How To Get There 26/5/19

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 26th, 2019 - 36 comments
Categories: Deep stuff - Tags:

 

This post is a place for positive discussion of the future.

An Open Mike for ideas, solutions and the discussion of the possible.

The Big Picture, rather than a snapshot of the day’s goings on. Topics rather than topical.

We’d like to think it’s success will be measured in the quality of comments rather than the quantity.

So have at it!

Let us know what you think …

36 comments on “How To Get There 26/5/19 ”

  1. Robert Guyton 1

    We can change.

    Mia Sutherland is a student and the secretary of the School Strike 4 Climate NZ chapter. She is Stuff's guest editor during the student-led strike on May 24, 2019. This piece was commissioned for Stuff's Quick! Save the Planet project.

    Describe your feelings towards climate change in three words…

    SUTHERLAND: We can change.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/112939594/climate-change-using-poetry-to-shine-a-light-on-the-environment

    Walpert explained, by studying poetry, people are taught to think ecologically as opposed to linearly.

    "As much as we need information about climate change, I think we desperately need models for thinking like ecologists – in systems," he told Stuff.

    Here is Walpert's poem titled Spotless Crake:

    Consider

    a life of

    introversion:

    A raised word

    at dawn

    or dusk.

    Easy to remain in shadow.

    Some of us

    might not be known at all

    if not for voice

    and our small hungers.

    • greywarshark 1.1

      I was looking at this poem last night!

      If by Rudyard Kipling. (If is a powerful tiny word, with possibilities and hope contained in two little letters. If only is a combination full of regret, let's get behind 'if'!)

      IF – Rudyard Kipling – 1st verse

      If you can keep your head when all about you

      Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

      If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

      But make allowance for their doubting too;

      If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

      Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

      Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

      And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

      https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46473/if—

      (I would like to put up the whole poem but I can't change the line setting which seems set on double spacing. Can someone advise how this can be changed at will. The setting should not be for double spacing on the use of the enter button. The posts are not good for reading with white space occurring where it is not wanted and taking up too much space for paragraphed or short-line comments. lprent can we alter that instruction of the program?)

      • Drowsy M. Kram 1.1.1

        Hi Grey, I don't know how to paste text as single spaced, but if I hold the 'Shift' key down before I press 'Return/Enter', then that forces the new line to in without any (extra) space between lines. If that works for you, then you would still have to delete the space (bringing both lines onto the same line), and then press'Shift'-'Return/Enter' to regenerate the new line without a space. Sorry if this description comes across as a bit garbled!

  2. Robert Guyton 2

    Nick Hunt

    "A central strand of the Dark Mountain Project is seeking writing and art that recognises, or perhaps remembers, that humans are not the centre of the universe, not the most important thing, but merely a small part of the whole – work that attempts to decentre itself from the human experience. The Overstory achieves this better than almost anything else I’ve read, and certainly anything that would normally find its way to the Man Booker shortlist. Is that what you saw yourself as doing when you started writing it? Decentring yourself from the human experience, and writing from outside that bubble?

    Richard Powers

    Yes, that’s a marvellous place to start. At the heart of this book is a very simple idea, and it’s one that has been explored for some time by environmentalists and philosophers and scientists and political activists, and yet hasn’t quite seeped into the arts – and certainly not this most human-centric of arts, the commercial novel. The idea, quite plainly put, is that there is no separate thing called humanity, any more than there is a separate thing called nature."

    https://dark-mountain.net/older-than-writing/

  3. Robert Guyton 3

    Google employees on acid.

    "Michael Pollan has written 5 New York Times best sellers including Food Rules; In Defense of Food; and The Omnivore’s Dilemma. In this talk, he shares insights and answer questions about psychedelics based on research done for his book "How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence"."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuhmZSFvhL0

    • vto 3.1

      I dont think we know much about the act of death… like the beauty of a wilting rose at the end of its bloom,..

      but so much more than that alone….

