than the daily press gallery scrum that Cunliffe faces when he gets random questions thrown at him. In that situation he has no preparation and has to act on instinct. That is when we see the real Cunliffe.

        Last night was a pre-recorded documentary that he had weeks to prepare for.

  19. Chooky 19

    just watched that interview ….and what a fabulous New Zealand couple!…they are both absolutely perfect to lead New Zealand!!!….love them both and their back garden and bees and pets….and John Campbell was very good also!!!! Awesome!!!!,,,,thankyou for posting it here

    ….i have to admit i have resisted watching any of these television at- home interviews because i have thought it an invasion of privacy and in the end it is the policy that matters…..but now i am going to have to search for the Campbell interviews with the Russel and Metiria and Winnie and Hone…

    ( but i don’t think i will watch Keys or Craig or Whyte…call me biased ….one has to be selective as to what trash one puts in ones noggin these days)

    • Stephen 19.1

      I think you should watch the Key one as well. I did. It was a good performance and showed why he is still personally popular.

      Understanding his appeal is crucial to developing a strategy to counter it. Pointing out his failings and flaws has not been a winning strategy for the opposition over the last five years and longer. If we don’t understand what other people like about him, then we can’t communicate effectively with those people.

      Imagine you have a boyfriend or girlfriend and you love them a lot. One of your close friends, someone with your best interests at heart, tries to reason with you, explaining why they’re no good for you and the relationship will end in tears. Do you a) say “thanks for opening my eyes, I can see I need to dump the beloved and start again” or b) get pissed off with your friend for slagging off the beloved?

      At the moment, the PM has a such a relationship with the NZ public that he could eat a baby on TV, and 55% of viewers would agree with the fawning coverage that admired how stylishly that cheeky chap can eat a baby, not like those other politicians who wouldn’t be up to baby eating.

      The joy of the Williamson and Collins problems (and hopefully more to come) is that they attack the Nats at their weak point, taking out people who are not popular and loved, while indirectly placing Key under more strain and letting the public draw their own conclusions about his judgement and choice of friends.

    • idlegus 19.2

      same, i’ve found them to be nauseating & banal. but jeez i’m glad ppl got to see that side of cunliffe, & wow! karen price, what an amazingly warm & talented person!

      • Chooky 19.2.1

        100 idlegus…”karen price, what an amazingly warm & talented person!”….and David Cunliffe was as i expected…he will be a great New Zealand Prime Minister!

        • idlegus 19.2.1.1

          & davids facebook page has had an upsurge in ‘likes’ since last night, & after the horrorshow week(s) national has had, great timing too!

  20. Ant 20

    Must be hard to cope with the tabloid standard set now. Good on them for protecting the privacy of their kids.

  21. Brian 21

    Both David and Karen came across as warm, pleasant, caring and interesting people. David seemed both genuine and wonderfully devoid of the slick, smarmy, media training Key demonstrates and hints of naivety were charmingly refreshing. Thanks to them both for letting us in on a little of their, understandably cherished ,private territory.

    Without doubt the next Prime Minister of New Zealand !

  22. Scotty 22

    The Cunliffes were brillant.
    Their lifestyle was in stark contrast to Keys’ cold empty shell of a trophy ‘beach house’ existence.

  23. Rose 23

    The best part for me was when David said, “I’m here to help.”
    Lovely couple.

  24. Delia 24

    Karen is cool.

  25. Aux 25

    “Was your childhood idyllic…?” I turned I off after that feckless question. Cunliffe should have clocked the fucker between the eyes as a reply. I’m sure he’s a nice guy, or maybe a complete arse, but the Campbell team fawning was as sickening as the inescapable syrupy depression I feel when yet another cultural cut-out reaches ascendency and tries to sell change. Reminded me of when everyone fell in love with the great kiwi bloke called John Key.

    Is this it? The whole cult of personality turning round once more along exactly the same lines? I refuse to vote for anyone like David Cunliffe (the political construct, the man himself is none of my business), or his party’s policies, or anyone sold by Campbell Live. In fact I might place a moratorium on my voting until a candidate that isn’t totally ruined by aspirant culture turns up. Just my personal taste, you understand.

    • Tracey 25.1

      shiver

    • Ad 25.2

      Can understand your aversion to media framing.

      Few are immune to it. If you are, I hope you add to weighing up the policy contests on their merits alone.

  26. felix 26

    So over in sewer(s), the rats have convinced themselves that David and Karen don’t really have a garden or chooks or bees, but they were all cunningly installed for the interview.

    Just upthread our friend Tighty says the same thing.

    I don’t think I could ever type enough rolleyes…

  27. ScottGN 27

    Got to work today to be told by one of my more National-enamoured colleagues that, while it wouldn’t change his vote (nothing would, let’s face it) he could see plenty of people warming to DC after the CL piece which apparently was awesome. I nearly had to sit down for a minute.

  28. finbar 28

    Now theres a thing we do not know,thirty years of intelect and knowing.What a revolation.Solid also..

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    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
    6 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
    6 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
    1 day 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
    4 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
    4 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
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  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
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