Comrade Chris and the politics of the warm inner glow

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, November 9th, 2022 - 127 comments
Categories: housing, labour, Left, Media, uncategorized - Tags:

The politics of the warm inner glow is a phrase of Australian origin which applies to left activists.  It describes a state where lefties prefer feeling good about their activism rather than actually achieving anything.

One use of the phrase is attributed to former Labor leader Bill Hayden who said:

We are, as too often happens with the Labor Party, in danger of confusing the politics of the warm inner glow with the inspiration of the light on the hill. If we do that, we will get badly scorched by the electorate—and not just once but repeatedly.”

The phrase contrasts what is the ideal left wing position with what is actually achievable.  The ideal left wing position may be political suicide but some think that it should be pursued, no matter what.

And it is an unfair battle.  The forces of the right are completely indifferent to most areas of right wing principle.  The one aspect they struggle with, tax cuts particularly for the wealthy, is the one policy that makes politics a more even battle.  And they lack the activists although their monetary resources and friendly media mean that it is more than an even battle.

What really helps the right are self nominated left wing commentators who take every opportunity to attack Labour.

People like Chris Trotter whose prose in a recent blog post is extraordinary.

In a fit of literal verbosity he took exception to this passage in Jacinda Ardern’s speech:

On the 9th floor of the Beehive building in Wellington, sitting directly behind my desk, is a picture of Michael Joseph Savage. You could say he’s on my shoulder but also ever so slightly in my ear.

“Of course it was Savage and the first Labour Government that lifted New Zealand out of the depths of the Great Depression. Not by cutting taxes and services, but by investing in jobs, and building a social welfare safety net. They built the country’s first state home. And not long after these social reforms – New Zealand’s living standards were among some of the highest in the world. Not for the few, but for the many.

“The Finance Minister who supported Savage, Walter Nash, then led Labour’s second government as it continued to build our nation’s social welfare system, while advocating on the world stage for peace over war after World War 2.

“It was Norman Kirk and a Labour government who tilted the country towards a modern future with reforms of trade, health, the arts, and education. They worked hard to foster a renewed national identity and partnership with Maōri – all the while challenging global evil such as apartheid and nuclear testing.

“It was a fight David Lange continued, making New Zealand nuclear free, while also righting the wrongs of the past by legalising homosexuality, and fully abolishing the death penalty.”

Trotter confused historical accuracy with the glorious left wing revolution and said this:

Virtually every claim made by the Prime Minister in the passage quoted above is either historically contestable, or just plain, flat-out, wrong. For that very reason, it is a powerful illustration of the deeply flawed thinking that has led the Ardern Government to the brink of electoral ruin.

Which part of the speech is historically contestable?  None as far as I can see.

  1. Jacinda does have a photo of Micky Savage on her office wall.
  2. Savage and the first Labour Government did help to lift New Zealand out of the depths of the great depression.  The process may have been started before them but they sure did accelerate it.  Complaining that they were only 90% responsible is churlish.
  3. Labour did invest in jobs and built the social welfare safety net.
  4. Labour did construct the country’s first state home.
  5. Not long after the end of the first Labour Government New Zealand’s living standards were among some of the highest in the world.
  6. Walter Nash did lead the second Labour Government.
  7. He was also heavily involved in the League of Nations and the United Nations in attempting to achieve peace although admittedly before the second Labour Government was formed.
  8. Norm Kirk and the third Labour Government definitely tilted the country towards a modern future with reforms of trade, health, the arts, and education.  His position on apartheid and nuclear testing were very clear.  That Government was quite radical.
  9. And did David Lange make New Zealand nuclear free?  He sure did.  And homosexuality was legalised and the death penalty was abolished.

So I can see no statement that is flat out wrong, and few if any could be contestable unless you were to apply extreme interpretations of what was said.

Top of Chris’s list of dislikes is hate speech reform.  Before the details are even settled he says that reform of the sort of speech that influenced the Christchurch shooter is a very bad thing.

The other two, Three Waters and Co Governance suggest strongly that Chris has been sipping National’s kool aide for too long.

And he says that the Christchurch massacre and Covid “helpfully distracted the country from its government’s moral vacuity”.  One was an abject terror event and the other was a one in one hundred global pandemic that New Zealand handled remarkably well but not according to Chris.

Has Labour been moving the country in the right direction?  I believe so and you can consult this list of a hundred things the Government has delivered this year if you need verification.  There is also this list of things Labour has achieved while in Government.

Has it moved quickly enough?  No but three years of New Zealand First in Government followed by a one in one hundred year global pandemic have not helped.

A few examples will help.

Labour has delivered 14,000 public and transitional homes while in Government and if current trends continue the housing shortage should be eradicated within a year.  And housing prices are falling as Labour’s policies around ownership kick in and new stock comes onto the market.

In relation to child poverty Labour has lifted 66,500 children out of poverty so far, and the latest figures show all nine child poverty measures continue to trend downwards.

And in relation to climate change the Climate Commission has been created, the Zero Carbon Act passed and importation of electric vehicles is surging.

And the Government is moving to tax greenhouse gas emissions in the Farming Sector.  The political push back shows how resistant the right will be to this policy.

Could it have done more?  You bet.  Could this have happened quicker?  Given the limitations imposed by the Wellington bureaucracy I am not sure.

But here is the thing.  If National is elected the results will be very clear.  They will unwind a lot of these policies and hack into budgets as they try and find money for tax cuts for the wealthy.

Which is why Comrade Chris’s attacks on the Government are so unhelpful.  You would think that someone wanting a socialist nirvana would be patient as progress is made albeit somewhat gradually rather than want us to lurch back into the sort of New Zealand National gave us in the 1990s.

Chris is part of that circle of wanna be media personalities like Sean Plunkett, Ani O’Brien, Jordan Williams et al and clearly the media enjoy giving him space as a left wing contrarian.  But I question the logic of what he says.  Not reaching the socialist nirvana overnight may not be ideal.  But to present a completely inaccurate dystopian description of this Government when it is clearly achieving good does nothing but provide support for the left’s opponents.

Chris may feel that warm inner glow as he types his words of condemnation.  I prefer my political activism to actually achieve and improve things.

