DPF personifies why the Nats lost and why they will lose again

Written By: - Date published: 9:16 am, October 21st, 2017 - 61 comments
Categories: David Farrar, MMP, same old national - Tags: , , ,

Couldn’t believe what I was reading from Farrar – Goals for National. They are to “Knock 2.3% off NZ First to eliminate them from Parliament”, and hit the Greens “they need to lose just 1.4% to be out of Parliament”, and of course to attack Labour.

It’s the same thinking as English and Joyce, and it’s the thinking that lost them the election because no one wants to work with them. It’s FPP thinking from a party that still doesn’t understand the MMP world.

Amazing.

Please National, please follow this plan to the letter. Please keep attacking every possible coalition partner and trying to go it alone. It’s a wonderful idea! Honest!

61 comments on “DPF personifies why the Nats lost and why they will lose again ”

  1. jcuknz 1

    I think the ground rules for MMP need to be changed from “Lets get together and form a government” to “we are the largest party and would you like to join us in Government”.
    This is how it works in Germany I gather and sounds much more sensible than the current circus.
    I do not think much love is lost between the German support parties but a pragmatic approach to working on a solution.
    Somehow the voters need to retain the sensible economic policy with a more humane approach of a responsible society where the responsibility works both ways … both down and upwards.

    • tracey 1.1

      OR parties could grow up. Understand they need 61 seats to form a govt and stop feeding BS to the public that anything less is a Mandate.

      OR parties could not get their only potential ally’s motives so wrong by judgung them against their own morality.

    • AB 1.2

      “retain the sensible economic policy with a more humane approach”
      Lol. If it’s inhumane it’s not sensible.
      The sort of weird schizophrenia inherent in your statement is why we need a new people-centred economics.

    • mpledger 1.3

      If we want stable govt then we want parties that are willing to work together which means them having broadly similar goals and ideals.

      The only reason that NZF was the kingmaker was because the Greens and National are poles apart on environmental issues. And as much as National wanted the Greens to be their Kingmakers, the Greens weren’t having it.

      I don’t see any good in making parties who are in disharmony work together – their govt will just fall apart.

    • Hanswurst 1.4

      This is how it works in Germany I gather and sounds much more sensible than the current circus.

      1. Here in Germany, it is currently leading to a much bigger “circus”.
      2. In spite of that, it isn’t viewed here as being anything like the circus that the shallow NZ media kicked the NZ coalition talks up to be.
      3. In Germany, the government has not always contained the largest party in parliament, and there is, in fact, no stipulation as to how or by whom a coalition or minority government should be formed beyond the ability to command a majority in the Bundestag.
      4. If you compare the 2017 elections in Germany with those in NZ, and come to the conclusion that the former is in any way, shape or form more “sensible” than the latter, you are absolutely f***ing nuts.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 1.5

      sensible economic policy

      Why the fuck would they vote for the National Party then? What’s sensible about malnutrition and homelessness?

      Stop trying to dictate what our democracy looks like and learn how to not be a shit government.

      • Ian 1.5.1

        The countdown has begun.your team is now in charge and its time to put your money where your mouth is.I would love you to prove me wrong that your nothing but piss and wind.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 1.5.1.1

          🙄

          I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing – private enterprise – and let the government put my money where their mouth is.

          As a Green voter, I expect they’ll disappoint me in various ways from time to time. I certainly won’t be judging them on the basis of anything you have to say, because every single thing you say turns out to be false.

          Although that note of bitterness in your comment does seem quite authentic.

        • Robert Guyton 1.5.1.2

          Countdown?
          Pfffffft!
          It’s full steam ahead for the Left, un-ravelling, un-doing, un-blocking, un-tangling the appalling mess made by the Right over the past 9 years – tally-ho, chaps, give it everything!

          • Ian 1.5.1.2.1

            Watch out for the steel bar hidden in the gorse jump .The horse will need lots of stamina and protection.
            I would only race her at the big events.watch out for the side bets.

        • Patricia Bremner 1.5.1.3

          Ian, small item. “Wrong that your nothing” is incorrect.

