Barbecue season

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, December 7th, 2016 - 84 comments
Categories: activism, election 2017, john key, Politics - Tags:

barbecue-season-john-key

Just in case the misery of 2016 was presumed to be the preserve of the bourgeoisie left like myself, or music-lovers, its misery has hit the conservative side as well with John Key’s resignation.

Good news.

The world will be redeemed one barbecue at a time.

This is the season of end-of-work functions; the inexperienced get shitfaced and shagged, the rest endure the soggy blabbing of those they’ve come to despise and otherwise perpetually complain about internally: your colleagues.

I have a suggestion.

It’s also the season of broader family gatherings that occur before Christmas Day itself. Where you drop the children off at the ex’s to fulfill miserly custody agreements, whether childcare was paid or not. Births and illnesses to console or chew over. Moments of tension, regret, pathetic micro-management and perseverance.

Just a tiny suggestion.

Then of course there’s those final Trust and NGO and PTA and Board of Trustee and Daycare functions, for a final drinks and a cupcake. Impatience and regret at the smallness of efforts, of things half-done, half-baked, or plain old undone.

It’s considered rude, even.

Finally, Christmas Day. The forced formality, the dull stress of expectation, bonhomie and melancholy over those who have died, playing stupid games we think we can still play, occasional drunken outbursts.

It’s this: talk politics.

Talk it endlessly. Let the old Prime Minister be your opening, and the floodgates of frustration will simply pour out of everyone. I see it around me already, hugely.

It;s hard to stop once they start. The season we are in allows people to think politically. Make sure you bring good facts to bear. If you’re really lucky, keep your cool as the National supporters lose it in grief and everyone else sees how rational and calm the left really are (!)

This season, at the end of Key and the end of 2016, is a great time to change hearts, minds, and votes. We can recruit to the 2017 cause. Just add sauce.

Of all the earthquakes we could possibly have endured, the year is ending here with one of the politically biggest of them all. The left won a by-election, and the rightist government cracked wide open without any of Labour and Greens’ careful democratic release-valves.

Get talking. Get drinking and talking. Have confidence and fun in your arguments. This kind of moment doesn’t come around very often in a parliamentary term.

84 comments on “Barbecue season ”

  1. Jenny Kirk 1

    Good idea, Advantage.
    And at the same time, remind people that Winnie cannot be trusted – if his polling rises, he’ll have some leverage with the Nats to get a real top position ….. and he’ll go with them, to get that.

    Oh, and if you want a few pointers on what to say – just visit Labour’s Vision – its set out very clearly – basic stuff, easy to remember. http://www.labour.org.nz/vision

    We’ll build thousands of affordable homes and crack down on foreign speculators.
    We’ll back our businesses to build a stronger economy that delivers decent work and higher wages.
    We’ll invest in our regions, so there are jobs and opportunities.
    We’ll care for the environment so we can all enjoy it, now and in the future.
    We’ll fix the health system by turning National’s years of underfunding around.
    We’ll rebuild world-class schools that help every Kiwi kid dream big and succeed.
    New Zealand needs new leadership and a new direction. Labour will do this.

    • Gosman 1.1

      We’ll raise taxes on you all because ultimately we don’t trust you to spend or invest money in the way we think you should.

      • roy cartland 1.1.1

        No, that’s where you’re mistaken. Only raise taxes on those who avoid them most, pay them least and waste those ‘earnings’ on destructive, pointless crap for themselves.

        • Gosman 1.1.1.1

          The trouble is you can’t collect taxes from these people already so what makes you think raising taxes on them will suddenly make them cough up?

          • roy cartland 1.1.1.1.1

            Yes, good point – then start collecting taxes from them by putting in a functioning system and people to do so. Nothing “can’t” be done, as you’d know.

            • Gosman 1.1.1.1.1.1

              I’m all for closing tax loopholes. They trouble is the left doesn’t really want to close loopholes because they can’t help trying to use the tax system as a means to try and influence people to do things they think will benefit society. What they generally fail to understand is by doing this they just allow wealthy people to employ clever people to help them exploit those ‘incentives’ to avoid paying tax.

              • roy cartland

                “doesn’t really want to close loopholes” isn’t quite accurate, is it? Who wouldn’t want that except for those that benefit from them directly?