127 comments on “Comrade Chris and the politics of the warm inner glow ”

  1. Ad 1

    I can't stand Ardern but I'm pretty clear 3.3% unemployed and lowest recorded Maori unemployment mean Labour are achieving what their name stands for.

    Also I'm 100% with them on 3 Waters. Hang in there Maori caucus.

    • Anne 1.1

      Pray tell: why can't you stand Jacinda Ardern?

      Is she not bolshie enough for you? Is it because she smiles a lot? Do you not like the government's polices and blame her for them? Have you fallen for the right-wing memes and lies to discredit her? Do you oppose their Covid response despite the fact it saved many lives? Do you expect them to achieve miracles overnight after decades of mediocre governance with – granted – a few high spots.

      Or is it because she's too nice, and nobody trusts a 'nice' person?

      • Ad 1.1.1

        She's a 2 dimensional small c conservative who has no plan and no ideology beyond Hallmark bromides.

        And took a record mmp 20 point electoral margin and blew it.

        • Chris 1.1.1.1

          That's true, but it's not why her popularity's waning – that's way too complex an analysis for the average racist sexist red-neck voting kiwi to understand. All Ardern needed to do to stay afloat in the polls was to drop her condescending tone when trying to explain things. She's certainly, as you say, a conservative with a small c, and of course there are other factors at play – not the least being female – but if she ditched talking down to us as if we're naughty schoolchildren she would've had a decent chance of breaking the cycle of Labour being perceived as purveyors of nanny-state politics.

          • Tony Veitch 1.1.1.1.1

            From my pov that's crap. I've never thought Jacinda talked down to me (or us).

            Mind you, it might have to do with the fact that she's a woman, and a damned intelligent one too, and many males simple cannot handle that!

            • Incognito 1.1.1.1.1.1

              The sheer mention of her name seems to evoke unhealthily high levels of skirt phobia and reliving of naughty-step experiences in early childhood. However, I do have some sympathy for those who struggle with the PM’s press and public appearances although not as much as, for example, with John Key and Chris Luxon.

            • Patricia Bremner 1.1.1.1.1.2

              yes It annoys people that she is patient and answers questions as fully as possible.

              The PM keeps on top of issues, no matter how trying or how tired she is. She does a difficult job well.

              2 dimensional? Lol Why do intelligent Leaders in other countries not agree with you Ad, surely they like you and Chris can see how shallow she is. sarc

              Conservative.. yes she tries to keep the best and improve on it. We need more of that in a throw away easily bored world. imo.

              I am relieved to see you are not letting your personal feelings affect your sense.

              Chris Trotter belongs to the "Any Revolution is good" crowd.

          • Anne 1.1.1.1.2

            I don't see it that way Chris. She has never come across to me as 'talking down' to people. I remember her speaking at a Labour Party function when she was still a new MP. That was about 8 years before she became PM. She spoke in exactly the same way and no-one came away with that impression. We were all more than a little impressed.

            I'll tell you what she does do which may be what gives some that impression. She tends to speak a little slower than average, which no doubt is to ensure everyone picks up what she is saying. That could well be a family trait bearing in mind her father was a senior ranked police officer. Police officers speak like that as if we're all idiots. Mind you they do have to deal with a lot of idiots so I suppose you can’t blame them. 😮

        • Stuart Munro 1.1.1.2

          I like her – more real than 95% of Wellington.

          The majority was to deal with Covid, which she did.

          Some very foolish and unpopular social policy (most submitted against bill) will cost a normal electoral margin, but the triple bonus of a charisma free and essentially inept opposition with policies too ludicrous even for Britain may well see a third or maybe even a fourth term.

        • adam 1.1.1.3

          She's a 2 dimensional small c conservative who has no plan and no ideology beyond Hallmark bromides.

          That could well be one of the best definitions of Trump I've ever read. If you swap the cats mum for a he.

      • tsmithfield 1.1.2

        I think Jacinda is nice enough as a person.

        Political differences aside, I don't think she did herself any favours with the daily Covid announcements. Rather than just announce the facts, she seemed to feel the need to turn every announcement into a lengthily speech before getting to the point.

        She does seem to waffle quite a lot, as I noticed in the debate the other day. Luxon was asking her very precise questions about the wisdom of prioritising hundreds of millions in the TVNZ/RNZ merger while there is a cost of living crisis. She seemed to go all over the place without actually answering the questions.

        Also, I think she doesn't like confrontational type of interviews, hence why she avoids Hosking like the plague.

        And she seems to have a craving for fluffy photo opps.

        Taking all that together, I think she comes across as a bit of a lightweight, and I suspect that other voters are coming to the same conclusion.

        • Mike the Lefty 1.1.2.1

          Why should Jacinda subject herself to such a narcissistic git as Hosking ? She is smart to avoid people who have personal grudges. Would Chris Luxon appear on Martyn Bradbury's podcast?

          • tsmithfield 1.1.2.1.1

            "Why should Jacinda subject herself to such a narcissistic git as Hosking ?"

            Like it or not, Newstalk ZB has the highest radio ranking in the country. So, appearing on Hosking's show gives her an opportunity to reach a large audience. So, avoiding his show is a huge missed opportunity to connect with the public.

            Note, various Labour politicians subject themselves to Hosking when they appear on Politics Wednesday, and Grant Robertson is often interviewed by Hosking.

            So, your rationale doesn't make much sense.

            "Would Chris Luxon appear on Martyn Bradbury's podcast?"

            That depends on the reach of the show. If it is a left wing broadcaster with a similar reach to Newstalk ZB, or at least in that ballpark, then Luxon should definitely front up. It at least gives him the opportunity to sway voters more towards him, even if he isn't appealing to his natural constituency.

            But I don't think either Ardern or Luxon should appear on obscure media shows as there is very little in it for them. Not that I am saying Bradury's podcast is obscure, as I don't know the stats.

            • Stuart Munro 1.1.2.1.1.1

              Although Jacinda is pretty good at keeping the bris leftover at a distance, lending credibility to his toxic stupidity is self-defeating. Best left to marginalize himself.

        • Nic the NZer 1.1.2.2

          "hence why she avoids Hosking like the plague."

          I think Mike Hosking is clearly the unsung hero here. I mean without the inspiration of avoiding Mike like the plague how would Ardern have ever invented staying in your bubble and isolating NZ from the pandemic.

