Debarclay gets sordid

Written By: - Date published: 1:47 pm, June 27th, 2017 - 82 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, accountability, national - Tags: , , , ,

Oh lord. Really?

Parliament officials knew details of Barclay tapes

Exclusive: Intercepted discussions in the Clutha-Southland MP’s electorate office included talk of “sex and drugs”, a source tells Newsroom

Despite the lede it is of course a very informative piece, with details of negotiations around the payout.

Newsroom has Dickson’s un-redacted statement, which has not previously been made public.

In it she says Dalziel had begun negotiating with the Parliamentary Service over her severance conditions after the dispute with Barclay arose.

The lawyer wanted a higher settlement than the Parliamentary Service was prepared to pay but the situation changed after it became clear Dickson’s privacy had been breached.

“They told her (Dalziel) about the recordings that Todd had. This is the same information that I had received from Bill English.

“Consequently, she then went back to Parliamentary Services and negotiations continued. They then came back within a day and accepted the original offer that we had asked for.

“It seemed strange that they’d changed their decision so quickly within a day.

“Catherine Dalziel also told me that she had spoken to Parliamentary Services and that they had acknowledged there was recorded conversations involving me which concerned Todd Barclay regarding sex and drug matters.

Read on for plenty more on Newsroom.

82 comments on “Debarclay gets sordid ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. mickysavage 1
    27 June 2017 at 1:54 pm

    With sex and drugs now in the picture this story has at least another week to run …

    • lprent 1.1
      27 June 2017 at 2:45 pm

      Yeah. Sounds like something that people can get judgemental about while details are sorted out.

      But that phrasing does sound to me like selective picking of normal constituency work (along with the usual housing, dealing eith government services, and immigration topics). However someone (Todd Barcley??) has done a Slater and overblown to parliamentary services to make it more sensational.

      However whichever way you look at it, it appears to be a pretty serious breach into the social work that is such a strong part of constituency offices.

      • McFlock 1.1.1
        27 June 2017 at 2:59 pm

        Fair point, but if it was just constituency work he could launch a pretty valid press complaint:

        The Parliamentary Service told Christchurch lawyer Kathryn Dalziel that there was a tape and her client, Glenys Dickson, was recorded discussing the MP.

        Dalziel was told one intercepted conversation involved talk of “sex and drug matters”.

        That’s some pretty misleading juxtaposition if the s&d talk wasn’t concerning Barclay.

        • dukeofurl 1.1.1.1
          27 June 2017 at 4:13 pm

          Ms Dickson doesnt seem they type to have an involvement in such matters, while Mr Barclay is the well know Queenstown party animal.
          You are trying to not see the wood for the trees

          • McFlock 1.1.1.1.1
            27 June 2017 at 4:45 pm

            We must all keep an open mind as to whether the waddling, quacking, feathered creature before us is actually a duck 😉

        • Gabby 1.1.1.2
          27 June 2017 at 6:34 pm

          It could concern a third party and a blackmail threat.

          • McFlock 1.1.1.2.1
            27 June 2017 at 9:01 pm

            And how would that be “discussing the MP”?
            Best not speculate, really. The juxtaposition in the article just suggests that conversations about s&d were also conversations that discussed the MP. If that’s not the case, he can always complain to press council or someone.

    • Alwyn 1.2
      27 June 2017 at 6:08 pm

      The headlne for this piece is certainly accurate.
      The Morgan Poll numbers must really have got to Little and left him completely desperate.
      Can we now discuss, and make apparently unsupported allegations and insinuations, about the character and activities of any MP or ex-MP we want to?
      I see now why Mallard went off to Bermuda. His wife probably told him that his days as smear-leader of the Labour Party were behifnd him and that the current Labour leader was going to have to do his own dirty work.

      • Michael 1.2.1
        27 June 2017 at 9:07 pm

        “Can we now discuss, and make apparently unsupported allegations and insinuations, about the character and activities of any MP or ex-MP we want to?” Subject to the law of defamation, and the sub judice principle, of course we can. As far as Barclay’s concerned, he doesn’t have a reputation to defend so I think the limits of what can be discussed about him (until the Police charge him, if they ever do) are very wide.

