Daily review 07/10/2020

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, October 7th, 2020 - 49 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 …

49 comments on “Daily review 07/10/2020 ”

  1. Draco T Bastard 1

    Unemployment is proof that the economy is not balanced and thus not working as it should. From The Deficit Myth by Kelton:

    Profit is also a system that removes money from the economy.

    • indiana 1.1

      Or profit is used for future business expansion and investment…but agree not every cent of profit would be used for this.

      • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1

        Business expansion results in higher profit and thus more money being taken out of the economy. The other problem is that the profit may not actually be used for expansion at all but just to increase ownership of existing assets (share buybacks come to mind) resulting in more profit going to less people with a corresponding increase in money taken out of the economy.

        Of course, the business expansion may fail in which case there would be less profit for a time and thus less money taken out of the economy.

        That's overly simplex of course but is accurate enough to give a general feel for how profit maximising brings about the collapse of an economy.

        • mikesh 1.1.1.1

          Profit is not taken out of the economy unless companies are owned overseas.

          • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1.1.1

            Perhaps I should have said out of circulation rather than out of the economy because money sitting in a bank account is not in circulation even if it is, technically, still in the economy.

            This is the true message of the Paradox of Thrift.

            • mikesh 1.1.1.1.1.1

              What you mean, I think, is that money is removed from the business sector and handed over to consumers. But even wages do that.

              I don't think profits sit in the bank. Rather they are either paid as dividends to shareholders or invested in further production. And, yes, companies sometimes buy back there own shares, but then money is paid to the original owners of those shares. This not to say of course that share buybacks are a good thing.

              • Draco T Bastard

                What you mean, I think, is that money is removed from the business sector and handed over to consumers.

                No, that's not what I mean. If that money was handed over to consumers the economy would be better off as the money would keep circulating.

                I don't think profits sit in the bank. Rather they are either paid as dividends to shareholders or invested in further production.

                Dividends paid to shareholders are still profits. What happens after is the issue. Sitting in the bank doing nothing, spent to increase productive capacity (this here can also be a misallocation) or spent consumptively.

                The first is the problem and the second can add to the second.

                And, yes, companies sometimes buy back there own shares, but then money is paid to the original owners of those shares.

                Which is most likely to be used either to buy shares or sit in the bank. It's unlikely to be used to increase productive capacity or consumption.

                This not to say of course that share buybacks are a good thing.

                Shares aren't a Good Thing as they induce bludging through the functionless investor.

                • mikesh

                  If that money was handed over to consumers the economy would be better off as the money would keep circulating.

                  Shareholders are consumers. But you seem to be suggesting that dividends not needed for consumption should be kept under a mattress for safekeeping.

                  Dividends paid to shareholders are still profits. What happens after is the issue. Sitting in the bank doing nothing, spent to increase productive capacity (this here can also be a misallocation) or spent consumption.

                  What happens afterwards is of course the point. Dividends can be spent on consumption or saved. But there are limits to what one can consume.

                  Which is most likely to be used either to buy shares or sit in the bank. It's unlikely to be used to increase productive capacity or consumption.

                  This of course is true of any type of remuneration, including wages and salaries.

                  Shares aren't a Good Thing as they induce bludging through the functionless investor.

                  Letting someone else use one's savings or capital isn't a functionless activity.

                  • Draco T Bastard

                    Letting someone else use one's savings or capital isn't a functionless activity.

                    1. Yes it is as it provides nothing
                    2. You don't actually let anyone else use your savings. Instead the bank creates new money for the 'loan' and doesn't actually loan out the money in savings accounts and thus we get back to 1.

                    But there are limits to what one can consume.

                    Yes and so any remuneration above that is, effectively, a dead-weight loss as the money will no longer circulate in the economy.

                    • mikesh

                      Lending someone else your capital is not directly productive, but it enables productive investment. What is the difference, where the economy is concerned, between using your savings for productive purposes and letting someone else use them for the same purpose.

                      I agree that banks should not create money from nothing. But we were not discussing what banks do, but what people do with their savings. If savings are invested productively (and if people cannot do this themselves, in our economy they usually hand their savings over to an institution for investment) then they are not a dead weight on the economy.