    • RedLogix 3.2

      Yes the potential for psychedelics to heal brain injury and trauma is intriguing. Quite a few people, even the unloved Mr Peterson, have been speaking to their potential recently.

      They may even work to reverse or alter the course of age related brain dysfunction, strokes, dementia or even just the loss of memory and confusion that so often accompanies old age.

      In general I'm not a fan of drugs, especially when they have addictive and destructive outcomes, but these seem to be in a different category.

      • Robert Guyton 3.2.1

        I think so, RedLogix. Terrence McKenna takes the ideas a whole lot further and amongst his (self-described) rants, there are precious jewels.

        • RedLogix 3.2.1.1

          I recall a local study over a decade ago (sorry I've no idea how to link to it now) which concluded that in excess of 85% of our prison population had some form of brain injury, often resulting from concussion.

          Imagine the potential role psychedelics could play in rehabilitation. Imagine if we could halve recividism rates even.

      • Incognito 3.2.2

        Is this tapping into, assisting, enhancing self-healing or is it replacing it?

  4. Robert Guyton 4

    How to get there;

    "Instructions" by Neil Gaiman

    Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never

    saw before.

    Say "please" before you open the latch,

    go through,

    walk down the path.

    A red metal imp hangs from the green-painted

    front door,

    as a knocker,

    do not touch it; it will bite your fingers.

    Walk through the house. Take nothing. Eat

    nothing.

    However, if any creature tells you that it hungers,

    feed it.

    If it tells you that it is dirty,

    clean it.

    If it cries to you that it hurts,

    if you can,

    ease its pain.

    From the back garden you will be able to see the

    wild wood.

    The deep well you walk past leads to Winter's

    realm;

    there is another land at the bottom of it.

    If you turn around here,

    you can walk back, safely;

    you will lose no face. I will think no less of you.

    Once through the garden you will be in the

    wood.

    The trees are old. Eyes peer from the under-

    growth.

    Beneath a twisted oak sits an old woman. She

    may ask for something;

    give it to her. She

    will point the way to the castle.

    Inside it are three princesses.

    Do not trust the youngest. Walk on.

    In the clearing beyond the castle the twelve

    months sit about a fire,

    warming their feet, exchanging tales.

    They may do favors for you, if you are polite.

    You may pick strawberries in December's frost.

    Trust the wolves, but do not tell them where

    you are going.

    The river can be crossed by the ferry. The ferry-

    man will take you.

    (The answer to his question is this:

    If he hands the oar to his passenger, he will be free to

    leave the boat.

    Only tell him this from a safe distance.)

    If an eagle gives you a feather, keep it safe.

    Remember: that giants sleep too soundly; that

    witches are often betrayed by their appetites;

    dragons have one soft spot, somewhere, always;

    hearts can be well-hidden,

    and you betray them with your tongue.

    Do not be jealous of your sister.

    Know that diamonds and roses

    are as uncomfortable when they tumble from

    one's lips as toads and frogs:

    colder, too, and sharper, and they cut.

    Remember your name.

    Do not lose hope — what you seek will be found.

    Trust ghosts. Trust those that you have helped

    to help you in their turn.

    Trust dreams.

    Trust your heart, and trust your story.

    When you come back, return the way you came.

    Favors will be returned, debts will be repaid.

    Do not forget your manners.

    Do not look back.

    Ride the wise eagle (you shall not fall).

    Ride the silver fish (you will not drown).

    Ride the grey wolf (hold tightly to his fur).

    There is a worm at the heart of the tower; that is

    why it will not stand.

    When you reach the little house, the place your

    journey started,

    you will recognize it, although it will seem

    much smaller than you remember.

    Walk up the path, and through the garden gate

    you never saw before but once.

    And then go home. Or make a home.

    And rest.

  5. I watched the introduction of the Zero Carbon bill into parliament on Tuesday. It received cross-party support, even from the National Party, but . . .!

    The ‘but’ meant that National, if ever in power again (God forbid) will do nothing.

