web analytics

Daily Review 18/05/2017

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, May 18th, 2017 - 60 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 …

60 comments on “Daily Review 18/05/2017”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. adam 1
    18 May 2017 at 6:04 pm

    So it’s now this, Turkish Goons beat up US citizens in the USA.

    • Muttonbird 1.1
      18 May 2017 at 6:18 pm

      Holy shit, that was in America! I like the way the host suggested Trump would be taking notes from Erdogan on how to become more authoritarian.

      • NZJester 1.1.1
        18 May 2017 at 7:38 pm

        Have you never watched the TYT channel?
        That is not the first time they have suggested that about Trump.
        They are one of the few Independent News organizations left in the US not controlled by corporate money. A lot of the others are slowly being purged of most centrist and left-wing commentators.
        Cenk Uygur the owner of TYT is actually Turkish/American born in Istanbul, Turkey and is not a very big fan of what the Turkish government has done to his birth country either. For some time now he has been trying to pull Republicans and Democrats togeather to get the money out of Politics in the US. He is a champion of wolf-pac.com who are slowly gathering a number of states together to get an amendment to the US constitution to do just that.

    • joe90 1.2
      18 May 2017 at 8:15 pm

      A couple of arrests.

      .

      A Turkish state news agency acknowledged that guards for Erdogan, who had earlier met with President Trump at the White House, had targeted demonstrators. Many of the aggressors seen on video were wearing dark suits and ties, and several had guns. At least two of the guns were seen on video being dropped and then picked up during skirmishes.

      In a statement released Wednesday evening, the Turkish Embassy called the demonstration “unpermitted” and “provocative.” Officials alleged in the statement that the protesters were affiliated with the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and the United States. A protest leader denied that any of the participants were involved with the PKK or sympathized with the group.

      “The demonstrators began aggressively provoking Turkish-American citizens” who had gathered to greet Erdogan, the statement said. “The Turkish-Americans responded in self defense and one of them was seriously injured.”

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/turkeys-presidential-guards-violently-clash-with-protesters-outside-embassy/2017/05/17/8420942a-3b05-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html

      • Bill 1.2.1
        18 May 2017 at 8:45 pm

        ‘Nice’ to see that American cops understand the concept of never pulling up the guy in the suit. 👿

    • Bill 1.3
      18 May 2017 at 8:29 pm

      Pretty sure similar happened during his 2016 visit to the US. Not new.

      edit – link

      2nd edit. I guess the reaction will be much the same too 😉 Fatih Oke, a spokesperson for the Turkish embassy in Washington, said he arrived at the event after the alleged incidents. “I can’t comment on what I didn’t see,” he said. “The meeting was wonderful.”

  2. bwaghorn 2
    18 May 2017 at 6:13 pm

    they are using north korea as a boogie man to get tpp over the line now, wtf ,please explain

    • Muttonbird 3.1
      18 May 2017 at 6:48 pm

      That might be so but the real purpose of Treveeits article was to promote invented discord in the Labour Green MOU and to paint opposition parties as hysterical left wingers overly obsessed with Trump and bitter that he won. She was obviously disappointed Labour and Greens weren’t on the same page on this. Disappointed that the Greens brought up Hitler but she couldn’t get Labour to do the same.

      I notice Farrar is all over it too, asking for Shaw to apologise. To who for fuck’s sake? Trump?

      • bwaghorn 3.1.1
        18 May 2017 at 6:59 pm

        well Shaw needs to leave the mad talk for us fringe ranters , so a good lesson for him to.

        • Muttonbird 3.1.1.1
          18 May 2017 at 7:03 pm

          Fair enough a bit naive, but he did reference that Backbenchers is a TV show filmed in a pub and pub talk is the whole point. Y’know, robust comedy, etc.

          It’s not naive like menacingly threatening NGOs with funding cuts at a major party conference…

      • weka 3.1.2
        18 May 2017 at 8:50 pm

        probably doesn’t hurt for the two parties to be seen to disagree and then keep working well together.

        Plus, Tr*mp probably is the most dangerous person since Hitler. And no, Andrew, you don’t lose the argument by mentioning Hitler when it’s an actual historical reference.

        • Bill 3.1.2.1
          18 May 2017 at 10:11 pm

          Hitler had a whole set of institutional enthusiasm behind him…and an international tendency to feed from – fascism being in the ascendancy and supported by a failing and flailing liberal establishment (Spanish Revolution knee capped by supposed liberal “non- involvement” – fascist leaders receiving Times “man of the year” endorsements etc)…

          Trump’s got none of that. Trump’s not dangerous. He’s an unpleasant and damaging flash in the pan is all.

          What comes after Trump is what we should be looking to. That’s where the danger lies.

          • weka 3.1.2.1.1
            18 May 2017 at 11:12 pm

            Well you and I will have to disagree on that. Both my own perception and the politicos I am following in the US see Tr*mp as legitimising a whole range of latent fascism in the US and the longer that goes on the harder it will be to roll back. There is also the issue of how fascism comes about and the process of normalising things that were even recently not considered normal. There’s plenty of commentary on that coming out of the US. ‘He’s not really fascist’ is part of how fascism comes about 😉

            And he is not on his own. Not only does he have his team of seriously fucked in the head powermongers and deathmongers, but there are other dangerous Republicans who will be perceived as less extreme than Tr*mp but only because he’s set a new standard. So there is the institutional enthusiasm.

