Daily review 19/02/2020

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, February 19th, 2020 - 64 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 …

64 comments on “Daily review 19/02/2020 ”

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  1. Rosemary McDonald 1
    19 February 2020 at 5:39 pm

    Leilani Farha.

    Anyone?

    Damns our housing crisis as a human rights issue.

    'Successive governments have created a perfect storm…'

    Simon Wilson's article in the Herald, as well as The Guardian and Newshub.

    Hang me for not linking …but a bit difficult from phone parked up with the other Bus dwellers

      • Rosemary McDonald 1.1.1
        19 February 2020 at 6:22 pm

        Thanks Alice Tectonite.

        Struck us as weird that Farha sees Newzild's lack of accessible housing as an issue…as the issue.

        It is simply par for the course.

      • Chris T 1.2.1
        19 February 2020 at 7:02 pm

        I actually don't mind Ng. Meet him a few times, but I think he missed the bit where the renters are normally renting because they can't afford to buy a house, so his fluffy renters buying the house is a bit scewwiff

        • weka 1.2.1.1
          19 February 2020 at 7:24 pm

          Everyone is a renter before they buy their first house. People don't emerge into adulthood fully formed as house buyers.

          The Greens have a rent to buy scheme in the works

          https://www.odt.co.nz/news/politics/greens-push-rent-buy-schemes

        • Muttonbird 1.2.1.2
          19 February 2020 at 7:28 pm

          Only because the houses are unavailable, TMAB.

          If an increased number of amateur investors exited the market because they couldn't be bothered to provide a warm, dry house to rent there would certainly be an increased number of houses available for young families. This of course would see house prices stabilise and become more affordable.

          • Chris T 1.2.1.2.1
            19 February 2020 at 7:33 pm

            Do you you mind clarifying what you mean by tmab?

            To make a….

            • Muttonbird 1.2.1.2.1.1
              19 February 2020 at 7:35 pm

              Sure.

              Don’t worry. You are still anonymous. Just slightly less anonymous than before.

              [I don’t know what is going on here, but it is in no way acceptable to break someone’s pseudonym on TS. Chris T isn’t anonymous, he’s pseudonymous. I suggest you read the Gosman Hypocrisy Ruling in the site Policy. If you have a genuine concern about someone’s pseudonym, then grab the attention of a moderator. – weka]

              • Chris T …
                19 February 2020 at 7:39 pm

                Fantastic

                You are delusional and to be avoided

              • weka …
                20 February 2020 at 4:43 pm

                Mod note for you Muttonbird, you're in premod until I see an acknowledgement you have read the note and the Policy and agree to abide by the site rules.

              • weka …
                21 February 2020 at 7:25 pm

                Ok, well your reply just read like you think you know better than a moderator, so I've put those two comments and your other comments into Spam and left you in premod until this gets sorted out. Basically we're in wasting moderator time now, and I'm sick of chasing round after regulars who should know better. If you don't understand a moderation, ask for clarification, I'm always happy to explain. But there is no good reason why any of us giving our time here should engage in an argument about moderation.

                The points about other people's commenting styles can be made in more direct ways within the site's rules. Or as I said, flag a passing mod.

                • Muttonbird …
                  21 February 2020 at 7:47 pm

                  I thought I did bring attention to posting style last time but as you admitted you don't always read replies to your own demands so commenters don't know where they stand.

                  It’s particularly relevant at this point in time because there is increasing awareness of right wing attack strategy of which deliberate dumbing down is a part. I have a lot of interest and a lot to say about it. Honestly, how can they claim to be interested in better education for people when the communicate in sloppy and false memes?

                  Still not sure how I broke the Gosman rule other than using the word "anonymous" instead of "pseudo-anonymous" but if it gets my posts uncensored then yes, I have re-read the rules and I will adhere to them in the future.

                  Thank you!

                  • weka …
                    21 February 2020 at 8:59 pm

                    I know you're trying here MB, and I really wish I didn't have to be spending time on this, but your first paragraph needs a link so I know what you are referring to. I generally look at the replies list when I am on TS and read what people say to me, so I don't know what you mean. Please clarify. I'll respond to the rest of your comment and the other when we've got this sorted.

