Daily review 16/07/2024

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, July 16th, 2024 - 26 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 …

26 comments on “Daily review 16/07/2024 ”

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  1. Dennis Frank 1
    16 July 2024 at 5:50 pm

    So it's all about privacy & shadow-boxing:

    1News has seen a statement from Tana's lawyer which was sent to the Green Party today. It said Tana had become aware the Green Party was publicly saying the executive summary of the independent investigation report was not being released because she had not agreed to it.

    It said while Tana and her representation had previously advised the party it viewed releasing the report or any part of it would breach Tana's privacy, the party had already made public statements that went far beyond what the report said, and in itself constituted a "flagrant" breach of Tana's privacy.

    "Darleen believes that it is now necessary for the executive summary to be released in order to mitigate some of the damage arising from the misinformation that has been put into the public domain." It said she therefore withdrew her objection to it but noted she had "effectively been subject to duress" and reserved her rights accordingly. https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/07/16/facts-more-important-than-feelings-swarbrick-on-tana-interview/

    Younger generational ethos often fails to encompass multi-generational political views so it's hard to discern an angle from which to comment positively. I get that they want to do things properly from their generational perspective though.

    • bwaghorn 1.1
      16 July 2024 at 5:53 pm

      Sounds like tana has something to hide!!

      • Dennis Frank 1.1.1
        16 July 2024 at 6:24 pm

        Could be, but her interview on ONE News just now with Maiki Sherman creates a different impression. She was quite forthcoming for a change. I've always felt her partner comes across as arrogant and dodgy though. I wonder when the GP lawyer will front the media – after the release, I guess, and we still don't know if he agrees.

  2. Dennis Frank 2
    16 July 2024 at 6:19 pm

    Ain't easy being an avatar of virtue, but this guy's up for the challenge:

    J.D. Vance is a man who believes that the current government is so corrupt that radical, even authoritarian steps, are justified in response. He sees himself as the avatar of America’s virtuous people https://www.vox.com/politics/360283/jd-vance-trump-vp-vice-president-authoritarian

    Vance has said that, had he been vice president in 2020, he would have carried out Trump’s scheme for the vice president to overturn the election results. He has fundraised for January 6 rioters. He once called on the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into a Washington Post columnist who penned a critical piece about Trump.

    After last week’s assassination attempt on Trump, he attempted to whitewash his radicalism by blaming the shooting on Democrats’ rhetoric about democracy without an iota of evidence.

    Irrational rather than virtuous, I reckon. Even so, he's got an interesting background!

    He grew up poor in Middletown, Ohio — escaping a difficult childhood to make it to Yale Law and, subsequently, to the lucrative world of venture capital. This narrative served as the backbone of his 2016 book, Hillbilly Elegy, that turned into a mega-bestseller: a book that seemed to explain Trump’s appeal to America’s downtrodden.

    Vance has cited Curtis Yarvin, a Silicon Valley monarchist blogger, as the source of his ideas about firing bureaucrats and defying the Supreme Court. His Senate campaign was funded by Vance’s former employer, Peter Thiel, a billionaire who once wrote that “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.”

    I get where these guys are coming from, but they are so partisan it's not funny. Hard to see them keeping right-wingers onside through another term. There's a strong whiff of ideological purity coming off them and most rightists are pragmatic, not ideological.

    • adam 2.1
      16 July 2024 at 7:56 pm

      most rightists are pragmatic, not ideological

      I'm calling bullshit, and I grew up around the communists left. And the right since 1984 have been way more ideological than the left. The left has been in disarray since 1989. A rump of that faction still have huge claws inside the labour party.

      So no mate, that's some real CAPTAIL BS.

      The right is at best as ideological as the left, in no way less so. I know a hell a lot of pragmatic people who consider themselves left wing as well. So on both sides your argument, it is, one based on ideology.

  3. SPC 3
    16 July 2024 at 6:20 pm

    The Civilian can report that a self hating Penk wants to eliminate bats from new builds.