    The best speaker by a country mile was Cloe Swarbrick, but even she was restrained by the limitations of the legislation. As Russel Norman pointed out, the bill lacks any compulsion, it is merely ‘aspirational.’

    The whole issue is beyond tinkering; if we want to curb radical climate change, which could or would lead to human extinction, we have to be equally radical.

    • we have to recognise the capitalist model will just not deliver the goods. When I hear politicians talking about 2 or 3 per cent growth in this or that, I cringe. You simply cannot have infinite growth in a finite world. Even the term ‘sustainable growth’ is an oxymoron. So, we have to face it, the economy will suffer, will have to change, but as Cloe pointed out, you can’t view the economy in isolation, it is part of society and the environment.
    • the world probably has 4 or 5 billion people too many. We have to limit the birth rate – one woman, one child. The best way to do this is to turn reproduction entirely over to women (Mike Pence and Alfred Ngaro will have a fit). Male chastity and FLRs (Female Led Relationships) should be the future if we humans are to have any hope of avoiding a catastrophe. After all, males got us into this mess!

    Now that I’ve got the wishy-wishy ideas off my chest, more practical steps.

    • a) a ban, becoming effective say in 2022 to allow businesses some time to adjust, on the import of second hand fossil fuel cars and heavy subsidies for electric vehicles. After all, if Norway, an oil producing country, can have 44% of new car sales electric, we should be able to do as well or better.
    • b) all public transport free and frequent, and as soon as possible, electric. Upgrade the rail network and penalise those who still choose to use their petrol or diesel cars.
    • c) impose severe limits on air travel. Perhaps endow every NZer with one (1) flight a year and set up a market for unwanted flights, so the poorer sections of society can trade their rights. Yes, Air New Zealand’s profits would nose dive but . . . (the bloody economy again!)
    • d) there shouldn’t be a house or dwelling built in this country that isn’t carbon neutral and which doesn’t contribute to the national electricity grid. Also have heavy government subsidies on solar panels as incentives to cut electricity bills.
    • e) impose severe limits on immigration. This would happen naturally as the economy shifts to a more subsistence model, but we have to recognise this country will be an attractive bolt-hole when ‘wet-bulb’ temperatures render the tropics uninhabitable.
    • f) I’m sorry, but it is patently ludicrous to exempt agriculture from any attempt to limit greenhouse gases. Agriculture will have to change, and will need assistance to make the necessary changes, but change will have to happen.

    We can no longer shrug our shoulders and point the finger at the USA or China.

    A lot of the more effective (and symbolic) things we could do would have little effect on the ‘economy.’ We (the human species, and every other species on earth) are in a race against time, a race we are currently in danger of losing. Then all the National ‘buts’ in the world will be of no use.

    • greywarshark 5.1

      Capitalists will not help, they will do things that will result in contracts, and to make sales, and they will encourage growth in those areas. In the newspaper a well set-up chap called Kirk-Hope (great name!) who represents business in some way, announces that we need more foreign capital. And so it goes as Kurt Vonnegut would say.

      He was good at irony. May we be able to see things as he did, and carry on with a faint smile as to our ridiculous quest, but keep trying because in that there is honour and value and respect for others. And may we be more successful than Monty Python's Black Knight refusing to acknowledge reality with 'It's just a scratch, a flesh wound'.

    • Janet 5.2

      AAH some nuts n bolts for a change.. and add to that … the government could act right now and regulate to stop the importation of poor quality products – the "planned obsolence" products and the $2 shop rubbish ……but no they pursue Free Trade agreements instead.

  6. greywarshark 6

    On Radionz – https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018696790/dr-oliver-scott-curry-kindness-causing-happiness

    Dr Oliver Scott Curry: Kindness causing happiness

    From Sunday Morning, 9:45 am today Listen duration 10′ :10″

    Dr Oliver Scott Curry is the research director for Kindlab, at kindness.org online. He's also with the School of Anthropology at Oxford University where he led a team researching the impact of kindness, not just in terms of helping people but for the person being kind's overall well-being.

