Forget Brexit

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, September 5th, 2019 - 39 comments
Categories: China, Donald Trump, International, uncategorized - Tags:

As Brexit fades our British parent country into a globally forgettable social embarrassment, we should remind ourselves that the only international politics of any impact on us is within Asia. There, as elsewhere, structured relationships are starting to crumble and impact upon us. 

This is because Asia in the past decade has undergone remarkable transformation and taken New Zealand with it. The changes have been incremental and spread over several countries, so few realize that we are entering a new era. It is one that will feature a more assertive yet more internally turbulent China, coupled with a fracturing American alliance system and much more complex trade and military set of influences.
The crisis in Hong Kong and the deterioration of relations between South Korea and Japan are prologue to coming years. The Asian stability and security we’ve had for decades can no longer be taken for granted.

China

For a start China is no longer China, at least in the way it was known.

The China whose economy filled our Warehouses and KMarts and bought our luxury tours and wines with double digit economic growth, governed and economically orchestrated by a group of faceless and collegial technocrats held in check by strict term limits, has been replaced by a country ruled by a hardened autocrat overseeing an economy growing at only 6 percent.

China is morphing into a more mature system featuring a highly skilled workforce. Chinese President Xi Jinping is preparing the middle class for world power status, characterized by a command of ports and trade routes stretching across Eurasia. But he is also employing an unprecedented array of technology—including facial scans—to monitor and corral his people’s behavior. Xi knows he needs to be the opposite of Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev—tightening political control instead of loosening it—to reform his over-leveraged, export-driven economy while keeping his country politically intact.

Xi’s new China is deploying its rapidly expanding navy throughout the Asian sea lanes, something that will transform the U.S. unipolar maritime security order of the past 75 years in Asia into a multipolar and therefore less stable one.

Some observers have had a tendency to view China’s naval aggression in the South China Sea and East China Sea as individual developments, to be reported on separately, when in fact they are having an effect on U.S. sea control throughout the Western Pacific. China’s latest port development projects in Darwin in northern Australia and near Sihanoukville in Cambodia demonstrate how China is filling up the maritime space at the junction of the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, where it already has a network of ports going back to the previous decade. But it is only in the last few years that China’s new maritime empire has come sharply into focus. The Indo-Pacific is no longer a U.S. naval lake.

Taiwan

China’s increasing naval activities in both the South and East China seas also allow China to further threaten Taiwan. Taiwan is back as a flash point, with China holding military drills off its coast, even as Beijing has gradually refined its ability to launch missiles and engage in cyberwar against the island, while also demanding that the Trump administration cancel its $2.2 billion arms sale to Taiwan. This is what you get from both Xi’s and U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies of nationalistic assertiveness, and it won’t “correct” to pre-Trump.

Korea

Then there’s Korea. The unintended consequence of Trump’s somewhat confused commencement of talks with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is that the latter and South Korea have jump-started a dialogue of their own. That dialogue will have its own logic and trajectory over time, leading in the direction of a Pyongyang-Seoul peace treaty and the eventual removal of more than 23,000 U.S. troops from South Korea. Don’t say it can’t happen. Divided-country scenarios in the 20th century had a tendency to end in unity: North and South Vietnam, West and East Germany, North and South Yemen.U.S. influence retreats with it, and makes it harder to justify U.S. military bases unwanted by Japanese locals.

Japan

Japan has been a massive U.S. ally for decades. Japan required a divided Korean Peninsula for its own security, because a Greater Korea uniting the historical memory of Tokyo’s brutal colonization and war from 1910 to 1945 would instinctively be anti-Japanese. The recent dramatic escalation of trade tensions between South Korea and Japan, itself aggravated by wartime Japan’s policy of forced labor and sexual slavery, is but a taste of what political united Korea and Japan. Trump’s incoherent engagement has opened up a Pandora’s box of issues that can set U.S. allies against each other—with China the winner.

Longstanding cultural and economic changes in U.S. society have produced the Trump presidency. And as a great power, the United States’ domestic situation ultimately affects the whole world, just as China’s domestic situation does. That is to say, only China can defeat China.

