Guest post: Beware Food Police!

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, December 10th, 2010 - 51 comments
Categories: dpf, food, health, Satire - Tags:

To arms! To arms! The Food Police are coming!

Remember how I led you in the battle to get junk food back into schools? It was a near-run thing. If we hadn’t acted, the days of the 12 year-old who can’t climb a flight of stairs without wheezing and going red in the face might have been numbered.

Fortunately, National let the junk food back in and cut anti-obesity spending.

But just when you thought victory was ours, my friends, Tony Ryall has gone turncoat on us. He’s launched a program run by Foodstuffs and the Heart Foundation that is filling the heads of defenceless 9 and 10 year olds with propaganda such as telling them that a diet of hot chips and fizzy drink is bad for you.

If these food Nazis turning school into modern-day gulags they won’t learn to think for themselves! Do we want our youngsters to be ‘taught’ how they should eat by so-called ‘experts’? This ‘education’ might make them ‘healthy’ and ‘well-informed’ but is that really what we want for our kids?

What ever happened to free choice? If you’re a 9 year old and you want to stuff chips into your face until you’re obese no-one should tell you otherwise.

Look at me, I’m the very model of personal responsibility. That’s what kids should be aspiring to.

National has hypocritically turned its back on the campaign for food choice but we’ll never stop fighting. Into the breach boys!

By David Farrar

51 comments on “Guest post: Beware Food Police! ”

  1. DJames 1

    The government wants our children to grow up healthy and strong. Don’t give them the chance! Say no to healthfood campaigns!

  2. hobbit 2

    Rather than spending more of my money on campaigns, how about we sting thick parents who allow / give their children junk food with a medical surcharge, based on how fat / unhealthy the child is etc.

    Even the thickest of parent’s would wake up..

    • Bright Red 2.1

      So, you want to put the cost of unhealthy eating on to the eaters and their parents. Cool. But rather than a complicated medical assessment and billing procedure which would be open to appeal etc, don’t you think it would be more efficient to up the tax on unhealthy food.

      …. just like Sue Kedgley from the Greens has been calling for all these years.

      bet you never knew you were a greenie, hobbit.

      • TightyRighty 2.1.1

        even better, just cut off free healthcare to those who are obese. less tax, very simple medical assesment and we can start balancing the budget

        • Lanthanide 2.1.1.1

          Yeah, because working out who is obese is a really simple medical test. All you do is work out their BMI, right?

          Using BMI, the entire All Blacks team are labelled as obese. BMI is also the tool behind all of these reports saying “30% of Americans are obese”, in other words it is probably overstating the case because it is simple. Likewise, BMI doesn’t work very well on people of ethnicities that are naturally larger or ‘big-boned’, like most polynesians.

          Are you also going to cut off free healthcare for other people who have eating disorders, like anorexics and bulimics?

          There is still a lot of scientific debate over what makes someone obese and genes are a prime factor, as well as a variety of metabolism disorders. It seems unfair to punish these people for something that they may not have much control over.

          • TightyRighty 2.1.1.1.1

            i mean proper fat people. pretty easy to spot if you ask me. they take up two seats at mcdonalds, drive temporarily low slung cars through a KFC drive through. steal the last pie at 4pm from the bakery down the road. You know what i mean.

          • Sean Brooks 2.1.1.1.2

            The All Blacks are obese, other sportspeople are much fitter and healther, its just because the NZ media feed the BS to our public that they are somehow super sportspeople.

            • QoT 2.1.1.1.2.1

              Are you serious? I’m not even a rugby fan but I can appreciate those guys have to be pretty fucking fit to do their jobs. Is this some new BMI-defending tactic? Do you think powerlifters are totally unhealthy too since all of them qualify as obese, if not “morbidly” obese, using BMI? *is intrigued*

        • Bright Red 2.1.1.2

          so, you’ll let people with serious health needs go untreated. Tightyrighty is a great name for you,

          Also, cut off free healthcare for professional sportspeople, smokers, pregnant women, people who drink alcohol, and people who drive? After all, they are doing something that is dangerous for their health, just like obese people.

          Maybe DoesntthinkitthroughRighty would be even more apt.

          • Jum 2.1.1.2.1

            Bright Red,

            Tightyrighty wants all these people to achieve the ultimate and reduce the costs of healthcare; death, I think it’s called…

          • TightyRighty 2.1.1.2.2

            I’d wholeheartedly agree with smokers, as long as you axed the excise tax on smokes, ditto for alcohol. proffesional sports people from memory pay an ACC levy, as do motorists. pregnant woman? that’s a step to far.

            maybe dim red would be better for you

            • Bright Red 2.1.1.2.2.1

              “proffesional sports people from memory pay an ACC levy” – Everyone pays an ACC levy on their work income. What about amateur sports then? No access to public healthcare if you skydive, or mountain bike?

              So, why are you banning acess to public healthcare for some people with risky lifestyles/life choices/conditions but not others? Why is, for example, a woman who gets pregnant less culpable for her decision to increase her healthcare needs than an obese person?

              • TightyRighty

                pregnancy could be an accident, at least it gives life whether it is or isn’t. Fatness on the other hand, is unlikely to be an accident. unless you repeatedly tripped and fell with an open mouth into a warm bucket of boneless fried chicken supported by a pile of cheeseburgers, garnished with chocolate and then someone accidentally hooked your tap up to a coca cola factory. Fatness tends to be a selfish thing too, no life springs from being fat, unless the chicken wing lost in a roll of flab spawns some new bacteria.

                hmmmmkay?