          I mean I do worry constantly about being exposed to some novel variant 'Like Mike', and hope an effective vaccine is still being worked on, but to date I have managed to remain completely Hosking free.

          • Mike the Lefty 1.1.2.2.1

            Mike Hosking is a hero to people that can't think much for themselves. The rest of us think he's a git.

        • Drowsy M. Kram 1.1.2.3

          I think she comes across as a bit of a lightweight…

          Our PM is a successful politican. Only the one-eyed could convince themselves otherwise – that's “fluffy photo opps” partisan politics for you. Ardern's response to the Christchurch massacre was inspirational ("What a bawse!"), as was her leadership ("to go fast and go hard") of the team of nearly five million – "be kind."

          She will always come across "as a bit of a lightweight" to some (as leader of the opposition: "She's a pretty communist"; and as PM: "A part-time Prime Minister, a pretty communist, a sex assault conspirator and an anti-Semite all walk into a bar…"), but there are other factors at play when it comes to the declining popularity of this (unprecendented) one party-majority MMP government, not the least of which are falling living standards and rising economic instability as the fallout from global warming, the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, etc. etc. continues. If the Gnats have the opportunity to demonstrate their supposedly superior economic chops from 2024 onwards, look out – progressive they're not.

          Navigating the high-inflation environment [October 2022]
          Global financial stability risks have increased amid a series of cascading shocks
          Chapter 1 analyzes the policy response of central banks to high inflation, the risks of a disorderly tightening of financial conditions, and debt distress among emerging and frontier markets. Markets have been extremely volatile, and a deterioration in market liquidity appears to have amplified price moves. In Europe, the energy crisis is contributing to a worsening outlook. In China, the property sector remains a key source of vulnerability.
          Chapter 2 examines how to narrow the climate financing gap in emerging market and developing economies. Climate policies, including carbon pricing, climate disclosures, and transition taxonomies, are crucial for enabling private climate finance. Innovative financial instruments can help to scale up private climate finance, but the public sector—including multilateral development banks—will have to play a key supporting role.
          Chapter 3 analyzes the contributions of open-end investment funds to fragilities in asset markets. Open-end investment funds play a key role in financial markets, but those offering daily redemptions while holding illiquid assets can amplify the effects of adverse shocks by raising the likelihood of investor runs and asset fire sales. This contributes to volatility in asset markets and potentially threatens financial stability.

          • Patricia Bremner 1.1.2.3.1

            Thank you DrowsyM Kram, for an excellent post.smiley

            • Drowsy M. Kram 1.1.2.3.1.1

              And thank you Patricia. Perhaps tsmithfield genuinely can't perceive our PM's political nous, although imho it's more likely that he can, and that it would stick in his craw to acknowledge her leadership skills and dedication to service.

              I think both Megan Woods and Chris Hipkins come across with a lot more depth than Jacinda. So, my view isn’t so much a partisan thing.
              – tsmithfield @1.1.2.3.2

              Whereas I think both Nicola Willis and Shane Reti come across with a lot more depth than Chris, and my political views are very partisan.

          • tsmithfield 1.1.2.3.2

            I think both Megan Woods and Chris Hipkins come across with a lot more depth than Jacinda. So, my view isn't so much a partisan thing. Perhaps it is just a perception thing, because she does seem to panic a bit in the headlights, especially when interviewed by Hosking. And she does a lot of fluff type of stuff. So, maybe I have misjudged her. But perceptions are important.

            And I agree, showing compassion is a great strength for Jacinda. And, I agree, she did very well after the Mosque shootings in Christchurch.

            • Drowsy M. Kram 1.1.2.3.2.1

              An ace in the pack [30 Sept 2022]
              Dr Ashley Bloomfield is ready to sit at a different table after his high-stakes hand in New Zealand’s Covid-19

              For more than two years, Bloomfield brought reassurance, complementing Ardern as they delivered the daily updates and the drastic measures needed to protect Kiwis.

              He was cool, calm and collected, and immediately embraced in living rooms and on social media channels around the country. As a public servant, he escaped most of the vitriol directed at politicians – and Ardern, in particular.

              Our PM’s leadership and communication during the first two years of the pandemic was well above average, imho.

              I think both Megan Woods and Chris Hipkins come across with a lot more depth than Jacinda. So, my view isn't so much a partisan thing.

              Of course your "view isn't so much a partisan thing" – no doubt you think Woods and Hipkins "come across with a lot more depth than" Luxon too.

              And she does a lot of fluff type of stuff.

              There's been "a lot of fluff type of stuff" about – that's politics, nuff said.

              So, maybe I have misjudged her.

              And maybe I have misjudged you – maybe.

              • In Vino

                And let us remember how well Jacinda polled in Australia's desired PM ratings..

                No doubt tsmithfield will have an outpouring of scorn readily available, but I think he fails to besmirch her as well as he wants to.

                • tsmithfield

                  I don't really look at this from a partisan perspective.

                  For instance, I actually rate Chris Hipkins as one of the best politicians in parliament, and better than most of the National politicians.

                  Probably Jacinda's biggest weakness is that she lacks people around her of that caliber. I see Jacinda as more of a visionary and communicator, but not so good at implimentation. That wouldn't be such a problem if she had plenty of MPs with that talent. But, from what I can see, there seem to be only a few she can rely on in that respect.

                  The fact the the same faces, eg Hipkins and Wood, tend to get called in to deal with problematic areas supports my view on this.

                  • Drowsy M. Kram

                    For instance, I actually rate Chris Hipkins as one of the best politicians in parliament, and better than most of the National politicians.

                    Better than Luxon? Chris v. Chris, Hipkins has more political experience.

                    I actually think both Nicola Willis and Shane Reti come across with a lot more depth than Chris (Luxon).

                    Probably Chris’ biggest weakness is his lack of political experience.

          • Louis 1.1.2.3.3

            yes Drowsy M. Kram

        • RosieLee 1.1.2.4

          Anyone with any intelligence and sense avoids Hosking like the plague.

          • tsmithfield 1.1.2.4.1

            So does that mean you think that Labour MPs who do appear on the show with Hosking, including Grant Robertson, are lacking intelligence and sense?

