Collins crushes caucus vote

Written By: - Date published: 9:06 pm, July 14th, 2020 - 155 comments
Categories: Judith Collins, national, same old national, uncategorized - Tags:

Twitter confirms that Judith Collins is now National leader.  She is the perfect candidate if your goal is to stem the bleeding of support.  She is not the candidate if you want to win the election …

Update:  And Gerry Brownlee is deputy!  Happy days!

155 comments on “Collins crushes caucus vote ”

  1. James 1

    Yes!!!!!!!!

    Great News. This will be interesting.

    • Robert Guyton 1.1

      James! This is great news! You might win!!!

    • Draco T Bastard 1.2

      If true then its awesome.

      Collins is likely to see National support plummet below what Blinglish achieved in 2002.

      • James 1.2.1

        Yeah – confident that won’t happen.

        • Stuart Munro 1.2.1.1

          Certainly Judith is a more coherent choice – Bill was not a natural leader. Gerry as number two is an interesting choice – quite a lot of Christchurch people think Gerry is number two already.

      • Enough is Enough 1.2.2

        You really don't understand National voters if you think that Draco

        • Draco T Bastard 1.2.2.1

          It's not really the National voters that I'm concerned with. They'll vote National no matter what.

    • francesca 1.3

      Evil stepmother and Billy Bunter yaroo vs Jacinda .It's like a fairy tale

      And still they're on about cutting taxes.

    • Cinny 1.4

      Really happy for you James, you'll be fizzing 🙂

  2. Byd0nz 2

    Sick party, sick choice no doubt a sick slogan will follow.

  3. Anker 3

    She was the predictable choice for National. Possibly didn’t have finger prints on Boag leak.

    she may stem the tide and pinch that 4% back from AcT. enjoying living in a covid free country James? All thanks to Ardern and labour

    • Robert Guyton 3.1

      ACT? Goneburger!

      Sad.

      • georgecom 3.1.1

        Not sad at all. James is correct. National will hold on to enough votes to make ACT need to win Epsom to get back in and not enough to promote Goldsmith to parliament n the party list. She is a perfect candidate to see National v Act fighting for the scraps. She will stop National slipping into oblivion but is anathema to enough people that she wont save them from defeat. The perfect leader ay James

    • James 3.2

      Yep. I’m all good. But jacinda and co are going to have more than that to hang their hats on.

      crusher is going to hammer home all the mammoth failures of this government- of which there are plenty.

      • Just Is 3.2.1

        What dimension of reality do you live in?

        Collins is no different from Bridges and how did that end

        • James 3.2.1.1

          Just is – if you can’t tell them apart – just shows your lack of political knowledge. Bless.

        • Cinny 3.2.1.2

          Just Is, James has adored judith for a long time. He's been telling us for years she is the only choice.

          I don't agree with him, but I respect his adoration, it's quite cute.

      • Draco T Bastard 3.2.2

        crusher is going to hammer home all the mammoth failures of this government- of which there are plenty.

        You truly are delusional.

        1. This government hasn't made any failures. Mistakes that they've learned from, sure. Failures – No. Only National and their sycophants have those because they invariably fail to learn from their mistakes.
        2. NZ really is sick of National's Dirty Politics and its really starting to show. Continuance of that Dirty Politics, as you obviously want, will just drop the support even further.

        At the rate that things are going for National ACT may actually end up out-polling them

        • James 3.2.2.1

          “You truly are delusional.This government hasn't made any failures.”

          tour first two sentences are the funniest thing I have ever seen on this blog.

          nice to see that there is someone that doesn’t see kiwibuild as a failure. (Are you sure your not Twyford)?

