If you still need to be persuaded about New Zealand’s homeless crisis …

Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, June 9th, 2016 - 154 comments
Categories: housing, john key, national, paula bennett, radio, same old national - Tags: ,

Paula Bennett John key

Then you should watch last night’s Campbell Live.

John Campbell and Co are really hitting their strides. They investigate real issues and let ordinary New Zealanders tell the story in their own words without embellishment. It is so refreshing to actually be given an insight into what is happening without the presenter bombarding you with ill informed world views a la Paul Henry and Mike Hosking.

Last night’s presentation of the plight of an 11 year old called “TA” was stunning. It laid out in very simple terms what it means to a young woman when her family are homeless.

The video is a must watch.

A series of tweets from Checkpoint summed up the absurdity of the situation and the tragedy of TA’s plight.

TA could have a great future.  She is clearly bright.  Despite the upheaval caused by living in their car she almost won a scholarship to attend St Cuthberts College.  She gets her homework done in the office where her mother works (yes homeless people include those with jobs).  At night they just drive around and eat takeaways.  She does not like this because she cannot read.

Her family now stay at Te Puea Marae and she thinks it is great. Life is returning to some sort of normality for her.

There are no doubt thousands of other children like TA and you have to wonder at the devastation being caused to their lives.

What is the Government doing? Apart from lying about how MSD staff went around with the Salvation Army and knocked on car windows of homeless people who refused help and talking about booking hotel rooms very little.  Despite what John Key said it appears that the “flying squads” had only one wing.  There were no MSD officials involved to add to the other discrepancies that have previously been identified.

The first Labour Government had the solution. Build houses, lots of houses. This Government is unable to even contemplate this because it would actually require the Government to do something proactive.  Even if the cost is the blighting of the future of young people like TA.

154 comments on “If you still need to be persuaded about New Zealand’s homeless crisis … ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. save nz 1
    9 June 2016 at 9:06 am

    Heartbreaking stuff.

    Remember John Key’s election stunt with Aroha. TC doesn’t even have a state house in a ‘bad’ street after 8 years of John Key’s government. She lives in a van she shares with 8 people and her mother is working!

    Is that progress?

  2. Sabine 2
    9 June 2016 at 9:07 am

    i was pretty much in tears listening to this yesterday. This girl puts the whole National Party at shame. All their posturing about people not trying hard enough, being hopeless, unemployeable and such is just bullshit they make up to make themselves feel special. I doubt that Ms. Bennett would be were she is today if she would have had to actually do without the Domestic Purpose Benefit and any of the other governmental financial aides she received when she was a single non working mother, and later when she went to University receiving Allowances and help from the government to buy her own first home.

    In saying that, please pretty pretty please can we all agree that 11 year old girls are not young women. She is 11. She is a kid. Please change your wording accordingly.

    • leftie 2.1
      9 June 2016 at 10:54 am

      Many +1’s Sabine.

    • Paul 2.2
      9 June 2016 at 12:56 pm

      Taking your words for a face book post – similar can be said of John Key.

    • mickysavage 2.3
      9 June 2016 at 4:17 pm

      Hi Sabine

      I chose the description because I was so impressed by her maturity and the way she handled the questions. She is clearly mature beyond her years.

      • Sabine 2.3.1
        9 June 2016 at 4:22 pm

        MS, reading this one does not get the idea that we are talking about a child here. No matter how ‘mature’ she comes across she is a child. Heck she is not allowed to drive, drink, vote, have a boyfriend, go out at evening time etc etc etc .
        A young women can do most if not all of these things.

        Call her a child that is mature beyond her years. Ok. But at 11 years old she is a child. Not even a teen. A child.

    • WILD KATIPO 2.4
      9 June 2016 at 8:55 pm

      True she is a child,… and a bright one at that… but ,… apart from being talented academically , in a few years she will need her own space , … how many were having to live this way? … quite a big family group… which demonstrates even more graphically this immoral – yes, – immoral govt !

      That they would do this to a family… let alone how many other siblings who will be like TA in that family… and even if they were not?… how dare this govt treat our fellow citizens this way?

      How dare they !!!!

