Hone stands by principles on foreshore

Written By: - Date published: 11:20 am, September 14th, 2010 - 52 comments
Categories: foreshore and seabed, john key, Maori Issues, maori party, Maori seats - Tags:

Stuff is reporting that Hone Harawira will not vote for the Nats’ foreshore and seabed legislation. And John Key is clearly upset.

Maori Party MP Hone Harawira will not support legislation replacing the Foreshore and Seabed Act, Prime Minister John Key has confirmed.

Mr Key said Maori party co-leader Tariana Turia told him this morning that “they’d lost one of the sheep in the flock.” It didn’t take long to guess it was Mr Harawira, he said.

The other four Maori MPs will support the Marine and Coastal Area Bill, which is due to have its first reading in Parliament this week.

“It’s highly predictable and quite frankly we would never be able to pass legislation that would satisfy Hone Harawira,” Mr Key said. “Nor should we, because that would not reflect the views of the majority of New Zealanders.

“If he doesn’t vote for it, I don’t care.”

Sounds like someone needs the whambulance. Key’s just lost the ability to claim that he has genuinely circled the square, giving Pakeha and Maori both what they want. All he has really done is bought off the Maori Party leadership.

Good on Hone for standing up for his principles. The conceit that the Nats’ reimagining of labour’s law substantially changes things might be good enough for some but those who actually want change, rather than power for themselves, could never support it.

Looking more long-term and strategically, this sets up Harawira as the only Maori Party MP who can lead the party back to its left-wing values and credibly push for a better deal on the foreshore and seabed in the future.

52 comments on “Hone stands by principles on foreshore ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Bright Red 1
    14 September 2010 at 11:24 am

    Agreed that Hone has positioned himself as the only credible leader of the Maori Party. The rest are sellouts.

    • Craig Glen Eden 1.1
      14 September 2010 at 12:01 pm

      But But Mr Key and Tariana said it was all good and the Maori Party had delivered on the very issue that caused the Maori Party to be founded on. Surely Tariana has not been doing a political smoke and Mirrors job on her own people.

  2. Lanthanide 2
    14 September 2010 at 11:59 am

    “And John Key is clearly upset.”
    vs
    “If he doesn’t vote for it, I don’t care.”

    Doesn’t seem clearly upset to me.

    • Craig Glen Eden 2.1
      14 September 2010 at 12:06 pm

      His upset alright “if he does not play with me I dont care any way because he is just a……”

    • pollywog 2.2
      14 September 2010 at 3:34 pm

      Maybe when 30 000 Nga Puhi and affiliates hikoi in protest he’ll care and be mightily upset…

      …and when they sway other major iwi to the cause, he’ll regret thinking he could buy off fickle Maori Party voters by playing semantic word games.

  3. Lew 3
    14 September 2010 at 12:00 pm

    Hooton’s line on this (regular politics spot yesterday on NatRad) is that Hone is ‘waiting for his inheritance’ as the party’s leader when Sharples/Turia retire. I suspect Hooton’s purpose in saying so echoes Key’s here: an attempt to tar Hone, the māori party and the tino rangatiratanga movement in general with the ‘dangerous activist’ brush — but he’s bang on. What Key and Hooton perhaps still don’t quite get is that the māori party aren’t really answerable to the electorate in the same way as the other parties are: they’re answerable to the Māori electorates, and on an individual basis, at that.

    L

    • ghostwhowalksnz 3.1
      14 September 2010 at 12:20 pm

      Key can still resurrect Nationals ( dormant) policy to abolish the Maori Seats if his pet kuri get all stroppy

      • Lew 3.1.1
        14 September 2010 at 12:41 pm

        But he won’t, because it’s a major constitutional topic on which he’d need to seek an electoral mandate. Labour & Green would come out strong against it, all Māori and many Pākehā would vote en bloc with them, and he wouldn’t get that mandate. One of the things which put National into government this time around was Māori staying home. That would be one sure-fire way to get them out and voting by the minibus-load.

        L

        • m 3.1.1.1
          14 September 2010 at 4:44 pm

          Lew, if I remember rightly none of the research done in the NZES shows that pakeha would vote ‘en bloc’ with Maori to retain the Maori seats. quite the opposite

        • Lew 3.1.1.2
          15 September 2010 at 7:53 am

          Not all of them, no. But potentially enough. It’s the sort of touchstone issue which will force peoples’ hands.

