Daily review 09/07/2020

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, July 9th, 2020 - 55 comments
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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 …

55 comments on “Daily review 09/07/2020 ”

  1. ScottGN 1

    Sarah Dowie obviously thinks everyone has forgotten the sordid events that have lead to her own untimely demise as an MP at the forthcoming election. I should be astonished at the hypocrisy but it is the National Party I guess.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/122069465/hamish-walker-makes-right-decision-to-leave-politics-southland-leaders

    • Robert Guyton 1.1

      National Party supporters forgive their MPs everything and their MPs forgive themselves the same.

      • OnceWasTim 1.1.1

        "National Party supporters forgive their MPs everything………." and they seem to like their corruption cloak and dagger covert style. I guess it makes them feel suphusticated and intelligent.

        At the moment – I'm busy pivoting – teetering on the fulcrum in that space going forward.

        I'm still not sure whether I'd rather rather just openly flick a couple of hundred rupees or yuan to a lowly paid rock hopper and get things done immediately, or mortgage the house to covertly get some gNat to lean on someone, to get someone appointed so that I could buy some long term favours – plus of course pay for their face-lifts, teeth whitening and plasticine.

        Tough decision! What would you recomment

      • Grafton Gully 1.1.2

        Could be all those Christians, like Todd.

        “There is a large bloc in National of Christians with some pretty extreme views. They’re not traditional Christian National Party folk, but more fire and brimstone. Muller is a traditional National Party Christian, he voted No on the abortion bill’s second and third reading, he voted No on all three readings of the euthanasia bill. But he is considered not right wing enough by the large Christian bloc.”

        https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/07/02/why-todd-muller-and-national-are-toast/

        "forgiveness" is a a big part of it.

        https://www.compassionuk.org/blogs/bible-verses-on-forgiveness/

        • greywarshark 1.1.2.1

          How does forgiveness in this political context work? Are people supposed not to make any unkind judgments on a party that says it is in Jesu's pocket and keep voting for them no matter what. There would be no untidy abuse cases in Court from victims of lack of respect for other humans persons and rights, as forgiveness would apply. Is that why Hopeful Christian could go to jail and back to the farm to be forgiven and Carry On Culting. This is a case of National getting above itself – they have got neolib the money cult as their economics, busy cult-like making judgments of people based on the propensities of the leaders, and now they have gone from 'Power tends to corrupt to Absolute Power tends to Corrupt Absolutely'.

          They have taken people's earnings from them, lowered them, have opened stores selling booze all hours so people can drink themselves to delerium, they don't have the ability to put down roots in a house they can afford to live in, if beneficiaries take in boarders or rent part of their house to people in need of accommodation they are condemned as twisted criminals rorting the benefit system. and now the Gnats and the moneyed want what's left of their souls, promising them security and heaven if they do what they are told.

    • Ed 2.1

      Mosa posted this yesterday afternoon and it was a subject for conversation in Open Mike today.

      I agree. Excellent article.

      You''ll never read that quality of thinking in New Zealand's neoliberal media.

    • I Feel Love 3.1

      Ain't that the truth Joe90! & in other news, the KPop Agents are celebrating BTS Army Day! Big Time Socialists! (My kids are fans & I've got the walls singing with South Korean Pop Music).

    • Muttonbird 3.2

      The letter is an exercise in futility. How can you tell a movement of people to not do something you don't like.

      It's as if JK Rowling thinks she can write peoples lives the way she wrote Harry Potter.

      • I Feel Love 3.2.1

        A couple of people have taken their name off the letter, they didn't know who else signed.

        "Cancel Culture" is just a new buzz word, a new vague enemy, it reminds me of "being PC", a catchall phrase that can mean anything and everything to anyone. It suits the privileged that's for certain. "Don't rock the boat!".

        • Muttonbird 3.2.1.1

          Cancel Culture is free market through and through. If your message isn't good enough, get ready to feel the heat.

        • Rosemary McDonald 3.2.1.2

          A couple of people have taken their name off the letter, they didn't know who else signed.

          So. They signed the letter because they agreed with the statement, but unsigned because they did not wish to be seen as being in association with individuals they usually disagree with who had also signed.

          Hmm… did they actually read the letter before they signed?

