Auckland’s new overlord

Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, May 23rd, 2009 - 39 comments
Categories: auckland supercity - Tags:

democracy-under-attack

Remember – March against National’s undemocratic supercity Monday 25th, noon, Queen St [More info]

Sometimes democracy’s a pain in the arse. So Aucklanders are in luck. Local democracy’s been done away with.

Now, there’s a junta in charge. The councils Aucklanders elected a year and a half ago are now subject to five people hand picked by Rodney Hide. All friends of big business. No voice for community groups. There’s a woman and a Maori to get the PC quotient right.

je-sais-quoiThing’s led by a dude called Mark Ford.

This Atlas of a man has carried Auckland’s water (Watercare Services) and public transport (ARTA) systems on his mighty shoulders for 15 and 2 years respectively. And aren’t they in fine shape.

I reckon you can always tell a lot about the type of business ‘leader’ you’re dealing with by their picture in the annual report. Ford’s is a full-page spread. Reminiscent of Winston Peters’ 2005 ‘ain’t I hot’ campaign ad. Without the je ne sais quoi.

If my admittedly addled memory serves me right there was some fracas with Ford and the councils over water privatisation back in the late 1990s. Can anyone fill in the details? Drop us a line. Would be appreciated.

It’s quite clear how this is going to play out. Appoint five Randian heroes to design you a council what will you get? A council run like a big business for big business, ready to be sold off to big business.

Wave goodbye to local democracy, Auckland.

– Ps. How long had my byline been spelled Zetitic? That’s a dumb name.

39 comments on “Auckland’s new overlord ”

  1. bobo 1

    Looks like this will blow up into our own watergate, so after Mr Ford has finished his transition of all water services to be run by watercare can he then just go back to being the head of watercare and how is that not a conflict of interest whether he stands down in the interim or not?

    Please media forget Rankin crap and do some digging into how long this plan goes back between Rodney and Mr Ford..

  2. The Baron 2

    I’m curious as to what the other readers of this blog would rather the Government do…

    For the purpose of this argument, lets assume that the supercity idea is a goer (I know many dislike it, but indulge me). If that is the case, then surely some sort of check on the current councils is warranted, to ensure that they are not overly encumbering the functions of the new council.

    Toilet rolls was an example of the opportunities this creates, ableit hardly the most significant – incredible that Auckland City spends $150k on them! But perhaps there is an opportunity for ACC to roll over the current contract, so that a new, greater contract for $600k worth of toilet rolls can be negotiated post Auckland Council formation. The benefit of course is that this larger contract may be awarded on significantly better terms due to the increased size across the entire new council.

    In sum, this all seems a sensible way of managing the this transition. Zetitic and others – do you have an alternative?

    • Nick 2.1

      In answer to The Baron yes we do have an alternative, and guess what? It is the status quo……what is being asked for is some proof that the people of Auckland will be consulted, listened to and the result be a reflection of their wishes. This seems to me to be a risk that Hide is not prepared to run, its too democratic. Which should give you a clue to his anti democratic modus operandi.

      Hide would prefer to impose his mechanistic business pracititioners to impose a fait accompli. In case you had not noticed these are the class of corporate functionaries who designed and drove the latest boom to bust cycle so we should have an idea of the end result of their model.

      What is disturbing about the Hide plan is that there has been a Royal Commission with significant inputs, and he has shoved these sideways. He has less of a mandate in terms of votes than NZ First who did not even get elected so the question needs to be asked how entrenched is this in National Party circles, which of them stands to gain?

      More disturbing still is that both Hide and the Royal Commission utilised lingual assumptions to frame their desired outcomes. Examples would be “efficiency” as opposed to “effectiveness”, or “economies of scale” etc etc. Democracy is not easy, it costs and takes time and it resides between our ears and not on balance sheets. When we let loose anti democratic self interest all suffer.

