Daily Review 30/08/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 pm, August 30th, 2017 - 62 comments
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Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

62 comments on “Daily Review 30/08/2017 ”

  • Comments are now closed

    • weka 1.1
      30 August 2017 at 7:28 pm

      Indeedy.

    • ScottGN 1.2
      30 August 2017 at 7:38 pm

      Yep. That battle is over.

    • tracey 1.3
      30 August 2017 at 7:40 pm

      $14m of ratepayers money. Gone.

      • ScottGN 1.3.1
        30 August 2017 at 8:18 pm

        They would have spent more if they could. Thank God for Royal Forest and Bird. And Kevin Hague.

        • tracey 1.3.1.1
          30 August 2017 at 8:22 pm

          True. And the non monetary cost.

          No more dairy conversions in drought suceptible areas… eg North Canterbury

          • eco Maori/kiwi 1.3.1.1.1
            30 August 2017 at 8:53 pm

            + 100 tracey I think that farmers should not be farming in environments that are unsustainable environmentally or financially

        • weka 1.3.1.2
          30 August 2017 at 9:45 pm

          F and B are one of the premier activist groups in NZ now. We are incredibly fortunate to have them.

    • eco Maori/kiwi 1.4
      30 August 2017 at 9:10 pm

      Those Muppet’s should have consulted with everyone with a stake in that Dam instead of just trying to just ram the process trough and blowing all that money . This is how National has behaved for 9 years. In my view Hawkes Bay needs some irrigation to creat employment and economic growth as this is the economic model we run on for now. Irrigation can be run in a environmentally friendly way

      • greywarshark 1.4.1
        30 August 2017 at 9:13 pm

        In my opinion we can’t trust the RW and dairy farmers to limit their use and abuse of the waterways. Better that individuals trap their own water.

  2. ScottGN 2
    30 August 2017 at 6:53 pm

    Did Newshub break the rules on Election broadcasts tonight with their piece about National’s promise of Broadband rollout for rural communities? They repeatedly referred to Simon Bridges as Communications Minister rather than his correct position as National’s Spokesperson on Communications now the writ for the election has been dropped.

    • Sanctuary 2.1
      30 August 2017 at 8:21 pm

      Parliament and the government are not the same things. Parliament has been dissolved and a general election is to held; however, the government remains in place and operates as normal.

      After polling day, a defeated government is bound by the caretaker convention, but remains the government until the return of the writs (since writ day was 23rd August, and writs must be returned within 50 days, that will be the 11th October) and the declaration of a final result, and the formation of a new government – or, if it can still command the confidence of the house, the continuation of the old government.

      The rules were made clearer after some of the long MMP coalition negotiations.

      So the government – and ministers – remain so until the 11th October 2017, although after being defeated on the 23rd September the National government will just operate as caretakers.

  3. Cinny 3
    30 August 2017 at 7:20 pm

    Live Stream link for Financial Debate

    http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/08/decision-17-livestream-the-asb-great-finance-debate.html

    Edit they are just starting to introduce the candidates now

    • Ed 3.1
      30 August 2017 at 8:18 pm

      How does a party with 0.4% of the party vote invited?
      More evidence of the neoliberal bias in the media.
      I believe the Maori Party get more votes.

      • tracey 3.1.1
        30 August 2017 at 8:24 pm

        So the Conservative Party must be there too then?

        • Ed 3.1.1.1
          30 August 2017 at 8:45 pm

          Of course 25% of the selected audience in Queenstown vote ACT.
          The 0.4 % party are well represented in that town.

          • Graeme 3.1.1.1.1
            30 August 2017 at 10:13 pm

            Not really

            Act is below average in C/S, they got 122 votes in 2014, 0.36%, in Wakatipu they got the grand total of 14 votes.

    • DSpare 3.2
      30 August 2017 at 9:05 pm

      The sound is better than that Nation minor party leaders debate, but the way the camera swerves about it pretty nauseating. Also, the disruptions (from Joyce in particular) are just not moderated at all that I’ve seen. But then, it isn’t the most gripping viewing and I haven’t watched it all.

