Atlas smirked
Written By:
- Date published:
12:15 pm, January 7th, 2024 - 115 comments
Categories: act, Deep stuff, democracy under attack, election 2023, election funding, national, political parties, same old national, spin, tax, taxpayers union -
Tags: Atlas
This morning’s browse of twitter came up with this fascinating tweet from highly respected Guardian reporter George Monbiot.
You would think this was a wild and improbable conspiracy theory. But every fact in this column is checked and verified.
How the Atlas Network’s dark-money junktanks steer policy around the world.https://t.co/4iAtH1StVE— George Monbiot (@GeorgeMonbiot) January 6, 2024
I was always aware that the Atlas Network was a dark money right wing think tank that was active throughout the world but reading this story made me wonder about its effect on New Zealand politics.
Monbiot’s linked article concentrates on the election of Javier Milei as Argentinian President. But his comments could have been applied to the recent New Zealand election.
For instance he said this:
A crash programme of massive cuts; demolishing public services; privatising public assets; centralising political power; sacking civil servants; sweeping away constraints on corporations and oligarchs; destroying regulations that protect workers, vulnerable people and the living world; supporting landlords against tenants; criminalising peaceful protest; restricting the right to strike. Anything ring a bell?
This reads like a list of the Government’s policies. Just think of these:
- Nicola Willis implementing $7.4 billion of cuts in her recent mini budget.
- David Seymour gleefully announcing thousands of public service job cuts just before Christmas.
- It is too early for asset sales to be advanced although the prospect of hospital buildings being owned privately has been raised. And who can for get John Key’s privatisation of half of the power companies during his reign, a decision that has already cost the country more than was received.
- In terms of centralising political power already the unwinding of the three waters reforms and reversals of Health reforms will cause more power to be centralised.
- In terms of sweeping away business constraints National has promised a number of measures that are not in place as yet. This is despite New Zealand already being among the easiest places in the world to do business.
- The introduction of 90 day fire at will provisions and the removal of the Fair Pay system both enacted under urgency will have a significant effect on measures designed to protect workers rights. And how about changing the way benefit increases for everyone except superannuants are calculated so that over time there is more child poverty? Or how about increasing sanctions on beneficiaries?
- As for supporting landlords against tenants how about the reintroduction of no cause evictions and reduction of notice periods? And National’s pushing through of tax cuts for landlords with retrospective effect and the reduction of the bright line period will have landlords dancing in the streets.
- And in relation to destroying regulations that protect the living world this is a doozie. The legislation that wound back Resource planning to the old Resource Management Act contained a provision allowing for the Minister by regulation to override protective legislation. As pointed out by the Environmental Defence Society “[t]he Government now has the power to exempt parts of the country from any or all of the Resource Management Act requirements and allow destruction of our precious indigenous plants and animals and pollution of our rivers and coasts. This will be able to occur without proper consideration of the impact on nature and neighbouring communities.”
The only two areas not affected yet are the right to strike and criminalising peaceful protest. Every other policy that has been enacted or is in the process of being enacted is something that the Atlas Corporation would approve of.
Even some of the campaign techniques are similar. In the United Kingdom Liz Truss had a mini budget that was that good it sent the UK economy into involuntary spasms. Nicola Willis’s local version did not have such a dramatic effect at least not as yet.
And the way that Atlas and related organisations have placed themselves at the centre of debate is also unnervingly familiar.
From Monbiot:
Last year, the [Institute of Economic Affairs, one of the first members of the Atlas Network] was platformed on British media an average of 14 times a day: even more often than before the disaster it helped inflict on the UK. Scarcely ever was it challenged about who funds it or whom it represents.
Do you find yourself grinding your teeth every time the Taxpayers Union or the New Zealand Initiative get given air time to talk about something?
Monbiot says this about the funding of the Atlas aligned organisations:
Many refuse to divulge who funds them, but as information has trickled out we have discovered that the Atlas Network itself and many of its members have taken money from funding networks set up by the Koch brothers and other rightwing billionaires, and from oil, coal and tobacco companies and other life-defying interests. The junktanks are merely the intermediaries. They go into battle on behalf of their donors, in the class war waged by the rich against the poor. When a government responds to the demands of the network, it responds, in reality, to the money that funds it.
The dark-money junktanks, and the Atlas Network, are a highly effective means of disguising and aggregating power. They are the channel through which billionaires and corporations influence politics without showing their hands, learn the most effective policies and tactics for overcoming resistance to their agenda, and then spread these policies and tactics around the world. This is how nominal democracies become new aristocracies.
Which is eerily what is happening in New Zealand. From an article by David Williams in Newsroom:
As president and chair of World Taxpayers Associations (an Atlas Network partner), [Taxpayer’s head Jordan Williams] gets some travel expenses paid.
The Taxpayers’ Union has also won awards and travel scholarships from the Atlas Network, chaired by New Zealander Debbi Gibbs, daughter of the businessman Alan Gibbs, a long-time supporter of the Act party.
“We publicly disclose these,” Williams says of the Atlas money. “For example, our investigations co-ordinator recently won the Asia ‘Shark Tank Competition’ – successfully pitching a campaign idea in a Dragons’ Den-style event during the Asia Liberty Forum in Malaysia.”
The $US10,000 prize winner was Oliver Bryan, a former political advisor for a British Conservative Party politician.
“The prize money, and other Atlas funding, is small in terms of our overall budget. It has never constituted more than 1 or 2 percent of our annual income, and it is our only funding from overseas.” (This last statement jars with the earlier one about individual donations.)
The links between Atlas and the TPU are visible for all to see. On the Atlas Network website there is this article about the TPU:
An upcoming election is expected to deliver a government more favorable to market-based thinking in New Zealand, and the Taxpayers’ Union intends to work alongside the government to be at the forefront of policy development. They plan to work toward their mission by drafting parliamentary bills; shifting the Overton Window by utilizing popular support; campaigning against high taxes, government waste, and inflation; and publicizing high profile government employees or contractors who have had misleading or deceptive trade interactions. The Taxpayers’ Union aims, in the long run, to become the most popularly supported taxpayer and fiscally conservative pressure group in the world, and to establish New Zealand as a pro-freedom policy laboratory. In their words, they will “lead the world from the bottom of the world.”
And some of the articles will make you feel physically ill. Like this one describing Rogernomics and Ruthenasia as “an inspiring case study of fostering economic growth through rolling back government subsidies and protectionist import controls”. Or this one highlighting Jordan Williams and his attending the Smith Fellowship, described as being one of the hallmark programs of Atlas Network’s Leadership Academy. In 2017 he highlighted fundraising as a major challenge. Back then the TPU’s income was $355 thousand and it had cash reserves of $11,000.
This has increased dramatically. From public records we are aware that last financial year ending December 31, 2022 it received $2.826 million in income and had nearly a million dollars in cash in its bank accounts. The return for this year will be very interesting. The change in funding over 5 years is stark.
And as pointed out by David Williams this funding was used last year to pay for polling at the national and electorate level, the issuing of almost 100 press releases, hosting seven political debates, publishing four policy reports, starting a petition, drafting alternative legislation, and rolling out a debt clock gimmick all between August 1 and election day. If only the left had a similarly resourced entity to drive policy formation and public opinion.
Given British Tobacco’s involvement in the Taxpayer’s Union you have to wonder what influence it had in the Government decision to wind back New Zealand’s smoke free policy. Getting extra tax income and pleasing your sponsor may have been too tempting for the Government to ignore even if the cost is increased cancer rates and greater pressure on the health system.
Monbiot’s conclusion is just as relevant for New Zealand as it is for England.
These junktanks are like the spike proteins on a virus. They are the means by which plutocratic power invades the cells of public life and takes over. It’s time we developed an immune system.
115 comments on “Atlas smirked ”
- Comments are now closed
- Comments are now closed
CommentsOpinions
Recent Comments
FeedsPartyGovtMedia
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2024
Open access notables Projected increase in the frequency of extremely active Atlantic hurricane seasons, Lopez et al., Science Advances: Future changes to the year-to-year swings between active and inactive North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) seasons have received little attention, yet may have great societal implications in areas prone to hurricane ...3 hours ago - Chicken Kiev
Chatting in the supermarket this morning, I found I needed to lunge for the chicken drumsticks.Coping mechanisms: who hasn’t felt a greater need for them lately?When it all gets too much, I turn to demonstrating handy butchery hacks.It wasn’t that she’d said anything wrong, our friend, not at all. We ...6 hours ago - The year is 2024 and it’s 1984
This is written in response to the highly significant open letter from a group of economists that was today addressed to Christopher Luxon. The year is 2024, and it’s 1984. The country is reeling from a record Olympic medal gold haul, while the globe grapples with the choice of the ...7 hours ago - The IPCA has failed
Back in 2022, RNZ took an in-depth look at the "Independent" Police Conduct Authority and its handling of killings by police. These are the most serious test of oversight, and you would expect the police's use of lethal force to receive the most severe scrutiny. But despite the police regularly ...11 hours ago - Thursday 21 November 2024
The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti arrived at Parliament on Tuesday – the size is being debated but estimates range from 42,000 to 100,000. The Prime Minister is defending not attending due to some of the organisers being affiliated with Te Pāti Māori. The national gang patch ban came into force ...11 hours ago - ‘These budget cuts are counter-productive and make no sense’
I spoke to former Productivity Chair Nana this morning about the letter he and a group of other economists sent to PM Christopher Luxon to urge the Government to urgently suspend cuts to spending and investment for the sake of the economy, struggling businesses and the wellbeing of vulnerable ...13 hours ago - ACT’s Astroturfing & A Co-ordinated Attack on Te Pati Māori
Unity on the Streets / Unity at the TableAfter the Hīkoi, all three right wing Coalition leaders came together to push the idea that the 42,000 - 50,000 + strong Hikoi was somehow less potent and brave, and more illegitimate than the energy and crowd displayed.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon 20-November: ...14 hours ago - Durability of carbon dioxide removal is critical for stabilizing temperatures
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink The world is emitting over 40 gigatons of CO2 per year, contributing to an accelerating warming of the planet. The world needs to cut emissions rapidly to be remotely on track to meet our Paris Agreement goals of limiting warming to well-below 2C, and we ...14 hours ago
- Throwback Thursday: Will “Auckland Transport” Survive?