                  • Draco T Bastard

                    Lending someone else your capital is not directly productive, but it enables productive investment.

                    That's the theory. The question is if that theory holds true in light of the fact that it is spending that drives the economy and not savings.

                    Part of the answer lies in the fact that the Gold Standard (or similar commodity currency) was in effect at the time that the above was postulated and there was a finite amount of money available and thus there actually was a need for savings to be loaned out for productive purposes. But even under the Gold Standard it is still spending that drives the economy. Without spending there is no income.

                    That's one problem but the other is that, because the gold accumulated in fewer and fewer hands through savings and then returns on investment of those savings, the amount of money in circulation decreases over time until there isn't enough to maintain sales resulting in a recession and then a depression. Its well known that under the Gold Standard recessions happened more often and lasted longer.

                    Now we have a full Fiat Currency where money can be made, as needed, at the press of a button. This removes the need for savings and even shares.

                    A business needs money to expand? Then all they really should be doing is going down to the State Bank and applying. If their business plan meets the criteria then the money is created and handed over for the business to spend. Technically, this is what happens but the private banks are used as an intermediary between the State Bank and the people taking out the loan (banks creating money out of nothing) and under the wrong assumptions (that they need savings first and that they need to pay interest).

                    So, now we're back to the Paradox of Thrift but there's not even the aspect of savings being used for productive purposes that would bring those savings back into circulation. In other words, savings are simply removed from circulation and are thus a decrease in spending/income.

                    A large part of the problem is that economics is still thought of as if we're still using the Gold Standard which hasn't been true since the last Gold Standard currency became a fiat currency in 1971 and it did that so that it could spend as needed without crashing the economy.

                    Today, the only purpose of having an income is to spend it but that only applies to people and businesses. Governments which maintain a sovereign currency don't need an income to be able to spend.

                    Don't even need to save for retirement as the government pension should be enough to live comfortably on and even have an overseas holiday every year.

                    But we were not discussing what banks do, but what people do with their savings.

                    Actually, we are as we're talking about the movement of currency through the system and how money removed from circulation (savings) crashes the economy but can be balanced through the creation of more money to maintain spending.

                    A fiat currency, done well, can remove the so called Business Cycle as spending will be maintained even if businesses collapse and do it without excessive inflation. But to be done well it needs to be recognised that we no longer need savings to fund productive investment.

                    • mikesh

                      It is spending that drives the economy and not savings.

                      I can’t disagree with that, but spending can be on either consumption goods or investment goods . Savings are normally spent on the latter, usually with various institutions acting as go-betweens.

                      The problem with the gold standard was that if a country ran into balance of payments difficulties it would lose gold, which would necessitate shrinking its money supply, and bring about a depression. This would not necessarily be a bad thing were it not for the fact that those difficulties are often not due to the monetary system so much as the often preditory trade policies of other countries. Much the same applies to floating currencies except that they run up debt instead of losing gold.

                      Now we have a full Fiat Currency where money can be made, as needed, at the press of a button. This removes the need for savings and even shares.

                      Most businesses try to maintain a balance between equity capital and borrowed capital. Running a business entirely on borrowed money is considered dangerous since loans have to be repaid, with interest, even when times are tough and revenues down. Of course a state bank, in the interests of stability, doesn’t need to foreclose on business loans, but I don’t think a state can afford too much forbearance: it is better to have shareholders to shoulder some of any losses.

                      It has been suggested that productivity increases, with the money supply remaining static, should lead to a lowering of prices with incomes remaining the same. That would be nice, but deflation tends to lead to depression. Or does it?

                  • Draco T Bastard

                    The problem with the gold standard was that if a country ran into balance of payments difficulties it would lose gold, which would necessitate shrinking its money supply, and bring about a depression.

                    Well, that's another problem with the Gold Standard. But even without international trade and predatory trade practices of foreign nations the accumulation of gold into fewer and fewer hands would curtail the spending needed to maintain the economy. Its a problem inherent to having a finite amount of money.

                    Of course a state bank, in the interests of stability, doesn’t need to foreclose on business loans, but I don’t think a state can afford too much forbearance: it is better to have shareholders to shoulder some of any losses.