                    • weka …
                      21 February 2020 at 9:00 pm

                      Specifically "but as you admitted you don't always read replies to your own demands"

                    • Muttonbird …
                      21 February 2020 at 9:08 pm

                      Please don't patronise me, weka.

                      The reference was around a previous clash where I said had replied to one of your requests and you said, "you lost track of time". This seemed to mean it wasn't important to you.

                    • weka []
                      22 February 2020 at 10:09 am

                      Well you would be wrong about my priorities MB. I’m putting you onto the blacklist in the meantime, just to keep the comments moderation list clear. I will come back to this later, because I don’t want to spend my Sat morning chasing around after this. Reminder (to everyone) that in the end moderation comes down to shortening my time being sucked up. All people have to do is acknowledge the first moderation request and we can move on. Pick a fight with a moderator and this is what happens instead. It’s not personal to you MB, there’s been a run of this lately. If regulars aren’t going to respect moderation maybe I should just go back to banning instead of trying to sort things out.

                  • weka …
                    23 February 2020 at 2:33 pm

                    Muttonbird, you said (comment copied from Trash because I can't move it to the front end),

                    Um. So basically I have been banned but you decline to give me any information on how long or why.

                    You've also not called it a ban but a blacklist. Could you please explain to the commenters what the difference is.

                    Sure. You're not banned. If you were banned I would have said so and told you the length of time. You're still in premod, but I have used the blacklist tool in the back end to manage this because it's less work for me. This means that the system sends all your comments to trash (before they were being held in the Pending queue and I was pushing them to Spam until we sorted the moderation issue out).

                    The reason you are in premod is because I moderated some comments of yours (about anonymity) and you chose to litigate that and now we're in a process of sorting all the things out that have arisen from that. Part of that is because the last time I moderated you, you also argued about it, so to limit the amount of time I have to spend on moderating you in the future it's better to get it all sorted once and for all now.

                    I've been busy and my attention is elsewhere and my priority on TS is finishing a draft post that's been sitting there for a week. None of that is personal to you, you're just the regular who happened to coincide with me running out of patience.

                    So, I will get back to this, I don't know when but I'm unlikely to let it drag on for days and days. I want you and I to come to an understanding on where the boundaries are for moderation so neither of us have to go through this in the future. Or next time I just issue a ban and sort it out that way. My preference is for the former because you've been here a long time and your comments fit with the site except sometimes when you overstep the bounds like this one (your original comment, and how you've handle moderation).

                    In other words, I'm putting time in here so that you don't get banned. There's an opportunity to get on board with that. It's election year and once things heat up with that I won't have this degree of leeway for sorting things out.

                  • weka …
                    23 February 2020 at 2:54 pm

                    Here's the final moderation.

                    1. it's not ok to criticise people for anonymity, nor to try and connect up people's different IDs between here and elsewhere on the internet. On TS anonymity isn't allowed, pseudonimity is. Trying to break someone's pseudonomity will get serious moderator attention.

                    2. You have a history of abusive comments that have nothing to do with politics, and this needs to stop.

                    3. Next time you get moderated by me, if you argue about it, I will just ban in order to limit my time being used up. Asking for clarification is ok by me, taking pot shots at the moderator or moderation is not. How other moderators deal with moderating you is up to them, but I have made my notes and links in the back end if other mods want to refer to that.

                    I will assume you have read and understood these three points unless you ask for clarification, including the understanding that they will form the basis of moderation going forward.

                    The Gosman Hypocrisy Ruling basically says if you call someone using a pseudonym 'anonymous', while using a pseudonym, then you will be banned. As above and stated in the Policy, there are good reasons for understanding the difference between those two things.

                  • weka …
                    23 February 2020 at 5:52 pm

                    You,

                    1a. I didn't criticise anonymity – just let that commenter know we were co-commenters once before elsewhere. The anonymous/pseudo-anonymous differentiation is lost on me, and I suspect others.

                    1b. "Connecting people's different IDs". New rule and the forum rules need to be updated. How are commenters supposed to know this?