        • Herodotus 3.2.2.2

          If things are the same in 2022 – We know that not only did NZ wasted another 3 years but I suspect that we will have gone backwards. I hope that isn't the case But I can see Labour being risk averse and like 2002 and 2011, the sitting governments did what was required to maintain power and with weak opposition didn't want to do anything more than "MANAGE"

          https://www.newsroom.co.nz/is-the-pm-a-transformer-or-just-a-manager

          When she was campaigning to be Prime Minister in August and early September 2017, she was reasonably clear about being transformational. She wanted a capital gains tax, an Auckland Light Rail Line, 100,000 Kiwibuild houses, real climate change action to respond to her generation's 'nuclear free moment', and welfare reform.

          • Bearded Git 3.2.2.2.1

            Sounds like Jacinda would love a lab/gr government then.

            • Herodotus 3.2.2.2.1.1

              Only capital gains lack of delivery could be due to NZ1, the others perhaps lack of understanding on how to implement ? And we have lost 3 years to see any delivery of results. Fine for a politician to see 3 wasted years but the rest of us to have to wait at least another 3 years that is if they are ever to be delivered on.

        • Paddington 3.2.2.3

          Oh come on. All governments have failures. Your claim is just silly. Beyond silly.

          Kiwisaver is arguably the greatest public policy failure in NZ's history.

          Then theres the failed promise to house all the homeless within 4 weeks (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/04/jacinda-ardern-pledges-shelter-for-all-homeless-people-within-four-weeks).

          The promise to reduce child poverty. (https://www.cpag.org.nz/news/latest-child-poverty-stats-a-wake-up-call/)

          …and so on…

          • Drowsy M. Kram 3.2.2.3.1

            "Kiwisaver is arguably the greatest public policy failure in NZ's history."

            And that's a 'fine line' to take when you choose to focus on failure.

            I would rather focus on what is arguably the greatest public policy success in NZ's history. "We don't know how lucky we are…" – well, some of us don't.

            This latest choice of a Nat 'leadership' team shows that, amazingly, the caucus really still doesn’t have a clue as to why their brand is so badly tainted. Either that, or they just don't care anymore.

            • Paddington 3.2.2.3.1.1

              I mentioned failure because I was responding to Draco's claim that "This government hasn't made any failures". Are you suggesting Kiwibuild was not a failure?

              Now if I had been responding to a post about successes, I would have said "all governments have successes" (which is true) and then listed some of them.

              • Drowsy M. Kram

                "Are you suggesting Kiwibuild was not a failure?"

                Your comment @3.2.2.3 (that I replied to @3.2.2.3.1) didn't mention "Kiwibuild", so at the risk of getting into an argument, could you indicate clearly why you asked if I was suggesting that? I mean, Kiwisaver is a success in my books – Kiwibuild not so much.

                We don’t know how lucky we are in this country

                • Paddington

                  No, but my comment focused on 'failure', because I was responding to Draco's commment about failure. You seem troubled that I would repsond to a comment about failure by discussing failure.

                  • Drowsy M. Kram

                    No, I'm troubled that you (@ 3.2.2.3.1.1 ) would ask me "Are you suggesting Kiwibuild was not a failure?", when I patently suggested no such thing.

                    My reply to your comment asked if you could indicate clearly why you had asked me that question. Maybe even a little honesty was too much to hope for – pretty much sums up the Nats when you think about it.

                    We don’t know how lucky we are in this country

                    • Paddington

                      You said " And that's a 'fine line' to take when you choose to focus on failure. " in response to my comment, which was replying to a comment about failure. Why would you question my focus on failure in replying to a comment about failure?

                    • Drowsy M. Kram

                      I'm frankly amazed that you (still) don't get this – it's very simple.

                      In response to my first comment in this thread (where I said I would rather focus on success), you asked me "Are you suggesting Kiwibuild was not a failure?" There's no wriggle room; that was your question to me.

                      I responded with "…could you indicate clearly why you asked if I was suggesting that?" I asked that question (of you) because that was patently not what I was suggesting – I hadn't mentioned "Kiwibuild" in my first comment, and neither did that word appear in your comment (@ 3.2.2.3, criticising Kiwisaver) which had prompted my first comment. You were, in effect, putting words in my mouth, and that's dishonest (get ready for heaps more of the same folks).

