David Seymour can’t handle criticism

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, January 14th, 2019 - 112 comments
Categories: act, child welfare, david seymour, education, schools, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

Poor old David Seymour and the ACT party. Becoming more and more irrelevant and facing extinction. What is it meant to do?

How about being obnoxious on social media?

It started off with a simple tweet suggesting that cigarette taxes had increased robberies.

 

 Good old laura norda stuff, the sort of thing supposedly Libertarian right wing parties have done for ever.

Dianne Khan who runs the Save Our Schools website asked a very simple question.

But this was met with this amazing response from David Seymour.

And a gentle attempt at humour by Dianne received this treatment.

But wait there was more.

Where was this evidence that Dianne Khan has been so awful to David Seymour. I went for a look at the Save Our Schools website to see what I could find out. There was this example:

Save Our Schools feels a response to David Seymour’s Questions for Kelvin, Willie and Peeni should include a few relevant facts. This seems to be something Mr Seymour routinely ignores in his communiques.

First, his comment about Maori educational achievement being so utterly abysmal.

Using the Government’s main system level metric, called School Leavers, Māori achievement has been increasing steadily for many years. In 2016, 66.5% of Māori students left school with at least NCEA Level 2 or higher, the benchmark used by the government for the minimum desired level of qualification. This compares to a similar figure of 45.7% in 2009, an encouraging increase of 20.8 percentage points in 7 years.

In contrast, only 59.7% of charter school leavers left school in 2016 with at least NCEA Level 2 or higher. Furthermore, it was disappointing to see that no less than 20.2% of 2016 leavers from charter schools left without even attaining NCEA Level 1.

Second, his comments on charter school funding always require clarification. Charter schools receive much more funding than the LOCAL schools that they were set up to compete against. This gives them an advantage compared to the much bigger, more established schools in places such as South Auckland.

Save Our Schools analysed the 2015 financial statements of South Auckland Middle School (SAMS) and its local counterpart, Manurewa Intermediate. SAMS received $11,740 of funding per student after paying the rent for its premises. In contrast, Manurewa Intermediate received funding of $5,907 per student, with its property provided by the Crown.

This simple analysis destroys the myth perpetuated by charter school supporters that there were not serious problems with the original charter school funding model. Some of these problems were corrected when the funding formula was revised but the early schools still enjoy the benefit of being locked in to the overly generous original model.


Yep jammed full of, er, critical analysis and facts.

I am not surprised Seymour does not want to engage with Khan. Having someone point out so clearly why you are wrong and the reasons for it can’t be a very enjoyable experience.

And this final tweet is for you David.

 

112 comments on “David Seymour can’t handle criticism ”

  1. Morrissey 1

    Why can’t people from the ACT cult dance? I believe it has something to do with guilty feet having no rhythm….

    http://www.recipeapart.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/55ffd0ef0f2a4f2f0375.jpeg

  2. You_Fool 2

    I was wondering why Rimmer was so upset with this person, then I realised it was because she had logic and facts and figures, and Rimmer has none…

    I also like that as a champion of free speech he doesn’t like having actual debates over his ideas

  3. Pete 3

    I know some people think David Seymour is a jerk. I know some people think he’s God because he sponsored a bill allowing bars to open and televise the 2015 Rugby World Cup games in the early hours of the morning.

    The petulance and arrogance displayed on here won’t make one iota of difference to him being Epsom MP.

    • mickysavage 3.1

      This particular incident won’t make any difference. ACT is completely and utterly dependent on National’s generosity. But one day National will realise that ACT is not worth the bother.

      • Tricledrown 3.1.1

        Mickey they need Nationals govt provided welfare to survive. Budging on the State. Euthanasia bill is Seymour only lifeline Ironically. Conservative Christians hate this bill and they will not turn up to vote rather than vote for Parties who support this legislation. Seymour is a plonker a hologram. Hollowman.

      • Gosman 3.1.2

        What purpose would it serve National to cut ACT off? They aren’t damaged by the relationship with ACT and they provide a useful ally in Parliament even with a single MP.

