Daily review 06/03/2019

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, March 6th, 2019 - 56 comments
Categories: Daily review - Tags:

Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

56 comments on “Daily review 06/03/2019 ”

  1. Jum 1

    Partner kills ex partner with child still in her arms. I am reading Boys will be Boys by Clementine Ford and I recognise the cold, hard anger and hatred towards women being perpetrated in real life as well as online. The outrage poured out upon Ford for simply stating her own views is eye-opening and a huge database of what constitutes male misogyny and the invitation to rape and murder girls and women and males that refuse to conform to misogyny.

    When is another male going to say to an important male in their life that women have a right to live without their permission?

    Remember the cretinous garbage that constitutes Jordan Williams who was uncovered emailing the message that if women didn’t have (I’ll spare the delicate feelings) a. c .u. n. t. he would throw rocks at them.

    I ask again; just what are men so fucking afraid of? Women being treated like human beings, having a say, being able to live autonomously, having an opinion that doesn’t involve asking a male.

    What is this doing to our young boys and young men?
    What is causing the huge number of suicides among our guys?

    Join the fucking dots!

    Our boys and men are being destroyed by trolling woman-haters. They’re being taught to loathe the women that raised them and they’re being engineered to slaughter their own emotions, finer feelings and humane objective self-worth.

    That will never have a good outcome, and the authorities meant to support boys and men, girls and women to have a safe, productive life – they don’t seem to exist.

  2. Muttonbird 2

    I love lead. 🤣

    Thanks, Stuart Munro

  3. Muttonbird 3

    Here’s an interesting one from National Party head of marketing at the Herald, Audrey Young.

    Bridges, like his advisor Mike Hosking the other morning, pulled out the racist dog-whistle by focussing on Maori as a whole rather than the land that may or may not have exemptions from a CGT depending on the nature of the transfer.

    This is classic demonising of a people and the Prime Minister was right to call out Simple Simon on it. What a grubby tactic from Hosking and the Nats. Quite disgraceful and no wonder she was so annoyed having to watch that smug prick deliver such crap from the opposition bench.

    The complexities of distributing Treaty settlements require special consideration particularly when transferring land between hapū.

    Even Young doesn’t try to spin what Bridges did in a positive light, preferring to go into dispassionate report mode at that point, rightly describing what the TWG report actually said rather than what the anti-Maori National Party made of it.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12210180

    • Kat 3.1

      The other diversion today was a piece by the Hosk in the “fish wrap” that National party marketing front and conveyor of low brow commentary and political bias on a daily basis.

      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12209999

      “The soft bigotry of low expectation.” apparently this is Paula Bennett at great heights of prose and “absolutely sterling…” in condemnation of the govt and unemployment……what a load of tripe.

      More like “The low spark of National poodles” to me. No wonder the Hosk was impressed.

      • Muttonbird 3.1.1

        Yeah, I saw that. Hosking accuses the government of “temporarily (getting) rid of tenancy reviews”. But I would say that is better than Paula’s government’s effort where they permanently got rid of tenancies.

        Also unsaid, like much of Hosking scribbles, is what happened to those 11,000 not previously eligible for the job-seeker benefit under the Nat controlled WINZ unit. Of course they were on the street and in cars and this reality went a long way toward the demise of Paula’s government.

        Fair minded Kiwis have far more compassion than these two give them credit.

      • Cinny 3.1.2

        Have been hearing very positive feedback re how WINZ are now treating their clients, word on the street is they are being treated like human beings.

        As a result it’s forming better relationships.

        Funny that, how not being bullied improves relationships. Maybe that is something paula and ‘what’s his name’ is yet to learn.

  4. Muttonbird 4

    Sean Plunket unhappy that another white guy is being boycotted after allegations of sexual abuse.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2019/03/sean-plunket-slams-new-zealand-radio-stations-after-michael-jackson-gets-dropped.html

  5. Big Rape Gang Culture here in NZ and the Authorities do jack shit about it IMHO

  6. OnceWasTim 6

    Maaaaate! Whoar!!!!!!!!!! Hotpants or pink with that chiffon walk brutha……..Move over!
    Whooooar!!!! Let me at her!
    [Open bracket] sarc [Close bracket]
    The less we have to see or hear or her the better.
    But then maybe not – that bot(tom) will probably self-destruct 30 seconds after the bloody medication runs out, If not then there’s surely some other synthetic influence driving it or Mother Nature has a lot to explain.
    Fook Her and all who travel with Her

    (Awwww you bully OwT! )

    • OnceWasTim 6.1

      Oh, btw – I’d be more charitable about a witch/warlock if (s)he/it’d succumb to a little honesty and human decency.
      Paula is one specimen that is incapable of doing so – primarily because she’s overwhelmed by the search for the Main Chance.

