Daily review 20/05/2025
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5:30 pm, May 20th, 2025 - 28 comments
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Daily review is also your post.
This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.
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- Willis and Quigley
Yes, that subject again/still. Today, three main points: the comments by the Minister, including claims that she didn’t know why Orr had resigned the latest set of Quigley comments given to Newsroom’s Jonathan Milne, and (largely for the record) restating events around MPC appointments that are minimised by Milne ...3 hours ago - No Kings
No hatred, no violenceNo starvation and no greedAnd no kings, no kingsNo kingsNo lies and no bulletsNo bombs and no needFor kings, no kingsNo kingsSong: Jesse Welles.Morena, all, as I begin writing, the missiles are flying, and it doesn’t matter which side is right or wrong to the people they ...3 hours ago - The One Who Saw Too Much: Published
Back in September 2024, I had an acceptance for a Gothic Horror piece called The One Who Saw Too Much (3,600 words): https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2024/09/28/the-one-who-saw-too-much-accepted/ In a nice bit of news, it has now been published in audio format at the Tales to Terrify podcast (https://talestoterrify.com/): https://talestoterrify.com/episodes/698-daniel-stride-rachel-bolton-stoker/ As commented before, this one ...4 hours ago - Far from ruinous, the US AUKUS review is routine
News that the US Department of Defence has launched an AUKUS review has Canberra’s defence circles in overdrive, with familiar critics already proclaiming the pact is ‘sinking’. Yet this outbreak of anxiety poses a bigger danger than ...6 hours ago - On Complicity
Hi,I have left the United States. But it’s much less dramatic than it sounds.This is a trip I’d been planning for months, and it has taken me out of the US. I’m in Manchester, here to see my best friend Rosabel who’s working on a project here in the land ...9 hours ago - Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s response to Israeli strikes against Iran
Israel’s strikes against Iran will form the backdrop to New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s upcoming trip to China. Speaking in the immediate aftermath of the strikes at a scheduled press conference on Friday, Luxon characterised the strikes by Israel as ‘potentially catastrophic for the Middle East’, observing ‘the last ...16 hours ago - Why Wellbeing?
The Government’s plans to remove the wellbeing provisions in the Public Finance Act represents a reversal of the way society is travelling. I welcomed the Ardern-Robertson’s Government decision to focus on wellbeing in its budgets. It went on to amend the Public Finance Act to require the government to state ...20 hours ago - Don’t talk about our weight
Australia must stop talking about being a middle power that punches above its weight. Talking about it is far less interesting to the rest of the world than Australia actually doing it. The occasion for ...21 hours ago
- Don’t panic: the US AUKUS review could strengthen the partnership
The Trump administration has ordered a review of AUKUS to be led by Undersecretary of Defense Policy Elbridge Colby. The review has some attendant risks, but also a potential upside for the three-way partnership. The ...21 hours ago
- Pre-emptive or preventative?
I do not mean to be pedantic about this sort of thing, but since it lies within my area of supposed “expertise,” here goes: Unlike what is being reported in the corporate media and by some defense officials, the Israeli strike on Iran was not “pre-emptive.” “Pre-emptive” means “a sudden ...22 hours ago - Goebbels’ favourite bird
1. What would you let David Seymour or the people he put on a board decide for you?a. Whether to order the chicken or the flounderb. Whether to watch Dept Q or Sirens on Netflixc. Whether to read Ayn Rand or smack my head with a frypand. Nothing, not one ...22 hours ago - The Patupaiarehe Concerto: Accepted
New story acceptance. My 2,000-word New Zealand folk-horror piece, The Patupaiarehe Concerto, has been accepted by Eternal Haunted Summer for their upcoming Summer Solstice issue, which has an overarching theme of music (https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/). ... 23 hours ago - An open letter to Prime Minister Luxon – Will he listen?
Excerpt: Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Rt Hon Christopher LuxonRe: The Regulatory Standards Bill..This legislation would:Impose financial penalties on environmental action, making it a new and unprecedented expectation that the Crown would compensate corporations when laws to protect nature or the climate affect the ...1 day ago - Ukraine war enters new stage – an anti-terrorist operation?