            • bbfloyd 2.1.1.2.2.2

              T.R.. now you’re just being childish…i’ve noticed a tendancy lately for right wing apologists to resort to personal abuse once your “arguments” are dismantled… why is that, i wonder?

      • don’t you think it would be more efficient to up the tax on unhealthy food

        Which sounds great in theory and I truly wish were possible to do efficiently, but would in fact more than likely lead to an absolute nonsense as with the GST in Australia (and Labour’s proposals to fiddle with it in NZ).

        Who decides what’s “healthy”? On what basis? Is there a sliding scale of “healthiness tax” or a flat one once a food reaches “x unhealthiness”?…

        Just about everything is unhealthy if you eat too much of it. Or even if you just eat it in isolation. I generally have a glass, maybe two, of red wine with dinner. At that level, current research (which will probably change tomorrow) says it’s healthy. Yet if I eat too many eggs for breakfast each morning, they become unhealthy…

        I like what Kedgley’s trying to do, but implementation will be a nightmare (other than for the corps of bureaucrats classifying and regulating to their hearts content).

        • Bright Red 2.1.2.1

          I’m mainly just taking the piss out of these idiots, Rex. Not a huge fan of Kedgley’s idea either.

          • Rex Widerstrom 2.1.2.1.1

            Ah, fair enough.

            Not wanting to sounf like Phil Goff on the Foreshore and Seabed, but if I could just challenge my own position here… 😛

            I wonder if it’s not possible to apply some sort of tax break to healthy stuff that’s easily classifiable… like anything grown in a NZ market garden or orchard, say?

            Encourage healthy eating and give a boost to local growers…

            [Or maybe it’s just that I’ve been forced to pay almost $8 a kilo for grapes at the supermarket when I drive each week past kilometres of vines stretching seemingly to the horizon…]

    • Jum 2.2

      National are Hypocrites and Liars.

      Certainly we have a lot of thick parents Hobbit; they voted the JKeyll hobbit in.

  3. Billy Bunter will cream that skinny Ryall if he ever catches him!

  4. Bill 4

    Didn’t McD’s get the heart foundation tick?

    And can we assume that fizzy drinks with controversial sugar substitutes such as asparitame will be made made widely available and marketed as ‘safe’ and ‘healthy’?

    Can we assume that there might be some ‘sweeteners’ offered to get schools to stock particular corporate brands rather than others?

    Best bit is that many (reasonably in my mind) point to complex carbohydrates, not sugar and fat as the cause of obesity. Sumo wrestlers eat enormous portions of rice to pack on the weight, not sugar drinks and animal fats. And if you want your body to store energy, there is no point in eating sugar or fat which both release energy over fairly short periods of time. But eat wheat and other carbohydrates and you will have a slower release of energy over a longer period. And if you are not burning said energy, then your body will store the excess as fat.

    Take a look at processed food and you’ll struggle to find any that aren’t packed with carbohydrates. And you might want to take into account the impact of the likes of the Margarines and Spreads Association http://www.margarine.org.uk/ and question their motives in promoting a ‘health’ message internationally that is anti-animal fat.

    Big business. Market penetration. Johnny Boy. Mates.

    • Colonial Viper 4.1

      The corporates have long learnt how to manipulate and use ‘scientifically healthy criteria’ to get the consumer certifications that they want.

      0% fat free, but we will fill up the food with a greasy synthetic which feels like fat in your mouth, even if it is undigestible crud.

      Would be nice to see how much McDonalds pays the Heart Foundation annually.

      We need more informed and discerning consumers.

      • Bill 4.1.1

        Would be nice to see how much McDonalds pays the Heart Foundation annually.

        Well, in Australia, according to ‘The Age’…

        The fast-food chain has had to make significant changes to its recipes and is paying $330,000 a year to earn the Heart Foundation’s tick of approval.

    • Lanthanide 4.2

      FYI, from wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame_controversy
      FDA officials describing aspartame as “one of the most thoroughly tested and studied food additives the agency has ever approved” and its safety as “clear cut”.

      Aspartame controversy holds about as much weight as climate change denial in my books.

      Also, I read a study that showed that having healthy options on a fastfood menu makes people more likely to buy from that restaurant, even if they don’t buy the healthy option. Basically it’s sort of a bait-and-switch your brain plays: because McD’s have healthy options on the menu, you decide to go there, but when you actually come to make the decision, you’ll just buy the regular Big Mac anyway, because your brain feels soothes because you considered the healthy option first. I haven’t explained that very well, but it probably explains a lot behind healthy options at fast food places – even if they haven’t done studies, they can probably see that after they add healthy options, their total revenue will go up, along with the unhealthy options rising in revenue also.

  5. If the difference between banning a person from doing something (in this case consuming their food of choice) and encouraging them not to escapes those on the left, I’d suggest any future criticism of “authoritarian attitudes” from the likes of Collins et al be given the “humour” tag.

    • felix 5.1

      Don’t you want to ban people from smoking tobacco by requiring a prescription?

      • No not quite, I want to facilitate the continued access to tobacco by people with a pre-existing addiciton by having them able to obtain a one-off certification (a “smokers licence”) which allows them to smoke as much as they like whenever they like.

        A minimal inconvenience I know, but the best way I can think of to preserve their freedom while preventing those not presently addicted from developing such an addiction.

        I’d also support warnings on fast food boxes (starved for both time and sustenance I ate my first Big Mac in – literally – ten years the other night. One look at the quantities of sugar and fat helped ensure at least another decade will pass before I indulge again) and other educational efforts.

        • felix 5.1.1.1

          I’d say that constitutes a ban for anyone who doesn’t already smoke, wouldn’t you?