                      Maybe I could say it more clearly than that, but I can't be bothered. You're commenting here in bad faith, IMHO, and I'll have no more to do with you, except to say:

                      "We don’t know how lucky we are in this country" – had a haircut this morning and no-one was wearing a mask – OUTSTANDING!

                      Mind you, if Labour or National or the Greens made a good (faith) case for wearing a mask, then I’d consider it.

          • Craig H 3.2.2.3.2

            Kiwisaver? That's a Cullen policy, and is one of his finest achievements.

          • Draco T Bastard 3.2.2.3.3

            All governments have failures.

            I'd say that all governments make mistakes. The failure only comes if they fail to learn from those mistakes.

            Kiwibuild is a learning opportunity. Now lets see if Labour learns from it or not before it becomes a failure.

            National doesn't learn from their mistakes and will package the same ideology up in new language to get elected and then do the same thing again.

      • observer 3.2.3

        A good guide is always the "Right/Wrong track question".

        FYI: 72% say NZ is on the right track (Morgan poll, today).

        Take a look outside the echo chamber, listen to the voters.

      • Brigid 3.2.4

        Mammoth failures?

        Care to list Nationals? We'll see how they compare.

        • Paddington 3.2.4.1

          Yep, we could list failures for both major political parties in government. To claim otherwise isn't very bright.

      • RosieLee 3.2.5

        Please be specific. Where's the evidence?

  4. Anker 4

    James latest Roy Morgan has labour greens on 65%. Just saying

  5. McFlock 5

    And so it comes to this: "be kind" vs "dirty politics".

    Oh well, at least it will stem the flow of nutbars towards ACT. She might lose a few in the other direction, though.

    • James 5.1

      Also substance (Collins) vs slogans (Ardern).

      looking forward to Collins holding her to account for all the bullshit like kiwibuild, light rail etc

      • Incognito 5.1.1

        I see, you’re listing National’s policy platform: crush them, crush them hard, crush them so hard they don’t know what crushed them. You’d be a shoo-in for Matthew’s job.

      • In Vino 5.1.2

        What substance? How many cars did 'Crusher' actually crush? None. Then she got into Oravida, etc, and was deservedly demoted. No substance, only empty bravado.

        • Veritas 5.1.2.1

          Ann Tolley crushed one. Another national party disastrous, catastrophic, homophobic, profifa failure!

      • Sean Carroll 5.1.3

        More Oravida dirtiness coming up I guess.

      • Just Is 5.1.4

        James, the only people who listen to Collins are people like you, sorry to tell you this, but you're in a very small minority at the moment and Collins is likely to shrink it some more

        • RedBaronCV 5.1.4.1

          I'm not sure that the people who like Collins listen to her. I've always felt that they appreciated the photo's more – like the ones standing on the car in high heels.
          I think they’re crushin’ on Judith

          • woodart 5.1.4.1.1

            yes. collins appeals to the same sort of men that go for women like pauline hanson , margeret thatcher. like the strict women, its a real conservative hangup.

            • RedBaronCV 5.1.4.1.1.1

              Yes hang up is a good way to put it. But I do wonder if Judith should accessorise a little more to increase that appeal.

      • McFlock 5.1.5

        Kiwibuild is obviously the most memorable and important policy or event over the last 2.5 years, yes.

        Lucky there are such scandals – any discussion of character leaves Collins looking like a kauri log exported as a finished piece of furniture.

      • anker 5.1.6

        James that is possibly the most ridiculous thing I have every heard. Why do you think NZders are outrage when people abscond from isolation??? Because we are determined to keep our covid free status, we are proud of it and it has allowed our economy to recover quickly. This is what matters most to people now……they don't really give a flying f..k about kiwibuild……….Anyway Labour have built more houses in this term than any other govt since the 70's……

        Really James you are not worth replying too.