            He has the nuclear launch codes, so that can’t be compared to Hitler’s time, but it’s one of the things that makes him so dangerous.

            “fascist leaders receiving Times “man of the year” endorsements etc”

            Tr*mp was Time’s ‘Person of Year’ last year.

            http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-donald-trump/

            I didn’t take Shaw as comparing Tr*mp with Hitler, or their respective milieu, but instead saying that Tr*mp is the most dangerous person since Hitler, including in terms of potential impact globally. I’d be interested to hear examples of other individuals that fit that bill better.

            • Bill 3.1.2.1.1.1
              18 May 2017 at 11:40 pm

              So okay, a president – any president of the USA is influential on the world stage…if they have institutional backing. Trump doesn’t have that. Both the Republican establishment and the Democratic establishment – with all their media and intelligence community networks, are working to bring him down.

              You want “normalisation” of fascism? Then look to how liberal msm report on the likes of UKIP or Le Pen.

              • weka …
                18 May 2017 at 11:50 pm

                Are you saying there is no normalising of fascism going on in the US?

                Hopefully Tr*mp will be brought down, because he is actually that dangerous. I don’t think those forces are working against him because he’s an unpleasant flash in the pan.

                • Bill …
                  19 May 2017 at 12:16 am

                  As I said elsewhere…I commented in the run-up to the US election that if Trump won, the opportunity would be there for the left to organise and mobilise, and that the danger to that would be coming from the wound licking democrats and their fellow travelers seeking to rehabilitate themselves.

                  Seems that danger’s risen up now – eg, vacuous ‘Russia meddling’ reports, bullshit CW reports, endless stream of baseless accusations feeding into general jagged finger pointing…and no-one’s calling it.

                  Which is potentially going to leave us with a ‘nice’ situation in the US whereby the forces of “anything but Trump” (the ‘establishment’ as personified by Cain/Clinton et al) are aligned against the “anything but the status quo” (swathes of the electorate) and “the left” will be nowhere to be seen.

                  • weka …
                    19 May 2017 at 12:37 pm

                    yes, and that’s not incompatible with Tr*mp being extremely dangerous.

                    • Red …
                      19 May 2017 at 4:14 pm

                      There is complete over reaction to trump, if he would just shut his stupid mouth, close down his twitter account, act like a president it would simply be business as usual re US presidents

                    • weka …
                      19 May 2017 at 5:08 pm

                      Except for the fascist bits.

                • reason …
                  19 May 2017 at 8:05 pm

                  The u.s.a has a long and brutal history of genocide, slavery and disregard of human rights towards those they consider untermensch ….

                  Their savagery is beyond normal http://withoutsanctuary.org/pics_38.html

                  Their rich in particular ….. have literally supported Nazis to the extent of helping exteriminate the jews and profiting from slave labour in the concentration camps …. not to mention supplying vital war material to the Nazis during the war.

                  Firms like IBM helped keep on top of the huge organisation which goes into killing millions and millions …..

                  I suspect they also made money from operation phoenix in vietnam ….

                  And operation Condor in south America…. when the generals ( with u.s.a backing ), had taken over Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and a few other countries …… In Nazi/facist style they killed unionist, intellectuals, land and human rights advocates etc .

                  u.s.a supplied the computers to keep track of all the unionists and those marked for death ….. no matter where they ran.

                  IBM computers probably,… as there were not to many computing companies in the early and mid 1970’s …..

                  Tax Havens are another thing with a strong Nazi association …. so most corporations ( IBM of course ), use them

                  The Nazis beat communisim/socialisim http://100photos.time.com/photos/kevin-carter-starving-child-vulture

                  This is what Victory looks like http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/world/82862438/banana-republic-the-ugly-story-behind-new-zealands-most-popular-fruit

                  http://www.foodispower.org/slavery-chocolate/

                  And at the end of this video …. we get a look at our new Allies ….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkuonQCw_jg ….. we are supporting nazis ….. just like Nato and the U.s.a

                  Trump is made in the u.s.a …..

  4. Muttonbird 4
    18 May 2017 at 6:37 pm

    The stories of dairy hold-ups now come daily and it is bad news for the National Party which cut police services, increased inequality, removed surety of work hours, and treated the unemployed like criminals.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11858552

    There are a shitload of votes here for Labour which should be discussing loudly how they are going to reduce the crime and violence which has increased under National.

    • indiana 4.1
      18 May 2017 at 7:14 pm

      How about this, people know that robbing is wrong. If people didn’t think about robbing people, you wouldn’t need so much police as everyone behave harmoniously. But no, let’s make this a political issue, because a government doesn’t have enough police, that’s why there are so many robberies. Are you suggesting we need more police because people can’t help themselves? Instead of more police, let store keepers arm themselves. Then we’ll see how many people think about robbing someone else.

      • McFlock 4.1.1
        18 May 2017 at 7:15 pm

        yeah, because places where storekeepers arm themselves are crime free. Totally works every time.

        • David Mac 4.1.1.1
          18 May 2017 at 7:59 pm

          I agree McFlock, solutions need to be formed with the understanding that violence begets violence.

          Any solution that doesn’t drill down to the core of the problem is a Band Aid, the infection rages. Young people choosing to stick a knife in someone’s face is fixed by giving them something better to do.

          When one of our young people is sticking a knife in someone’s face, it’s our society, we created it, some of the buck stops with us. We’ve done a crap job of directing all that energy and adrenaline, geez it could be winning the Warriors games.