      And I can never get this from my mind as I see more and more of cases just like these….

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10468960/Aroha-of-McGehan-Close-flees-NZ

      Nothings changed under Key – its just got a lot worse.

      Fuck John Keys bullshit ideas of a ‘ brighter future’.

      Its all bullshit and lies from the top down.

      Believe it.

  3. Tiger Mountain 3
    9 June 2016 at 9:20 am

    heh, “Campbell Live”–many still call Checkpoint by that name and long may it last, I put the TV on channel 50 and let it roll

    non grandstanding, breathtaking journalism from JC resulted with this dirty filthy tory government being shamed yet again

    we could do with an “NZ Bernie” at the moment, not as ‘saviour’ but as a spark

    • leftie 3.1
      9 June 2016 at 10:57 am

      Yes, but lets use the opposition that we have now. National has to go, and go now.

    • Gangnam Style 3.2
      9 June 2016 at 2:04 pm

      Channel 50 here too for Johns show, can’t keep a good man down. & I cannot understand why people will watch Henry/Hoskings berate them & laugh at them & treat their viewers like shit.

  4. jcuknz 4
    9 June 2016 at 9:21 am

    I happened by chance to hear TA and was disgusted that this could happen in ‘God’s own country’
    Along with a woman describing the hopelessness of being poor and being intelligent knowing she was making the wrong choices [ of smoking] but what the heck, it kept her going.
    sorry I didn’t keep the link but it was more to confirm me that we need more for these people. Aas one case manager put it at KB todayThere are the needy and the greedy and also a lot who simply do not know they are stupid.

  5. BM 5
    9 June 2016 at 9:31 am

    Is this the family that’s already been offered three state houses?

    • vto 5.1
      9 June 2016 at 9:35 am

      It is the family that works a decent days work but doesn’t receive wages sufficient to support itself.

      That is worse than slavery.

      It is cheaper to pay minimum wage than it is to keep a slave.

      It is cheaper to pay minimum wage than it is to keep a slave.

      It is cheaper to pay minimum wage than it is to keep a slave.

      It is cheaper to pay minimum wage than it is to keep a slave.

      It is cheaper to pay minimum wage than it is to keep a slave.

      It is cheaper to pay minimum wage than it is to keep a slave.

      It is cheaper to pay minimum wage than it is to keep a slave.

      It is cheaper to pay minimum wage than it is to keep a slave.

      It is cheaper to pay minimum wage than it is to keep a slave.

      It is cheaper to pay minimum wage than it is to keep a slave.

      It is cheaper to pay minimum wage than it is to keep a slave.

      • BM 5.1.1
        9 June 2016 at 9:38 am

        How much is the family getting a week with WFF.

        • vto 5.1.1.1
          9 June 2016 at 9:40 am

          That’s the problem with right wing thinking – you haven’t got a clue what the right questions are

          • One Anonymous Bloke 5.1.1.1.1
            9 June 2016 at 9:49 am

            “Right wing thinking” is an oxymoron. How much thought do you need to put into rote-learning a pack of lies?

            • marty mars 5.1.1.1.1.1
              9 June 2016 at 10:19 am

              +1 bm wins ‘the biggest loser’ beating bennett and key because at least they don’t pretend to care about anyone other than themselves

        • save nz 5.1.1.2
          9 June 2016 at 10:11 am

          @BM clearly not enough to afford a rental property in Auckland for 8 people.

          I put 6+ bedrooms into Trade me and only got 6 properties in the entire Auckland available – the prices ranged from $690 – $1150 per week. A person on minimum wages is on approx $610 p/w less taxes. However the $690 place was in Glorit so you would have to factor in Petrol and commuting to work which could be costing a lot with an old van. The rent of the house was over a week of work for a minimum wage worker. Then you have to factor in food, electricity, petrol, maintenance, clothes, school fees etc etc

          I put in 5 bedrooms and got 20 additional properties ranging from $590 (but just a short term let) in Rodney to $3000 per week.

          I put in 4 bedrooms and got 87 properties however the cheap ones were not in Auckland and the cheapest in Auckland were $540 p/w in Rodney to $3000 p/w.

