Democratisation by Social Media and the Internet Is Just Meaningless Waffle

Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, December 24th, 2019 - 22 comments
Categories: accountability, Deep stuff, democracy under attack, democratic participation, internet, Media, Politics, uncategorized - Tags: , ,

It seems that some people hold the opinion that Social Media and the Internet have heralded in new era of democracy and have provided more democracy.

This is so misguided, it is almost funny.

Sure, we can access and share so much more information and so much faster than we used to. In the good old days, you had to subscribe to a newspaper or go to the library to borrow a book, take it home, and read all pages. Slow, but effective, because it allowed time to let things sink in, to think about it. No longer. Public and academic libraries are under constant thread of closing and/or downsizing in an effort to cut costs in favour of automation (i.e. fewer staff, fewer people to interact with) and newspapers have gone online to now put their content behind paywalls.

Nowadays, we devour headlines, tweets, and Instagram posts and suffer from constant and chronic FOMO. We take and post selfies like our lives depend on it. Sadly, in some case selfie-takers pay with their lives taking that penultimate selfie.

Paradoxically, and ironically, our communication and social skills seem to be changing and not for the better.

We don’t even know how to date anymore and let algorithms decide our ‘match’. I won’t go there.

Although there are very considered and intelligent pieces online on current political and socio-economic issues, healthy debate is somewhat of a rare beast. We tend to talk past each other and often seem to lack the clarity of expression via the written word and the reading comprehension to take it to the next level. The tools are there but our skills seem to lag behind. Effective communication is not just a skill, it’s an art and we all are artists in the sense that we create our communications as best as we can and as we see fit – it is our way to express ourselves and be known to and by the world. Problem is that many simply parrot without giving it much thought because it sounds good – have you ever heard a real parrot?

Another paradox is that with the whole world literally at our fingertips we seem to retreat small circles of likeminded people (AKA ‘friends’) whom we confirm and who confirm us. A few holiday snaps with holiday bods thrown in for good measure to collect the much-needed ‘likes’. We need to keep the ‘approval ratings’ up or we fall to pieces.

Arguably, communication is about generating, confirming, and strengthening human relationships. This is what Social Media was designed for. At least, I think it was. The origins of the internet were somewhat different. However, people are no longer the end or main purpose. We have become conduits, merely minute nodes in the World Wide Web through which information flows and is spread, at lightning speed. We believe we are players but we have become pawns in a much bigger game and we don’t even acknowledge this – no wonder that some say the game is rigged.

Instead of forming (new) relationships, we engage in online contests of so-called achievements and PBs (personal bests), of who is the smartest alec, of whose daddy has the biggest power-drill, of who’s right and wrong, and whether it is going to rain next week or not. At times, it feels more like an exercise in alienation and xenophobia, because, in reality, we don’t know the others (some of whom are bots) from a bar of soap.

Suffice to say, it is a mixed bag.

One would think that communicating with government, be it local or central, would be a lot easier than in the old days. Indeed, much can be done on-line nowadays. However, obtaining information under the OIA has become more like squeezing blood out of a stone, apparently. Politicians now communicate with the public through their professional media or comms teams. Accountability to the electorate has become a PR exercise, more than anything, for political expediency.

Obviously, there is more online engagement with political parties. However, media manipulation and propaganda is not more democracy, it is perverting the democratic and political process, and it is harming democracy.

The hallmark of democracy is not only that people have a say on their governance once every so many years, but also have at least some (…) influence on and over the actual process. Informally, people can make loud noises and display their displeasure with political decisions (or indecisions); they can make submissions and start petitions and all that. However, formally, not much has changed over a long time – the system and process are antiquated. In fact, people’s engagement with and trust in politics has been steadily dropping. This is not good for democracy. However, there are a few glimmers of hope.

There is no point blaming SM or technology for this or the lack of political progress. We have a tremendous set of tools and technology at our disposal and like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Der Zauberlehrling), we don’t seem to know how to wield the power properly; it may even work against us. With Climate Change breathing down our neck, we had better learn quickly and take our future in our own hands, for better or worse – this is democracy in its truest sense. The elites won’t save us, never have, and never will.

22 comments on “Democratisation by Social Media and the Internet Is Just Meaningless Waffle ”

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  1. Wensleydale 1
    24 December 2019 at 1:44 pm

    That Dilbert strip is so accurate it's almost painful.

    I don't use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any of that stuff. I tell my kids, "The internet is a great repository of useful information and hilarious videos mostly about cats. But it's also a wretched hive of scum and villainy. And obvious mental illness. Be careful."