          Should be “Wrong that you’re nothing” Short for “you are nothing”

          Yes a countdown has begun, to an implosion of Nats.

          • Ian 1.5.1.3.1

            Sweet dreams

            • WILD KATIPO 1.5.1.3.1.1

              Ian 1.5.1.3.1
              21 October 2017 at 9:24 pm
              Sweet dreams

              There will be infighting and disarray within National because of this loss ,… and the pressure will be intensified because of vested interests from Big Business ,- notwithstanding also a rising tide of public opinion and outrage at just how much they have lost as a result of neo liberalism. You seem very , very poorly informed of the measures that both Adern and Peters are planning to dismantle it.

              This is the beginning of the end for 33 years of avarice and greed.

              We were the test case / guinea pigs for the neo liberal experiment , – it now looks like we will be the first to not only abandon it , – but legislate against it.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 1.6

      Somehow the voters need to retain the fact that if you don’t have at least 61 seats you can whinge and cry and weep and wail to yourselves and your betters can laugh at you. Like now.

      😆

    • I think the ground rules for MMP need to be changed from “Lets get together and form a government” to “we are the largest party and would you like to join us in Government”.

      No, we definitely do not need that as that would be ignoring the wishes of the majority.

      This is how it works in Germany I gather and sounds much more sensible than the current circus.

      Germany puts together coalitions the same way we do – through negotiation. Just because the largest party didn’t make government doesn’t make it a circus. Ensuring that the largest party is always in government would make NZ a dictatorship though.

      Somehow the voters need to retain the sensible economic policy…

      There was never anything sensible about National’s economic policies. They set us up for a major crash with all the private debt that they’ve encouraged through the housing bubble – which was the only thing keeping our economy going.

    • silvertuatara 1.8

      I think that your comment could only really be considered arguable if voting in NZ was compulsory. As it stands the total number of votes cast in 2017 is well short of the total eligible voters (3,569,820 enrolled voters http://www.elections.org.nz/research-statistics/enrolment-statistics-council) estimated as 92.40% of total persons that were eligible to vote)

      Only 2,602,689 persons voted (http://www.elections.org.nz/news-media/new-zealand-2017-general-election-official-results)

      So if you take estimated eligible voters (registered or unregistered) you get approx 3,863,442 people whom could have voted. This means that:-

      1,260,751 people did not vote in 2017’s election which is 118, 677 in excess of the 1,152,075 people that party voted National, and means that roughly 32.63% of the possible eligible voters in 2017 did not even cast a vote.

      Make voting compulsory and then maybe you could put a case forward for your opinion, since you have no idea of who the 1,260,751 persons whom did not cast their vote lie on the political spectrum and who they would have supported.

  2. Barfly 2

    Wasn’t there a recommendation from a high powered inquiry to reduce the threshold to 4%? Collins “crushed” that –

    Pity for National no mates if the new government takes up the recommendations from that –

    Threshold 4% and no coat tailing.

    • mikesh 2.1

      Yes. The National Party may have shot themselves in the foot with their venal refusal to implement the recommendations of the Electoral Commission a few years ago. The Opportunities Party may well have supported them had they made it into parliament; the extra 1.3% of the vote they needed to reach 4% may have been forthcoming with the lower threshold.

      Poetic justice, perhaps?

    • Patricia Bremner 2.2

      So true Barfly.

  3. David C 3

    IMHO DPF has it spot on. He just doesnt go far enough.

    If either Greens of WinstonFirst got 4.9% this time around then Bill would still be in the big chair rather than packing up his office.

    What chance has NZF without Winston at the wheel?
    Jones or Mark as party leader during an election? LOL

    When Labour has a capable leader the Greens are a 5-7% party. If Nats target them in the next 3 years it will only take one serious misstep to push them to a 4% party.

    and remembering that National has a huge war chest to spend and 40 something MPs to preach the word. $20 mil a year in tax payer funding too.

    • Barfly 3.1

      Threshold 4% and no coat tailing.

      Cry me a river

      • David C 3.1.1

        barfly.
        Is that the way MMP is done on the planet you live on?