      Soimon and Her (majesterial in her own mind) are the perfect couple.
      If I were Soimon’s street fighting woif, I moit be a luttle wurried (goan forwid).

      There is only so much shit a public will swallow (whether they have the nouse to get up and vote or not, or whether numbed and neutered by a devoid 4th Estate).

  7. ScottGN 7

    Time for some answers Simon Bridges, after all you were the Minster of Transport that oversaw this debacle. The Waikato Expressway is falling to bits too.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/111065215/kpiti-expressway-needs-25-million-worth-of-repairs-just-two-years-after-opening

    • Muttonbird 7.1

      Some OIAs should get to the bottom of what pressure Bridges put on NZTA to reduce costs.

      Edit: Here’s the culprit. Electioneering! It was in your link.

      Kāpiti Coast Mayor K Gurunathan said the prospect of lengthy roadworks, as well the extra cost to fix the road, was frustrating.

      He accused the previous National government of fast-tracking construction of the road of national significance so it could open before the September 2017 general election.

      Now future projects suffer.

    • tc 7.2

      As are pretty much all their RONS……shonkily made in the image of the leader, how fitting they leave this maintenance headache at taxpayers feet.

      The national party in a nutshell.

  8. bwaghorn 10

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12210170
    Anti vaxxers should be charged with manslaughter and attempted manslaughter

    • joe90 10.1

      Or lock the dopey fuckers out of the interwebs.

      https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1103089120895795200

    • Rosemary McDonald 10.2

      Similar screaming headline on Natrad…but….BUT….before you find a suitable tree….

      “Auckland University Immunisation Advisory Centre head Nikki Turner said said there was no need for a separate public health campaign against anti-vaxxers.

      “I don’t think we should ignore the anti-vaccination lobby but I think we should put it into context.

      “It is a very small percentage of the New Zealand population.

      “We need to understand it and respond to it, and definitely put more resources and thinking into it, but it is a very small part of why we are not getting high immunisation coverage rates.”

      (Bears repeating…IT’S A VERY SMALL PART OF WHY WE ARE NOT GETTING HIGH IMMUNISATION RATES)

      Dr Turner said there were other problems with delivering immunisations, beyond what she called vaccine hesitancy, and New Zealand would be better off dealing with those.

      “We need to systematically know which children are missing out and offer them services.””

      https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/384112/hospital-bosses-want-anti-anti-vax-campaign

    • One Two 10.3

      Do you actually believe that?

      If yes…don’t comment on issues you’re clearly not up to discussing…and take a good long introspective look at yourself…

      Comments such as yours are dark ages…hate speech of the most ignorant variety…

      Argue it…go right ahead…

      • bwaghorn 10.3.1

        I nearly didn’t get my child vaccinated due to the autism scare put up by fuck wit anti vaxxers. Enough said

        • One Two 10.3.1.1

          How does you not taking responsibility for educating yourself…translate into your open hatred against other parents…inciting harm against other parent and their children…

          Tell the full story waghorn…not that it will excuse your ignorance…

          Which is what your comments are…the height of misinformed…uninformed…uneducated…ignorance…

          You want to make such statements of unmoderated violence…back it up…

          Go ahead…show you’re not pig ignorant from the farm…

          • bwaghorn 10.3.1.1.1

            Were have I threatened violence.?
            Yes I realise I’m an uneducated hick . But not so uneducated that scare mongering fools won out.
            Do you believe the science on climate change??
            If so why do you not believe the science on vaccines?

            • One Two 10.3.1.1.1.1

              Anti vaxxers should be charged with manslaughter and attempted manslaughter

              Your request is for state violence against parents…and therefore against children…

              Surely you understand what your comment is demanding?

              ..but not so uneducated the scare mongering fools won out…

              You believe this subject is about winning…that’s what you believe?

              How is exercising your parental right of vaccinating…evidence that those other parents (along with a global community of scientists and medical professionals) are as uninformed as the aggressive and hateful comments indicate you are?

