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Hollow Men 2 ?

Written By: - Date published: 11:50 pm, May 31st, 2013 - 62 comments
Categories: kremlinology, Media, national - Tags: , ,

Pop out for an evening of 48 Hour Film heat screenings (etc.) and get back to find that all hell has broken loose! There are multiple leaks coming from within National. To help us all keep track, here are the different stories in play (so far).

From The Nation:

The Nation: Moving National To The Right

“The Nation” has received a bundle of documents apparently written by Hawkes bay businessman and Naitonal Party member, Simon Lusk.

The documents outline a proposal to replace existing National MPs with “fiscal conservatives” who could help move the aprty to the right.

The plan would be assisted with finance from Americna conservatives.

From Whaleoil:

ON BEING PAID

Tomorrow both The Nation and The Weekend Herald are going to run stories about me. David Fisher rang me today and his basic premise behind his attempt to interview me was that I am a liar and paid and he is an award winning journalist doing gods work. …

One thing is clear there is someone out there, intent on leaking documents and attempting to smear me and my friends.

From The Daily Blog:

Breaking News: Dark plot about to be exposed within National Party

The Daily Blog tip line is running hot with rumours that the Prime Ministers Office is about to leak to the NZ Herald a list of National Party MPs who are paying consultants who have dark intentions.

These are all related but different. Someone has taken a media shotgun to the Collins / Lusk faction. Hollow Men 2 ?

62 comments on “Hollow Men 2 ? ”

  1. Colonial Viper 1

    Nacht der Messer…but why now? What has triggered this cold internal war to suddenly turn into a hot, public war?

    Perhaps the Gilmore Restaurant Incident is going to prove to be National’s Gulf of Tonkin.

    • NickS 1.1

      Probably Gilmore leaking the documents that show funding is being sought from right-wing groups in the US, allowing the liberal faction something tangible with which to attack with.

      Given the significant negative PR caused by the Hollow Men revelations about the attempts by the non-voting Exclusive Brethren to impact on the NZ political scene, perhaps the more liberal faction in National are betting the involvement of US groups will trigger a backlash within the party. Thus undermining Collins leadership ambitions and reminding the conservative faction who’s boss.

      • Colonial Viper 1.1.1

        Ah of course, the front lines waiting for carriages of ammo to arrive. Thank you station master Gilmore.

        • Pascal's bookie 1.1.1.1

          Nah. Whale was saying Gilmore. Discount whale to zero. Gilmore was rejected as a Lusk candidate according to the do, so he wouldn’t have access.

          This is coming from caucus. Nats plan is to be portayed as centrist. Lusk/Collins want overt conservatism like the GOP and Thatcher. It’s about language more than policy.

          Ninth floor just kneecapped these fuckers.

          • felix 1.1.1.1.1

            Language indeed. These people aren’t conservatives, they’re radicals.

          • NickS 1.1.1.1.2

            Ninth floor just kneecapped these fuckers.

            Ramen.

            Also I doubt that National wants to be beholden completely to donors, given the utterly fucking mess that’s made in the US and the fact it restricts political flexibility to change tack if the public gets pissed off with a particular policy.

        • NickS 1.1.1.2

          The best weapon for fighting shit-slingers like Slater is the truth.

          Used at the right time, aimed properly, it’s the political equivalent of a tactical nuke.

    • xtasy 1.2

      “Nacht der langen Messer” is the correct term, CV, the night of the “long knives” that is, not just the kitchen knives, eh!

      • Colonial Viper 1.2.1

        lol yes quite right and very observant of you mate, however I downgraded it as National have not quite got to the stage of taking away and murdering their internal rivals in the dead of night yet!

  2. xtasy 2

    How old and young is that info referred to, I ask. I actually sense there is heaps going on in the back rows in and outside of Parliament. There are rumours within the National Party, but there are also backroom rumours from the Labour Party!

    I sense that some members are getting the message now, that Shearer is not and never will deliver the results and feedback that the party needs. How about going into an election with a limp horse, from the start, you would have to be a total imbecile and idiot to do this. And who i n Labour’s caucus would voluntarily sign over victory to the conservative or neo lib Nats before the votes have even been cast?

    Hey, there is something moving, something big, and this is in a number of parties, but first of all within Labour! Shearer is DEAD, he is mincemeat and a gonner, in days if not weeks to come.

    He will never win Labour the election, and Norman is tired of him, same as Winston, both have no more time for a horse that has nothing but limp legs.

    Add this and other infos together, and we will see some major developments in the coming months. Enjoy the excitement. X

    • Colonial Viper 2.1

      How about going into an election with a limp horse

      With the utmost kindness and respect dear sir

      I believe the term is “lame”. As in, “lame horse”.

      • xtasy 2.1.1

        Yep, you are correct, “limp” is a term more suited for the “action phase” of things, lame is the correct term when it comes to inaction, especially political powerlessness combined with resultant inaction.
        Apologies, I had a long night on various forums, also spent 3 days working on “feed back” to the Auckland Unitary Plan, which is another big story.

        Thanks for correcting, CV, you are so “alert’, always, and that at this late hour!

        • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1

          Tories, like rust, never sleeps, kind sir, and until they are defeated neither shall we.

        • mikesh 2.1.1.2

          Should it not be “lame duck”

          • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.2.1

            Hmm quite possibly, but a “lame duck politician” sometimes has another meaning in terms of where they are in the electoral cycle.

      • David H 2.1.2

        Sorry CV it’s a Lame Duck. Oh now there’s a coincidence.

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lame_duck_%28politics%29

    • Tim 2.2

      “I actually sense there is heaps going on in the back rows in and outside of Parliament. There are rumours within the National Party, but there are also backroom rumours from the Labour Party!”

      I’d suggest there is ‘heaps going on’ not JUST within political parties.
      The abuse of power and disregard of democracy and process is becoming so blatant its beginning to embarrass people.

      I’d say there are a few in the judiciary that are getting a bit uppity about it all by now as well.

      • xtasy 2.2.1

        Tim – I agree, I am furious, about a number of pollies, some of whom I contacted re major issues and also asked for support, but there are those and those others amongst them!

