Disconnect

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 pm, May 10th, 2009 - 47 comments
Categories: auckland supercity, mt albert - Tags:

As Labour learned to its cost last year you can’t keep on insisting that something is true if the public’s opinion has hardened against it. Once the disconnect is in place, not only do you fail to bring people to your point of view, your efforts make you look aloof or unlistening, hurting your popularity.

That’s what National faces now over the supercity. Here’s the part of the Q+A interview with Melissa Lee and David Shearer on the supercity:

MELISSA Super City well it makes sense to me, what matters is that people actually like the idea of one city, one rates bill, one council, but the thing is that the concern is how Mt Albert people are going to be represented in those council and you know there will be submissions there will be consultation and you know I’m hoping to make sure that Mt Albert people have a voice.

DAVID Super City’s going to be rammed through parliament this week under urgency, why can’t we actually have a discussion about it.

MELISSA Excuse me it’s not going to be rammed through parliament.

DAVID We’ve got a proposal put in front of us now and people really haven’t had a chance to look at it, they don’t understand it and they feel that their power of being able to plan for their own communities is being taken away from them.

DAVID We did have a royal commission, that royal commission came up with a report, the report was binned and we got a pamphlet that basically told us what was gonna happen, now people haven’t had a chance to

MELISSA Look this is scaremongering, this is absolute scaremongering by the Labour Party

DAVID It’s the reality Paul.

MELISSA and they’re actually saying that people are not gonna have a chance for consultation, they will, it will go out

DAVID Look the decision’s already been made by Rodney Hide, he’s already made that decision.

MELISSA to actually determine how they will be represented in those councils, you know a lot of people that I’ve talked to on the street like the idea, as I said one council, one mayor, one rates bill, it’s smart, and you know what

DAVID People are very worried that their own community is not gonna be served by one council, one mega council is gonna represent more than .

MELISSA Exactly but you know what

DAVID And there definitely needs to be some integration with the public transport for example…

…DAVID   Consultation basically is I mean the decision has been made, I mean Rodney Hide has decided that this is the way it’s going to be, he’s gonna push it through regardless and we can consult but this basically is going to be the reality.

Lee has nothing but ‘supercity council good, consulation plentiful, objections = scaremongering’. There’s the disconnect. Most Aucklanders oppose the supercity, Lee’s effectively saying ‘you’ve got it wrong’ but not backing it up with anything. It just doesn’t ring true to say there is adequate consultation or that the only opponents are Labour. 

The problem for Lee (and its the same with the Waterview connection) is that her party is at odds with popular sentiment. The only solution is to change the subject. Thus we see a cynical attempt from Lee in the interview (dutifully picked up by the rightwing blogs) to use the Napier shootings to make crime an issue:

MELISSA         But you’ve only been there for the last week as he said, he’s only come back just a week ago, I’ve been there for longer than that and people are telling me people are telling me that they’re concerned about safety issues, I mean as you know Paul I have been a victim of a home invasion, I had a gun pointed in my head, don’t tell me that law and order issue are not actually a big issue for people of Mt Albert, just look at what happened in Napier.
 
PAUL     Well to be fair to Mr Shearer he has had a bomb go off 25 metres behind him when he was sleeping.
 
MELISSA         True, but I mean maybe that is the reason he doesn’t think law and order is a big issue in Mt Albert

Yeah, the guy who has been face to face with armed men in Somalia and Iraq doesn’t understand law and order. Don’t think that’s going to fly.

47 comments on “Disconnect ”

  1. Jared 1

    Understanding Law and Order is not the same as understanding sentiment in the electorate that indicates law and order in their community is a problem. She does have a point, someone who is far disconnected from New Zealand and more to the point, Mt Albert, expects to understand the real issues in the electorate? Saying the Supercity is a done and dusted decision is pure scaremongering, and considering the 1,300,000 citizens in its isthmus, for National to introduce an “unpopular” solution to clear inefficiencies in local government would be the primary architect in their own downfall. John Key has said that we will get to have our say about the way how we are represented in the Select Committee process.

