Breaking: Libertarian opposes free speech

Written By: - Date published: 3:44 pm, November 27th, 2017 - 50 comments
Categories: articles, don brash, equality, Maori Issues, radio - Tags: , , , , ,

Don Brash has emerged from his crypt once again to tackle the greatest problem facing New Zealand today (in his strange little world) – ‘Maori privilege’.

Apparently he’s “utterly sick” of the likes of Guyon Espiner speaking Te Reo on air because only “one listener (to that programme) in hundreds has any knowledge of what he is talking about.”

Is it just me or is his logic getting even more confused in his old age than it used to be?

I thought right wingers loved free speech?!?

Shouldn’t they apply the same arguments to Morning Report that they tell us to apply to Mike Hosking – if you don’t like it, change the station cupcakes. Or is it snowflakes? Whatever us “PC gone mad” “SJW” types are supposed to be…

I tell you what though, one of the truly great things about the amazing job Guyon Espiner and others are doing educating all of us in the native language of our country, aside from winding Brash up, is it’s been widely supported by the general public from what I’ve seen.

I was almost too scared to read the Facebook comments on that Newshub piece, but when I parted my fingers from my eyes I was pleasantly surprised that they seemed to be about 50-1 in favour of more Te Reo on air, not less.

So get a life Don. Or should I say – hei aha tāu Don!

50 comments on “Breaking: Libertarian opposes free speech ”

  1. mickysavage 1

    Haha welcome Enzo.

    And to Don Brash if he reads this can I say Meri Kirihimete me ngā mihi o te tau hou ki a koutou katoa!

    • weka 1.1

      Lol, micky.

      Nau mai Enzo, great to see you have a login.

    • mac1 1.2

      And dear Dr Brash says that only one in hundreds could understand what Guyon Espiner was saying. What I’ve heard are nothing more than simple sentences of introduction.

      Those I understood. At High School here 10% of boys did Māori to some level. This is not a prime zone for cultural renaissance and the local kura kaupapa is struggling to find a kaiako Māori, but the local paper featured a headline in te reo, “Kei te kimi kaiako mātou”.

      Good on that paper. And for shame on Dr Brash.

      • weka 1.2.1

        +1 The issue for Brash isn’t that so few understand te reo, it’s that he doesn’t want them to. Best way for the language to increase is to use it as much as possible, including in public spaces like te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa.

        • mac1 1.2.1.1

          And I suspect buried beneath the rage is that hatred of foreigners who dare speak in a language that the hearer might not understand. (Don’t they understand that the best people only speak English? That they might be talking, or laughing, about me behind my linguistic back? That it’s just rude not to speak English in my hearing, dash it!)

          Google “Dr Brash and Maori” and the Internet is full of his fulminations.

          • D'Esterre 1.2.1.1.1

            Mac1: “Google “Dr Brash and Maori” and the Internet is full of his fulminations.”
            In 2004, after Brash gave That Speech to the Orewa Rotary Club, I sent him a long e-mail, pointing out the multiple errors in what he’d said. I’d add that I was polite. I got a very polite response. He’s entitled to a point of view, and to express it. In the end, the poll bump the Natz got as a consequence wasn’t enough to get them into government at the 2005 election.
            However, his speech triggered many debates, including, for us, with a friend who was a Nat apparatchik. I was surprised at how little that person knew about NZ history. Including – in the context of the Natz wanting to abolish them – when the Maori seats were established and why. I wonder how many of the commenters here know that?

        • Carolyn_Nth 1.2.1.2

          Well, maybe all Kiwis need a crash immersion course in NZ’s two official languages: Te Reo and Sign Language.

          Stop using English in all NZ mainstream media, until most everyone has some fluency in Te Reo and sign language.

          English is, after all only NZ’s de facto language and doesn’t, apparently, have official status under law.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 1.2.1.2.1

            All the laws are published in English, Parliamentary business is almost all conducted in English, court business is almost all conducted in English, and it has no official status?

            Sounds like ‘official status’ is the second prize.

          • D'Esterre 1.2.1.2.2

            Carolyn_Nth: “Stop using English in all NZ mainstream media, until most everyone has some fluency in Te Reo and sign language.”
            English is the language of public discourse here. People can’t be forced to speak other languages: that would be a serious abrogation of our civil rights and freedoms. And daily life would grind to a halt….

    • mac1 1.3

      Hō! Hō! Hō!

  2. One Anonymous Bloke 3

    Speaking of such things, someone could ask the Institute of Directors if they really think insulting people with a Clayton’s apology is the best course of action right now.