    They were asking whether being kinder could be a way to solve personal problems; how helping someone deal with their problems could in turn work for the person offering help. They analysed 27 experiments to come up with their final conclusions, and it's a fascinating read. Dr Curry speaks to Jim about the kindness and happiness links they uncovered, and why the little things can go a long way.

  7. greywarshark 7

    Things getting better.

    In the Defence Forces for people who are different – transgender, homosexual, or not willing to attack other people in a violent homosexual way! They have changed the way they treat their men; and women too?

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/2018696447/has-the-nz-military-shaken-off-its-anti-lgbtqi-history

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018696520/i-just-shut-up-man-says-he-was-raped-in-nz-army-in-1970s

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/2018696447/has-the-nz-military-shaken-off-its-anti-lgbtqi-history

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018696789/jimmy-barnes-the-best-is-yet-to-come
    An individual who had a sad childhood and been able to resolve the worst of his memories and seen musician friends commit suicide because they couldn't.

    Jimmy Barnes: "The best is yet to come."

    From Sunday Morning, 10:06 am today Listen duration 42′ :33″

    Legendary Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes is back with another new album, My Criminal Record due out on May 31st. He's also going to be on this side of the Tasman in September performing three dates of his Shutting Down Your Town tour. He joins Jim in the studio to talk about his career, his demons, his talent and why he believes after four decades of making music he believes the best of Jimmy Barnes is yet to come.

  8. greywarshark 8

    26 May 2019 at 11:44 am

    What it's like to take 14 days there and 14 days back when choosing to not fly from UK to China and back.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018696783/dr-roger-tyers-the-no-fly-journey-from-england-to-china

    Dr Roger Tyers: The no-fly journey from England to China From Sunday Morning, 8:38 am today Listen duration 17′ :18″

    Dr Roger Tyers is an environmental sociologist at the University of Southampton who's just made a remarkable no-fly journey from Southampton to Beijing. Dr Tyers speaks to Jim about why he has shunned air travel and what he's hoping to achieve along the way.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday Dr Roger Tyers is an environmental sociologist at the University of Southampton who's in China to research attitudes to the environment, the climate emergency and personal responsibility. He felt that given the subject matter he would be a bit of a hypocrite to be flying to Beijing so instead undertook the journey overland by train. It's took him months to plan the trip, but he is part of a world-wide growing movement of people shunning air travel to reduce their carbon footprint. Some campaigners say no flying is as important as reducing plastic and eating less meat. Dr Tyers speaks to Jim about his journey and the challenges he's faced.

  9. Observer Tokoroa 9

    The Future of Travel

    I can see no need for people to travel from one country to another. Nor from one place to another.

    The Digital Camera will give a far better view of what is where, at better depth, and with greater closeups. The world will be held within our mind. Any one part of it available instanly, via our digital scans.

    We will know Criminal from Saint. The former being vaporised and disposed of, The Latter being part of a universal School of Wisdom.

    The Weather will declared Safe or not Safe. The Population numbers suited or not suited.

    Health Services will be given to all those who practice good living. For Obesity, Gluttony, and Narcissims, Alcoholism will be unaccepted, Drugs, Oils and such appalimg things as Diesel which are deadly Carcinogens, will be eradicted.

    Violence, even at a low level, will be Vaporised instantly. Dishonesty and Laziness will be treated the same way.

    All of this because our wonderful Planet is too valuable to be destroyed by Idiots of any kind.

    The wealthy and the aristocracy, and the War Mongrels (such as Donald Trump) will be vaporised. Everyone will be obliged to live as wonderful Humans – not as the savages they currently are. There is no space for Gluttons on Planet Earth.

    The NOW young Gerneration is Global – they will get to see the real New World.

    • greywarshark 9.1

      You seem to have lost it Observer Tokoroa. But then did you ever have it?