    • weka 3.3

      I'd be interested to see a decent analysis of the signatories, rather than more superficial, reactionary backlash. Salman Rushdie knows a few things about cancel culture for instance. I'm not sure if people are kneejerk reacting to the letter or there is some substance to the criticism.

      I'm also curious where the limit is, or if people believe there isn't one, in terms of cancel culture. To me it looks like there is also a dynamic of neoliberalism starting to appropriate, and we already know that neoliberalism will stretch to allow some justice issues to gain traction, but will never willingly let the system be changed.

      • Rosemary McDonald 3.3.1

        ….rather than more superficial, reactionary backlash.

        But, but, that would require the backlashers to actually read (at least superficially) some of the writings of those who signed the letter.

        And, perhaps, risk being the target of derision and criticism and dare to discuss some of the more sensitive topics.

        But not here. Certainly not a safe space.

        • weka 3.3.1.1

          The funny (haha) thing is that both Atwood and Rowling signed the letter, and they take directly oppositional positions on the trans/GCF debate. Atwood spent a few days this week criticising Rowling on twitter for her position. Both those women know the value of words and how to use them with meaning and power. I can't see how Rowling's words can be suppressed without also eventually suppressing Atwood's. It's not like liberals get to control the world, and it's especially scary at this time of rising fascism.

          The shutting down of debate worries me, but also the now gaping chasm that exists among progressives over this to the extent we often can't even talk about it rationally. Everyday I'm watching people at war on twitter, arguing against a position that they either patently don't understand or they are deliberately misconstruing. It's gotten worse this year to the point that I don't often see good faith discussion.

          • Incognito 3.3.1.1.1

            I think one problem with debating complex, sensitive, and/or controversial issues is not that people are not able to do so, intellectually, if you like, but that many don’t have the undivided time and energy to put the considerable mental effort into it that it demands. They say democracy requires eternal vigilance and look at what’s happening with civil and political engagement and discourse across the world. People’s attention span is shortening and demands on their cognitive power are increasing. Something has to give.

      • I Feel Love 3.3.2

        Fair comment, and a lot of this new change is shallow, here in Dunedin they're changing the name of the Cook purely for commercial reasons.

        What I would personally prefer, re the statues, is more statues, less dead soldiers, more interesting people. Riff Raff in Hamilton, Robert Burns here, so there's more representation, that's what I think most of this is about, more varied. Drs, social workers, artists, community workers, working stiffs ffs!

        • weka 3.3.2.1

          I hadn't picked the letter as being about statues (will reread it with that in mind). I took it as about the numbers of academics and writers, people that we need in society to explore a wide range of views, being ostracised, no platformed or fired.

          What are the commercial reasons for changing the name of the Cook?

          • I Feel Love 3.3.2.1.1

            Commercial, as in being afraid of not having customers because of the name, as opposed to actually being opposed to Cook themselves. I went to a bar on Sat night, a bunch of pop iconic type images on the wall, the blue boy, Monroe, and Cook, we were quite amused to see it in this present time. Funny, a friend of mine says he will refuse to go to the Cook if it does change it’s name.

            I mentioned statues just as an example of "Cancel Culture". Off topic in regards to the letter. I find it funny a bunch of people want to cancel "Cancel Culture", & also the notion that celebrities opinions hold more weight than say, mine, or yours, or anyones. I love the Potter books, but I really couldn't care less about what she says, most people are quite disappointing, the old "never meet your idols" phrase springs to mind.

          • McFlock 3.3.2.1.2

            Mostly that it's two or three very different tenants with their own branding rather than just being one venue, if I recall the ODT correctly.

      • joe90 3.3.3

        Cancel culture isn't a real thing. Despite the token lefties, this fucking letter is just fake outrage designed to work the sympathy nerve to get them off the hook of their own making. DARVO, by another name.

        And I know there’s a strain of intolerance on the far left, but it’s nothing compared to the daily deluge of bigoted, intolerant bullshit from the right.

        A life-long repug on the toxicity of today's right.

        https://twitter.com/radiofreetom/status/1279536145903345665

        https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1279536145903345665.html

        • weka 3.3.3.1

          that comes across as more talking points Joe. I know how you feel about the letter, but that doesn't address the points I raised other than you just reject them.