  3. AB 4

    Don is an example of what used to be a very common (even the dominant) strain of thought. He’s an assimilationist racist.
    At the personal level he would not treat a Maori person badly and would always favour Maori having equal legal rights. So he is not a crude, discriminationist racist at the personal level.
    He just thinks Maori culture is inferior, not worthy of attention and the language not worth saving, and especially not if saving it requires any special effort. And that’s because he thinks 21st century western European neoliberal capitalism is the pinnacle of human endeavour, the last word on everything, a self-evident truth. Everything else is an historical footnote of interest only to a few scholars.
    His attitude is best described as ‘cultural ethnic cleansing’ – the aim is not to destroy Maori, but to destroy ‘Maoriness’.

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 4.1

      I reckon this is pretty accurate.

      Doesn’t make Dr Don any better.

    • D'Esterre 4.2

      AB: “He’s an assimilationist racist.”
      No he’s not. He’s an old conservative. Don’t sling about the racism epithet: it’s inaccurate and just serves to squelch debate.

  4. Tautoko Mangō Mata 5

    Dr Brash has once again displayed his arrogance and his ignorance. Why doesn’t he avail himself of the opportunity to attend a class in Te Reo, and while he’s at it he can encourage Wililam Gallagher to. do the same. Learning something new will help stave off dementia and help open closed minds!

  5. adam 6

    The libertarians are just waking up to the fact the authoritarian right have left them behind.

    The libertarian is now rushing to be racist, just to stay relevant.

  6. My objection to Espiner’s speaking Maori is that he gabbles. It is almost unintelligible. Genuine speakers of Te Reo at least give it a bit of gravitas.

    • In Vino 7.1

      Inclined to agree, Ann. I was also thoroughly disillusioned in Espiner in early days when he started spouting at top speed what were then new phrases for most of us, making me wonder if he was showing off… only to hear him say later in the programme ‘Tea Tai Toke-er-row’ (as in ‘now’).
      I have often wondered if he has realised what he did, and would now pronounce
      ‘Te Tai Tokerau’ at least a little bit more correctly. Haven’t been (un)lucky enough to hear him say it since.
      But if he did pronounce it more correctly, Don Brash would probably complain that he couldn’t understand.

      • enzo 7.1.1

        He’s doing pretty well for a non-native speaker. I know I couldn’t do any better, and I love the fact that I’m picking up new words from it. As someone who has struggled to learn a language of my ancestry – Italian – I know how hard it is and also how brave he must be to use what he’s learned live on air. So what if he doesn’t always get it perfect?

        • Jilly Bee 7.1.1.1

          Absolutely enzo, I have to admit since I have been in the happy state of retirement for the past few years and no longer need to wake up at sparrow fart, I have no great desire to tune into Morning Report live. I do make sure to catch up online though and enjoy the te reo interactions and work hard to work out what is being said – I know some of the phrases and intend to work on learning more having had a tutorial tape (from RNZ) for a few years in my archives and making the excuse of too much to do! I have just watched Kanoa Lloyd’s plea on ‘The Project’ to embrace our indigenous language and I yelled back at the screen ‘you rock Kanoa’. She is a national gem – totally.

      • weka 7.1.2

        Fluent speakers speak fast, even in learning media, so I assume the point is to develop an ‘ear’ for how it should sound. I want people to slow down too, but maybe that’s going to teach me bad habits.

        I agree with enzo, it’s good to encourage people rather than knock them when they are learning. Pākehā are notorious for being afraid to speak te reo for fear of making mistakes, but making mistakes is part of the process.

        • In Vino 7.1.2.1

          OK, maybe I am harsh, but I don’t like shallow pretence. If Espiner was as good as he tried to sound by rattling off fast phrases at the start of the programme, he would have kept that standard up during the programme.
          Becoming fluent in a second language is not an easy thing. I studied hard to become OK in French and German, and spent time in each country. I have since learnt a little Spanish, and enough Maori to know when I am hearing disgusting Pakeha distortions. I feel that Espiner pretended to be better than he was.
          I agree that when people are learning a language, you do not nitpick and undermine them.
          But on this occasion Espiner tried to sound like a seasoned speaker, then gave it away. He set himself up.
          We need to be humble in learning as well as in teaching. Too few New Zealanders have any idea of what it takes to become competent in a second or 3rd language. I don’t like obvious fakes, and Espiner seemed that to me.. Just learning some pat phrases to sound good.
          There can be charlatans and fakes in language too, you know? But if I had heard him say Te Tai Tokerau correctly since, I would have forgiven all and not written this. Just haven’t heard him.

          • Enzo 7.1.2.1.1

            Were you listening when Mihingarangi Forbes tested him on air a few weeks ago? He got almost all the answers right.