The post-coup Ukrainian government was the first to declare an anti-terrorist war – although their forces were the ones carrying ut terrorist acts against civilians in Eastern Ukraine. Russian politicians are starting to discuss the necessity of escalating the Russia-Ukraine war from a limited military operation into ...1 day ago - Silent risk to net-zero commitment: climate policy meets national security
Australia faces a growing dilemma: in attempting to ease genuine climate challenges, it is creating national security vulnerabilities by embedding Chinese smart technologies in critical infrastructure. This includes solar inverters and batteries. Electric vehicles, too, ...1 day ago
- Quigley, Orr, and the RB board: edition number 965
This morning as the Quigley/Orr/Board saga rumbles on I wanted to touch on three items: the latest comments from Board chair Neil Quigley (and the Minister’s comments on and to him) a reminder of where this all started, with the Board unanimously approving a budget last year far in ...1 day ago
- Let’s diversify our space partnerships—and build some self-reliance
Australia’s long-term interests in space are best served by independent capability, diversified international partnerships and a civil-led strategy that reflects national priorities. As global competition intensifies, Australia must avoid tying its trajectory to the political ...1 day ago
- Bernard Hickey, Peter Bale, Cathrine Dyer, Robert Patman & Andrew Gunn ‘Hoon’ around the new...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking with regular guests and about the week’s news in geopolitics and climate. This week’s Hoon featured special guest New Zealand freelance journalist Andrew Gunn speaking from Kyiv.The Hoon’s ...1 day ago - Chantelle Baker Gets a $100,000 Reality Check
It’s a rare day when the New Zealand courts deliver a sharp reminder to the right-wing that actions have consequences, even for those who’ve built a career on peddling disinformation. Chantelle Baker, the self-styled “citizen journalist” and darling of New Zealand’s anti-vax, anti-government fringe, has been ordered to pay a whopping ...1 day ago - The Bewildering World of Christopher Luxon – Back on Track…
..The latest two out of three polls for National are - to put it mildly - troubling.Fresh on the heels of Minister Nicola ‘NoBoats' Willis' austerity budget and the scrapping of thirtythree pay equity agreements to fund tax cuts for the already-rich, the public's appetite for this rightwing coalition government ...2 days ago - Trying to attract a stranded asset
Shane Jones is an outdated fossil of a minister. Born in 1959, his model of how our economy and society should look is stuck sometime in the late 70's: a dirty, fossil-fuel powered, racist, sexist, homophobic shitstain of a country which most of us never experienced, and most of those ...2 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #24 2025
Open access notables A Rapid Deterioration of the Transmissive Atmospheric Radiative Regime in the Western Arctic, Bertossa & L’Ecuyer, Geophysical Research Letters: The tendency for the atmosphere to reside in one of two radiative states (“transmissive” or “opaque”) is unique to the high latitudes. This phenomenon makes the Arctic climate ...2 days ago - You call that a defence industry?
Australia’s defence manufacturers are essentially a cottage industry, with the average supplier employing only 13 people and achieving net annual sales of about $2.2 million. These averages, drawn from the annual review of the industry ...2 days ago
- The Climate Catastrophe
Dr Robert Howell UN Secretary General: We are sleepwalking to climate catastrophe. In facing this wake up call, Dr Howell will describe the lessons to be learned from Wesfamers; the work of the External Reporting Board; the National Climate Change Risk Assessment for New Zealanders; and the Dasgupta Review.Dr Robert Howell ...2 days ago - Taiwan has 12 diplomatic partners left. Who’ll drop it next?
Beneath Taiwan’s high-profile fight for global recognition lies a parallel contest in capitals scattered across the Caribbean and the Pacific. This is Beijing’s relentless campaign to isolate Taiwan diplomatically—country by country—until Taipei is left with ...2 days ago
- Keep Perfectly Calm
There is no depression in New ZealandThere are no sheep on our farmsThere is no depression in New ZealandWe can all keep perfectly calmPerfectly calm…Songwriters: Donald Bain Mcglashan / Richard Paul Von Sturmer.The National Party and farmers go together like Vogels and Vegemite - a classic Kiwi combo, based on ...2 days ago - Short Term At All Costs: Tend Healthcare Wins & More
My Food Bag Co-Founders’ Tend Health approved to become a Government Primary Health Organisation (PHO)Opinion and analysis:In April, I wrote about My Food Bag Co-Founders James and Cecilia Robinson telehealth organisation, Tend, and its positive chances of securing government contracts.An industry contact wrote this in response to me at the ...2 days ago - The hole in Canada’s intelligence system is ASIS-shaped
A hardy perennial in Ottawa politics is whether Canada should create a foreign intelligence service equivalent to the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, aka MI6). If it does, ...2 days ago
- Thursday 12 June
Council of Trade Unions Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges has taken New Zealand’s pay equity fight to the International Labour Organisation conference in Geneva. Opposition parties say the government should be going much further, much faster in sanctioning Israel. Government ministers did not get advice on what the changes to pay equity ...2 days ago - Gaza’s Rising Death Toll Demands More Diplomatic Action
The recent sanctions placed on just two Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, by New Zealand, alongside Australia, Canada, Norway, and the United Kingdom, mark a timid but critical step toward halting Israel’s relentless genocide.However, targeting these two for their vile incitement of violence against Palestinians is the bare ...2 days ago
- Why is Neil Quigley still RB board chair?
In my post yesterday, I documented a whole series of ways in which Neil Quigley, Reserve Bank board chair (appointed by the Minister of Finance) appeared to have actively misled the public (and overseen the misleading of Reserve Bank staff) on the day Adrian Orr’s resignation was announced. Some of ...2 days ago
- Recognising the economic potential of digital infrastructure resilience
Australia needs to coordinate national digital infrastructure investment and resilience or risk falling behind in security and missing economic opportunities. For the past decade, Australia has focused outward on projects such as funding regional telecommunications ...2 days ago
- The Monster You Know
Hi,I don’t think any Webworm readers will be surprised to know that I’m drawn to stories of narcissistic men getting away with terrible things for decades. Tickled was about a New Yorker pulling the strings from behind a computer. Mister Organ saw an over zealous parking attendant who liked to ...2 days ago - Adrian Orr Resigned Because of Nicola Willis’ Austerity
The abrupt resignation of Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr is a blaring siren that New Zealand’s economic foundations are being relentlessly jackhammered by Nicola Willis’ unyielding austerity obsession. Orr was effectively ousted after a fierce funding dispute with the Finance Minister, who appears determined to gut budgets left, right, and centre ...2 days ago
- A Cynic With the Heart of a Romantic: George R.R. Martin’s Reconstructive Deconstruction
My blog-post the other day alludes to the divergence between what J.R.R. Tolkien was, and what people think Tolkien was. And, while I was at it, to the similar divergence concerning George R.R. ... 2 days ago - Gordon Campbell On The Making Of King Donald
After decades of watching the US prop up dictatorships in Central America, South America and the Middle East, there’s a certain irony in seeing authoritarian rule play out on the streets of Los Angeles. No doubt, Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard – and the US Marines! – to ...3 days ago - Climate Adam: Is China Finally Changing Its Climate Ways?