        • TSS 1.1.2 Please read your first sentence. It smacks of male condescension.

          • tsmithfield 1.1.2.5.1

            Really?? I would make that statement about anyone I thought was a nice person whether they be male or female. There certainly was no condescension intended in the comment.

            • Shanreagh 1.1.2.5.1.1

              In my very first English class in my very first week away at boarding school at age 12. We were asked to do a quick essay on one of those topics du jour such as 'What did you do in your holidays?'

              Teacher looked at them and gave some class-wide comments one of which is now a family saying down to great nephew level….

              'Nice is a weak word'

              This was duly reported home and picked up in my family.

              Now I don't use it, it is used within the family in some contexts. I might use 'nice' to describe it but caveat it with the phrase 'but nice is a such a weak word…..' etc

              So no, in my family nice always has an edge, an unfavourable edge.

              I agree with Patricia that in this context it seems talking down PLUS

              'Nice is such such a weak word'

        • Anne 1.1.2.6

          "And she seems to have a craving for fluffy photo opps."

          That's not true tsmithfield. She does no more "fluffy opps" than any of the other leaders. But she is PM so she's going to be followed around by the media to a greater extent.

          Light hearted moments with members of the public are NOT fluffy opps.

          As for the light-weight meme. National Party projecting their own leader onto Ardern imo.

        • Louis 1.1.2.7

          "daily Covid announcements" The PM was doing her job during a one in one hundred year global pandemic.

          "just announce the facts" The PM did and she included context, which one would expect for a pandemic.

          What is the wisdom of National's inflationary tax cuts to the wealthy during a cost of living crisis that will cost billions? Luxon will get $18,000 and those on the lower end will get $2.15, so how does that help? Whereas the tvnz/rnz merger will be $327m (Luxon got the numbers wrong), in funding over three years and the PM said why.

          "Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Over the last 10 years, TVNZ's commercial returns have declined by millions of dollars. The member seems to not have noticed that people's access to what was traditional forms of media such as television has substantially declined.

          Christopher Luxon: What's that got to do with it?

          Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: You question what that's got to do with it. When people stop watching, it declines their advertising revenue. That means that their commercial viability declines, which means our ability to have public broadcasting declines"

          https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansD_20221108_20221108

          "she doesn't like confrontational type of interviews" Rubbish. The PM handled Mike Hosking very well in fact, he struggled to land the hits he was after. The PM adjusted her media schedule and said she would go on his show if needed instead of a regular slot, in the end Hosking said he didn't want her on his show.

          What "fluffy photo opps"?

          Jacinda Ardern is no lightweight, she has proved that time and again.

    • Muttonbird 1.2

      Yeah, she should keep her mouth shut and stay in the kitchen.

  2. Sanctuary 2

    Chris Trotter has been out of the loop for a long time when it comes to the left. He still hasn't quite come to terms with no longer being allowed to play his guitar at Labour party conferences, and considers living in Dunedin in 1982 as the pinnacle of his life.

    He is essentially an increasingly irrelevant embarassment who is a right populist reactionary nowadays. His use of left rhetoric is just an echo of his past these days.

    He is just sad, him and Bradbury spend their whole time telling the world how left wing they are in meetings (that invariably dwell exclusively on culture war issues) with the floor sweepings of the right. They are all too disreputable even for the MSM to bother interviewing, which they interpret as being cancelled by the "woke" – a shadowy force that nowhere and everywhere, influential but marginal,and relentless yet inchoate.

    • Visubversa 2.1

      Ah, so you too suffered through his lamentable renditions of "Solidarity Forever" etc. Fortunately, I don't think he has been on the ticket at Labour Party Conferences for most of this Century – however much he resents it.

    • tc 2.2

      Great points however he does get trotted out by the MSM.

      If he appears to be sipping the nact koolaid that would be singing for ones supper like Pagani, Edwards etc.

      To further quote Dylan….we all gotta serve somebody.

      • Obtrectator 2.2.1

        "Great points however he does get trotted out by the MSM."

        They wouldn't trot him out if they figured he was any kind of genuine left-wing threat. Nope, gone to the dark side, deffo.

    • Phil 2.3

      considers living in Dunedin in 1982 as the pinnacle of his life.

      That might potentially be the most savage burn on a person's character I have ever read.

    • Bearded Git 2.4

      Agree all of that Sanc. What really sticks in my craw is Trotters hatred of the Greens. This means he can never praise them for successful CC policies or where they push Labour to the left on social issues.

      The dinosaur Trotter is intent on taking us back to the dinosaurs.

  3. Kat 3

    Couldn't agree more with this post. Chris Trotter has stated he intends keeping the Labour govt honest. Where he is failing to do that is when he descends into opposition attack style rhetoric a la National/Act who hide behind the guise of 'holding the govt to account'.

    Like the Mr Jones in Dylans Ballad of a Thin Man, Chris Trotter knows something is happening, he just doesn't know what it is…..anymore. Perhaps he just hasn't gotten over failing in his previous foray into politics.

  4. Corey Humm 4

    The endless negativity by some left wing commentators is unhelpful because it makes it seem like the government has achieved nothing.

    The endless positivity and cheerleading of the govt with no criticism by others is also deeply unhelpful, especially when the government needs to be pushed or self reflect.

    If a left wing economic policy was as unpopular as three waters, co-goverance in the implemention of govt services or hate speech are, it'd be tossed out like a CGT and fast.

    The fact that labour would rather lose the election than drop these policies is nuts and scary.

    What's the point in losing an election over policies that will immediately be overturned along with fair pay agreements and every bit of progress the govt has made.

    The govt needs to drop these policies like they did the capital gains tax. Ive been told by labour for years "we can't do xyz cos it's too radical and would lose us the election" , they should start listening to themselves.

    The PM has failed to bring people with her on three waters, co-goverance in services and hate speech, when questioned she tells journalists "I've not heard these criticisms"

    In NZ politics you need to bring people with you, we've spent two years trying and failed it's time to move on and focus on winning 2023 so that by the time of the next national govt fpas are deeply imbedded.

    Mainstream left voices need to call on the govt to drop these policies, if they aren't passed by next month.