          • Rex Widerstrom 5.1.1.1.1

            In a sense, yes. But there’s also a ban on my consuming powdered rhino horn but as I’ve never had it in the first place its much less of an imposition on my personal freedom to insist I don’t take up the practice than it is to permit me to do so and then attempt to ban me from it.

            Whereever possible I try to balance undertaking initiatives which are undoubtedly well meant against infringing on personal freedom, particularly of those who’ve been sanctioned to undertake a behaviour and are then told it’s not allowed.

            I also weigh the danger versus the loss of freedom. I am sure that there are some who’d argue it’s possible to smoke and not get ill as a result (“my grandad smoked 40 a day and lived to 93…”) but it tends to be anecdotal and something of a lottery. Smoke, even in moderation, and chances are you will fall ill. However it’s entirely possible to have the odd pie with no real ill-efects – especially if you then spend the next 45 minutes running madly round a playground and provided you don’t have one every day.

            I guess it depends on the value you place upon freedom versus health and a whole lot of other things. I admit I tend to place freedom – even the freedom to make errors of judgment – on a level it’s hard for much else to over-ride.

            • felix 5.1.1.1.1.1

              “Smoke, even in moderation, and chances are you will fall ill. However it’s entirely possible to have the odd pie with no real ill-efects – especially if you then spend the next 45 minutes running madly round a playground and provided you don’t have one every day.”

              This is the crux of the contradiction. A single cigarette probably isn’t more significant, health wise, than a single pie. But they can both have devastating effects if you have them all the time.

              But with the pies you trust people to regulate their own intake of and go for a run, whereas with the cigs you don’t.

              • I’m the first to admit I’m not ideologically pure on these sorts of issues, felix. Philosophically I want the absolute maximum freedom for people, provided their activity doesn’t harm others. And even then, we should try to find a way to safely contain it rather than ban it outright (e.g. race tracks for “hoons”).

                But then the humanitarian in me wants to prevent unnecessary harm to my fellow beings. Thus I bend myself into shapes Escher wouldn’t have thought of, trying to achieve the latter while preserving as much as possible of the former.

                That’s why I support decriminalisation of drugs and the availability of heroin etc on prescription. These aren’t activities to be encouraged – quite the opposite – but not only is wagging the state’s big finger ineffective, the state’s right to do so rests entirely on the potential these people have to damage other people – and most of that occurs through criminal activity designed to get money to get drugs.

                But you’re incorrect in saying:

                But with the pies you trust people to regulate their own intake of and go for a run, whereas with the cigs you don’t.

                It’s not about trusting cigarette smokers to regulate their intake. I’ve met maybe half a dozen who can, versus probably a hundred who are slaves to the nicotine addiction, and habit. I believe most smokers will smoke enough cigarettes to virtually guarantee them health problems. Far more than the percentage of occasional fast food consumers for whom it will become a problem.

                But – aside from the fact prohibition doesn’t work – I don’t believe the state has the moral mandate to interfere with the right of either group to indulge in their bad habit of choice.

                Encourage them to reduce or stop; fund programmes to help them adjust taxation to encourage healthier choices; by all means. But as soon as a ban is introduced the state has effectively promised to use its right to use force and impose punishment in order to enforce it. And I can’t accept that that’s appropriate.

                (As an aside I see the Australian Federal Govenment is to make nicotine replacement therapy eligible for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from next year. Well done them).

                • felix

                  “I believe most smokers will smoke enough cigarettes to virtually guarantee them health problems. Far more than the percentage of occasional fast food consumers for whom it will become a problem.”

                  Yes but “occasional fast food consumers” aren’t really the issue, it’s encouraging kids to eat junk food as a normal part of their daily diet that’s the problem.

                  I don’t want to see McDonalds (or whatever) banned but that doesn’t mean I want it promoted in schools. Nor cigarettes for that matter.

                  I appreciate what you say about balancing harm/liberty and the inevitable inconsistencies – I do find it amusing that you and I come down equally firmly on different sides of the harm/liberty argument on different issues – and I do enjoy your perspectives on these issues as I know your views are genuine.

                  In this instance – getting the junk food out of school – I see the potential for long term health gains and I don’t see anyone’s freedom being curbed.

                  • QoT

                    Felix, I love ya, but seriously. “encouraging kids to eat junk food as a normal part of their daily diet”? Any evidence of this actually happening would be totally cool, you know, to establish that this isn’t you drinking the “OMG fatties just sit on the sofa all day eating baby-flavoured donuts!” Koolaid.

                    I mean, if we want to have a discussion about the dubious-ness of schools allowing, if not HAVING to allow, companies like McDonald’s to run reading programmes or whatever in classes, with regard to the financial constraints schools are under and the moral grey area of dealing with the devil to attain a greater good … that’s cool.

                    But making this about OMG HAVING PIES IN THE TUCKSHOP MAKES KIDS FAT AND UGLY is really just not a constructive, or reality-based, conversation.

                    • felix

                      I hear you, and speaking only for myself I’m not coming at this from a zOMG FATTIES perspective.

                      I just think we owe it to kids to give them better choices than “pie or burger”.

                      Not ‘cos it those might make them fat, just because there’s more to nutrition than white sugar and white flour.

                      ps I love you too.

                    • QoT

                      But you *are* using language and phrases that go straight to “eww, fatties”.

                      Who’s saying that the only options available are pies and burgers? No one. But your comment specifically talks about encouraging and promoting “junk” food as though the only options are NO CHIPPIES EVER or EAT ALL THE CHIPPIES. As opposed to, have chippies AND fruit available and allow kids to learn to trust their bodies and appetites and not damage their physical AND mental health by policing them and telling them Being Fat Makes You A Bad Person.