          L

    • Tiger Mountain 3.2
      14 September 2010 at 5:54 pm

      Hone’s MCAB position is the only Maori Party news that’s cheered me up recently. Hone rarely enunciates his full background clearly, why should he, and who does, but he knows the late 70s/80s/90s polemic and actions from a left position as well as an iwi one. I maintain a flicker of that remains with him, and he will need it if he is to be “last man standing” prior to some rebuilding of the MP.

  4. George 4
    14 September 2010 at 12:27 pm

    I reckon this will be exactly the signal Key needs to convince his base he’s not “soft on maoris”.

    • Bright Red 4.1
      14 September 2010 at 12:38 pm

      there’s a very well-funded rightwing campaign saying the opposite.

      Key’s lucky Labour’s not playing silly buggers like the Nats did in 2004 or numbers would be very close for this bill:

      nats, 58. MP, 4. Dunne, 1. Is only 63

  5. marty mars 5
    14 September 2010 at 12:27 pm

    That sheep line will come back to haunt them – it is all over now IMO as the maoriparty/gnat top and tail unravels

  6. Jim Nald 6
    14 September 2010 at 12:31 pm

    Hone has got spine

  7. smhead 7
    14 September 2010 at 12:47 pm

    Good think Key didn’t call Hone a hater and a wrecker, or the last cab off the rank. Then he’d never be able to work with Hone.

    • Blighty 7.1
      14 September 2010 at 12:52 pm

      you’re living in the past, smhead, quit living in the past.

      • smhead 7.1.1
        14 September 2010 at 3:43 pm

        Okay we’ll go to more recent times then blighty, Shane Jones wants to destroy the Maori Party. I don’t think Hone has such a short memory.

        • pollywog 7.1.1.1
          14 September 2010 at 3:53 pm

          Shane and Hone are whanaunga and blood is thinker than water. Nga Puhi is blood. Maori Party is water.

          Hone’s shared memory, like Shane’s go way back to pre Maori party days and i’m pretty sure Shanes views on their destruction would be the bare butt of many a Harawira joke shared over a few bevvies cos when it comes right down to it is all water under the bridge.

          I’ve no doubt they’ve both got their eyes firmly on the prize and the best interests of their iwi at heart.

          • smhead 7.1.1.1.1
            14 September 2010 at 4:00 pm

            Oh yeah that’s why Jones was in the labour caucus that introduced the foreshore and seabed bill that saw the founding of the maori party.

            • pollywog 7.1.1.1.1.1
              14 September 2010 at 4:05 pm

              Pffftttt…Labour, National, NZ first, Maori party, they’re all shit and wind !!!

              Iwi blood ties and the mana of an individual leader hold way more sway over the fickle Maori voters than any political affiliation.

              • Puddleglum …
                14 September 2010 at 10:43 pm

                From what I’ve heard, you’re right Pollywog.

                So far, my understanding is this – Maori politics is primarily about two things: Whanau/hapu ties in the ongoing political positioning internal to Maoridom (the real Maori politics); and, the tino rangatiratanga long-game when strategising externally, within the Pakeha world and its institutions.

                What Pakeha call ‘politics’ and ‘modern liberal democracy’ is simply a means, not an end.

                Have I got it about right? (I’m no expert – I’m just trying to understand)

                • pollywog …
                  15 September 2010 at 9:27 am

                  I’d concur with that PG 🙂

                  Mana is the key. You’ve either got it or you haven’t and when you got it, the people will move to stand beside and behind you, and when you haven’t, or have lost it, you’ll find yourself out in the cold, shouting in the wind to no one.

                  I reckon Tari and Pita should think about throwing one of them dog skin cloaks around them and huddling up cos it could get mighty cold and lonesome real soon.

                  Don’t know about means justifying the ends but in the old school ways…anything goes and it’s the long game that counts.

                  ‘Tino rangatiratanga’ though, cannot rest with a political party unless it has the support of the rangatira, through hapu and iwi, and it’s in rangatira’s best interests not to become to affiliated to closely to any political party.

                  Thing is, if the Maori party see this bill as the end game on the foreshore/seabed, then their raison d’etre ceases to exist and they should then do the honourable thing and disband.

                  Their mandate, as they state, was to repeal the previous bill, so their one trick pony party status has been played out, job done…and as for Whanau Ora.

                  It still sounds like something cashed up iwi should run or expand upon, independent of the gov’t, but in parallel with existing social services and initiated by rangatira with a genuine concern for the welfare of their iwi and hapu, as per the conditions of the treaty.