          • weka 7.1.2.1.2

            RNZ in general, and Espiner personally, seem genuinely committed to increasing te reo. I think what they are doing is fantastic.

            • In Vino 7.1.2.1.2.1

              Cool – in that case I withdraw all accusations of pretence, and give Espiner credit for genuinely trying to improve our knowledge of Te Reo.

            • Gareth 7.1.2.1.2.2

              Not sure if you’ve seen this relevant piece by his wife?

              https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/11/26/63595/emma-espiner-the-threat-of-te-reo

              • greywarshark

                Emma Espiner feels very encouraged about Te Reo and Don Brash and his ilk are just spectral ghosts of the ignorant past popping up at Halloween, soon to fade away.

                but I believe we can view these people (and they’re always the same people) as the rearguard of progress. As society shifts, they will continue to yap at our heels and protest, but the trend for Aotearoa is against bland mono-culturalism and fearful mono-lingualism. A decade ago it was Māori Television. Today, it’s using Te Reo on Morning Report and Breakfast TV and putting macrons in newspapers. In ten years time these things will be completely normal and there will be another battle, which the rearguard will again resist and lose.

            • D'Esterre 7.1.2.1.2.3

              Weka: “I think what they are doing is fantastic.”
              I do not. I’m becoming increasingly irritated by the way in which RNZ presenters are using te reo. I know they mean well, but it’s just tokenism: it won’t do anything to save the language.
              Many years ago, I learned te reo: long before it was fashionable for pakeha to do so. Before we called it te reo, even. And at a time when there were still native speakers.
              In those days, RNZ broadcast some programming which was presented entirely in te reo: I think that was in the days of Henare te Ua. I used to listen to it. That is what RNZ should be doing once again, not this nonsense of making presenters use (and in some cases, mangle!) words of greeting or farewell. It’s painfully obvious that many are uncomfortable with it, and they shouldn’t be forced into it.
              Back then, those Maori language programmes didn’t go to air in prime time, but on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, if I remember rightly. Let’s have them back.
              The sad fact is, that the language is in trouble, and it’s for the same reason that other indigenous languages struggle: the paucity of native speakers. All the rest of us learning it as a second language won’t save it, unfortunately. Without native speakers,it’ll eventually become like Latin used to be: a dead language. And that’s a stop on the road to extinction.
              I don’t know how we as a country can foster native speakers; the Irish have tried, but I understand numbers are dropping away there, too. The Scots have lost the battle, I believe; only second language speakers there now, though there were native speakers of Gaelic as recently as the 1970s or thereabouts.
              It is a job for Maori, however, it being their language. Bloody hard, but essential to te reo’s survival.

              • weka

                As I understand it, it goes like this. Native speakers are those that learn as a child and grow up with it being used normally and it is their first language. That can be people of any ethnicity.

                For children to learn as they grow and have it in use at home, you need adults who also speak at home. It’s not enough on its own for instance to send kids to koanga, the reo needs to be spoken at home too. In order to have adults speaking at home you have to normalise the language in as many places as possible.

                Ghetto-ising te reo to the weekends fails that. We need it to be normal to say hello, ask for a cup of tea, buy petrol, tweet etc in te reo. When that happens, there will be more people speaking which will enable more people to speak and so on. The goal here is to make the language accessible to a wide range of people.

                • D'Esterre

                  Weka: “That can be people of any ethnicity.”
                  That’s true. It’s how you and I, along with many others, came to be native speakers of English, even if our linguistic background wasn’t English. Most Maori nowadays are also native speakers of English. Which of course is the problem with regard to language preservation: people can’t be forced to speak te reo, or to bring their kids up as native speakers. Yet if te reo preservation and promotion should concern anyone, it is Maori. It’s their heritage, after all.
                  “It’s not enough on its own for instance to send kids to koanga, the reo needs to be spoken at home too.”
                  I couldn’t agree more. Before about 1980, there were native speakers. The kohanga movement began around 1980, and the years since have been marked by the gradual erosion of the numbers of native speakers. Counterintuitive, but indisputable.
                  If the language is to survive, it’s critical that it’s spoken in the home. Kohanga – formal school generally – can’t do that job.
                  When I was very young, I went to school with European migrant children who were native speakers of their respective languages. None of those languages was spoken in the shops or petrol stations of NZ, yet those children remained fluent in their native languages.
                  “Ghetto-ising te reo to the weekends fails that. We need it to be normal to say hello, ask for a cup of tea, buy petrol, tweet etc in te reo.”
                  I wouldn’t be averse to Maori prime time programmes on RNZ. But good luck with that! Radio isn’t TV: no subtitles. I can’t see the monolingual majority being happy with it. Given that, I’d be ok with programming out of prime time. It’d be better than nothing.
                  Being a bit of a language geek, I can do the quotidian stuff to which you refer, in several languages. But I can’t discuss politics or philosophy in any of them except English. That level of competence is challenging – though not impossible – for second language learners, but much easier for native speakers. This is one of the reasons why they’re necessary to survival of any language.
                  In my view, the heavy lifting needs to go into producing native speakers. Parents who speak te reo need to understand their vital role in that, and how to go about it. It isn’t necessary for children to hear te reo when they’re with their parents at the supermarket. But they need to hear it exclusively in the home, at least for the first 3 to 4 years of their lives. Remember those European children referred to above? They all became competent in English once they started school. And remember how you yourself learned English.
                  RNZ and other outlets could help the parents by broadcasting substantive te reo programmes, rather than just tokenistic greetings and the like.
                  No apologies for going on about this issue: I’m sad at the loss of te reo from NZ society, and I’d love to see a real revival. Nothing I hear at present suggests that’s happening.