        • Barfly 3.1.1.1

          David C now that National can’t crush the recommendations of the revue of MMP would you care to wager that the new government will implement them?

          Please do try to keep up.

    • AB 3.2

      In fact DPF doesnt go far enough. Step 1 is to get NZF and Green below the threshold. But if they are ambitious for NZ and truly believe in personal responsibility, the pursuit of excellence and natural rule by those who have demonstrated their intrinsic superiority by being wealthy, then the obvious next step is to drive Labour below 5% too. This delivers permanent National Party rule and the proper order of things.

      • Andrea 3.2.1

        “permanent National Party rule and the proper order of things.”

        Until we all become fed up with stagnation and ho-hum and the routine slide down the international measures of excellence – then we’ll vote for progress again.

        The proper order of things…

        And – if your suggestion is sincere – this is not some wet-weather game of ‘Beggar My Neighbour’. This is a country, with a population having dreams, ambitions, and expectations beyond enduring petty little people playing to annihilate legitimate political expressions.

        That kind of thinking belongs with robber barons and other arrogances. Time we grew out of it.

        • Anne 3.2.1.1

          @ Andrea
          I think AB is responding to one of our resident rwnjs – David C @ 3. He/she is being facetious.

    • Philg 3.3

      David Big c or lttle C. If, if, if if. FF, ff,ff. …lol Ff.

  4. jcuknz 4

    I never suggested that this time National had a mandate but even if you add the LabGrn totals they had the majority. Merkell is returning to power with less than what just Labour got over here, such is the fragmentation of German politics.
    National deserve to be on the outer if we believe what an adjacent thread tells us because they didn’t see the writing on the wall, the mood of the country for a more humane implementaion in looking after the people.

    As for the opinions about the media bias expressed elsewhere today ….they are typical one sided nonsense about an industry whose front people seem to be very much biased towards the left which I think is quite justified … though without TV I only hear what National Radio put out … while others who largely pick up from TV could form an opposite view.

    • I never suggested that this time National had a mandate but even if you add the LabGrn totals they had the majority.

      So? What counts is who has a majority in Parliament. That’s who has a mandate to govern, and pretty clearly that mandate is with the people who are going to form the next government, not with the outgoing one. “But we’re the biggest party” counts for shit if you don’t have 61 seats.

    • red-blooded 4.2

      If the Nats had the majority, they would be forming the government. They never had the majority, they just had the largest single party. They weren’t big enough to govern on their own – our system has never delivered that outcome – but these arrogant guys and gals thought they had a good shot at it and ran a “don’t vote for a coalition, just give us the keys to the House and trust us to run things on our own” campaign. They did their best to crush NZF and that was a mistake.

  5. RTM 5

    and today on the kiwiblog general debate thread you have people calling for the assassination of winston peters, on the grounds that he is a ‘terrorist’, and getting upticked. bit of a worry…

    • TootingPopularFront 5.1

      It would be interesting to hear Netsafe’s position on such posts, they have form closing down debate on other blogs after all, Martyn Bradbury is still going through a case with them I believe.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 5.2

      What a bunch of sad poor losers National Party followers are. Even George Gregan would be a little bit embarrassed at this level of whinging.

    • Which would actually make them terrorists and thus they should be locked up. They should certainly be reported to the police. Simply making death threats is illegal.

    • David C 5.4

      RTM.
      Got a link for that comment?

      • One Anonymous Bloke 5.4.1

        Do your own homework, lazy. Took me two minutes to find it.

        • David C 5.4.1.1

          OAB.

          I have just read a comment where “terrorist” and “assassination” are in the same paragraph but that cannot be what RTM refers to., so I am none the wiser.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 5.4.1.1.1

            Don’t worry, comprehension hasn’t been that much use to you thus far: I’m sure you can survive without it a while longer.

          • Philg 5.4.1.1.2

            David little C, or big C. You are in the wrong place Try Farrar and Kiwi blog

    • Patricia Bremner 5.5

      That is disgusting and should be sent to the police, as threats to kill is a crime.