                    A state bank, with access to the ability to create money on demand, doesn't need to charge interest either. If you were a business would you pay interest when you can get a loan without?

                    Fiat currency eliminates the need for savings, shares and interest charges. Any savings will go down in value at the rate of inflation.

                    And no business should have an unlimited credit flow from government but we still don't need shareholders. If a business, after a reasonable time, can't support itself from sales then it should get closed down.

                    And even if a business collapses their are still gains made. Experience for the people directly involved, learning from what went wrong and what went right that can be spread throughout society and even new plant that could be utilised. There's no real loss.

                    The government maintains stability not through supporting business but through maintaining people's ability to spend. Unemployment benefits, UBI, guaranteed jobs or a combination of them. The ability of the people to spend is what maintains business.

                    That would be nice, but deflation tends to lead to depression.

                    Deflation leads to business income being less than outgoings especially if the deflation is very steep. The business buys/produces something to sell with costs of $100 but can only sell for $90 we have a paper loss of $10.

                    But if that $90 can cover the costs of the next item sold then its still a viable business.

                    • mikesh

                      I don't really believe that government, for reasons more to do with logistics than principle, can shoulder the burden of financing the entire economy. Some of the financing has to come from the private sector, either in the form of equity financing or borrowing.

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      I don't really believe that government, for reasons more to do with logistics than principle, can shoulder the burden of financing the entire economy.

                      Considering that the private surplus is provided by the government deficit then the only possible conclusion is that the government is already financing the entire economy.

                      The logistics are presently provided by private intermediaries such as banks. This could be achieved just as well through other means such as direct democracy. After all, why shouldn't the people have a say in how their resources are used?

                      Some of the financing has to come from the private sector, either in the form of equity financing or borrowing.

                      No, it actually doesn't and I believe that it would be better for society if it didn't.

      • mikesh 1.1.2

        I think "every cent" of profit should be paid to shareholders as dividends. If a company wishes to retain earnings then all or part of its dividends should consist of new shares.

        • mikesh 1.1.2.1

          One of the problems with the way companies are structured at present is that companies retain earnings. This means that the (book) values of companies increase without a corresponding increase in the number of shares on issue. This means that share values must increase. This may well be why we have stock market bubbles.

          • greywarshark 1.1.2.1.1

            mikesh Your reckons might be good but DTB has been putting in the hard yards looking at the economy and politics for decades. How long have you been looking hard at it?
            New ideas let’s have them but refer to something will you.Economic textbook?

            • Nic the NZer 1.1.2.1.1.1

              I hope that is sarcasm, because Mikesh is clearly correct. Company profits are not a drain on income. They do tend to go to people who save more of their income (and saving is a drain), but saving can also occur from salary payments.

              • Draco T Bastard

                They do tend to go to people who save more of their income (and saving is a drain), but saving can also occur from salary payments.

                Yeah, and I've also said that we're paid too much although, at the time, that was more to do with how much waste well off countries tend to generate through simply throwing good stuff away. Excessive income results in people having less respect for the resources used. Individually, overpaid people can afford the waste but the country can't hence why we needed shower-head and light bulb regulation.

                Back to profits and the same thing applies to high wages/salary with excess going into savings that results in less money in circulation and thus a slowing down of the economy. Throw in interest on those savings and the slow down is exponential.

                Continuing reading the book and she gives this example:

                Profits, themselves, are a fiscal surplus which can only be negated if those profits are fully spent.

                There's a graph around (that I linked to years ago) showing government deficits mirroring private surpluses. In other words, to have a private profit requires that there be a government deficit.

                • mikesh

                  There's a graph around (that I linked to years ago) showing government deficits mirroring private surpluses. In other words, to have a private profit requires that there be a government deficit.

                  Private savings require a government deficit. Any income may be saved, not just profits.

              • greywarshark

                Company profits are not a drain on income. They can be. I don't know if your statement is an economic rule, but it isn't verity. If a company is a monopoly or part of a cartel it can manipulate the market, and make a 'killing' from consumers having to pay excessive prices beyond the actual cost of production etc.

                Housing at present is dominated by a cartel isn't it?

                • Draco T Bastard

                  According to research carried out by Steve Keen monopolies work the same as competitive companies. Other research shows that competitive companies manipulate the market using tools such as advertising.

