Fire and Fury over North Korea

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, August 12th, 2017 - 60 comments
Categories: uncategorized, us politics, war - Tags: ,

Donald Trump may not know much about the last time the United States Air Force unleashed fire and fury over North Korea. The Koreans certainly remember it.

In the later stages of the Korean war in the 1950s, unchallenged B-29s used bombs and napalm to bomb Korea flat. Every city in North Korea was completely destroyed, more than in Germany and Japan during the Second World War. Gen Curtis Lemay boasted that the United States Air force killed off 20% of the population of North Korea over a period of three years.

That is why Korea has put its Army and air force underground. They have learnt the lesson that the only way to stop America from doing it again is to have nuclear weapons as a deterrent.

It is way past time for a different approach to be taken. Bluster from both sides endangers us all. The Americans and the North Koreans need to talk to each other without any preconditions, and the first move should come from the Americans. That is the only hope for peace.

60 comments on “Fire and Fury over North Korea ”

  1. Ad 1

    A smart President like Obama would make a gesture like shifting those US troops and bases next to Seoul and the border, well to the south. make a gesture that both supports the South Korean president, is shown to be doing something, but doesn’t decrease its capacity to protect the south from attack.

    And of course, the US should commit to eradicating its own nuclear weapons before requiring another nation take down their own nuclear weapons.

    But since we have Trump, once each of the North Korean and U.S. presidents have exhausted the Webster’s Dictionary of exuberant boasting at each other, then what?

    The upcoming test if this gets worse for our own election is: can Labour position smartly on this?

    • adam 1.1

      You might want to read up about Obama, and his continuation of Bush’s policy towards North Korea.

      Which was the end of détente, coupled with a major shift toward jingoism.

    • D'Esterre 1.2

      Ad: “A smart President like Obama would make a gesture like shifting those US troops and bases next to Seoul and the border, well to the south. make a gesture that both supports the South Korean president, is shown to be doing something, but doesn’t decrease its capacity to protect the south from attack.”

      Haha…. smart president! Gave us a good laugh, did that. See this from Jimmy Dore (also posted below, but hey! a bit of repetition never hurts)

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRwf0qdy_S8

  2. Ed 2

    George Galloway interviews John Le Boutillier about Trump and North Korea

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1ZC4O2AcZ4

  3. Sabine 3

    and dear Trump, the man who will prevent World War 3, and such does neither need approval from congress nor god to launch the thing.

    and as Senator Lindsay Graham said, its in the Pacific so who cares. Murica Murica Murica.

  4. francesca 4

    Totally agree Mike
    Fire and fury sounds suspiciously like a fool strutting and fretting his hour upon the stage”full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”
    Meanwhile I hear the back channels shut down during the Obama years have been hastily reopened, and negotiations are underway.
    The US would do well to heed N Korea’s requests to stop the aggressive military exercises and to be prepared to enter in to a proper peace treaty.
    That utter fool Turnbull is not helping

  5. Eco maori 5

    In the 1950 China was not the second biggest economy in the world .Trumps is being contained by the republicans and Generals I think his only weapon is his Twitter account that is why he wont give it up most politicians are puppets to power behind the facade

    • ropata 5.1

      Obviously big oil and the military has Trump by the balls, but he is still a dangerous loose cannon endangering world stability. USA abdication of leadership is leaving a power vacuum, shit is gonna get worse before it gets better

  6. Stuart Munro 7

    Obama was going to talk to North Korea, then didn’t. So much for audacious hope.

    Since Bush, the Koreans have been increasingly skeptical of the US. The US did a lot of indiscriminate killing in Korea during the Korean War, notably of Cheju people who were not Stalinist, and since the 486 generation everybody knows.

    http://www.art-in-society.de/AS14/KOR2/Korean-war-prehistory.html

    Pearl Buck, the US missionary and novelist who wrote The Good Earth, wrote a novel on Korea too – The Living Reed.

    I wouldn’t expect anything real from Trump – the US military is overcommitted with the gulf and Afghanistan. But it says a lot that he gets into a pissing contest with a murderous dictator and comes off looking less sane.

