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Auditor-General must investigate Wongs

Written By: - Date published: 11:57 pm, December 8th, 2010 - 59 comments
Categories: corruption, john key - Tags: , , ,

Fresh evidence was presented in the House yesterday by rortbuster Pete Hodgson that makes a lie of testimony Sammy Wong gave to the investigation into his and his wife’s travel on taxpayer money. A proper inquiry by the Auditor-General must now be undertaken. There are also questions over John Key’s involvement.

You’ll remember that the Parliamentary Service investigated disgraced former Minister Pansy Wong and her husband Sammy’s use of her MP travel perk after Hodgson revealed that she and he had conducted private business while using that perk, which is against the rules. The investigation looked into trips that the Wong’s had taken on that perk. Based on the Wongs’ description of the purpose of each trip, it concluded that there was no “systematic abuse” of the perk.

One of the trips, according to Sammy, was to investigate his family genealogy. Hodgson today tabled evidence that, in reality, Sammy met with his business partner, former National PM Jenny Shipley and “he helped former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley launch a $40 million investment into a biotechnology centre, in which Mrs Shipley has shares”.

This, I think means two things: 1) the Wongs used the travel perk for business on more than one occasion, which is suggestive of “systematic abuse” rather than accidental or incidental abuse 2) the Wongs misled the Parliamentary Service investigation, which, frankly, should never have relied on the mere word of those being investigated in the first place.

When the Parliamentary Service report came out, John Armstrong and others condemned it as a whitewash. This new information makes it a sham.

Clearly, these matters need re-investigation by a competent body, which is obviously the Auditor-General. And let us not forget that Pansy also took four trips as minister to China that have not been investigated at all yet. These, too, should now be subject to the A-G’s inquiry.

Now we come to the issue of John Key’s involvement in all this. Here’s how it played out in the House:

Hon Pete Hodgson: When did he first become aware of the link between Pansy and Sammy Wong and Lianyungang Supreme Hovercraft Ltd?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY: When I first met Pansy Wong she introduced Sammy as her husband, so I was aware of the link then. In terms of the question the member asked, I have no recollection of that date.

Hon Pete Hodgson: Does he recall having dinner with Sammy Wong in New Zealand on 19 September 2008 and receiving a progress report on Liangyungang Supreme Hovercraft Ltd at that time?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No…

… Hon Pete Hodgson: I have a number of documents to table. I will try to group them. The first document I seek leave to table is off the Lianyungang Supreme Hovercraft website, which is no longer existent. It is both in English and in Mandarin, and it refers to the dinner between Sammy Wong and the Prime Minister on 19 September 2008.

Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sort to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection.

The look on John Key’s face when Hodgson tabled those papers ( about 2.55 in the vid) is what Audrey Young famously called his ‘Tranzrail eyes’. He looked caught out and uncertain of what more was to come.

I can’t speculate on what this all means. Although I’m confused as hell as to why the Leader of the National Party was getting updates on a Chinese hovercraft business.

And we’re not getting any answers out Key and Wong. After Question Time, Key walked through the waiting media “refusing to stop or acknowledge media queries” while Wong snuck out the back way. This unwillingness to front up can only deepen concerns.

59 comments on “Auditor-General must investigate Wongs ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. BLiP 1
    9 December 2010 at 12:01 am

    Merry Christmas National Ltd™ – cos you deserve it.

  2. Rex Widerstrom 2
    9 December 2010 at 12:06 am

    Can’t blame Key for pushing past the media throng… he’d have needed to change his trousers post haste.

    Pete Hodgson is shaping up as the new Winston Peters – minus the deceit and the dance floor moves.

    But who’s going to do this stuff when he retires? I can’t see anyone else lifting their nose out of the trough long enough to criticise their “Parliamentary colleagues”…

    • Draco T Bastard 2.1
      9 December 2010 at 12:16 am

      Their must be someone in the Labour wings that can be trained up.

      • Marty G 2.1.1
        9 December 2010 at 12:23 am

        The staff are key. Labour lost many of its best researchers in the post-election purge but hodgson got at least one back. Having the mp willing to front the research is also vital.Mallard will when hodgson is gone and maybe hughes. Needs to be someone reasonably experienced and senior

    • bobo 2.2
      9 December 2010 at 12:23 am

      Just watched the replay of question time tonight, the OTT “who me??” look of Key when asked was he at the Wongs that night was priceless. The Wongs are the just the tip of the iceberg, interested to find out more about Shipley and Key’s dealing in this, maybe he has another trust we don’t know about or a “pension plan” as they call it.. Would be easy to give info or political help to a company to be paid back down the road to avoid no direct link..but then again Key was careless in covering his tracks with his trans-rail shares, also looks like he aint the best of picking companies either , transrail shares lost money and this the hovercraft company is being sued…

      • Cnr Joe 2.2.1
        9 December 2010 at 7:04 am

        yeah, these are new eyes, his ‘ whats wong with that’ eyes. Tranzrail eyes are for when hes caught on the hop.

        that bitch Shipley still owes me some money.