                      Which is frankly exactly what happens when Zetetic and the like make posts pretending to be all about heeeeeeeeeealth which conveniently give them the excuse to bash fat kids.

                      It is up to all of us to check what we’re typing and what bullshit we buy into by using oppressive, bigoted, misleading language.

                      Captcha: scales – your gateway drug into body dysmorphia and eating disorders!

                    • felix

                      When we’re talking about McDs setting up in schools (and I have no doubt that’s where this is heading) then yes, we are talking about promotion – deliberately manipulative, highly effective tried and true promotion – of shit food at kids.

                      It goes way beyond simple availability Rex. Beyond encouragement even, Squillions of $$ beyond.

                      QoT I’m trying to see what I’ve written that’s crossed the line into fat issues. Some kinds of food are just better than others – I don’t see what that has to do with buying into body image propaganda.

                  • it’s encouraging kids to eat junk food as a normal part of their daily diet that’s the problem

                    I get this mental picture of tuck shop ladies hiding behind the salad bar saying “Pssst… kid… you don’t want that rabbit food! Look, over here, a nice creamy donut… you know you want it!”, their noses caked with the confectioners sugar they’ve been sniffing out the back 😀

                    “Availability” and “encouragement” aren’t the samew thing. And “lack of availability” and “reduction in consumption” don’t correlate – just ask Jamie Oliver.

                    (Having said that yes it is amusing how essentially similar principles can assist in arriving at diametrically opposed conclusions… sometimes I almost feel sorry for our politicians. I said sometimes. And almost… 😉 )

                    • QoT

                      [Argh reply fail!]

                      Jesus, Rex, we don’t invoke Jamie Oliver, lest he appear and be a preachy fucking git with no respect for actually figuring out WHY people might not eat perfect homecooked organic meals from scratch three times a day using produce from their local farmers’ market where they know the vendors by first name! A perfect representation of what’s wrong with this post, really.

                    • But QoT, preachy gits are exactly the kind of people that think taking pies out of the tuckshop will “fix” obesity (as opposed to the alternate, which you enunciate so well above and with which I agree wholeheartedly, since it assumes young people have the capacity to learn and know what’s best and trust themselves and make good choices).

                      Which is precisely why I conjured him up… his intentions were good, but assuming that taking the turkey twisters off the lunch menu and grinning wildly at kids while going “Wotcha! Lentils! Awright me old china?! Get this down ya” would solve the problem showed just what a pillock he was, psychology-wise.

                    • QoT

                      Fair enough then! Unfortunately many people refuse to agree with the notion of teaching kids to eat intuitively, because then of course they’ll just gorge on pies until they explode, or something – a behaviour which has nothing to do with food-policing or humans’ natural rebellion against having pleasure-giving behaviours prohibited.

    • Pascal's bookie 5.2

      If the difference between banning a person from doing something (in this case consuming their food of choice)

      eh? As I understood it the policy was that schools couldn’t sell the stuff. That’s not banning kids from eating it, it’s banning schools or contractors from selling it on school grounds. That’s no more banning the kids from “consuming their food of choice” than a ban on religious indoctrination in school time would be banning the kids from having religion.

      • Well smokers seem to be of the opinion that banning their consumption in certain places infringes on their rights, and indeed it does. However in that instance there is a competing right – that of myself and other non-smokers to enjoy a beer or a meal without breathing second hand smoke.

        However I again think outright banning has gone too far – a bar or restaurant should be permitted to cater to smokers if it wished, then I’d just choose not to go there. Things like sports games, planes etc where there are no alternatives but for everyone to share the air – fair enough. Similarly, if a taxi driver smokes he or she should be permitted to allow passengers to do so – but not to smoke when there are non-smoking passengers in their car. Perhaps that’s slicing personal freedom very thinly, but I think it’s worth doing rather than letting it be eroded.

        A kid eating a pie, however, has no ill effect on the kid sitting beside them eating a salad. As I’ve said to felix above, it’s a matter of balancing freedom against other considerations, and not putting too low a price on it.

  6. QoT 6

    The number of issues I have with this post are so substantial I’ve had to write my own. And draft a sequel. Because wow. All I’ll say is you have performed a miracle, Zet, in making me sympathize with DPF. I’ve said a variation on this so often it’s ground a track in my brain: can’t we criticise rightwingers and hypocrites for being rightwing hypocrites, not because they’re fat or ugly or female or gay?

  7. steve 7

    There will always be the excuse of ‘everyone’s body is different” Sure there are those who do have a genuine medical reason for weight gain or lose.
    For the rest it is simple, the input hole is bigger than the output hole, and sitting on your fat arse does not help. You could at least try some form of exercise

    • QoT 7.1

      I have to say I am such a huge fan of diagnosis by internet! steve, truly you have revolutionized the world and done away with all need for medical practitioners for YOU can tell me (or any person) exactly what I’m doing wrong!

      Oh, except that “calories in/calories out” is simplistic bullshit.

  8. peterlepaysan 8

    This is a minefield. What is “healthy” (food or diet) is an endless debate. It is a debate largely dominated by by very powerful lobbyists (that includes the The Heart Foundation).

    The fact of the matter is that we did pretty well in dietary terms prior to the industrialisation of what is passed off in supermarkets as “food”.

    The fact of the matter is that there is plenty of well researched (and yes, “peer reviewed”) studies that demonstrate that that the”healthy” diets of the Heart Foundation and other Nutritional Nazis are irrelevant (at best) or detrimental (at worst) to reasonably good health.

    The actual real hard nosed science underlying diet/health/metabolism has never been addressed by bureaucrats or their ministers.