  2. RedLogix 2
    24 December 2019 at 2:07 pm

    A solid post Incognito, I like it a lot. I could never quite make up my mind whether I should pick Dilbert or Wal as my role model cheeky

    The other aspect of the internet that we tend to be in complete denial of, is that while it permits us the luxury of choosing where and who we associate with, it also means we invariably land up in echo-chambers that suit our interests, confirm our biases and repeat back to us our own motivated reasoning.

    It's serves a purpose, but the basis of a broadly functioning democracy it is not.

  3. Dennis Frank 3
    24 December 2019 at 2:15 pm

    Taking a social ecologist's view of the online ecosystem, I agree with your diagnosis while feeling that the trend is driven by human nature. So there's an upside: in ecosystems, monocultures don't prevail normally. Banality is prevalent online, but unlikely to embed as the norm. Boredom will motivate folks to provide a positive alternative.

    In an ecosystem, you get biodiversity as the norm. Since we are part of nature, I'd expect online culture to ferment, and produce a diversity of cultural niches. When symbioses develop the ties that bind organisms become extremely resilient. Thus the resilience of capitalism, for instance, derives from the symbiotic relation of the employee to the employer. One needs the money, the other the help.

    So the implication for social media is how to evolve designs that operate for mutual benefit. Where the fun (infotainment, if you prefer) is shared by the maximal number of participants. This logic suggests that the current toxic phase is being worked through. The old maxim applies: this, too, shall pass…

    • weka 3.1
      25 December 2019 at 12:47 pm

      sometimes nature does do monoculture. eg where we clear land and then let an aggressive species dominate. Think kānuka when it forms climax forest, which is not its normal role. Another analogy, although I think SM is more like plantation pine.

      The thing that amazes me is that given how many people have IT skills and how many of those donate time, that we haven't had any solid alternatives to FB arise.

  4. Stuart Munro 4
    24 December 2019 at 3:29 pm

    I'm in two minds about the influence of the internet on democracy – on the one hand the case you make is pretty solid, but there are instances where it has proved constructive.

    In Korea, the 386 generation were a significant driver of progressive activism, and a similar growth of progressive intention proliferated on the internet throughout the so-called Arab Spring, particularly in Egypt. Although the Egyptian outcome was ultimately rather poor, the fault for that was not one of connectivity. The world is increasingly connected, and though political structures don't reflect that, communities of interest are forming spontaneously and attempting to influence politics.

    When, as seems inevitable, mankind perishes like fruit flies from an inability to respond to our effects on the environment, the tech infrastructure that survives will present a fruitful field for speculation by tardigrade anthropologists.

  5. Tiger Mountain 5
    24 December 2019 at 6:34 pm

    What a downer post-Seasonal greetings all round…not at the Standard but.

    Sure incognito makes good points, people often do not research and triangulate posts-particularly ones they agree with-when clear thinking is needed. Social media does do some good though, it is 30 years of neo liberal hegemony and bourgeois individualism that is more depressing.

    At Ihumatao when the Police we’re seeking to escalate and move on protestors, online alerts went out, and the Auckland Police operational ability was exposed when it was obvious they would be outnumbered on that occasion. A one off perhaps, but the potential is there.

  6. weka 6
    25 December 2019 at 12:53 pm

    Social media was created to make money. It's uses human relationships but the wellbeing of people and how they relate isn't the primary goal. Or even the secondary one.

    I think we have had models arising that were based around strengthening human relationships and community, but they haven't dominated. Possibly our best bet is to have enough solid systems in place and being practiced so that when the shtf, there is something already in the wings. In the same way that regenag will be able to step in when conventional ag fails to supply us all with food due to climate change, the regenag people have been practicing and developing the tech outside the mainstream. I'm way more optimistic about the food than I am about SM.

  7. Ad 7
    25 December 2019 at 12:54 pm

    Who is your royal "we"?

    "We have a tremendous set of tools and technology at our disposal and like theSorcerer’s Apprentice (Der Zauberlehrling), we don’t seem to know how to wield the power properly; it may even work against us."

    Plenty of successful campaigns particularly on the right-populist end already successfully and effectively used social media to win.

    Granted it's not everything. But without effectively deploying social media to get the under-30 vote out, Obama wouldn't have made it, and Corbyn's result would have been many measures worse.

  8. Ad 8
    25 December 2019 at 1:57 pm

    This humble forum is a pretty good example of what can be achieved through applied blogging and sustained comments.

    What The Standard achieves is a reinforced public sphere. What this site generates is a well-structured process which aggregates public opinion into a synthesis of individual thoughts acting for the common interest.

    So this thing called the 'public sphere' is constantly formed through live comments on a site. It is a necessary but insufficient condition for causing shifts in public opinion.

    Jurgen Habermas brought the concept of the public sphere into clarity. And he was as hopeful as any for social media as an ideal form of the public sphere. Yes it won't head towards its ideal form until it's successfully regulated, and there's more Cambridge Analyticas.