  7. Sabine 8

    “Shep, there appears to be a large chicken in front of the white house”

    indeed there is. http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/trump-chicken-white-house-1202522376/

    and the man with bone spur can launch the bomb anytime he wants to and there is no one who could potentially stop him from it.

    oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

    I for one welcome the rapture.

  8. Whispering Kate 9

    I for one am worried for my family who live in the US, with a lunatic at the wheel and tweeting like his life depended on it, isn’t it about time someone took him into the back room and dealt to him as only they know fit. Surely it is time to remove the reins of control from him. He needs to be looked at by a doctor/specialist as the man seriously needs his head examined.

    This brinkmanship pissing contest has gone on for too long and if there is anybody sane left in the Whitehouse they need to be acting responsibly by removing him from office.

    • Eralc 9.1

      I agree with you. We have family living in New York. They are seriously concerned. Along with the 78% in NY, they did not vote Trump.

  9. Eco maori 10

    Mike Pence is a republican man if Trump goes he’s in and then watch the Republican change all the American laws to suite them and there war machine

    • spikeyboy 10.1

      Exactly. Thats the beautiful thing about Trump. Everyone hates him so much that whatever he says is going to happen, the exact opposite occurs. Every time he says lets start a war here or here then thats a place that everybody else says no we cant do that. And its been a long time since lots of people in power in Usa have said no to any war. He got to fire a few missiles in Syria and gets to ramp up the misery in Yemen because these were someone elses wars started by other presidents but Trump is going to struggle to be allowed to start any new wars. The Usa needs to believe they are exceptional but Trump is such a basket case that its just too obvious how vicious there foreign policy is. Long live the basket case

  10. Sabine 11

    currently in the US.

    https://mobile.twitter.com/igd_news

    https://twitter.com/mattdpearce/status/896201381027106817?

    http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-white-virginia-rally-20170811-story.html

    my father passed away and one of my brothers send me a picture of him, and one of his father as i had none here in NZ.

    the picture of my ‘grandfather’ is that of a twenty something in the Uniform of the Wehrmacht, his son was born in 1940 and he died in 1942. He barely was a father he never was a Grandfather, he died in a ditch in Russia.
    In the meantime history is repeating itself cause people are dumb, greedy and comfortably numb.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FrOQC-zEog

    as for those that want to speak about Godwin, the guy is dead, and this is the history of my people and it is being repeated again albeit in a different flavour.

    • Terry 11.1

      OK I know I’m bring pedantic, but “Comfortably Numb” is from “The Wall. The picture above is the cover from Dark Side of the Moon. The two should never be mixed.

      • Sabine 11.1.1

        sorry, i uploaded the picture from youtube.
        what do i know? I wuz little then. Its just a tune from my childhood that i thought would fit.

    • ropata 11.2

      it ain’t Godwinism to point out that actual Nazis are gathering power in the USA.
      it’s not hyperbole, the USA is no longer a beacon of liberty, it is turning dark

      • Stuart Munro 11.2.1

        Godwin himself wrote “If you’re thoughtful about it and show some real awareness of history, go ahead…” Family history is as real as it gets for most of us.

        William Godwin may be better reading though – definitely proto-socialist and a lovely wordsmith – Mary didn’t learn all her skills from Shelley.

  11. Very good post thank you.

    The Koreans have suffered so much.

    I’m struggling to find optimism around this scenario. I mean trump? ffs homer Simpson would be better than him – safer for sure.

  12. Katipo 14

    US comedian Bill Burr responds to a letter from a concerned fellow citizen about North Korea.
    (Salty language warning)
    https://youtu.be/3TFY16RQG8k

  13. RedLogix 15

    Many years back I read a decent analysis on just the very point you make Mike; that because all of North Korea’s important assets and population are so very deeply buried, they were possibly one of the very few nations on earth who might attack the USA and win.

    It sounds preposterous, but all NK has to manage is to flatten Seoul with an immense firestorm of conventional artillery, successfully land one or two nukes in a large US city, and Tokyo for good measure, provoke the US into a nuclear strike, and wait for the Chinese to retaliate on the Americans. It’s quite possible that along with the cockroaches, the North Korean regime would emerge quite untouched from the rubble and green glass … .