        • arkie 3.1.2.1

          In your opinion.

          • Robert Glennie 3.1.2.1.1

            An opinion with evidence to back it up.

            If National wanted to cut A.C.T. they would have done it by now. They could have for example asked people to vote for Paul Goldsmith in Epsom so that David Seymour would lose the race and be made to exit Parliament. They did not.

            I think that was the idea of New Zealand First in Epsom to instigate such a campaign if it meant A.C.T.’s demise.

        • AB 3.1.2.2

          Quite right Gosman. No way National will cut off ACT unless they believe their association with ACT damages them more than it benefits them. Right now it doesn’t.
          IMO National are more likely to create additional weirdo, nutter parties and keep them on life support as perhaps their only way back to power. Every safe National electorate seat can potentially be Epsomised.
          Nats are driven by power and money. Something as trifling as democracy is nothing compared to power and money.

          • alwyn 3.1.2.2.1

            “IMO National are more likely to create additional weirdo, nutter parties and keep them on life support as perhaps their only way back to power.”

            Well it might be worth a try.
            With very few words changed you get the following, and that has worked for the Labour Party.
            “IMO Labour are more likely to create additional weirdo, nutter parties like the Greens and keep them on life support as perhaps their only way to ever hold power”.

            And give the real power to Tsar Winston, of course.

            • In Vino 3.1.2.2.1.1

              Personally, I prefer the older spelling ‘Czar’. But you bring yourself into ridicule by your thin pretence that Winston has any such powers. Jacinda would now be dead if he had powers like that, as you well know. The Czars were utterly despotic, and Stalin followed suit, as their successor, despite the idealistic revolution..

              • alwyn

                “The Czars were utterly despotic,”.
                Utter rubbish. Stalin certainly was but the Tsars were angelic in comparison with him.

                As for “idealistic revolution”. That might have been the case in the February Revolution but it certainly wasn’t the case in October when the Bolsheviks took over.

                Stalin was certainly guilty of multiple murders and other crimes in the 2008 – 2017 period. He was arrested on multiple occasions but the worst punishment he ever got during the reign of the Tsar was internal exile.
                Perhaps the then regime should not have been as generous to him.
                Have a look at what a bastard he was and wonder on the fact that they never executed him.
                It would certainly have got rid of a man who was probably the most evil person of the 20th century. He was, I would judge, even worse than his counterpart in Germany.
                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_life_of_Joseph_Stalin

                • In Vino

                  OK, I should have written,’ The great and successful Czars’ Those who ruled Russia successfully always did so with a rod of iron (Peter, Catherine, Ivan..) They were despotic whether you like it or not, and it has been well argued that Stalin followed in their tradition.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 3.2

      An example of the jerk God’s petulance/arrogance from this post – desperate Dave.

      Nah you’re actually an awful person and, other than pointing out as much, I would never engage with you.

      Seems “we’re dealing here with utter scum“… Anything else to debate?

    • Morrissey 3.3

      Correct, Pete. The sheep of Epsom will do as they’re told.

  4. patricia bremner 4

    For someone who dishes it out, he does not take it at all. Quite correct Mickey.

  5. It seems like he is losing it. He needs serious help is all I can say.

    • Tricledrown 5.1

      JLR could give him some support.

    • Gosman 5.2

      Why is he losing it? Refusing to engage in actual debate with a ideological opponent is not necessarily a reflection of someone losing it. In fact it might be entirely rational as he does not want to justify her position by giving it any credence or a large amount of airtime.

      • arkie 5.2.1

        In your opinion. He also needlessly called her ‘utter scum’. Refusing to debate but also insulting your ‘idealogical opponent’ is not what one would call rational debate. One could say it was out of line, that he is losing it. And if he wanted to avoid giving it airtime he failed didn’t he?

      • It was the insults and tone of the response. If your argument was valid he would have said nothing. By giving it no oxygen it would have died very quickly. As it is he’s made himself look like an arrogant jerk.