    What it's really good at however in a democracy is providing direct interaction between the elected and powerful with the ordinary citizen with an otherwise unimagined directness and amplification.

    Social Media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube etc, are intensely empowering, no matter which side of the political sphere you're on. Its agency has its limits, but so early in this era we're still only finding those really are.

  9. Dennis Frank 9
    25 December 2019 at 4:22 pm

    Trump allowed a couple of his team to attend Bilderberg 2019, which sends the signal that he is open to working with the establishment even while seeming to oppose it (to ride the populist wave). It'll be interesting to see how he frames his re-election bid.

    "The annual Bilderberg Meeting is designed to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. Bilderberg was established in 1954 as a forum for informal discussions, bringing together individuals who share an active interest in affairs relevant to the relationship between Europe and Northern America. The Meeting has one main goal: to foster discussion and dialogue. There is no desired outcome, there is no closing statement, there are no resolutions proposed or votes taken, and the organisation does not support any political party or viewpoint." https://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/frequently-asked-questions

    Above the fray. Note how Chinese & Russians are carefully excluded (not to mention dangerous nutters like Saudis & Israelis): https://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/background/steering-committee/steering-committee

    One hand on the rudder is former Google chairman "Schmidt, Eric E. (USA), Technical Advisor, Alphabet Inc." "Alphabet Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate … created through a corporate restructuring of Google on October 2, 2015… Alphabet is the world's fifth-largest technology company by revenue … Eric Schmidt said at an Internet Association event in 2015 that there may eventually be more than 26 Alphabet subsidiaries. He also said that he was currently meeting with the CEOs of the current and proposed Alphabet subsidiaries. He said, "You'll see a lot coming."" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabet_Inc.

    Other notable hands on the rudder: Barroso, José Manuel (PRT), Chairman, Goldman Sachs International; Former President, European Commission & Brende, Børge (NOR), President, World Economic Forum.

    Not just top capitalists though: Schadlow, Nadia (USA), Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute "Schadlow was appointed to the National Security Council staff .. in March 2017.., Schadlow became the primary author of the 2017 National Security Strategy (NSS)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadia_Schadlow

    Relevance to the topic? Democracy in our time has been all about managing consent (Chomsky), so it continues to serve the powers that be on that basis. Prospects for continuance currently still look good. Qualitative easing has kept the capitalist system functional since the gfc. Manufacturing all those imaginary dollars has ebbed the tide of wealth a little, producing stagnation without stagflation. The consequent limit to growth stabilises the system, it seems, and financial wizardry still works better than other forms of magic.

    Roman rule worked on the basis of bread & circuses, and nowadays we see the principle remains valid – due to social media providing the circus (along with television & cinema). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses

    • Stuart Munro 9.1
      25 December 2019 at 10:06 pm

      It's an interesting point, the qualitative easing – a more apt description of Key misgovernance was never coined.

      When rivers went from drinkable to wadeable, that was qualitative easing. Novapay was a downgrade, and the P testing fraud fell short of professional practice, as did the Christchurch rebuild.

      It was pretty stupid in governance terms for NZ to eschew quantitative easing when our major trading partners were doing it – but that wouldn't have pushed the price of Key's Parnell mansion over $20 million.

      Spectacularly lousy governance – NZ is the place to see it.

  10. Kay 10
    26 December 2019 at 12:14 pm

    "One would think that communicating with government, be it local or central, would be a lot easier than in the old days. Indeed, much can be done on-line nowadays. However, obtaining information under the OIA has become more like squeezing blood out of a stone, apparently. Politicians now communicate with the public through their professional media or comms teams. Accountability to the electorate has become a PR exercise, more than anything, for political expediency."

    Yes, one WOULD think. Having spent the better part of this year attempting- often fruitlessly- to engage with politicians of all levels- it's somewhat interesting that these 'professional comms teams' seem incapable of the simple task of even setting up the auto-reply feature on Minister's emails. Hell, even I've figured out how to do that. The consequence of that meaning the public have no way of knowing if their emails have even been received by the office in the first place!

    In the good old days of snail mail, there would be an acknowledgement letter from the secretary, even if said Minister/MP had no further intention of correspondence. You know, basic politeness which the internet has also put paid to in many aspects. And also provided government with the perfect means of avoiding interaction with the public over uncomfortable subjects they'd rather not deal with. I'm sure they don't like being bombarded with multiple emails from multiple people on the same topic, but if they can't stand the heat etc… Anyway, isn't that what they have their professional comms people for?

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    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    3 days ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    4 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    6 days ago

  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

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

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

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

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

  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago

  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago

  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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
    2 weeks 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
    3 weeks ago

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