                  The iwi leaders forum really need to step up and state their position but they won’t or cant without Nga puhi and Tuhoe having substantial treaty putea to bring to the table first.

                  Can’t see that happening soon if the deal breaker is the northern beaches and the Ureweras respectively.

                  catch 22…rinse and repeat

                  IMHO

                  • Lew …
                    15 September 2010 at 9:44 am

                    ‘Tino rangatiratanga’ though, cannot rest with a political party unless it has the support of the rangatira, through hapu and iwi

                    This is the thing — the Iwi Leadership Group, made up of those rangatira, recommended supporting the new F&S deal. So Tariana and Pita — whose job isn’t so much to carve their own way as it is to represent the declared wishes of their people — were in a bind. They might hate and despise the law, as Hone does, but if the people, according to the representation of their rangatira, want it then they have a certain responsibility to support it.

                    I don’t think this is a concrete responsibility, and on that ground I believe their own personal discretion should have come into it, and weighed against them supporting the act. But I also believe the ILG should have recommended that they do so. That they didn’t indicates a disconnect, either between the ILG and those they claim to represent, or between those of us on the outside (but who claim some knowledge of such matters) and the ILG. I’m more prepared to concede that I don’t know the true needs or wishes of those people represented by the ILG than I am to argue that I know better than the ILG in this case. Hone’s breaking ranks indicates that it is by no means a settled or unanimous matter, and that gives me some hope. The real test will be the election, and I look forward to those who’ve read it wrong and are misrepresenting their peoples’ interest — from whichever side they might come — being punished for it.

                    L

    • BLiP 7.2
      14 September 2010 at 1:05 pm

      Just as well he doesn’t call Maori cannibals . . . oh, hang on.

    • bbfloyd 7.3
      14 September 2010 at 2:32 pm

      sm… being bitchy again? is it just because you can, or is it just the limits of your intellect?

  8. ABC 8
    14 September 2010 at 1:03 pm

    the whaaaambulance

    LOL

  9. Bored 9
    14 September 2010 at 1:59 pm

    Hone lost me when he talked about “no pakeha boyfriends” for his children…..it would appear that he is just as big an unreconstructed racist as the worst on my side of the fence. Which is a real shame as he is the only MP person who does not appear a sell out to NACT.

    • Lanthanide 9.1
      14 September 2010 at 7:52 pm

      Actually “no pakeha boyfriends” is a mis-quote out of context of what he actually said (yes, the media got it wrong, again!).

      Here’s a quote from a follow up statement of Hone’s that should make it clear:
      “Fathers have been having hopes and dreams and fears about who their little girls bring home, ever since Moses was a baby. I didn’t say I wouldn’t let them into my house, neither did I say I would stop my kids going out with them. All I said was, that I wouldn’t feel comfortable”.

      Listen to Mediawatch here for an investigation (first 8:50) into the whole matter, that clears it up:
      http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mwatch/mwatch-20100815-0908-Mediawatch_for_15_August_2010-048.mp3

  10. Ron 10
    14 September 2010 at 2:12 pm

    Hone HAS sold out to NACT by being part of the unhokly NACT alliance. He can “stand on his principles” over the foreshoe to his heart’s content – it doesn’t erase the fact the the MP have supported the Tories while they have started their nasty campaign against New Zealanders.
    He has ONE choice if he’s to redeem himself and that’s to walk from the party. Now.

  11. martin 11
    14 September 2010 at 2:16 pm

    Maori Party returning to their left wing ideals? You have got to be joking. Where or when have they done anything for the poor?

  12. pollywog 12
    14 September 2010 at 3:23 pm

    Hone is Nga Puhi first and foremost. They haven’t settled treaty claims, of which a big part of it would be foreshore seabed,coastline or whatever,

    He therefore doesn’t have the mandate of his people to sign something on their behalf.

    The Maori party are not representative of iwi nor Tai Tokerau, the seat which encompasses Nga Puhi rohe, so also do not have the mandate to sign on behalf of them or in fact any iwi.

    I would expcet major ructions within Maoridom as to exactly what right does the Maori party have to sign on behalf of independent sovereign iwi, each of whom have their own leaders who may or may not be Maori party affilliated.

    Hones postion is the only tenable one he can hold until his iwi say they are prepeared to accept what the current gov’t have put on the table.

    Fucked if anything Pita, Tariana and co sign would be worth the paper it’s printed on.

    • Bored 12.1
      14 September 2010 at 3:50 pm

      Bugger because that is a convenient out for the MP, i.e “its not our fault, we cant sign for the iwi”…so the useless Pita and Turiana have a get out of jail free card. Slippery eels.