  6. In Vino 6

    As I understand it, the same situation already exists in Australia. Labour is the largest single party in the Australian parliament, and, by the Right-wingers’ logic being applied here, should have been announced ‘Winners’ and asked to form the next Government. But funnily enough, the Australian Labour Party is on the Opposition Benches because it is outnumbered by a Right-Wing Coalition. But, of course, when the Right Wing does such a thing, there is no mention of “Coalition of Losers” in Rupert Murdoch’s biased media… that honour was reserved for our Left-Wing coalition just emerging over here.
    The utter hogwash needs to be exposed for what it is. Hypocritical claptrap.

    • AB 6.1

      Liberals have 60, Labor has 69. It’s the National’s 16 added to the Liberal’s 60 that makes a government.

      • millsy 6.1.1

        Technically, the coalition is the Liberal Party of Australa, The Country Liberal Party (NT), The Liberal National Party (QLD), and the Australian National Party.

        The National Party of Australia is economically more leftist than the Liberal party in some areas, and could in theory do a coalition with the ALP.

  7. Paul Campbell 7

    I was in China until yesterday, I checked in with kiwiblog to see how the other half were taking it …. It was covered in ads in Chinese extolling the virtues of Russia

    • Colville 7.1

      Paul
      Google feeds you relevant ads
      I get hunting suppliers on KB

      • True but the site does have control of the adverts that it allows.

      • Paul Campbell 7.1.2

        I know I just thought it was a wonderful irony that their greed would so much overwhelm their ‘principles’

      • Psycho Milt 7.1.3

        Google feeds you relevant ads

        I know that’s the theory, but when I visit Kiwiblog I get ads claiming Russian and Asian ladies are dying to meet me, which I would have given a relevance ranking of below zero if I had any choice in it. No other sites I visit assume I’m keen to form payment-based sexual relationships.

        EDIT: actually, on reflection, Google’s probably making a fairly accurate assessment of relevance to Kiwiblog’s readership demographic…

        • Incognito 7.1.3.1

          I think Google might still be in the process of ‘calibrating’ your personal profile and they’ll get it right eventually 😉

    • McGrath 7.2

      There is of course some wailing and gnashing of teeth but on the whole I reckon there is ambivalence. A lot of Nat supporters I know (I’m one as well) are actually quite pleased we’re not with Winston. The feeling is that NZF will be below the 5% mark next election and that National would have been right royally shafted with Winston.

      • The feeling is that NZF will be below the 5% mark next election and that National would have been right royally shafted with Winston.

        That’s not a feeling – that’s praying for a miracle. And it would have been NZ1st that would have been shafted by National – same as what happened in 1998.

      • RC 7.2.2

        ” A lot of Nat supporters I know (I’m one as well) are actually quite pleased we’re not with Winston. ”
        If that was true you wouldn’t be burbling shit about NZF

    • Philg 7.3

      Hi Paul C. Really? Tell me more.

      • Paul Campbell 7.3.1

        sorry I didn’t save the links (didn’t really want to click on those banners …. there were 3-4 from the same source, one at the top and the rest sprinkled down the front page). I’ll be back in a few weeks, I’ll see if it happens again

  8. McGrath 8

    I reckon the big winner in all of this is the Greens. NZF has proven to be a poison chalice in the past and is likely to do so again by primarily poisoning Labour.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 8.1

      All those poor National Party farmers thought they had a monopoly on poisoning things and are worried about their market share. They’re projecting. Like you.

    • NZ1st worked fine with Labour before which did, as a matter of fact, surprise me. After the 1998 breakdown between NZ1st and National I to thought it was all Winston’s fault. But since then I’ve actually looked at what happened and the fault was National all along.

  9. Philg 9

    National canabalizes the Right and wonders why they have no friends? Lol.

  10. starboard 10

    18 months I give the coalition of the doomed..then implosion time.
    Nats back in to clean up…again.

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    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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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 ...
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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, ...
    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 PĹŤkenga 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 ...
    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 ...
    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

  • 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
    13 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
    14 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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