    In a classic re-telling of an old tale, one man chooses to let New Zealand know whom the government serves, the people or …

    https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/07/16/govt-considers-rolling-back-home-insulation-standards/

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/power-to-the-people-grandmother-says-house-so-cold-and-damp-mokopunas-teeth-are-chattering/FSILE5RUTRHEXESC35VIQMH3QI/

    • gsays 3.1
      17 July 2024 at 6:28 am

      Firstly, I am far from a defender of this regime. Clark's "haters and wreckers" comes to mind as an apt descriptor.

      Here in Aotearoa we appear to have 2 different types of dwellings. The new and newish airtight, double glazed (now featuring thermal breaks!), heat pumped, califonted (gas instant hot water heater) stick buildings.

      And the old, cold, damp, kept for profit, rental stock. Also stick buildings.

      The korero around new builds will have no impact on the Nana cited in the second article.

      Circling back to my favourite hobby horse, because we have shareholders interests to uphold, our power companies have a vested interest in us using our heaters in winter. Using the heat pumps in summer is a bonus.

      Until we have a radical change in our government's ideology, (away from the market driven, profit centred approach) all our criticisms are negligible.

      Great article yesty posted about China subsidies serving the consumer.

      • gsays 3.1.1
        17 July 2024 at 6:38 am

        About the China article, published in the Asia Times, tried searching but can't find it.
        Stephen, I think, posted it.

        It was along the lines of China subsidised EV production resulting in a massive win for consumers (high spec cars, low cost, good range) at the cost of massive profits for companies.

        Ahh, here it is, thanks Stephen.
        https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-16-07-2024/#comment-2004820

      • SPC 3.1.2
        17 July 2024 at 8:20 am

        The second story is about a person in an income related rent KO home being unable to afford to run the heat pump. Those providing rentals are supposed to provide a means of heating – but this does not mean tenants can afford to run them.

        Healthy homes includes the ability to pay for the heating. Sickness Benefit needs to be at the disability benefit level and DB needs to be at super levels.

        The point is, whom does the government serve.

        1.landlords (lack of rental property inspectors and any tenant complaint is now at the risk of eviction).

        2.catering to builders/developers who see more profit from a return to building standards decades out of date. He has already been informed that good building design prevents any minor problem of over heating – but seems to want to use it as an excuse.

        I am not sure the motivation is ensuring greater energy demand, they just do not care about the issue of energy efficiency/GW etc.

        It's likely they will move onto reducing the healthy homes standards for rentals next.

        • gsays 3.1.2.1
          17 July 2024 at 8:43 am

          True, the government has forgotten whom they supposed to serve. For a few regimes now.

          The returns to power company shareholders are just a bonus.

          Spot on about design being a key factor. Irrelevant both to those seeking to maximize profit, and those desperate for accommodation or to get on the property ladder.

    • lprent 5.1
      16 July 2024 at 7:28 pm

      I can’t see kiwirail keeping the inter-islander running. It would be pointless for a rail company to maintain a passenger, car and truck system.

      If that is gone, then so is the south island rail system. It just adds cost to load on to trucks on one side to ferry them across, then unload into rail (and vice versa, but that is minimal). They’d just run trucks across the ferry, and most likely continue down the roads.

      There isn’t any significiant freight going from south to north. The only parts of rail network that are viable would be some of the mining going to ports and that doesn’t really work to keep the main trunk viable, nor kiwirail being involved in maintaining just those routes.

      I wonder if Willis has thought through the downstream effects. Like having to increase the roading budgets in the south island to stop trucks blocking the tourist roads by putting in dual carriageways. Assuming that she knows how to think logically of course. I’m not sure that putting a EnglishLit and journalism major in a Minister of Finance was a particularly good idea. Her work experience isn;t great either in economics or real politics. She seems intellectually under-equipped for the role and lacking real governing experience.

      We definitely need to raise the heavy truck RUC rate to something that is more consistent with their ability to damage roads.

      As a north island car driver and cyclist, I’m not interested in subsidising heavy trucks damaging tourism roads down south. Bad enough what they are doing between Auckland and Hamilton

      • adam 5.1.1
        16 July 2024 at 7:41 pm

        OMG the Tory idiots in this country have totally embraced magical thinking.