    • Robert Guyton 9.2

      Those are fascinating predictions, Observer Tokoroa! You've certainly identified some areas we humans need to address and change our behaviour around; I especially liked your "there is no space for Gluttons on Planet Earth."; gluttony, gastronomic and materially acquisitive, is at the core of our problem; Mammon's in the driver's seat presently and not slowing noticeably. I'd modify your: "Health Services will be given to all those who practice good living" to "Health will be given to all those who practice good living" and I do question your promotion of "vaporising" as a method for changing human behavioursmiley

  10. Observer Tokoroa 10

    Dear Mr Greywarshark

    Do you think you could try and get a bit up to date- and put your little homilies away.

    You are drenched in the past good man. Clearly you do not want any change in our suffering Planet.

    Well, you are not alone in that, But I have to tell you the new Generation is sick of your wars Mr Warshark. They are also sick of your little fairy tales.

    They want their Planet – Earth – cared for by persons who treasure it. Not by war mongerers such as yourself Mr GreyWARshark.

    For once, you must abuse yourself – and not me! old man.

  11. Observer Tokoroa 11

    To: Robert Guyton

    Thank you for your comments on my bare bone piece concerning the Future of Planet Earth.

    Not all that long ago, a genius named Marconi rigged up an extensive and patterned Antenna, thereby making communication between Ireland and New York a reality.

    Digital Technology now is more than capable of beaming all the neccessary binaries and factors world wide – to establish present day visual Communication. With great clarity and fidelity and at relatively low cost.

    As to my Vaporise vagabonds. The Leaders of the World appear to be of very low IQ. And whereas some of them are not fully corrupt, quite a number are totally willing to start and cause wars of all kinds, as well as nuclear destruction. Damage that lasts Thousands upon Thousands of Years.

    War is their God. Threat is their Lust. They have to be withdrawn into places where they can no longer function as idiots.

    Each school Day – and each Corporate Day – should begin and end with a Statement such as " I am a Living Being on Planet Earth. I Promise to Protect every Living Thing that I can. So that Earth may Prosper. I will treat Health and Safety as personal responsibilities. I will treat my neighbour as myself. For the sake of Earth."

    Addendum

    May I add, the Soap Opera "Coronation Street" is beamed endlessly. As best I know, it requires no Aeroplanes to fly the Sky to deliver itself. I do not know what the Program is about. but it must be pretty good. It has been running 58 odd years. It's a Reality.

  12. Robert Guyton 12

    Observer Tokoroa; if Coronation Street represents our culture accurately, then we are in dire straits indeed! Weighed down by stupid is a poor place to be and extracting ourselves from that our greatest challenge; how to get there, how to get there?

    I suspect that fighting the worshippers of the god of war will not end well, fighting being their area of expertise.; planning to vaporise seems a ploy from their play-book rather than ours. What have we got, us peace-lovers, that's effective in changing minds?

  13. Stuart Munro. 13

    Quail, brief mortals!

    Now you're probably thinking that should be 'Cower', and you'd be right if I were Pratchett writing about Death. Unaddressed climactic events are certainly coming for us, and some of the palliatives for it are small steps we can reasonably take at the household level. Quail are one of these.

    Of the early domestications of food species, the chicken is probably number three after emmer wheat and the dairy culture that characterised the Beaker Folk. They recognised they'd found something extraordinary over 2000 years ago, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/egypt-egg-ovens, a bird that reliably laid eggs pretty much every day, so long as they were not allowed to brood them.

    Quail, it turns out, are another species that do this, there's a relation to daylight length which in electric times presents no difficulty. So why do quail represent an improvement on chickens? Well, they're smaller. They're quiet (roosters being one reason bylaws forbade keeping chooks in Christchurch). And they don't require a great deal of space – something the size of a large rabbit cage is not, for half a dozen quail, an oppression of battery chook proportions.

    Government have, of course, failed to recognise and foster the potential of backyard aquaculture, but thus far at least quail have evaded their pernicious and perennially inept control. They might suit you.