                “as a means to try and influence people to do things they think will benefit society”
                No, I think more of a means to stop people doing things that will negatively impact on society (environment, etc). It’s not the same thing.

              • Draco T Bastard

                What a load of bollocks.

                It’s the RWNJs that aren’t closing the loopholes
                It’s the RWNJs that are trying very hard to turn NZ into an international tax haven
                It’s the RWNJs that tell the electorate that it’s National that knows how to spend their money – in subsidies to massive multi-national corporations
                It’s the RWNJs that insist that local councils and people can’t have a say in how their city and environment is looked after – through removal of democracy
                It’s the RWNJs that put in place perverse tax incentives – such as no CGT and zero tax on offshore trusts

                • David C

                  What a load of bollocks.

                  It was Labour that had the trust tax rate and top personal rate set so far apart. That wasnt a loophole, you could drive a bus thru that hole.

                  Oh and how has that Lefty Auckland council done looking after housing for 1/3 of the country? could it be a bigger democratic fuckup?

                  • Draco T Bastard

                    Really reaching there aren’t you?

                    National set the business tax rate to 5% below the top personal tax rate so that hole still exists.

                    • David C

                      You need to be reaching for some financial literacy.

                      How do you get money out of the business to spend it?
                      That is assuming you just set up a company to launder your salary thru and own your rental house?

                      Fuckwit.

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      How do you get money out of the business to spend it?

                      Why don’t you ask the richest people in NZ who don’t pay the top tax rate to the tune of some $7 billion per year?

                    • David C

                      Well Draco T Fuckwit you are the one who is purporting there is a hole in our tax system, explain away.
                      How does anyone take advantage of the 5% gap between company and personal tax rates?

                    • adam

                      Gee David C you realise being vulgar and abusive makes you look just a little silly?

                      Coincidentally, what you are discussing as there is first policy release by The Opportunity Party. A good policy from them by the way.

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      How does anyone take advantage of the 5% gap between company and personal tax rates?

                      Well, I don’t know the full ins and outs of it but mayhap this search will help you.

                      Here’s the thing. If the difference between trust rates and the personal tax rate was used to avoid taxes then the difference in company and personal rates will be being used now for the same purpose.

                      Thing is, we know that rich people use complicated business structures to minimise the tax that they pay. We know that they use the difference in tax rates to achieve that as well as other tools. And we know that that tax avoidance is around $7 billion per year. Nothing that this government has done has addressed that ongoing theft.

      • UncookedSelachimorpha 1.1.2

        “We’ll raise taxes on you all* because ultimately we don’t trust you to spend or invest money in the way we think you should.”

        * If ‘you all’ in this case is the top 10% of the wealth distribution, then what a fantastic suggestion!! Those people hold over half of the nation’s wealth, and can and should contribute much more. No, I don’t trust these people to act in the interests of society, remember – the rich are proven to be very selfish. The very last people you would want to be grabbing hold of everything.

      • left_forward 1.1.3

        Raise taxes so that you can more fairly share in the collective task of supporting the society that you depend on to earn money

  2. Gosman 2

    Yeah good luck with that. Just don’t be surprised when people start backing away from you as soon as you approach. I love the fact you think people on the left can remain rational and calm. I don’t think many lefties could last more than 5 minutes before accusing the current government of trying to screw poor people for the benefit of fat cat wealthy foreigners.

    • infused 2.1

      Yep. Last thing I do these days is engage the other side on politics. As soon as they reach the edge of their knowledge, spluttering and rage strarts.

  3. BM 3

    Yeah and make sure the word neoliberalism is used at least 5 x per minute of conversation and endlessly go on about the 1980’s and how NZ was destroyed by Douglas and how we’re paying the price and we have to go back to the 1970’s when everything was so glorious and true.

    You’ll be the life of the party.

    • mac1 3.1

      Heh I was at a BBQ on Monday night and got the full “they both do it, neo-libs, Labour started it in 1984 etc etc etc.”

      All you need to say is that was 32 years ago, for heaven’s sake, one and a half generations have been born since then but the one line that seemed to get through was the “you have to learn to let it go after thirty years”.

      Then we had a good discussion on the relative merits of spending money on solar hot water systems, solar power or replacement of the wet-back destructor with a new clean burning small fire.

      In our quake torn bit of NZ, BBQs are a vital bit of emergency equipment, too.