        • mickysavage 1.2.1.1
          27 June 2017 at 9:40 pm

          This did not come from Labour Alwyn. Do you guys ever rely on reality to bolster your assertions?

          • weka 1.2.1.1.1
            27 June 2017 at 10:36 pm

            The bit I like is that alwyn has routinely told lies about the Greens as a way of smearing them. Closely followed by him objecting to smearing Barclay and then smearing Mallard in the same breath. I think my tolerance for hypocrisy as been extended in the past week.

            • McFlock 1.2.1.1.1.1
              27 June 2017 at 10:49 pm

              That’s how they break us – they shovel on so much bullshit we forget what “clean” smells like

          • Alwyn 1.2.1.1.2
            28 June 2017 at 5:08 am

            Did not come from Labour.
            Realy? Then have I missed something? Is Little no longer the leader?
            He was the person who brought the allegations up in Parliament in such a way that he implied it was Barclay who was involved.
            As for Mallard. Am I the only person who remembers him making little sneering remarks about Don Brash’s personal life?
            There have been many smears about the MPs from many parties. I don’t remember any being made by National MPs in the House since Muldoon’s day. That has been mostly a trick of the Labour MPs led by Mallard.

      • KJT 1.2.2
        28 June 2017 at 8:36 am

        What part of Barclay broke the law don’t you understand, Alwyn?

        Of course National and their members think that is fine, so long as you don’t get caught.

        The “Party of individual responsibility”. Yeah right! “Responsibility is for other people”.

  2. Cinny 2
    27 June 2017 at 1:59 pm

    Here we go, it’s whats on the tapes that’s bigger than the taping.

    Thanks TS for keeping us so up to date.

    Good work Newsroom, Melanie… Thank you for being a real journalist, much respect.

    Side note… doesn’t P make people paranoid?

    • Thinkerr 2.2
      27 June 2017 at 8:43 pm

      I disagree that whats on the tape is bigger than the taping.

      If Parliamentary Services was prepared to pay X, but Dickson received Y, due to ‘the privacy breach’ and the difference between X and Y came out of taxpayers money, then if the reason for paying Y not X was due to the need to keep something unsavoury from the public, that, in my opinion, would be the biggest issue for me.

      That taxpayers’ money was used to stop taxpayers finding out something that might be in their interests to know.

      One volume of Dirty Politics was enough for a country like New Zealand, but the way this is going there could be material for a second volume, taking us further from the country we are reputed to be.

      As Blinglish said, “…everyone unhappy…”

      • Cinny 2.2.1
        27 June 2017 at 9:51 pm

        Thanks for the link Uncooked.

        Thinkerr, I do agree that exploiting tax payer monies to hush someone up about a sticky situation is pretty shocking.

        However NZ is a small place…. what’s on the tapes? That is the question media should be asking, bloody lucky the outgoing PM declined to Todds invite to listen to them, but just because he didn’t listen to them doesn’t mean he does not know what is on them. Maybe media should also be asking which senior politicians are involved?

        I guess it depends on just how damning the info on the tapes is, have heard it’s pretty shocking.

  3. Ad 3
    27 June 2017 at 2:00 pm

    If the New Zealand Police respond to this with the same vigour that they reserved for the Teapot Tapes, for which they got a warrant to get into TVNZ, then I am sure the NZPolice (sworn of course to the Queen and not to Parliament) will have no hesitation getting into Parliament and having further interviews with the Prime Minister, his staff, and Parliamentary Services.

    Key and Clark would have crushed this.

    I’m now struggling to see English ever making the grade to Prime Minister.

    • Sabine 3.1
      27 June 2017 at 2:04 pm

      what ever compelled you to think he would made the grade?

      his double dipping?
      him living in dipton?
      the time he got about 20% of votes to be PM?

    • bwaghorn 3.2
      27 June 2017 at 2:06 pm

      starting to think english won’t make the election myself

      • Tamati Tautuhi 3.2.1
        27 June 2017 at 2:09 pm

        Maybe Paula or Judith we could get our first Maori PM.