    Urban mythology and populist causes rule.

    Bugger good health. No votes in that.

    • QoT 8.1

      It’s like the law&order debate, peter. Just a race to see who can implement the most policy based on “everyone know XYZ is bad and my gut says we should fix it by punishing ABC!” because mass public hysteria is never wrong (in the voting booth).

  9. Shaz47 9

    Everyone seems to think kids know the difference between good choices and bad choices and as a well seasoned parent I can assure you they don’t. I would not say to my children you can have anything you want but I might say you can have this or that. Giving your kids $5 and sending them off to school these days is just saying you can have anything you like. Kids today are bombarded with so much advertising ‘if you eat this you will look cool’, drink this and you will have mates hanging with you. Schools need to make sure they don’t buy into this mass marketing to kid for profit. Mac’er and KFC and the like are fine and I like to think it’s a good treat and like everything in this world, moderation is the key. When I send my kids to school I expect the school also says to my kids you can have this or that, limit the choices. One day my kids are going to be parents too. I hope by then they will know the difference between what is important for good health and what is a treat and what is needed to maintain good health for them. And by the way I know very healthy people who some might be considered overweight. I know some very skinny people who are so incredibly healthy it makes you sick. My point; school should be an extension of home and should have similar values. Choose you school well and if what is offered in the tuck shop is important then make sure your kids go to a school that follows your values. Children are not born with expert knowledge on what is healthy, this is learnt behaviour, and we as parents are their teachers.

  10. roger nome 10

    This post gave me a hearty chuckle. Nice work. Now if DPF ever whines about not getting laid, we can just say he’s not taking enough personal responsibility. His lack of effort has left him with a surplus of non-markertable commodities… ouch!

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    Another week of The Rings of Power, season two, and another confirmation that things are definitely coming together for the show. The fifth Episode of season one represented the nadir of the series. Now? Amid the firmer footing of 2024, Episode Five represents further a further step towards excellent Tolkien ...
    2 days ago
  • In Open Seas; A Book

    The background to In Open Seas: How the New Zealand Labour Government Went Wrong:2017-2023Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand, published in 2020, proved more successful than either I or the publisher (VUP, now Te Herenga Waka University Press) expected. I had expected that it would ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    2 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 13

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the climate implications of the US Presidential elections; and special guests Janet ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Do or do not. There is no try

    1. Upon receiving evidence that school lunches were doing a marvellous job of improving outcomes for students, David Seymour did what?a. Declared we need much more of this sort of good news and poured extra resources and funding into them b. Emailed Atlas network to ask what to do next c. Cut ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Dangerous ground

    The Waitangi Tribunal has reported back on National's proposed changes to gut the Marine and Coastal Area Act and steal the foreshore and seabed for its greedy fishing-industry donors, and declared it to be another huge violation of ti Tiriti: The Waitangi Tribunal has found government changes to the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change: National wants to cheat on Paris

    In 2016, the then-National government signed the Paris Agreement, committing Aotearoa to a 30 (later 50) percent reduction in emissions by 2030. When questioned about how they intended to meet that target with their complete absence of effective climate policy, they made a lot of noise about how it was ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Treasury warned Govt lower debt limits meant less ‘productivity-enhancing investment’

    Treasury’s advice to Cabinet was that the new Government could actually prudently carry net core Crown debt of up to 50% of GDP. But Luxon and Willis instead chose to portray the Government’s finances as in such a mess they had no choice but to carve 6.5% to 7.5% off ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Is the Media Complicit?

    This is a long read. Open to all.SYNOPSIS: Traditional media is at a cross roads. There is a need for those in the media landscape, as it stands, to earn enough to stay afloat, but also come across as balanced and neutral to keep its audiences.In America, NYT’s liberal leaning ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Black Friday

    It's Black Friday, the end of the weekYou take my hand and hold it gently up against your cheekIt's all in my head, it's all in my mindI see the darkness where you see the lightSong by Tom OdellFriday the 13th, don’t be afraid.No, really, don’t. Everything has felt a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 13-September-2024

    Ooh, Friday the thirteenth. Spooky! Is that why certain zombie ideas have been stalking the landscape this week, like the Mayor’s brainwave for a motorway bridge from Kauri Point to Point Chev? Read on and find out. This roundup, like all our coverage, is brought to you by the Greater ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #37 2024

    Open access notables Early knowledge but delays in climate actions: An ecocide case against both transnational oil corporations and national governments, Hauser et al., Environmental Science & Policy: Cast within the wide context of investigating the collusion at play between powerful political-economic actors and decision-makers as monopolists and debates about ‘the modern ...
    3 days ago
  • What it is

    I liked what Kieran McAnulty had to say about the Treaty Principles bill this morning so much I've written it down and copied it out for you. He was saying that rather than let this piece of ordure spend six months in Select Committee, the Prime Minister could stop making such ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • A government-funded hate campaign

    Cabinet discussed National's constitutionally and historically illiterate "Treaty Principles Bill" this week, and decided to push on with it. The bill will apparently receive a full six month select committee process - unlike practically every other policy this government has pushed, and despite the fact that if the government is ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • How Substack works to take (some) craziness out of America’s elections

    I spoke with Substack co-founder yesterday, just before the Trump-Harris debate, about how Substack is doing its thing during the US elections. He talks in particular about how Substack’s focus on paid subscriptions rather than ads has made political debate on the platform calmer, simpler, deeper and more satisfying ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • David Seymour is such a loser

    For paid subscribersNot content with siphoning off $230,000,000 of taxpayers money for his hobby projects - and telling everyone his passion is education and early childcare - an intersection painfully coincidental to the interests of wealthy private families like Sean Plunkett’s1 backers, the Wright Family, Seymour is back in the ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Cross-party consensus: there’s no pipeline without good faith