  13. pollywog 13
    14 September 2010 at 4:00 pm

    yup…due process would see them table the offer to iwi thru established channels and act on the will of the people.

    they cant sign nothing and support nothing with any credibility and i’m pickin you wont hear boo from the iwi leaders forum either until Tari and Pita deem themselves representative of Maori to sign.

    it’ll be their political death warrant they’d be signing if they don’t follow due process.

  14. Ron 14
    14 September 2010 at 4:05 pm

    It’s all “blah blah blah” as long as they tay part of the NACT alliance

  15. pmofnz 15
    14 September 2010 at 5:10 pm

    Mr Hone Hatfield has principles? Come now, he is a politician.

  16. Johnno 16
    14 September 2010 at 5:23 pm

    As someone who lives in the same town as Harawira, he may think he has principle but I can assure you that there is not much to admire about him as a person. He is a complete wanker prancing around with his chest out thinking his shit doesn’t stink. He is genuinely hated up here (and not just by the whites) and he is becoming more and more ostracised by people who used to like him.

    • Tiger Mountain 16.1
      14 September 2010 at 7:58 pm

      Bollocks Johnno. You must move in some unpleasant tory circles. He has reasons to have his chest out, one of which being that his stomach has not overtaken it like the smoking, boozing, unfit portion of the Kaitaia and Awanui population.

  17. ghostwhowalksnz 17
    14 September 2010 at 5:39 pm

    Overall I think Hones opposition is a bit too ‘orchestrated’.

    The Maori party have it both ways.

    National has Labours old foreshore act with a bit more kumara in the hangi both accepted and reviled.
    The red necks can say Hone is pissed off – good riddance.
    Key can say no worries, Turia can say job done.
    Meanwhile SCF depositors get more than the fiscal envelope for treaty settlements so the full and final settlements is undermined, the new foreshore bill wont be near useful in 5 years and were are back where we started

  18. peterlepaysan 18
    14 September 2010 at 11:27 pm

    Hey! MARTY G!
    When will Hone Harawira ever agree to anything?

    He is a complete wanker.

    What Hone wants, Hone gets.

    Nothing else matters.

    Bugger Iwi.
    Bugger Maori.
    Bugger the rest of us.

    Hone rules and Marty kisses the proverbial.

    Zeesh! This is such an intelligent post.

  19. Johnno 19
    15 September 2010 at 9:24 am

    I don”t move in any political circles. People aren’t overly ideological about the Labour/National thing here. Harawira is simply an arrogant wanker.

    • pollywog 19.1
      15 September 2010 at 9:41 am

      So bust up on him and put it to him ‘kanohi te kanohi’ !!!

      If it’s something you think Hone needs to hear, then grow a pair and tell him. It’s his job to listen to his constituents, though if you’re a white muthafucka i would expect a reply in kind.

      so maybe record it on some secret camera and youtube it, if you want to go for the really bitch move takedown 🙂

  20. Swampy 20
    26 September 2010 at 1:22 am

    You mean Harawira is the only MP who can lead the Maori party to electoral oblivion. Has it occurred to you perhaps that the majority think Hone is a redneck and have blocked their ears to the Iwi vested interests whining that the foreshore and seabed act is not generous enough. Considering after all that iwi members are entitled to the same benefits of civilisation in this country as anyone else yet here they are with their hands out for special treatment, a lot of people will simply not vote for that.

    • Pascal's bookie 20.1
      26 September 2010 at 10:33 am

      Firstly, if iwi are entitled to the same benefits as everyone else, then they are entitled to have wrongs redressed. That’s not special treatment, is getting the same treatment as everyone else. You get to have wrongs redressed when you prove wrongs have been committed. Till then, do some reading. Learn your history.

      Secondly, Hone is an electorate mp. Whether or not the majority of the country likes him is of no meaning whatsoever. This applies to all the mP mp’s. Do some reading, learn your electoral system.

      Thirdly, lay off the drugs.