        As for politics, they are all living in another sphere, really, they live in the “Beltway”, or whatever they call it, and they all know each other, sometimes drink with each other, but i n Parliament they pretend to “fight” each other. There is some fake crap going on, and that is why I want more radical, community based participation and them challenging MPs and so to say and do the things they just “talk about”.

        NZ Parliament has turned into a shameless free-loading debating forum of little sincerity and value. We have established parties and their lobbies run the show, and they have for far too bloody long got away with it. They have also key influences with media and more.

        Democracy is now a bloody farce, to be honest, no matter what you stand for. That is why in Europe there has been this rise of Pirate Parties and the likes, but even they cannot solve the major issues of representation and voters not being heard and represented.

        Something more radical is needed, I feel.

        • Tim 2.2.1.1

          sorry, needed some heavy rest.
          Couldn’t agree more! I think there are some that are beginning to wake up slowly – unfortunately unless it is soon, we’re in for dire times. I mention the judiciary, because amongst their ranks there are some decent sort of people, and some who are becoming mighty concerned about the state of things.
          Labour is still in self-destruct mode – it’s bleeding good people (Charles C, Georgina B, etc), and neutering others (DC). If it carries on that way, all that will be left is the scar tissue (Trev, etc.)
          National are now doing the same.
          Then there are the cargo cultists wallowing in their self-importance with the eye for self-preservation first and foremost (MP perhaps), and others that have been so bad that their days are numbered.
          You’re right though – they’re all feeding on each other, and each other’s egos, and they’ve forgotten what the hell they’re there for.
          I ditched Labour membership a while ago, and I’ll not join Greens – at least until they answer some basic questions I asked of them several weeks ago.
          There’ll be people in National (those that probably consider themselves ‘elder statesmen’, who’ll be mighty concerned about our democracy – I’ve noticed them ‘hinting’ at it from time to time.
          Same with the judiciary, and even the police.
          As yet, unfortunately they are in the minority, but the crass ‘master of the universe’, totalitarian behaviour of the current junta is definitely beginning to embarrass some.

          • Peter 2.2.1.1.1

            Yeah I’m the same. Left Labour, can’t bring myself to join the Greens. An accountable, well-resourced and grassroots Labour party would solve many of these problems, but those that want such a thing will need to be prepared to use political force to achieve their objective. No amount of strategy writing or constitutional editing will force Caucus to give that to Labour’s members. Harder tactics need to be employed.

            • lprent 2.2.1.1.1.1

              Same here. I’m still a Labour member still doing a direct credit to them monthly. But I’ve given up doing any serious work for them and I’m going to party vote Green next election. But it is unlikely that I’ll join the Greens. I’m more likely to look at doing work that crosses party boundaries on the left – like this site for instance.

              I can tolerate a lot of stupidity from a political caucus. After all I remained a member throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s for instance and got more active. But the current *structural* incestuous incompetence that has been displayed in caucus over the last few years is something that I can’t vote for. It leaves little hope that there is any incentive for the party to be able to improve itself. If they can’t figure out how to work together while in opposition then they’re going to be dead weight in government (just look at the short-term scattergun stupidity of this National government for instance).

              So I’ll vote for/reward a party that still shows some promise

  3. Richard 3

    Nats start throwing their toys out of the cot: National turns on hard right advisor

    • karol 3.1

      Whoa! Way to expose the anti-democratic mind-set of the Nat’s and their allies.
      Key may not be as blatant, and may compromise somewhat with Kiwi’s of a more egalitarian mind-set, but, ultimately, same MO:

      The leaker was clear in his purpose – the National Party needed to clean house. It might be the broadest church in politics – as its 49 per cent poll rating suggests – but the insider says there is no more room for Mr Lusk and associates, who include blogger Cameron Slater….

      Mr Lusk’s plan began with selecting like-minded candidates young and seeding them in “safe blue” electorates which would vote National. He said local body politics should be targeted to get “fiscal conservative” councillors and mayors. And training was the key for the politicians, he said, so “when they are elected they can make real change based on solid planning rather than intent”.

      The message was also important – “dominate the media by controlling the message through credible right wing blogs”. Mr Lusk also said there needed to be a focus on “taking over the public sector” to create a pool of fiscal conservatives who would work with politicians.

      He also recommended making fundraising more professional and dominating company boards to help build a “war chest”. “I can provide resumes for several people who are fiscal conservatives and understand the role they will play in the future.”

      Overall, the work needed to be guided by a long-term strategy which would see a smaller government which was focused on “changing education, increasing mining’s contribution to GDP and making property development easier”.

      “If donors buy into this and the next National government does not offer former ministers jobs then there will be a very clear incentive for the next crop of ministers to listen carefully to donors rather than ignoring them.”

      • Alanz 3.1.1

        “might be the broadest church in politics” – LOL !!!!!$$$$$$$!!!!!!

      • vto 3.1.2

        ” for the next crop of ministers to listen carefully to donors rather than ignoring them.”

        This should set alarms bells off all over the whole place.

        Perhaps the practice of accepting donations by political parties should be banned. In fact, made a criminal offence.

        • Draco T Bastard 3.1.2.1

          This should set alarms bells off all over the whole place.

          It should do. It is obviously about the rich being the government and not the people.

      • Murray Olsen 3.1.3

        I struggle to think of any credible right wing blogs. Even Farrar, who pretends to be civilised, lets his contributors get away with the most vile bigotry and racism. I suppose Lusk would mean WhaleSpew, but I doubt if he ever convinces anyone towards their cause. The contributors there just seem like a captive audience of the already brain dead.

  4. One Anonymous Knucklehead 4

    From the Herald story:

    He urged those reading it to “stop donating to the current government”. “They have not listened and will not listen.” He urged supporters to “blackball” current MPs to stop them “trading on their time as MPs to build a lucrative business career”. It would show MPs “the consequences of ignoring donors”. “If donors buy into this and the next National government does not offer former ministers jobs then there will be a very clear incentive for the next crop of ministers to listen carefully to donors rather than ignoring them.”

    This. This is the sale of policy we’ve been aware of but unable to verify. This is how it leads to the sale not just of policy, but of politicians.