        • Gosman 5.2.2.1

          He dislikes Ms Khan and the ideology she represents. I am sure Mr Peters and Ms Davidson also feels the same about others and would treat them equally with disdain. If you think this reflects badly then don’t vote for them.

          • arkie 5.2.2.1.1

            You know how Mr Peters and Ms Davidson feel huh?

            There’s also no evidence of your claim, but there is however evidence of Seymour treating a member of the public badly, calling her ‘utter scum’ and an awful person.

            Your hypothetical is irrelevant to the topic.

          • Gabby 5.2.2.1.2

            He’s just lost the utter scum vote gozzer. Who’s left?

      • woodart 5.2.3

        is this why you refuse to answer perfectly reasonable questions gooseman. by ignoring the hard questions, you think you are not giving the questioner any credence?. is this your way of putting your fingers in your ears and shouting nonsense?

  6. Tiger Mountain 6

    Mr Seymour elevates his public self pleasuring to ever greater spectacle level

    “Trash talk” seems the way increasing numbers of reactionary MPs are heading these days, including Matt King, Nat Northland, and Mrs Bennett of course…

  7. Ross 7

    Haven’t dairy prices gone up significantly over the last 10 years? I’m not aware of a big increase in thefts of butter, milk and cheese. 🙂

    I also find it weird that the party of responsibility is mitigating the behaviour of criminals!

    • Gosman 7.1

      There is no evidence that prices for milk, butter, and cheese in Dairies have gone up more than the rate of inflation (very low) over the past 10 years.

      • Ross 7.1.1

        Gosman

        You didn’t even attempt to research the issue. Dairy prices have indeed outstripped inflation. 2008 is a good example.

        Why are consumers not robbing dairies and supermarkets?

        And can you explain why ACT is suddenly going soft on crime? I thought ACT believed in personal responsibility. But where’s there’s an oppprtunity to take a cheap shot at the Government, personal responsibility isn’t quite so important.

        http://archive.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/economic_indicators/prices_indexes/rising-cost-of-food-in-nz.aspx

        • Ross 7.1.1.1

          “The Food Price Index shows that milk, cheese and eggs rose by 23 percent overall during the year to May 2008. The cost of many dairy products in consumers’ shopping baskets have risen significantly in the past 12 months. For example, figure 2 shows that the price of standard fresh milk increased by 22 percent, cheddar cheese by 59 percent and butter by 80 percent.”

          • Gosman 7.1.1.1.1

            Oh, you mean the cost of items made with milk products not items sold in Dairies. Apologies for that. Dairy products don’t tend to be very easily stored as opposed to Cigareetes. A block of Cigarrettes can be well over 100 dollars. A hundred dollars wort of dairy products is incredibly bulky. that is what criminals don’t tend to steal dairy products.

  8. Gosman 8

    David Seymour is under NO obligation to engage in debate with Dianne Khan or anyone else if he chooses not to. Just as some people here think engaging with AGW deniers is not something you should entertain (which I have no problem with). Dianne Khan is a big person who can handle David Seymours actions.

    • arkie 8.1

      Dianne Khan is a big person who can handle David Seymours actions.

      The point is that David Seymour is evidently NOT a big person who can handle Dianne Khan’s actions.

      An elected representative shouldn’t be calling one of his bosses ‘scum’ but he felt that he must anyway.

      • Gosman 8.1.1

        In your opinion. Seymour does not seem to believe that he is responsible to Ms Khan just as I suspect Mr Peters or Ms Davidson would not be responsible to some ACT supporters. It may harm his re-election chances but this would be unlikely I would suggest.

        • McFlock 8.1.1.1

          And if a Green MP called someone who asked a simple question “utter scum” while refusing to provide an actual answer, you jerks would be outraged.

          It’s a simple question: if dairy robberies have been increasing alongside tobacco taxes, where’s the data? Was Seymour speaking from direct knowledge, or just spinning bullshit to try to seem relevant?

            • McFlock 8.1.1.1.1.1

              “Essentially”, meaning not calling people scum and actually addressing the points that had been raised.
              So, not at all similar, then.