    Ill wait until the select committee stage to see/hear the submissions before I say that the public don’t want a supercity, at the moment it seems clear that the only detractors are those with the most to lose (i.e council employees) or those looking to score points against the government.

    • Danny 1.1

      “at the moment it seems clear that the only detractors are those with the most to lose (i.e council employees) or those looking to score points against the government.”

      and the majority of Aucklanders according to several polls.

      inconvenient that.

      • Jared 1.1.1

        Oh thats right, Polls.

        “A Reid Research survey released last week showed a reasonably even split in opinions on the Maori seats – 46 per cent favoured including them and 54 per cent were against.”
        Proof Aucklanders are against the inclusion of Maori Seats, wait, public opinion?

        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10570153

        “Though the poll’s sample of just 483 is small, it is the first real indicator of support for the supercity concept, with 45 percent of Aucklanders in favour, and 43 percent against.”

        http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/2354169/Voters-back-Auckland-supercity

        I thought id have a look at the polls that suggest Aucklanders disagree with the proposal. I could only find one, and it was commissioned on behalf of the Waitakere City Council and canvassed only 400 citizens in the Waitakere area. Very indicative I know. Could it be a campaign of misinformation that is leading those astray and that they don’t understand the differences between the royal commission and the PROPOSED Supercity model? Maybe thats why the government has set up http://www.auckland.govt.nz that highlights their concerns, hell, it even asks for their feedback, shocking I know.

        • r0b 1.1.1.1

          Rather selective quoting there Jared. Ass you well know, polls are generally opposed, and on a wide range of issues:

          Support for a supercity in greater Auckland is weak in Prime Minister John Key’s Helensville electorate. A Phoenix poll conducted in Waitakere found only 34 percent of respondents support the government’s plans – which call for an Auckland Council covering an area from Franklin in the south, through Papakura and as far north as Rodney. … Nearly half of those polled 47 percent opposed the government’s plan. In Mr Key’s Helensville electorate, which takes in large chunks of Rodney, it was slightly higher at 48 percent.

          Only 16 percent of those poll respondents supported the plan to create 20 to 30 local boards under the proposed Auckland Council, as opposed to 66 percent support for the commission’s model of a super council with six councils under it.

          Respondents were asked “Has the amount the government has consulted Aucklanders about the supercity been too much, about right or too little?” An overwhelming 63 percent said too little, 31 percent about right and 5 percent too much.

          The second question was “Do you support having a mayor with the same powers as now, or should he or she have greater executive powers as proposed by the government?” Only 39 percent agreed the new mayor should have more power something essential to the operation of a supercity council as proposed while 61 percent believed the mayor’s powers should not be expanded.

          The fourth and perhaps crucial question was “If the amalgamation does go ahead, should it be funded by Auckland ratepayers or the government?” Only 29 percent of respondents answered ratepayers should foot the bill and a massive 71 percent said the government should pay.

          See also eg here:

          A poll out yesterday shows only 12% of people in Key’s own electorate support his government’s proposed structure. 72% prefer the Royal Commission’s structure. 34% supported the supercity and 47% opposed it altogether.

          • Tim Ellis 1.1.1.1.1

            You’re quoting the same poll in both quotes r0b. The poll was conducted by phoenix research, only in waitakere. It isn’t an indication of wider support for the supercity across auckland.

            Also, if you actually linked through to the source article, rather than the standard’s summary of it as a reference, you might get your numbers right. Using self-referencing Standard posts to back up your claims and for sources for quotes is very dodgy r0b.

          • r0b 1.1.1.1.2

            You’re quoting the same poll in both quotes r0b.

            Quite right, in the second link I meant to refer to this Standard post on a Reid poll:

            Supercity poll results could spell trouble for the government.