                  And, of course, the whole point of having competitive companies is to decrease profit.

                • mikesh

                  Profits are a form of income, so how can they be a drain on income.

                  • greywarshark

                    Lovely points looking at textbook explanations.

                    There is a different approach which comes from the felt affects on particular financial classes of whatever economic precepts you are quoting. And that is what matters in the final analysis.

            • mikesh 1.1.2.1.1.2

              Decades.

  2. Incognito 2

    Collins said she was also determined to remain National's leader even if the party fails to grab power at the election.

    "Yes, I will be staying on," she told reporters today after being asked about her post-election plan if National was not successful.

    Election 2020: Should have gone to Specsavers – Judith Collins turned away from Auckland optometrist [HT to Observer]

    35%!

    The Leader made another leader call on the hoof and forgot to ‘consult’ the Party Caucus.

  3. Fireblade 3

    Benedict Collins, political reporter on 1News, called the National Party fake walkabout in Ponsonby "dumb, dumb, dumb".

    • Dennis Frank 3.1

      15 minutes later, it was over. “Dear God,” Collins said under her breath as she walked toward her waiting car.

      https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/07-10-2020/judith-collins-walks-into-a-nightmare-on-ponsonby-road/

      Making her way down the affluent suburb’s main stretch from the Seed Heritage store toward the Ponsonby Central eatery, Collins was greeted by smiling people speaking praise for Collins and National and congratulating her on last night’s debate.

      It later transpired many of them had been installed there for the cameras. National’s Auckland Central candidate Emma Mellow admitted as much when asked by media. “I’ve got a lot of supporters here in Auckland Central and they wanted the opportunity to meet Judith so I invited them along”, she said.

      Collins brushed away questions about why the party had invited so-called “locals” down to meet her, saying the lack of real people was evidence of a lack of foot traffic in Ponsonby, caused by economic downturn.

      Come on, Ponsonby road is always full of pedestrians. Anyone noticed it being deserted due to recession?

      • ianmac 3.1.1

        15 minutes later, it was over. “Dear God,” Collins said under her breath as she walked toward her waiting car.

        Surely it wasn't a "clever plan" set up by Brownlee? He is so clever at fixing things.

  4. observer 4

    This is not satire, or sarcasm. It's a genuine tweet from National's candidate.

    Emma Mellow thinks she had a good day in Ponsonby … until she reads the replies.

    https://twitter.com/emmamellow/status/1313689426636095494

  5. ianmac 5

    The New Zealand Initiative is a pro-free-market public-policy think tank and business membership organisation in New Zealand. It was formed in 2012 by merger of the New Zealand Business Roundtable and the New Zealand Institute.

    So with that in mind this clever unbiased group are attacking child centred learning. And then get a secondary Principal to comment. Idiots. Children who are involved in setting parameters of study learn all those self control, goal setting, credibility judgements, and self evaluative skills that are transferable across life. and the depth in that learning can be outstanding.

    The interference from this lot is the sort of thing that lead to National Standards!

    • solkta 5.1

      Yip, my daughter absolutely thrived with child-centred learning. Secondary school is just an obstacle for her to navigate before university.

    • Draco T Bastard 5.2

      So, given that child-centred learning is far better for both the children and society in general than the old rote learning we have to ask what they actually want to achieve.

    • Gabby 5.3

      Well that's not going to larn em to do as they're bloody well told and be grateful they're not charged a fee to work now is it.

  6. Cinny 6

    Here we go…. the great cannabis question.. link for live stream below

    https://www.threenow.co.nz/live-tv-guide/three

    Edit.. fascinating line up, Aunty H Affirmative v’s paula b negative

    Edit… I LOVE YOU AUNTY H 🥰

    • millsy 6.1

      To be perfectly honest, only a total prude would support the current situation.

      It's all about drug use being a 'sin' and in the traditional Calvinist spirit, 'sinners' need to be punished with the full force of the law, and made to pay penance.

      Bennett, Garner, Collins and all the rest are nothing more than prudes, which want to use the law to impose their puritan agenda, and turn us all into pure modest church goers.

      Next along the line it will be who you can and can't date/sleep with, and what you can and cannot wear.