              • Gosman

                She told people to delete themselves from Twitter (i.e. to remove themselves from the debate).

                • McFlock

                  What’s your point? It’s hardly equivalent do just calling someone “scum” in response to a simple question. You put more effort into answering that question than Seymour did. At least Davison clearly explained her position and why she held it.

                  • Gosman

                    She believed people should not be expressing their views on Twitter. Seymour obviously thinks Khan’s views are not worthy of responding to. In my mind that is a similar approach to take. You can obviously disagree with me and get upset with Seymour. What purpose this serves is unclear.

                    • McFlock

                      Ah. You do not compute the difference between calling someone scum and telling abuse enablers to shut up.

            • McFlock 8.1.1.1.2.1

              Neither demonstrate a relationship. What’s the situation regarding addictive illegal drugs like meth? Is it related to actual benefit payments and stand-downs? Is it relocation of the robbery problem from banks, which have largely eradicated robberies? Are service stations hit at the same rate, if not why not? There were some raw numbers in the news article – why can’t Seymour, as an MP, access more accurate data and give us some decent rates? He made the claim, he should have more than a google search of mediocre Stuff articles to back it up.

              • Gosman

                My point was there is actual data that suggests a relationship may exist. Seymour couldn’t be bothered to give this (or the more detailed evidence you requested) to Khan because he does not rate her and does not wish to engage. Again where is the issue here?

                • arkie

                  Uh… from https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/what-does-an-mp-do/

                  MPs are in constant demand to give speeches, write articles for media, attend functions, and meet visitors. They are regularly lobbied by interest groups and individuals who want to promote ideas. They must respond to many letters and emails each year, with sense, sensitivity, and often with practical action.

                  An MPs work includes communicating with the media and the public about the issues they are involved in.

                • McFlock

                  May exist? If you’re going to demand a change in policy, you need more than “may”.

                  Seymour “may” have evidence – if he were going to plug his idea, the “should” have the evidence on hand, and it “might” have occurred to him that even though he didn’t like the commenter who asked a question that “could” be easily predicted, someone else on Twitter “might” be interested in the simple response he had already prepared.

                  OR

                  He has no real evidence and he’s just desperately flailing about in search of some shred of relevance.

                  • Meh. It’s a reasonable assumption from Seymour. Continually hiking the taxes on cigarettes will inevitable take their price into territory in which a black market becomes worthwhile. If a black market becomes worthwhile, people will steal to supply that black market.

                    Given the above, the facts that cigarettes are now ridiculously expensive and we’ve seen evidence of a black market developing means you could reasonably expect robberies of dairies to steal cigarettes to be on the increase.

                    And, funnily enough, it just so happens we’re seeing a lot of news stories about robberies of dairies to steal cigarettes.

                    So it’s certainly true that we haven’t seen proof that the correlation is causal (where are the nation’s social sciences academics when you actually need them for once?), but what we’re seeing is what we’d expect to see given the circumstances. As with climate change, we’re in a situation of “Given A and B, we’d expect to see C happening, and oh look we’ve got C happening.” At that point your best course of action is to assume causation unless evidence turns up to the contrary.

                    • McFlock

                      That’s why I’d be interested in service station robberies as well.

                      If they’re targeted at the same rate for hold ups, the tobacco theory holds more water. But service stations typically have much more open layouts than corner stores, obvious cameras, and you can see into them from the street – similar to the modern bank design that’s helped lower the number of bank robberies.

                      So if dairy robberies have gone up and service station robberies is constant or falling, then we’re looking at a crime displacement effect creating a new black market, rather than the black market creating the crime.

                      edit: and this is from someone who’s pissed off that the tobacco taxes finally stopped me smoking. I can only afford so many vices…

        • arkie 8.1.1.2

          In your opinion.

          I remember that within the last year a certain Ms Davidson attempted to reclaim the C word at a protest rally. Blue murder was cried.

          • Gosman 8.1.1.2.1

            Did I personally express any upset at her?