      • The Baron 2.1.1

        But they aren’t a group of “mechanistic business practitioners”…

        Mark Ford – “businessman” only in the public entity sense. Doesn’t seem to have spent time in the private sector at all.

        Miriam Dean – lawyer, QC. Er… what’s big business about that? She sounds pretty expert to me!

        John Waller – oooh here you go, a bank chairman. One point out of three so far.

        John Law – an ex Mayor. Ah… 3-1.

        Wayne Walden – again, businesses. But also a big stint on the public side. I’ll give you the point for fairness.

        So, only 2 people could be even remotely described as “mechanistic business practitioners”. I guess this is what happens when the attack lines are written prior to the announcement.

        • jarbury 2.1.1.1

          Alternative number 1: Status quo
          Alternative number 2: Royal Commission’s suggestion
          Alternative number 3: Don’t hurry it, have proper consultation for all three stages (too late for that now), have a referendum and get everything in place for the 2013 elections.

          I could go on…..

          • Swampy 2.1.1.1.1

            Yes, draw the whole process out for another five years, all the uncertainty and wastage, but who cares if the political mileage can be used as a lever in the 2011 national election, has it not already struck you that Russell Norman is using the Mount Albert by-election as his grandstand and that in effect Labour in the filibuster has effectively launched its campaign for the 2010 Auckland local government election?

            Perhaps you’d like to suggest how a referendum could deliver a certain outcome of the model to be followed. Supposing you have five possible models, but none of them get an absolute majority of votes. Which has a mandate to proceed? It’s like saying a 10% political party should have 50% of the power.

            The fact is the Royal Commission has already widely consulted, then Hide came up with a model based loosely on that, which is now going to select committee for further public consultation. The only right at which you or I or anyone can fairly comment on that process is after the select committee has finished its report and the Bill has been brought to the second reading and has finally passed all its stages and we absolutely know what the model is. That is fair, and it is democratic, and I wish everyone who is whining would shut up because no one down in the South Island where I live cares that much about Auckland at the moment.

            I think it would be fair to say that Aucklanders or some of those whipping up feeling against this proposal somehow think they are more important than the rest of the country, they do not have any idea how the Jafa label came into being and the fact that the rest of New Zealand has had enough of hearing about Auckland’s problems. So far as I can see the government has got stuck into trying to solve these problems, as they should.

      • Swampy 2.1.2

        Mark Ford as head of Watercare/ARTA is some sort of closet market high flyer? LOL. The rest of the TA are not in that mould either. Have to be silly to believe that.

        I prefer to believe that the select committee is going to listen to the public and come up with a reasonably balanced scenario. Because there has to be a democratic local body election in 2010 and that will spill over into the parliamentary election in 2011.

        Most of what is coming out expects us to believe that Rodney Hide who has only a small say in the government as a whole has unbridled power to push through an extreme ideology, well it is just not going to happen because the rest of the government’s MPs have no great urge to follow Roger Douglas down the political gurgler.

    • Zetetic 2.2

      Not dissolving democracy in Auckland would be a start.

      • The Baron 2.2.1

        Yawn. I can read that sort of commentary on the labour website. I thought this was something different?

        • Macro 2.2.1.1

          What is at stake here is “DEMOCRACY” – obviously you don’t believe in it.

          • Swampy 2.2.1.1.1

            The councils still exist and are doing their normal council things. No problem with democracy there.

            The impact of the TA in practice is still to be seen.

            There was a huge amount of absolute codswallop in attempts by the Greens and Labour to hijack the TA Bill by writing nonsensical itch scratching into it that had nothing to do what it is about. The legislation doesn’t have that much in it. Go and read what it does say.

            The way it is being framed, obviously Labour and the Greens see their own existence is threatened in a major way, the flow of dollars to political causes and vote buying in the 2010 election. I find that far fetched myself but there has to be some reason like that for the mass hysteria they are whipping up. If the TA takes aim at a whole lot of cushy jobs and bureacracy maybe that is where the threat lies but I think you should ask the public whether they want their rates dollars spent on bureacracy bloat.