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    Note: An earlier version of this article noted Levy was a “party time Health NZ commissioner” - this has been updated - forgive my Freudian slip.Dr Lester Levy is charging $320,000 a year to be a part time Health NZ commissioner. Rachel Thomas reports that Levy is still teaching 2 ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Postcard from Sydney: Southwest and City Metro extension

    This is a guest post from Sydney reader Nik Clement After 2 years in Auckland I moved back to Sydney just over a year ago. While in Auckland, I went to the opening of Puhinui station and used it a fair bit, living in Manukau Central and being able ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago
  • Tolling revolt brewing in National heartland

    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 18:Locals gathered in Woodville last night to protest at the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s decision to toll the new road linking the Manawatu and Hawkes Bay, saying ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • The doom spiral

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In his last post, Zeke discussed incredible warmth of 2023 and 2024 and its implications for future warming. A few readers looked at it and freaked out: This is terrifying and This update really put me in a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Government directs Te Puni Kōkiri to conduct Māori Language Week in English

    The coalition government has issued a directive to Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development, instructing them that – in the interests of clear communication – they are to conduct this year’s Māori Language Week primarily or exclusively in English. The directive is in line with the Government’s policy ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • Government celebrates fact that New Zealand’s healthcare is so good people are queuing up for it a...

    At yesterday’s post-cabinet press conference, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, flanked by his Health Minister Shane Reti and someone we can’t independently verify was a real sign language interpreter, announced that he had some positive news for the country. “Alright team, I’m just going to hand over to uh, Dr. Shane, ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • Heartwarming: Thoughtful driver uses indicator to tell you what they’ve just done

    It’s 4:10pm in the morning, and you’re in the middle lane heading north on the great southern motorway of our nation’s capital, Auckland. There are no cars directly in front of you, but quite a few in the lane to your left. Suddenly, without warning, a black ute enters your ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • NPC teams will now be allowed to actually use the Ranfurly Shield in play

    Following decades of controversy, the governing body of New Zealand rugby, New Zealand Rugby, has ruled that the team currently holding the Ranfurly Shield may once again use it in play during the National Provincial Championship (NPC). The ruling restores the utility of a prize that for many years was ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • Climbing out of the hamster wheel

    I arrived home with a head full of fresh ideas about mindfulness and curbing impulsive aspects in my character.On the second night home I grabbed a piece of ginger and began swiftly slicing it on our industrial strength mandolin, the one I have learned through painful experience to treat with ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • More Notes From Stinky Town

    Good morning, folks. Another wee note from a chilly Rotorua morning that looks much clearer than yesterday. As I write, the pink glow in the east is slowly growing, and soon, the palest of blue skies should become a bit more royal.A couple of people mentioned yesterday that I should ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Make it make sense: why axe valuable local projects?

    Last week, Matt looked at how the government wants to pour a huge chunk of civic infrastructure funding for a generation  into one mega-road up North, at huge cost and huge opportunity cost. A smaller but no less important feature of the National Land Transport Plan devised by Minister of Transport ...
    Greater AucklandBy Jolisa
    4 days ago
  • Driving blind at higher speeds

    An open letter by experts about plans to raise speed limits warns the “tragic consequence will be more New Zealanders losing their lives or suffering severe injury, along with a substantial burden on the nation's healthcare and rehabilitation services”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • 2024’s unusually persistent warmth

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink My inaugural post on The Climate Brink 18 months ago looked at the year 2024, and found that it was likely to be the warmest year on record on the back of a (than forecast) El Nino event. I suggested “there is a real chance ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • National plan for 2000 more Kiwis a year in prison

    Open for allYesterday, Luxon congratulated his government on a job well done with emergency housing numbers, but advocates have been saying it‘s likely many are on the streets and sleeping in cars.Q&A featured some of the folks this weekend - homeless and in cars. Yes.The government’s also confirmed they stopped ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • I Found a Note in a Tree

    Hi,On most days I try to go on a walk through nature to clear my head from the horrors of life. Because as much as I like people, I also think it’s incredibly important to get very far away from them. To be reminded that there are also birds, lizards, ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Politicians need to lift their game

    Declining trust in New Zealand politicians should be a warning to them to lift their game. Results from the New Zealand Election Study for the 2023 election show that the level of trust in politicians has once again declined. Perhaps it is not surprising that the results, shared as part ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Police say they won’t respond to bomb threats anymore as ‘it’s never anything’

    Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says that New Zealand’s police force will no longer respond to bomb threats, in an attempt to cut costs and redirect police resources to less boring activities. Coster said that threat response and bomb disposal was a “fairly obvious” area for downsizing, as bomb threats are ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    5 days ago
  • A dysfunctional watchdog

    The reality of any right depends on how well it is enforced. But as The Post points out this morning, our right to official information isn't being enforced very well at all: More than a quarter of complaints about access to official information languish for more than a year, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: The threat of a good example