      They are also a place where quake experiences can be shared.

      Bit like politics really………..

      • Siobhan 3.1.1

        So once a political-economic movement has been around long enough it achieves a status of being somehow..invisible, unmentionable..or what?? Neo Liberalism was then..and it’s ‘now’, so how does ‘not mentioning it’ help the situation??

        It would be like trying to overthrow the Roman Empire but having some nob blathering on about how the Roman Empire was started 32 years ago, so get over it.

        Though as it happens we don’t mention the dirty word at Xmas…we mention the other dirty word, ‘capital Gains tax’ and that generally clears the room.
        Though usually we keep the political conversation positive, like how we can all contribute to building communities, and sorting out Health and Education and the environment..but that lasts about 30 minutes before they all start up on how much they think they can sell their current ‘family home’ for.

        Its a fricken obsession any time you get two or more NZers together in a room..

        • BM 3.1.1.1

          Fairly static stuff back in the days of Rome.

          Step back and actually take in how much has happened in the past 30 years, how people think, how they do things, what they’ve been exposed to knowledge wise.

          30 years ago may as well be a 1000 years ago.

          • Siobhan 3.1.1.1.1

            It’s a classic mistake to think that just because we have an i-phone and a TV the size of the Sistine chapel, or an electric car and our socks are made out of bamboo fibre, and you’re now a ‘contractor’ who can order a Latte, and your house is worth half a mil…. or you’re so poor at 35 years of age you’ve had to move home with the folks…that we have somehow evolved or changed over the last 30 years.

            We’re still little hairy land crabs who need a warm community to thrive and some greater power to reach out a helping hand when we fall.

            Neo-Liberal (ha!!) Government is not delivering that to the same extent as they are incrementally destroying our way of life.

          • mac1 3.1.1.1.2

            History tells us of our mistakes. Empires crashed because they outran and misused their resources. All that changes is that the threats change, Thirty years ago from global destruction by nuclear war, to ……. well, global destruction by other means.

            As for what we have been exposed to knowledge wise? Like disease, many of us have been peculiarly unaffected by exposure to knowledge- skin contact only, no lasting effects, seem to have got away with it.

        • mac1 3.1.1.2

          The pain of the argument is in the rehashing of things that happened thirty two years ago.

          You are right. We should be talking about what is happening now, including the elements of neo-liberalism that are still with us. Though my political discourse tends to focus on actual problems occurring now.

          Such as the freeze on social services that has taken place over the last eight years and is still being compounded in our community as a local drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre has to cut its programmes by up to half and fund what is left by closing a shelter, the shortfall having to be made up by an overstretched voluntary agency.

          Such as the dire local rental accommodation situation.

          Such as the low wage economy particular to this region.

          So, banging on about 1984 by half-pissed barbequeans tends to miss the point which I understand you are making.

          Your analogy with the Roman Empire is apt. We still live in an empire which is run by an elite, as it has been for centuries. Sometimes the Emperor is benign, sometimes he is not. Sometimes he is deposed, sometimes dynasties occur.

          “Max for PM” I read this week!

          • alwyn 3.1.1.2.1

            Only 32 years ago?
            I, and my friends, must be a bit older than you.
            I still get people whose only topic of conversation remains how they marched in protest about the Vietnam war and how they can still recite the chants of the time. The ones that started “hey, hey LBJ etc.”
            It was the great moment in their lives and it is as if nothing significant ever happened to them again.
            There are others for whom the be-all and end-all of their life was marching up and down Molesworth Street in 1981.
            Get over it.

            • mac1 3.1.1.2.1.1

              Alwyn, there are some momentous times in our lives which change and inform our thinking and behaviour.

              In 1968, at the age of 19, I was required by the government to register for military service or to register alternatively, as a conscientious objector.

              It was the time of the Vietnam War. I did more than march. I did not call out slogans, I acted. That decision in 1968 still reunites with me today, and now as a Quaker I try to live the peace testimony which 1968 and the Vietnam War drew me towards.

              In 1981, I was opposed to the Rugby Tour. And marched. Racism and bigotry are still with us, and the old concerns are still with us.

              At least, in 1981, as a 32 year old, I knew where I stood, as I knew in 1968 that our involvement in Vietnam was wrong; as was in the same year our threatened involvement in the global network of war-making that the Omega VLF transmitting station would have tied us into.