          If I was PM I’d be creating a Department of ‘Sorry you got such crap parents, pull on this wetsuit, pick up that spear-gun and follow me.’

      • In Vino 4.1.2
        18 May 2017 at 7:22 pm

        There will always be those people when you push policies that create poverty and hopelessness. Neo-liberalism has pushed us a long way down the path of creating a hell-hole of a society, and here you are putting up feeble, unrealistic arguments. Get real.

        • The decrypter 4.1.2.1
          18 May 2017 at 7:28 pm

          The answer lies in the —Budget.

        • Bill 4.1.2.2
          18 May 2017 at 8:24 pm

          It was a hell-hole of a society way back when Charles Dickens was writing. None of the fundamentals have changed – just some of the elastoplasts that had been applied have been stripped off these past decades.

          The answer now is no different to what it was then…

          • Stunned mullet 4.1.2.2.1
            18 May 2017 at 9:37 pm

            “..none of the fundamentals have changed since dickensian times..”

            I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt in that perhaps your definition of “the fundamentals” is quite narrow.

            • Bill 4.1.2.2.1.1
              18 May 2017 at 9:48 pm

              Market driven economy – capitalism. You think the rules have changed?

              • Stuart Munro …
                19 May 2017 at 2:01 am

                I’d suggest what Mayhew describes went a bit further than we’re used to.

                https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/16/rereading-henry-mayhew-london-poor

                Not for want of Gnats trying, or other parties failing to overturn their rorts mind.

                • Bill …
                  19 May 2017 at 11:31 am

                  Well, yes. What Mayhew describes is a situation that occurred in the absence of any welfare state.

                  But the economic rules that gave rise to that situation are the same rules our economy operates by today.

                  btw – ever been homeless without access to welfare, and tried hawking or peddling? You get lifted. Which offers an interesting twist in a situation where we’d dispensed with social welfare provisions – in some ways survival would be harder now than it was then, thanks to specific ‘regulations’ and ‘laws’…

      • Muttonbird 4.1.3
        18 May 2017 at 7:54 pm

        How very basic of you.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 4.1.4
        19 May 2017 at 8:20 am

        Rather than employing more police, it would be a lot cheaper (and better in so many other ways) to reduce income inequality, and you don’t want to do that either, assuming you are capable, which I don’t.

  5. Bill 5
    18 May 2017 at 7:44 pm

    And in shock breaking news, it seems the NZ Labour Party may have been paying attention to the SNP afterall!!!

    http://www.labour.org.nz/kiwibuild 🙂

  6. Glenn 6
    18 May 2017 at 8:14 pm

    Why if Myrtle Rust has been randomly “wind blown” from Australia to the Kermadecs and the NZ mainland is it being detected only (I think) in plant nurseries? Surely with NZ’s westerlys it would be showing up in Western NZ native bush and feijoa orchards yet the only references I see is to plant nurseries.

    • weka 6.1
      18 May 2017 at 8:40 pm

      Nurseries are probably good nurseries for MR if you get what I mean (i.e. ideal conditions).

  7. Whispering Kate 7
    18 May 2017 at 8:27 pm

    With the severity of the violence with dairy owners and cigarettes. As nicotine is an addicting substance why doesn’t the Government place all cigarettes and tobacco into the same category as methadone, the heroin substitute and have dedicated places where people can go and buy their fags in a controlled and secure area. I remember years ago hearing from the guy who rang Kingseat Hospital that nicotine was as difficult as heroin to withdraw from – why on earth isn’t it a controlled substance?

    I realise that supermarkets and dairies will loose a lot of income but surely with ingenuity they could come up with other ideas and products to get customers through the door. While I am on this I cannot see why booze can’t be also separated off from general food products in the supermarket like Australia does. To be honest – there could be a valid reason to separate off completely alcohol into secure areas like methadone and nicotine as well to do away with the numerous booze outlets.

    I am not a whowser – I enjoy my wine, but if push came to shove I would be prepared to purchase my alcohol in a secure environment and maybe that would stop all this terrible violence occurring to shop owners.

    Pigs might fly too.

    • weka 7.1
      18 May 2017 at 8:46 pm

      Bill wrote a post about that once (nicotine addicts being able to register and have access to supply).

      Curing Tobacco

      Don’t think it will solve the dairy robberies, they’re stealing for shit to sell to make money, and they’re amped up on the violence as far as I can tell. Take away the tobacco and they’ll steal something else.

      I have no problem with alcohol being restricted to licensed premises.

      • Bill 7.1.1
        18 May 2017 at 8:50 pm

        heh – I do believe that was before the advent of vapourising 🙂 (Nicotine habit satisfied for about $2 per week)

        I should edit. Edit. Vapourising paraphernalia should be available on script. It’s presently illegal to sell or supply nicotine in solution in NZ, meaning…all the government subsidies goes to pharma selling bullshit patches, gums, and pills.

  8. mauī 8
    18 May 2017 at 8:51 pm

    RIP Chris Cornell. For the rockers out there:

  9. joe90 9
    18 May 2017 at 8:58 pm

    Erdogan’s man in the White House succeeded.

    The plan to arm the Kurdish fighters had been seven months in the making when it was presented to Flynn.

    “Don’t approve it,” Flynn said, according to an account in The Washington Post that was included in a timeline prepared by the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. “We’ll make the decision.”

    http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article151149702.html

    • Bill 9.1
      18 May 2017 at 9:14 pm

      No, he didn’t succeed.