            A Reid Research poll conducted in Auckland has found residents think consultation has been inadequate, that the mayor of a supercity should not have expanded powers, that the government should foot the bill for the reorganisation and that opposition to Maori representation is not as clearcut as the government believes.

            An overwhelming 63 percent of people polled say there is too little consultation, despite government claims of wide consultation. Only 39 percent agree a new mayor should have more power, while 61 percent say no. Expanded powers are essential to the government’s model.

            A massive 71 percent say the government should pay for the reorganisation. But the government is adamant ratepayers should pay which could add more than $550 to every rates bill in year one. It has also ruled out Maori representation although the survey shows a fairly even split in support, with 46 percent for reserved seats and 54 percent against.

            The results are similar to a Phoenix Research poll in Waitakere that found only 34 percent support for the government’s plans with 47 percent opposed. Opposition in Prime Minister John Key’s own electorate is 48 percent. Only 16 percent of respondents supported the plan to create 20 to 30 local boards, as opposed to 66 percent support for the royal commission’s model of a super council with six councils under it.

            Using self-referencing Standard posts to back up your claims and for sources for quotes is very dodgy r0b.

            Pardon me while I lol Tim! Just last week you claimed that Labour was in a “panic”, and cited as “evidence” comments from a couple of people on a Herald comments section! You claimed that these people were “Labour Party activists”, and of course could not provide any evidence to back such nonsense. Got any evidence to back that claim now Tim?

  2. SPC 2

    Any attempt by National to pay lip service to law and order should be met with

    1. the facts about the crime rates in the 90’s and police staffing levels compared to the decade since

    2. attempts to “rationalise” police services to cut costs to survive within the current administrations plans for budget limits (as in the 90’s).

    National have a habit of talking up areas where they are not providing any action (such as initially opposing WFF 2005-2007 while pretending to be pro family).

    PS During the previous 9 year government only people with a vested interest or political opponents made any criticism of governing party policy. Presumably this was why National ran as Labour lite, they could not improve on it. Which is why if Labour oppose the current party in government on policy they should listen.

  3. Tim Ellis 3

    Eddie, Lee wiped the floor with Shearer yesterday. Shearer is struggling to get on top of the issues after being away for so long. Saying that crime isn’t a big issue is pretty out of touch, in my view.

    Eddie, on what do you base your assumption that there is major opposition to the super city? I know that it is a major campaign issue as far as Labour is concerned, and Labour want it to be a big campaign issue, because it detracts from all the law and order stuff that Labour might have to take some responsibility for. On what basis do you claim that it is a pressing concern for Mount Albert residents? Do you have some information about what Mount Albert residents are thinking that we don’t have that might support your claim? If so don’t hesitate to share it, because your argument at the moment that it’s a major issue just looks weak and spin.

    I would bet that since it appears to be only Young Labour making so much noise about waterview and the supercity in mount albert, that labour is worried that they might be judged on the real issues of concern in mount albert.

    • Ephemera 3.1

      “Lee wiped the floor with Shearer yesterday.”

      How? By failing to steer the debate to law and order issues, or refusing to commit to a position on “road or tunnel”?

      I thought she came across as a tad aggressive. I also find it hard to recall if she actually said anything which a Mt Albert voter could use to make a decision.

      Shearer, on the other hand, was quite measured in tone, and seemed in command of his position on local issues.

      Lee held her own, but ‘wiping the floor’? Naaaah.

      • Tigger 3.1.1

        Lee showed herself up by trying to play the ‘I’m more of a victim than you’ card with the guy who’s been working among war zones for the past billion years.

        I know Melissa well. She’s intelligent but as this exchange shows she’s not canny.

    • Akldnut 3.2

      Tim – I work in St Lukes and canvass a broad range of customers every day and of the ones that speak/understand English when asked about the supercity 7 from 10 are against it and likewise with the motorway as opposed to the tunnel.