        • bwaghorn 3.2.1.1
          27 June 2017 at 2:15 pm

          is jude maori? i hope they go with paula most nat voters i know loath her , judith they seem to like , at least you get what you see with jude (this is in no way saying jude is good) , were as bennet is just fake false and nasty ,

          • Sabine 3.2.1.1.1
            27 June 2017 at 3:37 pm

            fake false and nasty

            a good slogan for National .

          • Hanswurst 3.2.1.1.2
            27 June 2017 at 7:33 pm

            Judith Collins is good though, at least in the sense of being competent, and we on the Left would do well to fear her. It speaks volumes that she is still right up ast the top despite so many (I would say justified) attempts to take her down. I imagine that there are plenty of other prominent National parliamentarian who deserve to be done in the same way as Collins was over Oravida or Corrections (back in 2010 or whenever it was), and yet it keeps coming back to Collins. Whether that is because of systemic attitudes towards her being a woman, factionalism, her associations with Slater, the image agree tries to project or a combination of all of those, I don’t know. However, the fact that she is still there and even automatically seen as leadership material in the face of all that suggests teflon qualities that may put even John Key to shame.

            The salient difference is that Collins doesn’t seem the type to sacrifice policy implementation on the altar of popularity. In Collins, therefore, there is the possibility of a National leader of remarkable stickability, along with a vigorous programme of conservative austerity. She could do untold damage. Perhaps, of course, she would also sink like a lead balloon. Who can be sure? What I am sure of is that we should be careful what we wish for.

            • the pigman 3.2.1.1.2.1
              27 June 2017 at 8:38 pm

              LOL – so good she is detested by all in the National Party but her factional allies.

              I suggest you rewatch the TV3 footage of her blackmailing the TV3 journalist who had just asked her some hard questions from the top of the staircase. Essentially saying “If you ask me any more hard questions I am going to eat you for lunch”. It is utterly chilling.

              I might be misremembering but I think it was Katie Bradford — Jude was pissed to have been asked some hard questions about Oravida, cut the interview short then came back and threatened the journo from the top of the stairs: “You may just find that I remember all sorts of things”.

              I am rooting for the day she becomes National leader, but I don’t think her colleagues will ever let her. And not because they have Tall Poppy Syndrome.

              • Incognito …
                27 June 2017 at 8:45 pm

                National is so keen to copy Labour that they even have their own ABC faction 😉

              • Hanswurst …
                27 June 2017 at 11:03 pm

                LOL – so good she is detested by all in the National Party but her factional allies.

                … and yet she is still there, which was my point.

                I’m quite familiar with the footage you reference, thankyou. I think it’s far from a forgone conclusion that she would fail.

                • the pigman …
                  28 June 2017 at 6:38 pm

                  Yes, but she’s only there because she has a very full “top drawer”.

                  How else does someone come back from DP and her e-mails with Slater, their little conspiracies to take down Simon Pleasants and Adam Feely, and come out the other end with ministerial warrants?

                  I shudder to imagine that top drawer’s contents, but suffice to say she has material sufficient to silence her critics in National, which most certainly include one Simon William English.

            • Sabine 3.2.1.1.2.2
              27 June 2017 at 11:12 pm

              how much would Oravida be an issue in J.C ambition to be Madam Prime Minister?

  4. marty mars 4
    27 June 2017 at 2:01 pm

    Yep as suspected. And bill is about to get sprayed by this.

    And I suspect a few gnat supporters around these parts know some stuff too.

  5. McFlock 5
    27 June 2017 at 2:03 pm

    lolz

    What a dropkick Barclay is. Give a boy a couple of hundred grand a year, see what he does. Oh, sorry, my mistake, his electorate staff might just have been talking about their drugs&hookers end of year party… 🙂

    • weka 5.1
      27 June 2017 at 2:55 pm

      rofl.

      The RW spin has been that those silly, boring, staid Gore people didn’t like that Barclay went and lived in Queenstown and partied hard, so they took a vendetta against him. Not enough rolling eyes for that one.