    Assumptions the US military machine must inevitably prevail are just that …

    • Assumptions the US military machine must inevitably prevail are just that …

      The assumptions that the US was invincible have been proven in error for the last few years. Iran, Afghanistan, ISIS – all have proven the sheer weakness of the US military and their diplomacy.

      They can do a lot of physical damage but they can’t direct the world the way that they’d like, the way that they’d come to believe that they could.

      • Ad 15.1.1

        The last war they won was World War 2.

        Plus Grenada.

        • Draco T Bastard 15.1.1.1

          The last war they won was World War 2.

          And indications are that without Russia they wouldn’t have.

          • RedLogix 15.1.1.1.1

            Considering that some 80% of the German army was destroyed in Russia I always thought it was way more than an ‘indication’.

            The Eastern Front was the largest and bloodiest theatre of World War II. It is generally accepted as being the deadliest conflict in human history, with over 30 million killed as a result.[8] The German armed forces suffered 80% of its military deaths in the Eastern Front.[88] It involved more land combat than all other World War II theatres combined. The distinctly brutal nature of warfare on the Eastern Front was exemplified by an often willful disregard for human life by both sides. It was also reflected in the ideological premise for the war, which also saw a momentous clash between two directly opposed ideologies.

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)

            Us westerners tend to have a distorted and exaggerated view of our role in defeating the Third Reich. Certainly events like the defeat of Rommel, the denial of Saudi oil to the German war machine, the Battle of the Atlantic which so narrowly avoided Churchill’s surrender in 1942, and the Battle of Britain which so damaged the German Air Force, not to mention the invasion of Italy … while all significant tactical victories … overlook the raw fact that it was the Russians who slowly, brutally ground down the bulk of the German war machine.

            At a terrible price. In the age groups up to 40 yrs, some 20% of their people were lost. And given a large fraction of these were young men, it’s fair to say an entire generation was ripped in half.

            • Sabine 15.1.1.1.1.1

              only a fool sends men to russia.
              you don’t defeat the Bear and his comrade, General Winter.

        • lprent 15.1.1.2

          And Panama

      • RedLogix 15.1.2

        That’s the bit that worries me. Trump’s bloody bluster may well have the NK regime calculating that even if they know they cannot win in the conventional sense, they may be able to make the Americans lose worse than them.

    • ropata 15.2

      That is fucking insane but that never stopped us from going to war before.

  14. JC 16

    “This is the way the world ends
    Not with a bang but a whimper” …

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Beach_(novel)

    or…

    …. Associate Professor Benoît Pelopidas is in New Zealand as a guest of the University of Auckland and the Peace and Disarmament Education Trust to mark the 30th anniversary of New Zealand’s nuclear free law. He’ll give the university’s 2017 Chapman Public Lecture on August 15, entitled: “Facing nuclear danger: from proliferation to global nuclear vulnerability”, and seven other public talks between August 3-16.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201854520/benoit-pelopidas-how-close-are-we-to-nuclear-war

  15. Ad 17

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qngeq0vu2sU

    Not necessarily “brilliant”, but a whole bunch better than Trump.

  16. mickysavage 18

    Man I’m over in Hong Kong and off to China soon …

    Surely Trump would not be this stupid …

    • Sabine 18.1

      currently he is proposing invading Venezuela.

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-venezuela-military_us_598e317ee4b0909642971b4f?section=us_politics

      I would not hold my breath for the geezer to do something to get people too not get to upset with his many winnings.

      • Stuart Munro 18.1.1

        Trump – the new Vyacheslav Plehve:

        “Alexey Nikolaevich, you don’t know Russia’s internal situation. To avert a revolution, we need a small victorious war.”

        The Japanese victory at Tsushima put paid to that strategy.

        • Sabine 18.1.1.1

          Göring: Why, of course, the people don’t want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.

          • Stuart Munro 18.1.1.1.1

            Interesting, thanks.