                    2. Accepted and I will adjust.

                    3. This is an issue but I will be the one to adjust because I must in order to keep my commenting privilege.

                    Otherwise, thank you for giving up your Sunday to address this and I look forward to the post you are working on.

                    Muttonbird.

                    1a. I told you in the original moderation I didn't know what was going on (still don't), but pointed you to the Policy and pointed out that there were problems with what you were doing.

                    Pseudonymity and anonymity are two different things. Anonymity is when the comment has no handle attached to it so two anonymous comments could be from the same person or two different people and there is no way to know. Think about that with a 200 comment post and what might happen. This is why anonymous comments aren't allowed on site. They're open to abuse and they make conversations confusing. Blogspot blogging platform used to allow anonymous comments (don't know if it still does, and it was an admin chosen setting) and it was really hard to follow complex conversations.

                    Pseudonymity is when people choose a pseudonym, like weka or Muttonbird, and use it consistently. Some people use that pseudonym across the internet (I use weka on twitter and FB for instance). Some people like to use different handles in different places, for lots of reasons, some quite legitimate. The continuity means that conversations are easy to follow, we get to know people and this creates a better political debate culture. It's also means it's harder for people to troll or flame.

                    Breaking Pseudonymity, either by directly doxxing someone (publishing their real life name or details online), or by sharing information so that different IDs can be linked up, is not ok because you have absolutely no way to know the person's reasons. This is a big issue for some people online eg feminists in political spaces who get threatened online and in RL when someone doxxes them. Or someone works in a job which would be at risk if their political views were known (and again, it's not usually possible to see the risk). This is why I take it very seriously.

                    1b. When I first moderated, all you had to do was ask for clarification instead of arguing about it. Not all moderators will explain things, but most will if asked politely. A lot of moderation comes from individual moderators making judgements in the moment based on a range of things to do with the safety of the site and the wellbeing of the community. Listening to what they say as they say things makes things clearer.

                    2. Thank-you, that will be appreciated.

                    3. Yep, that's pretty much what it boils down to.

                    • RedLogix …
                      23 February 2020 at 5:57 pm

                      Finding the middle ground between ignoring bad behaviour and flat out banning isn't easy. It's time and energy consuming, and prone to not having the desired outcome.

                      Still can I sincerely say I fully support what you are trying to do. Best wishes.

                    • Muttonbird …
                      23 February 2020 at 7:38 pm

                      Thanks for the detailed info, weka.

                      My reading of 'anonymous' is that that personal details are unknown. I didn't think my original series of comments violated that but if you say there is a risk to commenters here if their handle from elsewhere is known, I accept that.

                    • Incognito []
                      23 February 2020 at 10:11 pm

                      I’ll add a personal note or observation rather.

                      For reasons weka outlined, we don’t condone people using different user handles (AKA pseudonyms) here. You suspected that this was the case with two commenters and asked us to look into this. I did and found not a hint of this being the case. FYI, I’m particularly allergic to sockpuppetry, bordering on going anaphylactic, and I always keep an eye on this behaviour but it is easily missed too. I think that your judgement and behaviour were clouded by your opinion of and attitude towards those alleged sockpuppets. IMO, it’s perfectly ok to flag suspected sockpuppets but then let Moderators deal with it and accept their decision as they can see and do a lot more behind the scenes than you can.

                • Muttonbird …
                  21 February 2020 at 8:34 pm

                  There's a lot of cross over between the forum I mentioned, by the way. Three or four commenters here are active there on the 574 page NZ Politics Thread

                  I'm not one for linking other forums but I think it has value in the context of this argument. The Standard is referenced there quite a lot. Some here may find it childish (a lot of it is!) but there’s significant commentary about NZ Politics from domestic and largely ex-pat communities.

                  We don't post in a bubble and commenters' history, while considered sacrosanct here for some reason, is fair game as far as I'm concerned.

                  How do you build up knowledge and experience of and about a person without referencing previous behaviour?

                  We do it in real life…

                  • Chris T …
                    23 February 2020 at 3:11 pm

                    Not being funny, but you seem a tad obsessed.

                    [FFS! One Moderator is working hard to douse this fire and you come along with your typical wind-up act to flare it up again. Banned for a week – Incognito]

                    • Incognito …
                      23 February 2020 at 3:30 pm

                      See my Moderator note @ 3:11 PM.