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). To stop global warming, carbon emissions need to be cut to net zero as quickly as possible. And ...3 days ago
- Course correction: PAC-3 would be a better naval interceptor for Australia
The United States is moving to integrate its land-based PAC-3 surface-to-air missile onto warships. This effort presents an opportunity to enhance key Australian Defence Force capabilities and support sovereign R&D and industry—but quick work is ...3 days ago
- Treats for everybody
Surprises I will always greet with astonished delight:ChocolatesFlowersChocolate FishSeveral hundred lawyers suing the government for being absolutely useless about the climate crisis Two groups representing over 300 environment lawyers are suing the New Zealand government over its "dangerously inadequate" emissions reduction plan. They say the coalitio… Read more ...3 days ago - The Orr story (well, part of it anyway)
Months after various OIAs had been lodged on the question of Adrian Orr’s sudden departure on 5 March, we finally got a partial dump of documents this morning. (Sufficiently mishandled that at 10:04 this morning they’d send an email to OIA requesters saying they’d email out the response at 10:45 ...3 days ago
- With a new administration, South Korea should strengthen security ties with Australia
As South Korea’s new administration takes office, the country has the opportunity to recalibrate its alignments in the Indo-Pacific, especially around closer defence and technology cooperation with Australia. The strategic rationale for this becomes stronger ...3 days ago
- Doing less than the bare minimum
Last night, after nearly two years of genocide in Gaza, the New Zealand government finally began to do the right thing, and sanctioned two Israeli cabinet ministers for promoting genocide. Which is a good first step, but its not enough. Firstly, the sanctions are just a travel ban, saying "you ...3 days ago
- The problem is the regime, not MMP
There's an interesting article on The Spinoff, worried that with so many parties ruling out working with each other, MMP is collapsing back into left-right, "winner take all" politics. It points to a shift back to the pre-MMP elected dictatorship model of government by decree, "outsized" influence of small parties, ...3 days ago
- Ukrainian drone attack on Russian strategic bombers – why the concern?
The recent drone attacks on Russian strategic bombers were welcomed by many Western politicians but condemned by some US politicians. Why the controversy? After all, it is widely accepted that the Ukrainian military has a right to attempt to disable or destroy those Russian long-range bombers that are ...3 days ago
- Waiting…
So when you hear themMake claims of progressTake a good lookAnd see who isn't thereWe need a seat nowAt the tableSo please invite usOr don't pretend to care.Songwriter: Gaelynn Lea.Today’s newsletter is on Disability Support Services (DSS). It follows last week’s announcement by the Minister for Disability Issues, Louise Upston, ...3 days ago - Pay Equity – what did New Zealand women lose under the cover of darkness and without any prior war...
The law on pay equity was changed without any prior warning during the election campaign, without any select committee process. It has shocked New Zealand women and gutted fundamental rights Come and hear from pay equity experts including women whose claims have been cancelled and what the plan is from ...3 days ago
- David Seymour Does An Atlas Network Tour In London – Speaking For Junk Tanks Linked To “...
For paid subscribersIt’s 2023, and National have won the most votes in the New Zealand election. Their long cultivated coalition with ACT is assured, and to the chagrin of Christopher Luxon and David Seymour, their respective party leaders, they will have to invite NZ First along for the ride.Government party ...3 days ago - Australia and the EU should work with the South Pacific on AI
Australia and the European Union need to collaborate to promote the adoption of inclusive, safe and sustainable AI in the South Pacific. While the United States and China compete for global AI leadership, the EU ...3 days ago
- Another Bunch of Rightwing Propagandists
In New Zealand’s murky right-wing scene, a cast of propagandists peddles fear and division. From anti-vax crusaders to culture war stirrers, these figures exploit distrust, offering noise over solutions. Here’s another rundown of some key and bit players, exposing their tactics and selective outrage in New Zealand's polarised political landscape. Alia ...3 days ago
- How digital identities challenge traditional espionage
It used to be so simple. An intelligence officer could fly to a country, change passports and, with a false identity, emerge as a completely different person. But those days are long since over. Biometrics ...3 days ago
- Smoke in Little Tokyo
Hi,Late yesterday afternoon — after leaving the Metropolitan Detention Centre with puffy eyes and a scratchy throat — I’d wandered to Little Tokyo to get a cold drink. It tasted awesome.Tonight at around 9pm I went back there to find a very different scene. Little Tokyo was closed and the ...4 days ago - Nuclear war in Asia would be Australia’s problem, too. We must prepare
Australia must be prepared for limited nuclear war in the Indo-Pacific, be it over Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, or beyond. It should understand what such a conflict would mean for regional and global security, and ...4 days ago
- Sending in the Marines.