      • Draco T Bastard 5.1.1
        27 June 2017 at 4:47 pm

        +111

        😈

      • Paul Campbell 5.1.2
        27 June 2017 at 8:28 pm

        Well from the Newsroom article it seems like they were particularly pissed off because he was too hung over to show up to give a speech at Telford (which is near Gore, so the people in the Gore office would have organised it) they probably had to run around making apologies on his behalf at the last minute and had every right to be angry

    • Grafton Gully 5.2
      27 June 2017 at 6:46 pm

      Other Barclays succeeded as Labour politicians. James, Bruce and Ron.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Barclay

  6. marty mars 6
    27 June 2017 at 2:05 pm

    Who told parliamentary services what the contents of the tape were?

  7. Carolyn_nth 7
    27 June 2017 at 2:11 pm

    Sex, drugs and dictaphone tapes. One for Netflix?

  8. dukeofurl 8
    27 June 2017 at 2:14 pm

    I see they are still trying to blame Dickson for breaching confidentiality over the settlement when it was Barclay who babbled an untrue version some months back to the Herald

    ““I had received complaints about the conduct of a staff member from members of the public and I referred the matter to Parliamentary Services.
    “As the legal employer of support staff, they acted as they deemed appropriate and embarked on a disciplinary process.”
    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/06/20/35010/allegations-barclay-invented-complaints
    None of that was true of course but when you have a settlement you dont ever rehash the details even if you dont mention a settlement.

    The wording seems very precise so Im wondering who helped Barclay with his smear ?

    As for the details of Barclays ‘fast life’ in Queenstown, its at the heart of the dispute between conservative rural party supporters and their cuckoo in the nest in Queenstown
    I think the MSM have some of the details already but have to tread carefully and only with defamation lawyers approval.

  9. joe90 9
    27 June 2017 at 2:18 pm

    Dickson has told Newsroom that she had the conversation with Swan after Barclay pulled out of the prize-giving ceremony at the Telford Agricultural institute in Balclutha.

    He was the guest of honour but had remained in Queenstown where he had been partying the night before. He later produced a doctor’s certificate saying he was suffering from exhaustion.

    I guess exhaustion is the new tired and emotional.

    • Bearded Git 9.1
      27 June 2017 at 3:38 pm

      LOL…..now for revelations of some Ugandan affairs

      • dukeofurl 9.1.1
        27 June 2017 at 4:16 pm

        Yep thats an oldy but a goody – “They were talking about Uganda’- all night long.

        • D'Esterre 9.1.1.1
          27 June 2017 at 11:04 pm

          Dukeofurl: ” “They were talking about Uganda’- all night long.”

          Haha, yes, I remember that from the 80s.

          In one Metro magazine back then, Felicity Ferret regaled the readers with an account of a notable arriving by car at a function. And falling out of the back of said car when the door was opened, on account of he and his female companion (not his wife) were in the middle of discussing the Uganda situation.

          Stuff of that sort anent Barclay, perhaps? Though I don’t think that he’s hitched, so no skin off anyone’s nose, whoever he’s been discussing the Uganda situation with. Or how often…

    • dukeofurl 9.2
      27 June 2017 at 4:24 pm

      Its a ‘spectrum’ thing as well…. first signs are ‘flat tyres’ and then it progresses through ‘google maps not working’ to finally get to ‘end state exhaustion’.
      Im sure the doctors cure was ‘ some early nights’

  10. Tamati Tautuhi 10
    27 June 2017 at 2:19 pm

    This is starting to play out like US Politics hold on to your seats.

  11. Tamati Tautuhi 11
    27 June 2017 at 2:52 pm

    Got a feeling the next 3 months could get dirty ?

    Cosby Textor will be searching through their bag of tricks ?

    • weka 11.1
      27 June 2017 at 3:02 pm

      I was thinking it was a shame this was coming out so fast, but actually it’s probably too fast for CT and co to keep up with, so mistakes are being made. Good.

    • Bearded Git 11.2
      27 June 2017 at 4:38 pm

      It’s Crosby….but I can see where you are going with Cosby….

      • UncookedSelachimorpha 11.2.1
        27 June 2017 at 6:44 pm

        “Strong and Stable” was a bit of a CT flop…long may it continue

    • D'Esterre 11.3
      27 June 2017 at 11:07 pm

      Tamati Tautuhi: “Cosby Textor….”