              Climate Change – Don’t deflect or conflate subjects…we’re not discussing climate change…

              What I believe, is your comment requests state violence against parents and their children…for exercising their parental right…not to vaccinate…

              Your parental choice was to vaccinate…from your comments…you’ve failed to educate yourself at a fundamental level,  such you could have practiced informed consent, on behalf of your children…

              So it follows that through your ignorance…you’ve failed them…and so you project your fear onto other parents and their children, in a most cowardly way…

              That’s what I believe…because that is what you have explicitly stated…through your comments…

              • bwaghorn

                The fact that you think courts and prison are state sponsored violence puts you in the fringe nutter club . I try to avoid arguing with stupid as one can never win.

                • One Two

                  What you do, is avoid getting into discussions with anyone above your level…which is that of name calling…

                  You owe it to your children to extend yourself…you also owe it to yourself…

                  Don’t ask others to do the heavy lifting for you…such as you have asked of Rosemary futher down…do your own work…if you’re truly interested…

                  Which I highly doubt that you are…because you’ve stated you believe in medically induced ‘herd immunity’…

                  Which is logical fallacy 101…

                  See if you can be bothered identifying, why it is a falsehood…

                  Go on…do some work for yourself…or is name calling …hate speech…state violence…what you’re ok with representing…

                  If you made a throw away comment and would like to retract it…I’m offering you that option…

                  • Stunned mullet

                    Good grief 1-2 is back ..

                    • Andre

                      Have you missed the last few weeks? There’s been some … errm … interesting threads. Apparently electrosmog from 5G is going to bring about the end of the world. Or something.

                    • Stunned mullet

                      I don’t partake of the standard very often these days so have missed those fascinating discussions…thankfully.

                    • One Two

                      The NZH article you linked to…terribly written article which I pulled apart…i know you read my response before I deleted it…

                      Without posting another substandard link…just post the abstract of the study…specifically highlighting start and end years of the study…

                      Can you do that, mullet…

                    • Andre

                      Some linkys for you. Go on, you know you want to.

                      https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-12-02-2019/#comment-1582561

                      starting at comment 3

                      https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27-02-2019/#comment-1588256

                      starting at comment 9

                    • One Two []

                      While I’m here, spending time engaging with disingenuous types, Andre…

                      Have you moved on from Gorski, yet?

                      Or are you and bazza still attempting to convince others that by reading and promoting Gorski…they too can be subjected to medical hate speech…

                      Perhaps you convinced waghorn that Gorski isn’t a disgraced one man gutter…

                      That’s your level…in case you’re still imagining yourself as something higher…

                      Gorski..the hate speech medic!

                  • Wensleydale

                    I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to deduct 10 points for the ongoing gratuitous abuse of the ellipsis.

        • Rosemary McDonald 10.3.1.2

          bwaghorn.

          According to the expert quoted above… “fuck wit” ‘anti vaxxers’ are only a VERY SMALL PART of why we are not getting high immunisation rates.

          Heavy sigh. How many times must it be said?

          Wakefield’s research had not been released when I declined the new MMR for my oldest. It was very new…and he’d already had rubella and vaccinating for mumps was an entirely new concept. Instinct…and noting else… made me decline the MMR then, and later for his sibs. They had the polio and triple antigen etc…but the MMR jab was somehow different. You could not get a jab for just the measles…even though I was willing to pay. For various reasons all my kids have had to have their immunity to various immunisable diseases tested, and I was very interested to see they had somehow acquired almost across the board cover.

          Wakefield’s autism research was always suspect…but…his theory on gut health and neuro health was interesting and really quite advanced….considering being treated with someone else’s shit is now a ‘thing’. Who would have thought of that 30 years ago??? Crackpot stuff.

          I have never, ever met someone who believes their child’s autism was caused through vaccination.

          I have met at least four mothers who know their child’s serious and irreparable brain damage was caused by an adverse reaction (usually very high fever, encephalitis, coma) to a routine vaccination.

          They are not ‘fuck wit’ ant-vaxxers….although they all have very good reason to be suspicious and wary of further jabs.

          What all of them were was pissed off.

          At not being told there was a risk. For not being warned about symptoms that indicated severe illness rather than post – shot unsettledness. For being told they were over anxious neurotic mothers when they did know something was wrong and presented to ED, only to be turned away. Pissed off when supervising IC doctor actually put the cause of the child’s extreme illness down to the recent vaccination. And imagine how much more pissed off when their child’s extreme post- vaccination illness almost never makes it to a Notification of Adverse Events list.