          Most landlords would refuse to house 8 people in a place that was only 3 bedrooms due to overcrowding. So 3 bedrooms or under would be out.

          But National’s answer is to add more people to Auckland! Not everyone agrees this is the right approach!

          http://sciblogs.co.nz/the-dismal-science/2016/05/28/heralds-wrongheaded-call-ever-bigger-population/

        • tophat 5.1.1.3
          9 June 2016 at 10:50 am

          Heart wrenching story, i cried my eyes out.

          @Bm My wife and I discussed your type last night.
          We wondered how many of these horror stories it would take before you had to man up and admit that you can no longer support this evil regime. The question turned to all those Natz supporters whom to stand up and take their leaders falls. How often can you make ugly little snips at poor homeless people. How many ignorant unfounded posts do you make before you feel sick to your stomach and just can’t sleep at night? Do you sleep at night?
          or is it you just don’t believe a word you type?
          I kind of feel sorry for you, I’d hate to be plagued with the sick bitter mind that the likes of you are stricken with.

          • leftie 5.1.1.3.1
            9 June 2016 at 11:05 am

            +10000000… Well said Tophat.

          • BM 5.1.1.3.2
            9 June 2016 at 11:20 am

            Jesus, talk about hysterical, why are you lefties always so over the top.?

            I only asked how much WFF are they getting.

          • Paul 5.1.1.3.3
            9 June 2016 at 6:08 pm

            I wonder if people start dying in cars…will bm and fisiani still defend the governments housing policies.
            Immoral. They have been poisoned by greed, selfishness and cruelty.

            • Tom 5.1.1.3.3.1
              9 June 2016 at 6:24 pm

              Tom, sweetheart, you are going to be standing on your ‘own’.

              You need someone suitable to stand with you, someone much much better than david, someone who is actually intelligent, progressive, and brilliant.

              david is an idiot, he isn’t good enough and he has no leadership abilities.

              You need ‘the best’.

        • leftie 5.1.1.4
          9 June 2016 at 11:01 am

          No one could ever accuse you of having compassion, empathy and intelligence BM. What an ugly troll you are.

        • Sabine 5.1.1.5
          9 June 2016 at 11:11 am

          @BM 5.1.1
          9 June 2016 at 9:38 am
          How much is the family getting a week with WFF.

          This family will get the same amount via WFF as any other family with working parents and 6 children would get.

          If you have an issue with families receiving WFF you should address this issue with the National Party, the National Party led Government and the National Party Ministers of Parliament. They are the ones that had 8 years to abolish WFF and for some unknown reason so far have failed to do so.

          I suggest you try a different avenue to slander and belittle this family, WFF is law, and everyone that fits the criteria gets it.

          • BM 5.1.1.5.1
            9 June 2016 at 11:17 am

            This family will get the same amount via WFF as any other family with working parents and 6 children would get.

            Which is how much?, do you know?

            • Sabine 5.1.1.5.1.1
              9 June 2016 at 11:27 am

              http://www.workingforfamilies.govt.nz/tax-credits/

              Working for Families Tax Credits
              Working for Families is a package designed to help make it easier for you to work and raise a family.

              Working for Families Tax Credits are made up of four types of payments – family tax credit, in-work tax credit, minimum family tax credit and parental tax credit. You may qualify for one or more, depending on your personal situation.

              Inland Revenue explains these payments on their website:

              How much you can earn and receive Working for Families Tax Credits
              If your family income before tax is less than the amounts shown in the table, you may qualify for a payment. The amounts are based on your eldest child being aged 15 years or under and all other children being aged 12 years or under. If you have older children, you may be able to earn more and still be eligible.

            • WILD KATIPO 5.1.1.5.1.2
              9 June 2016 at 9:53 pm

              I wonder also… does WINZ require a permanent address to be entitled to WFF?… in which case…as they and other family’s cant even afford the rent for a large family… yet still pay taxes… but have to live in cars in order to survive, which immediately disqualifies them from the so called benefits…

              It would seem there is something unfair going on… and… unless one wants to regress to eugenics and offer up the solution of ‘only the rich can afford to have children ‘ … one should duly shut ones mouth… to which we see that the pathetic wages offered are a mockery of any decent lifestyle… in John Keys ‘ brighter future’…

              And wages being neglected in the equation… and that neo liberals desire a pool of the unemployed and the working poor to gain their corporate welfare from… it would suggest that either wages come up ,… or rents come down…

              So which then would you have it , BM… if you don’t want to be perceived as a sadistic advocate of eugenics or a miserable bastard that wishes to hold your hand out for corporate welfare?