Hong Kong

With the mainland Chinese government using targeted arrests to gently fade the Hong Kong protests, China will strengthen its absorptive capacity for protest and expand both its military reach and domestic market across the Indo-Pacific and Eurasia. Whereas U.S. emotional commitment to post-World War II alliances fade fast.

In Asia, that translates into Finlandization—an undeclared movement in the direction of the proximate great power. From Japan to Korea to Vietnam and even Taiwan and south to Australia, America’s old Asian allies may gradually move into the orbit of China the way Finland grew closer to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. From trade to investment to political donations, that’s where we appear headed already.

The countries listed above constitute most of our trade, most of our support in the world, all of our close military partners, and all of our future.

Forget Brexit

Forget Brexit: for our little Asian nation, China is the geographic, demographic, and economic organizing principle of New Zealand and of the western Pacific.

39 comments on “Forget Brexit ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Paul Campbell 1
    5 September 2019 at 11:51 am

    Yup, besides when the UK joined the EU they screwed us over, our economy took a terrible downturn, chaining ourselves to their economy which is in downturn because of their own silly choices and politics would be a big mistake

    So screw 'em, turn about is fair, we owe them nothing, other than maybe a little bit of revenge

    • Dukeofurl 1.1
      5 September 2019 at 12:59 pm

      Europe including UK is our 3rd largest trading partner-" $8bn in exports to the EU and $11.5bn worth of imports from Europe."

      That wont change after Brexit , maybe a bit easier for agriculture entry in UK with a 'so called FTA'

      This idea of 'screwing over' is bizarre. Britain had to accept the then Common Market agriculture rules and we were given preferential access and quotas for many years. Britain long had preferential deals with all its 'Old Commonwealth' countries as they were all in Sterling zone, joining the EU meant they all had to go.

    • Nic the NZer 1.2
      5 September 2019 at 1:28 pm

      Germany is a lot closer to recession than the UK. The implication seems to be that Brexit isn't actually the cause of a large economic downturn despite forecasts claiming this would be caused.

      • Phil 1.2.1
        6 September 2019 at 9:45 am

        I haven't looked at the German data, but the key for me from the UK data is the intentions and activity indicators that are typically pretty good barometers.

        Consumer confidence has been barely above zero for two years. Services, Construction, and Manufacturing activity are all at zero or deep into negative territory.

        You're right that there is a global slowdown and all the advanced economies have red warning lights glowing on the dashboard, but my sense is the UK's decline has been a lot sharper than elsewhere.

      • cleangreen 1.2.2
        6 September 2019 at 4:49 pm

        Yep Nic true 100%

  2. Pat 2
    5 September 2019 at 12:10 pm

    Dismissing Brexit as unimportant is foolish in the extreme….it is (for the moment at least) a key member of the worlds largest single economy/trade block….should the EU unravel the world loses an alternative (and often) more reasonable voice in world affairs…something needed now more than ever

    • Ad 2.2
      5 September 2019 at 9:48 pm

      Unimportant to New Zealand compared to its Asia context.

      Brexit is strengthening the remaining EU, not unravelling it.

      • Pat 2.2.1
        5 September 2019 at 10:13 pm

        Not at all…NZ is a follower and price taker…we are tossed about in the wake of the worlds large economies…no matter their geography (or their direct trade relationship)

        • Ad 2.2.1.1
          5 September 2019 at 11:34 pm

          Agre we are certainly a price taker.

          But some parts of the world economy are more important to us, and more violent in the height other seas, than others.

          Brexit is chop; Asia is sea-cycle.

  3. Sanctuary 3
    5 September 2019 at 12:17 pm

    But we get to watch an utterly unfit to govern British elite tear itself apart in a vicious internecine culture war entirely of it's own creation, what is there to hate?

    • Dukeofurl 3.1
      5 September 2019 at 12:48 pm

      Unfit to govern elite ? The Brexit vote was 17.5 mill votes in favour.

      The following general election had the two main parties favouring a Brexit with a deal were Conservative, vote up 5.5% and Labour , vote up 9.6%.

      The problem is there isnt a majority in the commons for 'The deal with the NI backstop' ( which ties UK in an EU customs union), as May tried 3 x.