      Ed doesn’t seem to be the only one wondering why Seymour was there. The bit where Gower just ran out of patience with him and threw a question over to Shaw only to have it tossed back in the interest of fairness was entertaining (and a good dig at Gowers ineptitude at controlling the debate).

      It is very much a filmed series of performances to a room rather than a camera focused debate to the country. It would be good if someone who was there were to give their impression of how it went.

      • Ed 3.2.1
        30 August 2017 at 9:17 pm

        So the role of the moderator is important.
        And that’s why Hosking should never have that role.

      • Anne 3.2.2
        30 August 2017 at 9:29 pm

        Actually I found it a fascinating debate and for the most part Gower did a good job. Most of the questions from the audience in the latter stages were directed at Grant Robertson. He fielded them well but he was on a hiding to nothing because there was quite a strong anti-Labour bias in that audience. That was my perception anyway.

    • Psycho Milt 3.3
      30 August 2017 at 9:41 pm

      Instructive to see Stephen Joyce laughing while Winston Peters claims that privacy matters.

  4. tracey 4
    30 August 2017 at 7:39 pm

    Wagner was a no-show at a Town Hall type meeting in Christchurch. Gerry fronted for her. Maybe she was out on the water?

    ” “Busy day with disability meetings in Auckland – rather be out on the harbour!” ….. looking dreamily out the window at the sparkly water ”

    I have some connections to Disability work and workers in that area. They find her ill informed at meetings and frequently uses the wrong terms to describe this sector. They find it astounding that she attends important meetings, especiaslly in relation to the rebuild in christchurch with no knowledge of the project to be discussed. However they find she has many misguided (and dated) “suggestions”.

    • ScottGN 4.1
      30 August 2017 at 8:24 pm

      I’m not entirely sure why Wagner didn’t front at that Town Hall. But it’s tempting to think that National knew it wasn’t going to go well. Which begs the question; is Christchurch Central going to head back to Labour this election? And maybe Waimakariri? And if so, what about the Party Vote in Christchurch?

      • Pat 4.1.1
        30 August 2017 at 10:31 pm

        think it would be a good bet to back Duncan Webb in ChCh central…he has a high profile after 6 years of advocacy for EQ victims….Nicky Wagner is not rated, but the party vote doesn’t necessarily mirror

  5. Carolyn_nth 5
    30 August 2017 at 7:48 pm

    A meeting tomorrow night in Auckland, with Guy Standing on UBI/Basic Income:

    In conjunction with Basic Income New Zealand and Auckland Debating Society, Guy Standing, leading international speaker on Basic Income, author of “The Precariat’, with as a panel to respond to his presentation, Sue Bradford and Keith Rankin.

    Guy Standing is a Professorial Research Associate at SOAS, University of London, and a founder and co-President of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), an NGO promoting basic income as a right. He has held chairs at the Universities of Bath and Monash (Australia) and was previously Director of the Socio-Economic Security Programme of the International Labour Organisation. He is currently working on pilot basic income schemes in India and on issues relating to his two recent books, The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class (2011) and A Precariat Charter: From Denizens to Citizens (2014).

    Professor Standing’s book recently featured in University World News: Higher education and the precariat class
    See his Guardian article from January, 2017 and his interview on Basic Income.
    When
    August 31st, 2017 6:30 PM through 8:00 PM
    Location
    76 Epsom Ave
    Epsom Campus
    Lecture Room J1 – J Block
    Auckland, AUK 1023
    New Zealand

    • CoroDale 5.1
      31 August 2017 at 7:00 am

      Thanks,
      It’s not just ToP, Greens also want UBI calculated by the next Govt. Trusting a UBI Commission Report could get cross party support from Labour at coalition negotiation time.

  6. mac1 6
    30 August 2017 at 8:39 pm

    Ruataniwha. There must be more to it, apart from the need and greed of farmers wanting more water, but how do you spend $14 million of ratepayers money when the land in question was not owned by the group seeking the dam, and the law as pronounced upon by the judge was pretty unequivocal to this layman as to the circumstances where conservation land can be alienated.