      • anker 5.1.7

        Collins "only National has the skills and experience to get us through this". First lie.

        Do they think NZders are dumb. Labour and Ardern have just got us through the biggest crisis this country has ever faced. They have done so spectacularly well. Even the WHO praises us. Has Judith been asleep for the last few months?

        I would have thought they realized how ridiculous "the best team" sounded. They have looked like the very worst team ever throughout the Covid crisis. And they are

      • Gabby 5.1.8

        How many car sdid Joodee Covid crush?

  6. mickysavage 7

    Spare a thought for occasional Standard reader Matthew Hooton. His parliamentary services career is no more.

  7. Lettuce 8

    "All aboard the Oravida Express! Next stop Beijing."

  8. Tiger Mountain 9

    JuDarth!

    Nicky Hager’s “Dirty Politics”, and a few pics of Crusher with her once bestie Mr Slater should prompt a few memories-and not of the pleasant kind.

    Labour just needs to stay on message-“we will keep a lid on Covid, do you really trust National to do the same?”

    • Robert Guyton 9.1

      Judith & Cameron, up in a tree…

      Those photos are damning…

      Slater, Slater, Slater!!!

  9. Treetop 10

    Probably will be the pinnacle of Collin's political career.

  10. Dennis Frank 11

    Don Brash just told Newshub "I'm very pleased." He also told listeners to the live stream that Judith's parents were both Labour voters.

    Tova has just confirmed Brownlee is deputy.

    • lprent 11.1

      Ok – so we have the very old guard…

      I can’t see a better contrast to put on the idiot box.

    • weka 11.2

      wow. They really haven't learned their lesson.

    • Incognito 11.3

      So, it is Judith with Gerry, Tova doing the PR & marketing, and David the internal polling and Social Media. Does that make Tova the emotional junior staffer?

  11. observer 12

    Don Brash on Newshub, delighted with Collins.

    What an endorsement, he's got his finger on the pulse of 2020 NZ. (/sarc)

  12. Sean Carroll 13

    I am concerned that she will be caught with her hands in the till again.

    • RedBaronCV 13.1

      Well she won't resign and now there is no one to fire her. She will just brazen it out.

      But I can see this being the last straw for a lot of women voters who are likely to quit national. Rather as women voters disliked Brash.

  13. Robert Guyton 14

    "That’s Concentration Camp Guard mentality: bringing someone into the Leadership now such as Collins, who always played Dirty Politics at as much arms length as possible, to appear by default more “responsible”, is utter lunacy if that’s what the Party is actually contemplating at this point:"

    https://exhalantblog.wordpress.com/2020/07/14/get-a-grip-nz-muller-imploding-the-national-party-in-on-itself-is-utterly-predictable/

    • Just Is 14.1

      It looks very much like the party are going to double down.

      This appointment of Collins is a clear indicator of why Muller has retired.

  14. Robert Guyton 15

    It's the China connection that'll sink her. Jian Yang pulled out for a reason…

  15. observer 16

    I'm not much of a believer these days, but I'm thanking the Almighty for Gerry Brownlee.

    What were they thinking?

    • Robert Guyton 16.1

      Gerry's solid. And Christchurch owes its very existence to him (he's magic at airports).

    • georgecom 16.2

      National, the party of fresh thinking and promoting exciting new talent

      Never fear National supporters, Chris Luxon is on his way

      • anker 16.2.1

        It will be a shit fight next term with Judith still leader and Luxton wanting the leadership he is entitled to

  16. Drowsy M. Kram 17

    The Nats will stay their ‘partisan politics‘ course under Crusher's leadership – BAD losers. Amazingly they really don't seem to have a clue as to why their brand is so badly tainted.

  17. In Vino 18

    9 weeks are a long time in politics, especially with hostile news media.

    • Incognito 18.1

      Good one, I had to think about it.

      • weka 18.1.1

        how so?