    There’s been a lot of talk recently about a cross-party agreement to develop a pipeline for infrastructure, including transport. Last month, outgoing CRL boss Sean Sweeney talked about the importance of securing an enduring infrastructure programme. He outlined the high costs of the relentless political flip-flopping of priorities, which drives ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    3 days ago
  • Voters love this climate policy they’ve never heard of

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The Inflation Reduction Act is the Biden administration’s signature climate law and the largest U.S. government investment in reducing climate pollution to date. Among climate advocates, the policy is well-known and celebrated, but beyond that, only a minority of Americans ...
    3 days ago
  • ACC wants to administer inflation at more than double the RBNZ’s target rate

    ACC levies are set to rise at more than double the inflation rate targeted by the RBNZ. Photo: Lynn GrievesonKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 12:The state-owned monopoly for accident insurance wants ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Harris vs Trump

    We’ve been selected to rock your asses 'til midnightThis is my term, I've shaved off my perm, but it's alrightI solemnly swear to uphold the ConstitutionGot a rock 'n' roll problem? Well we got a solutionLet us be who we am, and let us kick out the jams, yeahKick out ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Treaty Bill “a political stunt”

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon appears to have given ACT Leader David Seymour more than he has been admitting in the proposals to go forward with a Treaty Principles Bill.All along, Luxon has maintained that the Government is proceeding with the Bill to honour the coalition agreement.But that is quite specific.It ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • An average 219 NZers migrated each day in July

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 11:Annual migration of New Zealanders rose to a record-high 80,963 in the year to the end of July, which is more than double its pre-Covid levels.Two ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • What you’re wanting to win more than anything is The Narrative

    Hubris is sitting down on election day 2016 to watch that pig Trump get his ass handed to him, and watching the New York Times needle hover for a while over Hillary and then move across to Trump where it remains all night to your gathering horror and dismay. You're ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • National’s automated lie machine

    The government has a problem: lots of people want information from it all the time. Information about benefits, about superannuation, ACC coverage and healthcare, taxes, jury service, immigration - and that's just the routine stuff. Responding to all of those queries takes a lot of time and costs a lot ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Christopher Luxon: A Man of “Faith” and “Compassion” Speaks on the Treaty Pr...

    Synopsis: Today - we explore two different realities. One where National lost. And another - which is the one we are living with here. Note: the footnote on increased fees/taxes may be of interest to some readers.Article open.Subscribe nowIt’s an alternate timeline.Yesterday as news broke that the central North Island ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Member’s Day

    Today is a Member's Day. First up is the third reading of Dan Bidois' Fair Trading (Gift Card Expiry) Amendment Bill, which will be followed by the committee stage of Deborah Russell's Family Proceedings (Dissolution for Family Violence) Amendment Bill. This will be followed by the second readings of Katie ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Northern Expressway Boondoggle

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has been soaring high with his hubris of getting on and building motorways but some uncomfortable realities are starting to creep in. Back in July he announced that the government was pushing on with a Northland Expressway using an “accelerated delivery strategy” The Coalition Government is ...
    4 days ago
  • Never Enough

    However much I'm falling downNever enoughHowever much I'm falling outNever, never enough!Whatever smile I smile the mostNever enoughHowever I smile I smile the mostSongwriters: Robert James Smith / Simon Gallup / Boris Williams / Porl ThompsonToday in Nick’s Kōrero:A death in the Emergency Department at Rotorua Hospital.A sad homecoming and ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Question Two of The Kākā Project of 2026 for 2050 (TKP 26/50)

    Kia ora.Last month I proposed restarting The Kākā Project work done before the 2023 election as The Kākā Project of 2026 for 2050 (TKP 26/50), aiming to be up and running before the 2025 Local Government elections, and then in a finalised form by the 2026 General Elections.A couple of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Why is God Obsessed with Spanking?

    Hi,If you’ve read Webworm for a while, you’ll be aware that I’ve spent a lot of time writing about horrific, corrupt megachurches and the shitty men who lead them.And in all of this writing, I think some people have this idea that I hate Christians or Christianity. As I explain ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Inside the public service

    In 2023, there were 63,117 full-time public servants earning, on average, $97,200 a year each. All up, that is a cost to the Government of $6.1 billion a year. It’s little wonder, then, that the public service has become a political whipping boy castigated by the Prime Minister and members ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • New Models Show Stronger Atlantic Hurricanes, and More of Them

    This is a re-post from This is Not Cool Here’s an example of some of the best kind of climate reporting, especially in that it relates to impacts that will directly affect the audience. WFLA in Tampa conducted a study in collaboration with the Department of Energy, analyzing trends in ...
    5 days ago
  • Where ever do they find these people?

    A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, is how Winston Churchill described the Soviet Union in 1939.  How might the great man have described the 2024 government of New Zealand, do we think? I can't imagine he would have thought them all that mysterious or enigmatic. I think ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Motorway madness

    How mad is National's obsession with roads? One of their pet projects - a truck highway to Whangārei - is going to eat 10% of our total infrastructure budget for the next 25 years: Official advice from the Infrastructure Commission shows the government could be set to spend 10 ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Our transport planning system is fundamentally broken

    Ever since Wayne Brown became mayor (nearly two years ago now) he’s been wanting to progress an “integrated transport plan” with the government – which sounded a lot like the previous Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) with just a different name. It seems like a fair bit of work progressed ...
    5 days ago
  • Thou Shalt Not Steal

    And they taught usWhoa-oh, black woman, thou shalt not stealI said, hey, yeah, black man, thou shalt not stealWe're gonna civilise your black barbaric livesAnd we teach you how to kneelBut your history couldn't hide the genocideThe hypocrisy to us was realFor your Jesus said you're supposed to giveThe oppressed ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • How mismanagement, not wind and solar energy, causes blackouts

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections In February 2021, several severe storms swept across the United States, culminating with one that the Weather Channel unofficially named Winter Storm Uri. In Texas, Uri knocked out power to over 4.5 million homes and 10 million people. Hundreds of Texans died as a ...
    5 days ago
  • The ‘Infra Boys’ Highway to Budget Hell

    Chris Bishop has enthusiastically dubbed himself and Simeon Brown “the Infra Boys”, but they need to take note of the sums around their roading dreams. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Media Link: “AVFA” on the politics of desperation.