          Maybe I'm missing something here, is there some context about who wrote the letter and why that I'm not getting. It's quite a reach to say that someone like Atwood is engaged in DARVO. Are you saying there is no limit when it comes to writer, academics and people who hold positions of power but who also hold important aspects of the culture? That they don't get to have a say in how society treats them?

          If you've seen a breakdown of the list that demonstrates that many or most of the signatories are engaged in political DARVO, then please post it. I just took the letter for what it said.

          • joe90 3.3.3.1.1

            IMO you can't have room for experimentation, risk taking, and even mistakes without consequences. If that's what you want, find yourself a foam pit.

            But if your experimentation, risk taking, and even mistakes are offensive to enough people and you're given the arse, tough.

            • weka 3.3.3.1.1.1

              Does that apply in Trump's America then? If there are enough people offended by feminists pushing for better abortion rights, those feminists can be fired and deplatformed?

              • joe90

                And TS would give McCoskrie's ilk a platform in the same way that cathnewsnz would, too?

                /

      • McFlock 3.3.4

        I'm also curious where the limit is, or if people believe there isn't one, in terms of cancel culture.

        The limit is crowdsourced. This doesn't mean that there is no limit – I believe it's largely been met already on most issues.

        I also believe that it's also not so much "cancel culture" as "chose your market" culture. Louis CK can still do gigs, he just gets a different audience.

        The main concern I have with the vague banalities in the letter is that all ideas should be open to good faith debate. I'm sure there are some fine humanitarians and noble souls in the signatory list, but I suspect there will also be one or two "~-adjacents", as in "Nazi-adjacent" or "white supremacy -adjacent". Debating some issues simply lends legitimacy to absurd extremists who'd have been fringe self-publishers thirty years ago. But the letter doesn't acknowledge that position, it lets ~-adjacents hide in the coattails of noble souls unfairly targeted by an impulsive mob.

        People tried good faith debate with the o. g. Nazis. That ended badly.And yeah, I genuinely think that historical lesson is relevant in today's world.

        • weka 3.3.4.1

          "The limit is crowdsourced. This doesn't mean that there is no limit – I believe it's largely been met already on most issues."

          Can you please explain that? I don't know what it means.

          I also believe that it's also not so much "cancel culture" as "chose your market" culture. Louis CK can still do gigs, he just gets a different audience.

          Feminists subjected to rape threats and doxxing, can still write online, they just have to find a different space to do it in other than social media or their work places.

          I'd be really interested if someone has analysed the list for a nazi adjacent and progressive spectrum. I'm surprised that hasn't happened, although I haven't gone looking either (no, not up for watching youtubes).

          • weka 3.3.4.1.1

            also feminists subjected to rape threats and doxxing, just need to man up apparently.

            • McFlock 3.3.4.1.1.1

              So now we have the discussion about what people mean by "cancel culture", because I sure as shit wasn't including rape and death threats.

              Which bit did you want clarification on? The crowdsourcing thing or why I think the limit has largely been met? (as in people pretty much know what they'll get a backlash on – the instances of "make a casual comment then get on a plane, only to discover 12 hours later you've lost your job and your sponsors" are much more rare these days, imo).

  2. Byd0nz 4

    I see the Five eyes squinting at China, re HK.NZs independence usurped again by the yankee masterspy network,does this mean its ok to trash and firebomb Government property in 5 eye countries.

  3. Muttonbird 5

    There was a piece today the Herald maybe where they'd contacted the Countdown Covid runner.

    According to their reporting he 'refused' to say why he absconded, and they also spent a lot of time referencing the 20 min phone call.

    I think what's happened is he's an ordinary, entitled NZ Indian resident or citizen who had no idea at all about what was expected of him, probably didn't listen on arrival and doesn't follow the news at all so wouldn't have clue about the situation in NZ.

    He went to get some toiletries and then called his family.

    I felt though that the Herald was pointing to a deliberate motive. Is this just them manufacturing intrigue? Or is it seeding their article with known damaging info to be revealed later?

    In today's NZ media environment, you'd never know until it was too late.

    In short, is the National Party incentivising returnees to break out of quarantine? Wouldn't put it past them.

    • RedBaronCV 5.1

      I had put this over in open mike but either something is going on or he is just making excuses – so throw everything at him.

      He says "Nobody told him anything?"