        • Incognito 18.1.1.1

          The media are not hostile towards JC at all, they love and adore her. The fawning is nauseating.

          • weka 18.1.1.1.1

            ah, so interpreting In Vino's comment as being about the left/Labour?

            • Pete George 18.1.1.1.1.1

              It could as easily be said 'The media are not hostile towards JA at all, they love and adore her'.

              Nausea is in the eye of the partisan.

              Media tend to reward competence with handling the media.

              • weka

                Competence being a good reason to love her esp this year of course, but I don't see it as being too different from Key. Nearer the end of her term as Labour leader I'm sure they will be going after her too.

                The value in what IV said is that left shouldn't be cocky right now. We saw how fast things changed for Labour in 2017.

              • Incognito

                Nausea is in the eye of the partisan.

                No, Pete, non-partisans are also nauseated by it. I thought you were non-partisan but maybe I did get that wrong!?

            • Incognito 18.1.1.1.1.2

              yes

  18. Dennis Frank 19

    JC: "I think it's important to give credit where it's due" – and earlier mentioned that she started out as a Labour voter. GB: thanked Newshub for announcing he'd got it before the caucus voted, "I found that encouraging." Got a big laugh.

    JC: "We are here to support Todd and his family." She said `we're going to take back the country' twice. "Our team is better than their team." "She's got three ministers who she's got confidence in, and that's it."

    • I Feel Love 19.1

      So Attack Attack Attack.

      • Dennis Frank 19.1.1

        Yeah, looks relaxed & comfortable with the gung ho attitude. Will rally the troops, may pull back some of the drifting centrists, but it's whatever substance she can provide to back up that attitude that really counts.

        Partisan stances just aren't adequate really. No problem with her pointing out Labour's mistakes & inadequacies, but voters actually want more than just that, and I haven't seen any evidence that she has learnt that lesson.

        • I Feel Love 19.1.1.1

          Least there's a contrast, she's like a cartoon character, she's gonna say some barmy things, already "we're going to take back the country!", well that sounds inclusive doesn't it?

        • Paddington 19.1.1.2

          Never underestimate the fickleness of NZ voters, Dennis.

    • Incognito 19.2

      Never thought Gerry was a leaker!

    • Craig H 19.3

      Not sure who the three ministers are since the PM clearly has confidence in more than three – she is probably referring to Robertson, Hipkins, Woods, but Little is clearly another (for example).

  19. Just Is 20

    Wasn't Collins on 2% in the leadership stakes a few weeks ago.

    Nothing like having a popular leader

  20. Ovid 21

    They say,
    Todd Muller's yielding his power and stepping away

    Is that true? I wasn't aware that was something a person could do

    I'm perplexed. Are they going to keep on replacing whoever's in charge?
    If so who's next?
    There's nobody else in their party who looms quite as large

    [whispers]

    [Spoken]
    Judith and Gerry?

    I know them
    That can't be
    That's that pair I saw on TV all those years ago
    Where was it, the Beehive?
    That poor party they'll eat them alive

    Oceans rise, empires fall
    Next to Ardern they all look small
    All alone watch them run
    They will tear each other in to pieces Jesus Christ this will be fun

    Da da da da da
    Da da da da daye da
    Da da da da daye da
    [laughs]

    [Spoken]
    Judith & Gerry
    Good luck!

  21. Pat 22

    back to the future it is then….there will be no unpleasant surprises that those two havnt anticipated to cause them to question themselves.

  22. observer 23

    That Collins press conference was weird.

    She repeated the line "take back the country". And I'm sure she knows what that phrase represents. Yuk.

  23. anker 24

    The country is not there's to take actually………..

  24. Ben 25

    Fascinating. I just wandered back through this alley again and the usual resident suspects are still reinforcing their entrenched tribal views. A comforting space for some, although it must get a tad claustrophobic.

    • observer 25.1

      O wise one, we await your sermon of enlightenment.