            • arkie 8.1.1.2.1.1

              That’s irrelevant to me, my point being that Ms Davidson wasn’t talking to a citizen specifically and many were outraged. Seymour called Ms Kahn and ‘awful person’ and ‘utter scum’ for daring to differ ideologically. Why defend someone so unequipped to have a discussion that they resort to ad hominem when even slightly questioned?

              • Gosman

                David Seymour is under no obligation to be nice to people of all ideological persuasions. If you don’t like his attitude don’t vote for him. Oh wait… you don’t anyway.

                • arkie

                  Uh… from https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/what-does-an-mp-do/

                  MPs are in constant demand to give speeches, write articles for media, attend functions, and meet visitors. They are regularly lobbied by interest groups and individuals who want to promote ideas. They must respond to many letters and emails each year, with sense, sensitivity, and often with practical action.

                  An MPs work includes communicating with the media and the public about the issues they are involved in.

                  • Gosman

                    LOL!

                    Do you think you’ve discovered some sort of enforceable code of conduct that means MP’s have to respond to ALL requests via ALL sources for information?

                    That is hilarious, if true.

                    • arkie

                      I’m pointing out that David Seymour is unable to do the basic functions of his job with sense and sensibility.

                      If you employed someone who was equally unable to do their job would you be happy to continue paying them?

                    • Gosman

                      The comment you posted does not mean what you think it means. It is detailing what MP’s usually do not what they are OBLIGED to do.

                    • Gosman

                      Regardless if you don’t like David Seymour’s behaviour then don’t vote for him. Oh wait… you don’t already.

                    • mpledger

                      You seem to want to limit out behaviour. We can do more then not vote for him, we can show others his responses so that they can see he is ill-mannered and ill-educated.

      • Wensleydale 8.1.2

        On a positive note, at least now nobody’s under any illusions as to the sort of person David ‘Rimmer’ Seymour is. A petulant man-child who can’t abide someone refuting his rickety excuse for an argument. Epsom voters… are you really getting your money’s worth?

        • arkie 8.1.2.1

          This is very true!

        • Gosman 8.1.2.2

          Do you disagree with the statistics contained in this media report?

          • Robert Guyton 8.1.2.2.1

            Do you agree Gosman, that calling Dianne Khan “utter scum” is an inappropriate thing for Seymour to have done?

            • woodart 8.1.2.2.1.1

              you wont get a straight answer robert. gooseman cant answer the easy questions, let alone understand the hard ones. like most right wingers, he is easily confused by logic and has shifting ,and sellable principles. and,like seymour ,his dancing on a pinhead, shuffling around a subject, isnt worth the admission price. the best thing to do with irritants like him is either ignore them, or swat them …..

              • Robert Guyton

                Really? Well, that would be disappointing but I’ll still wait hopefully. Gosman’s been otherwise quite polite to me so far.

            • Gosman 8.1.2.2.1.2

              I wouldn’t have done what he did with Ms Khan as it seems a tad petulant but thst does not mean I would have engaged with her.

              • Robert Guyton

                Thanks, Gosman, for your answer. I’m like you and wouldn’t have said, written especially, “utter scum” of someone I disagreed with. I reckon your, “a tad petulant” is a pretty generous assessment but it’s an expression that looks good when written and reads aloud well, and you can change the emphasis when you do; “It’s a tad petulant” or “It’s a tad petulant . I’d have said it’s a disgraceful thing to say, but I’m not a supporter of his.

                • Gosman

                  I know David Seymour (not hugely well to be fair). He can get quite prickly at times. It isn’t his best personality trait to be sure but then lots of politicians have personality flaws. It certainly does not preclude him being an MP or leading a political party in my view.

                  • Robert Guyton

                    I agree. When we know politicians personally it’s natural, I reckon, to leap to their defence, even if they mis-step. I know I supported (and still support) Meteria when she was under attack, and I’m sure you allowed for that sort of response by pulling your punches a little, knowing that it hurts when it’s personal 🙂

  9. AB 9

    Whether it has led to an increase in robberies or not – financially punishing the addicted for their addiction is bad policy medically and socially.
    The tobacco companies should be paying for smoking cessation treatment and medical costs – rather than getting away with externalising the true costs of their product onto others.