  5. Terry 5

    Let’s be honest this Labour government is pretty lacklustre, they would have been a one term government if it were not for Covid.

    unfortunately the bulk of the voters have been turned off. You can’t make someone vote for you if they don’t want to.

    they should forget 3 waters, in its current form, rightfully or wrongly, it is way too divisive.

    As for hate speech, if you’re looking a suppressing and criminalising certain speech, then you’re on the wrong side of history.

    • Gabby 5.1

      They should put far more effort into showing the benefits of 3 wtrs. How it will make ppl's lives better. How it will work for everybody. How it will save money.

      • Incognito 5.1.1

        I agree that Nanny should spoon-feed us, change our nappies, wipe our bottoms, and teach us to sit up, walk, and speak. However, one would expect people who grace this site with their presence on an all too regular basis have reached that level of political maturity that is evident by doing self-research and making informed comments that have a foundation in a shared reality.

        For example, one could read the speech at the recent LGNZ Mayoral Induction Hui by Nanaia Mahuta:

        Without the reforms, the significant investment to upgrade and maintain the pipes and plants that provide safe drinking water, and treat and take away wastewater and stormwater, will be out of reach for communities.

        Ratepayers can least afford to foot the bill. It is estimated that between $120 billion and $185 billion is needed over the next 30-40 years to get water systems across the country up to standard.

        https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/lgnz-mayoral-induction-hui

        • Poission 5.1.1.1

          $120 billion and $185 billion is needed over the next 30-40 years

          Thats the assets depreciation,hilarious.

          • Incognito 5.1.1.1.1

            I know you come here to contribute to comedy but in case you have anything better to add, this forum is yours.

            • Poission 5.1.1.1.1.1

              Its standard practice to invoke hobgoblins in the form of large numbers to convince the populace of a crisis that is mostly imagined,and somehow only a complete transfer of management, will save NZ.

              The greatest thing that democracy received from the Greeks,was the replacement of violence with rigorous debate,and indeed rigorous argument against the sophists,

              • Incognito

                So, you’ve got nothing?

                • Poission

                  I called bullshit on the number,being trivial,(which it is ) do you not understand that?

                  • Incognito

                    Perfectly.

                    You called it and don’t want to show your cards, which means you’re blustering & bluffing just like the likes of Luxon.

                    Why even bother?

                    • Poission

                      The problem was the number used by Mahuta,and repeated by yourself.The answer to the problem (almost obvious )was it was around the depreciation over 40 years,the solution being obvious was trivial.

                      Here is a problem.

                      The NZ housing stock is 1.6 trillion $,depreciation is around 3% pa,with inflation will the accumulated number exceed the Mahuta number by how many magnitudes.

                    • Incognito []

                      The problem is trivial or the solution is trivial? Never mind.

                      Can you stop speaking in riddles and avoid diversions and possibly string together a coherent argument as to why future investment in NZ water infrastructure is affordable or not if we’re staying on current trajectory, for example.

                    • Poission

                      The problem becomes trivial when a solution is available,ie there is an answer.

                      Investment in NZ water infrastructure,is necessary because councils ,did not meet their requirements for maintaining and replacing their infrastructure at the depreciation levels.The money being used to build other assets usually for entertainment such as Stadia.

                      There was also additional money that had been raised for rates and levy's by councils,and given to the government,by way of taxation (such as GST). This could have been used to fund capital works for population growth.

                      A good example of the additional funding was the GST (paid) in the Christchurch Rebuild where the rebuilds were funded mostly by EQC and insurance funds,and the GST was essentially used (returned the community ) as investment on infrastructure pipes,etc., and which became very much a zero sum spend.

      • pat 5.1.2

        "How it will save money."

        Quite simply 3 Waters will not save money so that is why the Gov struggle to 'sell' the benefit

        "While the maths might work in terms of the four new water entities being able to borrow sufficiently against revenues to fund this infrastructure, the practicalities of concrete and steel’s considerable climate impacts, environmental legislation and water regulation changes raising the bar, and a shortage of talented water experts in the country, are all significant constraints to their ability to do this in practice.

        To balance the ledger and make our future healthy waters affordable, demand mitigation such as metering, pricing and improved water use standards will be needed, as well as really effective strategic asset management by the water services entities. But in the short term, the flow of cash for Three Waters is unlikely to end soon"

        https://www2.deloitte.com/nz/en/pages/2022-government-budget/articles/infrastructure.html

        The solutions are the same irrespective of model and it is ultimately funded by the same people ….all of us.

  6. Poission 6

    housing prices are falling as Labour’s policies around ownership kick in and new stock comes onto the market.

    Heck the PM even brought down house prices in the US,UK,Sweden,China,Australia,…

    • Terry 6.1

      House prices are dropping due to affordability, the new financial regulations, the fallout from covid & the war in Europe. Seriously Labour Party supporters are even more one eyed than a Canterbury supporter

      • Phil 6.1.1

        As a Cantabrian, I demand you take back that slanderous accusation that anyone can be as one-eyed and parochial as a Cantabrian is about their sports teams.

        • Terry 6.1.1.1

          My humble apologies. You are right no one is more one eyed than a Cantabury supporter. As a Hurricane supporter, I am living for the moment we will two championships in a decade….

      • Charlie 6.1.2

        Seriously Labour Party supporters are even more one eyed than a Canterbury supporter……

        Yes but they just keep on keeping on and winning winning winning. That one eye must be bloody good aye!

      • Nic the NZer 6.1.3

        I think I detected a touch of humor in comment 6. It seemed intentional.

  7. Bryan Dods 7

    "Chris is part of that circle of wanna be media personalities…"

    Josie Pagani is another who claims to represent Labour but instead constantly puts them down.

    • Chris 7.1

      Probably because they deserve it. Being critical of a political party's policies doesn't mean you don't want that party to be in government. I'd be more concerned about the level of blind and unquestioning support political parties get from their party faithful.

      • Louis 7.1.1

        Trotter and Pagani haven't been anywhere near left in a very long time and they do not represent the Labour party. It's misleading to claim they do.

        "I'd be more concerned about the level of blind and unquestioning support political parties get from their party faithful"

        Like the National party? How many times have you heard Trotter and Pagani et al tear National to shreds and do it relentlessly?

    • Louis 7.2

      Very true that Bryan. Trotter and Pagani do not represent the Labour party.