        • felix 2.2.1.1
          9 December 2010 at 7:26 am

          Yep, the eyes say “what’s wrong with that?!” even as the mouth is saying “I didn’t do it!”

          He’s not even a good liar. Seriously, you’ve got to be a fucking idiot to be fooled by this 2-bit salesman.

          • Tigger 2.2.1.1.1
            9 December 2010 at 9:15 am

            Notice how slouchy he also gets at these times. His body goes almost limp when he’s caught out – trying to look relaxed rather than stiff with guilt.

          • Colonial Viper 2.2.1.1.2
            9 December 2010 at 9:22 am

            Seriously, you’ve got to be a fucking idiot to be fooled by this 2-bit salesman.

            The electorate is never wrong. Isn’t that so?

            • felix 2.2.1.1.2.1
              9 December 2010 at 11:12 am

              Don’t know if I can objectively say they’re wrong but I’m fairly confident I could make a case for a lot of them being fucking idiots.

  3. Draco T Bastard 3
    9 December 2010 at 12:11 am

    Well, now we know why Mrs Wong was incommunicado for two weeks – She along with Jonkey and Mr Wong were getting their stories straight. It’s what those caught doing wrong do to try and hide the fact that they were doing wrong.

  4. bobo 4
    9 December 2010 at 12:32 am

    A bit of history repeating perhaps?
    Shipley on the run.
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=2874

  5. Tanz 5
    9 December 2010 at 12:34 am

    Poor Pansy, give her a break. It’s not as though she is the only one, what is good for the goose is good for the gander. She is no worse than the other troughers.

    • Colonial Viper 5.1
      9 December 2010 at 12:56 am

      Much worse: she’s shamed the entire Asian community with her actions.

      • Tanz 5.1.1
        9 December 2010 at 1:21 am

        That’s a bit lame. So, Carter shamed the gay community? Whatever.

        • felix 5.1.1.1
          9 December 2010 at 5:58 am

          Bullshit Tanz.

          If you know of another minister who has been using their publicly funded private travel subsidy to conduct business, you should say so now or shut the fuck up.

          You’ve tried this exact same line every time the Wongs are brought up.

        • john k 5.1.1.2
          9 December 2010 at 9:51 am

          my wife is chinese and she want wong deported,i dont see how you can call her poor pansy as her and the husband are both rich,and one day may look at sexy as Shipley if they spent enough time at dinners with her riping off the tax payer

      • stargazer 5.1.2
        9 December 2010 at 10:56 am

        bullshit. i’m not responsible for her actions & refuse to be tainted by them. what a bizarre thing to say. are you tainted when anyone of your ethnic demographic behaves badly?

        • Colonial Viper 5.1.2.1
          9 December 2010 at 11:20 am

          Good on you for standing strong, but I also get that people stereotype. Wong liked to be seen as a community leader, her performance has a reflection on that community.

          And to answer you, of course I was not suggesting that you were responsible for Pansy Wong’s actions .

    • lprent 5.2
      9 December 2010 at 8:24 am

      No.

      In the mid 2000’s the National and Act parties introduced a widespread use of a poliitcal pattern of behavior into politics here – I think that they stole it from Winston Peters. It said that regardless of the seriousness of offenses by MP’s everything that they do should be blown out of proportion. Don’t focus on the policies, just smear the people. That the way the political game was played from opposition was the number of scalps of politically injured, disgraced and exiled MP’s.

      I personally find it stupid, because the triviality offenses like Benson-Popes get muddled up with the serious like those of Taito Phillip Field. It also makes parliament and government a harder place to work..

      However National and Act seemed to think it was required – so we are demonstrating how it should be done. Of course the left appear to be considerably better at it than national or act based on the results of the last two years harvesting. Either that or NACT politicians are more venial than was anticipated.

      But NACT can expect this to continue at ever higher levels of proficiency to enure tha the political idiots on the other side learn that this type of politics is not useful for running a government, and both sides can use it against each others governments.

      Which is why The Standard authors assist in the task, much like kiwiblog and it’s assorted clones did during the last government.

      That is my view on it.