      • Ben 25.1.1

        What topic would enlighten you, young student?

        • observer 25.1.1.1

          The foolishness of us mere mortals who in our shameful ignorance, think National are self-destructing … on the basis of, you know, all the evidence, every day.

          • Ben 25.1.1.1.1

            Please do not feel shame “observer”. An observer should not feel shame.

            • Drowsy M. Kram 25.1.1.1.1.1

              Ben, "You must go to the Dagobah system", AKA Kiwiblog.

              "Game On!" "This will excite a lot of National supporters and activists."

              laugh Hahahahahahahahahaha laugh

              Seriously, perhaps could you enlighten me as to why the Nat caucus don't seem to have a clue about why their brand is so badly tainted. Or are your 'lessons' pay-to-view only?

    • Incognito 25.2

      Yeah, I wondered how you wormed your way back here. You said some nasty stuff when you were banned for two days and yet here you are trolling again. Nobody is enforcing anything here but we do like to keep the place clean & tidy and pest-free especially with the election looming. How long is a piece of string?

  25. bloke 26

    its a win for Beijing and milkpowder, its a win for slater too but RX-7’s all over our fair isles are worried

  26. Brian Tregaskin 27

    Id rate Collins/Brownlee chances of improving Nationals fortune in the next few weeks as practically zero . Two old school Nats from the old guard whose time has come and gone. The day after the election we will see the headlines "Its Ardens Time"

  27. Bloke 28

    Great to see fresh thinking, new faces and a vision of 1963 (with a milky eastern light shining upon fogeys both young and old)

  28. Peter 29

    I get it. Kurt Taogaga has been removed from the Labour's Party candidate list after tweets he made seven years ago resurfaced.

    Judith Collins, guilty of unethical scummy behaviour while a Minister six years ago gets to be the leader of her party.

    Yeah, I can see how that's reasonable. We need a Lincoln Project series of ads about Collins.

  29. Anker 30
    • By the way Ben is not worth engaging with imo everyone
  30. Fireblade 31

    Judith and Gerry will invigorate the National Party with their fresh faces, youthful exuberance and exiting new ideas.

  31. Descendant Of Smith 32

    My fascist right wing friends are going hooray when they were pretty meh about the last two leaders so Collins clearly appeals to a certain group of mainly male party supporters. They've been quiet for a while but are posting all over the place now. Clearly excited.

    After the collapse of the Boag faction within the National Party (remember she ousted John Slater as National Party President) playing loose with citizen data then the Collins faction had to be the dominant group within the Party.

    Neither is any cleaner than the other but both factions have hated each other for years.

    I'm picking National will pick up in the polls – Collins was much more aligned with that nice man John Key and National voters will appreciate that and see her as a return to normality and away from experimentation with lightweights. After the last two leaders Collins with all her experience will be seen as solid. Any lift in the polls will encourage a further lift.

    Collins is the only choice they could have made to stop their slide. The two previous leaders have cleaned out some of the more toxic MP's from the public perspective so she won't have to do the same bloodletting.

    I may dislike all the individuals concerned but I'm not a National voter so my mates opinions are more likely a better indicator than the bad taste in my mouth at seeing these two back.

    • McFlock 32.1

      If they're really right wing, it means they'll be less tempted to vote for the gun-totin' ACT.

      Collins tried to put on a nice face for a couple of years, but I don't think it'll stick. Your fascist friends don't seem to believe it.

      Stuff that attracts flies tends to repel bees, sort of thing. I doubt it would increase Labgrn vote, but it might make nats less likely to vote.

    • RedBaronCV 32.2

      Yes unlike the Uk we don't need a Boris and a Dom when we have Judith.

      Women don't like Judith – she's likely to turn out about as many of them as ACT does. namely none.

  32. Maurice 33

    They know that with Arden leading Labour/Greens the right are on a hiding to nothing

    This means that they know that they MUST "knobble" Jacinda ….