With Auckland Transport’s future up in the air under Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed CCO reform, we’ve dug way back into the archives, to unearth this post originally published in March 2010. As you’ll see, many of the debates that were being had when AT was first proposed continue to ...15 hours ago - I Love My Leather Jacket
I wear my leather jacket like a great big hugRadiating charm - a living cloak of luckIt's the only concrete link with an absent friendIt's a symbol I can wear 'till we meet againOr it's a weight around my neck while the owner's freeBoth protector and reminder of mortalityIt's a ...15 hours ago - Economists call on PM to suspend budget cuts for the sake of the economy
Nicola Willis’ budget cuts are under fire from economists for having no clear rationale and worsening the recession. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 21: The news at ...15 hours ago
- The end of policing by consent
National has appointed a new police commissioner. And he explicitly rejects policing by consent: Asked if he subscribed to policing by consent, he said he did not. “I don’t talk about policing by consent. I talk about trust and confidence, and it is fundamentally important that the police have ...1 day ago
- The Treaty Principles Bill: A Who’s Who
David Horatio Waterbed SeymourFringe politician and dweeb transformed successfully by ThinkTank money into a well-oiled soundbite robot.Currently programmed to say: Equal rights for all New Zealanders Equal rights for all New Zealanders Equal rights for all New Zealanders Was previously programmed to say:I am a proud libertarian andI am a ...1 day ago - Kinleith mill closure shows need for industrial strategy
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to deliver an economic and industrial strategy for regional manufacturing, rather than just expressing sympathy for job losses, following the announced closure of Kinleith mill in Tokoroa. “The closure Kinleith mill in Tokoroa is not just devastating for ...1 day ago
- 27% of kids going hungry, up from 21% in a year
One in four Kiwi children live in households where food runs out often or sometimes. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, November 20: The lead: The official annual Health Survey found sharp ...2 days ago - Transport modelling is an illusion
This guest post by Tim Adriaansen, an advocate for accessibility and sustainable transport, originally published on LinkedIn and cross posted here with permission. People prefer cars, right? Probably not. Here’s why. Granted, most people in English-speaking countries use a car to get around. This simple reality underpins our transport ...2 days ago
- Young Maori take over
Neither Wellington nor Parliament has ever seen anything like it before. The Police said there were more than 40,000 but however many there were, yesterday’s Hikoi to Parliament was a monumental event. It was almost three times the Foreshore and Seabed martch of 2004 and many,many times bigger than ...2 days ago - Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Aftermath
The euphoria from yesterday’s hikoi may be transitory, but is no less valuable for that. It is pretty rare for the left to feel itself to be in the overwhelming majority, and speaking as the voice of the people. Lest that momentum be lost, the organisers will no doubt be ...2 days ago - Sabin 33 #3 – Solar panels generate too much waste and will overwhelm landfills
On November 1, 2024 we announced the publication of 33 rebuttals based on the report "Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles" written by Matthew Eisenson, Jacob Elkin, Andy Fitch, Matthew Ard, Kaya Sittinger & Samuel Lavine and published by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia ...2 days ago
- What’s the time Mr Seymour?
Mr David Seymour crawling up to the ceilingThe sun don't shine the sun don't shine the sun don't shine at allMamma Pappa say you should go to school, I don't know what forNow that I've grown up and seen the world and all its liesSong: Southside of Bombay"Ake, ake, ake" ...2 days ago - Submit to defend te Tiriti!
The Justice Committee has called for submissions on National's racist and constitutionally radical Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. Submissions can be made at the link above or by post, and are due by Tuesday, 7 January 2025. But I'd get in quick, in case National grows a spine ...2 days ago
- We need to talk about Kevin
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family has a Drunk Uncle Kevin in there somewhere. If your Kevin is anything like the ones I know, he was getting along happily enough without having to think too much about the Treaty Principles Bill apart from bloody good job, onya guys ...2 days ago - The hikoi
Like everyone else (everyone who wasn't there, anyway), I've spent the morning watching the hikoi march on Parliament. The pictures are astounding: parliament grounds and the surrounding streets are full, and there are still people backed up along Lambton Quay. The police are estimating 35,000 people, and that's a floor ...2 days ago
- Why Govt & NZ Inc should boycott & regulate Facebook
3 days ago - How should we talk about change?
A better world isn’t just possible, it’s desirable. And that’s how we should frame a lot of our conversations around making a greater Auckland. As an example take urban climate action. A climate friendly Auckland: Is free from congestion Enables people to travel how they choose Is filled with ...3 days ago
- AMA + Holiday Webworm Merch!
3 days ago - Discount Code for Webworm Merch!
Hi,So there’s a bunch of new stuff on the Webworm store (www.webworm.store) — just in time for the Holidays. Read more ...3 days ago - Trying to defuse the tension
There were urgent moves yesterday at Parliament to try and defuse the tension building up over ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill. The Bill’s author, ACT leader David Seymour, told reporters that he understood the Justice Select Committee met yesterday to discuss how long it should take to consider submissions on the ...3 days ago
- An Irritable NZ Pawn – David Seymour Admits Treaty Principles Bill will clear the way for deve...
3 days ago - Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Arrival, And Tyler Childers
Politicians like to bang on all about the need to heal society’s racial/economic divisions, but in their actions they’re more keen on stoking those divisions, with the Treaty Principles Bill being the classic example. The Bill seeks to dilute the Crown’s responsibilities to Māori at the same time as it ...3 days ago
- Socially Backwards and Fiscally Forwards: the False Ideological Divide and the “Conservative” Li...
3 days ago - Kaamos: Accepted
I appreciate that A Phuulish Fellow has been fairly quiet recently. That’s a combination of two things – comparatively little in the way of relevant material to discuss (at least until The War of the Rohirrim comes out next month), and my general work on The Secret Non-Fiction Writing Project. ...3 days ago - Here’s how governments could fix their Paris climate commitment failures
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Governments around the world face a conundrum. Virtually none are on track to meet their Paris climate commitments. That includes the United States, which committed to cut its emissions at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 but is only on track for 32-43% cuts ...3 days ago
- Unstoppable.
3 days ago - Katherine Trebeck – An Alternative Economic Narrative
The era of neoliberalism has been destructive on so many levels, with a huge growth in wealth and privilege for the one percent. A hollowing out of the state; fraying of the safety net; inadequate government investment in infrastructure; and continued environmental degradation has resulted in damage on a vast ...3 days ago - In a Manner of Speaking
In a manner of speakingI just want to sayThat I could never forget the wayYou told me everythingBy saying nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me everythingSongwriter: Winston TongNext Tuesday, the subscription price for Nick’s Kōrero will ...4 days ago - Monday 18 November 2024
The NZNO have announced a nationwide strike for December over its pay dispute with Health NZ, who have put a 1 per cent cap on pay rises. The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti and Treaty Principles Bill remain front and centre in the media, with the impacts of the Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke-led ...4 days ago
- Shipley warns Seymour’s bill is ‘inviting civil war’
The divisive Treaty Principles Bill is not just a risk for the National Party, it’s a risk to civil order and unity, warns a National Party grandee. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on ...4 days ago - A clearer network for the City Rail Link?
This post was originally published on Linked In by Nicolas Reid. It is republished here with permission. Auckland is now just a year or so away from having the keystone of its urban rail network complete. As I wrote about here, the City Rail Link will be a literal game changer for ...4 days ago
- National’s support base is wobbling
If ACT leader David Seymour intended the Treaty Principles Bill to drive a wedge into National’s support base, he may well already be succeeding. By midnight on Thursday after the Maori Party haka in Parliament, National MPs were being deluged with emails and messages from their members calling them out ...4 days ago
- 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #46
A listing of 33 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, November 10, 2024 thru Sat, November 16, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is completely "meta" (no, not that Meta). It's about our exploring how ...4 days ago
- Grifter Eftpos Tamaki at it again
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Self-appointed “Bishop” and proto-fascist, Brian Tamaki was at it again on 16 November, blocking Auckland’s southern motorway, SH1.This time, the target of his ire wasn’t the Civil Unions Act; covid lock-downs; mask mandates; or ...4 days ago - Rip up a bill, lead a haka are words to live by
I cannot stop grabbing people by the lapels, or shoulders, or similar, and raving at them about the tiny miracles in my ears.I can hear again! There could not be a more satisfied customer in all the world.In a noisy cafe I am even catching words that Karren cannot, she ...5 days ago - Unintended Consequences
Take the baitYou pay the priceIt's much too lateFor good adviceYou know and I know that our good things' throughBecause there's consequences for what we doConsequences for me and youWriters: Kevin Robert Hayes, David Nagier, Bonnie Adele Hayes.Fallout from the first readingOne News began last night by saying that tens ...6 days ago - Thank you, driver!