      Lee said the residents have known for decades where the new road was going to go. As far as I know it was originally going to go down Rosebank Rd but due to cost was recently decided that it would go through Waterveiw not the decades that she claims.

    • lprent 3.3

      It is one of the big three issues in canvassing. And no – crime isn’t one of them.

  4. felix 4

    Tim, maybe Eddie saw a comment on a blog. That’s your standard of evidence isn’t it?

    On a more serious note, one thing I think Labour is missing (and Shearer missed it quite overtly) is the issue of a National win swinging the balance of power in the house.

    National and the Greens have gone to some effort to paint this by-election as having no significant consequence on national politics but the following needs to be understood and highlighted:

    A National win means that National can pass legislation with the support of just Peter Dunne, no need even for the support of ACT.

    This is not a minor technicality, but a major shift in power which will take us very close to a majority National govt and which seems to be slipping under the radar so far. National know it but they’re not going to point it out. Russel Norman knows it but he’s pretending not to. Wake up, Labour.

  5. Ari 5

    Crime is always a big issue, but it’s not always a big issue in which candidate to support. National, and Lee in particular, have no great plans with which to prevent crime and re-offending, and are actively looking to make things worse by pursuing a more punitive regime and cutting police resources.

    You got anything else up your sleeve? 😉

  6. Ari 6

    Felix, can you even float something for me for a moment that Dunne would support that ACT or the Maori Party wouldn’t that would be actively harmful? Now, if it were the other way around and we could be in for more national-act co-operation, I’d agree with you, but I honestly can’t think of anything worse Dunne could come up with than what we’ve already got, especially seeing Act has 3 authoritarians and 2 civil libertarians in parliament.

    • felix 6.1

      You make it sound like Dunne is working from the basis of some sort of uncompromisable principle. He’s a populist and an opportunist, as fickle as they come.

      All he would have to do is abstain and the Nats have an absolute majority. Can you really not imagine him abstaining in return for support on some profile-raising populist measure of his own?

      This is not an inconsequential power shift, as National and the Greens are trying to paint it.

      • Ari 6.1.1

        Oh, I agree with you that Dunne is a complete populist and a blight on New Zealand politics.

        I just don’t see how he can make the government any more extreme than it already is with ACT in the wings. National on its own is almost better than National with ACT to egg it on.

  7. Maynard J 7

    Tim, I asked you the other day for the source of your absolute claims and you never fronted, obviously because they don’t exist.

    Why are you still doing it? It makes you look mad (and not the angry kind of mad, the removed-from-rational-thought kind).

    Here’s the sum of your evidence so far, that Law and order is the issue of the day for the Mt Albert byelection:

    Tim Ellis: “labour is worried that they might be judged on the real issues of concern in mount albert”

    Tim Ellis: “Saying that crime isn’t a big issue is pretty out of touch, in my view.”

    Tim Ellis: “because it detracts from all the law and order stuff that Labour might have to take some responsibility for.”

    Tim Ellis: “…if the candidates started talking about the issues that matter to the people of Mt Albert, rather than trying to invent the issues and frame the issues for the campaign”

    See something in common there? No prizes… Yes, that’s right! Tim Ellis seems to be your only source, and yet you’re Just. So. Damn. Sure. that crime is THE issue.

    And the topic is ‘disconnect’. Curiously illustrative behabiour there, Tim. You’re proving a point very well, but I don’t think it’s the point you intended.

    Also, not surprisingly, I thought Shearer did very well. He’s used to dealing with slightly rabid people so Lee wasn’t too much for him to get excited about.

    • r0b 7.1

      It makes you look mad (and not the angry kind of mad, the removed-from-rational-thought kind).

      Tim isn’t mad, he knows exactly what he’s doing. His job is to show up here, and push National Party propaganda lines over and over and over. He’s actually kinda useful, because you know that if Tim is saying it, it’s the current Nats “talking point”, and then you can look our for it elsewhere.