    It’s corrupt, no matter who does it. It creates a serious conflict of interest for MPs, who are meant to be kept at arms length from donors for precisely this reason.

    It amounts to bribery.

    PS: Obviously it isn’t “Democracy Under Attack”, though, eh Granny?

  5. tc 5

    Here we go folks, an MSM assisted meme that NACT are really good guys and all this extreme hard right stuff is those naughty boys lusk, slater, etc etc……note thecareful portrail of Farrar as not one of them. More massaging of the great swindle and detraction from the next flog off of assets and democracy and selling out in general.

  6. wyndham 6

    Such serious leaks surely have to be sourced to Gilmore as part of his ‘utu’ threats.
    There will probably be more to come.

    • karol 6.1

      From the NZ Herald article this morning:

      … the papers were leaked by a “senior National Party source” to the Weekend Herald, TV3’s The Nation and Fairfax.

      Gilmore was just so much collateral damage in a far bigger cold war struggle in the Nat Party.

      • Colonial Viper 6.1.1

        Ahhh, except “collateral damage” is a term which applies to innocent civilian bystanders. I suspect he was actually a foot soldier (who thought himself a General) that was nominally on Key’s side, and who’s demise was made an example of to demonstrate the real destructive power Lusk’s side had with the media.

      • felix 6.1.2

        Hi karol, “senior party source” is a phrase with quite a specific meaning in journalism, isn’t it?

  7. Sanctuary 7

    Funny sort of cold war. Looks more like a full on civil war to me.

    • Paul 7.1

      Agreed. I think there are 3 related articles in the Herald.
      Certainly a battle has been going on that has spilled out into MSG.
      Is it, though, as simple as it appears?
      Is this ani attempt to position Key as a moderate right winger…part of the new meme, devil-beast, extreme Left Greens blah blah blah…….?

      • Rodel 7.1.1

        Paul.you are right. It’s so obvious….Gee those Lusks and co are so like Republicans I feel safe with nice John Key in the centre. Not sure if its orchestrated by C Textor or Lusk but it’s persuasive.

  8. karol 8

    And this from David Fisher on this morning’s NZ Herald:

    A political strategist who has trained National Party MPs says the Ports of Auckland colluded with right wing bloggers to undermine industrial action against the Ports of Auckland.

    The claim is in a leaked document written by controversial strategist Simon Lusk – and hotly denied by the publicly-owned port company.

    The document was dated February 2012 – when the port strike was most heated – and is part of Mr Lusk’s strategy for the National Party.

    It read: “The right currently controls the blogosphere, and the political journalists repeat much of what appears on blogs.

    “The case in point is the way the Maritime Union have received huge negative publicity about their salaries, based on POAL (Ports of Auckland Limited) working with certain bloggers to control the story. Financial support for these bloggers will enable them to build their credibility and readership.”


    Mr Slater said he covered the strike as other media outlets did. He said there was no arrangement with the port to do so and he had not discussed it with Mr Lusk.

    He said yesterday he had never actually been paid although believed he should be. On the port, he said: “I hate unions pathologically. I’ve hated them since I was 15 years old and I would do it for free.

    “I have never been paid for any posts about unions, ever.”

    But Team Key in the Nat Party certainly has the knives out for Slater right now.

    • vto 8.1

      So Whaleoil says this ““I hate unions pathologically. I’ve hated them since I was 15 years old ”

      That sort of view, formed at such a young brainless age yet held firm as if that is a strong point in favour of holding such a view, points strongly and directly to a lack of consideration, a lack of understanding of people, and most importantly a total lack of history.

      What a supreme ignorant toss-pot.

      toss toss
      wank wank
      goob goob
      whaleoilwank

      • muzza 8.1.1

        Sounds like transference by Slater, and large helpings of projection.

        Wonder what happened to him as a youngster, to foster such stong distain for the unions, what else was he *pathalogical* about, using such emotive expressions!

        Or , it could just be Slater is mouthing off again, hard to tell, because anyone with such distorted views, can be misleading, then again , it takes a level of emotive intelligence to mask ones self, even online.

      • Paul 8.1.2

        Oops…. made the mistake of going on Whale Oil to see what was going on with this story.
        Some of the folk who add comments at the bottom have certainly eaten more than their share of angry pills.
        It’s like reading a non-stop rant. Not good for one’s health.

        • felix 8.1.2.1

          Have you noticed that much of it is like reading an angry rant from one person?

          • NickS 8.1.2.1.1

            Well, Slater has made his blog comments thread culture into an echo chamber.

            • Paul 8.1.2.1.1.1

              It made me feel ill reading the comments, that’s for sure.
              Are all right wingers such angry people?

              • NickS

                Nope – just the rabid talk-back fringe, who also happen to make most noise.

                • xtasy

                  Yes, the couple of handful of regulars there are self deluded jerks of the worst kind, and as Whale shuts so many others out, they can go around and claim they speak for the wider public out there.

                  It is really disgusting, and while David Farrar with his blog also favours his tribe, and swiftly tries to shut up critics, he does at least not go as far as Slater, the “blogger” pampered by many Nats and more so the remaining few ACT followers.

        • xtasy 8.1.2.2

          Paul – once I briefly looked at his blog (the Whale’ s that is), and what struck me was, that when you want to give a negative thumbs down on a comment, he expects you to register.

          That does not apply for giving a thumbs up for any of his hateful, despicable and rightist comments.

          No wonder he can claim to be so “popular”. Who will as non regular bother to register, and possibly expose themselves for direct abuse and cutting off?

          That guy is a master of playing dirty, and he has to moralize on unions and others. A sicko of the worst kind the man is.

    • ghostwhowalksnz 8.2

      Easy for PoAL to deny , as they outsourced all their pushback against the union to a private security company- the same industry the Oily Orca was in until it went belly up.

  9. Jenny Kirk 9

    Disturbing comments in today’s Herald – first from John Armstrong, and secondly from John Roughan …….. where is this scaremongering coming from ? The Greens are being demonised, and Labour encouraged to go with NZ First ! !