  8. Obtrectator 8

    Like it or not, they're going to have to drop 3 Waters for the time being. They've allowed it to be framed by its opponents as an asset-snatch, rather than its true purpose, which is guaranteeing the universal human right to fresh water supply of appropriate standard – a task that's becoming (or already is) beyond the capability of most if not all local bodies. It'll take a few more years yet of soaring rates bills and major pipe failures to convince the gammons that this could be an idea whose time has come.

    • Visubversa 8.1

      If they had any PR type smarts they could have framed 3 Waters as the best water related Public Health initiative since Dr John Snow took the handle off the Broad St pump. Instead they left it lying around until the vacuum was filled with racist assholes saying that Labour was stealing your water supply to give it to millionaire Iwi.

    • Yvonne Charsley 8.2

      Gammons?
      I believe that is an insult commonly used by the wealthy directed at the 'working class' in the UK.
      Please don't use it here or you just might get a whakapohane back.

      • Muttonbird 8.2.1

        It's an insult commonly used to describe the British political right and Brexiters. So not all working class.

  9. Reality 9

    Have not bothered to read Chris Trotter for some time other than to look at his headline and then move on. He is so enthralled with himself and what he sees as his cleverness. He has become nothing more than a crotchety has been wanting to forever be in the public eye.

  10. Right is right 10

    All political parties need to be criticized for stuffing up. Blindly supporting any party and not calling them out on their failures is stupid. Good on those who are pointing out Labours faults and failures. There are too many to even note here and the arrogance of the PM and her deputies is not good for the country.

  11. Tiger Mountain 11

    Chris Trotter has been in the crap with some on the broad spectrum of the left ever since the mid 80s when he began writing for the National Business Review. He was then involved with various retail unions and the Distribution Workers Federation among others. Unionists did not appreciate his apparent class collaboration, but he did make up for it somewhat during the New Labour and Alliance years–which of course simultaneously lowered his stakes in NZ Labour even more.

    He was probably an early cross class “pundit”, of which the world seems to be infested by now in their multi thousands, and is certainly a long distance columnist in terms of work. So to get paid he needs to have a ratio of left/right oriented columns depending on the publication and the audience.

    I prefer my pundits to be doctrinaire with a definite class position one way or another, right opportunism rarely has a pleasurable end.

  12. Incognito 12

    This Post’s title is so misleading that it makes for a great headline. I was fully expecting it to be about Chris Luxon promoting some kind of makeup in a Suzanne Paul-like fashion for the porcine policy platform of his party. Sadly, it is about another Chris [not Bishop or Hipkins] promoting the trougher policies for the rich of the Nats & ACT.

    This Chris has built a brand from his iconoclastic idiosyncrasies with himself leading his fan club, generating a similar foul and putrid smell that emanates from Elon the Musk when he charges and stomps around like a herd of wild elephants in a woke China shop in the name of freedom for the proletariat masses.

    This Chris is the quintessential historical determinist who will be yearning until the end of time for an Honorary Doctorate from Otago University.

    Recently, I had the intense displeasure of reading one of his blogs about racism in NZ healthcare because a Trottee (aka Trotter devotee) was raving (and ranting) about it on this forum. Once I get off the ventilator, I have no plans in letting him suck my oxygen away again.

  13. Sacha 13

    The warm inner glow is the erratic trickle into the Colonel's hushpuppies.

  14. mosa 14

    " Has Labour been moving the country in the right direction? I believe so and you can consult this list of a hundred things the Government has delivered this year if you need verification. There is also this list of things Labour has achieved while in Government ”

    Great then why are they dropping like a stone in the polls and why is Adern now despised and not trusted two years into her triumphant second term.
    https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/deceitful-dictator-arrogant-smarmy-what-kiwis-really-think-of-ardern-luxon-revealed/ar-AA1

    An historic MMP result , a majority government not seen since 1990-93

    The promised transformation not the incremental change we have had and Adern should have chosen her words more carefully. Trotter is well within his rights to critique this government who had the opportunity to be bold , change the narrative that was being cried out for in 2020 and no NZF handbrake to slow or impede the change so desperately needed.

    They have had nine years in opposition and five years in government to package and sell three waters and at least have an understanding of the likely opposition that would eventuate and plan for that. No political skills no nous !

    Robertson the conservative is more concerned about his legacy than being bold and changing the economic narrative. Where is the vision and the urge to fight so many injustices that their supporters vote Labour to stand up for them.

    He is certainly no Cullen !

    They could of been in government for four terms and kept the Nasties out so they could not unwind the economic reforms that could of been undertaken.

    Of course M.S is happy with what has not been achieved because he is a supporter of neo liberal kindness and these gains he talks about are nowhere near enough on what needs to be done so instead of attacking Trotter write a post on the huge social and economic deficit that they haven't addressed and you know what those are because I have listed the them ad nauseam . Therein lies the problem with LINO and this rubbish about Savage whispering in Adern's ear. Its all an insult to the Savage and Kirk governments and offensive to so many that Adern solicited votes from that this is as good as it gets after promising something very different.

    That warm inner glow has more to do with you MS and your government but does not exist out here in the real world.

    All noise and no action

    http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2022/11/all-noise-and-no-policy.html

    • observer 14.1

      why is Adern now despised

      And then you provide a link that shows she is not.

      Compare these global approval ratings. Ardern would be near the top. If you don't know what is happening all over the world, start reading about it to get some perspective.

      https://morningconsult.com/global-leader-approval/

      • mosa 14.1.1

        " But alongside them is "incompetent", "fake", "unreliable", "liar", and "evil". A few even went as far as "deceitful" and "dictator".

        Read it again ! the above was what I was referring to. Despised fits the bill.

        International approval is wonderful but that won't win her the next general election.

        She is great on the international stage but totally inept where it counts and that's here.

        • observer 14.1.1.1

          This is the wordcloud (poll) that you cited (your original link is down).

          So readers here can decide for themselves if your description of "despised" is accurate reporting of the voters' overall responses. Cherry-picking your fringe faves doesn't cut it.

          https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/11/newshub-reid-research-poll-what-new-zealanders-really-think-of-jacinda-ardern-christopher-luxon-revealed.html

          • mosa 14.1.1.1.1

            I think you are the one " cherry picking " and I stand by my description despite your obvious sympathy for the satus quo.