      Heh, Cosby…. Freudian slip there?

  12. weka 12
    27 June 2017 at 3:06 pm

    Someone in the media needs to do one of those infographic things about all the strands of the Debarclay affair.

  13. mary_a 13
    27 June 2017 at 3:06 pm

    Hang on folks, seems like more, much more than anticipated is coming! This latest revelation could be a high flier!

    Now we wait to see how Bilious handles these latest revelations “… er, yes, no, I don’t recall … er any questions about something else? Didn’t we do well in the America’s Cup?”

    Oh that’s right, TNZ has won the America’s Cup, so msm is extremely busy with that one, being a news item of great importance, to concern itself with a silly trifling government scandal with possible criminal implications!

  14. swordfish 14
    27 June 2017 at 3:07 pm

    “Today we see the real story – at the heart of the Government a sordid tale of lies, deceit and convenient forgetfulness … The Prime Minister of New Zealand of course knows nothing about it…”

    “I have never seen such slithery dishonesty from the leader of our country.”

    “This behaviour from someone in such high office is unacceptable.”

    This was Bill English in 2002, criticising Helen Clark for her conduct in the so-called “Painter-gate” scandal.

    https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/22-06-2017/remembering-paintergate-and-what-bill-english-had-to-say-about-it/

  15. Mrs Brillo 15
    27 June 2017 at 3:15 pm

    Release the transcript, before the tape is mysteriously destroyed or burgled.

    • weka 15.1
      27 June 2017 at 3:28 pm

      There’s confidentiality issues, both for Dickson and for constituents that were recorded. Not sure yet if the public good outweighs that.

      • dukeofurl 15.1.1
        27 June 2017 at 4:18 pm

        usually thats solved by beeping out the constituents personal stuff, but leaving in Barclay

        • weka 15.1.1.1
          27 June 2017 at 4:19 pm

          Yes, a redacted transcript seems reasonable. Not sure how that would get decided though. Presumably Dickson and the others have some rights here.

        • Graeme 15.1.1.2
          27 June 2017 at 7:14 pm

          They’d have to beep out the lot since toddles wasn’t a party to any of it.

          It’s where toddles let slip what he’d recorded that’ll be his undoing.

  16. Pete 16
    27 June 2017 at 3:54 pm

    On TV3 they have an ad about something they do or what they’re about made up of little clips and there’s Barclay, very certain, “I totally refute….”

  17. Rae 17
    27 June 2017 at 4:00 pm

    Let us not forget who was PM when this happened.

    • weka 17.1
      27 June 2017 at 4:16 pm

      quite.

    • Draco T Bastard 17.2
      27 June 2017 at 5:32 pm

      Essential to remember that considering the payout came from his office.

    • mary_a 17.3
      27 June 2017 at 6:42 pm

      @ Rae (17) … bingo! And let’s not forget “HE” has not even been mentioned here. A clean slate, but an odious dirty record of lies, deceit and cover ups on his watch!

  18. silvertuatara 18
    27 June 2017 at 4:11 pm

    Is the team of Bill English and Paula Bennett about to be internally rolled within the National Party? ….check out the latest news on Paula Bennett at newshub http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2016/06/labour-paula-bennett-has-hit-a-new-low.html

  19. Muttonbird 19
    27 June 2017 at 4:28 pm

    What’s the deal with Parliamentary Services knowing about the tapes but standing by while Barclay lied to the house and to the New Zealand public?

    You expect it from dishonest Bill, but not the supposedly neutral Parliamentary Services.

  20. Pete 20
    27 June 2017 at 7:31 pm

    Blah blah blah… who cares? I really hate to agree with Hosser Toskin, but on this occasion I think he is right and none of this will make a difference on who wins the election.

    What should matter a great deal to Labour is that continuing down the destructive neoliberal path is a recipe for failure. This is a lesson taught by elections in the USA, France and most recently, Italy.

    In contrast, by adopting policies designed to return control to the masses instead of the few filthy rich, Corbyn has vividly demonstrated how this can be accomplished against all odds. People aren’t just ready for such policies, they are hungry for it.