    From JA “…………. The survey asked voters whom they trusted when it came to managing the economy – John Key and Bill English, or, David Shearer and Russel Norman………….
    That Key and English were preferred by 55 per cent to 37 per cent came as no great surprise to Labour. ……………..
    What really annoyed Labour was the inclusion in the poll’s question of Norman, the Greens’ co-leader, instead of David Parker, Labour’s finance spokesman………………….
    Labour will not relinquish control of that most powerful of portfolios for three reasons: first, to maintain outright control of the coalition and maintain its stability by having the prime minister and finance minister coming from the same party; second, to avoid panicking the many voters who are yet to be convinced that Greens are not “whacko”, as Key puts it; and, third, the Greens are anyway unlikely to hold a high enough ratio of seats to Labour’s to force the issue……………..
    Shearer is increasingly making references to a “Labour-led” Government – not a “Labour-Greens” one.
    This is in part to counter Key’s demonising of such a combo as the “devil beast” by making it clear that Labour will very much be in charge……………………
    But it is also becoming clear that Labour increasingly thinks it might be preferable to strike a deal with Winston Peters………………….”
    ———————————————————————————————————————-

    From JR
    “……………….. When Russel Norman snarls about business and profits, he might be winning the 10 or 12 per cent of voters that the Greens need to be in play after the next election. But he is turning off the mainstream that Labour needs if it is to get close to the 40 per cent it would need to lead a coalition……………………….
    The real loser is Labour. Its failure to gain much traction from the Green embrace must be a subject of intense discussion within the party now. It was visibly hard enough for somebody like Shane Jones to stomach at the time. He must be bristling now……………….
    So what is David Shearer to do? Obviously he needs to give the Greens a wide berth from here on but more than that, he needs to stop condemning John Key for every little thing. It is just opposition politics and it never works. ………………”

    • They clearly are having one of those desperate PR off weeks, anything in an attempt to distract the public from their National party idols playing dirty politics; and just another attempt to make Labour and the Greens divided for the next election – think back to 2011.

      • karol 9.1.1

        Team Key is moving to bolster their weakening position. Smear Slater-Lusk as “far right”, smear Greens as “far left”, splitting them from Labour, and claiming the “centre right” position for Key.

    • Olwyn 9.2

      Matthew Hooton expressed a similar view a few days ago, and it possibly has to do with positioning within National’s ranks, as Karol says. http://thestandard.org.nz/another-peters-brain-fart/#comment-637968 However, with the appointment of Shane Jones to Maori Affairs, and, if Bomber is right, their failed attempt to parachute Shane Taurima in to stand for the Ikaroa-Rawhiti by-election, it is hard to know just what to believe. http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/05/28/the-gutting-of-shane-taurimas-career-autopsy-of-a-candidate-selection/

      Perhaps its a bit of both. The right wingers of Labour hanging on like grim death, despite member discontent and mediocre polling, while National are confident in their ability to trump them in the centre-right stakes, so long as they can pull their extremists into line.

  10. TheContrarian 10

    I honestly can’t fathom how anyone could want to impose fiscally conservative economics given that it fails every time, all the time.

    • Ben 10.1

      Depends a lot on what you define as “failure” I suspect.

      The 0.001% probably view fiscally conservative economics as a resounding success.

    • One Anonymous Knucklehead 10.2

      Lusk spells it out: the National Party imposes these policies because that’s what they’ve been paid to do.

      • Ben 10.2.1

        The way I read it, that is what they’re being paid to do but the current batch is failing to deliver, and they need to be sent a message that this isn’t what their donors are paying for.

        It’s a pretty clear that in Lusk’s view – and by extension Judith Collins – policy is for sale.

        • One Anonymous Knucklehead 10.2.1.1

          Perhaps Key provides access to richer donors clients than Lusk can.

    • Pascal's bookie 10.3

      Contrarian.

      I know right?

      It’s about presuppositions I think. So it’s not so much that they are starting from a different set of premises about what works, and what things the govt ought to do. They have a different set of more basic notions about what politics itself is.

    • geoff 10.4

      Can’t fathom it? Why not, it’s easy.
      Fiscal Conservatives(reptiles) would rather have a larger cut of a small economy than a smaller cut of a large economy.

    • NickS 10.5

      I honestly can’t fathom how anyone could want to impose fiscally conservative economics given that it fails every time, all the time.

      Unexamined and inflexible a-priori beliefs does tend to have that effect, making people only register information or worse, twist it, to fit their worldview. See young earth creationism for the Ur example, and Stalinists for the lulz.

      The only thing that breaks it is a tactical nuke level of cluebatting, although compartmentalisation can defeat even that r.e. biology graduates still believing in creationism or economics graduates thinking the gold standard so totes works. While being otherwise on teh ball in adapting to new information.

      • Colonial Viper 10.5.1

        Unfortunately, the direction and decisions that people or civilisations choose is not particularly rational or logical, NickS. It’s not how they construct their own lives, the cities we live in, the economy that we have built.

        Scientists and academics not only tend to explain the data they see using interpretations which fit within their existing belief systems and acceptable world view (peer review orthodoxy basically guarantees this), they also end up setting up the trials and experiments which deliver those results from within the framework of their existing belief structures and world view.

        biology graduates still believing in creationism or economics graduates thinking the gold standard so totes works.

        Interesting that you use the phrase “graduates” here, I assume to designate those young junior acolytes still low down on the totem pole of the academic and scientific Order, and hence vulnerable to participating in heresies against the orthodox norm you evangelise.

        If you look around, there are plenty of “Professor” level PhD types who believe in religious dogma, and who are highly irrational in their personal lives…just like ordinary human beings.

  11. infused 11

    This is a cunning plan.