        • Anno1701 5.1.1.6
          9 June 2016 at 5:09 pm

          you ever claimed WFF BM ?

          if you did you know most families give up after the IRD continually get it wrong ad you end up with a massive tax bill every year

          its just not worth it

          i stopped claiming it years ago

          • Gangnam Style 5.1.1.6.1
            9 June 2016 at 6:01 pm

            Same here Anno1701, we were always ending up owing 1000s a year because our pay rates would be calculated either 2 low or 2 high, now we do without.

    • marty mars 5.2
      9 June 2016 at 10:15 am

      we do know bm that this family didn’t get their window tapped as john flea and paula bereft said – cos they just made up complete bullshit to hide their inaction and utter contempt for the poor and destitute living in fucking cars and vans. Your hero john key is just like you – a loser with no moral compass, a sad shitsack of a person who laughs at others misfortune.

    • Infused 5.3
      9 June 2016 at 1:57 pm

      Yep… the one that won’t move.

    • Paul 5.4
      9 June 2016 at 6:02 pm

      Defending the indefensible.

  6. vto 6
    9 June 2016 at 9:33 am

    It is a shameful indictment on John Key and his politics.

    It is a shameful indictment on National Party supporters.

    Terrible. Shame shame shame

    And there is Wayne, busy commenting on another thread about US elections, completely ignoring this situation in his backyard. Wayne is the classic National Party supporter who doesn’t give a shit – as evidenced by his actions and inactions. Shame Wayne, shame

    You are a terrible person for supporting this type of government

  7. Brian 7
    9 June 2016 at 9:39 am

    Well done John Campbell, well done Te Puea Marae and best wishes to T.A. and those others in similar circumstances.

    Shame on you John Key.

  8. dv 8
    9 June 2016 at 9:49 am

    The interesting note this post is the BOTH those in the picture have had the states help to get up.

    • leftie 8.1
      9 June 2016 at 11:13 am

      Very true that DV, they wouldnt be where they are today if it hadn’t of been for the government support they received.

  9. fisiani 9
    9 June 2016 at 9:59 am

    According to The Minister of Housing
    http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/business/qoa/51HansQ_20160601_00000001/1-building-and-housing-minister%E2%80%94confidence

    40 houses were built on Monday, 40 houses were built on Tuesday, 40 houses were built on Wednesday and 40 houses will be built today. What is shameful about that? What is shameful about housing 200 families each week? That’s 10,400 families housed each year at the current rate of building.

    • Keith 9.1
      9 June 2016 at 10:15 am

      Firstly you would have to believe a National Party minister quoting stats, so good luck to you on that bullshit laden front.

      And yet the minister keeps boarding up state houses and selling them off while this disgraceful scandal goes on. That is what is shameful.

    • save nz 9.2
      9 June 2016 at 10:16 am

      @Fisini – after 50 days they have enough houses built for the new workers building the Sky City Convention centre! After 67.5 days they have built enough to replace the 2700 state houses they sold…

      anything else wrong with this picture?

      • save nz 9.2.1
        9 June 2016 at 10:21 am

        after 1675 days of building they have built enough for 67,000 new migrants entering NZ.. Oh but that alone is more than 4.5 years of current building just for last year of population growth…

        And what about the infrastructure that has yet to be built and how is going to pay for it, current residents?

        And with the budget freeze on health and education but the increase of population are medical people and teachers expected to work harder for longer or are the government just going to cut down these services or both?

      • save nz 9.2.2
        9 June 2016 at 10:24 am

        You haven’t worked out that we now have the ‘gold bricks’ where people just leave the property vacant as an investment. Investors planning to renovate, speculate or make a bigger less affordable house… because they are in it for profit – they are developers not government.