      Whats this elites you talk about, as though there hasnt been 2 forms of public voting for leave!

      The deal isnt a final contract as some have assumed , its a conditional contract subject to it passing by Parliament

      • soddenleaf 3.1.1
        5 September 2019 at 1:28 pm

        Labour missed opportunity to go to the electorate? or just leave the hot potato where it is, let the referendum Tories suck more on it.

        Labour have assiduously avoided pickingup the hot potato. As Tories crumble amongst themselves. Why so many voted for brexit, stuff elites, are Tories stuffed!

        Notably Britian has been putting off the day of reckoning, not just exit, but confirmation of brexit, no second referendum. The Tories see wasting time, exasperate everyone into taking whatever Boris comes up with, thankful its over.

        Everything to date has been timing to waste time. Nothing has change, nothing solid about the form of brexit is in written down. It's all muddle.

        As anyone in nz knows more trade, more trading partners, more diversification, is good, and then there's the problem us China are forcing many to repurpose their trading patterns. It's an opportunity, or a crisis, but it does matter to nz.

      • The Al1en 3.1.2
        5 September 2019 at 9:26 pm

        Of course you'll point to where the British people agreed and voted for a no deal Brexit.

        Another problem is there isn’t a majority in the commons for a hard Brexit, as Boris just found out.

        Only way forward, Boris’ schemes for prorogation or early election and default no deal exit, is an agreed withdrawal or a second referendum.

  4. Stuart Munro. 4
    5 September 2019 at 2:06 pm

    I wonder who benefits from destabilizing the EU. And having done so, what's their next target. It's interesting that you disparage Gorbachov, he put Russia on a positive path, as he had Primorye, so naturally certain interests could not allow that to happen. China has taken a turn towards the dark side since Hu Jintao, which goes some way to explaining their funding the infinitely economically fungible Gnats.

    A surveillance state that is jealous of its powers is inevitably going to cause concerns for neighbours or trading partners who pretend to progressive values. This will be reflected in a cooling of relations, much as the hebephrenic buffoon 45 and displaced polar bear Boris discourage enthusiastic cooperation with their polities. The season is thus one for NZ to cultivate more equal partners, similarly appalled by the excesses of stupidity of the self-styled global influencers. These might include Korea, Mexico, Chile, Malaysia and Canada.

    • Dukeofurl 4.1
      5 September 2019 at 4:14 pm

      LOL. Destablising EU . !!
      Its unstable of its own construction.

      Have you been asleep over the past 8 years. Austerity mandated by the Euro bankers. Currency crisis. Migration crisis. Greece deflation crisis.

      Riots in the streets of Paris, Germany without a government for nearly 4 months after an election….thats only in the last year. Polish courts crisis.

      Things that once happened in only Italy ….are regular all over Europe. Deutsche Bank is essentially insolvent
      ( thats what creating a €74 bill 'bad bank ' means)

    • Dukeofurl 4.2
      5 September 2019 at 4:23 pm

      Still one trick up BoJos sleeve . call for a vote of no confidence, which doesnt require a 2/3 of all Mps- the commons as a whole- just a simple majority of those present.

      Those 288 that did not vote today ( a few would have been truly absent , like Sinn Fein always is) wont be able to stymie the numbers

      https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/1843F/production/_108619399_ftpa_colours_chart-nc.png

    • Mark 4.3
      5 September 2019 at 8:36 pm

      “It’s interesting that you disparage Gorbachov, he put Russia on a positive path…”

      Really? It seems most Russians would disagree with you. Even the Western media acknowledges this pathetic traitor is widely reviled in Russia. Gorbachev is a wretched shit, and it seems many Russians long for his demise:
      https://bit.ly/2k3Mf7F

      It is actually Joseph Stalin who Russians most admire (70% say he played a positive role in history). A true hero, not just for Russians of course, but for all of humanity:
      https://bit.ly/2lZQgun

      Without the October Revolution and Lenin and Stalin, there would have been no Peoples Republic of China. The Chinese communist party represents a political movement that has perhaps achieved more for human health, wealth, and happiness than any other in the history of the world.