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    The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as part of its Aukus pact with the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    11 hours ago
  • Posie Parker vs Transgender Rights.
    Recently you might have heard of a person called Posie Parker and her visit to Aotearoa. Perhaps you’re not quite sure what it’s all about. So let’s start with who this person is, why their visit is controversial, and what on earth a TERF is.Posie Parker is the super villain ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    13 hours ago
  • Select Committee told slow down; you’re moving too fast
    The chair of Parliament’s Select Committee looking at the Government’s resource management legislation wants the bills sent back for more public consultation. The proposal would effectively kill any chance of the bills making it into law before the election. Green MP, Eugenie Sage, stressing that she was speaking as ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    15 hours ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #12 2023
    Open access notables  The United States experienced some historical low temperature records during the just-concluded winter. It's a reminder that climate and weather are quite noisy; with regard to our warming climate,, as with a road ascending a mountain range we may steadily change our conditions but with lots of ...
    23 hours ago
  • What becomes of the broken hearted? Nanny State will step in to comfort them
    Buzz from the Beehive The Nanny State has scored some wins (or claimed them) in the past day or two but it faltered when it came to protecting Kiwi citizens from being savaged by one woman armed with a sharp tongue. The wins are recorded by triumphant ministers on the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Acceptance, decency, road food.
    Sometimes you see your friends making the case so well on social media you think: just copy and share.On acceptance and decency, from Michèle A’CourtA notable thing about anti-trans people is they way they talk about transgender women and men as though they are strangers “over there” when in fact ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Climate Change: More Labour sabotage
    Not that long ago, things were looking pretty good for climate change policy in Aotearoa. We finally had an ETS, and while it was full of pork and subsidies, it was delivering high and ever-rising carbon prices, sending a clear message to polluters to clean up or shut down. And ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Is bundling restricting electricity competition?
    Comparing (and switching) electricity providers has become easier, but bundling power up with broadband and/or gas makes it more challenging. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā TL;DR: The new Consumer Advocacy Council set up as a result of the Labour Government’s Electricity Price Review in 2019 has called on either ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Westland Milk puts heat on competitors as global dairy demand  remains softer for longer
    Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products  has  put the heat on dairy giant Fonterra with  a $120m profit turnaround in 2022, driven by record sales. Westland paid its suppliers a 10c premium above the forecast Fonterra price per kilo, contributing $535m to the West Coast and Canterbury economies. The dairy ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    1 day ago
  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    * Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public office and becoming lobbyists and ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    1 day ago
  • A miracle pill for our transport ills
    This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen It originally appeared here.   A friend calls you and asks for your help. They tell you that while out and about nearby, they slipped over and landed arms-first. Now their wrist is swollen, hurting like ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • The Surprising Power of Floating Wind Turbines
    Floating offshore wind turbines offer incredible opportunities to capture powerful winds far out at sea. By unlocking this wind energy potential, they could be a key weapon in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But how developed are these climate fighting clean energy giants? And why do I ...
    2 days ago
  • The next Maori challenge
    Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Secret “war-crime” warrants by International Criminal Court is mischief-making
    The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
    2 days ago
  • How to answer Drunk Uncle Kevin's Climate Crisis reckons
    Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • National’s Luxon may be glum about his poll ratings but has he found a winner in promising to rai...
    National Party leader Christopher Luxon may  be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but  he could be tapping  into  a rich political vein in  describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining,  with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change: More Labour foot-dragging
    Yesterday the IPCC released the final part of its Sixth Assessment Report, warning us that we have very little time left in which to act to prevent catastrophic climate change, but pointing out that it is a problem that we can solve, with existing technology, and that anything we do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Te Pāti Māori Are Revolutionaries – Not Reformists.
    Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
    2 days ago
  • When does history become “ancient”, on Tinetti’s watch as Minister of Education – and what o...
    Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Climate Catastrophe, but first rugby.
    Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • What the US and European bank rescues mean for us
    Always a bailout: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Government would fully guarantee all savers in all smaller US banks if needed. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the dip’ and ‘holding on for dear life’. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Who will drain Wellington’s lobbying swamp?
    Wealthy vested interests have an oversized influence on political decisions in New Zealand. Partly that’s due to their use of corporate lobbyists. Fortunately, the influence lobbyists can have on decisions made by politicians is currently under scrutiny in Guyon Espiner’s in-depth series published by RNZ. Two of Espiner’s research exposĂ©s ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago
  • It’s Raining Congestion
    Yesterday afternoon it rained and traffic around the region ground to a halt, once again highlighting why it is so important that our city gets on with improving the alternatives to driving. For additional irony, this happened on the same day the IPCC synthesis report landed, putting the focus on ...
    2 days ago
  • Checking The Left: The Dreadful Logic Of Fascism.
    The Beginning: Anti-Co-Governance agitator, Julian Batchelor, addresses the Dargaville stop of his travelling roadshow across New Zealand . Fascism almost always starts small. Sadly, it doesn’t always stay that way. Especially when the Left helps it to grow.THERE IS A DREADFUL LOGIC to the growth of fascism. To begin with, it ...
    3 days ago
  • Good Friends and Terrible Food
    Hi,From an incredibly rainy day in Los Angeles, I just wanted to check in. I guess this is the day Trump may or may not end up in cuffs? I’m attempting a somewhat slower, less frenzied week. I’ve had Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new record on non-stop, and it’s been a ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • At a glance – What evidence is there for the hockey stick?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    3 days ago
  • Carry right on up there, Corporal Espiner
    RNZ has been shining their torch into corners where lobbyists lurk and asking such questions as: Do we like the look of this?and Is this as democratic as it could be?These are most certainly questions worth asking, and every bit as valid as, say:Are we shortchanged democratically by the way ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • This smells
    RNZ has continued its look at the role of lobbyists by taking a closer look at the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Andrew Kirton. He used to work for liquor companies, opposing (among other things) a container refund scheme which would have required them to take responsibility for their own ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Major issues on the table in Mahuta’s  talks in Beijing with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has left for Beijing for the first ministerial visit to China since 2019. Mahuta is  to  meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang  where she  might have to call on all the  diplomatic skills  at  her  command. Almost certainly she  will  face  questions  on what  role ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • Inside TOP's Teal Card and political strategy