      • fisiani 9.2.3
        9 June 2016 at 10:25 am

        The workers building the convention centre presumably already have houses!!!! State house ownership matters not a jot when the houses are occupied. 2700 state houses owned by the state house 2700 families. They still house 2700 after they get better owners. Get some better arguments.BTW another two houses built.

        • save nz 9.2.3.1
          9 June 2016 at 10:55 am

          I know it’s hard Fisiani but do the Maths, the only way to catch up the housing demand is to dump immigration as a policy but the Natz will never do that because getting the local poor and homeless out of Auckland is a great way to take out their votes and win elections by default.

        • North 9.2.3.2
          9 June 2016 at 11:27 am

          It’s official – there is no problem. Fish Anus says so. May karma be spectacularly cruel to it.

        • Keith 9.2.3.3
          9 June 2016 at 11:34 am

          Not neccearily, when they are boarded up they are vacant. Then when investors buy them they can stand vacant, aka ghost houses and theres plenty around. But then again they could well be ready for removal or demolition just like in GI or Upper Hutt to name but a few, then no one lives in anything!

          Then again families who are struggling may not be able to afford to rent these ex state houses put up for rent by investors and so live in cars, Is that a good point?

          And 2 houses, which about sums up Nationals efforts, have been built, so what, who can afford these, people living in cars? How many people can live in 2 houses? Is 2 houses going to solve anything?

        • Keith 9.2.3.4
          9 June 2016 at 11:37 am

          BTW you believe Nick Smith which is delusional and BTW if all tbese houses a flooding the market why live in a car?

    • leftie 9.3
      9 June 2016 at 11:15 am

      Seriously Fisiani? you’re quoting a liar?

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 9.4
      9 June 2016 at 11:21 am

      Geez..this is back. I thought BM was bad enough.

    • Draco T Bastard 9.5
      9 June 2016 at 12:28 pm

      Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The building consent rate that converts to building houses being met is virtually 100 percent—a little less than that, but it is very high.

      Andrew Little: In view of his clarification that he is now talking about 40 consents a day, just how many families are living in those consents?

      So, it’s consents not actual houses. I happen to have family working on some of those houses and HNZ are demanding that they be built in 20 days – which happens to be physically impossible. Typical, though, of the useless management that we have in NZ who just demand things to be done without understanding what needs to happen to get that done – and they keep paying less and less for more and more work.

      As I’ve said before, I know builders who’ve been in the business for 20+ years who are getting out because they’re simply not being paid enough. The type of people you actually need to build high quality houses and that comes down to National’s policies of dumping all risks, responsibility and costs onto the builders while removing them from the developers. The developers get richer, the builders get screwed.

    • McFlock 9.6
      9 June 2016 at 1:28 pm

      You can’t live in building consents.

      And how many houses were torn down to clear space for those proposed buildings? Were they all greenfields sites or converted from industrial? Otherwise your “40 consents a day” might be only 20 new buildings a day 8 months from now…

    • Paul 9.7
      9 June 2016 at 6:04 pm

      Defending the indefensible.

    • WILD KATIPO 9.8
      9 June 2016 at 10:28 pm

      Ahhh… but what you and yours always conveniently like to forget is that the shitty wages on offer for the ‘working poor’ can never , ever , ever raise the deposit to buy a house.

      Great if you own a home and have several in your portfolio…

      Better even still for the National party as they get an assured vote…. however … the long term fall out of this is the destruction of the Key led National party…

      Why?… because its a policy of national shame, and, will be constantly thrown before their faces right up until 2017…they know, and we know… they are trapped by their own neo liberal policy’s… and are impotent.

      AND THAT … is the harbinger of their fall. Hence the desperate bullshit see- through lies that are currently cascading out of parliament to justify being caught out in an ideology that cannot be defended in a true democracy.

      Look at it this way : this is the poor striking back simply because of their poverty and the National party’s deliberate policy’s to impoverish them . Else why should they be called the poor -barring someone to name them as the poor?

      Such as National?