      It has been claimed by those with more knowledge of these matters than I that Tim works for the National Party research unit, a claim which Tim has not denied as far as I know.

      • Tim Ellis 7.1.1

        r0b, I don’t work for the National Party research unit. I don’t know anybody who is. I’m not a national party member, and never have been. I mentioned on here before, and as LP knows, I’m just a lowly auditor working in a bank. There, satisfied?

        • r0b 7.1.1.1

          Perfectly satisfied Tim, if you deny it I take you at your word.

          Sill unexplained is your remarkable tendency to push National party lines, often in complete denial of the facts – e.g. your “Mt Albert law and order” fixation that Maynard J takes you to task for above.

          • gobsmacked 7.1.1.1.1

            Out of interest, Tim (or anybody else), what would be your reaction if an opposition MP used the tragedy in Napier to try and score a political point off National?

            Not classy, Melissa Lee. Not classy at all.

          • Tim Ellis 7.1.1.1.2

            r0b I live in Grey Lynn. I don’t know a lot about mount albert, although it is a neighbouring electorate and my daughter lives in Pt Chev so I do drive through it quite often.

            There does seem to be a big disconnect between the lines that the labour party is pushing and what is going on locally. Waterview isn’t an issue except for some people who live on or near the route and that’s obvious to anybody who looks at a map of the mount albert electorate. The northwestern motorway already dissects mount albert.

            Same goes for the supercity. Labour are trying to make this a big issue (it would be nice to know just where they stand on it) but I haven’t seen anything to say that it is a dominant issue for voters.

            Labour wants to make those the big issues of the campaign. I don’t blame them but let’s call a spade a spade and admit that there’s a lot of spin going on and manufacturing of issues. Labour’s strategy is to use a couple of issues to try and turn the byelection into a referendum on the government. They will have a big problem with that in my opinion especially since russell norman seems to be taking the moral high ground and is saying what he thinks on waterview and the supercity and is coming up with an alternative. If Labour succeeds in making the supercity and waterview the big issues of the campaign all they will manage to do is give norman the upper hand because he’s the only one coming up with an alternative.

            R0b, I stand by my view that I don’t think waterview and the supercity are big issues because from the people I talk to locally here in auckland central, they aren’t big issues here. Apart from a very small part of waterview (maybe 300 houses in the mount albert electorate) who are directly affected there is no reason why those issues should be felt any more in mount albert than in grey lynn.

          • Zaphod Beeblebrox 7.1.1.1.3

            Tim, don’t argue with you about labour being overly hopeful that local government and Waterview will win votes. After all they were the ones who started both processes. The focus on law and order by Melissa Lee, is however, hugely disappointing. The economy,jobs and local services (can we get a better rail service) are what the candidates should be caring about.

  8. Zaphod Beeblebrox 8

    Its going to be a very long five weeks if all she can talk about is crime.The “lock them all up”, “more police on the beat”, “look out for those young people” mantra has been used by conservatives for the past twenty years. ACT only got 2.3% of the vote last election, hope she can come up with more.

    • gobsmacked 8.1

      It’s not even a smart strategy for Lee.

      ACT’s Boscawen will simply ask her: “So, do you support our Three Strikes policy?”. She will then have to explain why it won’t work, or maybe just waffle and dodge, thus appearing “soft on crime”. Unless she plans to break with her own party.

      There is no way the National Ministers responsible (Power and Finlayson are not fools) are going to support unworkable legislation in the long term, just to win votes in Mt Albert.

  9. Jasper 9

    felix

    National would still need three seats to have a majority.

    Currently: 121 seats in the house (1 up for by election) = 122 seats total
    National: 58 seats

    Wins Mt Albert +1 = 59 seats
    + Dunne = 60 seats.

    Still need 1 more vote.

  10. Zaphod Beeblebrox 10

    Its a bit sad, rising unemployment and recession and we are discussing gang patches, three strikes and fear of others.The economy and job creation should be the issue.