      ” Xi knows he needs to be the opposite of Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev”

      Well of course he should want to be the opposite of Gorbachev – he does not want to go down in history hated and despised by his own people as Gorbachev is by his.

      • Ad 4.3.1
        5 September 2019 at 9:46 pm

        Can anyone really tell whether Xi Jinping is hated, or loved, or not even rated?

        Not under a thought-controlled autocracy, of course not.

      • Stuart Munro. 4.3.2
        5 September 2019 at 9:51 pm

        "Really? It seems most Russians would disagree with you. Even the Western media acknowledges this pathetic traitor is widely reviled in Russia. Gorbachev is a wretched shit, and it seems many Russians long for his demise:
        https://bit.ly/2k3Mf7F "

        Interesting that you think you know what most Russians think, and of course it was vital to the oligarchs to so depict him. The comfortable corruption of the Party was no part of the modern Russia he was building, so there was a coup d'état by the forces of that corruption, which displaced Gorbachev even as it pretended to defend his government.

        Oh Xi will be hated and despised, make no mistake – but not in his lifetime. He'll murder any critics to make sure of that, just like Putin does. And that habit will ultimately prove uncomfortable for countries like New Zealand, for whom such naked oppression is not yet normal and approved.

        • Mark 4.3.2.1
          5 September 2019 at 11:29 pm

          "Interesting that you think you know what most Russians think"

          This article was from 2 years ago:

          https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/05/12/stalin-is-far-more-popular-with-russians-than-gorbachev-infographic/#38fd082d1663

          Now Stalin is up to 70% popularity as more and more of the truth of his contributions is appreciated.

          • Stuart Munro. 4.3.2.1.1
            5 September 2019 at 11:53 pm

            Yeah – you're drawing, or your source is drawing some mighty dubious conclusions there.

            Stalin's popularity is rising as people with first hand experience of his rule die off. And it suits Russia's contemporary rulers to paint him as a patriotic defender rather than the murderously inept collaborator with Hitler that he was.

            • The Al1en 4.3.2.1.1.1
              6 September 2019 at 12:04 am

              Look at who you're reasoning with, someone who celebrates the a murderer of 9 million people. Is it really worth your time dealing with such a [deleted]?

              • The Al1en …
                6 September 2019 at 12:16 am

                If it were someone championing Adolf's legacy they'd be fucked off from here in a heartbeat.

                • Mark …
                  6 September 2019 at 12:20 pm

                  Coz Stalin did not murder 9 million people you [deleted] (moderator AI1en started it)

                  Real mass murderers are the likes of Truman who slaughtered hundreds of thousands of women and children at Hiroshima and Nagasaki so that US troops did not have to fight.

                  That's analogous to two guys duking it out, and then one of them doesn't want to fight so goes and kills the opponents wife instead to take out his opponent. Pathetic, cowardly and evil.

                  • Stuart Munro. …
                    6 September 2019 at 12:44 pm

                    "Real mass murders are the likes of Truman…"

                    Who at some considerable political risk recalled McArthur who wanted to nuke and conquer China.

                    The US didn't understand Japan very well, and were not sure how to persuade it to surrender. But there were hawks like Curtis LeMay and of course the whole A Bomb development operation. If they'd been culturally competent they'd've recognized Japan was pinning its hopes on a conditional surrender to Russia, which rendered the nukes moot in terms of achieving the surrender – if bombing could have induced surrender it would have come after the March bombing of Tokyo, which caused more deaths.

                    None of which excuses Stalin, whose insistence on counterattacks by ill-led and marginally equipped troops probably caused three quarters of Russian WWII casualties before we even get to his gulags and genocides. Whatever potential might have come from the communist experiment was extinguished when Stalin took power.

                  • The Al1en …
                    6 September 2019 at 1:03 pm

                    Like I wrote – You're a bit of a Stalin fanboy. Lucky the world doesn't rely on Russians or student communists to preserve history. The deaths of those millions of victims will always be laid at his feet.