      And in turn bringing the proud and the haughty low – brought about by their own pride , their own avarice , their own arrogance… and you know the thing that really goads the far right wing fanatics?… is the fact that up until now the poor were dismissed as ‘ irrelevant’ , ‘ as those without a voice’ , as ‘ useless and rejects’ to the elites…

      It would do well to remember just what the Bastille was all about…

  10. Keith 10
    9 June 2016 at 10:00 am

    The village idiot Nick Smith thinks he’s been a bit clever by stretching and manipulating stats and telling the fools out there houses are more affordable than in 2008. Maybe the minister is including Honda Odysseys in housing nowadays.

    You’d have to be very slow or a National voter to believe this shit. And this is where Smith best illustrates the warped poll driven “solutions” and thinking the besiege National, that gets us to precisely where John Campbells sorry item finds us as a nation.

  11. adam 11
    9 June 2016 at 10:28 am

    Talk, talk, talk.

    Time to go away from the keyboard and talk to people.

    Engage.

    This will only change when people with morality, lead the amoral crowd by the nose to accept what it means to be a moral caring human being.

  12. tophat 12
    9 June 2016 at 10:54 am

    I may go down to the park this evening and knock on a window. See if the occupants need/want a room. Or something. it feel so wrong to just sit here and do nothing.

  13. Your Average Voter 13
    9 June 2016 at 11:04 am

    This sort of thing makes me sad and angry. Sad for the child and angry at the people wanting to exploit her.

    I feel very sorry for the young girl. She is not a woman. She is an 11 year old child and should not be in this situation.

    We don’t have child poverty in this country. We have poverty inflicted upon children that is driven by circumstances or neglect by their parents or caregivers. Adults have choices, children do not. They rely on their parents/caregivers to make the right choices on their behalf.

    JC is indulging in emotive journalism with little regard to any sort of balance. It’s crap journalism at its best. JC should be ashamed for exploiting a child for his own agenda.

    There are eight people living in this van. You cannot blame the State for everything in peoples lives. At some stage personal responsibility has to come into the equation. The child has no control over her living situation. So it is the parents that should be answering the hard questions.

    Questions to ask parents. And of course they are never asked by the MSM as it doesn’t suit their narrative. The government agencies can never answer the questions because of the privacy act. So round and round it goes.

    1. Is father working, if not why not?
    2. Have they been to the appropriate social welfare agency for help?
    3. If not, why not?
    4. If so, what help, if any, was offered.?
    5. Do they receive any type of social welfare payments?
    6. If so, how much?
    7. Are there adult brothers/sisters that are earning money from any source living in the van?
    8. Have they ever lived in a house?
    9. If so, what was the circumstances of them leaving their last house?
    10. Are they involved in any sort of family planning and budgeting services?

    I know that others will see this as some sort of cruel right wing attack. But it’s not. Get the facts which are often multi layered, ask the hard questions, get the honest answers and then you can go about solving the problem. Until then it’s all just emotive knee jerk reactions which ultimately help no one.

    • Sabine 13.1
      9 June 2016 at 11:21 am

      Paula Bennett is that you?

      John? Nick?

    • Venezia 13.2
      9 June 2016 at 11:23 am

      Your Average Voter……You clearly do not want to know the facts, but like many others who support a corrupt government, do not want to know the facts. Read the Child Poverty Action Group web page. They have lots of research results which show the growth of children living in poverty as result of the policies of this government. This situation of homelessness doubling in Auckland over the last three years has to be seen as intentional, if you consider the selling off of thousands of State Houses, continual change and reduction of income support policies, hollowing out of the public services and reduction in real terms of incomes for all but the top 30%.
      “We don’t have child poverty in this country” you say…. Have you noticed that under John Key, incomes have reduced over the last 8 years. And John Key is down on record, speaking to an Employers gathering in 2008 saying “I would love to see wages drop”.
      Have you read the account given by Te Puea marae about this family? it answers most of your questions. Go read it on their Facebook page. The father in this family has been laid off from his job and is desperately looking for another. The mother is in paid work, but not enough to afford a rental right now in Auckland. We now know, because of the experience of other people applying to government agencies for help, that if this family receive that “Help” it comes with huge debts attached. Living in their van is the rational approach.