    TL;DR: The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and not just in his Ilam electorate where students make up more than a quarter of the voters and where Manji is confident ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Make Your Empties Go Another Round.
    When I was a kid New Zealand was actually pretty green. We didn’t really have plastic. The fruit and veges came in a cardboard box, the meat was wrapped in paper, milk came in a glass bottle, and even rubbish sacks were made of paper. Today if you sit down ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on how similar Vladimir Putin is to George W. Bush
    Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – Syd Holland, Richard Prebble, Juduth Collins, Chris Hipkins – or by far lesser lights like Keith Allen, Frank Gill, Ben Couch, Allen McCready, Clem Simich, ...
    3 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER:  Te Pāti Māori’s uncompromising threat to the status quo
    Chris Trotter writes – The Crown is a fickle friend. Any political movement deemed to be colourful but inconsequential is generally permitted to go about its business unmolested. The Crown’s media, RNZ and TVNZ, may even “celebrate” its existence (presumably as proof of Democracy’s broad-minded acceptance of diversity). ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Shining a bright light on lobbyists in politics
    Four out of the five people who have held the top role of Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff since 2017 have been lobbyists. That’s a fact that should worry anyone who believes vested interests shouldn’t have a place at the centre of decision making. Chris Hipkins’ newly appointed Chief of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Auckland Council Draft Budget – an unnecessary backwards step
    Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. You can read the consultation document here, and provide feedback here. Auckland Council is currently consulting on what is one of its most important ever Annual Plans – the ‘budget’ of what it will spend money on between July ...
    4 days ago
  • Talking’ Posey Parker Blues
    by Molten Moira from Motueka If you want to be a woman let me tell you what to do Get a piece of paper and a biro tooWrite down your new identification And boom! You’re now a woman of this nationSpelled W O M A Na real trans woman that isAs opposed ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    4 days ago
  • More Māori words make it into the OED, and polytech boss (with rules on words like “students”) ...
    Buzz from the Beehive   New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti is hosting the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers for three days from today, welcoming Education Ministers and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, and from Australia. Here’s hoping they have brought translators with them – or ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Social intercourse with haters and Nazis: an etiquette guide
    Let’s say you’ve come all the way from His Majesty’s United Kingdom to share with the folk of Australia and New Zealand your antipathy towards certain other human beings. And let’s say you call yourself a women’s rights activist.And let’s say 99 out of 100 people who listen to you ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • The Greens, Labour, and coalition enforcement
    James Shaw gave the Green party's annual "state of the planet" address over the weekend, in which he expressed frustration with Labour for not doing enough on climate change. His solution is to elect more Green MPs, so they have more power within any government arrangement, and can hold Labour ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • This sounds familiar…
    RNZ this morning has the first story another investigative series by Guyon Espiner, this time into political lobbying. The first story focuses on lobbying by government agencies, specifically transpower, Pharmac, and assorted universities, and how they use lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence on the Ministers who oversee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Letter to the NZ Herald: NCEA pseudoscience – “Mauri is present in all matter”
    Nick Matzke writes –   Dear NZ Herald, I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. I teach evolutionary biology, but I also have long experience in science education and (especially) political attempts to insert pseudoscience into science curricula in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • So what would be the point of a Green vote again?
    James Shaw has again said the Greens would be better ‘in the tent’ with Labour than out, despite Labour’s policy bonfire last week torching much of what the Government was doing to reduce emissions. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Green Party has never been more popular than in some ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Gas stoves pose health risks. Are gas furnaces and other appliances safe to use?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Poor air quality is a long-standing problem in Los Angeles, where the first major outbreak of smog during World War II was so intense that some residents thought the city had been attacked by chemical weapons. Cars were eventually discovered ...
    4 days ago
  • Genetic Heritage and Co Governance
    Yesterday I was reading an excellent newsletter from David Slack, and I started writing a comment “Sounds like some excellent genetic heritage…” and then I stopped.There was something about the phrase genetic heritage that stopped me in tracks. Is that a phrase I want to be saying? It’s kind of ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Radical Uncertainty
    Brian Easton writes – Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s Middle East strategy, 20 years after the Iraq War
    This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. While it strongly opposed the US-led invasion, New Zealand’s then Labour-led government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark did deploy military engineers to try to help rebuild Iraq in mid-2003. With violence soaring, their 12-month deployment ended without being renewed ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    4 days ago
  • The motorways are finished
    After seventy years, Auckland’s motorway network is finally finished. In July 1953 the first section of motorway in Auckland was opened between Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and Mt Wellington Highway. The final stage opens to traffic this week with the completion of the motorway part of the Northern Corridor Improvements project. Aucklanders ...
    4 days ago
  • Kicking National’s tyres
    National’s appointment of Todd McClay as Agriculture spokesperson clearly signals that the party is in trouble with the farming vote. McClay was not an obvious choice, but he does have a record as a political scrapper. The party needs that because sources say it has been shedding farming votes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • As long as there is cricket, the world is somehow okay.
    Rays of white light come flooding into my lounge, into my face from over the top of my neighbour’s hedge. I have to look away as the window of the conservatory is awash in light, as if you were driving towards the sun after a rain shower and suddenly blinded. ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • So much of what was there remains
    The columnists in Private Eye take pen names, so I have not the least idea who any of them are. But I greatly appreciate their expert insight, especially MD, who writes the medical column, offering informed and often damning critique of the UK health system and the politicians who keep ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 12, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 18, 2023. Story of the Week Guest post: What 13,500 citations reveal about the IPCC’s climate science report   IPCC WG1 AR6 SPM Report Cover - Changing ...
    6 days ago
  • Financial capability services are being bucked up, but Stuart Nash shouldn’t have to see if they c...
    Buzz from the Beehive  The building of financial capability was brought into our considerations when Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced she had dipped into the government’s coffers for $3 million for “providers” to help people and families access community-based Building Financial Capability services. That wording suggests some ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Things that make you go Hmmmm.
    Do you ever come across something that makes you go Hmmmm?You mean like the song?No, I wasn’t thinking of the song, but I am now - thanks for that. I was thinking of things you read or hear that make you stop and go Hmmmm.Yeah, I know what you mean, ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • The hoon for the week that was to March 19
    By the end of the week, the dramas over Stuart Nash overshadowed Hipkins’ policy bonfire. File photo: Lynn GrieveasonTLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and the political economy covered on The Kākā included:PM Chris Hipkins’ announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but ...