                    • Incognito …
                      23 February 2020 at 4:00 pm

                      Comment received from Chris T after he was banned:

                      I haven't fucking done anything

                      You’re fucking fool for saying that. You’re a spray & walk away wind-up troll and you need to learn to shut the fuck up and especially not fuck with Moderators about moderation. I’m fucked off by your moronic behaviour and add another fucking week to your ban for fucking good measure. So, fuck off for a fortnight!

    • gsays 1.3
      19 February 2020 at 7:06 pm

      Hi Anne, I see one of the other posts is the Green Party saying:

      "“It’s clear that Parliament is incapable of meaningful reforms to itself, as some political parties have a vested interest in the status quo,”

      Even though I saw it was about party funding I immediately thought of the landlord class.

      Squatters rights might shake things up.

      • Anne 1.3.1
        19 February 2020 at 7:36 pm

        Thanks for the heads up gsays. I've not been around much today.

        Note the statement from the Greens says… some political parties have a vested interest in the status quo.

        Lets be crystal clear, they are: National and ACT.

        While it looks like the NZ First Foundation may have dabbled in the behaviour to some extent, it will be nothing compared to the conduct of National and ACT over many years. There is no evidence that Labour and the Greens indulged in such arrangements.

        The LP pledge card fiasco manufactured by the Nats had none of this subterfuge attached to it. It had been approved by Parliamentary Services – a fact the Nat complicit media of the time conveniently glossed over.

    • Molly 1.4
      20 February 2020 at 12:32 pm

      My friend's family were political refugees from Pinochet, but in recent years have returned to visit extended family in Chile.

      Chilean housing policy history – not without problems but interesting to read, particularly in relation to housing activists operating before Pinochet's rule.

      They assessed whether the pobladores had the right kind of family, were good workers, and acted in solidarity with their neighbors. They also investigated whether pobladores were “homeless” (sin casa). In the Chilean case, being homeless did not mean living on the street but rather that one was either living in substandard housing, renting a temporary residence, or staying in the home of extended family members or fictive kin.

      Those who seized land sought the housing benefits they believed they were entitled to as citizens. Housing activists justified the seizures as an attempt to overcome a contradictory shortcoming of citizenship, which had made many Chileans “homeless”. At the same time, the seizures also expanded the boundaries of permissible activism.

  2. AB 2
    19 February 2020 at 6:11 pm

    Adolph Reed on his concern that the left doesn't appreciate what it is up against. The interview as a whole meanders a bit – but this piece is interesting.

  3. Andre 3
    19 February 2020 at 6:19 pm

    Heh. Some intrepid researcher delved through the archives to determine the exact moment Bernie turned into a 78 year old.

    https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/02/when-did-bernie-turn-78-investigation.html

    Spoiler: it was sometime in 1987.

  4. Climaction 4
    19 February 2020 at 7:00 pm

    Everyone’s really giving it their all linking the opposition to the Chinese.

    good to see the left trudge down the same path UK labour did on their way to electoral defeat. Denying it’s racist all the way, because it’s true apparently that the cccp gave donation to National and not Labour and Chinese people buy houses.

    have fun hugging the corpse that is Winston first all the way to the opposition benches again

  5. alwyn 5
    19 February 2020 at 7:15 pm

    I imagine that we can expect some sackings at Middlemore Hospital.

    They have, in effect, called the PM a liar with her claims that sewage was running down the walls at the Hospital. How Dare They!

    'There was "no sewage spilling into the building" and leaks were "immediately repaired", CMDHB's spokeswoman said.'

    This is the second time that they have had to correct the erroneous statements by Government MPs. They have already pointed out the falsity of such statements back in 2019 apparently.

    Edit. Sorry, didn’t add link to story.
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12310024

    • Ian 5.1
      19 February 2020 at 8:01 pm

      The PM is repeating a lie. A bit rich to call her a liar. When are you lefties going to start putting the boot into dairy farmers again. Starting to feel ignored down on the farm. Can't wait for the tax cuts next year.

      • millsy 5.1.1
        19 February 2020 at 9:48 pm

        So how much extra money are you getting from poisoning our rivers?