      So what did he think was going on? That the NZ government picks up everybody from the airport complete with minders and trucks them all off to a downtown hotel and pays their accommodation bill while they trot round sightseeing? I mean really? They even have to sign in get an info pack and leave details.

      If he's good enough to have a debit card and work a checkout then you think he'd be smart enough to work out that something was going on and he'd better pay attention or find out.

    • xanthe 5.2

      "In short, is the National Party incentivising returnees to break out of quarantine? "

      That is the question I also would like an answer to

  4. mauī 6

    While National gets lost looking for where ethics and decency live, the media will pick up and run with their most odious lines.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/122083465/police-union-slams-government-for-posting-247-cop-babysitters-at-covid-quarantine-facilities

    • I Feel Love 6.1

      This could be the hardest working Govt we've ever had! No lying down and cuppas for them, even though they deserve one.

    • Bearded Git 6.2

      The police union guy is clearly exaggerating where he says 240 police will be needed…..and as Megan Woods says the police are being brought in because they have the power to detain and arrest.

      This article has the flavour of a National Party beat-up yet again. Shame on Stuff for printing this biased crap.

      • McFlock 6.2.1

        Not much of an exagerration – you'd be running 5 shifts per facility (three 8 hour shifts A:C, with D and E at different leave stages of the roster, e.g. D on a two day break between early and late shift, and E on a break of several days after the graveyard shift, and fill up the change with some training time or overlapped evening shifts).

        240/5 = 48 officers operating at any one time. 48 cops/28 facilities = 1.7 police per facility on average.

    • observer 6.3

      Not sure what that Stuff link has to do with National.

      The police union spokesman (Cahill) has a valid point, but there is little chance of that being considered in the current climate. A burglary in an Auckland suburb will get zero news coverage, whereas anything at all happening in/near an isolation hotel will be a guaranteed headline, even if it is far less serious than e.g. a dairy robbery. Understandably the government responds to that media coverage (all politicians always do, naive to think otherwise).

      Throughout the Covid response there has been a need for balance (what is effective, but also legal, but also affordable, but also practical, but also acceptable … etc).

      Overall the government has got it right, but not perfect. I'd rather the police weren't needed, but nobody is making a more constructive and practical suggestion. "Stick them somewhere else" is the default response, followed by "But not here".

      • mauī 6.3.1

        The police are there to keep the public safe, why isn't the article couched in these terms? Instead it's been made into a non-issue debate over police resourcing.

      • RedBaronCV 6.3.2

        A covid breakout in the community would be far more expensive than a very decent bank robbery and eventually result in a greater loss of life than all but a mass murder. Breaking quarantine is not a victimless crime by any means unless we get lucky- so yes good use of police time just on an economic basis before even delving into the social outcomes.

        However, if quarantine is to be ongoing maybe we need to shift it away from our major cities. At least there would then be a decent walk – miles- to the store. But it would not be either easy or cheap . The current system isn't cheap either.

        [Fixed error in e-mail address]

        • Incognito 6.3.2.1

          Please correct the typo in your e-mail address before you submit your comments, thanks. I’ve done it three times because your comments are held up in Auto-Moderation because of the typo.

  5. Grafton Gully 7

    Bertrand Russell on democracy in China. "democracy is the best form of government where it’ll work —- one could see that it wouldn't work there, they hadn't the political experience" 12:37 on.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb3k6tB-Or8

  6. aj 8

    I'd like to give a shout out to Victoria, they need all the moral support they can get.

    Ok, they didn't do our steriod-based lock down which was managed to steer through but are now doing their level 3 for the second time and for 6 weeks.

    The Tower Blocks are literally locked down, very tough. Aussies are going to have to dig deep to get themselves out of this and I wish them the best.

    They will need their version of a 5 million person team effort and I hope the most vulnerable get through without too much damage.

    • Koff 8.1

      Agreed. I'm very sorry for Victorians and there is a possibility that the virus has escaped beyond Victoria's borders into NSW already – only time will tell. Victoria was the only state / territory that still had a small amount of community transmission going on.

      There is far less rabid, immature blame gaming going on in Oz, compared to the silliness in NZ, rather surprisingly. Even Scott Morrison, not someone I would normally have anything positive to say about, has given full moral and practical support to the Victorian lockdown / border closures, despite being on the opposite side of politics to Victoria's state government. No carping from other states either – they are giving help even if there is a lot of worry about the situation escalating.