      • Your Average Voter 13.2.1
        9 June 2016 at 12:04 pm

        If the media are going to bring something into the public arena then they are beholden to give all aspects and facts to the story. That way we, the public, can make informed opinions and vote accordingly come election time.

        So, one question number one answered. Good to know and I wish him well with his job searching.

        • marty mars 13.2.1.1
          9 June 2016 at 12:52 pm

          I find your comment insincere – you don’t care – that is proven by your BIG list of questions YOU need answered in your comment above. You, like bm, are sad scum appologists for the useless gnats and their inaction. What the fuck have YOU done to help, what?

        • mickysavage 13.2.1.2
          9 June 2016 at 1:08 pm

          Right wing: it must be the father’s fault cause this Government is super duper and John Key is the best.

          Left wing: this is terrible and why haven’t they done something about it?

          As for releasing all the details YAV if that happened then the likes of Slater would be all over the parents’ details looking for something to smear them with.

          Why not accept the situation for what it is, appalling.

          And why not ask why the number of homeless has spiked under this Government’s watch.

          • Infused 13.2.1.2.1
            9 June 2016 at 2:02 pm

            left wing: lets keep throwing money at this. What are the outcomes? who cares, keep throwing money at it.

            • Stuart Munro 13.2.1.2.1.1
              9 June 2016 at 2:44 pm

              Rightwing “Lets sell the assets that kept cost of living down and steal the money”.

              Every one of them should be in the chokey.

          • Your Average Voter 13.2.1.2.2
            9 June 2016 at 3:06 pm

            Hi Mickey

            I agree with you about the Slater angle and dragging the family through the mud.

            But the fact remains. It is JC that has exploited this young girl and her family by placing them under the media microscope.

            • marty mars 13.2.1.2.2.1
              9 June 2016 at 3:43 pm

              “It is JC that has exploited this young girl and her family by placing them under the media microscope.”

              That is depraved thinking – you’d rather, like bennett and key, it was all “nothing to see here”, “no issue”, “move along”. Guess what noddy this issue is REAL and not going away because REAL people are suffering and REAL people are talking and discussing what the hell can be done. You don’t want that and fair enough from your idiotic position, but this is NOT going away.

              and the fact that you use the well worn keyism “but the fact remains” shows even more how out of touch you are – small hands?

            • Hanswurst 13.2.1.2.2.2
              9 June 2016 at 5:13 pm

              That sort of information is what we have statistics and research for. Pieces like this are dsigned as part of balanced reporting by getting the viewpoints of those affected. People giving their own views in that sort of situation should never be required to give more information than they are comfortable with. She is not responsible for apportioning public money or administering policy, so she isn’t obliged to disclose any more than she wishes. You are just looking to denigrate a private person.

    • Macro 13.3
      9 June 2016 at 11:30 am

      If you represent the average voter – then it is no wonder why this country is in such a poor state.

    • adam 13.4
      9 June 2016 at 11:44 am

      Solving the problem is simple, the facts are in. Stop being amoral, and looking for someone to blame.

      Build more houses.

    • Wensleydale 13.5
      9 June 2016 at 11:57 am

      Or you could help people first, and then interrogate them at your leisure later on. You know, after they’ve been fed, and clothed and housed as is their right. As a human being.

    • AB 13.6
      9 June 2016 at 11:58 am

      Question 11. Why is their mum not working as a currency speculator for Merrill Lynch instead of (presumably) doing low-paid productive work? It pays much better

    • leftie 13.7
      9 June 2016 at 11:59 am

      @Your average voter, yes it is a cruel right wing attack of scapegoating, and you know it is. What you wrote is a litany of outrageous bollocks. Easier to blame the victims than address the real problems and it’s causes, isn’t it?

      Kicking the key led National government out of office will go a long way in beginning to solve the problems National are actively fostering.

      • Your Average Voter 13.7.1
        9 June 2016 at 12:09 pm

        Please quote where I have blamed the victim for anything.

        If you think changing the government will solve the problem then you are sadly mistaken. Labour/Green or whoever will have to face these issues and the facts and they will offer as many lame excuses as this government.

        Regardless of who is in power. Identify the facts. Fix the problem.