Today, Saturday 16th of November, is Auckland Transport’s Bus Driver Appreciation Day! Saturday 16 November marks the third annual Auckland Transport (AT) ‘Bus Driver Appreciation Day’, and this year we are encouraging all of New Zealand to thank their driver or let the bus go first if you are in ...6 days ago
- Totally Normal: Holiday Edition
Hi,If I was to accurately sum up my mental state over the week, I’d just say that I got a huge fright from my own shadow.I’d nipped out for an 11pm neighborhood stroll, just to calm down after a day of stress and screens. The Cure and Fazerdaze’s new record ...6 days ago - We Are Not Listening
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
6 days ago - More lawlessness from National
On Tuesday, sick of government stonewalling, the Waitangi Tribunal issued a rare court order, ordering the Minister of Health to release unredacted documents within 48 hours showing its reasoning for disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. The government's response to the lawful order of a court? Yeah, ...6 days ago
- National’s tyrannical “foreign interference” law
Yesterday, under cover the the biggest political fight of the year, National quietly - covertly, even - introduced anti-foreign interference legislation. The bill is the product of a years-long work-program aimed at countering shit like this and this, and there's unquestionably a need to do something to counter foreign states' ...6 days ago
- The Haka Represents The Best Of Us
A few months ago, I was in an audience watching a Haka-Kapa and as I watched children dance and sing and sway and shout and beat, I couldn’t help but think “The Haka represents the best of us.”Yes, yes - there will be a thousand voices that rush forth to ...6 days ago
- Adding up the climate cost
St Mary’s Bay housing left hanging: Climate risk is systemically underestimated in the climate scenarios used by central banks, and a new report warns 10,000 houses are set to become uninsurable in Aotearoa. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in ...6 days ago
- Auckland chafing at Bishop’s housing intensification orders
One of the major problems the Government has in implementing its ‘going for housing growth’ strategy is that it isn’t giving much funding help to councils. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...7 days ago - Friday 15 November 2024
The Treaty Principles Bill continues to dominate political news, with it passing its first reading in the House. Parliament was briefly suspended and Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke suspended for 24 hours after leading a haka that was joined by opposition MPs and the public in the gallery. Willie ...7 days ago
- Weekly Roundup 15-November-2024
Happy Friday, welcome to another round-up of interesting stories about what’s happening in Auckland and other cities. Feel free to add your links in the comments! This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers ...7 days ago
- Are We The Waiting?
And screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingAnd screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingForget me nots, second thoughts live in isolationHeads or tails and fairy tales in my mindAre we we are, are we we are the waiting unknownThe rage and love, the ...7 days ago - The Hoon around the week to November 15
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including from COP29 this week; on the US Presidential elections, Israel vs Gaza/Iran/Lebanon, Ukraine/Nato vs Russia/North ...7 days ago
- First Tea and Toast, now Milo — why do NZ’s best beverages need so much defending?
Only two months ago, Nicola Willis had to step in to stop Health New Zealand cutting tea and toast for post-birth parents, and now Lester Levy is riding to the rescue with a welcome message for all: our health workers can once again drink Milo, and will no longer need ...7 days ago - Gordon Campbell on the folly of making apologies in a social vacuum.
Day One of the Treaty Principles Bill…and everyone got what they wanted, and did what they liked. Heated words were exchanged. Culturally appropriate acts of outrage were performed. David Seymour got to play the victim card. Willie Jackson got kicked out of class. A comically red-faced Mr Speaker bellowed “Order, ...7 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #46 2024
Open access notables Microbial solutions must be deployed against climate catastrophe, Peixoto et al., Nature Communications [comment]: The climate crisis is escalating. A multitude of microbe-based solutions have been proposed, and these technologies hold great promise and could be deployed along with other climate mitigation strategies. However, these solutions have ...1 week ago
- The PM gets some extremely valuable legal advice for free
You can pay a great deal of money for the services of a KC. So just what would some peerless legal writing from 40 or so of them be worth, do you reckon?Priceless, that’s what. It’s not even the half of it, but this is my favourite part of the ...1 week ago - D-day for the government
The government's Treaty Principles Bill is up for its first reading today - bought forward in a rush in a desperate effort to avoid the hikoi which is currently marching on Wellington. But the Prime Minister won’t be there for it – he’s literally running away to Peru! But he ...1 week ago
- 97% of submissions did not want no-cause evictions, Trump chooses a Russian spy for US Intelligence ...
Good morning, and I’m sorry I’ve been away for a couple of days.I’ve been focusing on the Hikoi, and also testing out sentiment on the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s complicated, and the Treaty Principles Bill will be debated in the House today. The Government’s own lawyers have told them the ...1 week ago - Government must vote down ACT Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to vote down an ACT Party Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights by making it easier for employers to fire workers. Last week ACT MP Laura Trask’s Employment Relations (Termination of Employment by Agreement) Amendment Bill was ...1 week ago
- Seymour causes thousands of unjustified absences by forcing kids to fight for their rights instead o...
The State would like to remind you that they are in control. They manage your employment prospects, and can destroy the job market you and yours rely on by mass-cancelling construction projects, cutting funding, and firing a good chunk of our public servants. They wield the mechanisms that provide scrutiny ...1 week ago - The Weight of the World
As the weight of the world Hangs on your shoulders The weight of the world Starts to take over again And over again All that you once loved, now you hate So slowly relearn how to meditate To have and to hold And never let go Can you feel it ...1 week ago - Thursday 14 November 2024
The Treaty Principles Bill is set to have its First Reading in the House today, as the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti continues. More than 40 KCs have written to the Prime Minister and Attorney-General outlining their “grave concerns” about the substance of the Treaty Principles Bill, while an academic and ...1 week ago
- Trump’s return to White House brings the climate’s ‘find out’ phase closer
As we absorb the news of Trump's victory in the US Presidential election, here’s a wrap compiled just before the result of what it might mean for climate action: The UN Secretary General says the prospective departure of the United States would cripple the Paris Agreement, likening it to the ...1 week ago
- Time and Space in the City Centre
Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the City Centre Advisory Panel. The header image is from Walthamstow, London The city centre now has a few stretches of street where the space has been repurposed to a people and place focused design from full time traffic use. These are a great ...1 week ago
- An opportunity for a pro-growth tax switch
As the Hikoi against it swells into the tens of thousands, KCs call on National to kill off ACT’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 14: The ...1 week ago - Dealing to the big Aussie banks
The big question hovering over the Select Committee Inquiry into banking is what the Government will do with its findings. If yesterday’s hearing is anything to go by there is a tidal wave of discontent about the four big Australian Banks crashing through the Committee which may force it to ...1 week ago
- 20 fact briefs published in collaboration with Gigafact!
In April 2024 we announced the (renewed) collaboration between Gigafact and Skeptical Science to create fact briefs, short but credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. Our initial plan had been to publish one fact brief per week on Saturdays but - as happens ...1 week ago
- Instead of axing the HRC, ACT corruptly installed a racist, transphobic “Gay Human Rights Commissi...
On November 5th, the Spinoff published a very interesting article on Stephen Rainbow, the Human Rights Commission’s latest recruitment, and how he came to get the controversial appointment. Naturally because of the excitement of the US election, it’s flown a little below the radar. https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/05-11-2024/i-didnt-get-the-hrc-job-stephen-rainbows-human-rights-commission-appointment-just-got-weirderThe article details evidence of the ...1 week ago - Injustice for torture
Between 1950 and 1993 the New Zealand government tortured and abused up to 250,000 children in residential care facilities. Yesterday, following formal findings from a royal commission, it finally apologised for that abuse. The next step is redress and restitution - compensating the surviving victims for the appalling harm they ...1 week ago
- Voices echo
1 week ago - Hīkoi over the Harbour
Kia mau ra, kia mau raKi te mana motuhakeMe te arohaHold fast, hold fastTo your sovereigntyAnd to love and compassionLyrics: Hīrini Melbourne. “Ngā Iwi E passionately calls for unity among the peoples of the Pacific, a cause deeply cherished by Melbourne himself.”I sat at my desk this morning and thought ...1 week ago
- NZ’s global climate rankings plummet as Govt removes agriculture from ETS
The Government has passed legislation to remove agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) while Aotearoa’s reputation on climate action plummets. ...5 hours ago - Failed boot camp experiment must end
As legislation to set up boot camps passed its first reading, the Green Party urged the Government to abandon this failed policy experiment for the good of our rangatahi. ...6 hours ago
- Gender-affirming care must centre evidence and health needs, not political posturing
The Ministry of Health has today released an evidence brief regarding the use of puberty blockers in gender-affirming healthcare, amid moves by the government to limit access. ...7 hours ago
- Release: National doesn’t care about manufacturing
The National Government is walking away from our manufacturing sector with constant reports of closures and job losses. ...8 hours ago - Release: David Parker speech – Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change
David Parker's speech from the University of Auckland's forum on Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change in September 2024. ...8 hours ago
- Release: Youth mental wellbeing no longer a priority for Child Poverty Minister
Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty. ...10 hours ago
- Release: National’s lack of climate action taking NZ backwards
National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured. ...10 hours ago
- Release: Simple reason for drop in emergency housing
When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place. ...12 hours ago
- Govt’s child wellbeing strategy ‘shallow and shameful’
The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a priority focus in their Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. ...13 hours ago
- Release: A historic win for Samoan communities
Labour warmly welcomes the Restoring Samoan Citizenship Bill as it passes its third reading, before becoming law. ...14 hours ago
- Government plan to reinstate live animal exports a “national disgrace”
The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. ...1 day ago
- Pasifika justice as Member’s Bill passes final reading
Teanau Tuiono’s Member’s Bill, the Citizenship (Western Samoa Restoration) Amendment Bill, has passed its third reading and will become law. ...1 day ago