    Since taking office, the climate-denier National government has gutted agricultural emissions pricing, ended the clean car discount, repealed water quality standards which would have reduced agricultural emissions, gutted the clean car standard, killed the GIDI scheme, and reversed efforts to reduce pollution subsidies in the ETS - basically every significant ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vegas Baby

    Good morning, lovely people. Don’t worry. This isn’t really a newsletter, just a quick note. I’m sitting in our lounge, looking out over a gloomy sky. Although being Rotorua, the view is periodically interrupted by steam bursting from pipes and dispersing—like an Eastern European industrial hellscape during the Cold War.Drinking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Why Entrust Needs New Leadership

    I am part of a new team running in the Entrust election in October. Entrust is a community electricity trust representing a significant part of Auckland, set up to serve the community. It is governed by five trustees are elected every three years in an election the trust itself oversees. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • London Bridge is falling down

    In the UK, London is the latest of council groups to signal potential bankruptcy.That’s after Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, went bankrupt in June, resulting in reduced sanitation services, libraries cut, and dimmed streetlights.Some in the city described things as “Dickens” like.Please, Sir, Can I have some more?For families with ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Govt may kick elderly out of hospitals

    The Government is considering how to shunt elderly people out of hospitals, and also how to cut their access to other support. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Getting the nephs off the couch

    The so-called “Prince of the Provinces”, Shane Jones, went home last Friday. Perhaps not quite literally home, more like 20 kilometres down the road from his house on the outskirts of Kerikeri. With its airport, its rapidly growing (mostly retired) population, and a commercial centre with all the big retail ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • De moralibus orcorum: Sargon of Akkad, Rings of Power, Evil, and George R.R. Martin

    I have noted before that The Rings of Power has attracted its unfortunate share of culture war obsessives. Essentially, for a certain type of individual, railing on about the Wokery of Modern Media is a means of making themselves a online livelihood. Clicks and views and advertising revenue, and all ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37

    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 8, 2024 thru Sat, September 14, 2024. Story of the week From time to time we like to make our Story of the Week all about us— and ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago
  • Salvation For Us All

    Yesterday, I ruminated about the effects of being a political follower.And, within politics, David Seymour was smart enough on Friday to divert attention from “race blind” policies [what about gender blind I thought - thinking of maternity wards] and cutting school lunches by throwing meat to the media. Teachers were ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A warm embrace

    Far, far away from here lives our King. Some of his subjects can be quite the forelock tuggers, but plenty of us are not like that, and why don't I wheel out my favourite old story once more about Kiwi soldiers in the North African desert?Field Marshal Montgomery takes offence ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Literal clowns are running the place, we must put a timeout on this stupidity… right Aotearoa?

    These people are inept on every level. They’re inept to the detriment of our internal politics, cohesion and increasingly our international reputation. And they are reveling in the fact they are getting away with it. We cannot even have “respectful debate” with a government that clearly rejects the very ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    6 days ago
  • Fact brief – Does manmade CO2 have any detectable fingerprint?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does manmade CO2 have any ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago
  • Judge Not.

    Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY men and women professing the Christian faith would appear to have imperilled their immortal souls. ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Managed Democracy: Letting The People Decide, But Only When They Can Be Relied Upon To Give the Righ...

    Uh-uh! Not So Fast, Citizens! The power to initiate systemic change remains where it has always been in New Zealand’s representative democracy – in Parliament. To order a binding referendum, the House of Representatives must first to be persuaded that, on the question proposed, sharing its decision-making power with the people ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Looking For Labour’s Vital Signs.

    Flatlining: With no evidence of a genuine policy disruptor at work in Labour’s ranks, New Zealand’s wealthiest citizens can sleep easy.PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN has walked a picket-line. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has threatened “price-gauging” grocery retailers with price control. The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform situates it well to the left of Sir ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Forty Years Of Remembering To Forget.

    The Beginning of the End: Rogernomics became the short-hand descriptor for all the radical changes that swept away New Zealand’s social-democratic economy and society between 1984 and 1990. In the bitterest of ironies, those changes were introduced by the very same party which had entrenched New Zealand social-democracy 50 years earlier. ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Kōrero Mai – Speak to Me.