    If I were a ratepayer in Hawkes Bay I’d be asking questions about how private individuals can spend so much public money for possible private gain. I’d also look at how $14 million can be spent essentially on paper shuffling.

    Is it to do with that old/new adage “Privatise the profits , and socialise the costs”?

    But I don’t come from there, so I don’t know.

    • KJT 6.1
      30 August 2017 at 9:01 pm

      I had some family members involved in this.

      It never added up except as a direct subsidy to the farmers concerned.

      Some of which could have paid for smaller irrigation dams on their own land. But that would have cost them money.

      Privatise the gains and socialise the loses was exactly the aim.

    • Draco T Bastard 6.2
      30 August 2017 at 10:18 pm

      See the link I provide here.

      • mac1 6.2.1
        30 August 2017 at 10:29 pm

        Thanks, Draco T. Bit of a corruption too of what ‘looking after your mates” should really mean.

        I saw the Helen Clark film tonight, A Year with Helen, where she talked about clear instructions as to zero tolerance for corruption in her UN department, so that it became the most transparent aid agency in the world.

        • greywarshark 6.2.1.1
          31 August 2017 at 11:54 am

          Ruataniwha and $14 mill. Does it match up to the Kaipara Harbour council spending – on something real and needed? They had to have a special Bill passed exonerating them didn’t they? And I haven’t followed the back story about that so don’t feel I have a good understanding.

          But how can a Council spend $14m. on nothing without censure? The whole story about why less government was A Good Thing was because it would bring more efficiency and effectiveness, etc etc. It seems to have brought the problem of bad judgment of necessary workers, meaning huge expenditure on temporary contractors. And a slush fund apparently to pay them – resulting in a sort of double bookkeeping.

          • Draco T Bastard 6.2.1.1.1
            31 August 2017 at 1:38 pm

            The whole story about why less government was A Good Thing was because it would bring more efficiency and effectiveness, etc etc.

            And from what we’ve learned over the last thirty years that would be a lie. All the evidence we have now shows that less government and more privatisation results in higher costs and inefficiencies.

    • weka 7.1
      30 August 2017 at 9:47 pm

      I can’t even remember what was happening 3 weeks ago (when poll was done).

    • Bill 7.2
      30 August 2017 at 10:44 pm

      A 100% internet based poll…

    • swordfish 7.3
      30 August 2017 at 11:23 pm

      Suggests almost 60% of 2014 Green voters are now thinking of casting their Party Vote for other Parties. The vast majority of them swinging to Labour (about two-thirds of them because of the Jacinda-mania drawcard / one-third due to unhappiness over Turei’s benefit disclosures and subsequent resignation).

      That level of voter disloyalty isn’t actually all that unusual for the Greens. NZES flow-of-the-Vote data suggests less than half of 2011 Green voters remained loyal at the 2014 General Election. About 1/4 swung to Lab, with a little less than one fifth going to the Nats and NZF (each)

      But the difference now is … there appears to be no significant reciprocal swing from 2014 Lab voters to Greens (whereas at the 2014 General Election = an inflow of 2011 Labour supporters & previous Non-voters to Greens – largely (though not entirely) compensated for the Greens’ lost 2011 voters to Labour).

      So usually there’s a lot of movement back and forth between voters for the two Left-leaning parties over consecutive Elections. But it all seems to be in 1 direction now.

      Reinforces the fact that the Greens’ base vote is much lower than many pundits assume – more like 5%. Many of the other 6% who voted Green in 2014 would have been Labour-identifiers & former Labour voters. So the Green vote was always going to be vulnerable to the Metiria admission + New charismatic Lab leader.

      • Bearded Git 7.3.1
        30 August 2017 at 11:35 pm

        Or have you simply got it in for the Greens Swordfish? Who do you vote for?

        • swordfish 7.3.1.1
          30 August 2017 at 11:58 pm

          Better asking that of Horizon, my Bearded Chum. I’m just summarising their latest (and the 2014 NZES) findings.

          My Vote ?

          If the Greens are averaging over 7% in the final round of Polls then I’ll Party Vote Labour as originally intended.