      • BLiP 5.2.1
        9 December 2010 at 2:05 pm

        Well said. The level vindictive nastiness which seeped down from the National Ltd™ opposition into the workplace, pubs and blogs is what prompted me to switch from lurker to regular commentator. Their smearing didn’t even have to involve facts, just bald, white, pudgy, middle-class male ignorance.

        Don’t like it back up ’em, do they?

  6. toad 6
    9 December 2010 at 7:36 am

    One of the trips, according to Sammy, was to investigate his family genealogy. Hodgson today tabled evidence that, in reality, Sammy met with his business partner, former National PM Jenny Shipley and “he helped former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley launch a $40 million investment into a biotechnology centre, in which Mrs Shipley has shares”.

    Now that is interesting. As a retired MP who was in Parliament before 1999, Shipley has a travel perk entitlement too. The investigation should also be widened into what she has been using hers for. We’ve already seen former Ministers David Butcher and Roger McClay criminally convicted for fraudulently using theirs for business purposes.

  7. mickysavage 7
    9 December 2010 at 9:05 am

    Key’s justification for not referring Wong’s case to the Auditor General is beyond belief. If it was ministerial spending he would but since it is parliamentary spending he will not?

    Talk about a double standard …

  8. joe bloggs 8
    9 December 2010 at 9:29 am

    Yawn…

    • Colonial Viper 8.1
      9 December 2010 at 9:33 am

      First time I’ve seen you bored while we are talking about bludgers, Joe.

    • pollywog 8.2
      9 December 2010 at 9:34 am

      yeah…i’m tired of Key’s bullshit as well

      • Craig Glen Eden 8.2.1
        9 December 2010 at 9:56 am

        The irony of all this is once this has all unravelled Key and Wong could end up not just in prison but with no right to even vote.

        They could make Winston look like a Saint. Winston must be pissing himself now.

        • toad 8.2.1.1
          9 December 2010 at 10:15 am

          Wong maybe, but Key? You know something we don’t, Craig?

        • marsman 8.2.1.2
          9 December 2010 at 10:15 am

          Here’s hoping!

          • Craig Glen Eden 8.2.1.2.1
            9 December 2010 at 12:32 pm

            So we have Wong in China confirmed doing business once which is a breach of the rules.

            Then we have another visit when Mr Wong Lands in China on a ancestry trip and the very next day gets a invite from his family to be at a gathering where Jenny Shipley one of Mr Wongs business partners just happens to be laying a foundation stone! Wow what a coincidence.
            But wait theirs more according to the Herald
            “Meanwhile, a spokesman for KiwiRail has told the Herald the company understood that Mr Wong had been engaged by Pacific Power Developments (PPD), a New Zealand registered company with links in China “to arrange meetings in New Zealand for state owned CNR (China North Rail)” in 2005.

            CNR’s overseas trading arm, CNR Loric later won a contract to supply 20 locomotives to KiwiRail in an agreement signed in June last year”

            Would this be the the same Rail company that John Key had shares in? Ambitious for NZ or Ambitious for John Key. Who is helping fund the National Party? Oh some one called Pansy has been helping out a bit with the odd 200 grand, oh shit Her last name is Wong what a coincidence.
            Also why is John Key receiving briefings about some Hovercraft company?

            • Jim Nald 8.2.1.2.1.1
              9 December 2010 at 12:49 pm

              Frankly, I am pissed off with the antics of the two Wongs. They appear more and more like a twin act, double deal. And the shenanigans increasingly look like they lead to the door of both Nat PMs: the current and the ex.

            • bobo 8.2.1.2.1.2
              9 December 2010 at 2:56 pm

              Curiouser and curiouser 🙂 weren’t we told last year that Kiwirail couldn’t build them here due to capacity by Steven Joyce so they didn’t even get to make a bid? Is this possible linked?

            • ghostwhowalksnz 8.2.1.2.1.3
              9 December 2010 at 5:51 pm

              Heres the family ties Sammy was investigating –

              Qiqihar Railway Rolling Stock Co., Ltd.
              Harbin Railway Rolling Stock Co., Ltd.
              Changchun Railway Coach Co., Ltd.
              Changchun Railway Vehicle Co., Ltd.
              CNR Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co., Ltd.
              Tangshan Railway Vehicle Co., Ltd
              Tangshan Railway Transportation Equipment Co., Ltd.
              Tianjin LJ Railway Transport Equipment Ltd.
              Beijing Feb. 7th Railway Transportation Equipment Co., Ltd.
              Beijing Nankou Railway Transportation Machinery Co., Ltd.
              CNR Datong Electric Locomotive Co., Ltd.
              Taiyuan Railway Rolling Stock Co., Ltd.
              Yongji Xinshisu Electric Equipment Co., Ltd.
              Ji’nan Railway Rolling Stock Co., Ltd.
              Xi’an Railway Rolling Stock Co., Ltd.
              Lanzhou Jinniu Railway Transportation Equipment Co., Ltd.
              CNR Dalian Locomotive Research Institute Co., Ltd.
              Qingdao Sifang Rolling Stock Research Institute Co., Ltd.
              CNR Logistic Development Corp., Ltd.
              LORIC Import & Export Corp., Ltd