              • Stuart Munro. …
                6 September 2019 at 12:31 am

                I still have a few Chinese friends – the Party doesn't encourage them to develop a broad education in the classical western sense, which leaves them vulnerable to its pronouncements. I'd hope that a little skepticism of Stalin revanchism would develop over time.

                But then I had a Saudi student who told me (innocently yet seriously) that Hitler was a good leader – I did get him ready to question that, and managed to explain to him that saying that publicly in western countries would destroy his friendships and professional relationships pdq. He wasn't a bad guy – just questioning accepted wisdom and not knowing enough of the facts.

                • The Al1en …
                  6 September 2019 at 1:17 am

                  Well, fair play to you for your willingness to give the benefit of the doubt to the misguided, though to be fair, Mark has a history here of Stalin fanboyism, and it doesn't seem like they're getting the message.

            • Mark 4.3.2.1.1.2
              6 September 2019 at 12:14 pm

              “Stalin’s popularity is rising as people with first hand experience of his rule die off.”

              Bollocks…..if Stalin was such an evil prick people would have learned this growing up and from their parents and grandparents. Historical memories are a huge part of informing public sentiment.

              And they do have living memory of Gorbachev—and know that he brought them to the brink of ruin.

              “murderously inept collaborator with Hitler that he was …”

              Bullshit. The Molotov Ribbentrop pact was simply to buy time for the inevitable conflict —before that the Soviets had begged the Western powers for an alliance against Hitler, only to be rebuffed by Britain and France.

              https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/3223834/Stalin-planned-to-send-a-million-troops-to-stop-Hitler-if-Britain-and-France-agreed-pact.html

              For actual collaboration – refer Chamberlain's shameful selling out of Czechoslovakia for 'peace in our time'

              It was the Soviet Union led by Stalin who were consistent all along in their opposition to fascism (refer Spanish civil war), and it was the Soviet Union who made huge sacrifices in defeating Nazi Germany (not to deny the contribution of all the other countries, including New Zealand). And in the Asian theatre it was the Chinese who did the heavy lifting, starting from 1937, thereby ensuring the freedoms we take for granted today. Never forget it.

              • Stuart Munro. …
                6 September 2019 at 1:00 pm

                Stalin turned the international communist movement into a vehicle for Russian nationalist imperialism.

                Yes, he sacrificed a lot of people fighting Germany. Russia, like China had a tradition of conscript armies and only a cursory understanding of tactics, much less strategy. He fought Hitler, not on principle, but because he was attacked. He was cut from the same cloth and would have cheerfully occupied Europe the way the Third Reich did given the opportunity.

                "the Chinese did the heavy lifting"

                Nope. They took plenty of casualties though.

      • Mc 4.3.3
        8 September 2019 at 1:07 pm

        How many millions of people did Gorbachev execute?

  5. AB 5
    5 September 2019 at 6:06 pm

    We're interested in Brexit as an example of what is politically possible/impossible in a country that is similar culturally and in terms of its parliamentary system. We are always looking for models/ideas that might work here, or conversely would be a disaster. That the direct economic implications may be minor is a trivial thing in comparison. Power is more interesting than money.

    • Ad 5.1
      5 September 2019 at 9:44 pm

      That's best comment of the day.

      To me however parliamentary power is as weak as it has ever been, but the power of money remains in the ascendency over parliamentary power.

      Our parliamentary and democratic system is the best British legacy we still have. But what Britain is doing with it takes it into a universe of less and less relevance to anything we are likely to attempt here. Their model is a distorted feedback loop with no recognizable melody or syntax to our own.

      What is politically possible in Britain is less and less relevant to what is possible within the Asian – particularly Chinese – strategic trade and military context.

      That's why New Zealand's Asian context matters more than what happens in Britain.

  6. waltzzz 6
    5 September 2019 at 10:30 pm

    Yes, China is big. What if the China USA conflict heats up? I think that would be an imperialist war, like WW1 . We'd be under pressure to support the USA, Australia would. The anti-war movement would flare up in all countries, and there would be a cry (somewhere) to turn imperialist war into civil war for socialism. Workers of the world unite.

    What do you think?