            Fringe faves ? no that was New Zealanders replying to a question and you are obviously another member of the warm inner glow which does you no credit when it comes to life outside your perception of reality.

            • observer 14.1.1.1.1.1

              If you could engage with the facts that would be better.

              You made a claim, and you cited a poll to support your claim.

              I have linked to that poll.

              • mosa

                " If you could engage with the facts that would be better "

                The facts that suit your opinion ?

                No.

        • observer 14.1.1.2

          International approval is wonderful but that won’t win her the next general election.

          My link was not to international approval of Ardern. It was to domestic approval of leaders in other democracies.

          This is very relevant because leaders in all democracies are facing the same problems. So incumbents everywhere are (naturally) taking a hit. By that measure, Ardern's approval rating is higher than most of her counterparts, except for very new leaders like Albanese.

          Those are the facts, which you presumably know already if you have been following world politics.

          • mosa 14.1.1.2.1

            Observer why are you so arrogant and a supporter of the Labour party.

            Oh hang no that would be correct.

      • mosa 14.1.2

        " If you don't know what is happening all over the world, start reading about it to get some perspective "

        I have plenty of perspective and you aren't the only one who follows international events …that comment we could have done without but I digress.

    • Kat 14.2

      Ardern, mosa….Ardern…….

      Keep it up mosa, the blue suited shiny top may well be along in his black limo to sort out your "real world" soon enough…….

      Why turkeys would vote for an early Christmas in this "real world" is baffling to say the least…….

      • mosa 14.2.1

        " Keep it up mosa, the blue suited shiny top may well be along in his black limo to sort out your "real world" soon enough……

        Yes Kat I work with the most vulnerable in our community and I see the destruction , the poverty , the empty promises , the hard viscous outcomes of this neo liberal economy on so many.

        I despise the Nasty Natz but I despise this economic system more that seems to be protected by both major parties.

        What infuriates me is Labour talking about transformation and that implies hope but then does not deliver , the inequities of this market economy are savage and unrelenting and when you campaign offering transformation but get more of the same under a " Labour " government then transformation begins to sound hollow.

        • Kat 14.2.1.1

          Well mosa political revolutions are just not the style here in little old NZ, a pale shadow of one happened in the mid 1980's and look at the pain that caused.

          Incremental change that sticks is the Kiwi way. Just look at the new fuel regulations announced today to curb profiteering…..Labour are making changes.

          Keep up the good work…

    • Louis 14.3

      Your links to a hundred things the Labour government has delivered this year and the long list of what Labour have achieved contradicts your link to no right turn's all noise no policy.

      The word cloud is more favourable to Ardern than Luxon.

  15. DS 15

    Which part of the speech is historically contestable? None as far as I can see.

    Trotter is over-egging the pudding, but his underlying point is valid. The historical details of the speech are contestable. Not outright lies, but still showing evidence of spin.

    1. The Depression ended in New Zealand in 1934. By the time Savage was elected in 1935, a strong recovery was underway – albeit there was still very severe poverty.
    2. John A. Lee was responsible for the state-housing… and ask Savage what he thought of Lee.
    3. Certain important measures of the First Labour Government, notably compulsory unionism, are overlooked.
    4. Peter Fraser was far more important than Nash on the international stage. It's rather like the speech can't identify what the Second Labour Government actually did.
    5. One ought to not confuse Norm Kirk with his actual Government. Kirk himself was deeply socially conservative, and his stance on apartheid South Africa at the 1972 election was really just hoping that the "tour question" would go away. Bill Rowling was far more progressive.
    6. Focusing on the Lange Government for nuclear free is rather missing the point of the Lange Government, of course. The legalisation of homosexuality was a conscience vote, supported by several National MPs and opposed by a number of Labour ones. And while abolishing the death penalty for treason was nice and all, the important abolition (that for murder) was done in 1961, when Keith Holyoake put the matter to a free Parliamentary vote. Labour in 1961 voted en-mass for abolition, together with ten National MPs, including the young Robert Muldoon.

    In short, not lies… just spin. I would be much, much more interested to see Ardern denounce the Fourth Labour Government for its economic policies than to see her praise the ultimate irrelevance that was Nuclear Free.

    • mosa 15.1

      " In short, not lies… just spin. I would be much, much more interested to see Ardern denounce the Fourth Labour Government for its economic policies than to see her praise the ultimate irrelevance that was Nuclear Free.

      Yes DS that would have been a transformative moment at the start of their 2020 government !

      But no.

    • swordfish 15.2

      .

      And while abolishing the death penalty for treason was nice and all, the important abolition (that for murder) was done in 1961, when Keith Holyoake put the matter to a free Parliamentary vote. Labour in 1961 voted en-mass for abolition, together with ten National MPs, including the young Robert Muldoon.

      Yup … the key abolition occurred during the Holyoake National Govt (albeit mainly via the Labour caucus) and let's remember a range of activists had spent years intensely campaigning to end the death penalty … in 1956 my grandmother co-founded the National Committee for the Abolition of Capital Punishment and the group’s various activists were subsequently involved in publicity campaigns & the lobbying of MPs (the NZ Howard League for Penal Reform also played a role).

      The intimation that the Kirk Govt worked hard to push a (purely post-1987) notion of a Treaty "Partnership" is also beyond risible.

      • Craig H 15.2.1

        Let's not forget that while the key abolition might have been during the passage of the Crimes Act 1961, it was also originally abolished by Labour in 1941 and reintroduced by National in 1950.

    • Craig H 15.3

      Abolition of the death penalty for murder was originally passed by the First Labour Government in 1941 (along with abolition of flogging and whipping) and was reintroduced by the First National Government in 1950 (although flogging and whipping were not reintroduced).

      NZ was also one of the first signatories of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1990, which is why we finally abolished the death penalty for the last remaining offenses (treason, mutiny in the armed forces) at that particular time rather than just leaving them unused on the statute books.

    • Louis 15.4

      Not lies and not spin either. The PM just covered a few points, it wasn't meant to be an in depth history lesson on the Labour party.

      • Belladonna 15.4.1

        Agree not a history lesson (it's a political speech).

        But, yes, it is spin. That's what politicians do – highlight the bits of history that support their narrative, and ignore the bits that don't.