          Because if it hasn’t been counted it didn’t happen did it?

          A couple of them received surprisingly high support packages from the Ministry of Health…and a couple of them, despite needing the support, got bugger all.

          It is cruel and highly disrespectful to bang on about how safe all vaccines are and how criminally irresponsible it is to not vaccinate (or to vaccinate but discriminately) when there are families out here that have been seriously negatively impacted.

          • bwaghorn 10.3.1.2.1

            There is a large difference between a parent choosing not to vaccinate their child and people putting others off taking their doctor s advice those are the dangerous ones.
            I was well aware of the slim adverse effect s that come with vaccinations but it’s still better to get them done ,both for the child’s sake and the greater good of heard immunity.

            • Rosemary McDonald 10.3.1.2.1.1

              “I was well aware of the slim adverse effect s..”

              Tracheotomies, PEG feeding, severe and uncontrollable seizures, bladder and bowel dysfunction, choking hazard, wheelchairs (if they’re lucky) hemi, para or tetraplegia …..early death.

              Hardly insignificant.

              • bwaghorn

                What % of vaccinated children suffer those problems . Please only put up verified accounts not parents suspicions.

                • Rosemary McDonald

                  There you go again! These mothers were told by ED and ICU doctors that the vaccination was the most likely cause of their child’s severe illness leading to lifelong impairment. BUT, in some cases, further down the line…this was denied/disputed.

                  bwaghorn, this happens. I know from personal experience that despite there being witnesses and evidence and lack of evidence (which in itself was damning) those with the authority, nay the duty to investigate complaints of adverse events quite often simply don’t.

                  You’d have to ask yourself why.

                  • One Two

                    Hi Rosemary

                    Your insightful and honest comments regarding people with disabilities, including your own direct family experiences, are genuinely appreciated…thank you..

                    Regarding this subject, and of course you can speak perfectly for yourself…as you have above…in response to one of the group I refer…

                    However, on the subject of vaccines, those you are engaging with here and who, in recent times have sought to stir discussion using…links to articles completely lacking in credibility, written by unqualified incompetents…referring to old studys as…’new studys’…seemingly without batting an eyelid…

                    Those handles are not only engaging in bad faith…but they do not care for your experiences or understanding…or even for the plethora of research archives which dispell the ‘miracle’ so many have hitched their ego to…they are disingenuous time wasters…

                    They makes claims of ‘science’, while failing to understand basic flaws in the prerequisite assumptions…required to be accepted…without question… to support the ‘vaccine miracle’…

                    These types are infact…anti-science…projecting that term shamelessly…

                    Which is why I’ve called out waghorn…because his original comment is an abomination…

                    Keep posting and giving energy to those who are sincere…and who care about the issues you raise…

                    Be well…

                    • Stunned mullet

                      LOL old studies as new studies…you really haven’t got the foggiest idea what you’re on about.

                      Back to the vegan dogs.

                    • Rosemary McDonald

                      Be well also, One Two.

                      “abomination” is a tad harsh…. 😉

                      I often feel a weird mixture of awe and contempt for those who display such absolute certitude. I have some pity for those who appear to have blindly accepted without question the official narrative….such minds!!! Like steel traps!!! So tightly closed.

                      It’s like many have lost the ability to read, to reason, to do their own research and to form their own opinions.

                      And we seem to be losing our truthsense…to steal a word from Herbert.

                    • One Two []

                      Thanks, Rosemary…

                      The truth is, it is such a devious tactic against parental emotions…playing those off against eachother…whose only real interest (mostly) is to try to make decisions they believe are best for their children…

                      I’m well and truly over the vaccine ‘debate’ as the desperation of the establishment is transparently obvious these days…and I’ve openly stated on this blog that in a handful of years…the miracle…will have been effectively exposed…

                      Nothing more for me add…it in motion…and will play itself out…

                      When I see outageously ignorant comments about manslaughter charges and child abuse levelled towards well intended parents…I will call it out…

                      Please keep sharing insights into your world…should you like to do so…

                      Have a good evening…

          • McFlock 10.3.1.2.2

            The odds of randomly encountering four women with children who have serious brain damage are low, but to meet four with a common cause of that damage is even lower – especially when one considers the apparent harm rates of the alleged source of those injuries. Where did you meet them?