One of the basic foundations of democratic civil-military relations is that the active duty military is organised and trained to fight and defeat foreign enemies in combat–that is, by using organised lethal force until the enemy is defeated. Domestic security is a matter of national/federal, state and local law enforcement. ...4 days ago
- No New Zealander Left Alive!
A brand-new policy for a brighter New Zealand. ...4 days ago - Various ratbags in the frame
Frame OneInto LA go Trump's forces, and into LA go his lies.Modern politics is a framing war.It’s a system that keeps rewarding the wrong people.It’s a system that keeps rewarding the lie that tells people what they want to hear.It’s a system that Donald Trump instinctively understands.Never mind that the ...4 days ago - 22 years after RAMSI, Solomon Islands social, political fractures persist
History haunts Solomon Islands. More than two decades after the end of the Tensions of 1998 to 2003, the fractures that prompted ethnic conflict between Guadalcanal and Malaita communities remain deep in politics, society and ...4 days ago
- Winston Peters & Barriers To A Fairer Tax System
For paid subscribersSharing this proposal on a light work day -Winston Peters “reamed the pension” and then tried to sue once it was found out - costing taxpayers at least $1m in legal fees Read more ...4 days ago - Climate legal action necessary response to Government inaction
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi welcomes the legal action taken against the Minister of Climate Change by a coalition of legal experts as an important step in ensuring that Aotearoa meets its climate action obligations. “We strongly support legal action to ensure that the Government ...4 days ago
- Winston Peters Silent on National’s New Immigration Policy
The National-led government is once again trying to increase immigration with their Parent Boost Visa, a five-year, multi-entry scheme for parents of migrants who already live in New Zealand. This move, dressed up as a boost for “family unity” and “economic growth,” has sparked fury among right-wing groups, exposing the ...4 days ago
- Climate Change: Labour chickening out again
For the past 20 years, agriculture has been the glaring gap in our climate change policy. Responsible for 50% of our emissions, it was initially excluded from the ETS, and then - under Green Pressure - was to be slowly bought in at a 90% subsidy. But National repealed all ...4 days ago
- Nicola Willis Feigns Concern Over Michael Forbes Scandal
Like Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who claimed “shock” over his press secretary’s litany of misconduct, Finance Minister Nicola Willis proclaiming dismay today rings hollow. Michael Forbes, accused of illegally recording women, including sex workers, without consent, was allowed to resign rather than face dismissal.Nicola Willis’ claim that the “situation is ...4 days ago
- Union News 2024
December 2024 Wednesday 18 DecemberDecember 18, 2024The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut.… Read More »Wednesday 18 December Friday 13 DecemberDecember 13, 2024More public service ...4 days ago
- Tuesday 10 June
290 library workers across Christchurch will get a pay rise to reflect the “true value” of their work, despite the abrupt cancellation of their pay equity claim, due to a strong commitment to pay equity from Christchurch City Council. Care workers at the country’s largest provider of Māori-based support for ...4 days ago
- Harnessing NIC surveillance for better climate security outcomes
Australia’s National Intelligence Community could substantially enhance Australia’s climate security response. It could do so by applying its surveillance resources to the task. The 2024 Independent Intelligence Review lists transnational challenges—which includes climate change—as one ...4 days ago
- Electrifying?
I got chills, they're multiplyingAnd I'm losing control'Cause the power you're supplyingIt's electrifyingSongwriter: John Farrar.This morning Breakfast’s Chris Chang (CC) interviewed Chippy, and boy was he an enthusiast of your National-led government, if we can call them that.“‘Everyone Must Go’, remember that controversial tourism slogan the government spent $500,000 on ...4 days ago - Australia adrift. We must restore our merchant shipping fleet
Australia’s ports may be busy, but we have no way of ensuring that ships will keep coming to them in wartime. In an age of contested supply chains, strategic competition and rising instability, this absence ...4 days ago
- The Trump EPA tried to bury some good news
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The Trump administration has taken an ostrich-like approach to climate change. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is required to publish a report about the country’s sources of climate-changing pollution each year by April 15. This year, that didn’t happen. But the completed report ...4 days ago
- Of Fantasy Babies and Genre Bathwater: A Reply to The Second Story
Fantasy geeks might have at some point stumbled across a famous line from Terry Pratchett: “J.R.R. Tolkien has become a sort of mountain, appearing in all subsequent fantasy in the way that Mt. Fuji appears so often in Japanese prints. Sometimes it’s big and up close. Sometimes it’s a shape ...5 days ago - Wee Chris did a boo-boo
New Zealand politician and Cabinet Minister, Chris Bishop, talks about his feelings. ...5 days ago
- Filthy riches
On the occasion of the publication of another Rich List, let us bow our heads, brothers and sisters, and remind ourselves of the saying: The only thing money proves is that you have money.It may also be proof of luck, or timing, or inheritance, or connections; but confusing wealth with ...5 days ago - The rich-list is a social failure