      They should have learnt back years ago when they were defeated on prohibition.

      Disclaimer: I have never used pot, and dont intend of using it in the future, legal or not. I just dont think anyone has a moral right to stop others from (responsibly) using pot.

      • PaddyOT 6.1.1

        I'm not a prude nor feel I need a recreational toke. On one hand I want weed decriminalised on the other hand I am bloody sick of living with a dope smoker.

      • ianmac 6.1.2

        Agreed Millsy.

        Interesting that the police position seems to be that everything should be black or white, rule defined, and avoid anything that may be grey. Funny how the Noes are ignoring the wild west running now. (And I never have smoked it nor intend to. But the National and ACT who are freedom of choice and the rights of the individual ,surely they would vote YES?)

  7. RedBaronCV 7

    I've never used the stuff either. Can't see it as stuff to take a moral stand over either.

    I do know that we have spent lots of dollars over the years on the negative outcomes of police, corrections etc. etc and with no other result. If it's seriously bad for us I'm sure the Health department will nag us into submission pronto.

    So I voted to legalise.

  8. PaddyOT 8

    When you work frequently with different individuals who are not just "a few times a week mellowing out" and who in the main are living in relationships or in family circumstances, there are impacts on a significant number of others. The affects of habitual use like any addictions causes harm in varying ways and to different degrees in families.

    There are not simple answers for these families like kick them out, potty training or go to the garage. Nor is age and stating a potency max as words in law particularly harm reducing or laws that are going to be abided by let alone enforced.

    What has not been addressed in law changing is the leading factors that may underpin use and dependency other than medicinal for health or making an illicit buck. Or simplifying that it's better than something else as a sufficient reason to mitigate harm.

    At the other end, are there adequate social harm resources as responses, mental health workers for one as support for users who have greater propensity for depression and or ideation of suicide, or adequate resources addressing the suffering of trauma underlying use. Literature also points to more $$ resourcing iyoung person's health education regardless of legislating.

    Unanswered responses in new law- With adults free choice, is it okay for an unborn child to have cannabis when pregnant? What's the long term consequence for cognitive ability as one perspective? How is parental responsible use guaranteed with children not being momentarily safeguarded while mellowed out? For one child just a few months back they hung to death in their cot after a horrible struggle went unheard while parent was zoned out. Right now, another 12 year old needing a new home because grandparent can't be fucked. As soon as the child was in a relative's home for the holidays, the grandparent declared 'don't want them back' , on going to the home to collect child's gear, well fuck me, the kid's sunny bedroom was already filled with pot plants !!!

    Put at least as many agencies for picking up pieces for kids or places for rehab as there will be number of shops to buy weed ? It's the same product legal or not.

    Legalising yes, as stated have a law. But address what already exists instead of pretending a law change makes all things well in the world. Put more bucks on the table and resources in place for the already undesirable consequences in communities. Yes there is evidence that legislation does not increase uptake of number of individuals. However, it's ludicrous to believe that we are all just responsible, careful, a few times a week users and weed is just a benign harmless, recreational substance.

    • I Feel Love 8.1

      Doco on Netflix, Murder Mountain, regarding a whole bunch of illegal growers going legit … & wishing it was illegal again, coz they just can't make any money!

    • Cinny 8.2

      The way I see it, people are going to take weed regardless. I'd rather there be measures in place than a blind eye being turned.

      Also by voting yes, which I will, WE get the opportunity to create the law surrounding it, via committee's etc etc. I think that is really important. You will be able to have your say on your concerns and ideas ie putting money into resources etc. By voting no, nothing will change and ignorance will remain.

      I'm sorry to hear you are living with an addict, that's hard work, I've lived with alcoholics, junkies and stoners before, in my experience the stoners were the easiest of the lot. At least they don't beat you up or steal everything like a junkie or an alcoholic does.

      If the person you live with is a dab hand at gardening, a horticulture course could be the answer, they would probably get top marks. Just try to look for the positive.

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    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    2 days ago
  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago
  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    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 ...
    3 days ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    3 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    4 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    4 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    4 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    4 days ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    4 days ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    4 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    5 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    5 days ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    7 days ago
  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    7 days ago
  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    1 week ago
  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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