    Good morning all you lovely people. 🙂I woke up this morning, and it felt a bit like the last day of school. You might recall from earlier in the week that I’m heading home to Rotorua to see an old friend who doesn’t have much time. A sad journey, but ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • Winning ways

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Street architecture adjustment, KolkataShare Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • 48 seconds on a plan that would reverberate for a million years

    Despite fears that Trump presidency would be disastrous for progress on climate change, the topic barely rated a mention in the Presidential debate. Photo: Getty ImagesLong 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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Using blunt instruments and magical thinking to ignore evidence of harm

    The abrupt cancellations and suspensions of Government spending also caused private sector hiring, spending, and investment to freeze up for the first six months of the year. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThis week we learned:The new National/ACT/NZ First Coalition Government ignored advice from Treasury that it didn’t have to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power Episode 5 (Seaso...

    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 ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week ago

  • Tourism on the table for Pacific Ministers’ meet-up

    Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey will meet with Trade and Tourism Minister of Australia Don Farrell and Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica in Rotorua this weekend for a trilateral tourism discussion. “Like in New Zealand, tourism plays a significant role in Australia and Fiji’s economy, contributing massively to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Young people report on family and sexual violence

    The Te Puna Aonui Expert Advisory Group for Children and Young People has presented its report today on improving family and sexual violence outcomes for young people, to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour.  The presentation at the Auckland event was an opportunity for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • $18 million being invested in the victims of crime

    The Government is putting more than $18 million towards improving the experience of the criminal justice system for victims, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Minister for Children Karen Chhour say. “No one should experience crime, but for those who through no fault of their own become victims, they need to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago
  • Landmark phonics check in te reo Māori

    For the first time, schools can use a purpose-built tool to check how a child is progressing in reading through te reo Māori. “Around 45 schools are trialling a New Zealand first te reo Māori phonics check, known as Hihira Weteoro. It will help kaiako (teachers) focus on what ākonga ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • New sea walls safeguard Ōpōtiki’s transformation

    Two new breakwater walls at Pākihikura (Ōpōtiki) Harbour will provide boats with safe harbour access to support the continued growth of aquaculture in Bay of Plenty, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones say. The Ministers and leaders from Tē Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea and other ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Kitmap to improve access to science infrastructure

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced an online platform to optimise the use of New Zealand’s science and technology research infrastructure and to link the public and private sector. “This country is home to world-class science, technology, and engineering expertise. Kitmap is set to empower Kiwi innovators, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Driving the uptake of low emission heavy vehicles

    The Government has launched the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund (LEHVF) to promote innovation and offset the cost of hundreds of heavy vehicles powered by clean technologies, Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts say. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Speech on replacing the Resource Management Act

    Replacing the RMA Hon Chris Bishop: Good morning, it is great to be with you. Can I first acknowledge the Resource Management Law Association for hosting us here today. Can I also acknowledge my Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Simon Court, who is on stage with me. He has assisted me in establishing the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • Replacement for the Resource Management Act takes shape

    Two new laws will be developed to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), with the enjoyment of property rights as their guiding principle, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say. “The RMA was passed with good intentions in 1991 but has proved a failure in practice. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Tough laws pass to make gang life uncomfortable

    Legislation passed through Parliament today will provide police and the courts with additional tools to crack down on gangs that peddle misery and intimidation throughout New Zealand, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “From November 21, gang insignia will be banned in all public places, courts will be able to issue non-consorting orders, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New levy rates set to ensure continued funding of FENZ

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the rates for the redesigned levy that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) from July 2026.  “Earlier this year FENZ consulted publicly on a 5.2 percent increase to the levy. I was not convinced that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Police allocate Officers to Beat and Gang Units

    The Coalition Government welcomes Police’s announcement today to deploy more police on the beat and staff to Gang Disruption Units.  An additional 70 officers will be allocated to Community Beat Teams across towns and regional centres.  This builds on the deployment of beat officers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch CBDs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Consultation begins on significant updates to the biosecurity system

    Proposals to strengthen the country’s vital biosecurity system, including higher fines for passengers bringing in undeclared high-risk goods, greater flexibility around importing requirements, and fairer cost sharing for biosecurity responses have been released today for public consultation. Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says “The future is about resilience and the 30-year-old ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Wānaka community to benefit from new overnight health service

    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says an Overnight Acute Care Service opening in October will provide people in Wānaka and the surrounding area with the assurance of quality overnight care closer to home.  “When I was in Wānaka earlier this year, I announced funding for an overnight health service – ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Preventing potholes with data-driven technology

    The Government is rolling out data collection vans across the country to better understand the condition of our road network to prevent potholes from forming in the first place, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is a key priority for the Government and increasing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • GDP data shows effect of high interest rates

    Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the quarter to June 2024 reinforces how an extended period of high interest rates has meant tough times for families, businesses, and communities, but recent indications show the economy is starting to bounce back, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ data released today ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • NZ to host first Fiji, Australia trilateral trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua

    Trade Minister Todd McClay will host Fijian Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica and Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for trilateral trade talks in Rotorua this weekend. “Fiji is one of the largest economies in the Pacific and is a respected partner for Australia and New Zealand,” Mr McClay says. Australia and New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • NZ hosts Annual CER Trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua

    Trade Minister Todd McClay will meet with Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua this weekend.  “CER is our most comprehensive agreement covering trade, labour mobility, harmonisation of standards and political cooperation. It underpins an important trading relationship worth $32 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government proposing changes to jury trials

    The Government is seeking the public’s feedback on two major changes to jury trials in order to improve court timeliness, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “The first proposal would increase the offence threshold at which a defendant can decide to have their case heard by a jury. “The second is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Business key to regional economic dialogue

    Local businesses and industries need to be front and centre in conversations about how regions plan to grow their economies, Regional Development Shane Jones says. The nationwide series of summits aims to facilitate conversations about regional economic growth and opportunities to drive productivity, prosperity and resilience through the Coalition Government’s Regional ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • More funding for Growing Up in New Zealand study

    The Government is investing $16.8 million over the next four years to extend the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) Longitudinal Study. GUiNZ is New Zealand’s largest longitudinal study of child health and wellbeing and has followed the lives of more than 6000 children born in 2009 and 2010, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Tough targets for charter schools will raise achievement

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that Charter Schools will face a combination of minimum performance thresholds and stretch targets for achievement, attendance and financial sustainability. “Charter schools will be given greater freedom to respond to diverse student needs in innovative ways, but they will be held to a much ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • NZ votes for Middle East resolution at UN

    New Zealand has voted for a United Nations resolution on Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian Territory with some caveats, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand’s yes vote is fundamentally a signal of our strong support for international law and the need for a two-state solution,” Mr Peters says.    “The Israel-Palestine ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Honouring the legacy of New Zealand’s suffragists

    Suffrage Day is an opportunity to reaffirm New Zealand’s commitment to ensuring we continue to be a world leader in gender equality, Minister for Women Nicola Grigg says. “On 19 September, 131 years ago, New Zealand became the first nation in the world where women gained the right to vote. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Foreign Minister to travel to New York, French Polynesia

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is travelling to New York next week to attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, followed by a visit to French Polynesia. “In the context of the myriad regional and global crises, our engagements in New York will demonstrate New Zealand’s strong support for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Thanking social workers on their national day

    “Today, on Aotearoa New Zealand Social Workers’ Day, I would like to recognise the tremendous effort social workers make not just today, but every day,” Children’s Minister and Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour says. “I thank all those working on the front line for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Minister of State for Trade heads to Laos for ASEAN meetings

    Minister of State for Trade Nicola Grigg will travel to Laos this week to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers’ Meetings in Vientiane.   “The Government is committed to strengthening our relationship with ASEAN,” Ms Grigg says. “With next year marking 50 years since New Zealand became ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Members appointed to retail crime MAG

    The Government has appointed four members to the Ministerial Advisory Group for victims of retail crime, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee say. “I am delighted to appoint Michael Hill’s national retail manager Michael Bell to the group, as well as Waikato community advocate and business ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Speech to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation AGM and Conference 2024

    It’s my pleasure to be here to join the opening of the NZNO AGM and Conference for 2024.  First, I’d like to thank NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku, NZNO President, Anne Daniels, and Chief Execuitve Paul Gaulter for inviting me to speak today.  Thank you also to all the NZNO members ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Improvements for New Zealand authors

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says changes to the Public Lending Right [PLR] scheme will help benefit both the National Library and authors who have books available in New Zealand libraries. “I am amending the regulations so that eligible authors will no longer have to reapply every year ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister commends Police for gang operation

    Police Minister Mark Mitchell congratulates Police for the outstanding result of their most recent operation, targeting the Comancheros. “That Police have been able to round up the majority of the Comancheros leadership, and many of their patched members and prospects, shows not only the capability of Police, but also shows ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New appointments to the EPA board

    Environment Minister Penny Simmonds has announced a major refresh of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) board with four new appointments and one reappointment.   The new board members are Barry O’Neil, Jennifer Scoular, Alison Stewart and Nancy Tuaine, who have been appointed for a three-year term ending in August 2027.  “I would ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Enabling rural recovery works in Hawke’s Bay

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