      The sad truth is that no-one wants to see the autonomous regions’ experiment with substantive forms of democratic governance persist…

      not the Turkish government.
      nor the US government
      nor the EU
      nor the Syrian government
      nor the traditional Arab structures of power in the region
      nor the government of Iraqi Kurdistan…

      Trump has finally agreed to supply light arms – oh, underwhelmed whoop. I think I may be right in saying that heavier weaponry will be supplied on a tightly monitored basis (ie – it gets ‘rented out’ for specific operations and then returned)

      This shit is like the Spanish revolution gone horribly wrong if you can imagine such a thing 🙁

  10. repateet 10
    18 May 2017 at 9:18 pm

    Just in case Steven Joyce is thinking of running with ‘Strong and Stable’ this year. The end part on here has so many elements which are ours; and his.

    • Bill 10.1
      18 May 2017 at 10:23 pm

      Was torturing myself trying to remember who else it was I’d seen punting on the “Strong and Stable” meme, then I remembered it was the “Brighter Future” meme being peddled by the UK’s Lib Dems …Go Teh Guardian! 😉

  11. keepcalmcarryon 11
    18 May 2017 at 9:47 pm

    Water is still a huge issue. Damien Oconnor spoke well on backbenchers the other night – except on water where he was worse than weak. Greens were good, NZ first lady mostly looked proud of herself for showing up, Chester Borrows a pillock.
    Everyone bar the greens patting themselves and fed farmers on the back about fencing watreways noone addressing the real issue of Nitrate leaching.
    And today the Nats go for the half billion with irrigation subsidies by throwing another 90 million in there
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/92742733/government-90m-boost-for-irrigation-to-produce-economic-and-environment-gains

    Incredibly this is spun as having environmental benefit by replenishing the aquifer!
    ” “At the same time these schemes can deliver real environmental benefits by maintaining river flows and recharging groundwater aquifers.””
    Really?

  12. Incognito 12
    18 May 2017 at 10:21 pm

    Although his writing is a little academic/intellectual in style I like his thinking: Max Harris on the unavoidable centrality of environmental politics

    https://impolitikal.com/2017/05/15/extract-max-harris-on-the-unavoidable-centrality-of-environmental-politics/

    • Robert Guyton 12.1
      18 May 2017 at 10:51 pm

      That’s very good.

    • Bill 12.2
      18 May 2017 at 11:02 pm

      Only about to read it.

      But punting it’ll be making the obvious point that all these house building proposals from the Libuorish Party and the Narsty Party are just so much bullshit riding alongside all their other inadequate and “reality defying” bullshit, yes?

      • weka 12.2.1
        18 May 2017 at 11:14 pm

        building housing is bullshit because of the environment?

        • Bill 12.2.1.1
          18 May 2017 at 11:29 pm

          Over 30 000 houses are under water according to Jan Wright’s (Commissioner for the Environment) report from 2015. Only 1000 odd of those fucked dwellings are in Auckland, yet the bulk of any party’s building programme is Auckland based.

          These fucking clowns (the politicians) might as well don a Donald wig as far as I’m concerned.

          • weka 12.2.1.1.1
            18 May 2017 at 11:47 pm

            Ah, CC. I’d gone down another track re housing and the environment.

            30,000, but not for a while right? Not sure what you are saying. The reason they’re focussing on Ak is because so much pressure is there right now.

            • Bill 12.2.1.1.1.1
              18 May 2017 at 11:59 pm

              Depends on whether you want to go with IPCC reports or not. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is running on prelim figures they gleaned from research on Antarctica just prior to the US elections that point to a possible 1.5m by as soon as 2050. Regardless of whether that pans out, “no-one” takes the IPCC suggestion of 1m by 2100 seriously any more.

              New Zealand assumes houses have to be around for 50 years.

              Jan Wright’s figures that I added up to be over 30 000 were based on a 1.5m sea level rise.

              edit. In the absence of serious measures being taken in other places that are ‘going under’, then the pressure in Auckland will be seriously exacerbated by what we might come to term as internal refugees.

              • weka …
                19 May 2017 at 12:35 pm

                Sure, and Labour and the Greens are looking at the housing crisis in NZ not just Ak, but I think everyone is very focussed on the people who are homeless this year.

                Still not sure what your point is. Is it that no-one is taking CC seriously enough? (agreed). Is it that people are still building in stupid places (agreed, and Dunedin is at least making moves on this). Is it that Ak is too low lying?

                • Bill …
                  19 May 2017 at 1:51 pm

                  The housing policies are nowhere near ambitious enough because they do not seem to be taking into account the huge and inevitable loss in housing stock that’s going to result from sea level rise.

                  We’re not looking at some distant tomorrow on that front and it’s going to be on-going. It’s a consideration that should be a part and parcel of any current housing policy.

                  edit – and a 10 year build as Labour proposes isn’t really doing much for those homeless today or this year.

                  • weka …
                    19 May 2017 at 2:23 pm

                    That’s why I’m voting Green 😉

                    I’m less worried about the actual number of houses re CC, because NZ has shit loads of empty houses. Stats NZ has occupancy rates for most places, all cities have empty houses.

                    “There are 46,590 occupied dwellings and 3,915 unoccupied dwellings in Dunedin City.
                    …
                    There are 186 dwellings under construction in Dunedin City, and 9,756 under construction in New Zealand.”