    We have not seen "dirty politics" ….. yet …

    It is about to get very very ugly.

  33. Incognito 34

    I take it Judith has cancelled the remainder of her book promotion tour?

  34. UncookedSelachimorpha 35

    Draining the swamp! Of kauri.

  35. Fireblade 36

    National is still a shambles. Contragulations Judith.

    https://www.twitter.com/danielfarrellnz/status/1282972806922158080

  36. Incognito 37

    I think the Nat Party website is under construction.

  37. lurgee 38

    Mickysavage has – of course – a long an ignoble history of being pretty much wrong about everything, so we might as well start practicing saying "Prime Minister Collins."

    Collins makes me nervous. She's got nothing to lose and the scruples of a rabid wolverine. She can say pretty much anything and promise pretty much anything in the knowledge she'll either succeed in preventing a National wipe out or it won’t matter in the slightest.

    Either way, it’ll be brutal.

    And then – if the wipe out is averted – she can sit back for three more years, sniping at Labour, exploiting every stuff up and failure (and they will come, oh boy will they come) and generally have a great time being Leader of the Opposition on a mission to wreck Labour's second term.

    And if she – and her ilk – ever gets hands on the levers of power, God help us all.

    • swordfish 38.1

      Mickysavage has – of course – a long an ignoble history of being pretty much wrong about everything, so we might as well start practicing saying "Prime Minister Collins."

      I'd forgotten you were a barrel of laughs, lurgee.

      Still, lifelong support of Partick Thistle must induce a certain grim fatalism in the psyche.

  38. Brian Tregaskin 39

    "

    Mickysavage has – of course – a long an ignoble history of being pretty much wrong about everything, so we might as well start practicing saying "Prime Minister Collins."

    Collins makes me nervous. She's got nothing to lose and the scruples of a rabid wolverine. She can say pretty much anything and promise pretty much anything in the knowledge she'll either succeed in preventing a National wipe out or it won’t matter in the slightest.

    Either way, it’ll be brutal.

    And then – if the wipe out is averted – she can sit back for three more years, sniping at Labour, exploiting every stuff up and failure (and they will come, oh boy will they come) and generally have a great time being Leader of the Opposition on a mission to wreck Labour's second term.

    And if she – and her ilk – ever gets hands on the levers of power, God help us all."

    Unless there is Judithmania for the remainder this week (First 48 hours is critical) you wont see a dramatic lift in the polls for National (if any) between now and September. All that is likely to happen is some Act voters will return to National and those middle ground voters will stick with Labour.

    But…..If Judithmania happens in next 48 hours its all on!!! You heard it first here first baby!

  39. Plc 40

    You sound scared….welcome to the jungle!

  40. Brian Tregaskin 41

    Most like instead of "Judithmania" we will see the mantra "Granny State" with a Collins/Bownlee duo with those two old farts

  41. Cinny 42

    If gerry and judith are the answer, the question must be…who plays dirty politics?