            • Rosemary McDonald 10.3.1.2.2.1

              McFlock. Feel free to utilise the awesome search engine on this site and go back and see how many times I comment about disability issues…especially when this involves the singularly dysfunctional government agency that is the Misery/Mystery/Miserly of Health.

              Now over the past twenty years or so, and especially over the past fifteen, my partner (a pre ACC tetraplegic) and I (have housebus, can travel cheap) have made it our mission to attend as many disability type events as possible. Originally it was the biannual Consumer Forums put on by the Misery so the bureaucrats could front up the the client base and pretend they gave a shit. (The Misery quit those…way too much anger, way too many tears…and called the Consumer Consortium (all representatives of government funded ‘charities’ and NGOs) ‘consultation with the disabled’.)

              Anyhoo…then there were the 5 Paying Family Carers workshops/consultations we went to in 2012(I still remember the late night run from Wellington to Hamilton to make the next day’s meeting) …then there was the KPMG thingy about disability support services funding and then there were the New Zealand Disability Strategy rewrite meetings and the odd Carer’s meeting.

              Throw in a couple of Health and Disability Commission Disability conferences (we protested at one of those,with some effect I might add 🙂 and you might be getting the picture.

              Now I just might come across as angry/ranty/over heavy on the sarcasm here on TS, and I really don’t give a shit….but in person, in the real world, I’m actually quite approachable. I’m going to stop short of describing myself as personable…but I try to project empathy and above all a willingness to listen. Peter sitting in his wheelchair helps. People tell us stuff. We feel honoured to hear their stories. We are not naive, and we can filter out the seriously sad and justifiably bitter. We have a pretty good understanding how MOH operates (ok, ‘operates’ is a stretch) and when it is clearly obvious that there has been a significantly higher level of funded support going into a particular client’s care than is usual this gives more than a little credence to their assertion that the damage was caused by a routine MOH funded vaccinations.

              Guilt money…? Maybe. Hush money?..nah. Not that these Mothers just spit out ‘vaccine damage!!!’, they don’t. It usually a quiet thing. We ask the nature of the impairment and if it was there at birth ( acceptable questions from one disabled person to another but an AB might be pushing it to ask;-) ) The tale emerges as we listen without judgement. We listen with respect.

              The fact we have spoken to hundreds of people living with disability and I can only think of four who ascribe their child being literally struck down due to vaccination is actually telling.

              • McFlock

                I recall liking some of your comments, but I don’t keep files on people 🙂
                And I also have a bit of difficulty attaching specific details to people/handles here.

                I just suspected a certain amount of sample bias. As you say, that you can only think of four is actually quite telling.

                I recall as a kid having to take forms home from school before we were all lined up for shots in third form (yeah it was a while ago). I assume they were pretty similar to the forms I sign every year before getting the flu shot. They advise of the actual known risks, but really the stone cold truth is that the known risks are so low compared to the known risks of another measles outbreak getting out of hand that unless you tick one of the contraindication boxes, failure to vaccinate in my mind counts as negligence. Even if all four injuries of people you know met directly caused by the vaccine.

                I actually wouldn’t care about anti-vax folk if they only endangered themselves – a bit pissed at the selfishness, but no big loss, like a drunk driver. But I also know a couple of cancer survivors and someone who seems to be allergic to everything under the sun, and they’re possibly put at risk, too.

                But although we’re on different sides on this one, keep putting it up ’em 😉

          • xanthe 10.3.1.2.3

            THANK YOU Rosemary !
            !!

  9. Rosemary McDonald 11

    While we’re talking about risking further anxiety, depression and low self-esteem from in our Young People Mattel comes up with a new Barbie to celebrate International Women’s Day.

    I kid ye not.

    To make matters worse they have produced…wait for it….drum roll please….THE FIRST EVER NEW ZEALAND BARBIE!!!!!!

    Depicting our very own home grown role model for Kiwi girls…..former Black Fern and TV Sports Host Melodie Robinson.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12210214

    She’s oh so appropriately chuffed and gushes….

    “….seriously cool to be selected to inspire young girls with the first ever NZ Barbie – she’s Maori … and a commentator!”
    I’m pretty sure (actually fervently hoping) that Melodie is unaware of the inspiration for Barbie…..a doll named Lilli…” a “sexy novelty gift for men, based on a popular comic strip” ”

    Hmmm….https://sites.psu.edu/jyh5445/2013/12/08/brainwashed-by-barbie-what-a-doll/

    Quirky funfact…If real women had Barbie’s traditional bodily proportions we’d be unable to hold our heads up, have room in our bellies for only half a liver and a few inches of intestine and we’d have to get around on all fours (to the delight, no doubt, of the target of the Lilli doll).