    • Pat 10.1

      ZB Why should that be the issue for Mt Albert residents? Sure, they are nationwide issues, but this is a byelection.

      For ethnic minorities in Auckland, in particular, law and order was a big issue in Auckland at the last election. There was a big swing of Indian and Asian voters from Labour to National. I think Lee is trying to tap back into that, to remind those voters why they ditched Labour and to give herself a point of difference. If Shearer and Norman are banging on about the Supercity and the tunnell, they risk not connecting with voters who don’t give a toss about either of those issues.

      .

      • Zaphod Beeblebrox 10.1.1

        I think both sides are off the radar at the moment. For National, crime is the least worst thing to talk about at the moment. For Labour, its easy to oppose things, a lot harder to discuss how they would do things differently.

      • Irascible 10.1.2

        As I argued in another post Lee will be using the WONG-WANG campaign strategies used in Botany in 2008.
        She will play the Asian Victim Card at every opportunity in an effort to make crime the issue and will attempt to divert the debate from real social issues like the removal of the local councils with social policy focii in the NACT supercity concept and the ramming of a motorway through a community. The attempts to ram through a similar motorway in Manukau under the Banks-Curtis mayoralties spelt the end of the two mayors.
        Local issues matter in a by election Shearer needs to hammer them against the arrogant mantra of Lee & Hide.

  11. DeepRed 11

    “Its a bit sad, rising unemployment and recession and we are discussing gang patches, three strikes and fear of others.The economy and job creation should be the issue.”
    President Bush Sr was riding high in the polls in 1991 for his deft handling of the Gulf War and making peace with the soon-to-dissolve Soviet Union. The following year, his presidency turned to mud. And the reasons? Bill Clinton and “It’s the economy, stupid!” Expect to see Goff and Cunliffe picking that up towards the end of the electoral term.

    • Pat 11.1

      To be fair, Clinton also had a magnetic personality. Sort of like the second coming of JFK.

      In that respect, you cannot compare Goff and Cunliffe to him.

  12. ak 12

    So you’re not this Tim Ellis that recently wrote an article for the granny then Tim? (heh – seemed to fit so well, must say you show remarkable resilience in your relentless pro-tory beat-ups)
    http://www.resiliencei.com/About-Us.aspx

    [lprent: Don’t try ‘outing’ people. The whole point about this site is for people to be able to give opinions without having to look over their shoulders. We’ll leave that for the likes of whaledreck. Personally I’d prefer if people didn’t use their names – but that also is left to personal choice. The only ones who need to be concerned are banned trolls. Because I’ll sometimes get them regardless of pseudonym to keep the site ‘clean’. ]

    • Tim Ellis 12.1

      No, ak, although we’ve often been confused with each other, especially since I spent most of my career in a competing consulting firm.

    • Pat 12.2

      ak – it’s a bit creepy that you think it is OK that you are trying to dredge up some dirt on a poster, simply because he posts under his name when you do not.

      If it is so important to confirm what every Standard poster’s real name is and what they actually do for a living, then let’s see a Thread dedicated to precisely that. Methinks a few Standardistas would run a mile.

      • ak 12.2.1

        Excuse me? “Dredge up some dirt”? By trying to ensure that I don’t confuse a poster with someone of the same name, obvious ability and profile?

        Relax, “Pat”. From your comments, I’ll never confuse you with anyone. Unless Pat is your surname and you were christened Cow.

        • Pat 12.2.1.1

          ak In this one thread, Tim has twice had to respond to accusations, firstly from Maynard that he works in the Nat party research unit, and secondly from you that he is not who he claims to be i.e. a “lowly bank auditor”.

          The rest of us aren’t getting this treatment because we haven’t posted under our names. Clearly you have proven that if one posts under their real name they can expect to be google searched on the off chance they can be discredited.

          In my case, getting google searched would probably be a good thing since it would drive more traffic to my company website. But I suspect other posters here who work in the public sector wouldn’t enjoy it so much.