- Release: Minister of Education thinks New Zealand ends at the Bombay Hills
The Minister of Education has shown complete disregard for rural communities and their school bus routes in Question Time today. ...1 day ago
- Economists sound alarm on Government’s slash-and-burn approach
A group of prominent economists has released an open letter to the Government, raising grave concerns about the far-reaching consequences of its fiscal policy. ...1 day ago
- Release: Smoking numbers up under Costello’s watch
National’s repeal of Labour’s smokefree legislation has taken New Zealand further away from achieving a Smokefree 2025 and a smokefree generation. ...1 day ago
- Release: Call for Palestine recognition by NZ, Australian and Canadian MPs
Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have written an open letter to their respective Prime Ministers calling on them to recognise Palestine. ...2 days ago
- Justice Select Committee opens floor for Treaty Principles submissions
Today, the Justice Select Committee has decided to officially open submissions for the controversial Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 days ago
- Power of the people on full display as hīkoi approaches Parliament
Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 days ago
- Hypocrisy as Te Whatu Ora contractor bill balloons
Te Whatu Ora’s bill for contracting and consulting staff has ballooned by nearly 20 percent under the National Government, breaking a promise they made during the election campaign to cut contractors. ...3 days ago
- Release: Growing pressure to scrap Section 7AA Repeal Bill
The newly released Section 7AA Repeal Bill's select committee report is further evidence that the Government should scrap it. ...4 days ago
- Government’s move to monetise access to nature a slippery slope
The Green Party is voicing serious concerns over the Government’s proposal to charge for access to public conservation land, released today. ...6 days ago
- Green Party condemns the passage of Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party condemns the passing of the Treaty Principles Bill at first reading, and is clear that the fight is not over. ...1 week ago
- Stand Up for Te Tiriti
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...1 week ago
- Release: Over 15,000 sign Labour’s open letter to Luxon
As the hīkoi to Parliament continues, Labour has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a last-ditch attempt to get him to kill the Treaty Principles Bill. ...1 week ago
- Fast Track Bill threatens environment, climate and reputation
The fast-track legislation passing its second reading in Parliament is another step towards environmental ruin. ...1 week ago
- Greens join King’s Counsel in calling for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned
The Prime Minister must answer the call from a group of senior lawyers of the King’s Counsel to abandon the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...1 week ago
- Chris Hipkins’ apology statement to state and faith-based care survivors
...1 week ago
- Release: Labour formally apologises to state and faith-based care survivors
Labour joins with the Government in unreservedly apologising for the abuse, neglect and trauma including torture in state and faith-based care and for ignoring the voices of survivors for too long. ...1 week ago
- Green Party stands in support of survivors of abuse in care
Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...1 week ago
- Green Party calls for conscience vote on Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...1 week ago
- Govt move to exclude journalist risks chilling effect
The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...1 week ago
- Without action, an apology will be empty air
For tomorrow’s apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care to hold any water, the Government must not pursue the same policies that drove the abuse in the first place. ...1 week ago
- Release: Concerns remain over tobacco interference
Concerns about the tobacco industry’s ability to interfere in government policy making remain, despite the inability of the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate the Government’s decision to halve the excise tax on heated tobacco products. ...2 weeks ago
- Urgent wake-up call on climate
The Climate Change Commission’s latest advice indicates Aotearoa needs to be stepping up on climate action. ...2 weeks ago
- Green MP’s Meme-ber’s Bill set to save the world
Break out the punchlines and dust off your meme folder: Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Ballot yesterday. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies
Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
- Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- NZ must pursue independent foreign policy
The Green Party says the need is greater than ever for Aotearoa New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Winston Peters must apologise
The Deputy Prime Minister should apologise to the public servant he named and blamed for something they did not do, and for misusing the rules of Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
- Government action provides Southland farmers more time to meet plan requirements
The Government is taking action to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard say.“Cabinet has agreed to provide more time for farmers and growers to comply with regional rules ...6 hours ago - Bill reaffirms Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending
The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Bill had its first reading at Parliament today. The Bill reaffirms the Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending, Minister for Children Karen Chhour says. “In recent years we have seen an unacceptable spike in youth offending. “This Bill makes ...7 hours ago
- Critical milestones for earthquake buildings review
Fairer, more sensible rules about managing earthquake risks are a step closer with the passing of legislation and the appointment of an independent chair to provide expert advice, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The Government is committed to reinvigorating our cities and regions to support economic growth, ...7 hours ago
- State of the art radiology machine for Auckland
People in Northland and Auckland will benefit from a new machine for cancer treatment installed at the Regional Cancer and Blood Service at Auckland City Hospital. The MV5 linear accelerator, or LINAC machine, officially opened today targets cancer tumours with pinpoint accuracy. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says this new, ...7 hours ago
- Foreign Minister to visit Europe
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Europe for high-level talks with France, Germany and the United Kingdom next week. "Since taking office almost a year ago, the Coalition Government has emphasised the importance we place on New Zealand's traditional and likeminded diplomatic and ...8 hours ago
- First arrests made under gang patch ban
Police have made their first arrests under the new gang patch legislation, with two gang members arrested, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “Just before 11 this morning, Police in Wairoa apprehended a gang member for wearing a patch to the supermarket. He has been arrested and will now face enforcement ...9 hours ago
- Better support for victims of sexual violence
The Government is proposing two major changes to name suppression laws that will put the views of victims of sexual violence first, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “We are committed to restoring law and order and these two proposed changes will help ensure the victims of crime are put at ...10 hours ago
- Government moving forward with Regional Deals
Cabinet has agreed to invite all regions to submit proposals for Regional Deals between central and local government that drive economic growth and deliver the infrastructure our country needs, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop say. Inviting all regions to propose a Regional Deal that boosts ...10 hours ago
- MSA pilot participant update
One of the ten young men selected to participate in the Military-Style Academy Pilot has allegedly reoffended. Children’s Minister Karen Chhour is disappointed but says it would be naïve to think that none of these young men would reoffend. “I’m saddened that this young person has not taken this opportunity ...11 hours ago
- Attendance rates increase, again
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that school attendance is continuing to rise. In Term 3 of 2024 51.3 per cent of students attended school regularly, an increase of 5.3 percentage points from 46 per cent in Term 3 of 2023. “This Government has prioritised student attendance and it is ...13 hours ago
- Improving the lives of young New Zealanders
Ensuring New Zealand is the best place in the world for children and young people is the vision at the heart of the Government’s new Child and Youth Strategy, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says. “Childhood represents a huge opportunity to set people on a positive path towards living ...15 hours ago
- Government continues work to reinstate livestock exports by sea
The Government is reinstating the trade of livestock exports by sea while ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare, says Associate Minister of Agriculture Andrew Hoggard.“The Government will introduce legislation changes to reinstate the trade, enhance oversight, and strengthen requirements for exporters to identify risks and manage the welfare of ...1 day ago
- Speech to the National Quality Forum 2024
Tēnā koutou katoa – it is a pleasure to be here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the important leadership role you all play in ensuring a quality health system New Zealanders can trust. There is enormous clinical expertise in this room covering a wide range of disciplines. ...1 day ago
- New Zealand’s COP29 National Statement
Tēnā koutou katoa. Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. New Zealand, and all nations represented here today, are already dealing with the impacts of climate change. Our households, businesses, and economies are bearing the costs of its effects. The choices we make now will shape the severity of these impacts for generations ...2 days ago
- Latest Quarterly Investment Report released
The Government has released its second Quarterly Investment Report (QIR) which shows substantial work still to be done by agencies to improve investment reporting and meet the Government’s expectations, Infrastructure and Acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “New Zealand has significant infrastructure and investment needs. The Government is determined to get ...2 days ago
- New Zealand supporting loss and damage fund
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced New Zealand will contribute NZ$10 million to the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage while at the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. “New Zealand is joining the global effort to address the significant challenge of responding to ...2 days ago
- Gang crackdown begins at stroke of midnight
The free ride for gangs is over when the clock strikes midnight tonight, with tough new laws officially coming into effect, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say. “Gang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. To earn the right to wear a ...2 days ago
- LGFA increases borrowing capacity to support high growth councils
The Government is welcoming the decision by the Local Government Funding Agency to increase access to financing tools for fast growing councils to support greater investment in critical infrastructure, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.“Communities across the country are facing an infrastructure deficit and significant population growth is projected in ...2 days ago
- Temporary Traffic Management costs revealed
The Government has revealed that over the past three years, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has spent an eyewatering $786 million of taxpayers’ money on road cones and temporary traffic management (TTM), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“When I became Minister, I was surprised to learn that that NZTA did ...2 days ago
- Jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunal to double