        • Louis 15.4.1.1

          Disagree with your opinion, as MS said "no statement that is flat out wrong, and few if any could be contestable unless you were to apply extreme interpretations of what was said"

          • Belladonna 15.4.1.1.1

            Really. So highlighting the Nuclear-free achievement of the Lange government, while completely ignoring the neo-liberal Douglas economic reforms, isn't spin?

            Yes it's true. But it's not all of the truth. That's what spin is. Picking the bits which support your narrative.

  16. DS 16

    For myself, my irritation with the Labour Government has been centred on Chris Hipkins at Tertiary Education. It is not a matter of wanting socialist nirvana, but simply wanting Labour to undo the damage of the Key Government, and take us back to 2008, when postgraduates could still access student allowances, students could access student loans for more than seven years in their lifetime, and where students associations were not completely at the mercy of their institution for funding.

    Hipkins has done nothing to fix any of this, and frankly seems to be blocking it.

  17. Recently, I had the intense displeasure of reading one of his blogs about racism in NZ healthcare because a Trottee (aka Trotter devotee) was raving (and ranting) about it on this forum. Once I get off the ventilator, I have no plans in letting him suck my oxygen away again.

    Yes that was an odd blog from Chris Trotter.

    Don't let anyone with big feet stomp anywhere near your ventilator, trip hazard and blocking the tubes hazard. Trotters and trottees alike. In days of old he had a preciseness that seems to now be gone in favour of barging in with big feet. smiley

  18. pat 18

    of course we could all shoot the messenger if that allows us to ignore the message….

    "Twelve months from now, when the actual voting papers, as opposed to responses to pollsters’ questions, are counted, Labour’s tally is likely to be much lower than 32 percent. Why? Because the level of voter abstention will be higher than it has been for many elections. Higher than the pollsters at Reid Research and other agencies are willing to assume, which means that the pre-election polls will flatter the Left by a significant margin. When the true level of abstention is revealed on Election Night – especially in relation to Māori, Pasifika and Pakeha voters under 30 – the vicious destruction of the Labour Party by older, whiter and righter voters will be explained."

    I suspect he will prove correct that we will not achieve an 81% turnout (2020) again in 2023 especially when we note the level of engagement in local body elections recently…and that reduced turnout historically impacts the 'left' more.

  19. mosa 19

    Greg Preslend aka Mickey Savage and his tribal LINO desperation and attack on Chris Trotter.

    The rebuttal Greg.

    " To be honest with you all, I never read The Standard because it’s politically irrelevant, tedious and oh so safe. Ironically the last time I had anything to do with Greg Presland was when he, Chris Trotter and I were plotting to get Cunliffe in as Labour Leader (I know, I know, I know – not one of my greatest strategic ideas) so I don’t visit The Standard, I don’t read it and don’t rate Greg much as a writer.

    I’d call him a hack, but that requires an edge and Greg is too dull for that

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2022/11/10/blogwatch-greg-preslands-attack-on-chris-trotter-reeks-of-tribal-labour-desperation/

    • Anne 19.1

      Oh dear, oh dear, they have got their knickers in a twist. I stopped reading that blog because they spend most of their time running everybody down, but when anybody runs them down… oh dear, oh dear. surprise

    • Muttonbird 19.2

      In the comments, countryboy threatens to beat up Mickysavage in a pub carpark as an offering to his master, Chris Trotter.

      The state of Bradbury and his blog…

    • Ad 19.3

      Greg Presland has sustained western Auckland from New Lynn to Avondale to Glen Eden to Titirangi to Piha as one of the three strongest Labour areas in the country. And done it selflessly over 30 years.

      Few can claim his sustained political success, certainly not Bomber Bradbury or Chris Trotter.

      • Sanctuary 19.3.1

        FACT:

        …Greg Presland has sustained western Auckland from New Lynn to Avondale to Glen Eden to Titirangi to Piha as one of the three strongest Labour areas in the country…

        FICTION:

        "…I never read The Standard because it’s politically irrelevant…"

        Someone ought to ask Bomber how Internet-Mana is going, or how anything he has ever done has actually achieved anything outside the usual suspects and blowhards he hangs out with.

        One of the big difference between a lot of the people on this site and the immature shit show of Bradbury's site is this one has a lot of people who have actually achieved success in the complex real world (dull I know), whereas Bomber and co appear to permanently stuck in an undergraduate common room and have a world view to match.

    • mickysavage 19.4

      Let me tell you about that campaign. If Bomber and Trotter were plotting with me to get Cunliffe elected I must have missed it. They were nowhere and totally irrelevant. Claims that they were at the centre of things are weird.

  20. Darien Fenton 21

    A new low reached with his interview with Sean Plunkett on the Platform. What I observe is Chris (and Bomber) have a lot of right wing cheerleaders these days.

  21. Mike the Lefty 22

    Whatever your misgivings about Chris Trotter, the fact remains that he is a very knowledgeable and skilled writer. He is probably the best informed historian on New Zealand workers and the union movement. His books are very readable and, although Trotter himself is unashamedly left of centre, they are generally quite politically balanced. Plus his language is restrained and not vindictive – unlike others such as David Farrar.

    I find myself agreeing less and less with Chris Trotter nowadays but I still respect him for his work as one of New Zealand's best historians.

    • mickysavage 22.1

      14 years ago I would have agreed with you. Now, no way. Check out his claims about Jacinda's speech.

      • Anne 22.1.1

        Funny thing. I've been reading an article about narcissism this evening. One of the identifiers is: they truly believe they are better than everyone else, but when somebody comes along and says no, you are not better than everyone else they can't take it and get really upset. wink

  22. Darien Fenton 23

    I was told by Trotter I'm a post modernist because I commented on his interview with that bastion of the Left Sean Plunket. A bit like the other language of woke, cancel culture, etc. I had to look it up. We have to speak a language most people understand and beware intellectual snobbery. I know if you talked to most working people, they would be bewildered.

  23. roblogic 24

    TDB commenters are indistinguishable from WhaleOil/ BFD these days. I responded to this silly rebuttal but my comment wasn't published.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    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 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    6 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    6 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    7 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    8 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    11 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    14 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    16 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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

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

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T08:52:57+00:00