    • rave 2.3

      Baron if you rolled out all the public shit paper end from here to China you wouldnt cover the grins on Hide and Banksys faces.

    • The Baron 2.4

      I’ll take it from all of these responses (and bearing in mind the indulgence that I mentioned at the start) that none of you can posit a different way of delivering the objective of achieving a cohesive, coordinated, and consistent transition to this new structure.

      I take the democracy point – so are you suggesting that these 5 names should have been elected? By Aucklanders at large?

      • Macro 2.4.1

        Well John Law wouldn’t be getting my vote for a start! – a previously failed mayor of Rodney – He got out before he was pushed.

      • lprent 2.4.2

        Don’t be stupid. The problem is the ridiculous timeline.

        Lets just assume that the timetable is changed to say 2012. Then the city could vote on it and it would force the NACT’s to come up with a workable proposal to put in front of the auckland electorate in 2010.

        As it is, we’ll just have to reject the NACT candidates (aka Citizens and Ratepayers) in 2010, and start the petitions under the LGA to split the city up again. That way we can try and get it right on a second try.

        • Swampy 2.4.2.1

          You may think taking five years is not going to paralyse Auckland even longer. You may also think having it as a major issue in the 2011 election is an even better idea.

          But try to sell that to the rest of the country. The current situation in Auckland is a complete joke and Wellington is not far behind. Christchurch has had one single council since 1989, and now has only 12 councillors. Dunedin has had a single council since 1989 as well, and they cover a very large area now, just fewer people.

          In reality the opposition is not based on anything else except the political fiefdoms of the groups that run the various Auckland councils. Stretching it out another four or five years is just a delaying tactic by these groups who want the extra time to reorganise so they will be in a better position in 2013.

          On the other hand National want the whole situation resolved and not stretching out over the next two elections and I don’t blame them at all for that.

    • Clarke 2.5

      But perhaps there is an opportunity for ACC to roll over the current contract, so that a new, greater contract for $600k worth of toilet rolls can be negotiated post Auckland Council formation.

      This is just a badly-framed argument that a minor improvement in economic efficiency outweighs all other concerns, and has been used as an excuse to discard democratic oversight.

      Since when did the people of Auckland sign up to this? In other words, if the point of the whole supercity proposal is simply to save some money, why have the proponents of the idea not been honest about it? Surely there should have been a referendum that asked a question like “will you be prepared to give up democratic representation and submit to the arbitrary decisions of some unelected business people who are mates with Rodney Hide in order to save $100 a year off your rates bill?”

      Bet you wouldn’t get 40% support for that.

      • The Baron 2.5.1

        What’s badly framed about it?

        Badly framed would be the hyperbole that you seem to inject into every one of your arguments. The people still have their Councils until the next election, just that those Councils have a check on them from making outrageous commitments prior to the transiton to the new authority. Given that you have yet to posit another way of achieving that goal, I would sugges that it is you who cannot frame a decent argument at all.

        As per my post above, they seem to be a good bunch to make that call – not a bunch of “mechanistic business practitioners” at all. “Mates with Rodney Hide” is another good one – evidently the man can’t have talented friends!

        Stop freaking out and start thinking, Clarke.

        • Swampy 2.5.1.1

          Let’s look at what powers the TA can have. They can stop councils from binding the future Auckland Council with spending decisions. Some of the people on those councils have probably already been thinking about what pork barrel projects they can bring forward and commit to in order to curry political favour in the 2010 elections.

          Now that might be kind of undemocratic yet no one in here attacking the TA is prepared to acknowledge this practical effect of its implementation.

          We are led to believe by the hysteria being whipped up against the TA that, basically, local councils can make any decisions they want and sign off any contracts they want and not have to pay for any of it, in a manner of speaking. The new Auckland Council will have to take over those liabilities when it is formed.