Legislation that will double the financial jurisdiction of the Disputes Tribunal from $30,000 to $60,000 has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. “We need to improve court timeliness and access to justice so that Kiwis and get on with their lives. Court delays affect everyone, the ...2 days ago
- Protecting New Zealand from foreign interference
Legislation that will specifically criminalise foreign interference and strengthen espionage offences has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “It is normal and appropriate for states to interact and work to influence one another. This encourages cooperation and can have mutually beneficial outcomes. “However, the reality ...2 days ago
- Significant milestone for Canterbury Road of National Significance
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news that the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board has approved funding towards pre-implementation and early works on the State Highway 1 (SH1) Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass Road of National Significance (RoNS). “Reaching this significant milestone is a reflection of our Government’s ...2 days ago
- Health survey results to help drive change
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says findings from the annual Health Survey highlight the need to continue driving better health outcomes for New Zealanders. The New Zealand Health Survey is an annual snapshot of key metrics measured from July 2023 – July 2024. Findings released this morning include: In 2023/24, ...2 days ago
- Final push needed to get to Smokefree 2025
A renewed effort to get people to quit smoking will build on what has worked to date and target the groups who most need support, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said today. “The latest New Zealand Health Survey results show the daily smoking rate at 6.9 per cent and we ...2 days ago
- New diplomatic appointments
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced four new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign ...3 days ago
- Next steps for Regulatory Standards Bill
Regulation Minister David Seymour has today announced the next steps in the Government’s plan improve the quality of regulation by opening consultation on a proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. “New Zealand's low wages can be blamed on low productivity, and low productivity can be blamed on poor regulation,” says Mr Seymour. ...3 days ago
- Red Tape Tipline goes live
Minister for Regulation David Seymour has today announced that the Ministry for Regulation’s Red Tape Tipline is now live. “We want to hear about your red tape horror stories. From today, New Zealanders will have a say on how they are regulated through an online portal,” says Mr Seymour. The ...3 days ago
- Youth Parliament 2025 announced
The Minister for Youth Matt Doocey has today announced the eleventh Youth Parliament will be taking place in 2025. “Youth Parliament offers a unique youth development opportunity to young people from across New Zealand to experience the political process and learn about how government works,” says Mr Doocey. “The two-day ...3 days ago
- Police stats show promising change
After nearly a year in Government, Kiwis have seen significant change across law and order with promising early results shown across some Police statistics, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “In August 2023, I told New Zealanders that if they had not started to see a change in public safety within ...3 days ago
- Better coordination of anti-scam efforts
With the launch of Fraud Awareness Week, the Government is committing to new coordination efforts across industry and government to combat online scams, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Online financial scams are a growing problem for New Zealand. New data released today shows that Kiwis lost nearly ...3 days ago
- Minister to consider 7AA select committee report
Minister for Children Karen Chhour will consider the recommendations made by the Social Services and Community Committee in its report back to Parliament on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill. “I want to thank the people who made submissions and those who appeared before the committee in ...4 days ago
- Defence Minister to attend ASEAN meeting
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Vientiane, Laos. “We need to take every opportunity to engage with our international partners, given the increasingly unstable geo-political situation,” Ms Collins says. “New Zealand has a long-standing commitment to this ...4 days ago
- Launching the White Ribbon Ride
The Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour, was on hand to wish riders well at the start of the North Island leg of the White Ribbon Ride in Whakatāne this morning. The ride helps mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ...4 days ago
- Construction to begin on next stage of Papakura to Drury
Construction on the next stage of the SH1 Papakura to Drury project will begin early next month, with the contract for works awarded to Fulton Hogan, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. "SH1 Papakura to Drury is a key project that will drive economic growth and productivity, reduce congestion, and enable people ...6 days ago
- NZ signs trade deal with Costa Rica, Iceland and Switzerland
Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has signed a pioneering trade agreement that prioritises New Zealand’s sustainable exports at a ceremony during APEC in Peru today. “The Agreement on Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS), between Costa Rica, Iceland, and Switzerland was concluded in July of this year and opens up significant ...6 days ago
- Government and iwi work together on aquaculture
Five new Aquaculture Settlement Areas will help ensure Ngāi Tahu shares in the opportunities aquaculture offers for Southland’s economy, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. “The Aquaculture Settlement Areas (ASAs) I’m announcing today set aside space so the Crown and Ngāi Tahu can assess their potential for aquaculture development. ...6 days ago
- Government launches review to ensure electricity market is fit-for-purpose
The terms of reference for a review of the performance of the electricity market have been released. The review, initiated by the Coalition Government during the power crisis in winter will look at whether current regulations and market design support economic growth and access to reliable and affordable electricity, Energy Minister ...6 days ago
- Speech to Social Investment Hui: Jack and his whānau need our help
Kia ora koutou katoa. Nau mai, haere mai, piki mai. Ki te mihi atu ahau, ki te manwhenua nei, Te Atiawa, Ngāti toa rangatira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you, Andy, for your introduction. Let me acknowledge you as the new Chief Executive of the Social Investment ...7 days ago
- Minister of State for Trade heads to Brisbane for PACER Plus meeting
Minister of State for Trade Nicola Grigg has travelled to Australia to attend the PACER Plus Ministers Meeting in Brisbane. “Trade plays a critical role in driving employment, economic growth, and improving the standards of living in the Pacific Region. The Government is strongly committed to supporting Pacific Island countries ...7 days ago
- Proposals to modernise conservation released
Toitū te taiao – Our environment endures The Government is consulting on proposals to modernise New Zealand’s conservation management system, aiming to protect relevant natural areas while supporting sustainable growth in tourism and regional economies, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. “Today, the Department of Conservation – Te Papa Atawhai is ...7 days ago
- NEW POLL: Kiwis Overwhelmingly Support MPs’ Expenses Transparency Law Change
62% of respondents support the extension of the OIA to cover MPs’ spending, compared to just 13% opposed and 24% were unsure. ...1 hour ago - The House: Meanwhile, a week of passing law
The political week has been packed with worthy distractions, but all week Parliament has focused on passing new laws. Here are the highlights. ...2 hours ago - The biggest difference between Hīkoi mō te Tiriti and past hīkoi: More support from non-Māori
Analysis - The diversity of voices during the hīkoi was noticeable - from tangata moana to young immigrants to elderly Pākehā from the South Island. ...2 hours ago
- The House: Samoan citizenship restoration – ‘It means we belong to this land’
When the bill to restore NZ citizenship to some Samoans passed this week, Parliament's galleries were full to the brim with members of the community. ...3 hours ago
- More Delays In Action On Use Of Puberty Blockers With Children
Women’s Rights Party Co-leader Jill Ovens says the Ministry has put New Zealand children at risk by continuing to allow “off-label” prescribing of puberty blockers at far higher rates than other similar countries. ...4 hours ago
- Police Minister adamant he wasn’t aware of gang members training at gun clubs
That is despite two papers from police that raised the matter with him. ...5 hours ago
- Shorten declares himself ‘a proud moderate’, saying Australians ‘in the middle’ shouldn’t ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Bill Shorten has declared himself “a proud moderate” in a valedictory speech declaring parliament has the responsibility to ensure the extremes of left and right do not set the terms of political debate. Shorten, ...5 hours ago - New ‘best practice’ principles for superannuation products are coming. We asked a panel of exper...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer Studio Romantic/Shutterstock We all know how important it is to save enough money for retirement – but what about spending it wisely when we get there? Even for those who have built up a suitable ...5 hours ago
- Government accused of betraying Kiwis’ trust over lack of consultation on live exports
The government has always vowed to reinstate live exports by sea, which was banned by the previous Labour government. ...5 hours ago
- 7 things you can do if you think you sweat too much
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Freeman, Associate Professor of Dermatology, Bond University ERIK Miheyeu/Shutterstock Sweating is our body’s way of cooling down, a bit like an internal air conditioner. When our core temperature rises (because it’s hot outside, or you’re exercising), sweat glands all ...6 hours ago
- Phenergan for under 6s is now banned due to hallucination fears. Here’s what to use instead
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Macquarie University Australia’s drug regulator has issued a safety warning over the medicine Phenergan and related products containing the antihistamine drug promethazine. The Therapeutic Goods Administration said the over-the-counter products should not be given to children ...6 hours ago
- A new stage adaptation of Peter Carey’s Jack Maggs is a delightful homage to theatrical storytelli...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Campbell, Lecturer, Performing Arts, UniSA Creative, University of South Australia Matt Byrne/STCSA Jack Maggs is a delight and a homage to theatrical storytelling in Australia. Based on Peter Carey’s bestselling novel, Jack Maggs follows the ex-convict as he lands ...6 hours ago
- The government has introduced laws for its social media ban. But key details are still missing
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Angus, Professor of Digital Communication, Director of QUT Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology Ron Lach/Pexels The federal government today introduced into parliament legislation for its social media ban for people under 16 years. Communications Minister Michelle ...6 hours ago
- Archives NZ, National Library to cut 27 roles
The Department of Internal Affairs wants to bring the two organisations under the joint leadership of the Chief Archivist and National Librarian. ...6 hours ago
- Gang patch ban: Members warn of potential for violence to ‘erupt’ as new laws enforced
"I can't see this lasting unless they have a budget to lock fullas up in jail which I think is absolutely stupid, really it's ludicrous," Ngavii Pekapo, who set up a Mongrel Mob chapter 54 years ago, says. ...6 hours ago
- ACT leader David Seymour raises doubts about Waikato medical school
Government documents show ACT leader David Seymour told the government he was "dissatisfied" with a cost-benefit analysis. ...6 hours ago
- National’s Erica Stanford allegedly calls Labour’s Jan Tinetti a ‘stupid bitchR...