    • Given that tobacco companies would build in any compulsory costs imposed by the government into their prices, it’s a lot cheaper and more efficient to just tax the product. That said, taxes generated from cigarettes are now generate way more income for the government than the health costs it incurs, so it is quite literally profiting from others’ misery the same as the tobacco companies do.

      • patricia bremner 9.1.1

        Are you able to prove the Government profits from the excise charged on smoking?

        After all, the money is used to fund hotlines replacement products and advertising about health risks and aid, and help with security measures for dairies as well.

        Hardly a lucrative income, as the health system is also still dealing with aging smokers with resulting conditions of emphysema asthma and cancers.

        These conditions are very expensive to treat. An exaggeration to say “profit”.

        Just as David Seymour is rude and ungracious to a voter, who has a different view and corrects him on his facts.

        • McFlock 9.1.1.1

          Are those conditions more expensive to treat than whatever else people die from? Non-smokers don’t just keel over one day any more than smokers do. Degenerative conditions are rife in the elderly – a condition that half of smokers barely get to see, so you have the unpaid pensions on top of any difference in treatment costs.

          How much does the government fund on hotlines etc? $20mill? $100mill?

        • Psycho Milt 9.1.1.2

          Smokers actually tend to cost the health system less overall than non-smokers, because they often die relatively young of things that kill you relatively quickly.

          The question of how much money the government makes from smokers is difficult to answer, because health officials tend to make “estimates” of the health cost that come to nearly the same as the government is receiving in tobacco tax revenue. For example, this Min of Health report in 2010:

          A 2007 estimate put the cost of smoking to the health system at $300 to $350 million per annum; however current work within the Ministry of Health suggests that figure may be as high as $1 to $1.6 billion per annum [2].

          Funnily enough, that “suggested” figure that’s so much higher than the Uni of Otago study is similar to the amount being taken in tax revenue at the time ($1.12 billion), and its upper limit is a little more than the additional tax rate being requested would take the amount to ($1.49 billion). Very convenient suggestion, especially when you take into account there was an actual study showing the actual cost to be a third of that.

          • mpledger 9.1.1.2.1

            I don’t know about that. Emphysema and bronchitis are long term conditions. And periphery artery disease is a long term condition.

            There is also the health cost that they impose on other through their smoking – children with second hand smoke conditions, newborns who have been effected by cigarette smoking – low birth weight.

      • AB 9.1.2

        You could price freeze them as well.
        And it doesn’t matter that the early deaths of smokers may actually cost the Crown less than the later deaths of non-smokers. The point of making tobacco companies pay for the true costs of their product is not to reduce overall Crown expenditure. It is to drive the tobacco companies into the ground, with luck take every cent they have as they go down and reduce the suffering they cause. And also send a big a big “eff off, we’re in charge” to corporate power.

    • Enough 9.2

      Despite his inept defence of Seymour, I decided not to engage with the awful Gosman. Utter scum though he is, I’m confident he’ll respect that decision.

      • Tamati Tautuhi 9.2.1

        U are not very nice calling Gosmam “utter scum”, Gosman always tries to be nice despite his RWNJ leanings.

        • Enough 9.2.1.1

          I was merely quoting Seymour, whose verbatim comment (top of page) Gosman has been attempting to justify.

    • mpledger 9.3

      Financially punishing the addicted is actually good policy – it’s one of the only levers that reduces smoking significantly. But it’s not the only thing in place, there are things like quitline and GP/Pharmacy services that help with people quitting and staying smoke free.

  10. ken 10

    Pure desperation.
    Any publicity is good publicity as far as Seymour goes.

  11. JustMe 11

    I don’t think any MP that is linked to the NZ National Party eg ACT; likes being told the truth or being critiicsed.

    They(National and co)don’t mind dishing out criticism but they just don’t like being on the receiving end.

    Perhaps their attitude is because deep down they know they are wrong but in their pure arrogance think they are right ALL the time.