      Maybe there would be more of a scrum if a federal election was due this year?

  7. Chris Cahill what a sour unhelpful body. President of the Police Association. Is he voted into his position? If that is the view of the bulk of police Wow!!! "Political reasons for Police deployment to make the Government look good" Really??? Guarding returnees.

    I thought the Police were meant to "Serve to keep the Community safe"

    • observer 9.1

      I think he's still an improvement on Greg O'Connor, though that's a pretty low bar. He used to insert himself into every news story about the police and only ever said two things: "the police cannot possibly have got it wrong", or when they clearly had, "let's not rush to judgement". I suppose he'd say he was a union rep doing his job for his members.

      But anyway, if the police are required now (because of two breaches, essentially) then it's reasonable to ask why they weren't required before. It's clear the job has to be done by somebody, even if 99.9% are happy to be "part of the team". If there are 6000 in isolation, then 0.1% being idiots is still 6 days of news headlines and risk.

    • gsays 9.2

      I heard a police spokesperson on RNZ yesty evening.

      Until I heard him speak I shared your opinion.

      He implied that we would be less safe if police were taken from their current roles and put on guard duty. eg dealing with family harm, folk having mental health crises and road safety.

      These absconders are an anomaly, although TBH I heard Minister Woods say that quarantinees are getting less happy to comply compared to earlier in the emergency.

      He also suggested a solution in using members of other enforcement agencies eg Customs.

      This issue comes up time and time again: security guards being blamed for stuff.

      An institution chooses to sub-contract out security issues in places where certain skill sets are required eg Emergency Departments. An ability to be pro-active, de-escalate and restraint if necessary. Unfortunately this investment in staff does not happen.

      True Story, the evening after the Chch mosque murders, while our local hospital was in lock-down, a person was sitting in the waiting room with a cross-bow. When the security guard was challenged on this, he replied with “he looks OK”.

      • Sacha 9.2.1

        Their problem is that only Police have arrest powers. Do we really want to solve that by giving those to Customs, Health, prison staff or contractors deployed at these hotels?

        • gsays 9.2.1.1

          I suppose it is easy and glib for me to say yes to giving those other agencies arrest powers, albeit temporary.

          I was more looking at their communication ability, dealing with public, enforcement and authority.

          I understand it is ok to commit a crime to prevent a worse crime occuring. eg denying someone their liberty to stop potential spead of disease.

          • Sacha 9.2.1.1.1

            I do not personally have a problem with it either, but we know enough pundits will to make a fuss.

            Adding police will not take away other agencies being responsible for the functions you mention. Communication sure needs to improve.

  8. aom 10

    Give us a fucking break – now we have a self-entitled puffed up travel consultant, Irene King, dumping on the government because it has paused the flow of new arrivals so the country can accommodate Covid-19 refugees. According to her, this pause would deal a huge financial blow for Air New Zealand and the wider aviation sector and could result in the loss of hundreds of jobs. Seemingly, the taxpayers should be financing endless quarantine facilities, which now includes Police, to rein in recalcitrants, to keep airlines in profit making territory. Of course, it is Stuff at it again!

    For those with a tough constitution for the absurd, the link is: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/122074644/airfare-freeze-airlines-set-pricing-to-entice-anxious-customers-and-recoup-financial-damage.

    • Foreign waka 10.1

      Lets see, if we go by a majority vote of those NZlanders who have had to stay home, in line for basics for weeks and only slowly coming out of that imposed isolation with caution, I think its a no brainer.

      Unless some selfish people think they can escape a virus outbreak on an island no less and we have to go to another shut down. Hands up who wants the border closed until the issue of renegade arrivals, placements and accommodation is being properly managed. This does not mean that people are not allowed back home, it means they come home in a managed way that is safe for EVERYBODY.

      And no, we will not live in tents in order that Air NZ can make a profit.

  9. observer 11

    Well, this will send the crazies over the edge, with their "Cindy takes orders from Helen" obsession.

    Clark has been appointed to lead the WHO review of the pandemic and the world (more or less). Read all about it tomorrow, should make a few headlines.

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
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    5 days ago
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