The Education Minister has apologised in Parliament for her remark. ...6 hours ago
- Labour backs new Police Commissioner – but warns against routine arming
The alternative to policing by consent would be a police state, which New Zealanders don't want, the party says. ...8 hours ago
- Youth on boot camp pilot re-offended five weeks after release
Children's Minister Karen Chhour said while it was disappointing, it would naïve to think none of the participants would lapse. ...8 hours ago
- In photos: People of the hīkoi, and why they marched
Hikoi mō Te Tiriti has come to an end, going down in history as the largest march to Parliament in Aotearoa. ...9 hours ago
- ‘Everything is becoming a culture war’: Jon Ronson on conspiracies and cycleways
Ahead of his appearance in Aotearoa, the acclaimed British journalist, podcaster and documentarian talks to Stewart Sowman-Lund about why people are still fascinated by the fringes. The last place I would expect to find Jon Ronson is relaxing in the countryside. The iconic British journalist and writer is best known ...9 hours ago - Kia kaha Lebanon: NZ media only tell half your story of struggle
The United States has vetoed a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution — for the fourth time — in Israel’s war on Gaza, while Hezbollah demands a complete ceasefire and “protection of Lebanon’s sovereignty” in any deal with Israel. Amid the death and devastation, Joe Hendren reflects on his time in ...10 hours ago
- ‘Deserves a Bafta’: After the Party premieres in the UK to five-star reviews
The acclaimed New Zealand drama has just premiered on TV in the United Kingdom, and the five-star reviews are already flowing in. Six months after it was called a “blistering” “tour de force” by Australian critics, and nearly a year since The Spinoff declared it the best drama New Zealand ...10 hours ago
- Drugs are getting cheaper and easier to find in Aotearoa
New Zealanders are drinking and smoking less, but most other recreational drugs are becoming cheaper, more popular and more available, two new reports show. Two significant new surveys about drugs in Aotearoa were released this week, offering a rare insight into New Zealanders’ choice of substances, which ones are becoming ...10 hours ago
- COP29: ‘climate finance’ for the Pacific is mostly loans, saddling small island nations with mor...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Ratuva, Director, Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury Lenora Qereqeretabua, the deputy speaker of Fiji’s Parliament, at the COP29 climate summit. IISD/ENB/Mike Muzurakis, CC BY-SA As this year’s UN climate summit reaches its final stage of negotiations, Pacific ...10 hours ago
- Review: The magic of Wicked and the curse of corporate greed
The new movie musical is undoubtedly a fun watch, but it’s also proof that bigger isn’t always better, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund. Contains minor spoilers for Wicked. There’s no doubt that Wicked is going to be huge. No other pop culture event this year, save from maybe Charli XCX’s Brat, has ...11 hours ago
- Dame Jacinda Ardern to be given United Nations leadership award
She will get the champion for global change award from the United Nations Foundation at a ceremony in New York tomorrow. ...12 hours ago
- NZ will resume live animal exports – to low demand
Analysis: NZ is lifting what was supposed to be a permanent ban on live animal exports. But it’s not the lucrative industry it once was. The post NZ will resume live animal exports – to low demand appeared first on Newsroom. ...12 hours ago - Financial forms of family violence affect one in seven of us – but the law is lagging
There are calls for New Zealand’s Family Violence Act to name economic harm as a standalone type of violence, rather than a subcategory of psychological abuse, to bring it in line with the United Kingdom and Australia. Economic harm – restricting access to, sabotaging or exploiting another person’s financial resources, ...12 hours ago
- Downside Risks To Treasury’s Economic And Fiscal Forecasts
New Zealand is currently running a structural fiscal deficit, with expenditure exceeding revenue. Economic growth falling short of expectations has been making it harder for the Government to bring the books back into balance. ...13 hours ago
- Science continues to exclude Indigenous communities. Fixing this benefits everyone
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jordan Peter Anthony Pitt, Associate Dean of Indigenous Strategy and Services (Faculty of Science), University of Sydney An enduring challenge facing science around the world is how to best include and engage Indigenous communities. In Australia, for example, 0.5% of Indigenous ...14 hours ago
- Why is cricket so popular on the Indian sub-continent?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Cricket originated in England, but has been spread worldwide by British soldiers and settlers in the past few hundred years. It is now the second most popular sport in ...14 hours ago
- Disinformation and deepfakes played a part in the US election. Australia should expect the same
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Renee Barnes, Associate professor of Journalism, University of the Sunshine Coast Mladen Zivkovic/Shutterstock As America takes stock after Donald Trump’s re-election to the presidency, it’s worth highlighting the AI-generated fake photos, videos and audio shared during the campaign. A slew ...14 hours ago
- Is thunderstorm asthma becoming more common?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kira Morgan Hughes, PhD Candidate in Allergy and Asthma, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University When spring arrives, so do warnings about thunderstorm asthma. But a decade ago, most of us hadn’t heard of it. So where did thunderstorm asthma ...14 hours ago
- Overwhelmed by ever more clothing donations, charities are exporting the problem. Local governments ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yassie Samie, Postdoctoral Researcher in Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University anna.spoka/Shutterstock What happens to your clothes after you don’t want them any more? Chances are, you will donate them to op shops run by a charity organisation. There are more ...14 hours ago
- Friendly fire: a nuclear push by allies at COP29 poses a sticky problem for Albanese
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland IndustryAndTravel/Shutterstock Prime Minister Anthony Albanese didn’t see this coming. At the global COP29 climate talks in Baku, the Australian government was indirectly criticised by two allies, the United States and the ...14 hours ago
- Nugget Is Dead brings queer love, multiculturalism and Aussie flair to the Christmas movie formula
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Phoebe Hart, Associate Professor, Film Screen & Animation, Queensland University of Technology Julia Firak Stan’s new Christmas film Nugget is Dead is a colourful production that follows the rules of the seasonal genre film to a tee – with an Aussie ...14 hours ago
- Help Me Hera: Should I cut contact with my ex-stepdad?
My parents are finally getting divorced. So why do I feel like my stepdad’s feelings are still my problem? Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nz Dear Hera My parents recently announced their separation. This in itself isn’t a problem. I’ve already gone through this once before in my early childhood, so ...14 hours ago
- New Zealand Drops In Global Ranking On Climate Action
If the government won’t hold polluters to account, then people will. People are increasingly taking to the streets and the courtrooms, putting their bodies on the line to shut down polluting industries. This will only escalate further unless New ...14 hours ago
- Government’s fiscal policy dragging out recession, economists say
Slashing the budget deficit and reducing public debt are making matters worse for households and businesses, they say. ...14 hours ago
The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.
New Zealand Initiative
[Bugger now fixed – MS]
But the people voted for this Government and the people's vote must be respected!
New Zealander's voted for change: it's what we wanted!
*whines
To my mind, this is the most important post you have submitted on this site mickysavage.
You have confirmed my long held suspicion that NZ and NZ politics is being seriously manipulated by forces beyond our shores.
Ironic isn't it! The conspiracy nutbars (sorry weka but that is what they are) are correct about the existence of an international web of organisations intent on manipulating social and political discourse. The trouble is, it's their own supporting groups (see NZ Taxpayers Union etc.) and their wealthy overseas enablers who are the culprits.
It is a societal cancer on a global scale and requires a major international effort to counter the damage being done before it becomes terminal.
What to do about this?
This.
https://emergencemagazine.org/interview/an-ethics-of-wild-mind/
Thanks Anne
Sometimes posts take a long time to form. This just poured out onto the page. I always knew that the left had problems but I did not think the right was this organised or focussed.
The question will be what does the left do.
"The question will be what does the left do."
FFS. I was hoping you could give us a steer, this shit is real.
Yes exactly Micky. That will be an interesting discussion. Meanwhile, did anyone see the "God made Trump" video? I thought it was a spoof, until I checked and stopped laughing quickly. This is where we go in our little country and it is what I fear most. All the actors are in place and power now, including Seymour who mentioned “his friends at Atlas” in a Waitangi Day speech.
https://www.indy100.com/politics/god-made-trump-truth-social
In our little country of ca. 5.3 million wee souls, we already have political players with a Messiah complex, so it wouldn’t take a big leap of faith to imagine one with a God complex arising in Godzone.
"It is a societal cancer on a global scale and requires a major international effort to counter the damage being done before it becomes terminal."
Anne, the only way I have to be part of a major international effort was to be there yesterday marching in solidarity with Palestinians against genocidal Israel. As for Aotearoa New Zealand, it may be part of "societal cancer on a global scale" but we have to somehow claim our country back from this awful extreme right wing coalition. Any ideas?
Agree with what anne said..
This is important information..and must be disseminated widely…
I have long thought that national is act with the mask on…and act are national with the mask off..
And this post brings that clearly into focus…and/but is so much darker/dangerous to our democracy..
It may be timely for Monbiot to remind everyone about libertarian think tanks and their influence but it is hardly a revelation, he (and others) have been drawing attention to the fact for years, if not decades…..and everyone knows who the likes of the Taxpayers Union and the NZ Initiative advocate for.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/07/us-billionaires-hard-right-britain-spiked-magazine-charles-david-koch-foundation
https://www.monbiot.com/2018/12/10/you-want-it-darker/
Either you’re missing the point(s) or you’re downplaying it or a bit of both. At least you didn’t fob it off as some kind of grief vibe.
The points have been made and known for years..as the linked Monbiot articles from 2018 show
A lot of information that is new to me in this article a definite FFS moment
If it is new to you then I would suggest you havnt been a close reader of this site for very long….but it is good that you have now found the information, it is the one reason I persist with this site, as every once in a while someone posts something I would not have found in the other sites i frequent.
@ pat..
Aah..!..yes..it has been said before…but the point is that now that they are clearly winning..eh..?
And that is the difference..
"…but the point is that now that they are clearly winning..eh..?"
In case nobody had noticed they have been running things since the end of Bretton Woods…or perhaps a few years after to allow them to get their feet under the table and really take control of capital movement.
And its all been said before, the only difference is that some whose noses are now out of joint suddenly decide it’s important….somewhat belatedly.
I'm with Pat on this.
It's true right wing think tanks have been known about for years but the increase in network organisation and funding in this part of the world is new, described by MS here:
It's clear some people don't read the post before commenting.
Fill your boots…there is nothing new….you think this is a revelation?…its been happening for 40 years (probably more)…what do you think the fight is?…beating up some fascists in the street?….no it it is a fight against the resources of the elites,,,same as it ever was.
Wake up
Fair enough .Have a go at this Atlas network. But you need to find some actual link with NZ rather then a reckon. Apart from Britain – there is a global move to the right – which you understandably oppose. But there have been similar global movements to the left. NZ may be islands geographically, but we are not divorced from global political trends
We all know how you feel about things, John. Your Twitter feed says much about how you feel.
[No, ‘we’ don’t all know how Mr Drinnan feels about things (FFS) nor do ‘we’ care. What ‘we’ do know now is how you feel about him or his Twitter feed rather, which ‘we’ care even less about.
Address the contents of Posts and comments and don’t play the man/woman. This is your only warning – Incognito]
Mod note
Ok then. Sorry about that.
Hi John what do you think about the clear links to TPU shown by the Atlas Network website? And are you at least intrigued about TPU’s growth in funding?
crickets
Always is.
John, all the links are given in the original post. Example
https://www.desmog.com/atlas-economic-research-foundation/
(Image via @JohnDyerCauston)
A conspiracy by those with capital to organise a global move to the right – international markets to destroy national unions, groups to feed media narratives …
Ruth Richardson is on the board of the Tax Payers Union. Casey Costello resigned from the board so she could concentrate on the 2023 election – she is now a first time MP for New Zealand First and a cabinet minister – Customs, Seniors and Associate Minister for Health (smokefree legislation), Immigration and Police.
That NZ First, a party that has historically more or less stood for expansionary fiscal and monetary policy has a member of the Taxpayer's union on its list underlines the massive shift to the right the party has undertaken in the past few years.
But of course we should have known. Winston Peters started out on the right of the National Party.
Ruth Richardson was instrumental in assisting Argentina down the libertarian road some 20 plus years ago.
Casey Costello, a first time MP catapulted straight into a ministerial role. That tells me, its no longer what you know but who you know that counts. Any Tom, Dick, Harry or Mary with no political knowledge or experience will be let loose over the masses to the detriment of an entire nation.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/biography/casey-costello
OMG Hobson’s Pledge. Isn’t that Brash’s crowd of miscreants?
Yep – Brash's crowd.
Nice work Mickey and George but only adds to my bad case of post election Left Melancholy.
Melancholy? So, we're fucked then, That's a shame.