          • r0b 12.2.1.1.1

            firstly from Maynard that he works in the Nat party research unit,

            Maynard J is innocent, it was me that linked back to that old claim.

            If Tim had worked for Nat Research as claimed that would have been relevant to understanding his positions on this blog (as witness the continual witch hunts from the right trying to link the authors of this blog to the Labour Party) .

            As this is not in fact the case then no further speculation on Tim in the real world seems relevant. I don’t confirm or deny anything about myself (other than that I’m an ordinary Labour Party member in a quiet corner of NZ) and I don’t expect others to.

            So apologies to Tim and to all for starting this.

          • Tim Ellis 12.2.1.1.2

            For the record, I wasn’t offended by this. I pity the other poor sod who shares my name who’s had all sorts of bafflingly technical phone calls on corporate audit and risk, before having to explain that they have the wrong person.

            About ten years ago, I had a phone call from a client who continued to barrel the way through a conversation that was intended for my namesake, quite ignoring my protests that he really wanted to be talking to the other guy at PWC.

            Another time I went to visit a client and signed into the visitor’s book, only to see that the other Tim Ellis had been to visit immediately before me.

      • The Voice of Reason 12.2.2

        Actually, Pat, there is a clear difference between posting under your real name and using a pen name.

        Using your own name adds a certain authority and ownership to the comment. In affect, “you” say what “you” mean. I assume the “Trevor Mallard” that posts here is the same one that sits on the Labour front bench. If that’s not the case, I think we should be told. Ak assumed, apparently wrongly, that “Tim Ellis” was the author of the article he referenced. The “real” Tim corrected him without rancour. No harm, no foul.

        Using a pen name allows some distance and means a comment loses some personal context and the poster’s “new” identity establishes itself as a “personality” in it’s own right.

        So, The Voice of Reason, as I style myself here, becomes a recognisable entity, but it is not exactly the same entity as “me”.

        There are probably students out there doing study on the metaphysical nature of avatars in the Post Modern World and how the multiple faceted personalities we all have are finding expression and a kind of life on the net.

        But rest assured, the Standard does not appear to be the kind of site that would waste time trying to out its posters. There are some blogs that would, I’m sure, but I don’t need to know if you are really “Pat”. I’m more interested in the quality of your comments, than the person behind them.

        [lprent: Trevor Mallard is the MP. I also tend to take attempts at identity theft (including pseudonyms) very seriously, which is why we have gravatars and some missing ex-commentators who exited the NZ blogosphere abruptly and ungracefully. ]

  13. Frustrating debate. Lee followed the tried and true technique of trying to overtalk Shearer continuously.

    The panel of “experts” is also rather slanted. A peed off ex Labour MP (presumably representing us), Michelle Boag who did nothing but run National attack lines, and Therese Arseneau whose performance can be patchy.

    And Paul Holmes who … enough said.

    They should use someone like Brian Edwards to try and provide some sort of balance.

    • felix 13.1

      Lee followed the tried and true technique of trying to overtalk Shearer continuously

      And did you feel that Shearer was following the Don Brash “tried once and abandoned” technique of appearing the bigger person by letting her run her mouth?

  14. gobsmacked 14

    Meanwhile, not a good 24 hours for Melissa Lee, who is quickly digging herself a hole big enough for a tunnel.

    Yesterday she couldn’t / wouldn’t answer the “Tunnel” question.

    Today she admitted she didn’t support the tunnel (BFM radio interview).

    A couple of hours later: her view is labelled a “personal” preference by the PM, quietly dumping on his candidate.

    The announcement is due tomorrow. You’d think she could have been given a heads-up by her loyal leader.

  15. gobsmacked 15

    And 24 hours on … it gets worse for Melissa Lee.