RNZ has a piece this morning on the latest NBR rich list, reporting that the ultra-rich are doing great (despite the government-induced recession). The 119 individuals and families listed are now collectively worth more than $100 billion - 40% of Aotearoa's annual GDP. Meanwhile, while they're revelling in their wealth, ...5 days ago
- Tear Gas & Rubber Bullets: The National Guard Has Moved In
Hi,Getting tear gassed by the National Guard fucking sucks. Everything stings, you can’t breathe, and you can’t see. You can hear just fine — the almost comical pop-pop-pop as more tear gas canisters are sent arcing over the crowd. It strikes you how everyone has their own unique cough; their ...5 days ago
- Civil War
Opinion and analysisThere’s a lot to cover, as usual, but I’d like to focus mostly on the risks to our democracy today.First -In New Zealand, ACT and National supporter Nick Mowbray1 wins in NZ’s richest stakes.Another ACT/National donor, Graeme Hart, comes second, $8b behind the Mowbrays — landing at $12b. ...5 days ago - These Sordid Scandals Should Have Sunk The Government
The stench of cover-ups from the current coalition Government reveals a grim truth: the right-wing establishment is more invested in protecting its own and saving face than upholding justice. The latest revelations about National MP Hamish Campbell’s deep ties to the Two by Twos cult, Chris Luxon’s disgraced press secretary ...5 days ago
- Monday 9 June
Parents of New Zealand citizens and residents will be able to access visas, with the government announcing a programme it says will bring families together. Simeon Brown has announced more investment to strengthen critical infrastructure at Auckland City Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre. A Māori business leader says urgent reform ...5 days ago
- Out of Sight, Out of Mana- Rotorua Lakes Council’s Callous Attack on Homeless Whānau
Te Pāti Māori Co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi, has slammed the Rotorua Lakes Council’s treatment of homeless whānau as “inhumane and disgraceful,” following the forced police removal of people sleeping outside the Salvation Army on Amohia Street yesterday. “Our most vulnerable whānau were woken by police, trespassed like ...2 days ago
- Biodiversity credit won’t fix damage done by Luxon Govt
The Green Party says the Government’s newly announced Biodiversity Credit scheme is a tiny positive that doesn’t undo the biodiversity harm caused by the Luxon Government. ...2 days ago - New report confirms Oranga Tamariki is failing tamariki and Government is failing Māori
A new report, ‘Outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi Māori and their whānau in the oranga tamariki system 2023/24,’ has confirmed that Oranga Tamariki is severely failing our most vulnerable Māori youth. ...3 days ago
- Government rightfully sued over illegal climate ‘plan’
Last week, world-leading climate scientists called out the Government’s approach to agricultural emissions. This week, climate lawyers have sued the Government because its Emissions Reductions Plans do not add up. ...4 days ago
- Te Pāti Māori Demands Safe Passage of Madleen to Gaza
Te Pāti Māori condemns the Israeli navy’s armed interception of the Madleen, a civilian aid vessel carrying food, medical supplies, and international activists to Gaza, including Greta Thunberg. Communications of the Madleen have been cut, and there is no knowing if the crew are safe and unharmed. This is the ...5 days ago
- Greens call for safe passage of Madleen and Government to sanction Israel
The Green Party is calling for the safe passage of the Madleen, a civilian aid vessel on course to Gaza, following the Freedom Flotilla being seized by the Israeli Military and urging the New Zealand Government to sanction Israel for its illegal occupation of Palestine. ...5 days ago
- Rich get much richer, driving inequality and poverty
The 2025 NBR Rich List makes immediately obvious the need for a fair tax system, says the Green Party. ...5 days ago
- Release: Manawatū Gorge replacement opens toll-free
Thanks to a successful community-led campaign backed by Labour, Lower North Island locals are today celebrating the toll-free opening of Te Ahu a Turanga – Manawatū Tararua Highway. ...5 days ago - Govt parent boost changes prioritise rich over poor
The Green Party is calling out the Government’s parent boost changes that benefit a wealthier minority while doing nothing to help reunite thousands of migrant families. ...6 days ago
- Release: Timid tariff response fails New Zealanders
The Government is failing New Zealanders by ‘being comfortable’ with a 10 percent tariff on all goods going into the US. ...1 week ago
- Green Party condemns decision to suspend Te Pāti Māori MPs
The Green Party condemns the unprecedented decision to suspend Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi for 21 days, and MP for Hauraki-Waikato Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke for 7 days. ...1 week ago
- Release: Reserve Bank predicts more job losses
The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Statement predicts a sluggish economy with higher inflation and more job losses. ...1 week ago
- Luxon must end climate denial speculation
The Greens welcome the open letter from world-leading climate scientists to the Prime Minister, urging his Government to abandon any plan to water down climate targets. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt’s budget balanced on the backs of low-income families
The Government is quietly leaving some of our poorest families hundreds of dollars worse off, ignoring warnings that changes to the accommodation supplement and public housing subsidies will disproportionately target disabled, older, Māori, Pasifika, and young people. ...2 weeks ago
- Democracy Denied: Te Pāti Māori Slam Govt for Silencing Māori and Tangata Tiriti on the Regulator...