  7. savenz 8

    Why does Brash always pop up when National are in opposition? Tales from the Crypt indeed! Halloween’s over.

    Saying that at least Brash puts a face to it, rather that than the sneaky National ways of pretending to be Maori ‘partner’ while undermining Maori and causing friction between Maori. That’s worse!

    Brash tends to unite people… against his views.

  8. Gristle 9

    Speaking Te Reo is a subversive act. The dominant culture cannot understand the language (and maybe the sentiment.). Part of Don Brash’s trouble with speaking Maori is that it excludes him from the conversation and allows for a non neoliberal economic framework to be used to arrive at agreement on what to do.

    • AB 9.1

      “it excludes him from the conversation and allows for a non neoliberal economic framework to be used ”
      +1 Gristle
      This must be really infuriating for him – people are talking but he doesn’t have control over it and doesn’t get to decide the acceptable boundaries of the narrative.

  9. The Fairy Godmother 10

    Ka Pai Enzo!

  10. red-blooded 11

    We had an appalling opinion piece about the same issue published in the ODT last Thursday or Friday, by a local guy. I wrote a response (which wasn’t published, as I’ve had a letter in within the last fortnight), but the heartening thing was that three other people also wrote in condemning his racist rant (one who’s living in Budapest at present but hails from – I think – Milton). Plus, The Spinoff named this piece the next day as the worst column of the year.

    I think Espiner is doing a great job. I struggled my way through a course in te reo a few years ago and never got as confident as he sounds. I’m sure he’s not getting everything right, but he’s flying a flag and he should be congratulated on being committed enough to upskill himself and promote te reo as a living language.

    • gsays 11.1

      Got to agree red blooded, while I often don’t know the meaning of what is being said, with repetition, it gets in.
      I salute all the presenters for their efforts and RNZ’s stance.

      From time to time I greet reps or the public in te reo, at work, and unfailingly get a positive rresponse.

      Haters gotta hate. (To quote da youff).

      • greywarshark 11.1.1

        Never knew much positive stuff or history of Maori when young. Now I try to korero all over the rohe and know a bit of tikanga which can be a nuisance to my impatient mind, but hey it is different cultures acknowledging each others rituals. I could even hongi correctly if appropriate. And everyone knows what koha is.

  11. Tricledrown 12

    Don Brash and Gallagher have huge support from the skin heads neo Nazis the KKK and be the draft dodging pussy grabber in Chief.
    Don Brash looks like a skin head.

  12. mac1 13

    Garner has had a criticism of Brash on air.

    http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2017/11/duncan-garner-earns-free-car-wash-with-don-brash-takedown.html

    Whilst I concur with Garner’s sentiment, I’m not sure that he is attacking Brash for the right reason when he says “You’re a generation past”.

    Brash is a recidivist bigot over decades and deserves people’s opprobrium.

    But I hope that the ‘generation past’ is not another form of unpalatable ‘-ism’; that of ‘agism’. Rather, I hope Garner is saying, as am I, that Brash’s views are from another time when such objectionable beliefs were more often held than now.

    • Tricledrown 13.1

      Brash is a bean brained bean counter with no emotional IQ.
      Typical of a Racist.
      Racists have problems forming long term relationships because of this.
      A pale stale male.
      I wonder if Don Brash would bring home some of his only supporters likes of the National front Skin Heads Neo Nazis Motor cycle gangs.
      Don would look good in bondage gear whipping up some racism.
      Luckily in NZ they are a negligible minority.

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    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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours 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
    7 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
    9 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
    9 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
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    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. ...
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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