        You know they let people put what they like in the rivers in places like Somalia? I bet their rivers are basically open sewers. That is what a country with no regulations has.

      • Louis 5.1.2
        20 February 2020 at 4:26 pm

        @Ian The PM neither lied nor repeated a lie. Please refer to 5.2

    • Louis 5.2
      20 February 2020 at 4:24 pm

      @alwyn

      The PM didnt lie.

      Read your linked article, despite the headline, Middlemore officials admit to sewage leaks, also take note of all the repair work that was mentioned.

      "Raw sewage has been leaking into the walls of Middlemore Hospital's Scott building, on top of all the other problems with its buildings"

      "Counties-Manukau DHB acting chief executive Dr Gloria Johnson told Morning Report today"

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/353602/sewage-leaking-into-middlemore-building-s-walls

      "The busiest emergency department in the country had to close a procedure room for a week after sewage leaked through the ceiling"

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/115311750/sewage-coming-through-the-ceiling-closed-room-in-middlemore-hospitals-emergency-department

      "Middlemore Hospital knew about extensive leaks, rot and mould at its main building two years before it says it did"

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/356501/middlemore-problems-highlighted-in-2010-report

      "Health Minister David Clark said all the stories about sewage had originated from the DHB"

      "DHB acting chief executive Gloria Johnson declined to be interviewed but confirmed to RNZ on March 28 that there had been sewage leaks and said she believed other buildings at Middlemore could be affected"

      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12036681

      • McFlock 5.2.1
        20 February 2020 at 4:36 pm

        There was no sewage leaking down walls, just through the ceiling. Therefore the PM is lying. [headdesk]

      • alwyn 5.2.2
        20 February 2020 at 8:08 pm

        A very brief reply. I never actually said the PM lied. It was the DHB which certainly implied it.

        However. The first story you link to quotes the then acting, now long departed CEO. It was a story from March 2018. Did you notice the date? The CoL Health Minister grabbed the story, embroidered it and then spun it as being part of his spiel that National were Evil. Ms Ardern is continuing to tell the tale, as recently as last week in fact.

        The DHB concerned denied that anything like what he claimed had happened and that the claims were vastly exaggerated. They did this in 2019. Ms Ardern took no notice and simply spun the story again last week. The DHB have repeated the fact that the original story was rubbish. I doubt if the current CoL will take any notice of course. Truth is irrelevant.

        They are quite used to continuing to spread rubbish stories after they have been shown to be false of course. Remember how the outgoing Head of Treasury claimed to have had their system hacked? What actually happened of course was vastly simpler. His staff had put the material on-line in such a way that the general public, using Treasury supplied tools, could see what was in the Budget. Robertson continued the tale of the "hack" long after the way the provision of the data to the Public was demonstrated. He knew that the "hack" had never happened but sticking to the truth wasn't of overriding importance.

        • Louis 5.2.2.1
          21 February 2020 at 12:35 am

          @ alwayn

          The one here spreading rubbish is you and you did imply that "government mps" that no doubt includes the PM are lying in your final paragraph prior to "edit" and you have completely missed the point where the spokesperson admits that there were sewage leaks.

          The PM and her govt were told by the DHB. You trying to spin it to suit doesnt alter those facts.

  6. Muttonbird 6
    19 February 2020 at 7:19 pm

    Caption contest:

    A picture is worth 100050 words.

  7. A 7
    19 February 2020 at 11:18 pm

    Probably nobody will see my comment here as it is late on Wednesday night and I have only just caught this article

    At a daily news briefing on Wednesday, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the credentials would be revoked in retaliation for a headline for an essay that ran in The Journal’s editorial pages earlier this month. The headline read, “China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia.”

    Chinese officials have “demanded that The Wall Street Journal recognize the seriousness of the error, openly and formally apologize, and investigate and punish those responsible, while retaining the need to take further measures against the newspaper,” Geng Shuang, the ministry spokesman, said in a transcript provided by the Chinese government.

    “The Chinese people do not welcome media that publish racist statements and smear China with malicious attacks,” he added.