Glad you've picked this up Micky. Obtrectator posted the Monbiot article link last night in OM and thought it might get missed.
I followed his post this morning with this:
Taxpayers Union and Atlas Network
NZ is after Lithuania.
Ta I am sort of surprised they are so blatant about it.
Okay, So now what do we do about it? We are in deep shit.
I'm not ms. I have watched normally rational and intelligent (but politically uninformed) relatives of mine fall hook, line and sinker for the NAct lines.
So Anne, what do we do about it?
What needs to happen is:
Labour, Greens and TPM have to set aside their differences and work together as a close-knit team. Under the current circumstance, policy differences are a luxury they can't afford. Better to wait for better times to iron out those differences.
As far as I can see that is the only way to counter the onslaught of right-wing, libertarian rhetoric and action. We can't match their bottomless cookie jar, but together the progressive parties can out-wit them in other areas because they are largely visionless and not very bright.
When you think about it, NZ's proudest moments since WW2 have occurred under Labour or Labour-led governments, I refer to the Norman Kirk Govt. and the fight against French nuclear testing in the South Pacific and the Lange Govt.'s anti-nuclear stance both of which were well and truly vindicated. There was the Helen Clark era. during which we saw the first ever successful trade deal with China and also her refusal to send fighting troops to Iraq which was also well and truly vindicated. Finally the Ardern Govt. – together with the former Director General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield and his team – became internationally lauded for their outstanding success in saving… probably many thousands of lives during the pandemic years.
The above gives me some hope that together the Opposition parties can bring back democratic governance for all NZers in the not too distant future.
I agree that should be one part of response to the NAF government Anne. I hope they are already talking.
Congratulations Anne on your concise outlined plan to counter the dire and dismal outlook Micky has painted.
The current government are not experienced, the majority not too quick. With a joint, well organized opposition, your plan has to work.
Well described, Heather.
They used smart people from over the sea to win the election, but they themselves are not too bright, imo, hence they have an Achilles heel.
The now-Opposition looks hungry for the opportunity to eviscerate the shallower Ministers who will only be able to bluster and block for so long.
A prominent economist with whom I am acquainted told Nic Willis that it's time to get out of campaign mode, actually get a handle on her portfolio and begin to govern.
Applies to the whole coalition. But they are not capable, as the public will begin to see over the coming months/years
As others have noted ‘these are not serious people’.
Thank-you Heather Tanguay. A coming together of the Oppo. parties is only the start of course. There will need to be action taken but that can only be determined in response to Govt. action and rhetoric.
No pussy footing around any more Labour.
The last time either the Greens, Labour, or Maori Party put out a media release it was December 21st.
Since December 21st ACT have put out 11 media releases, and the government 9.
This is a lazy Opposition so far and this government certainly isn't.
There's no evidence since October's election that Hipkins or Shaw or Davidson or Waititi have picked up the phone to each other or organised anything together.
So best of luck with your thoughts.
If you want this to happen, email them and call their office and ask them what the hell they think they are getting paid for.
December 21st on?
Holiday time; people seek entertainment.
Keep your powder dry til it's ready to go off with a bang!
This government is defining the 2024 terms of media discussion, not the Opposition. National and ACT are not on holiday.
Stop making excuses for laziness.
The discussion points from NACTNZF are ideological and broad. Countering those would be vaguely met by the public. It's when the details of their actions become available for debate that the fur will fly.
– Mickysavage
https://thestandard.org.nz/atlas-smirked/
Same funding for ACT and TPU. They are pretty much the same organisation. Labour certainly needs be funded better.
Sorry are all the unions asleep as well?
Seriously there's no left-leaning academic that Labour/Greens/TPM staff can call on to get on the media?
Not a single Councillor on a Green or Labour or City Vision ticket that can’t take a moment off adding another layer of sunscreen?
Has every single aid agency or housing trust in the country taking 3 Amyltriptelene?
Pessimism is the thing you sniff after you've dug your own grave.
Astonishing that ALL of those you list are being "lazy".
Sounds like an existential paralysis.
Or perhaps they're waiting for the opportune moment…
When the other team has their collective peckers up and are firing on pure adrenaline, is the worst time to take it to them, if you have the option of strategic delay… imo.
Recharging and reconnecting with the people/voters is vital for survival. Have those critical conversations and listen to people and their concerns and then organise and collaborate. No point planting (sour) grapes in the middle of Summer.
Phone? Email? Ok, boomer.
Yes email and phonecall. Those are easiest to log and prove that you have been responded to.
Alternatively keep making comments here and presume it means you’re doing something political other than more bitching and moaning.
Have you looked at Social media at all?
Anyway, Scoop is a good aggregator of press releases and the likes.
https://info.scoop.co.nz/New_Zealand_National_Party [last entry 12 Oct]
https://info.scoop.co.nz/New_Zealand_Labour_Party [last entry 20 Dec]
https://info.scoop.co.nz/Green_Party [last entry 21 Dec]
https://info.scoop.co.nz/New_Zealand_First_Party [last entry 3 Oct]
https://info.scoop.co.nz/ACT_New_Zealand [last entry 8 Jan; 11 entries since 21 Dec]
https://info.scoop.co.nz/Te_Pati_Maori [last entry 20 Dec]
https://info.scoop.co.nz/New_Zealand_Government [last entry 1 Jan; 9 entries since 21 Dec]
https://info.scoop.co.nz/New_Zealand_Council_of_Trade_Unions [last entry 20 Dec]
https://info.scoop.co.nz/Public_Service_Association [last entry 20 Dec]
It always help to look a little further than your nose is long and see a slightly bigger picture.
Their politics of persuasion is like opium for the masses. As long as we have some kind of democratic system, they only need to convince enough people to be in power and control. This is the intrinsic flaw in and of the (democratic) system as we know and have it, at present. For progressive change to happen people have to believe in it, at least enough to imagine it, as people always follow their beliefs. This is where the power of persuasion comes in and the influence of Randian thought and ideas become evident.
All the more reason for a combined effort from the Opposition parties to out-do the Randian followers and win back the naive and gullible from their opium induced political coma.
It shouldn't surprise anyone with at least a few clues that National follow closely the line set for them by overseas greedy right-wingers whose mission in life is to make life as idilic for themselves and simultaneously as hard for others, as possible.
National never had an original thought throughout its existence. Its policies are always reactive, retrograde and overseas-sourced, never progressive – with the one exception being when they electrified the main trunk line under Muldoon.
We can't expect any better than the current crop of NACTs, they have the mentality of Vogons wanting to construct a hyper gallactic bypass.
All they want to do is tear things down, never build them up. This current lot have already started. They cannot stand the workers of this country having a share of economic prosperity. Which is why they chopped the Fair Pay Agreements, and allowed the Reserve Bank to hike interest rates to the point where people lose their jobs and home. And it really sickens me that people who say they used to be on the left or Labour supporters voted for them.
So I don't know what we do about about it, Millsy. Do you?
you wait…..the dolphins will leave…………
Fantastic post Mickey. I agree with Anne; a very important piece of work.
Cheers Mike. Also rather depressing …
Depressed is how I was feeling yesterday reading your post and other articles and blogs. Sorry for being a bit snippy @mickysavage.
But early to be patting people on the back, Mike. What do we do about it?
I'm not sure what the story is here?
The policies listed as shared goals between the government and Atlas are just bog standard base center right neoliberal policies that every center party around the world has believed in since the 80s.
Bolger, Shipley and Key were all believers. There's no conspiracy here.
Labour and its affiliates are also a part of numerous global organisations and think tanks, as are the Greens and all consult with various global organisations and consultants.
This is not new, it's been around around since the days of the socialist international.
Of course right wing parties and think tanks around the world have policy overlap.
There is no conspiracy theory needed to explain Labours defeat. The global economy tanked and they'd been in for two terms so it was aidious.
The fact that Labour were trounced so historically, getting their lowest number of electorates in the partys history and when non voters are counted getting support from less than a fifth of all eligible voters isn't a global networks fault but labours fault.
They were elected to fix the housing crisis and make home ownership a possibility for every young kiwi and they made it even more unrealistic for young kiwis to ever own a home and it's now so bad that young kiwis can't even find a home to rent in any NZ city over 100k.
They overpromised, severely underdelivered were ludicrously overexposed and took the cowards way out on every popular populist position from drug reform, to tax reform, to consumer and duopoly reform, to housing and capital reform.
They got arrogant stopped debating and stopped listening, pissed off the left, they pissed off the right and the center had had enough of them.
Then their popular leader left and was replaced by a Keir Starmer knock off that spent the entire year ruling anything anyone wanted out and dealing with the fall out of the fast and loose cabinet leadership style of his predecessor who allowed far too many rank arrogant incompetents into cabinet and let far, far too many failures and bad behaviours go unpunished.
Who would want to vote for that party? Especially when their answer to any and all popular policies with voters on the left and right was "not under our watch, you'll have a cheap apple in two years and you'll be happy"
About one fifth of the country evidently.
No conspiracy needed.
But Corey what the fuck do we do about it? Labour can't save us because we know they are embedded in the system. Criticism doesn't cut it. Do you have an actual solution?
Someone hasn't read "Dirty Politics" or "The Hollow Men" or "Only Their Purpose is Mad"
This is not a democratic movement.
It's a class war enacted by the 1% against people's movements and democracy itself
So Roblogic, what do we do? We know we're being screwed.
Tell the truth. Regroup. Strategise. Take the wins, be realistic about the losses. Keep fighting
Organise unify just like they do get people on the ground social media etc.
Labour got 27% National got 38%. If NZF had elected to go with the Left Hipkins would be PM….hardly a trouncing.*
Michael Wood was a highly competent minister. Quite why he didn't sort out his personal shareholding details remains a mystery but one thing is clear, it was not in order for him to make personal monetary gain.
*And watch this space…Peters may yet bring down this coalition of cuts….he really hates Seymour.
NZ First has moved to the right.
NZ First has been paid to move to the right FIFY
The funding is the issue. Do we want a democratic system which gives such an inbuilt advantage to the right?