              The be-all and end-all? Quite possibly for our planet, as the nuclear MADness continued.

              Now, they are memories of times which drew NZers out of their comfort zones, and complacency, and gave us a history and a comfort that concerted action can bring about change.

              Change which is still required two generations forward.

              I am an historian enough to know that we are bound to repeat our mistakes if we do nothing, stay ignorant and disengaged.

              • alwyn

                I have no objection to people remembering these things. However the point I made was that bit that said “whose only topic of conversation remains how they marched in protest”.

                It is an exaggeration of course but it still appears to be the only thing that they really seem to remember.

                At least you were, unlike the Australian conscripts, never in any danger of being sent to Vietnam if you had served. (I am assuming that you did take the route of conscientious objection).

                The PM of the time was totally opposed to the Vietnam involvement. He did as little as he could with the NZ engagement without really pissing off the US. Indeed I have been told he actively encouraged the demonstrations so he could tell the US Government that he couldn’t possibly do any more without losing an election to a party that would probably recognise the Viet Cong as the South Vietnam Government.
                The only New Zealand forces who went to Vietnam were those who specifically joined the army in order to go.

                • mac1

                  “At least you were, unlike the Australian conscripts, never in any danger of being sent to Vietnam…”

                  I assure you, alwyn, that was not evident at the time (I had read “We Shall Not Cease” at the time.) Nor did it matter. The issue was that we were involved in an illegal, immoral and unjustifiable war.

                  That Holyoake was opposed, as you say, was not honoured by his actions. “Guns for butter” was his motto. Yes, he sent as few as he could, as I understand it.

                  But, I believe that the Vietnamese are very generous to us in their forgiveness. They were the ones bombed, shelled and machine-gunned, napalmed and deforested with Agent Orange.

                  We move on, but we remember.

                • adam

                  I love reading your rewriting of history alwyn, so very funny. Are you apply for a job at the the ministry of truth?

                  You forget compulsory military service, and the army or jail option which was all the rage in the late 60’s. Oh well, better luck next time.

                  • alwyn

                    I certainly didn’t forget any of it. I was very grateful that my birthday didn’t come up and so I didn’t have to go and do CMT.

                    However what I said was the New Zealand didn’t send ANY conscripts to Vietnam. You surely don’t think they did? Are you really that confused?

                    Australia on the other hand did send their conscripts to that crazy war.

                    • adam

                      As you have not read any history books, or even official histories, little point arguing with you. So here the offer.

                      Come back in a month or so when you have read some in depth analysis of how our military worked during that period, or how our political masters at the time worked, and we will take it up again.

                    • alwyn

                      In other words everything I said was absolutely accurate and you can’t bring yourself to admit it?
                      You don’t need to formally apologise. That is not the normal mode of operation on this site.

                    • adam

                      Oh do get over yourself alwyn. I always wonder what people who had to be right in a argument looked like. Thanks for the public display.

                      The justice system offered people the option server in Vietnam or go to jail. A substantial number of vet’s I’ve engage with, and read about fall into this category.

                      In many cases Compulsory Military Service led to a tour in Vietnam, indeed, some of my parents friends were co-oped to Vietnam this way, and many more I have read about had the same thing happen.

                      As I said before, you need to read some more about how the military worked, and how politics of the day operated. You reflection from your memory are dogie at best, as you are just spinning a piss poor revisionist line.

                    • alwyn

                      You are claiming that “The justice system offered people the option server in Vietnam or go to jail”
                      That is simply untrue.

                      From Wikipedia
                      “Although New Zealand sent troops to the Vietnam war, all who served there were full-time professional volunteer soldiers. Conscripts were not sent, unlike Australians or Americans.”
                      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_military_training_in_New_Zealand

                      Perhaps you would care to tell us the country in which your parents friends were living at the time?
                      Australia? Yes they sent conscripts.
                      USA? Yes they sent conscripts.
                      New Zealand never did.

                      Now, if you cannot produce any evidence to show that Wiki link is wrong I suggest you ask you parents, or their friends, to provide something to back up your claim.

                      As for your line “I always wonder what people who had to be right in a argument looked like. Thanks for the public display”
                      It is very easy to look like this when, like me in this matter, I AM right.