    Further down the article was a development that feels a bit off (to me anyway…but wth would I know about who/how rules are applied to journalists…)

    It also comes less than one day after American officials in Washington said they would treat five government-controlled Chinese news organizations — Xinhua, CGTN, China Radio, China Daily and People’s Daily — as foreign government functionaries, subject to similar rules as diplomats stationed in the United States.

  8. pat 8
    20 February 2020 at 6:28 am

    “We knew fossil fuel extraction – including fracking – was a major part of global methane emissions, but this impressive study suggests it is a far bigger culprit in human-induced climate change than we had ever thought,” he said.

    “If correct, gas, coal and oil extraction and distribution around the world are responsible for almost half of all human-induced methane emissions. Add to that all the carbon dioxide that is then emitted when the fossil fuels are burned, and you need look no further for the seat of the climate emergency fire.”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/19/oil-gas-industry-far-worse-climate-impact-than-thought-fossil-fuels-methane

    • Robert Guyton 8.1
      20 February 2020 at 4:38 pm

      Thanks Pat.

    • RedLogix 8.2
      20 February 2020 at 4:49 pm

      And given that solar PV installations currently depend on co-located natural gas plants to fill in for the evening peak loads … this is the unspoken Archilles Heel of many so called 'renewable' sources. Without mass scale fuel/energy storage both wind and solar are not really as carbon zero as their advocates like to pretend:

      A recent study published in the scientific journal Environmental Research Letters found that natural-gas use has grown so quickly that emissions from gas over the past six years have surpassed the decline in emissions resulting from a reduced use of coal. The study found that fossil fuel emissions grew at a slower rate in 2019 than in previous years but did not account for methane emissions from fossil fuel production and shipping.

      https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/natural-gas-bridge-nearing-end

      • McFlock 8.2.1
        20 February 2020 at 4:57 pm

        Which is part of the teething issues of a new technology, not an endemic problem. Solutions are appearing, from Musks aussie battery to hydro stations using surplus power to pump water back into the upper reservoir.

        • RedLogix 8.2.1.1
          20 February 2020 at 5:13 pm

          All these are good things, another is the global HVDC supergrid that I've spoken to before.

          Incidentally I worked at a mine site that was seriously planning a wind generator combined with energy storage in an unused drift (Cavern Energy Storage) which looked extremely promising. … but only made sense if you already had a decent sized non-leaky hole to start with.

          What does irk me a bit is when PV/Wind advocates chirp on about how cheap their source of energy has become, without factoring in the storage and grid costs that need to be incurred to make it all work reliably.

          • McFlock 8.2.1.1.1
            20 February 2020 at 10:18 pm

            Fair call on advocates for alternative (or any) tech – "support" tends to become "blinkered idolatry".

            Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong, sometimes they're just outright lying (ISTR the wonderfully named "T Boone Pickens" advocating for fracking in the continental US as a means of energy self-sufficiency. He wasa publicising a book, and it was one of the few interviews done by Jon Stewart that made me feel outright dirty. He said he'd never heard of any problems with fracking, ever, and it went unchallenged).

            • RedLogix 8.2.1.1.1.1
              20 February 2020 at 10:45 pm

              Which is part of the teething issues of a new technology, not an endemic problem. Solutions are appearing,

              Without wanting to run a 'gotcha' moment, can I say this is pretty much the same argument I was running for the new generations of MSR fission generators a few weeks back.

              Like all new tech has it's blinkered zealots, but that's the nature of innovation, much of it is going to prove a dead-end but there is really only one way to find out.

              • McFlock …
                20 February 2020 at 11:07 pm

                lol I was trying to avoid doing the gotcha thing in the opposite direction, too.

                The worst case scenario for wind farm hazards being understated is dead birds and a hum. Worst case for MSR hazard understatement is a spontaneous twenty-mile-radius bird sanctuary.

    • pat 8.3
      20 February 2020 at 6:04 pm

      Unsurprisingly the tangental foray into solar and wind generation ignores the fact that methane form non biological sources is higher than previously thought suggesting the impact of biologic methane is less…but never mind it is all moot in any case as there is no will (political or otherwise) to actually do anything about it.

      and you're welcome Robert , for all the good it will do.

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  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

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