Today, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi slammed the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee’s refusal to extend the public submission period for the Regulatory Standards Bill, calling it a deliberate act to silence whānau, hapū, iwi, and community voices. Waititi had urged the Committee to extend the submission period by ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Mental health cuts lead to overwhelmed EDs
Workforce shortages that mental health Minister Matt Doocey tried to hide are now resulting in increasing pressure on our emergency departments as people needing help have nowhere else to go. ...2 weeks ago
- Te Pāti Māori Call on Te Whatu Ora to immediately Publish Gender Affirming Care Guidelines
Te Pāti Māori join health professionals, medical bodies, and community organisations across Aotearoa in calling on Te Whatu Ora to immediately release the updated Guidelines for Gender Affirming Healthcare. The guidelines were developed by medical professionals with expertise in this form of care and approved by Te Whatu Ora’s National ...2 weeks ago
- National direction changes mark dark day for people and planet
Today’s sweeping changes to environmental protections paint a damning picture of a government hellbent on profit at all costs, openly allowing more environmentally harmful activities under the guise of progress. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National caves to ACT to ram through Regulatory Standards Bill
Once again National has caved to ACT by today agreeing to shorten the select committee process for the Regulatory Standards Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Pay parity back pedal a kick in the teeth for ECE kaiako
The Government’s latest move to unwind the ‘pay parity’ regime carefully negotiated between government and the sector is a kick in the teeth for already undervalued and underpaid kaiako. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Govt continues to undermine women
The Government is continuing its attack on women, this time targeting the pay of early childhood education (ECE) teachers. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Charter school failures clocking up
Public schools aren’t converting to charter schools at the rate David Seymour claimed they would. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Govt driving away Kiwi innovators and scientists
The Government continues to obliterate science and innovation in New Zealand. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens call on Government to release gender affirming care guidelines
The Green Party echoes the call from health professionals, medical bodies, and community organisations for Te Whatu Ora to urgently release the guidelines for gender affirming care. ...2 weeks ago
- Speech: Barbara Edmonds Post-Budget
E nga mana nui E nga tapu nui No tāwahi No te kainga Tēnā koutou katoa ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Bugs on David Seymour’s school lunch menu
The latest shocker to come out of David Seymour’s school lunches is an insect being found in a student’s meal. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Nelson short-changed by hospital downgrade
National’s cuts to Nelson’s Hospital rebuild will leave the community with only half the number of new beds than the rebuild Labour planned. ...3 weeks ago
- Greens find over half-a-billion dollar hole in Govt Budget
The Green Party has found that the Government has not accounted for its own increased costs as an employer incurred by the KiwiSaver changes rushed through under Budget urgency last week. ...3 weeks ago
- Government Sacrificing Hapū, Iwi Tiriti rights for Offshore Profits
Te Pāti Māori is demanding to know how the government can justify fast tracking a replica of a seabed mining application that was already rejected by the supreme court in 2021. “Trans-Tasman Resources, a company with no operational experience, is back to the table with the same outdated and incomplete ...3 weeks ago
- Backing New Zealand’s native forest champions
Forestry Minister Todd McClay today congratulated the winners of the inaugural Growing Native Forests Champions Awards for driving real progress in native forest establishment and land use innovation. “This is what good land management looks like — native forests that support both the environment and the rural economy,” Mr McClay ...2 days ago - Operation Gallant Phoenix deployment extended
New Zealand has extended its commitment the Operation Gallant Phoenix multinational intelligence mission in Jordan, the Government announced today. The deployment of up to 10 New Zealand Defence Force and Police personnel has been extended for two years until June 2027. “This operation is essential to our commitment to a ...2 days ago
- New and improved radiology services for Auckland City Hospital
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today announced funding for the first stage of a major project to upgrade and expand interventional radiology services at Auckland City Hospital. “This project will significantly improve access to radiology services for patients across Auckland and beyond,” Mr Brown says. “A $41.2 million investment will ...2 days ago
- Government backs voluntary nature credits
The Government is supporting the expansion of a voluntary credits nature market through the running of pilot projects across New Zealand. Establishing a market that is durable, measurable and transparent will help farmers, landowners, iwi, and conservation groups unlock new income streams for looking after nature on their land, Associate ...2 days ago
- New Zealand food and fibre exports on track to break new records
Farmers, growers, foresters, fishers and primary processors are driving New Zealand’s economic recovery with export revenue on track to surpass $60 billion for the first time, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced today at Fieldays. “The latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI) report forecasts export earnings of ...2 days ago
- New Zealand hits digital economy milestone
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More than 9,500 additional procedures have now been delivered as part of the Government’s elective boost, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. “This is what putting patients first looks like. We are focused on increasing delivery of elective treatments – across both public and private hospitals – to reduce wait times ...2 days ago
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A new agreement between the Government and key livestock industry groups marks a major milestone in New Zealand’s readiness for a potential foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard announced today. “The Foot and Mouth Disease Operational Agreement confirms how Government and industry will jointly prepare for, ...3 days ago
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Public consultation begins today aimed at improving the legal aid scheme for those who cannot afford advice and representation, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “We have a duty to ensure all New Zealanders have access to justice by means of a fair and open process. “To do so, we need ...3 days ago
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New Zealand is raising its game on the global stage with a new Grass-Fed certification scheme to help our red meat and dairy producers go head-to-head with competitors in premium international markets, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today at Fieldays. “International consumers are increasingly willing ...3 days ago