                    “There are 11,508 occupied dwellings and 4,467 unoccupied dwellings in Queenstown-Lakes District.
                    …
                    There are 237 dwellings under construction in Queenstown-Lakes District, and 9,756 under construction in New Zealand.”

                    Open Mike 07/04/2017

                    I’d put Dunedin at average and QLDC as high relative to NZ but normal relative to other tourist towns.

                    Lots of houses are under occupied too. And there will be a fair number of houses that can be moved. Which isn’t to say you aren’t right about political parties not designing policy around this properly (they’re not), just that I consider sea level rise to be one of NZ’s lesser problems (plenty of technical solutions for us and we have the wealth to do them, our problem is political and social).

      • Bill 12.2.2
        18 May 2017 at 11:23 pm

        Read it. Reaching for the puke bucket. Just another fluffy and clueless liberal seeking preservation through the variation of a theme that’s served them well.

        • Incognito 12.2.2.1
          19 May 2017 at 7:55 am

          [Max Harris is] Just another fluffy and clueless liberal seeking preservation through the variation of a theme that’s served [him] well

          Is that what you’re saying Bill? Because that’s what I think you’re saying but often I cannot tell …

          I do honestly think that Max Harris is genuinely trying to come up with solutions just like many others but of course this doesn’t mean he or anybody else will have (all) the answers let alone answers that’ll please or satisfy everyone. He’s not a policy-maker; he’s trying to stimulate debate in an open, honest and brave way and I think he should be applauded for this even, or perhaps especially (!), when you don’t agree with him or his thinking & ideas.

          • Bill 12.2.2.1.1
            19 May 2017 at 11:19 am

            Yeah – that was a rubbish and unfair comment. Retracted, withdrawn etc, etc.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Older posts

  • New Zealand joins global search for COVID-19 vaccine
    Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Megan Woods, Minister of Research, Science and Innovation Hon Dr David Clark, Minister of Health Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods,  and Health Minister David Clark today announced a COVID-19 vaccine strategy, ...
    NZ First Press Release
    18 hours ago

  • Budget 2020: Five things to know
    Budget 2020 is about rebuilding together, supporting jobs, getting business moving and the books back into the black. It’s an integral part of our COVID-19 economic response, and our plan to grow our economy and get New Zealand moving again. Here’s a quick look at the five top things you ...
    Labour Blog
    2 days ago

  • Coalition Government approves essential upgrades on Ōhakea Air Base
    The Coalition Government has approved $206 million in essential upgrades at Ōhakea Air Base.  Defence Minister Ron Mark said the money would be spent on improving old infrastructure. He said safety issues would be addressed, as well as upgrades to taxiways, accommodation and fresh, storm and waste water systems. "This ...
    NZ First News
    5 days ago

  • Attributable to the Rt Hon Winston Peters
    Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First “I am not persisting with this case just for myself, but for all people who have had their privacy breached. Privacy of information is a cornerstone of our country’s democracy. Without it our society truly faces a bleak future. We now ...
    NZ First Press Release
    1 week ago

  • Forestry Minister Shane Jones moves to protect sawmills
    Forestry Minister Shane Jones has introduced a Bill to Parliament that he says will "force more transparency, integrity and respect" for the domestic wood-processing sector through the registration of log traders and practice standards. The Forests (Regulation of Log Traders and Forestry Advisers) Amendment Bill had its first reading in ...
    NZ First News
    1 week ago

  • Green MP joins international call to cancel developing countries’ debt
    Green MP Golriz Ghahraman is joining over 300 lawmakers from around the world in calling on the big banks and the IMF to forgive the debt of developing countries, in the wake of the COVID crisis. ...
    Greens
    1 week ago

  • Forestry Minister Shane Jones swipes back at billion trees critics
    Forestry Minister Shane Jones says concerns that carbon foresters are planting pine trees that will never be harvested are the result of "misinformation". "The billion tree strategy is an excellent idea, unfortunately from time to time it's tainted by misinformation spread by the National Party or their grandees, hiding in scattered ...
    NZ First News
    2 weeks ago

  • Budget boost for refugee families a win for compassion
    The Green Party welcomes funding in the budget to reunite more refugees with their families, ensuring they have the best chance at a new life in Aotearoa New Zealand. ...
    Greens
    2 weeks ago

  • How Budget 2020 is supporting jobs
    This year’s Budget is about rebuilding New Zealand together in the face of COVID-19. Jobs are central to how we’re going to do that.There’s a lot of targeted investment for employment in this year’s Budget, with announcements on creating new jobs, training people for the jobs we have, and supporting ...
    Labour Blog
    2 weeks ago

  • Winston Peters says China didn’t want NZ to go into lockdown
    Speaking to Stuff's Coronavirus NZ podcast, Foreign Minister Winston Peters revealed China tried to dissuade New Zealand from going into lockdown. “Without speaking out of turn, they wanted a discussion as to why we were doing it, because they thought it was an overreaction,” Mr Peters told Stuff’s Coronavirus NZ podcast. He also ...
    NZ First News
    2 weeks ago

  • Changes made to Overseas Investment Act to protect New Zealand assets
    The Coalition Government is making changes to the Overseas Investment Act to ensure New Zealand assets don't fall into the hands of foreign ownership in the economic aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Associate Minister of Finance David Parker announced the Act will be amended to bring forward a national interest ...
    NZ First News
    2 weeks ago