    Campbell Live report raises ‘conflict of interest’ questions:

    http://www.3news.co.nz/News/PoliticsNews/National-MP-and-candidate-Melissa-Lees-ethics-called-into-question/tabid/419/articleID/103840/cat/68/Default.aspx

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  • JERRY COYNE: A powerful University dean in New Zealand touts merging higher education with indigeno...
    Jerry Coyne writes –  This article from New Zealand’s Newsroom site was written by Julie Rowland,  the deputy dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland as well as a geologist and the Director of the Ngā Ara Whetū | Centre for Climate, Biodiversity & Society. In other ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 hours ago
  • Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.
    Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.For the last couple of weeks its felt as though all the good things in our beautiful land are under attack.These isles in the southern Pacific. The home of the Māori people. A land of easy going friendliness, openness, and she’ll be right. A ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    10 hours ago
  • Speaking for the future
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.MondayYou cannot be seriousOne might think, god, people who are seeing all this must be regretting their vote.But one might be mistaken.There are people whose chief priority is not wanting to be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    11 hours ago
  • How Should We Organise a Modern Economy?
    Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. The Cold War included a conflict about ideas; many were economic. Alan Bollard’s latest book Economists in the Cold War focuses on the contribution of ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    23 hours ago
  • Willis fails a taxing app-titude test but govt supporters will cheer moves on Te Pukenga and the Hum...
    Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Defence has returned from Noumea to announce New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and (wearing another ministerial hat) to condemn malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government. A bigger cheer from people who voted for the Luxon ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • ELIZABETH RATA: In defence of the liberal university and against indigenisation
    The suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere. Elizabeth Rata writes –  Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the skewed media coverage of Gaza
    Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...
    1 day ago
  • “Your Circus, Your Clowns.”
    It must have been a hard first couple of weeks for National voters, since the coalition was announced. Seeing their party make so many concessions to New Zealand First and ACT that there seems little remains of their own policies, other than the dwindling dream of tax cuts and the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 8-December-2023
    It’s Friday again and Christmas is fast approaching. Here’s some of the stories that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered some of the recent talk around the costs, benefits and challenges with the City Rail Link. On Thursday Matt looked at how ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • End-of-week escapism
    Amsterdam to Hong Kong William McCartney16,000 kilometres41 days18 trains13 countries11 currencies6 long-distance taxis4 taxi apps4 buses3 sim cards2 ferries1 tram0 medical events (surprisingly)Episode 4Whether the Sofia-Istanbul Express really qualifies to be called an express is debatable, but it’s another one of those likeably old and slow trains tha… ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 8
    Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro arrives for the State Opening of Parliament (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)TL;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:New Finance Minister Nicola Willis set herself a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand’s Witchcraft Laws: 1840/1858-1961/1962
    Sometimes one gets morbidly curious about the oddities of one’s own legal system. Sometimes one writes entire essays on New Zealand’s experience with Blasphemous Libel: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/blasphemous-libel-new-zealand-politics/ And sometimes one follows up the exact historical status of witchcraft law in New Zealand. As one does, of course. ...
    2 days ago
  • No surprises
    Don’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #49 2023
    113 articles in 48 journals by 674 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Diversity of Lagged Relationships in Global Means of Surface Temperatures and Radiative Budgets for CMIP6 piControl Simulations, Tsuchida et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0045.1 Do abrupt cryosphere events in High Mountain Asia indicate earlier tipping ...
    2 days ago
  • Phone calls at Kia Kaha primary
    It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...
    It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news  out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Xmas  good  cheer  for the dairy industry  as Fonterra lifts its forecast
    The big dairy co-op Fonterra  had  some Christmas  cheer to offer  its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for  the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast  midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • MICHAEL BASSETT: Modern Maori myths
    Michael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28
    Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the irony
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
    It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
    2 days ago
  • Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
    Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • The Prime Minister's Dream.
    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    3 days ago
  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    3 days ago
  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    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 ...
    4 days ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    4 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    5 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    5 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    5 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  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. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    5 days ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    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 ...
    6 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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 ...
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
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