          If, on t’other hand, the Greens are averaging between 4-7% in the final Polls then I’ll certainly switch Green to contribute – in my own ever so humble way – to getting them over the line.

          But if they’re down below 4% in the week before the Election then I’ll have to seriously re-consider because it might just be a wasted vote.

          • Bearded Git 7.3.1.1.1
            31 August 2017 at 10:05 am

            Thanks Swordfish.

            Sorry if I was hassling you but last night I was just a bit pissed off having read so many MSM media comments trying to write the Greens off because they had polled 4.3% once, then I remembered you talking about how the Greens were only polling 3.6% in Whangarei (I do think there are special factors at play there this time round and was only a poll of 500) and then all your stuff on how flimsy the Greens vote may be (per your earlier analysis and the comment above).

            For the record I will be voting Green (always do) unless they are polling below 4%, like you, but I have a strong affinity for Labour-in fact I’m organising a meeting for Labour at the moment.

            I think there is more volatility in how people choose to vote than we (and the media) realise and that National’s vote is softer than the media are portraying it.

      • tracey 7.3.2
        31 August 2017 at 1:45 pm

        It makes sense that Labour’s loss of votes had to go somewhere. I remain hopeful that The Green Party may have made some headway engaging the non voting.

  8. weka 8
    30 August 2017 at 9:40 pm

    James Shaw just dropped a big hint at the end of the Economics debate tonight about their intention to reform politics.

    https://www.facebook.com/NewshubNZ/videos/vb.97548423605/10155831917943606/ (around 2hrs exact).

  9. Draco T Bastard 9
    30 August 2017 at 9:57 pm

    Game Of Mate: How favours bleed the nation

    While we are distracted by mythical battles in the Game of Thrones, we are being robbed in the real world “Game of Mates” where the well-connected clip the wages and profits of the hard working. Murray and Frijters provide an entertaining and well researched expose of how privilege and rent-seeking dominates the Australian economy, enriching the Mates in the Game while robbing the rest. And they propose how to end the Game. And they name real names too. This is an explosive and essential book for all Australians. Except the Mates.
    Professor Steve Keen, Kingston University

    I suspect that similar research in NZ would show the same thing. Our nation has become corrupt.

    • CoroDale 9.1
      31 August 2017 at 7:43 am

      Keen is excellent.

      Corrupt or best people for the Job? Hey, I’ve been thinking about joining the Free Masons. They seem like a nice enough bunch. Anyone here have person experiences they would share?

  10. eco Maori/kiwi 10
    30 August 2017 at 10:22 pm

    +100 Draco

  11. CoroDale 11
    31 August 2017 at 7:35 am

    Outgoing Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler:

    “…every prospect the strong growth would continue.”

    “The greatest risk we face at this stage relates to the inflated global asset prices and the continuing build up in global debt.”

    “There is a risk of a housing market resurgence… if loan to value ratios (LVRs) were removed…”

    “We believe that it (inflation targets only) is still the best monetary policy framework for New Zealand.”

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/338345/reserve-bank-head-defends-record-in-last-public-speech

    Sleep well boys and girls, for the Bank for International Settlements quotes our next RBNZ Chairman Grant Spencer as saying;

    “The NZ banking system is relatively vanilla.”

    https://www.bis.org/review/r170809b.htm

    • CoroDale 11.1
      31 August 2017 at 8:01 am

      RBNZ’s Spencer uses the word vanilla more than once:

      Q. How close should New Zealand stick to international norms?

      A. “In shaping our regulatory approach – with its emphasis on self- and market discipline and being at the more permissive end of the spectrum – we must consider the potential costs of deviating too far from international norms. This is especially important to consider as we seek to tailor the sometimes complex international regulatory environment to New Zealand’s relatively vanilla banking system.”

      When banker’s use the word permissive, is it normal to think of Mel Gibson’s butt?

    • greywarshark 11.2
      31 August 2017 at 8:53 pm

      Thanx CoroDale
      Relatively vanilla. Lovely. That in-group in-speech matey we’re-all-in-this-together jargon. There must be a humorous clip somewhere of an in-group talking in acronyms. I have heard the one about commercial travellers quoting their preferred joke by number. I think the one for tonight could be 42.