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    It Takes A Train To Cry: Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Comity Be Damned! The State’s Legislative Arm Is Flexing Its Constitutional Muscles.
    Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Ending The Quest.
    Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Will political polarisation intensify to the point where ‘normal’ government becomes impossible,...
    Chris Trotter writes –  New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Tuesday, April 30
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:30am on Tuesday, May 30:Scoop: NZ 'close to the tipping point' of measles epidemic, health experts warn NZ Herald Benjamin PlummerHealth: 'Absurd and totally unacceptable': Man has to wait a year for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Worst poll result for a new Government in MMP history
    Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Pinning down climate change's role in extreme weather
    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Serving at Seymour's pleasure.
    Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Webworm LA Pop-Up
    Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • “Feel good” school is out
    Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • 6 Months in, surely our Report Card is “Ignored all warnings: recommend dismissal ASAP”?
    Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy. Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    3 days ago

  • Bread, and how it gets buttered
    Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Justice for Gaza?
    The New York Times reports that the International Criminal Court is about to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over their genocide in Gaza: Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • If there has been any fiddling with Pharmac’s funding, we can count on Paula to figure out the fis...
    Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • FastTrackWatch – The case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Monday, April 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on Iran killing its rappers, and searching for the invisible Dr. Reti
    span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Auckland Rail Electrification 10 years old
    Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Coalition's dirge of austerity and uncertainty is driving the economy into a deeper recession
    Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Disability Funding or Tax Cuts.
    You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Of the Goodness of Tolkien’s Eru
    April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Pastor Who Abused People, Blames People
    Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
    The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Winston remembers Gettysburg.
    Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • 25
    She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8.  The universe was ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Is Antarctica gaining land ice?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Policing protests.
    Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago

  • Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
    Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: FastTrackWatch – The Case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago

  • Luxon gets out his butcher’s knife – briefly
    Peter Dunne writes –  The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • More tax for less
    Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Real News vs Fake News.
    We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Another way to roll
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Simon Clark: The climate lies you'll hear this year
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Cutting the Public Service
    It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago

  • Luxon’s demoted ministers might take comfort from the British politician who bounced back after th...
    Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:  we live in a troubled ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • This is how I roll over
    1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • The Waitangi Tribunal is not “a roving Commission”…
    …it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition   NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes –  The High Court ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Is Oranga Tamariki guilty of neglect?
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same? Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Three Strikes saw lower reoffending
    David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Luxon’s ruthless show of strength is perfect for our angry era
    Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 'Lacks attention to detail and is creating double-standards.'
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • One Night Only!
    Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • What did Melissa Lee do?
    It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2024
    Open access notables Ice acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment: In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

  • Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Wa...
    Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Who’s Going Up The Media Mountain?
    Mr Bombastic: Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • “That's how I roll”
    It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Stronger oversight for our most vulnerable children
    The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 hour ago

  • Streamlining Building Consent Changes
    The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says.      “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago

  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
    New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago

  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
    Good evening –   Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Accelerating airport security lines
    From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago

  • Community hui to talk about kina barrens
    People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
    Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Mining resurgence a welcome sign
    There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
    The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government to boost public EV charging network
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure.  The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Residential Property Managers Bill to not progress
    The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Independent review into disability support services
    The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Justice Minister updates UN on law & order plan
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Ending emergency housing motels in Rotorua
    The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Trade Minister travels to Riyadh, OECD, and Dubai
    Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Education priorities focused on lifting achievement
    Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • NZTA App first step towards digital driver licence
    The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say.  “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Supporting whānau out of emergency housing
    Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Tribute to Dave O'Sullivan
    Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Speech – Eid al-Fitr
    Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Government saves access to medicines
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff.    “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Pharmac Chair appointed
    Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Taking action on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
    Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says.  “Every day, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New sports complex opens in Kaikohe
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Diplomacy needed more than ever
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges.    “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Anzac Commemorative Address, Buttes New British Cemetery Belgium
    Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service.  It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Anzac Commemorative Address – NZ National Service, Chunuk Bair
    Distinguished guests -   It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders.   Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Anzac Commemorative Address – Dawn Service, Gallipoli, Türkiye
    Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia.   Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • PM announces changes to portfolios
    Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New catch limits for unique fishery areas
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