          How democratic is it to be binding a future administration with liabilities entered into by a body that you know is going to be dissolved thereby erasing its legal liabiity?

  3. lprent 3

    The problem is that we have never been asked about the shape or form of the Auckland super-city or the timetable to go to it. The latter is why Rodney has to set up this dictatorial process because it is an imposition by central government on Aucklanders. So he is creating a police force paid for by us to enforce his fucking ambitions.

    It is a simple auditing job, not a bloody dictatorship that is required. They are taking the money out of my rates to administer it. That is what they are doing at present because they are seconding the staff from the councils with the councils paying for it and therefore getting me to pay for it. It is not what I voted for in the last local body elections.

    The process should be that Rodney sets up a plan. Aucklanders vote on it. If it passes then it becomes something that collectively we have decided to do. Then we pay for the transition authority.

    Quite simply Rodney is robbing the rates of Auckland to do something that he wants – not what we want. To ensure that he can do that he is using parliaments preeminent domain, under urgency, without consultation, to setup a local dictatorship.

    After 2011 ACT will be toast.

    BTW: I support the idea of having a super-city council. Just not this farce from Rodney.

    • The Baron 3.1

      “After 2011 ACT will be toast.”

      Wishful thinking there I think Prent – around 40% of Aucklanders like the idea. While that isn’t a good look for this project, that is a far better proportion than ACT got in the last General Election.

      Remember – not everyone hates the SuperCity?

      • Clarke 3.1.1

        They will by 2011, after they open their rates bills.

        • The Baron 3.1.1.1

          Everyone hates those already, Clarke.

          God, another FAIL. Put your little red book away and start thinking for yourself, man.

          • Macro 3.1.1.1.1

            So your happy to fork out more money on your rates for this piece of stupidity that will result in sweet FA.

      • Draco T Bastard 3.1.2

        You completely ignored everything that Lynn said just to concentrate on that one sentence didn’t you? I suspect the reason you did so is because you still don’t have an answer for your support for NACTs undemocratic way of imposing this on Aucklanders.

        Most Aucklanders think something needs to be done to make the city overall better. To get the councils working together to get public transport and other services which cross council boundaries more effective. Very few of them support getting rid of our democracy.

      • lprent 3.1.3

        Idiot. I like the idea of a super-city – I’m one of the 40% or so.

        However I don’t want a rushed and inadequately supported solution. In other words I’m in the majority of that 40% who also think that Rodney is acting like a fuckwit. You really have to ask if the sunlamps have been screwing with his brains.

        The problem is that the way Rodney is going, he will screw the opportunity up. That means we don’t see anything effective happening for another 20 years. Rodney looks to me like he is doing his solution largely for ego reasons. If he’d been serious about it, then he’d have gone and organized some widespread support before coming up with his deeply flawed distortion of the royal commissions ideas. I could have almost put up with some of the RC’s ideas (and I’d have argued with some), but Rodney’s are simply stupid.

        This is all showing in the support levels for Rodney super-city plans. As people realize what they are, they withdraw support from the super-city proposals. So far Rodney has moved it from having a clear majority for a super-city to having more opposed than for it.

        Rather than support something that won’t work, it is preferable to stay with what we have at present and telling the damn idiots in the current central government to piss off and stop their stupid meddling.

    • Swampy 3.2

      The plan is being set up so that everyone in New Zealand can have a say on it, and so it should be.

      Calling it a dictatorship is far fetched. Parliament does have precedence over local government by perfectly legal means called the legislative process. At all times local governance is subject to parliamentary scrutiny in our democratic society and Parliament passes laws to define the scope of local government all of the time. This particular process is subject to the full scrutiny of Parliament and the public.

  4. millsy 4

    Of course, you could get off your asses and get behind a left wing campaign to take control of the Auckland Council in 2010, instead of whining about it. ‘Big business’ will only take control of auckland if you sit back and whine about it rather than saying ‘hey, lets all get together and have a crack at running for this thing, and taking control’.