    The KakaBy Peter Bale
    7 days ago
  • Saving Stuart Nash: Explaining Chris Hipkins' unexpected political calculation
    When word went out that Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would be making an announcement about Stuart Nash on the tiles at parliament at 2:45pm yesterday, the assumption was that it was over. That we had reached tipping point for Nash’s time as minister. But by 3pm - when, coincidentally, the ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    7 days ago
  • Radical Uncertainty
    Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go on to attack physics by citing Newton.So ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • Jump onto the weekly hoon on Riverside at 5pm
    Photo by Walker Fenton on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on Riverside (we’ve moved from Zoom) for our chat about the week’s news with ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Dream of Florian Neame: Accepted
    In a nice bit of news, my 2550-word deindustrial science-fiction piece, The Dream of Florian Neame, has been accepted for publication at New Maps Magazine (https://www.new-maps.com/). I have published there before, of course, with Of Tin and Tintagel coming out last year. While I still await the ...
    1 week ago
  • Snakes and leaders
    And so this is Friday, and what have we learned?It was a week with all the usual luggage: minister brags and then he quits, Hollywood red carpet is full of twits. And all the while, hanging over the trivial stuff: existential dread, and portents of doom.Depending on who you read ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • This station is Karanga-a-Hape, Chur!
    When I changed the name of this newsletter from The Daily Read to Nick’s Kōrero I was a bit worried whether people would know what Kōrero meant or not. I added a definition when I announced the change and kind of assumed people who weren’t familiar with it would get ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Greens don’t shy from promoting a candidate’s queerness but are quiet about govt announcement on...
    There was a time when a political party’s publicity people would counsel against promoting a candidate as queer. No matter which of two dictionary meanings the voting public might choose to apply – the old meaning of odd, strange, weird, or aberrant, or the more recent meaning of gay, homosexual ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to March 17
    Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:PM Chris Hipkins announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but which blew up ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Slow consenting could create $16b climate liability by 2050
    Even though concern over the climate change threat is becoming more mainstream, our governments continue to opt out of the difficult decisions at the expense of time, and cost for future generations. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Now we have a climate liability number to measure the potential failure of the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • THOMAS CRANMER: Challenging progressivism in New Zealand’s culture wars
    Thomas Cranmer writes  Like it or not, the culture wars have entered New Zealand politics and look set to broaden and intensify. The culture wars are often viewed as an exclusively American phenomenon, but the reality is that they are becoming increasingly prominent in countries around the world, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges.  Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • New project set to supercharge ocean economy in Nelson Tasman
    A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • National’s education policy: where’s the funding?
    After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment.  “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Free programme to help older entrepreneurs and inventors
    People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government target increased to keep powering up the Māori economy
    A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Continued progress on reducing poverty in challenging times
    77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech at Fiji Investment and Trade Business Forum
    Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government investments boost and diversify local economies in lower South Island
    $2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government future-proofs EV charging
    Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • World-leading family harm prevention campaign supports young NZers
    Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention. Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. “Over 1,200 young kiwis told ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • First Chief Clinical Advisor welcomed into Coroners Court
    Hon Rino Tirikatene, Minister for Courts, welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s appointment of Dr Garry Clearwater as New Zealand’s first Chief Clinical Advisor working with the Coroners Court. “This appointment is significant for the Coroners Court and New Zealand’s wider coronial system.” Minister Tirikatene said. Through Budget 2022, the Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Next steps for affected properties post Cyclone and floods
    The Government via the Cyclone Taskforce is working with local government and insurance companies to build a picture of high-risk areas following Cyclone Gabrielle and January floods. “The Taskforce, led by Sir Brian Roche, has been working with insurance companies to undertake an assessment of high-risk areas so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New appointment to Māori Land Court bench
    E te huia kaimanawa, ko Ngāpuhi e whakahari ana i tau aupikinga ki te tihi o te maunga. Ko te Ao Māori hoki e whakanui ana i a koe te whakaihu waka o te reo Māori i roto i te Ao Ture. (To the prized treasure, it is Ngāpuhi who ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government focus on jobs sees record number of New Zealanders move from Benefits into work
    113,400 exits into work in the year to June 2022 Young people are moving off Benefit faster than after the Global Financial Crisis Two reports released today by the Ministry of Social Development show the Government’s investment in the COVID-19 response helped drive record numbers of people off Benefits and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Vertical farming partnership has upward momentum
    The Government’s priority to keep New Zealand at the cutting edge of food production and lift our sustainability credentials continues by backing the next steps of a hi-tech vertical farming venture that uses up to 95 per cent less water, is climate resilient, and pesticide-free. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visited ...
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    3 days ago
  • Conference of Pacific Education Ministers – Keynote Address
    E nga mana, e nga iwi, e nga reo, e nga hau e wha, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou kātoa. Warm Pacific greetings to all. It is an honour to host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers here in Tāmaki Makaurau. Aotearoa is delighted to be hosting you ...
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    3 days ago
  • New $13m renal unit supports Taranaki patients
    The new renal unit at Taranaki Base Hospital has been officially opened by the Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall this afternoon. Te Huhi Raupƍ received around $13 million in government funding as part of Project Maunga Stage 2, the redevelopment of the Taranaki Base Hospital campus. “It’s an honour ...
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    3 days ago
  • Second Poseidon aircraft on home soil
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the country’s second P-8A Poseidon aircraft alongside personnel at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base at Ohakea today. “With two of the four P-8A Poseidons now on home soil this marks another significant milestone in the Government’s historic investment in ...
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    3 days ago
  • Further humanitarian aid for TĂŒrkiye and Syria
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide further humanitarian support to those seriously affected by last month’s deadly earthquakes in TĂŒrkiye and Syria, says Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. “The 6 February earthquakes have had devastating consequences, with almost 18 million people affected. More than 53,000 people have died and tens of thousands more ...
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    3 days ago
  • Community voice to help shape immigration policy
    Migrant communities across New Zealand are represented in the new Migrant Community Reference Group that will help shape immigration policy going forward, Immigration Minister Michael Wood announced today.  “Since becoming Minister, a reoccurring message I have heard from migrants is the feeling their voice has often been missing around policy ...
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    3 days ago