    Oh dear Melodie….if only perhaps your ego could have been put aside for the greater good.

    • greywarshark 11.1

      Rosemary Mc
      Some things take off with a life of their own on a different trajectory than intended.
      So old Barbie has mutated into something else. It will still have the skinny this and shapely that no doubt, as that is the way we are being moulded by commercial and cultural propaganda. That is slanted to feelings of always being less than excellent, not reaching your potential, resulting often into a constant stress. And I read recenty that stress itself tends to make you put oin weight through complicated interactions in the body.

      So people are growing into great fat dumplings buying the idea they should really should change themselve, and the idea so discomforting that they reach for comfort food and I feel they mentally use their weight and size to give them presence in a world that finds many of us unsatisfactory no matter what we do.

      But feminists found how to turn things round, adopted the word ‘bitch’ and said okay we’ll have that for our own. We’ll embrace it and take away its sting.
      So they can take Barbie and choose her as their mascot if they wish.

      Eleanor Roosevelt, President’s wife, was a great thinker, a moral person who spoke out about things that concerned her. She said, and it’s easy to think oh what a great line but it’s not that simple; but it is:

      “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

      • Sacha 11.1.1

        Wonder what Mrs Roosevelt would have made of Chomsky’s ‘Manufacturing Consent’?

  10. joe90 13

    Science, huh.

    https://twitter.com/ASDNewscom/status/1098613589902938112

    “The Moon flies through Earth’s atmosphere,” says Igor Baliukin of Russia’s Space Research Institute, lead author of the paper presenting the results.

    “We were not aware of it until we dusted off observations made over two decades ago by the SOHO spacecraft.”

    Where our atmosphere merges into outer space, there is a cloud of hydrogen atoms called the geocorona. One of the spacecraft instruments, SWAN, used its sensitive sensors to trace the hydrogen signature and precisely detect how far the very outskirts of the geocorona are.

    These observations could be done only at certain times of the year, when the Earth and its geocorona came into view for SWAN.

    For planets with hydrogen in their exospheres, water vapour is often seen closer to their surface. That is the case for Earth, Mars and Venus.

    “This is especially interesting when looking for planets with potential reservoirs of water beyond our Solar System,” explains Jean-Loup Bertaux, co-author and former principal investigator of SWAN.

    The first telescope on the Moon, placed by Apollo 16 astronauts in 1972, captured an evocative image of the geocorona surrounding Earth and glowing brightly in ultraviolet light.

    “At that time, the astronauts on the lunar surface did not know that they were actually embedded in the outskirts of the geocorona,” says Jean-Loup.

    http://www.asdnews.com/news/aerospace/2019/02/20/earths-atmosphere-stretches-out-moon-beyond

    • greywarshark 13.1

      Oh good. I’ll let the Tasman District Council know and they can stop the Waimea Dam in Lee Valley so that it can remain a beautiful swimmable place of clean river water and stressless rehabilitation instead of being drowned underneath tonnes of water.

      Reports prepared say that there was just 10 days or weeks in the year when extra water was needed and alternatives to the dam for this purpose were drawn up but a dam is so big and a statement of man’s curious wish to erect monuments that purport to be good for all, but some are more equal than others.

      So good news from space. That is very helpful though the advice cost more than the cost of the dam which was I think $20 million and now advanced to $80 million and projects always exceed their budgets don’t they. But what is money, merely blood, sweat and tears presented in a civilised manner when called on by the managers of the project. Perhaps one’s first-born too, who will probably be paying for this for ever as they say that the economics don’t add up to it on a cost/benefit basis.

  11. newsense 14

    Hmm- Herald goes into attack mode on popular PM, after she shockingly suggests their opinionaters don’t reflect a wide array of views.

    We remember co-ordinated attacks on Labour leaders. Apologies years later mean little, if it continues. Democracy under attack etc.

    They don’t need the 45% behind their paywall perhaps? Or wrote them off long ago?

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    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
    6 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
    7 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 ...
    7 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
    8 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
    9 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
    12 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
    12 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
    12 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
    14 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
    15 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
    17 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 ...
    2 days 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
    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
  • 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
    5 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    13 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
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