    A super Auckland Council controlled by Green, Labour, Progressive, and other left and center people would be a slap in the face for Rodney and his mates.

    But, of course, you and everyone else on the left would rather whine…

    • Zetetic 4.1

      Can’t you walk and chew gum millsy? Because the Left can oppose the structure of the supercity to try to get positive changes and then go on to make the best of what it gets.

      • The Baron 4.1.1

        Hahaha if Glenda Fryer is part of that “best of what it gets” then I doubt it will be the “best” at all!

    • Zaphod Beeblebrox 4.2

      Agreed, this is an excellent chance to get something done with smart growth and public transport. Rodney is doing his best to push up voter turnout in the West and south and reduce it in the National voting rural areas.

      John Banks will be hoping the select committee comes up with some compromises.

      BTW Bob Harvey is very happy with John Law and Mark Ford being on the TA.

  5. Zaphod Beeblebrox 5

    Don’t worry, Baron, they will get to dislike the super city bureaucracy suits holed up in their CBD towers, as much as they do the existing ones.

  6. toad 6

    millsy, we’ll be working on it. The Greens and Labour are not too far apart at a local body level (unlike the level of national politics, where the Greens perceive Labour as being uncommitted to environmental sustainabilty and improving the lot of the most vulnerable in our society).

    But at a local level both Labour and the Greens oppose privatisation, support community development, support ecological and heritage concerns over the interests of big business making more profit, support democratic decison-making etc.

    So, we’ll be working on it. One thng the Supershitty has done is help to unite Labour and the Greens in the interests of local democracy. Remeber the Auckland Regional Services Trust, that was set up by the Nats with massive debt with the intention of forcing privatisation of Auckland assets. The problem the Nats then faced, was that a left wing majority was elected to it, and they then proceeded to successfully pay off the debt without any significant privatisation.

    And we can do it again with the Supershitty. But the campaign against it must still be fought, and that campaign will help to bring the forces of the political left closer together in Auckland local politics.

  7. I agree the transition agency could have been developed in a way that gave it a whole pile less powers. I mean why the heck does it need to oversee almost all council expenditure?

    I think having John Carter chair the select committee for the Super City bill is a disgusting move, and just another example of how the government wants to bulldoze through this process.

  8. Patrick 8

    I’m surprised you’re attacking one of your own?
    Ford may have links with Rodney Hide, but he has deeper strong links with Labour MP’s

    another case of the Standard convicting by ‘apparent’ association? – doh!

    • Anita 8.1

      Patrick writes,

      Ford may have links with Rodney Hide, but he has deeper strong links with Labour MP’s

      Care the list them?

  9. Jum 9

    I’m still trying to work out why a simple Auckland city problem of ‘how can we speed up getting from one side of Auckland to the other?’ corrupted into the destruction of democratically elected councils and the theft of community assets.

    Still no one answers me as to what will happen to all the assets when Standard and Poor carry out their threat to downgrade Auckland to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’ after the takeover of ‘Greater’ Auckland; that’s an excuse to privatise assets.

    Toad’s onto it.

    With the C & R gang block voting with Banks, already the Auckland Council is bereft of democracy and integrity.

    If assets do get sold, then we need to continue the fight by boycotting all businesses that make money out of the theft of our community assets. A scavenger register like the country-wide paedophile register should be kept. In fact, let’s ‘streamline’ it and keep the business vultures in with the paedophile stalkers. Spot the difference? Umm no.

  10. Swampy 10

    Perhaps you can do a better job than Mark Ford. Anyone can mouth off in public against someone they don’t like. No special talents or abilities are needed to do it. But it takes special talent for someone like Mark Ford to be appointed to manage the big stuff like ARTA. Perhaps you’d rather that these local government entities were run like a political party handing out favours and buying support rather than the important a politically neutral role they have.

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

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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