  • Winston Peters: Trans-Tasman bubble to help tourism industry make swift recovery
    A quick start to a trans-Tasman bubble could see the tourism industry make a swift recovery, according to Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. "I believe tourism will turn around dramatically faster than people think," Mr Peters told reporters after Thursday's Budget. "Why? Because I think the Tasman bubble is [going ...
    NZ First News
    2 weeks ago

  • Rt. Hon Winston Peters: Budget Speech
    Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First   Please check against delivery https://vimeo.com/418303651 Budget 2020: Jobs, Business and Balance   Introduction Acknowledgements to all Cabinet colleagues, and party ministers Tracey Martin, Shane Jones and Ron Mark, Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau and to caucus colleagues. Thank you for your support, your ...
    NZ First Press Release
    2 weeks ago

  • Jacinda Ardern’s 2020 Budget Speech
    Read Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's Budget 2020 Speech. ...
    Labour Blog
    2 weeks ago

  • Budget 2020: Next steps to end family and sexual violence
    The 2020 Budget includes significant support to stabilise New Zealand’s family violence services, whose work has been shown to be so essential throughout the COVID-19 lockdown. ...
    Greens
    2 weeks ago

  • Investment in housing gives more people access to the home they deserve
    The Green Party says huge new investment in public and transitional housing will get thousands more families into the warm, safe homes they deserve.  ...
    Greens
    2 weeks ago

  • Budget 2020: Huge investment in green nature based jobs jump starts sustainable COVID recovery
    The Green Party says the $1.1 billion environmental investment in this year’s budget to create thousands of green jobs will help jump start a sustainable recovery from the COVID crisis. ...
    Greens
    2 weeks ago

  • Grant Robertson’s 2020 Budget Speech
    Read Minister of Finance Grant Robertson's Budget 2020 Speech. ...
    Labour Blog
    2 weeks ago

  • Winston Peters tells struggling migrant workers ‘you should probably go home’
    Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said today the Coalition Government told foreigners at the start of the Covid-19 crisis that if their circumstances had changed dramatically, they should go home. "And 50,000 did," Mr Peters said. Official advice to Cabinet revealed there is potentially 380,000 foreigners and migrant workers in ...
    NZ First News
    2 weeks ago

  • New Zealand First welcomes today’s Alert Level 2 announcement
    Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the decision today to go to Alert Level 2 from midnight Wednesday, says Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters. Alert Level 2 will mean a return to work for the vast majority of New Zealand’s businesses. A return ...
    NZ First Press Release
    2 weeks ago

  • Nurses to be protected after amendment to First Responders Bill
    Nurses now look set to get more protection from violence at work, under a proposed new law. This after NZ First MP Darroch Ball's "Protection for First Responders Bill", which introduces a six-month minimum sentence for assaults on first responders, will now also cover emergency department healthcare workers. The ...
    NZ First News
    2 weeks ago

  • Nurses to get more protection, added to ‘First Responders’ legislation
    Darroch Ball MP, New Zealand First Law and Order Spokesperson An amendment to the ‘Protection of First Responders Bill’ is being tabled which will see emergency department healthcare workers included in the legislation. “During this COVID-19 crisis we have seen reports of violence and specifically increased incidents of spitting towards ...
    NZ First Press Release
    2 weeks ago

  • Shane Jones: Northland port could be economic haven
    Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is breathing new life into the proposal to move Auckland's port to Whangārei to help in the economic recovery post Covid-19 pandemic. If New Zealand First was returned in the September general election, Minister Jones said a priority would be development of an "economic haven" at Northport, ...
    NZ First News
    2 weeks ago

  • PGF grant for Ventnor memorial
    The plan to build a memorial to the SS Ventnor, and those who were lost when it sank off the Hokianga coast in 1902, has been granted $100,000 from the Provincial Growth Fund. Originally planned for a site near Rāwene cemetery, the memorial will now be built at the new Manea ...
    NZ First News
    3 weeks ago

  • 75th anniversary of V.E Day
    Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader Leader of New Zealand First, Rt Hon Winston Peters said: “Today is the 75th anniversary of VE Day – marking the end of World War II in Europe." Millions died in the six years of war, and families were torn apart. 75 years ...
    NZ First Press Release
    3 weeks ago

  • Week That Was: Getting the job done
    From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Government has committed to providing calm, clear, and consistent communication, including regular press conference updates from the Prime Minister. While New Zealand is at Alert Level 3, we're making sure that New Zealanders are kept informed and up-to-date with all the latest ...
    Labour Blog
    3 weeks ago

  • Winston Peters responds to Simon Bridges’ ‘my sweetheart’ comment
    New Zealand First leader Winston Peters spoke to The Country's Jamie Mackay. A day earlier, National Party leader Simon Bridges was on the radio show and referred to the Deputy Prime Minister as, "my sweetheart Winston". Mr Peters swiftly dismissed the question of whether Bridges had changed his mind about ...
    NZ First News
    3 weeks ago

  • Parliament returns to a safe normal
    The special Epidemic Response Committee (ERC) has successfully concluded its role, Leader of the House Chris Hipkins said today. The committee was set up on 25 March by the agreement of Parliament to scrutinise the Government and its actions while keeping people safe during levels 4 and 3 of lockdown. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • Foreign Minister makes four diplomatic appointments
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today announced four diplomatic appointments: New Zealand’s Ambassador to Belgium, High Commissioners to Nauru and Niue, and Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism. “As the world seeks to manage and then recover from COVID-19, our diplomatic and trade networks are more important than ever,” Mr Peters said. “The ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago

  • Mycoplasma bovis eradication reaches two year milestone in good shape
    New Zealand’s world-first plan to eradicate the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis is on track the latest technical data shows, says Agriculture and Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor. “Two years ago the Government, DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand and industry partners made a bold decision to go hard and commit ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago

  • New payment to support Kiwis through COVID
    Further support for New Zealanders affected by 1-in-100 year global economic shock 12-week payment will support people searching for new work or retraining Work programme on employment insurance to support workers and businesses The Government today announced a new temporary payment to support New Zealanders who lose their jobs due ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • PGF reset helps regional economies
    The Provincial Growth Fund will play a vital role in New Zealand’s post-COVID-19 recovery by creating jobs in shorter timeframes through at least $600 million being refocused on projects with more immediate economic benefits, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The funding is comprised of repurposed Provincial Growth ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Government exempts some home improvements from costly consents
    Government exempts some home improvements from costly consents Homeowners, builders and DIYers will soon have an easier time making basic home improvements as the Government scraps the need for consents for low-risk building work such as sleep-outs, sheds and carports – allowing the construction sector to fire back up quicker ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Concern at introduction of national security legislation for Hong Kong
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says the New Zealand Government has reacted with concern at the introduction of legislation in China’s National People’s Congress relating to national security in Hong Kong.  “We have a strong interest in seeing confidence maintained in the ‘one country, two systems’ principle under which Hong ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Samoa Language Week theme is perfect for the post-COVID-19 journey
    The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio, says the theme for the 2020 Samoa Language Week is a perfect fit for helping our Pacific communities cope with the unfolding COVID-19 crisis, and to prepare now for the journey ahead as New Zealand focuses on recovery plans and rebuilding New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Adult kakī/black stilt numbers soar
    A nearly 40-year programme to protect one of New Zealand’s most critically endangered birds is paying off, with a record number of adult kakī/black stilt recently recorded living in the wild, the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced today. “Thanks to the team effort involved in the Department of Conservation’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Waikato-Tainui settlement story launched on 25th anniversary of Treaty signing
    The story of the Waikato-Tainui Treaty process and its enduring impact on the community is being told with a five-part web story launched today on the 25th anniversary of settlement, announced Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni. “I am grateful to Waikato-Tainui for allowing us to help capture ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Taita College to benefit from $32 million school redevelopment
    Taita College in the Hutt Valley will be redeveloped to upgrade its ageing classrooms and leaky roofs, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. “The work is long overdue and will make a lasting difference to the school for generations to come,” Chris Hipkins said. “Too many of our schools are ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Redeployment for workers in hard-hit regions
    The Government is allocating $36.72 million to projects in regions hard hit economically by COVID-19 to keep people working, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. Projects in Hawke’s Bay, Northland, Rotorua and Queenstown will be funded from the Government’s $100 million worker ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • $35m to build financial resilience for New Zealanders
    A $35m boost to financial capability service providers funded by MSD will help New Zealanders manage their money better both day to day and through periods of financial difficulty, announced Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni. “It’s always been our position to increase support to key groups experiencing or at risk ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New District Court Judge appointed
    Dunedin barrister Melinda Broek has been appointed as a District Court Judge with Family Court jurisdiction to be based in Rotorua, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Ms Broek has iwi affiliations to Ngai Tai. She commenced her employment in 1996 with Scholefield Cockroft Lloyd in Invercargill specialising in family and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • $206 million investment in upgrades at Ohakea Air Force Base
    The Coalition Government has approved a business case for $206 million in upgrades to critical infrastructure at Royal New Zealand Air Force Base Ohakea, with the first phase starting later this year, Defence Minister Ron Mark announced today. The investment will be made in three phases over five years, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Review of CAA organisational culture released
    Transport Minister Phil Twyford today released the Ministry of Transport’s review of the organisational culture at the Civil Aviation Authority. Phil Twyford says all employees are entitled to a safe work environment. “I commissioned this independent review due to the concerns I had about the culture within the CAA, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • New Board appointed at Stats NZ
    Ensuring that Stats NZ’s direction and strategy best supports government policy decisions will be a key focus for a new Governance Advisory Board announced today by the Minister for Statistics, James Shaw. The new Governance Advisory Board will provide strategic advice to Stats NZ to ensure it is meeting New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • New Principal Environment Judge
    Environment Judge David Kirkpatrick of Auckland has been appointed as the Principal Environment Judge, Attorney-General David Parker announced today.  Judge Kirkpatrick was appointed an Environment Judge in February 2014. From December 2013 to July 2016 he was Chair of the Auckland Unitary Plan Independent Hearings Panel. Prior to appointment he ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Digital connectivity boost for urban marae
    A programme to connect marae around the country to the internet has received $1.4 million to expand to include urban marae in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister Kris Faafoi and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. The funding for the Marae Connectivity Programme ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Govt increases assistance to drought-stricken Hawke’s Bay farmers
    The Government will provide $500,000 to the Hawke’s Bay Mayoral Drought Relief Fund to help farmers facing one of the worst droughts in living memory, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “Yesterday afternoon I received a letter from Hawke's Bay's five local Government leaders asking me to contribute to the Fund. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Investment in New Zealand’s history
    Budget 2020 provides a major investment in New Zealand’s documentary heritage sector, with a commitment to leasing a new Archives Wellington facility and an increase in funding for Archives and National Library work. “Last year I released plans for a new Archives Wellington building – a purpose-built facility physically connected ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Driving prompt payments to small businesses