            Back when I was reading up on corruption though, I came across an additional piece of the puzzle, which was what is described as a ‘logrolling alliance’. A logrolling alliance is like the media, far-right, industrial or agricultural interests and the Gnats in NZ. This loose alliance cooperates on a quid pro quo basis but also unites against progress on spec that their allies will support them if an important issue arises later on.

            The example of logrolling alliance the corruption book chose was the so-called ‘marriage of iron and rye’ which was a cabal of the German military industrialists and the dregs of the landowning aristocracy. This group was very pro war because selling guns or battleships was so profitable.

            • Sabine 18.1.1.1.1.1

              i give you Country Joe Mcdonald.

              fixn’to die rag

              https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/countryjoeandthefish/ifeellikeimfixintodieragtake1.html

              “There’s plenty good money to be made
              By supplying the Army with the tools of its trade,
              Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
              They drop it on the Viet Cong.
              And it’s one, two, three,
              What are we fighting for?
              Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn,”

              “Come on mothers throughout the land,
              Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
              Come on fathers, and don’t hesitate
              To send your sons off before it’s too late.
              You can be the first ones in your block
              To have your boy come home in a box. ”

              it was an excellent song then, it still is a good song now, just replace vietnam with Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and any other country they might want to destroy for profit and a medal.

  17. Donald J Trump.

    Made a few mistakes, has been set up to look like hes incompetent and impulsive. By the same news media that talked up the globalists. Obama , Clinton and the organizations that back them . Even John Pilger / Julian Assange exposed the Clinton Foundation as being a conduit for Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain to purchase arms for ISIS.

    So what do we make of this?

    A USA missile strike in Syria at the same time as Trump was conducting heads of state meetings with the second in command of China. And then afterwards had extensive talks with the same. So much so that China has been forced to become part of the ‘ holding back the aggression’ ( despite wanting North Korea as a buffer zone ) …

    Trump is no globalist.

    He is happy to be friends with Russia’s Putin. He is happy to cooperate with China.

    Yet the neo cons and the liberals hate him.

    Why ?

    They want a catalyst , and to adhere to a 19th century theory : Battle for the heartland ,

    Search Results
    Battle For The Heartland: Understanding America’s Unrelenting …
    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/…/battle-for-the-heartland-understanding-americas-unrelenti.

    Why does Trump so threaten the neo cons and the liberals?… because they are two sides of the same spectrum?

    The ‘ one world government’ / new world order that George Bush senior continually spoke about ?

    George H.W. Bush New World Order Speech – YouTube
    you tube▶ 1:14
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txukr5zgHnw

    And could it be that there is actually ,… a point of disclosure that exposes a well managed geopolitical agenda that transcends even limited tactical nuclear warfare in a localized region,… a region that simply becomes a convenient excuse for the introduction of a truth so shocking that it , being viewed by satellite and global internet communications , shatters modern accepted paradigms of science , religion and established political orders?

    I think L A Mazulli is worth looking into.

    UFO Discussion! The Coming Great Deception – YouTube
    Video for UFO Discussion! The Coming Great Deception▶ 53:38
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlU1hsLwUYo

    And if you need a little encouragement from a respected elder who held his own and crossed many generations in appeal because of his simple , loving , down to earth , non compromising stance and compassion for people , here’s Johnny Cash . One of the greatest. From the bluesers to the Heavy Metalists to the Rappers. They all respect the old Grandfather who spoke truth all his long life .

    Johnny Cash – God’s Gonna Cut You Down – YouTube
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJlN9jdQFSc

    • Oh , … and then there’s Roswell , and Operation Highjump.

      Now we know that Operation Paperclip was bonafide because that is where we had Wernher von Braun become the head of NASA. He among the numbers taken as part of Operation Paperclip in which over 80 German scientists involved in the NAZI rocket / flying disk program were basically abducted by the Americans during World War Two,… 80 German scientists and their family’s were spirited out of Germany to White Sands Missile base and other USA Air Force facility’s,… given false ID and repatriated to the USA,… while the Americans let the Russians do the demolition work on Berlin… and the end product ?… the world was introduced to stealth fighter technology… they did it to gain technological superiority over other nations post WW2.