                    • adam

                      Like I said there are New Zealand history books that back up what I say, I invite you to read them here is a link

                      https://www.abebooks.com/books/ANZ/?&cm_mmc=ggl-_-AU_AbeBooks_Brand-_-Website%20Misspell%20esvg_3747233-_-books%20abe.com

                      so you can buy some. Roberto Rabel, New Zealand and the Vietnam War: Politics and diplomacy, Auckland University Press, Auckland, 2005. Is a good, broad overview.

                      Many many more. Personal diaries are good, many are out of print.

                      Have you ever talked to any veterans? I’m guessing not with your attitude.

                      Again alwyn, stop with the revisionist lines you are spinning, and using wikipedia to back that up, is just well I have no words, except maybe lazy.

      • BM 3.1.2

        A wetback destructor? is that what you call those little fires you see sometimes in the kitchens of older places?

        • mac1 3.1.2.1

          BM, exactly the one. Very useful at burning scrap wood, and heating hot water and can also cook a meal as I often do with a long simmering soup or stew. However they can also add to the pollution that is undoubtedly part of our little town’s air scape.

  4. Tory 4

    I see The Standards left comrades over at TDB have kicked this off (more conspiracy theories than vision) with one true nut bag claiming NASA is exerting “mind control techniques” over NZ.

    • BM 4.1

      The left does seem to be a magnet for crazies, a very powerful magnet.

      • fender 4.1.1

        Is that why you have taken up residence here..

        • greywarshark 4.1.1.1

          fender
          Great riposte.

        • greywarshark 4.1.1.2

          I like a good return jab. This is one of my favourites from Alien. (Vasquez is a woman with big biceps.)

          Private Hudson: Hey Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?
          Private Vasquez: No. Have you?

          Private Vasquez: You always were an asshole, Gorman!
          Almost Gosman, what a coincidence only an rs away.

        • BM 4.1.1.3

          Yes, I feel right at home,

    • Gosman 4.2

      Yes I laughed when I read here an article arguing that the left doesn’t engage in fake news. It’s as if The Standard author wasn’t aware The Daily Blog existed.

  5. Gosman 5

    The extremely funny thing is that because this has elicited comments of glee from right leaning individuals I expect someone to post that we are in fact extremely worried that lefties will be haranguing their friends and relatives over summer about how great Labour is and how bad National has been. Yes I’m terrified that people doing this will soon be regarded as social pariahs by most moderately inclined individuals. Don’t do it!!!

    • I actually think the left (and yes, I include myself in that royal ‘the’) could have a good show of winning that one if it weren’t for one stark detail: the dreary fact of around, oh how do I say it, *half or so* of the Labour caucus. I believe Trotsky once mockingly referred at a conference to a then-obscure Josef Stalin as ‘our most outstanding nonentity’. There’d be even more contenders for that title in the Labour caucus than there are pretenders to Key’s crooked crown in National’s (there I include those running now, and those waiting to run against whoever wins). I want National taken down, but because I want it seriously, I can’t rate many of Labour’s outstanding nonentities as being equipped for that battle.

      • alwyn 5.1.1

        Be careful.
        Trotsky ended up with an ice pick in the ear thanks to that “nonentity”.

        • Cemetery Jones 5.1.1.1

          Ain’t that the point? They could do for Cunliffe to gain the heights of a shrinking dung heap, but against Brash they barely scraped through and against Key they have failed again and again.

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 5.2

      Gosman – you might be reducing the entire ‘left / progressive’ vs ‘right / backward’ debate to simply ‘Labour Party’ vs ‘National Party’. There is a lot more to it than that! A lot of progressives are not strongly Labour.

      • Gosman 5.2.1

        I’d you want to try and avoid discussing Labour versus National with non political people good luck.

        • UncookedSelachimorpha 5.2.1.1

          But he seems happy with my satirical equivalence of “right” and “backward”.

          So how is it going in the world of Backwards politics today? Elected a new leader yet?

          • alwyn 5.2.1.1.1

            Those on the right are of course very dextrous.
            They are opposed to the sinister activities the lefties indulge in.

    • adam 5.3

      Must say I’m over you labeling ‘the left’ Gossy, apart from being rude, and making yourself look ill educated and uninformed. Mind you toilet paper crisis, and other lies from you are common.