Yes agree ; I hope when the donations information comes out someone does a deep dive into those who supported NAF with large amounts of money, including a free plane for David Seymour.
Hi Darien, I appreciate yr contributions to TS and larger public service.
Surely what yrself and Mickey are dancing around is public/state funded elections.
Like lobbyists, 'donations' to political parties pervert democracy.
If political donations are to continue, they are not to be spent in say, the final six months before the election date.
Political donations are a tiny amount of the spend of those promoting the neolib agenda….the work has been done (and paid for) well in advance of the elections…and oddly enough ,I suspect if you stripped away all the deception and misinformation, most would still choose what is offered by the neolibs…and that is the real problem…we are actively choosing what they offer to our (offsprings) detriment.
And that is what upsets the opponents and makes them advocate for authoritarianism…to their detriment .
Thanks. I agree but we have never been able to get state funding across the line. I suppose we are better off than some countries (ie the US) because TV and other public media advertising is State funded, but doesn't now take account of the huge amount of advertising that takes place elsewhere. I can't remember if I saw any political advertising on tv this time around because I hardly ever watch anyway. As for political donations, yes this is an area crying out for reform. I agree with Pat. Much money is spent outside the election period – basically we had a full on advertising campaign for the last two years from National and ACT. And lobbyists ? I never as an MP took any notice of them anyway!
i so wish i could disagree….like many they lost my vote to the greens…..totally incompetent in the eyes of many, perhaps after we have been royally screwed ove the population will welcome them back…..if its not to late and damage is repairable.
Of course those who care about the direction of these islands say No! So with a limp, neoliberal centrist Labour Party what advice do you have for us, Micky?
"Chippy" can't save us. Labour can't save us. Time to man up, bro. Any ideas?
Aotearoa NZ is in deep shit.
This was meant to be reply to @mickysavage.
No @ Bearded Git, Michael Wood was not a highly competent Minister. Like you I don't understand how someone who appeared to be a competent Minister imploded.
I agree it wasn't for personal gain. Hubris?
Fucked if I know.
Doesn't matter, Wood let down those of us who care.
A competent Minister wouldn't have screwed up multiple times.
Grey….I agree he screwed up on personal financial matters multiple times…inexplicable……lazy?…arrogant? ….and very damaging to Labour.
But prior to this he had been an eloquent and impressive minister touted as a future leader.
His behaviour may well have cost 2-3 percent at the election.
Fair enough. He did start out well. Puzzling how it all ended.
No puzzle. He and his wife were simply greedy and got caught.
That doesn't make sense. The inference is that by hiding their shareholdings from parliament's records they were in some way benefitting financially. Not true.
They would have made the income from the shares-not a huge amount- and paid any tax due on this whether they declared them to parliament or not.
I really think that they were just lazy and a trifle arrogant.
Mr Wood did a great job with bus drivers, delivering a substantial pay increase and changing the terms of how contracts were let, which had allowed the low paying parasites to dominate bus services for decades.
He was also instrumental in rejuvenating plans for NZ owned and operated Coastal Shipping in league with some of the NZ shipping companies and Maritime Unions.
Probably why he get railroaded. Cannot have bus drivers getting more money, or public transport focusing on service provision, not profit.
So in my opinion he became a target, as did all the successful ministers of the left.
"The Nact Act double act" run a 5th column to search out weaknesses in the opposing parties. They found and pressured those weak points.
The mote in their own eye gets white washed, and they apply one set of rules to themselves and a much harsher set to us, with much media help.
Nicky Hagar said they were "Hollow", well yes, but they are still dangerous. They appeal to themes such as freedom self help and initiative. They carefully gloss over care community and collective, selling that "professionals can do it better.' Meaning privatise gains and publicise the losses.
Anyone protesting is labeled as 'needing a cup of tea' We know this, yet how do we counter? We hold meetings fund raisers and raffles.
We set up our memes which counter theirs. "Better together" '"Fair share of the money" "A home not 200 houses' Repeated at every opportunity with Policy development to match.
Agitate for controlled financial support for parties.
Face that they ran a better advertising campaign using modern techniques and $9 a vote to one dollar odd for ours, and they won because they joined up to win, then divide the spoils.
There is a window before they become entrenched and we all become too frightened to appear above the parapet.
While acknowledging the wins, the ball was dropped with the 'accredited employer work visa scheme'. The system that had 40 Indian migrants in a squalid 3 bedroom house in Manurewa.
Not necessarily by the individual, more their trust/belief in the 'system', and the failure to have more audits. Modern slavery is a shameful moniker for a party called Labour.
This is one of the most important changes in direction they have to make to make a difference.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/496017/accredited-employer-work-visa-scheme-to-be-reviewed-after-whistleblower-s-allegations
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018853993/workplace-relations-minister-confirms-govt-review-of-rse-scheme
I've never forgotten our statistics 101 lecturer, who foretold the introduction of what became eftpos but in those days where coins and banknotes were the only currency it sounded fantastic.
The relevance of that to today's world is his explanation of why NZ was chosen to roll it out to the world.
He told us NZ has a small population but other than that the features of our country and its population closely resemble most of the western world and many other countries besides.
Hence, we are a good test bed for new ideas and new technology. Before things get rolled out globally, we are useful as a representative sample to iron out any bugs and, just as important, how we react to things gives 'them' a chance to tweak the global rollout without too much opposition. Any opposition can be predicted, thanks to us, and a response prepared for.
Whenever global ideologies seem to find their way to NZ early in the piece, I always remember what my old stats lecturer said.
That is why Act got started here imo.
If you want to know how simplistic the right wing narrative can be – then read this.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/paula-bennett-is-the-gap-widening-between-left-and-right/KBQ3BB6IYNEWDHHA4EM6M7PO6Q/
https://liberation.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451d75d69e20134898fa54a970c-500wi
Together we can ride the sacred cow of 90's ideology to make a new world order, one capital voice to rule over all indigenous peoples.
Site hardware updates are mostly finished. I’ll stop dropping the site whilst you’re reading it 🙂
Have one hardware issue. I have a old LSI MegaRaid card in there that I use a archive store for JBODs on a ZFS array. The new Gigabyte motherboard doesn’t like card and doesn’t SCSI init it.
So I’ll need to take the site down sometime to pull the controller and drives to transplant to my workstation, which has a ASRock Rack workstation/server board that should be comfortable with HBA. Just have add some drive caddies for the added HDDs.
Sure if the mb does not like the card just hand the job over to an available workstation that can bus it with some added storage… .
You want an idea of what is required to contest this sort of thing?
Organisation. Sustained organisation. And this means all kinds of connections need to be made. Meet poor, middle class and rich people (one of these defectors from decadence types) alike who will stop this. Look for those who will work inside and outside of parliament. This is easier said than done. However, we should try to work throughout all levels of society to work against the worldwide reactionary right-wing pro-pollution, pro-austerity, anti-human, pro-Social Darwinist pro-capitalist organisers and their capitalist wealthy bosses through using think tanks, their wretched values and institutions and their media orgs to corrupt us into doing their bidding. They have already declared their war on us and we should return the declaration, because this is a class war that will take all aspects of our shared humanity and our backgrounds to counter them until they are unable to hurt humanity ever again.
This means activism. Sustained activism. Activism is not just slinging ideas, it takes all sort of things, from small acts of activism like putting up posters and talking with people you know right up till the big activisms like organising a protest or speaking against the powers that-be in a perilous place. We need to keep this sort of pace up, never stop. Get ourselves more embedded into our society like we were always meant to be in the first place. We were and are alienated from our own society by letting the capitalists and reactionaries rule us by taking more and more resources away from us that we could have used to improve and to look after ourselves.
What do we stand for? A new 21st century vision of an ecologically sound world that is accessible to all people physically and sensorally which is based in a proper wealth and resource based distribution that is shared between all of humanity in a solar system that we cherish.
In other words, all of us are part of this world and we in Aotearoa/New Zealand need to accept who we are then embrace our societal potential. We are the fortunate people of this gorgeous land of the long white cloud in the beautiful vastness of the Pacific Ocean near our lovely Pacific & Australian neighbours and it is time that we act like it. We need to make Aotearoa/New Zealand a land for all who treasure it, whether we are Maaori or Paakehaa or Pasifika or African or Asian or American or European or Martian or whoever we are. We are the guardians of this land, the ocean and the world. We need to act like it. We have that potential and we need to embrace it.
Time to fight back.
I should've posted this: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-08-01-2024/#comment-1983770 here 🙂
Good stuff Rolling….let's make this a one term government
Can the next post be titled, "Atlas smacked"?
write a post!
Superb piece micky – the Powell Memo come to life
If the right-wing Government was to swiftly legalise cannabis, the left would be unable to rise again, ever.
Was Atlas a stoner?
You'd need something to take your mind off the enormous responsibility…
Perhaps Atlas was in the wrong job.
He had no choice. He shouldered his responsibility as best he could.
He had no choice as to holding up the sky…everything else?
But we should not be too pedantic as Atlas is a metaphor…and a misattributed one at that….the money men may believe they are responsible form human innovation, but they in fact exploit it..sadly however it does appear to recede when the exploiters are banished….therein lies the problem.
Well sort of…as we have run out of room for exploitation in any case.
"…sadly however it does appear to recede when the exploiters are banished…"
Does it??
Innovators have been innovating looooooong before Rand's darlings took the stage.
The inventor of the bow didn't demand his pound of flesh for his cleverness, nor did the person who noticed what yeast did to wet flour…
"The inventor of the bow didn't demand his pound of flesh for his cleverness, nor did the person who noticed what yeast did to wet flour…"
No, i suspect those individuals did not, but Rands lot made sure those innovations were available to as many as possible, to their own benefit…and therein lies the difference.
Is it innovation if nobody adopts it?…id suggest not.
Nobody adopted .. the bow? The clay pot? No uptake for flint knives, woven sandals or wooden combs, until a Randian stepped up to save humanity from its dimwittedness?