      US Navy Zumwalt Class STEALTH SHIP – YouTube
      youtube▶ 10:21
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymzJPHTv4G4

      Then we had the Roswell thing :

      Roswell 70 Years Later! – YouTube
      youtube▶ 30:05
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFQgS6jE3XA

      Dontcha think , … that like mushrooms … we are being kept in the dark and fed on bullshit?

      Have a wee think about it . And realize that the internet is a wonderful thing,… that if you are really willing to think outside the square , spit out the obvious red herrings and misinformation that we have been programmed to operate in , … and actually dare to imagine,… that there is possibly , another place, another ‘ dimension’ ,… and that the man from Galilee that spoke of these things over 2000 years ago was speaking the truth.

      And that , you are all in fact , valuable and irreplaceable human beings.

      Food for thought.

  18. So , just why did the head of the Russian Orthodox Church shake hands with penguins and meet with the Roman Catholic Church after 1000 years of estrangement in Antarctica , … just why did Senator Kerry travel there in the middle of the USA elections , and why on earth did Vladimir Putin do the same a few months before… and officials from Australia , … and just why did Buzz Aldrin travel there at the same time as the head of the Russian Orthodox church as well?…. and why did Lockheed Martin deploy so many workers there… and why is there an international ‘ no fly zone’ in the center of Antarctica unless there is specific military clearance?

    The ‘ Hollow earth theory ? ‘… well according to Admiral Byrd that’s exactly whats happening. And according to NAZI Arianism that’s why they were reaching into places like Tibet for information…

    Ever heard of the spearhead of Linginus, people ?

    #10 – Spear of Destiny / Spear of Longinus – Episode 10 – YouTube
    youtube▶ 28:33
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64_qXlIgBv8

    Neuschwabenland, Antarctica and Operation Highjump – YouTube
    Video for new swabia antarctica youtube▶ 9:30
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VSIHbZk_CQ

    Anyhows,… here’s a song from my 21 year old son Finn on the night.

    I liked it and decided to stick it on here because young people are so precious. Young people are cool.

    Kid Rock – Redneck Paradise (Remix) ft. Hank Williams Jr … – YouTube
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__HPfmvaWRw

  19. Eco maori 21

    Trump is eroding USA soft power .
    It will take years for the real people in power year’s the reverse this .
    So the Generals won’t let Trump push the button .The first sign of this was when
    the aircraft carrier totally ignored Trumps orders that was a sign to the world stock markets /people don’t shit your pants we got this Idiot .
    Why has Trump sacked so much staff because they are not doing as he ask.
    And now we have the communication tool that can expose there bullshit in days not 10 years and the Generals or there aids have read that famous tactical book The Art of War it’s is always better cheaper to use diplomacy than WAR

  20. Exkiwiforces 22

    The only way you are going to get North Korea around the table for tea and sandwiches is for China to pull out of the mutual defence and trade Treaty between China and North Korea that was signed by parties in the late 50’s or 60’s. This treaty has allow the North to carry on the way it is at moment with almost impunity against any UN Security Council resolutions to date. If China did pull the pin on this treaty, I’m of the opinion that North Korea would suddenly start behaving itself and be open to talks. The other thing we need to remember is that New Zealand also signed the armistice agreement as a part of UN Forces during the Korean War thence why we still have members of the NZDF attached to the UN Headquarters and the NZDF trained with its South Korea counterparts. In other words we will still have fulfill our UN obligations under the current treaty that we signed back at the end of the Korean War.

  21. D'Esterre 23

    Mike Smith: “In the later stages of the Korean war in the 1950s, unchallenged B-29s used bombs and napalm to bomb Korea flat. Every city in North Korea was completely destroyed, more than in Germany and Japan during the Second World War. Gen Curtis Lemay boasted that the United States Air force killed off 20% of the population of North Korea over a period of three years.”

    Indeed. Here’s Jimmy Dore on the subject:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Crf7dubJ3k

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  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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