  14. greywarshark 14

    George Washington Carver (1860s–1943) was an American agricultural scientist and inventor. Born into slavery in Diamond, Missouri, he was raised by his master Moses Carver after being emancipated, having been separated from his parents as an infant during a kidnapping incident. After college, Carver became a professor at Tuskegee Institute, where he developed techniques to improve soils depleted by repeated plantings of cotton. He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, as a source of their own food and to improve their quality of life.

    Carver spent years developing and promoting products made from peanuts, although none became commercially successful. Apart from his work to improve the lives of farmers, he was also a leader in promoting environmentalism. Carver received numerous honors for his work…

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver

  15. greywarshark 15

    On Trade Me: Start price $25 auction finishes Sun 2/6.

    Wetland Restoration Handbook for NZ Freshwater Systems
    https://www.trademe.co.nz/books/nonfiction/flora-fauna/listing-2164331245.htm?rsqid=ca55f01c5c9c4b50982bbf8c58a4c1cd-001
    Edited by Monica Peters and Beverley Clarkson

  16. greywarshark 16

    Thinking of the way forward with employment and how many people are underemployed and in multiple jobs that have to be juggled and so on. It seems that a responsible government needs to set up a PersonPower work force that trains people who are available to work in teams for certain periods on certain projects, perhaps through local Councils, and on orchards and seasonal jobs etc.

    I found a report drawn up for MSD in 1995 which did some thinking and would be worth studying for learnings!

    TACKLING UNEMPLOYMENT; THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE TO

    https://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/…work/…/spj6-tackling-unemployment.doc

    Any moves to help young people obtain skills and training and giving work on projects should be done well, with responsibility to a high standard, with a long-term effect in mind and a very adequate budget. The experience of the Cave Creek disaster is an awful example of how careless government causes lives.

    National in 1995 was well into its neo liberal agenda with business boasting about its skill and experience and not needing endless government regulation checks. It was the early innocent days of the new economic approach of Jim Bolger's government. The Cave Creek disaster arose from a project that was a half-hearted attempt by government to boost training and employment and do projects. It put students onto some seemingly straightforward work to someone at a desk. But the job was far too demanding and skilled and responsible workers were needed and apparently in short supply.

    There was a sad result of 14 people killed when it later collapsed. Fourteen young people who deserved a good start in life, and a long one. This is about it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_Creek_disaster

    A survivor felt guilty and had to seek help to recover years later. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10115932
    The commission of inquiry into the cause of the April 1995 tragedy found that the platform was poorly designed and built by unqualified staff but that no individual DoC officers should be blamed.

    The tragedy resulted from combined systemic failure against a background of underfunding.

    Aucklander Graeme Hunt, who wrote a book about the disaster, said he had not heard any allegation that the platform fell due to students shaking the structure.

    "It's a misplaced guilt – the platform could have fallen at any time.

    "There was no question in my mind that it was unstable from the day it was built, whether someone had shaken it or not."

    https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/cave-creek-disaster

    https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/cave-creek-1998

    https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/633

  17. greywarshark 17

    I remembered the Mayors' Task Force for Jobs to help with youth employment.

    This is something being done at the moment.

    http://www.mayorstaskforceforjobs.co.nz/ Waitaki & Waimate Work Ready Passport

    The Mayors Taskforce for Jobs is supportive of the Work Ready Passport and would love to see more Council’s throughout New Zealand supported to create their own local Passports, in support with their local community.

  18. greywarshark 18

    Sea level rises. A map showing coast lines at different levels. The scientist says that the rate of the melting of ice is faster than anticipated and it could be considerable.

    http://hot-topic.co.nz/the-encroaching-sea-new-nz-sea-level-rise-maps/

  19. greywarshark 19

    Climate change effects – Being smoked out of your home area.

    https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-31-05-2019/#comment-1623245
    31 May 2019 at 10:52 am #7.1

    See Sacha

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    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    10 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    11 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
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