  • State Highway 3 project to deliver safer journeys, better travel connections for Taranaki
    Construction has begun on major works that will deliver significant safety improvements on State Highway 3 from Waitara to Bell Block, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan announced today. “This is an important route for communities, freight and visitors to Taranaki but too many people have lost their lives or ...
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    3 days ago
  • Ginny Andersen appointed as Minister of Police
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has today appointed Ginny Andersen as Minister of Police. “Ginny Andersen has a strong and relevant background in this important portfolio,” Chris Hipkins said. “Ginny Andersen worked for the Police as a non-sworn staff member for around 10 years and has more recently been chair of ...
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    4 days ago
  • Government confirms vital roading reconnections
    Six further bailey bridge sites confirmed Four additional bridge sites under consideration 91 per cent of damaged state highways reopened Recovery Dashboards for impacted regions released The Government has responded quickly to restore lifeline routes after Cyclone Gabrielle and can today confirm that an additional six bailey bridges will ...
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    4 days ago
  • Foreign Minister Mahuta to meet with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for China tomorrow, where she will meet with her counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, in Beijing. This will be the first visit by a New Zealand Minister to China since 2019, and follows the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions between New Zealand and China. ...
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    4 days ago
  • Education Ministers from across the Pacific gather in Aotearoa
    Education Ministers from across the Pacific will gather in Tāmaki Makaurau this week to share their collective knowledge and strategic vision, for the benefit of ākonga across the region. New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti will host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers (CPEM) for three days from today, ...
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    4 days ago
  • State Highway 5 reopens between Napier and Taupƍ following Cyclone Gabrielle
    A vital transport link for communities and local businesses has been restored following Cyclone Gabrielle with the reopening of State Highway 5 (SH5) between Napier and Taupƍ, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan says. SH5 reopened to all traffic between 7am and 7pm from today, with closure points at SH2 (Kaimata ...
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    4 days ago
  • Special Lotto draw raises $11.7 million for Cyclone Gabrielle recovery
    Internal Affairs Minister Barbara Edmonds has thanked generous New Zealanders who took part in the special Lotto draw for communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. Held on Saturday night, the draw raised $11.7 million with half of all ticket sales going towards recovery efforts. “In a time of need, New Zealanders ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government delivers a $3 million funding boost for Building Financial Capability services
    The Government has announced funding of $3 million for providers to help people, and whānau access community-based Building Financial Capability services. “Demand for Financial Capability Services is growing as people face cost of living pressures. Those pressures are increasing further in areas affected by flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle,” Minister for ...
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    1 week ago
  • Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao – new Chair and member
    Minister of Education, Hon Jan Tinetti, has announced appointments to the Board of Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao. Tracey Bridges is joining the Board as the new Chair and Dr Therese Arseneau will be a new member. Current members Dr Linda Sissons CNZM and Daniel Wilson have ...
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    1 week ago
  • Scholarships honouring Ngarimu VC and the 28th (Māori) Battalion announced
    Fifteen ākonga Māori from across Aotearoa have been awarded the prestigious Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships and Awards for 2023, Associate Education Minister and Ngarimu Board Chair, Kelvin Davis announced today.  The recipients include doctoral, masters’ and undergraduate students. Three vocational training students and five wharekura students, ...
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  • Appointment of Judge of the Court of Appeal and Judge of the High Court
    High Court Judge Jillian Maree Mallon has been appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal, and District Court Judge Andrew John Becroft QSO has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Mallon graduated from Otago University in 1988 with an LLB (Hons), and with ...
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  • NZ still well placed to meet global challenges
    The economy has continued to show its resilience despite today’s GDP figures showing a modest decline in the December quarter, leaving the Government well positioned to help New Zealanders face cost of living pressures in a challenging global environment. “The economy had grown strongly in the two quarters before this ...
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    1 week ago
  • Western Ring Route Complete
    Aucklanders now have more ways to get around as Transport Minister Michael Wood opened the direct State Highway 1 (SH1) to State Highway 18 (SH18) underpass today, marking the completion of the 48-kilometre Western Ring Route (WRR). “The Government is upgrading New Zealand’s transport system to make it safer, more ...
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    1 week ago
  • Briefings to Incoming Ministers
    This section contains briefings received by incoming ministers following changes to Cabinet in January. Some information may have been withheld in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982. Where information has been withheld that is indicated within the document. ...
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    1 week ago
  • Teaming up for a stronger, more resilient Fiji
    Aotearoa New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta reaffirmed her commitment to working together with the new Government of Fiji on issues of shared importance, including on the prioritisation of climate change and sustainability, at a meeting today, in Nadi. Fiji and Aotearoa New Zealand’s close relationship is underpinned by the Duavata ...
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    1 week ago
  • Investment in blue highway a lifeline for regional economies and cyclone recovery
    The Government is delivering a coastal shipping lifeline for businesses, residents and the primary sector in the cyclone-stricken regions of Hawkes Bay and Tairāwhiti, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan announced today. The Rangitata vessel has been chartered for an emergency coastal shipping route between Gisborne and Napier, with potential for ...
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    1 week ago
  • Next steps developing clean energy for NZ
    The Government will progress to the next stage of the NZ Battery Project, looking at the viability of pumped hydro as well as an alternative, multi-technology approach as part of the Government’s long term-plan to build a resilient, affordable, secure and decarbonised energy system in New Zealand, Energy and Resources ...
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    1 week ago
  • Statement from the Prime Minister on Stuart Nash
    This morning I was made aware of a media interview in which Minister Stuart Nash criticised a decision of the Court and said he had contacted the Police Commissioner to suggest the Police appeal the decision. The phone call took place in 2021 when he was not the Police Minister. ...
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    1 week ago
  • CPTPP Trade Ministers coming to Auckland
    The Government’s sharp focus on trade continues with Aotearoa New Zealand set to host Trade Ministers and delegations from 10 Asia Pacific economies at a meeting of Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Commission members in July, Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor announced today. “New Zealand ...
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    1 week ago
  • Govt approves $25 million extension for cyclone-affected businesses
    $25 million boost to support more businesses with clean-up in cyclone affected regions, taking total business support to more than $50 million Demand for grants has been strong, with estimates showing applications will exceed the initial $25 million business support package Grants of up to a maximum of $40,000 per ...
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    1 week ago

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