              All ‘offspring of ‘ CNR ( China North Rail)

              • RedLogix …
                9 December 2010 at 10:09 pm

                I’m hearing that the KiwiRail people on the ground are very sceptical about the probable quality of the CNR locos being delivered. According to one person on the inside, there are a number of very similar locos lying idle in Pakistan because within a few years of delivery they had so many problems the Pakis had to abandon them.

                Scuttlebutt from semi-reliable source.

    • Bright Red 8.3
      9 December 2010 at 12:18 pm

      guys. joe bloggs has said yawn, so I think it’s best if we all just ignore this issue and hope it goes away like he is.

      • Jim Nald 8.3.1
        9 December 2010 at 12:52 pm

        more like a yawning gap between what was disclosed/reported in the hugh mcphail/speaker so-called investigation and the fuller story

  9. robertguyton 9
    9 December 2010 at 10:13 am

    lprent[email protected]:24 – thanks for that clear description. It rings like a true bell.

  10. Cnr Joe 10
    9 December 2010 at 10:18 am

    seems to me – heh – the Wongs live in China interspersed with reaaally loong trips to N.Z to conduct ‘business’.

    hey – that Shipley heinousness is in business with Sam Wong innit?
    but he gets invited by his old’ family friend’ ( the owner ) to an opening She is cutting the ribbon for?
    and yet , what, he only hears about it – when? before heading back to China to flaff around with family trees, ( an orchard? forestry interests?) The morning after he arrived?
    these stories are going to get rever more ridiculous as befits these crummy crummy people, these right wing politicians, these venal swipes.
    Tranzrail eyes
    Eye done no Wong eyes
    Worthless to me eyes
    Can’t stand the Heatley eyes
    The Mesmerist continues his reign

  11. B 11
    9 December 2010 at 12:05 pm

    WongKey-gate?

  12. Ms M 12
    9 December 2010 at 12:53 pm

    Tuesday November 30, 2010 12:42 John Key
    12:42 Moderator: Craig asks: What do you plan to do with your life when your term/terms as Prime Minister Finishes?

    Tuesday November 30, 2010 12:42 Moderator
    12:42 John Key: I’m likely to have some engagement in the commercial world. I have no interest in going to the United Nations, or holding any other elected positions.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4405723/Live-chat-Prime-Minister-John-Key-text

    • Jim Nald 12.1
      9 December 2010 at 12:56 pm

      might as well ambitiously set up things now for some likely engagement in the commercial world ?

  13. Treetop 13
    9 December 2010 at 12:55 pm

    I have just looked into my crystal ball and the response I got was, that Mr Preest will get a settlement from Mr Yang over the hoovercraft deal going belly up to avoid litigation. This would ensure that Mr Wong was kept out of any connection with the hoovercraft business.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10686807

  14. The Voice of Reason 14
    9 December 2010 at 2:12 pm

    Oh oh, Pansy, looks like the A-G reads the Standard:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10693149

  15. BLiP 15
    9 December 2010 at 2:29 pm

    EDIT. Changed my mind.

  16. the pink postman 16
    9 December 2010 at 3:04 pm

    Well at last these bastards are being exposed for what they are .A two faced lot of sleaze bags. the Textor/Crosby run campaigns of muck throwing has rebounded. We’ve had the creepy campaigns against Helen Clark, from disgusting accusations, to smear. All without proof ,but of course mud sticks. Then we had the disgracefull attacks on Chris Carter. The Phillip Field afffair was overkill and I still believe he was set up. The ACT/Nat dirty tricks brigade bought in a couple of skinheads to accuse Benson-Pope and ended his career. Some of us oldies will remember the fascist Muldoon and the way he ruined Moyle and Amos .
    Well their cover has been exposed . Lets get them good and proper.
    My gut feeling is that this is big, very big . Im also beginning to think Key is involved , the so called blind trusts will at sometime have to be opened.
    Just remember Key is worth 50 million . How the hell does anyone make 50 million?

    • Colonial Viper 16.1
      9 December 2010 at 6:13 pm

      Just remember Key is worth 50 million . How the hell does anyone make 50 million?