    In this podcast Selwyn Manning and I talk about what appears to be a particular type of end-game in the long transition to systemic realignment in international affairs, in which the move to a new multipolar order with different characteristics … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago
  • The cost of flying blind

    Just over two years ago, when worries about immediate mass-death from covid had waned, and people started to talk about covid becoming "endemic", I asked various government agencies what work they'd done on the costs of that - and particularly, on the cost of Long Covid. The answer was that ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Seymour vs The Clergy

    For paid subscribers“Aotearoa is not as malleable as they think,” Lynette wrote last week on Homage to Simeon Brown:In my heart/mind, that phrase ricocheted over the next days, translating out to “We are not so malleable.”It gave me comfort. I always felt that we were given an advantage in New ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • Unstoppable Minister McKee

    All smiles, I know what it takes to fool this townI'll do it 'til the sun goes downAnd all through the nighttimeOh, yeahOh, yeah, I'll tell you what you wanna hearLeave my sunglasses on while I shed a tearIt's never the right timeYeah, yeahSong by SiaLast night there was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Could outdoor dining revitalise Queen Street?

    This is a guest post by Ben van Bruggen of The Urban Room,.An earlier version of this post appeared on LinkedIn. All images are by Ben. Have you noticed that there’s almost nowhere on Queen Street that invites you to stop, sit outside and enjoy a coffee, let alone ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    6 days ago
  • Hipkins challenges long-held Labour view Government must stay below 30% of GDP

    Hipkins says when considering tax settings and the size of government, the big question mark is over what happens with the balance between the size of the working-age population and the growing number of Kiwis over the age of 65. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Your invite to Webworm Chat (a bit like Reddit)

    Hi,One of the things I love the most about Webworm is, well, you. The community that’s gathered around this lil’ newsletter isn’t something I ever expected when I started writing it four years ago — now the comments section is one of my favourite places on the internet. The comments ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Seymour’s Treaty bill making Nats nervous

    A delay in reappointing a top civil servant may indicate a growing nervousness within the National Party about the potential consequences of David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill. Dave Samuels is waiting for reappointment as the Chief Executive of Te Puni Kokiri, but POLITIK understands that what should have been a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #36

    A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 1, 2024 thru Sat, September 7, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is about how peopele are not born stupid but can be fooled ...
    7 days ago
  • Time for a Change

    You act as thoughYou are a blind manWho's crying, crying 'boutAll the virgins that are dyingIn your habitual dreams, you knowSeems you need more sleepBut like a parrot in a flaming treeI know it's pretty hard to seeI'm beginning to wonderIf it's time for a changeSong: Phil JuddThe next line ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Six.

    The “double shocks” in post Cold War international affairs. The end of the Cold War fundamentally altered the global geostrategic context. In particular, the end of the nuclear “balance of terror” between the USA and USSR, coupled with the relaxation … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • Buried deep

    Here's a bike on Manchester St, Feilding. I took this photo on Friday night after a very nice dinner at the very nice Vietnamese restaurant, Saigon, on Manchester Street.I thought to myself, Manchester Street? Bicycle? This could be the very spot.To recap from an earlier edition: on a February night ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies, Excerpt Five.

    Military politics as a distinct “partial regime.” Notwithstanding their peripheral status, national defense offers the raison d’être of the combat function, which their relative vulnerability makes apparent, so military forces in small peripheral democracies must be very conscious of events … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • Leadership for Dummies

    If you’re going somewhere, do you maybe take a bit of an interest in the place? Read up a bit on the history, current events, places to see - that sort of thing? Presumably, if you’re taking a trip somewhere, it’s for a reason. But what if you’re going somewhere ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Home again

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Dead even tie for hottest August ever

    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:The month of August was 1.49˚C warmer than pre-industrial levels, tying with 2023 for the warmest August ever, according ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 7

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the debate about how to responde to climate disinformation; and special guest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Have We an Infrastructure Deficit?

    An Infrastructure New Zealand report says we are keeping up with infrastructure better than we might have thought from the grumbling. But the challenge of providing for the future remains.I was astonished to learn that the quantity of our infrastructure has been keeping up with economic growth. Your paper almost ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • Councils reject racism

    Last month, National passed a racist law requiring local councils to remove their Māori wards, or hold a referendum on them at the 2025 local body election. The final councils voted today, and the verdict is in: an overwhelming rejection. Only two councils out of 45 supported National's racist agenda ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Homage to Simeon Brown

    Open to all - happy weekend ahead, friends.Today I just want to be petty. It’s the way I imagine this chap is -Not only as a political persona. But his real-deal inner personality, in all its glory - appears to be pure pettiness & populist driven.Sometimes I wonder if Simeon ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Government of deceit