- Innovative pasture project to drive farmgate returns
The Government is backing a $17 million partnership with farmers to boost productivity, profitability, and sustainability by identifying the most resilient, high-performing pastures for New Zealand conditions, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today at Fieldays. Minister McClay confirmed the Government will invest $8.269 million in the Resilient Pastures project through ...3 days ago
- Radiology backlog cleared at Taranaki Base Hospital
Health Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the clearance of a significant radiology backlog at Taranaki Base Hospital, calling it a practical outcome that puts patients first. “In March, more than 6,000 x-ray reports were sitting unprocessed at Taranaki Base Hospital. That was causing unacceptable delays for patients needing diagnosis and ...3 days ago
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Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is welcoming changes to toughen up the proposed anti-stalking law, including being triggered after two specified acts within 24 months. “This change better recognises patterns in stalking behaviour and time that can pass between incidents. For example, stalking that occurs around anniversaries would not be covered ...4 days ago
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Thank you all for the invitation to speak with you this morning. I have been looking forward to this opportunity. May is a busy month for the Government, and it is always a relief to have the Budget delivered. Today, I would like to speak about what I see as ...4 days ago
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The government is boosting support for rural resilience and wellbeing announced by Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and Rural Communities Minister Mark Patterson. “We’re backing Rural Support Trusts by committing $3 million over the next four years, to help improve rural communities’ access to primary mental health services and specialist ...4 days ago
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Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is celebrating the fifth anniversary of Keep It Real Online, a website that helps New Zealand families navigate the digital world safely. “I know many parents are worried about the type of content their children might come across online and are looking for practical ...4 days ago
- Legislation introduced to restrict farm-to-forest conversions
Today Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay introduced long awaited legislation that will put a stop to large-scale farm-to-forestry conversions – delivering on a key election promise to protect the future of New Zealand food production. “For too long, productive sheep and beef farms have been replaced by pine trees ...4 days ago
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Good evening,It’s a real privilege to be here with you tonight, among people who play such a vital role in the wellbeing of our animals, our communities, and our economy. Veterinarians are essential to New Zealand. Upholding our global reputation for world-leading animal welfare standards, something we are known for ...1 week ago
- Strengthening ETS Market Governance
The Government is strengthening the market governance of New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “A credible ETS is our most powerful and cost-effective tool to drive down net emissions across the economy. But to do its job, the ETS must have good market governance ...3 weeks ago
- Farmers and growers to reap rewards
Farmers and growers will have faster access to new agriculture and horticulture products because innovation drives success, says Regulation Minister David Seymour, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard. “The changes announced today show the power of a sector review,” Mr Seymour says. “Agriculture and horticulture products ...3 weeks ago
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Thank you to Foreign Minister Herath for the warm welcome to Sri Lanka. The New Zealand delegation is delighted to be here to further strengthen the warm relationship between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Relations between our countries are long-standing. Our trade dates from the 1860s and sporting connections to ...3 weeks ago
- Government to deliver redevelopment of Nelson Hospital
Nelson Hospital will get a major redevelopment as part of the Government’s $1 billion boost to hospital infrastructure and will be the first hospital in the country to receive a new temporary inpatient unit while construction is underway, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. “This is a significant investment in the ...3 weeks ago
- AI training to boost public sector productivity
New artificial intelligence (AI) training will increase the uptake of AI and boost productivity in the public service, Digitising Government and Public Service Minister Judith Collins says. “Across the public sector, AI offers a real opportunity to improve decision-making and deliver better outcomes for New Zealanders,” says Ms Collins. “I ...3 weeks ago
- Increased transparency for Government accounts
The Government is amending the Public Finance Act to prevent future governments concealing the extent of fiscal risks in government accounts, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The change is included in legislation introduced to Parliament on Saturday evening to enhance the transparency and accountability of the public finance system. “The ...3 weeks ago
- New sanctions drive benefit accountability
From today, beneficiaries failing to meet the obligations they agreed to can expect two new measures to encourage people off welfare and into work. Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says the Money Management and Community Work Experience sanctions can apply to a first obligation failure while getting a ...3 weeks ago
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Well, I didn't get the fireworks I wanted in the House today…
I am getting plenty of explosions in the laundry this evening, Trying to pasteurise the latest batch of cyzer, Sturmer apples from my sister-in-law and back sweetened with manuka honey.
They are over carbonated and four have hit the ceiling. It is incredible the force with which a 750ml quart lets go with when it's had enough.
I am going to just chill the rest and drink/share them out quickly.
My old man used to make this dog-awful home brew out of a can and of course he had to add a little sugar to every 750ml. To give it a boost, apparently.
One weekend visit we were woken one/two in the morning by bangs and pops and the sound of breaking glass. And there he was in the laundry/garage, overalls, wet weather gear, welding gauntlets, full-face grinding mask, trying to pluck yet to detonate bottles of his brew out of the cupboard and drop them into a bin.
With a pair of hedge clippers.
The garage was awash with his foul smelling nectar, up the walls, all over the ceiling, in the car, glass everywhere, and mum was hiding behind a big plastic washing basket giving the old boy a serve.
It was the first and last time in my life I ever heard my mother say fuck.
that is such a great story.
Home made ginger beer was the same. Once one bottle goes, the rest follow suit.
Used to make home-made ginger beer. Never had a bottle explode on me while sealed, but there was the occasional WHOOOSSSSSH! when I unscrewed the cap, followed by an uncontrollable surge of bubbles.