      Knowing all the big deals going down all the time, you simply take your bonus money (in itself worth hundreds of thousands at the start or millions a year later on) and put it where its going to make more. Not talking insider trading or anything like that here, just talking straight old being aware of the investment landscape. The first million is the hardest to make, but if you get that in your pay, then it snowballs from there.

    • BLiP 16.2
      9 December 2010 at 7:18 pm

      Just remember Key is worth 50 million . How the hell does anyone make 50 million?

      He didn’t *make* $50 million. Him and his mates stole it when they looted Thailand.

  17. ghostwhowalksnz 17
    9 December 2010 at 5:54 pm

    One thing that has made me curious?

    Why werent Sammys credit card records used in the Inquiry?

    Surely if he was on family visits he wouldnt be using a business credit card for internal chinese hotels, car hire ,meals etc.
    IRD would be very interested if business and private were being mixed.

  18. Irascible 18
    11 December 2010 at 7:58 am

    The connections between the dots get drawn even darker and more definite. When do the NZ Police begin to investigate the dealings of the Wongs, Shipleys and Key?
    Is it too much to ask that a full and proper investigation into wong-gate is begun immediately by someone other than a retired civil servant under instruction from the Speaker?

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  • The next Maori challenge
    Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Secret “war-crime” warrants by International Criminal Court is mischief-making
    The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    3 days ago

  • How to answer Drunk Uncle Kevin's Climate Crisis reckons
    Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • National’s Luxon may be glum about his poll ratings but has he found a winner in promising to rai...
    National Party leader Christopher Luxon may  be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but  he could be tapping  into  a rich political vein in  describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining,  with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: More Labour foot-dragging
    Yesterday the IPCC released the final part of its Sixth Assessment Report, warning us that we have very little time left in which to act to prevent catastrophic climate change, but pointing out that it is a problem that we can solve, with existing technology, and that anything we do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Te Pāti Māori Are Revolutionaries – Not Reformists.
    Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • When does history become “ancient”, on Tinetti’s watch as Minister of Education – and what o...
    Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Climate Catastrophe, but first rugby.
    Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What the US and European bank rescues mean for us
    Always a bailout: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Government would fully guarantee all savers in all smaller US banks if needed. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the dip’ and ‘holding on for dear life’. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Who will drain Wellington’s lobbying swamp?
    Wealthy vested interests have an oversized influence on political decisions in New Zealand. Partly that’s due to their use of corporate lobbyists. Fortunately, the influence lobbyists can have on decisions made by politicians is currently under scrutiny in Guyon Espiner’s in-depth series published by RNZ. Two of Espiner’s research exposés ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • It’s Raining Congestion
    Yesterday afternoon it rained and traffic around the region ground to a halt, once again highlighting why it is so important that our city gets on with improving the alternatives to driving. For additional irony, this happened on the same day the IPCC synthesis report landed, putting the focus on ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Checking The Left: The Dreadful Logic Of Fascism.
    The Beginning: Anti-Co-Governance agitator, Julian Batchelor, addresses the Dargaville stop of his travelling roadshow across New Zealand . Fascism almost always starts small. Sadly, it doesn’t always stay that way. Especially when the Left helps it to grow.THERE IS A DREADFUL LOGIC to the growth of fascism. To begin with, it ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • Good Friends and Terrible Food
    Hi,From an incredibly rainy day in Los Angeles, I just wanted to check in. I guess this is the day Trump may or may not end up in cuffs? I’m attempting a somewhat slower, less frenzied week. I’ve had Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new record on non-stop, and it’s been a ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – What evidence is there for the hockey stick?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Carry right on up there, Corporal Espiner
    RNZ has been shining their torch into corners where lobbyists lurk and asking such questions as: Do we like the look of this?and Is this as democratic as it could be?These are most certainly questions worth asking, and every bit as valid as, say:Are we shortchanged democratically by the way ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • This smells
    RNZ has continued its look at the role of lobbyists by taking a closer look at the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Andrew Kirton. He used to work for liquor companies, opposing (among other things) a container refund scheme which would have required them to take responsibility for their own ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Major issues on the table in Mahuta’s  talks in Beijing with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has left for Beijing for the first ministerial visit to China since 2019. Mahuta is  to  meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang  where she  might have to call on all the  diplomatic skills  at  her  command. Almost certainly she  will  face  questions  on what  role ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago

  • Inside TOP's Teal Card and political strategy
    TL;DR: The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and not just in his Ilam electorate where students make up more than a quarter of the voters and where Manji is confident ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Make Your Empties Go Another Round.
    When I was a kid New Zealand was actually pretty green. We didn’t really have plastic. The fruit and veges came in a cardboard box, the meat was wrapped in paper, milk came in a glass bottle, and even rubbish sacks were made of paper. Today if you sit down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how similar Vladimir Putin is to George W. Bush
    Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – Syd Holland, Richard Prebble, Juduth Collins, Chris Hipkins – or by far lesser lights like Keith Allen, Frank Gill, Ben Couch, Allen McCready, Clem Simich, ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER:  Te Pāti Māori’s uncompromising threat to the status quo
    Chris Trotter writes – The Crown is a fickle friend. Any political movement deemed to be colourful but inconsequential is generally permitted to go about its business unmolested. The Crown’s media, RNZ and TVNZ, may even “celebrate” its existence (presumably as proof of Democracy’s broad-minded acceptance of diversity). ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Shining a bright light on lobbyists in politics
    Four out of the five people who have held the top role of Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff since 2017 have been lobbyists. That’s a fact that should worry anyone who believes vested interests shouldn’t have a place at the centre of decision making. Chris Hipkins’ newly appointed Chief of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Auckland Council Draft Budget – an unnecessary backwards step
    Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. You can read the consultation document here, and provide feedback here. Auckland Council is currently consulting on what is one of its most important ever Annual Plans – the ‘budget’ of what it will spend money on between July ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Talking’ Posey Parker Blues
    by Molten Moira from Motueka If you want to be a woman let me tell you what to do Get a piece of paper and a biro tooWrite down your new identification And boom! You’re now a woman of this nationSpelled W O M A Na real trans woman that isAs opposed ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    4 days ago

  • More Māori words make it into the OED, and polytech boss (with rules on words like “students”) ...
    Buzz from the Beehive   New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti is hosting the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers for three days from today, welcoming Education Ministers and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, and from Australia. Here’s hoping they have brought translators with them – or ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Social intercourse with haters and Nazis: an etiquette guide
    Let’s say you’ve come all the way from His Majesty’s United Kingdom to share with the folk of Australia and New Zealand your antipathy towards certain other human beings. And let’s say you call yourself a women’s rights activist.And let’s say 99 out of 100 people who listen to you ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • The Greens, Labour, and coalition enforcement
    James Shaw gave the Green party's annual "state of the planet" address over the weekend, in which he expressed frustration with Labour for not doing enough on climate change. His solution is to elect more Green MPs, so they have more power within any government arrangement, and can hold Labour ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • This sounds familiar…
    RNZ this morning has the first story another investigative series by Guyon Espiner, this time into political lobbying. The first story focuses on lobbying by government agencies, specifically transpower, Pharmac, and assorted universities, and how they use lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence on the Ministers who oversee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Letter to the NZ Herald: NCEA pseudoscience – “Mauri is present in all matter”
    Nick Matzke writes –   Dear NZ Herald, I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. I teach evolutionary biology, but I also have long experience in science education and (especially) political attempts to insert pseudoscience into science curricula in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • So what would be the point of a Green vote again?
    James Shaw has again said the Greens would be better ‘in the tent’ with Labour than out, despite Labour’s policy bonfire last week torching much of what the Government was doing to reduce emissions. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Green Party has never been more popular than in some ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Gas stoves pose health risks. Are gas furnaces and other appliances safe to use?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Poor air quality is a long-standing problem in Los Angeles, where the first major outbreak of smog during World War II was so intense that some residents thought the city had been attacked by chemical weapons. Cars were eventually discovered ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Genetic Heritage and Co Governance
    Yesterday I was reading an excellent newsletter from David Slack, and I started writing a comment “Sounds like some excellent genetic heritage…” and then I stopped.There was something about the phrase genetic heritage that stopped me in tracks. Is that a phrase I want to be saying? It’s kind of ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON: Radical Uncertainty
    Brian Easton writes – Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s Middle East strategy, 20 years after the Iraq War
    This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. While it strongly opposed the US-led invasion, New Zealand’s then Labour-led government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark did deploy military engineers to try to help rebuild Iraq in mid-2003. With violence soaring, their 12-month deployment ended without being renewed ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago

  • The motorways are finished
    After seventy years, Auckland’s motorway network is finally finished. In July 1953 the first section of motorway in Auckland was opened between Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and Mt Wellington Highway. The final stage opens to traffic this week with the completion of the motorway part of the Northern Corridor Improvements project. Aucklanders ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • Kicking National’s tyres
    National’s appointment of Todd McClay as Agriculture spokesperson clearly signals that the party is in trouble with the farming vote. McClay was not an obvious choice, but he does have a record as a political scrapper. The party needs that because sources say it has been shedding farming votes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • As long as there is cricket, the world is somehow okay.
    Rays of white light come flooding into my lounge, into my face from over the top of my neighbour’s hedge. I have to look away as the window of the conservatory is awash in light, as if you were driving towards the sun after a rain shower and suddenly blinded. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • So much of what was there remains
    The columnists in Private Eye take pen names, so I have not the least idea who any of them are. But I greatly appreciate their expert insight, especially MD, who writes the medical column, offering informed and often damning critique of the UK health system and the politicians who keep ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 12, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 18, 2023. Story of the Week Guest post: What 13,500 citations reveal about the IPCC’s climate science report   IPCC WG1 AR6 SPM Report Cover - Changing ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Financial capability services are being bucked up, but Stuart Nash shouldn’t have to see if they c...
    Buzz from the Beehive  The building of financial capability was brought into our considerations when Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced she had dipped into the government’s coffers for $3 million for “providers” to help people and families access community-based Building Financial Capability services. That wording suggests some ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Things that make you go Hmmmm.
    Do you ever come across something that makes you go Hmmmm?You mean like the song?No, I wasn’t thinking of the song, but I am now - thanks for that. I was thinking of things you read or hear that make you stop and go Hmmmm.Yeah, I know what you mean, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • The hoon for the week that was to March 19
    By the end of the week, the dramas over Stuart Nash overshadowed Hipkins’ policy bonfire. File photo: Lynn GrieveasonTLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and the political economy covered on The Kākā included:PM Chris Hipkins’ announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but ...
    The KakaBy Peter Bale
    1 week ago

  • Saving Stuart Nash: Explaining Chris Hipkins' unexpected political calculation
    When word went out that Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would be making an announcement about Stuart Nash on the tiles at parliament at 2:45pm yesterday, the assumption was that it was over. That we had reached tipping point for Nash’s time as minister. But by 3pm - when, coincidentally, the ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    1 week ago

  • Radical Uncertainty
    Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go on to attack physics by citing Newton.So ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago

  • Jump onto the weekly hoon on Riverside at 5pm
    Photo by Walker Fenton on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on Riverside (we’ve moved from Zoom) for our chat about the week’s news with ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • The Dream of Florian Neame: Accepted
    In a nice bit of news, my 2550-word deindustrial science-fiction piece, The Dream of Florian Neame, has been accepted for publication at New Maps Magazine (https://www.new-maps.com/). I have published there before, of course, with Of Tin and Tintagel coming out last year. While I still await the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago

  • Snakes and leaders
    And so this is Friday, and what have we learned?It was a week with all the usual luggage: minister brags and then he quits, Hollywood red carpet is full of twits. And all the while, hanging over the trivial stuff: existential dread, and portents of doom.Depending on who you read ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • This station is Karanga-a-Hape, Chur!
    When I changed the name of this newsletter from The Daily Read to Nick’s Kōrero I was a bit worried whether people would know what Kōrero meant or not. I added a definition when I announced the change and kind of assumed people who weren’t familiar with it would get ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Greens don’t shy from promoting a candidate’s queerness but are quiet about govt announcement on...
    There was a time when a political party’s publicity people would counsel against promoting a candidate as queer. No matter which of two dictionary meanings the voting public might choose to apply – the old meaning of odd, strange, weird, or aberrant, or the more recent meaning of gay, homosexual ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Ask Me Anything about the week to March 17
    Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:PM Chris Hipkins announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but which blew up ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Slow consenting could create $16b climate liability by 2050
    Even though concern over the climate change threat is becoming more mainstream, our governments continue to opt out of the difficult decisions at the expense of time, and cost for future generations. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Now we have a climate liability number to measure the potential failure of the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges.  Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • New project set to supercharge ocean economy in Nelson Tasman
    A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • National’s education policy: where’s the funding?
    After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment.  “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Free programme to help older entrepreneurs and inventors
    People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government target increased to keep powering up the Māori economy
    A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Continued progress on reducing poverty in challenging times
    77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Speech at Fiji Investment and Trade Business Forum
    Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government investments boost and diversify local economies in lower South Island
    $2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government future-proofs EV charging
    Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • World-leading family harm prevention campaign supports young NZers
    Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention. Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. “Over 1,200 young kiwis told ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • First Chief Clinical Advisor welcomed into Coroners Court
    Hon Rino Tirikatene, Minister for Courts, welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s appointment of Dr Garry Clearwater as New Zealand’s first Chief Clinical Advisor working with the Coroners Court. “This appointment is significant for the Coroners Court and New Zealand’s wider coronial system.” Minister Tirikatene said. Through Budget 2022, the Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Next steps for affected properties post Cyclone and floods
    The Government via the Cyclone Taskforce is working with local government and insurance companies to build a picture of high-risk areas following Cyclone Gabrielle and January floods. “The Taskforce, led by Sir Brian Roche, has been working with insurance companies to undertake an assessment of high-risk areas so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • New appointment to Māori Land Court bench
    E te huia kaimanawa, ko Ngāpuhi e whakahari ana i tau aupikinga ki te tihi o te maunga. Ko te Ao Māori hoki e whakanui ana i a koe te whakaihu waka o te reo Māori i roto i te Ao Ture. (To the prized treasure, it is Ngāpuhi who ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Government focus on jobs sees record number of New Zealanders move from Benefits into work
    113,400 exits into work in the year to June 2022 Young people are moving off Benefit faster than after the Global Financial Crisis Two reports released today by the Ministry of Social Development show the Government’s investment in the COVID-19 response helped drive record numbers of people off Benefits and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Vertical farming partnership has upward momentum
    The Government’s priority to keep New Zealand at the cutting edge of food production and lift our sustainability credentials continues by backing the next steps of a hi-tech vertical farming venture that uses up to 95 per cent less water, is climate resilient, and pesticide-free. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Conference of Pacific Education Ministers – Keynote Address
    E nga mana, e nga iwi, e nga reo, e nga hau e wha, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou kātoa. Warm Pacific greetings to all. It is an honour to host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers here in Tāmaki Makaurau. Aotearoa is delighted to be hosting you ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New $13m renal unit supports Taranaki patients
    The new renal unit at Taranaki Base Hospital has been officially opened by the Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall this afternoon. Te Huhi Raupō received around $13 million in government funding as part of Project Maunga Stage 2, the redevelopment of the Taranaki Base Hospital campus. “It’s an honour ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Second Poseidon aircraft on home soil
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the country’s second P-8A Poseidon aircraft alongside personnel at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base at Ohakea today. “With two of the four P-8A Poseidons now on home soil this marks another significant milestone in the Government’s historic investment in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Further humanitarian aid for Türkiye and Syria
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide further humanitarian support to those seriously affected by last month’s deadly earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, says Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. “The 6 February earthquakes have had devastating consequences, with almost 18 million people affected. More than 53,000 people have died and tens of thousands more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Community voice to help shape immigration policy
    Migrant communities across New Zealand are represented in the new Migrant Community Reference Group that will help shape immigration policy going forward, Immigration Minister Michael Wood announced today.  “Since becoming Minister, a reoccurring message I have heard from migrants is the feeling their voice has often been missing around policy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • State Highway 3 project to deliver safer journeys, better travel connections for Taranaki
    Construction has begun on major works that will deliver significant safety improvements on State Highway 3 from Waitara to Bell Block, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan announced today. “This is an important route for communities, freight and visitors to Taranaki but too many people have lost their lives or ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Ginny Andersen appointed as Minister of Police
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has today appointed Ginny Andersen as Minister of Police. “Ginny Andersen has a strong and relevant background in this important portfolio,” Chris Hipkins said. “Ginny Andersen worked for the Police as a non-sworn staff member for around 10 years and has more recently been chair of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Government confirms vital roading reconnections
    Six further bailey bridge sites confirmed Four additional bridge sites under consideration 91 per cent of damaged state highways reopened Recovery Dashboards for impacted regions released The Government has responded quickly to restore lifeline routes after Cyclone Gabrielle and can today confirm that an additional six bailey bridges will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Foreign Minister Mahuta to meet with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for China tomorrow, where she will meet with her counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, in Beijing. This will be the first visit by a New Zealand Minister to China since 2019, and follows the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions between New Zealand and China. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Education Ministers from across the Pacific gather in Aotearoa
    Education Ministers from across the Pacific will gather in Tāmaki Makaurau this week to share their collective knowledge and strategic vision, for the benefit of ākonga across the region. New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti will host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers (CPEM) for three days from today, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • State Highway 5 reopens between Napier and Taupō following Cyclone Gabrielle
    A vital transport link for communities and local businesses has been restored following Cyclone Gabrielle with the reopening of State Highway 5 (SH5) between Napier and Taupō, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan says. SH5 reopened to all traffic between 7am and 7pm from today, with closure points at SH2 (Kaimata ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Special Lotto draw raises $11.7 million for Cyclone Gabrielle recovery
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    6 days ago

  • Government delivers a $3 million funding boost for Building Financial Capability services
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  • Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao – new Chair and member
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  • Govt approves $25 million extension for cyclone-affected businesses
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    1 week ago

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