    Government Ministers are asking significant private enterprises to adopt prompt payment practices in line with the state sector, as a way to improve cashflow for small businesses. The Ministers of Finance, Small Business, Commerce and Consumer Affairs have written to more than 40 significant enterprises and banking industry representatives to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Rotorua tourist icon to be safeguarded
    Maori Arts and Crafts will continue to underpin the heart of the tourism sector says Minister for Maori Development Nanaia Mahuta.  “That’s why we are making a core investment of $7.6 million to Te Puia New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, over two years, as part of the Government’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • $14.7m for jobs training and education
    The Government is funding more pathways to jobs through training and education programmes in regional New Zealand to support the provinces’ recovery from the economic impacts of COVID-19, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson have announced. “New Zealand’s economic recovery will be largely driven by ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Is it time to further recognise those who serve in our military?
     Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has announced the launch of a national conversation that aims to find out whether New Zealanders think there should be a formal agreement between service people, the Government, and the people of New Zealand. “This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Paving the way for a fully qualified early learning workforce
    The Government’s drive to improve the quality of early childhood education (ECE) is taking another step forward with the reintroduction of a higher funding rate for services that employ fully qualified and registered teachers, Education Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “Research shows that high-quality ECE can improve young people’s learning ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Sport Recovery Package announced
    The Sport and Recreation sector will receive a multi-million dollar boost as part of the COVID-19 response funded at Budget 2020.  Grant Robertson says the Sport and Recreation Sector contributes about $5 billion a year to New Zealand’s GDP and employs more than 53,000 people. “Sport plays a significant role ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Major boost in support for caregivers and children
    A major increase in funding and availability of support will improve the incomes and reduce the pressure on 14,000 caregivers looking after more than 22,000 children. Children’s Minister Tracey Martin says that caregivers – all those looking after someone else’s children both in and outside the state care system – ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Great Walks recovery on track for summer
    Vital conservation and visitor infrastructure destroyed by a severe flood event in Fiordland earlier this year is being rebuilt through a $13.7 million Budget 2020 investment, announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage.   “This investment will mean iconic Great Walks such as the Routeburn track and the full length of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Māori – Government partnership gives whānau a new housing deal
    The Government is investing  $40 million in a partnership with Māori to get more whānau into warm, dry and secure accommodation, Associate Minister for Housing (Māori Housing) Hon Nanaia Mahuta says.. “We are partnering with Māori and iwi to respond to the growing housing crisis in the wake of COVID-19. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Keeping New Zealanders Safe In The Water
    Keeping New Zealanders safe in the water Our lifeguards and coastguards who keep New Zealanders safe in the water have been given a funding boost thanks to the 2020 Budget, Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Poto Williams has announced. The water safety sector will receive $63 million over ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Legal framework for COVID-19 Alert Level referred to select committee
    The COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020, which set a sound legal framework ahead of the move to Alert level 2, has been referred to a parliamentary select committee for review.  Attorney-General David Parker said the review of the operation of the COVID-19 specific law would be reported back to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • New Zealand condemns shocking attacks on hospital and funeral in Afghanistan
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand condemns the targeting of civilians in two terrorist attacks in Afghanistan earlier this week. “The terrorist attacks on a hospital in Kabul and a funeral in Nangarhar province are deeply shocking. The attacks were deliberate and heinous acts of extreme violence targeting ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Government to close tobacco tax loophole
    The Government will close a loophole that allowed some people to import cigarettes and loose leaf tobacco for manufacturing cigarettes and ‘roll your owns’ for sale on the black market without excise tax being paid, says Minister of Customs Jenny Salesa. The legislation, which doesn’t affect duty free allowances for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • $62 million package to support families through the Family Court
    The Coalition Government has made a significant $62 million investment from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to start the reform of the Family Court and enable it to respond effectively to the increased backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Today Justice Minister Andrew Little introduced the Family Court (Supporting ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Tailored help supports new type of job seeker – report
    The Government’s expanded services to support people into jobs will help an emerging cohort of New Zealanders impacted by COVID-19. The impacted group are relatively younger, have a proportionately low benefit history and have comparatively higher incomes than most who seek support, as captured in a report published today from ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • A modern approach to night classes
    New funding to boost Government-funded Adult and Community Education (ACE) will give more than 11,000 New Zealanders more opportunities to learn, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. “This includes a modern approach to rebuilding night classes, which were slashed in the middle of our last economic crisis in 2010,” Chris Hipkins ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Christchurch Call makes significant progress
    Significant progress has been delivered in the year since the Christchurch Call to Action brought governments and tech companies together in Paris with a single goal to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardent says. On its first anniversary, Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Christchurch Call: One year Anniversary
    Joint statement: the Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern Prime Minister of New Zealand and His Excellency Emmanuel Macron President of the French Republic. One year since we launched, in Paris, the Christchurch Call to Action, New Zealand and France stand proud of the progress we have made toward our goal to eliminate terrorist ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Budget 2020: Jobs and opportunities for the primary sector
    $19.3 million to help attract and train recently unemployed New Zealanders and grow the primary sector workforce by 10,000 people. $128 million for wilding pine and wallaby control, providing hundreds of jobs. $45.3m over four years to help horticulture seize opportunities for future growth. $14.9 million to reduce food waste ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

Older posts

Older posts