    Where was David Seymour’s voice of concern when Bill English and John Key were criticising NZers eg Key’s nastiness towards NZers which protested against the TPPA and National?

    And so to the likes of Seymour and so many others like him in the NZ National Party if you don’t like being criticised then please refrain from criticising others. Criticism is a Two Way Street.

  12. Srylands 12

    David Seymour is a beacon in a desert of socialism. Just what I would expect from a Labour Party blog.

  13. mpledger 13

    If I were being cynical I’d say that ACT got some Indian money when National trashed them in favour of the Chinese. He has to defend his money stream to the hilt no matter what.

  14. Sacha 14

    No surprise to see Davey lash out at one of the main people who resisted his charter schools baby. How very dare she! The logic is inescapable (except to 99.5% of the population).

    Imagine him watching impotently as the Nats withdraw the Epsom lifeline because he can’t deliver any more than one vote for them and the unrewarded donors are deserting in droves. Lipstick won’t save that pig. Perhaps a fresher party altogether can perform better with that tame electorate as an anchor in 2020, the Nats realise ..

    Master Seymour was the epitome of a mid-life crisis today, alone and tightly blue-suited in a low-slung, tastelessly-bright yellow roofless Morgan convertible as the tepid rains began to lash Remuera Rd. Uncomfortable but a prisoner of choices made some time earlier. Running on empty.

    • shadrach 14.1

      Hi Sacha

      Rather than take your information from https://saveourschoolsnz.com/, you may want to look at http://www.saveourschools.nz/.

      Opposition to Partnership Schools is driven by fear of their success at a time when the public education system is failing so many students.

      Remember this – those who truly benefit from this model are the children who participate in it. Visit the website and hear THEIR stories.

      • Sacha 14.1.1

        Sideshow.

      • Pete 14.1.2

        Are partnership schools which take kids who are “being failed” by the public education system or are they just schools operating under some different strictures?

        • shadrach 14.1.2.1

          Partnership schools were indeed taking children who were being failed by the public system. Read some of the stories at http://www.saveourschools.nz/. There is a large number of students who have been failed by this government’s distaste for success outside of mainstream public education. What is particularly irksome is the hypocrisy of certain Maori Labour MP’s who supported these schools in words, but when the going got tough, they piked. Poor, poor form.

          • R.P Mcmurphy 14.1.2.1.1

            what is irksome is these poeple never provided any proof whatsoever that they could do a better job.

        • R.P Mcmurphy 14.1.2.2

          they are just money grubbers who think they know better than trained people. they want to get their hands on government funding and buy property and when the school tanks then they own it. neat trick eh?

          • shadrach 14.1.2.2.1

            Money grubbers? Seriously? Almost all Partnership Schools were ‘not for profit’. You didn’t know that, did you?

    • Robert Guyton 14.2

      charter school “baby” should read, “changeling”, Imo.
      Mewling and puking, like a baby, only…twisted somehow…

  15. shadrach 15

    “Where was this evidence that Dianne Khan has been so awful to David Seymour. ”

    Mickey, where is the evidence that David Seymour claimed Dianne Khan had been awful to him?

    Your own post includes Seymour’s quote “Nah you’re actually an awful person…”. So not awful to him, just awful.

  16. tc 16

    What a great post for the RWNJ to earn some extra brownie points defending the indefensible.

    Even some charter school spin thrown in….Nice work tr%$ls !

  17. Michelle 17

    thank you Epsom for this d..head

  18. Sue 18

    David Seymour’s personal attacks on Diane Khan as “an awful person” could be regarded as online bullying.

    If he’s so rude to the public, I would be surprised if other MPs find him easy to work with.

    National, please cut him loose at the next election! ACT doesn’t have a public mandate to be in Parliament.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    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 ...
    2 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    6 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
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    6 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
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    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    7 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
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    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    8 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
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    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    11 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
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    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    14 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
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    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    16 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
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    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
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    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
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    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
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    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
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    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
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    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
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    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
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    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
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    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
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    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
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    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
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    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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