Plastic bottles are weaker, but not as destructive when they fail. AND you can tell when they might be about to go: they become very hard and inflexible. Glass just goes on taking the strain without complaint …. until it can't.
And before I pop out for quiz night, here is a reminder of Bomber's new offering for political tragics.
The Bradbury Group Pre-Budget Special with Chris Hipkins, Matthew Hooton, John Tamihere & Craig Renney
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2025/05/20/8pm-live-tonight-the-bradbury-group-pre-budget-special-with-chris-hipkins-matthew-hooton-john-tamihere-craig-renney/
Will this link be available to anybody or only those who subscribe or are on Facebook?
I'm neither.
https://www.youtube.com/@TheBradburyGroup
Thanks SPC.
does Hooton normally yell at people? Or is he just wound up by Craig Renney talking about the value of borrowing?
He does get excited.
Partly it looks worse in contrast to Tamihere and Renney's quieter, more measured delivery.
It is a good thing to watch, folk from disparate ends of the spectrum, generally cooperating.
Did you make it to Hooten's final say?
His desire for the Labour party to be the once in every 50 year Labour party was well said.
It kicks off with 6 minutes to go.
I did! I found the whole thing fascinating. And yeah, go big Labour!
TBG and BHN are good ways for me to keep up with current affairs in the evening if my day has been too busy to do much reading.
This government is a spectacular mess.
I wonder if the Maori Party will turn up for the Budget, now that their suspension from Parliament has been delayed? They never even turned up last year, which seemed to show their lack of interest in Parliamentary business.
you really have to stop trolling, or one of the mods will put an end to it.
Thank you Weka.
Would be pretty hard for TPM Mps to respect Parliament after National continues to trash its processes, people, and of course Maori.
This does seem to have been a concern of Chris Hipkins though. He said
"“Doing it right before the Budget makes that even more egregious. It says that those MPs can’t participate in the Budget … It is the sort of action you’d see from a tin pot dictatorship, not a thriving democracy as New Zealand prides itself on having.”
Perhaps the Government is listening to him, even if he does seem to have gone rather a lot over the top?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/tin-pot-dictatorship-te-pati-maori-voices-in-parliament-on-budget-day-in-doubt-after-compromise-talks-fail/UB65LHQKQJAPVPP22UKRR6VPEU/?lid=vvpwpxmdojgd
Thank you Ad for stating. they are causing this, not the Maori Party.
Luxon “Maorification”
What ever next from this fool.
A CoSMic Coalition of Spectacular Messes? Ask Simeon – he gets about a bit.
But surely our CoSMic govt wouldn’t let public healthcare collapse – I mean, WHY?
National Party vs public sector health and its workforce.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2025/05/19/guest-blog-ian-powell-predictable-smear-of-salaried-senior-doctors/
National without a plan to staff hospitals and staff are leaving.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360695853/hospitals-dire-need-doctors-new-data-shows
I think National are terrified. Why they decided to return the privileges committee report to parliament last week right before budget week beggars belief.
Perhaps they were emboldened by the ease of which pay equity law could be turned on its head and all claims scrapped, and decided to take a hammer to democracy again.
Perhaps they didn't realise how much push-back there would be to the vindictive punishment drawn up by Collins, including from their own speaker.
Perhaps they want to use this to distract from a mean budget which they know is going to be very unpopular.
Perhaps they are so stressed out and preoccupied with said budget they themselves are distracted.
Perhaps they listened to Collins' speech, then Hipkins' and decided to pull the plug before things got way worse.
Perhaps they're genuinely concerned some of their MPs, as Hipkins has suggested, were going to break ranks today.
Perhaps they needed to buy time to water down the punishment and do deals with opposition and their own MPs in a way that saves some face for Luxon.
Perhaps they are just very, very stupid.
Anyway, clearly Hipkins had them over a barrel and they panicked.
Forgot one:
Perhaps they needed to buy time for the focus group results.
This has probably been posted here before but it is damning of Collins. Phil Smith really tears her to shreds. Bishop knows that to proceed would be very damaging to the committee, to government, and to parliament. Brownlee told him so. Brownlee also tears Collins a new one.
I reckon they are desperately looking for a way out. Let the negotiations begin after Luxon ruled them out.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/561329/the-house-why-was-the-privileges-committee-so-harsh-on-te-pati-maori-mps
It says the article has been updated, presumably after complaints from Farrar and his nutty cronies that every word from every journalist at every public institution must be apolitical.
Don Brash has resumed his campaign to abolish the Maori Seats.
https://www.bassettbrashandhide.com/post/don-brash-the-nail-in-the-coffin-for-maori-seats
This came to an end when the Turia/Sharples era coalition with National (they have since weaponed UNDRIP signed in 2016 while they were in government).
The Hobsons Pledge and ACT right agenda is
1.Treaty Principles replace the Treaty in law.
(eliminating reference to the Treaty in existing legislation is the part being played by National and NZ First)
2.End the Waitangi Tribunal.
3.Abolish the Maori seats.
To eliminate indigenous and Treaty rights resistance to Atlas Network libertarian neo-liberalism.
It the racists are feeling emboldened ATM with the dupe luxon blundering along at the head of a nasty vindictive coalition .
Sad days ahead possibly