    Bickering with the opposition over their cheating is just an opportunity lost to put forward progressive ideas to galvanise the electorate.

  21. Ed 21
    27 June 2017 at 9:17 pm

    Bomber is of the opinion ‘a very Kiwi Coup’ is occurring.’

  22. Tamati Tautuhi 22
    27 June 2017 at 9:47 pm

    I think Bill may be rolled as the Natzi Hierachy can see the blood on the tracks but who has the crediblity to fill Bill’s shoes ?

    • Ed 22.1
      27 June 2017 at 9:52 pm

      Depends which wing of the party wins.
      Right wing wins ………. Paula Bennett
      Extreme right wing wins…..Judith Collins

  23. patricia bremner 23
    27 June 2017 at 10:44 pm

    I hope they implode!!!

  24. Anthony Rimell 24
    27 June 2017 at 11:06 pm

    As significant as this issue seems, in reality it pails compared to this:

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/333861/social-housing-candidate-has-links-to-manus-detention-centre

    Bill’s National Government is looking to offload our State Houses in Christchurch to a consortium that includes a business with links to the Manus Detention Centre. They seem to feel such a company is a good corporate citizen who will provide the appropriate wrap around social service our most vulnerable need.

    Beyond sex and drugs and rock’n’roll, this is the truly despicable behavior of the current Government.

    • McFlock 24.1
      27 June 2017 at 11:12 pm

      fucksake, serco all over again.

      Good reminder of the other crap they’re pulling.

    • Tamati Tautuhi 24.2
      28 June 2017 at 7:16 am

      This National Government wants to dissolve all responsibility for social housing, however it has no answers for the homeless are we going to set up squatter camps in certain areas of the City ?

    • NZJester 24.3
      28 June 2017 at 7:27 am

      Well as the way the National Government seems to want social housing run is in line with how the Manus Detention Center is run, They probably think they are the perfect people to run Detention Camps state houses for the poor.

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    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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 days 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
    5 days 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
    5 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days ago

  • Cans of Worms.
    “And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”LAURIE AND LES were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Disinformation campaigns are undermining democracy. Here’s how we can fight back
    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • 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.1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is not even an entry in Wikipedia. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • The New Government: 2023 Edition
    So New Zealand has a brand-spanking new right-wing government. Not just any new government either. A formal majority coalition, of the sort last seen in 1996-1998 (our governmental arrangements for the past quarter of a century have been varying flavours of minority coalition or single-party minority, with great emphasis ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    7 days ago

  • 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 tree with its gold ribbon but can turn out to be nothing more than a big box holding a voucher for socks, so it ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • A cruel, vicious, nasty government
    So, after weeks of negotiations, we finally have a government, with a three-party cabinet and a time-sharing deputy PM arrangement. Newsroom's Marc Daalder has put the various coalition documents online, and I've been reading through them. A few things stand out: Luxon doesn't want to do any work, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • Hurrah – we have a new government (National, ACT and New Zealand First commit “to deliver for al...
    Buzz from the Beehive Sorry, there has been  no fresh news on the government’s official website since the caretaker trade minister’s press statement about the European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement. But the capital is abuzz with news – and media comment is quickly flowing – after ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Christopher Luxon – NZ PM #42.
    Nothing says strong and stable like having your government announcement delayed by a day because one of your deputies wants to remind everyone, but mostly you, who wears the trousers. It was all a bit embarrassing yesterday with the parties descending on Wellington before pulling out of proceedings. There are ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Coalition Government details policies & ministers
    Winston Peters will be Deputy PM for the first half of the Coalition Government’s three-year term, with David Seymour being Deputy PM for the second half. Photo montage by Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: PM-Elect Christopher Luxon has announced the formation of a joint National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government with a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • “Old Coat” by Peter, Paul & Mary.
     THERE ARE SOME SONGS that seem to come from a place that is at once in and out of the world. Written by men and women who, for a brief moment, are granted access to that strange, collective compendium of human experience that comes from, and belongs to, all the ...
    Bowalley Road
    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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