      • gsays 5.1.2
        17 July 2024 at 6:45 am

        " I’m not sure that putting a EnglishLit and journalism major in a Minister of Finance was a particularly good idea. Her work experience isn;t great either in economics or real politics. She seems intellectually under-equipped for the role and lacking real governing experience."

        She is perfect for the role. If your aim is merely re-election and you are focussed solely on the 1-2 yr balance sheet of NZ Inc. (Surpluses! Surpluses!).

  6. Dennis Frank 6
    16 July 2024 at 7:18 pm

    Ricardo fronts for the Greens:

    The report went to great lengths to ascertain the truth that she was clearly withholding information from the party."

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/522264/green-party-very-confident-of-darleen-tana-investigation-and-process

    Funny how he doesn't tell us what it actually said, eh? It's terrific to hear that their lawyer was heroic in pursuit of the truth but nothing to do with natural justice. Did she actually find the truth, Ricardo? How do you know? One feels compassion for the poor old RNZ journo having to treat his evasions as appropriate responses.

  7. joe90 7
    16 July 2024 at 7:18 pm

    Lying sack of shit.

    /

    He corrected the record the following day, saying the dinner was arranged in advance, with two other participants – Bathurst Resources chief executive Richard Tacon, and Federation Mining vice president Simon Delander.

    Why didn’t it make the ministerial diary? Jones said in May: “To be honest with you, less conspiracy more cock-up – and inattention in our office.” His staff would update the ministerial diary and tighten its administration, he promised.

    He repeated those lines when questioned by media on June 27.

    Now, emails released to Newsroom under official information legislation reveal it was the minister’s staff who made the initial approach.

    “Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Resources, is in Westport on Friday February 16 and was wondering if you would like to join him for dinner along with other mining sector people,” Jones’ private secretary John Doorbar wrote to Bragg, Tacon and Delander on February 12.

    “This is an informal dinner, and it would be appreciated if you could pick up your share of the costs if you attend.”

    The invitees were asked to confirm their attendance, or advise if someone else from their company would accept the invitation.

    The 2018 Cabinet paper regarding the proactive release of ministerial diaries said: “The summary would include all meetings with external parties in the minister’s ministerial capacity that have been recorded in the diary

    https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/07/16/jones-staffer-arranged-undeclared-dinner-with-mining-companies/

    Previously on TS;

    And no review of dodgy behaviour would be complete without a reference to Shane Jones.

    Last week it was reported that Jones had an undeclared dinner with Barry Bragg who is the deputy chair of the coal mining company Stevenson Group. Bragg subsequently wrote asking that the Te Kuha coal project be included in the list of projects seeking listing in the fast track legislation.

    Jones claimed that the dinner was not included in his ministerial diary because it was very much a last-minute thing.

    https://thestandard.org.nz/what-is-that-word-that-starts-with-c-and-ends-with-orruption/

    • adam 7.1
      16 July 2024 at 8:57 pm

      Who else is going to pay for Shane Jones staggering sauce bill?

      • gsays 7.1.1
        17 July 2024 at 6:51 am

        Excellent!

        There has been an image of the Minister for ​​​​​​Polishing the Banister Northland Lolly Scrambles, where he is in full PPE.

        Glasses, hi vis, helmet etc and I have resisted the urge to imply he was at a motel with his credit card out.

  8. weka 8
    16 July 2024 at 7:45 pm

    people who argue that co-governance breaks the one person/one vote version of democracy, can you please give some examples of where that is being suggested?

    • adam 8.1
      16 July 2024 at 7:47 pm

      Best of luck getting an honest answer weka.

      • weka 8.1.1
        16 July 2024 at 8:19 pm

        heh. I wasn't sure if they mean the Māori wards or what. I really hope I don't have to go read Hobson's Pledge stuff 🙁

        • adam 8.1.1.1
          16 July 2024 at 8:56 pm

          Hobson's Pledge is revisionist history at it's worse. Worth a read though, get your head around why planks are planks, and good men just need to farm dairy.

  9. adam 9
    16 July 2024 at 7:46 pm

    Snowflake warning. Yes that means you Pucky.

    Jake whats his name, interview's Debbie Ngarewa-Packer Co-leader Te Pāti Māori

    [Stop needling other commenters here with your flame war starters. This is your warning – Incognito]