      And then what can you expect from someone who put Pinochet on a pedestal, economically.

  6. greywarshark 6

    9.20 a.m. and the RWs crawl out into the open sunny spot created by this post.
    Gosman Tory BM Infused so far up to No. 5. Except for the leader, Jenny Kirk, so it’s a good sign that the first is a Labour activist.

    I add something from the TOP party’s first policy announcement – on tax cuts.
    It is a para that most would agree with, intelligent, informed, practical and sounds promising. I suggest you go and look for yourselves for the rest.

    The current tax regime favours owners of capital and unjustly burdens wage earners. This is not only inequitable, it results in poor utilisation of capital and lower than necessary income and employment.

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 6.1

      Haven’t read it properly yet, but sounding good. Great to hear something other than TINA.

      Here is the link:
      http://www.top.org.nz/top1

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 6.2

      Having had a look – overall a good policy compared to the status quo (moves the tax burden towards the rich).

      TOP have chosen to move the tax burden, rather than collect additional tax. This is much better than leaving the burden on the poor, but there is no good reason not to actually collect more tax if it is helpful to society. But any move in a better direction is great – and they do not want to scare people I expect.

      • greywarshark 6.2.1

        Uncooked S….
        I think you are spot on with how people will react. And yeah good to get something new in the air that sounds doable and possibly effective and fairer.

  7. Heather Grimwood 7

    Goodness me! what a list of contributions from obviously shaken/shaking contributors!

  8. greywarshark 8

    Image – great slabs of meat on the barbecue. Are these the best cuts that the butchers could shape for HRH. He looks puzzled at this evidence of our high culinary aspirations. He doesn’t realise it is an analogy for the National Party politicians and their voters. Great slabs of meat with little understanding of finesse.

    Google is commemorating 340 years since the calculation of the speed of light.
    That was a high point in cleverness then. It has been downhill since and now slabs of meat take us back to our primitive beginnings, except we have elaborated on our environment, clothing, buildings, fighting etc since then.

  9. Gosman 9

    in relation to keeping calm and rational – I’m currently having a discussion on FB with a lefty raving on how John Key stepping down means he won’t be able to be tried for Treason. Real rational and calm that one 🙂

    • roy cartland 9.1

      Couldn’t anyone be tried for treason for any reason, given that’s it’s just a human concept? Seems like you’re both confusing likelihood with a more abstract philosophical hypothesis. But agreed, sounds like a boring discussion.

      • Gosman 9.1.1

        It stopped after he posted a huge shred of a thought regurgitation about how we don’t really live in a democracy. I just replied tl;dr. Lefties really are their own worst enemy.

  10. b waghorn 10

    how to stump a key lover 101 , when they start burbling on about what a great leader he was , ask them what he achieved, silence will follow.

  11. North 11

    Hilarious how the rightist trolls are out in force. Studied venting on TS to conceal that they’re shitting themselves. What will they do now? All dressed up with nowhere to go, their plastic PM doll having bailed after less PM time than Helen Clark.

    Deep down they know that Double Dipton English is no change, the viperish Collins is a nightmare, and that Coleman’s an arrogant cold fish. Monday next is only the beginning of the ugliest internecine war with DP turned inwards. Let them bleed throughout.

    Meanwhile Grande-Dame-Boag is inconsolable.

    • Gosman 11.1

      And snap…

      • framu 11.1.1

        i see the pattern now

        “any comment deemed contrary to the dogma of the cult will be considered the ravings of a lunatic”

        will there be village denunciations complete with young nats dishing out beatings with a little blue book?

  12. Stunned Mullet 12

    “i see the pattern now

    any comment deemed contrary to the dogma of the cult will be considered the ravings of a lunatic”

    Goodness me it’s taken you a while to work out how blogs work.

  13. Jenny Kirk 13

    I see the Nats, and the Herald, are ” inviting Kiwis to thank John Key for his 10 years leading the party and eight years’ service as Prime Minister, by signing an e-card.”

    My first reaction : you gotta be joking ! ……. and it hasn’t changed.

  14. Antoninina 14

    Thanks advantage for
    your initial comments. Very interesting responses.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 hour ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    2 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    3 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    8 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    8 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    10 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    12 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 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

  • 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
    6 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
    8 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
    22 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
    This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti.  Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T05:08:46+00:00