    When National cut health spending and imposed a commissioner on Te Whatu Ora, they claimed that it was necessary because the organisation was bloated and inefficient, with "14 layers of management between the CEO and the patient". But it turns out they were simply lying: Health Minister Shane Reti’s ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • The professionals actually think and act like our Government has no fiscal crisis at all

    Treasury staff at work: The demand for a new 12-year Government bond was so strong, Treasury decided to double the amount of bonds it sold. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 6-September-2024

    Welcome to another Friday and another roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. As always, this and every post is brought to you by the Greater Auckland crew. If you like our work and you’d like to see more of it, we invite you to join our regular ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago

  • Draft critical minerals list released for consultation

    A draft list of minerals deemed essential to New Zealand’s economy and strengthening its mineral resilience has been released for consultation, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The draft Critical Minerals List identifies 35 minerals essential to economic functions, are in demand internationally, and face high risk of supply disruption domestically ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    30 mins ago
  • Government eliminates $190 million in trade barriers to boost the economy

    The Government has successfully removed trade barriers affecting nearly $190 million worth of exports to help grow the economy, Minister for Trade and Agriculture Todd McClay today announced.  “In the past year, we have resolved 14 Non Tariff Barriers (NTBs), returning significant value to kiwi exporters. These efforts directly boost our ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Reo Māori the ‘beating heart’ of Aotearoa New Zealand

    From private business to the Paris Olympics, reo Māori is growing with the success of New Zealanders, says Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka. “I’m joining New Zealanders across the country in celebrating this year’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week, which has a big range ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Need and value at forefront of public service delivery

    New Cabinet policy directives will ensure public agencies prioritise public services on the basis of need and award Government contracts on the basis of public value, Minister for the Public Service Nicola Willis says. “Cabinet Office has today issued a circular to central government organisations setting out the Government’s expectations ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Minister to attend Police Ministers Council Meeting

    Police Minister Mark Mitchell will join with Australian Police Ministers and Commissioners at the Police Ministers Council meeting (PMC) today in Melbourne. “The council is an opportunity to come together to discuss a range of issues, gain valuable insights on areas of common interest, and different approaches towards law enforcement ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Bill to crack down on youth vaping

    The coalition Government has introduced legislation to tackle youth vaping, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2) is aimed at preventing youth vaping.  “While vaping has contributed to a significant fall in our smoking rates, the rise in youth vaping ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Interest in agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review welcomed

    Regulation Minister David Seymour, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard have welcomed interest in the agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review. The review by the Ministry for Regulation is looking at how to speed up the process to get farmers and growers access to the safe, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Bill to allow online charity lotteries passes first reading

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government is moving at pace to ensure lotteries for charitable purposes are allowed to operate online permanently. Charities fundraising online, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust and local hospices will continue to do ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Tax exempt threshold changes to benefit startups

    Technology companies are among the startups which will benefit from increases to current thresholds of exempt employee share schemes, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Revenue Minister Simon Watts say. Tax exempt thresholds for the schemes are increasing as part of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2024-25, Emergency ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Getting the healthcare you need, when you need it

    The path to faster cancer treatment, an increase in immunisation rates, shorter stays in emergency departments and quick assessment and treatments when you are sick has been laid out today. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has revealed details of how the ambitious health targets the Government has set will be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Targeted supports to accelerate reading

    The coalition Government is delivering targeted and structured literacy supports to accelerate learning for struggling readers. From Term 1 2025, $33 million of funding for Reading Recovery and Early Literacy Support will be reprioritised to interventions which align with structured approaches to teaching. “Structured literacy will change the way children ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Survivors invited to Abuse in Care national apology

    With two months until the national apology to survivors of abuse in care, expressions of interest have opened for survivors wanting to attend. “The Prime Minister will deliver a national apology on Tuesday 12 November in Parliament. It will be a very significant day for survivors, their families, whānau and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rangatahi inspire at Ngā Manu Kōrero final

    Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini kē - My success is not mine alone but is the from the strength of the many. Aotearoa New Zealand’s top young speakers are an inspiration for all New Zealanders to learn more about the depth and beauty conveyed ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Driving structured literacy in schools

    The coalition Government is driving confidence in reading and writing in the first years of schooling. “From the first time children step into the classroom, we’re equipping them and teachers with the tools they need to be brilliant in literacy. “From 1 October, schools and kura with Years 0-3 will receive ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s misleading information is disappointing

    Labour’s misinformation about firearms law is dangerous and disappointing, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says.   “Labour and Ginny Andersen have repeatedly said over the past few days that the previous Labour Government completely banned semi-automatic firearms in 2019 and that the Coalition Government is planning to ‘reintroduce’ them.   ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Govt takes action on mpox response, widens access to vaccine

    The Government is taking immediate action on a number of steps around New Zealand’s response to mpox, including improving access to vaccine availability so people who need it can do so more easily, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. “Mpox is obviously a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Next steps agreed for Treaty Principles Bill

    Associate Justice Minister David Seymour says Cabinet has agreed to the next steps for the Treaty Principles Bill. “The Treaty Principles Bill provides an opportunity for Parliament, rather than the courts, to define the principles of the Treaty, including establishing that every person is equal before the law,” says Mr Seymour. “Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government unlocking potential of AI

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced a programme to drive Artificial Intelligence (AI) uptake among New Zealand businesses. “The AI Activator will unlock the potential of AI for New Zealand businesses through a range of support, including access to AI research experts, technical assistance, AI tools and resources, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government releases Wairoa flood review findings

    The independent rapid review into the Wairoa flooding event on 26 June 2024 has been released, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced today. “We welcome the review’s findings and recommendations to strengthen Wairoa's resilience against future events,” Ms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Promoting faster payment times for government

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