  12. popexplosion 12
    31 August 2017 at 12:49 pm

    DRM the new spam. Some idiot genius writes up free info, then drms their content, which has ads of course, this starts a herd of people doing the same. Search engines pickup just drm content and the free unencumbered content disappears. now all well and good, original content should be paid for.But what if I want content from a community of Open sources who write up without down grading the work to some drm folly. Which obviously then pays people to churn open source methods to make a buck on writing it all up wrongly, drm leads to babel. Answer would be a search engine that you can switch to search non-drm or drm. Does anyone know of such a thing?

  13. Cinny 13
    31 August 2017 at 9:43 pm

    Listening to the wireless, radio live, Slater is on, crikey he has plenty to say, worth tuning into.

    • Ed 13.1
      31 August 2017 at 9:48 pm

      Please enlighten us

      • Cinny 13.1.1
        31 August 2017 at 10:07 pm

        Tune in dude, I’m working so switching on and off when they are talking shite.

        Relationships between politicians and family and who works where
        Winston story being a distraction to mother of scandals
        And some dickheads ringing up talking shite

        After the news they be talking about Barclay, whichis massive interest to me, especially with what I personally know about that situation and the people involved. Wonder if Oil will spin his own agenda or be truthful.
        When your boss tapes you on the phone and asks you to lie for him and gets up to dodgy dealings with a female who was a cabinet member at the time, then whats a girl to do? Talk about it with your old boss? Gosh that would make it go pear shaped wouldn’t it?

        Fact of the matter is it has nothing to do with how well barclay was liked, and she wasn’t after his job at all. It’s not nice being asked to lie for another

        Cause it was never about the tapes, it was why was he taping her, what was he worried she was going to say?

        Lolz anyways back to work here’s the link he’s on for another hour
        http://www.radiolive.co.nz/home.player.html

        One last thing loolz I prefer not to visit his blog could get a virus, radio works well

  14. Cinny 14
    1 September 2017 at 12:06 am

    HOLY SHITE.. Al Jazeera just posted a 23min doco about NZ’s water pollution problem

    This won’t be good for our tourism, but fantastic for awareness.

    http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/08/problem-zealand-water-sources-170831090704101.html

    “as the dairy and agriculture industries grow, they are placing an ever-greater strain on the country’s water supply and raising concerns about the quality of New Zealand’s water.

    In August 2016, more than 5,000 people fell sick with gastrointestinal illness in Havelock North, a suburb of New Zealand’s North Island’s Hawke’s Bay district. The suburb’s drinking water had become contaminated, resulting in the poisoning of a third of its population and contributing to the deaths of three residents.

    The incident shook the public’s confidence in the safety of New Zealand’s drinking water, and led to an investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs.

    But what exactly is tainting the quality of New Zealand’s fresh water supplies and could a potential solution have a knock-on effect on all of New Zealand’s main economic contributors?”

    • weka 14.1
      1 September 2017 at 12:15 am

      Fuck tourism 🙂 It’s a big polluter and has a hugely negative impact on the environment as well. It’s also not even remotely sustainable. The sooner we get off that sauce the better.

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    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    4 days ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago

  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    6 days ago

  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago

  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • The stupidest of stupid reasons
    One of the threats in the National - ACT - NZ First coalition agreements was to extend the term of Parliament to four years, reducing our opportunities to throw a bad government out. The justification? Apparently, the government thinks "elections are expensive". This is the stupidest of stupid reasons for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • A website bereft of buzz
    Buzz from the Beehive The new government was being  sworn in, at time of writing , and when Point of Order checked the Beehive website for the latest ministerial statements and re-visit some of the old ones we drew a blank. We found ….  Nowt. Nothing. Zilch. Not a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • MICHAEL BASSETT: A new Ministry – at last
    Michael Bassett writes – Like most people, I was getting heartily sick of all the time being wasted over the coalition negotiations. During the first three weeks Winston grinned like a Cheshire cat, certain he’d be needed; Chris Luxon wasted time in lifting the phone to Winston ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Luxon's Breakfast.
    The Prime Minister elect had his silver fern badge on. He wore it to remind viewers he was supporting New Zealand, that was his team. Despite the fact it made him look like a concierge, or a welcomer in a Koru lounge. Anna Burns-Francis, the Breakfast presenter, asked if he ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL:  Oranga Tamariki faces major upheaval under coalition agreement
     Lindsay Mitchell writes – A hugely significant gain for ACT is somewhat camouflaged by legislative jargon. Under the heading ‘Oranga Tamariki’ ACT’s coalition agreement contains the following item:   Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 According to Oranga Tamariki:     “Section ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record. Brian Easton writes – 1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • Cathrine Dyer's guide to watching COP 28 from the bottom of a warming planet
    Is COP28 largely smoke and mirrors and a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel? Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: COP28 kicks off on November 30 and up for negotiation are issues like the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition, contributions to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Monday, Nov 27
    PM Elect Christopher Luxon was challenged this morning on whether he would sack Adrian Orr and Andrew Coster.TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am on Monday November 27, including:Signs councils are putting planning and capital spending on hold, given a lack of clear guidance ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the new government’s policies of yesteryear
    This column expands on a Werewolf column published by Scoop on Friday Routinely, Winston Peters is described as the kingmaker who gets to decide when the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded but equally important role as the ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    7 days ago

  • The New Government’s Agreements
    Last Friday, almost six weeks after election day, National finally came to an agreement with ACT and NZ First to form a government. They also released the agreements between each party and looking through them, here are the things I thought were the most interesting (and often concerning) from the. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    7 days ago

  • How many smokers will die to fund the tax cuts?
    Maori and Pasifika smoking rates are already over twice the ‘all adult’ rate. Now the revenue that generates will be used to fund National’s tax cuts. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The devil is always in the detail and it emerged over the weekend from the guts of the policy agreements National ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

  • How the culture will change in the Beehive
    Perhaps the biggest change that will come to the Beehive as the new government settles in will be a fundamental culture change. The era of endless consultation will be over. This looks like a government that knows what it wants to do, and that means it knows what outcomes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    7 days ago

  • No More Winnie Blues.
    So what do you think of the coalition’s decision to cancel Smokefree measures intended to stop young people, including an over representation of Māori, from taking up smoking? Enabling them to use the tax revenue to give other people a tax cut?David Cormack summed it up well:It seems not only ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 19, 2023 thru Sat, Nov 25, 2023.  Story of the Week World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chief  Exclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must ‘stop ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Some of it is mad, some of it is bad and some of it is clearly the work of people who are dangerous ...
    On announcement morning my mate texted:Typical of this cut-price, fake-deal government to announce itself on Black Friday.What a deal. We lose Kim Hill, we gain an empty, jargonising prime minister, a belligerent conspiracist, and a heartless Ayn Rand fanboy. One door closes, another gets slammed repeatedly in your face.It seems pretty ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • “Revolution” is the threat as the Māori Party smarts at coalition government’s Treaty directi...
    Buzz from the Beehive Having found no fresh announcements on the government’s official website, Point of Order turned today to Scoop’s Latest Parliament Headlines  for its buzz. This provided us with evidence that the Māori Party has been soured by the the coalition agreement announced yesterday by the new PM. “Soured” ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • The Good, the Bad, and the even Worse.
    Yesterday the trio that will lead our country unveiled their vision for New Zealand.Seymour looking surprisingly statesmanlike, refusing to rise to barbs about his previous comments on Winston Peters. Almost as if they had just been slapstick for the crowd.Winston was mostly focussed on settling scores with the media, making ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • When it Comes to Palestine – Free Speech is Under Threat
    Hi,Thanks for getting amongst Mister Organ on digital — thanks to you, we hit the #1 doc spot on iTunes this week. This response goes a long way to helping us break even.I feel good about that. Other things — not so much.New Zealand finally has a new government, and ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago

  • Thank you Captain Luxon. Was that a landing, or were we shot down?
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Also in More Than A FeildingFriday The unboxing And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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