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  • Peters’ real foreign policy threat is Helen Clark
    Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 hours ago
  • NZ’s trans lobby is fighting a rearguard action
    Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    13 hours ago
  • Your mandate is imaginary
    This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    18 hours ago
  • 14,000 unemployed under National
    The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    20 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Discontent and gloom dominate NZ’s political mood
    Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    20 hours ago
  • Taking Tea with 42 & 38.
    National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    21 hours ago
  • Beware political propaganda: statistics are pointing to Grant Robertson never protecting “Lives an...
    Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”. As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    22 hours ago
  • Winding back the hands of history’s clock
    Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    22 hours ago
  • Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
     Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    22 hours ago
  • Business confidence sliding into winter of discontent
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    24 hours ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the coalition’s awful, not good, very bad poll results
    Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
    1 day ago
  • New HOP readers for future payment options
    Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
    1 day ago
  • 2024 Reading Summary: April (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
    2 days ago
  • At a glance – Clearing up misconceptions regarding 'hide the decline'
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    2 days ago
  • Road photos
    Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
    The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago
  • NZDF is still hostile to oversight
    Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Winding Back The Hands Of History’s Clock.
    Holding On To The Present: The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
    2 days ago
  • Sweet Moderation? What Christopher Luxon Could Learn From The Germans.
    Stuck In The Middle With You: As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
    2 days ago
  • A clear warning
    The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Poll results and Waitangi Tribunal report go unmentioned on the Beehive website – where racing tru...
    Buzz  from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example.  This shows National down ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Listening To The Traffic.
    It Takes A Train To Cry: Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
    2 days ago
  • Comity Be Damned! The State’s Legislative Arm Is Flexing Its Constitutional Muscles.
    Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
    2 days ago
  • Ending The Quest.
    Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
    2 days ago
  • Will political polarisation intensify to the point where ‘normal’ government becomes impossible,...
    Chris Trotter writes –  New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Tuesday, April 30
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:30am on Tuesday, May 30:Scoop: NZ 'close to the tipping point' of measles epidemic, health experts warn NZ Herald Benjamin PlummerHealth: 'Absurd and totally unacceptable': Man has to wait a year for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Worst poll result for a new Government in MMP history
    Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Pinning down climate change's role in extreme weather
    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
    2 days ago
  • Serving at Seymour's pleasure.
    Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Webworm LA Pop-Up
    Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • “Feel good” school is out
    Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 6 Months in, surely our Report Card is “Ignored all warnings: recommend dismissal ASAP”?
    Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic plan, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy. Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    3 days ago
  • Bread, and how it gets buttered
    Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Justice for Gaza?
    The New York Times reports that the International Criminal Court is about to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over their genocide in Gaza: Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • If there has been any fiddling with Pharmac’s funding, we can count on Paula to figure out the fis...
    Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • FastTrackWatch – The case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Monday, April 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Iran killing its rappers, and searching for the invisible Dr. Reti
    span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
    3 days ago
  • Auckland Rail Electrification 10 years old
    Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
    3 days ago
  • Coalition's dirge of austerity and uncertainty is driving the economy into a deeper recession
    Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Disability Funding or Tax Cuts.
    You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Of the Goodness of Tolkien’s Eru
    April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
    3 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
    4 days ago
  • Pastor Who Abused People, Blames People
    Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
    The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Winston remembers Gettysburg.
    Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • 25
    She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8.  The universe was ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Fact Brief – Is Antarctica gaining land ice?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
    5 days ago
  • Policing protests.
    Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
    Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: FastTrackWatch – The Case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago
  • Luxon gets out his butcher’s knife – briefly
    Peter Dunne writes –  The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • More tax for less
    Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Real News vs Fake News.
    We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Another way to roll
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Simon Clark: The climate lies you'll hear this year
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
    5 days ago
  • Cutting the Public Service
    It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s demoted ministers might take comfort from the British politician who bounced back after th...
    Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:  we live in a troubled ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • This is how I roll over
    1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Waitangi Tribunal is not “a roving Commission”…
    …it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition   NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes –  The High Court ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Is Oranga Tamariki guilty of neglect?
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same? Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Three Strikes saw lower reoffending
    David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s ruthless show of strength is perfect for our angry era
    Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • 'Lacks attention to detail and is creating double-standards.'
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • One Night Only!
    Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • What did Melissa Lee do?
    It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2024
    Open access notables Ice acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment: In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
    7 days ago
  • Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Wa...
    Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • Who’s Going Up The Media Mountain?
    Mr Bombastic: Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
    7 days ago
  • “That's how I roll”
    It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • “Comity” versus the rule of law
    In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Streamlining Building Consent Changes
    The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says.      “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
    New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
    Good evening –   Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • Accelerating airport security lines
    From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • Community hui to talk about kina barrens
    People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
    Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Mining resurgence a welcome sign
    There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
    The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government to boost public EV charging network
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure.  The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Residential Property Managers Bill to not progress
    The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Independent review into disability support services
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