        • weka 13.7.1.1
          9 June 2016 at 12:15 pm

          “Please quote where I have blamed the victim for anything.”

          It’s implied in your comments. You can clear it up quickly though. Do you think that the family in question are responsible for the situation they are in?

          • Your Average Voter 13.7.1.1.1
            9 June 2016 at 12:42 pm

            Do you think that the family in question are responsible for the situation they are in?

            No, I simply do not have enough facts to make that call. Hence the questions

            • marty mars 13.7.1.1.1.1
              9 June 2016 at 12:56 pm

              Yep you are a worthless factman who doesnt give a shit. Now we know whereas before we could only accurately guess.

            • weka 13.7.1.1.1.2
              9 June 2016 at 2:50 pm

              “Do you think that the family in question are responsible for the situation they are in?”

              You didn’t answer my question, which make me think you are being disingenuous. So let me hazard a guess. You believe that people who are on low incomes or benefits are there because of their life choices. That if they just tried harder, were better people, made different decisions then all would be well. You use this belief to detract from the social responsibility of the government to do things like make sure there are enough houses, that the cost of living matches income, and that everyone deserves a certain standard of living because we live in a society where we all benefit from state, even you.

              “Do you think that the family in question are responsible for the situation they are in?”

              I don’t actually care. Because until we as a country run things so that everyone gets a fair go, the question is pretty moot. That family could be making the best decisions in the world and still be homeless, because not all things come down to personal choice. I also don’t care because everyone makes bad decisions at some point, and it’s not fair that for some people (you I am guessing) the consequences are minor because you happened to have privileges that other people didn’t.

              Plus, you need to read some Linda Tirado, who will explain in terms even you can understand why personal choice when below the poverty line is completely different from what you believe.

              http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/21/linda-tirado-poverty-hand-to-mouth-extract

              Like BM above, I think your questions are designed exactly to garner information that would give you some theoretical, but still bullshit support for your prejudices.

              • Your Average Voter …
                9 June 2016 at 3:11 pm

                Hi Weka
                Yes, I answered your question honestly. It just wasn’t the answer you wanted or needed.

                The truth is I don’t know and nor do most people on this forum.

                • One Anonymous Bloke …
                  9 June 2016 at 3:16 pm

                  Yes, we do: we know that poverty, homelessness, and unemployment are caused by government policy, period, Otherwise, you would have to acknowledge that under National, far more people make bad decisions.

                • weka …
                  9 June 2016 at 3:17 pm

                  It’s not that I didn’t want the answer, it’s that I don’t believe you. Everything you are saying in this thread tells us that you believe that you are entitled to make judgements about other people based on your own criteria of what is relevant or not. It’s simply not possible to do that in any way other than a prejudicial one. You’re a bigot and a dishonest one too. Read Tirado.

            • Kevin 13.7.1.1.1.3
              9 June 2016 at 3:16 pm

              Why do you expect other commenters on here to find your facts for you?

        • leftie 13.7.1.2
          9 June 2016 at 1:40 pm

          Your average voter, your comment is victim blaming and it’s so typical that you cannot see it. I never said changing the government will solve the problem, what I said was “Kicking the key led National government out of office will go a long way in beginning to solve the problems National are actively fostering.”
          Is your assumption that a new government will “offer as many lame excuses as this government” an excuse for not kicking National out? That’s just a biased assumption on your part, that could very well turn out to be wrong.
          Lets kick “this government” out and and see if a new government can take steps to address the problems and its causes, we have already lost so much and have nothing left to lose, after all, 8 years of this Key led National government has failed this country and its people on so many levels already.

          • Robert Guyton 13.7.1.2.1
            9 June 2016 at 1:48 pm

            It’s a curious coincidence, I suppose, that “maninthemiddle” and “average voter” have pen-names that are designed to sound reasonable and innocuous, kind of ordinary, yet their views are clearly far (right) from that. In fact, the two names could almost have been generated in the same place, for the same purpose. Who, after all, would not be put at their ease by someone named, “niceordinaryguy”.

            • leftie 13.7.1.2.1.1
              9 June 2016 at 2:11 pm

              Good point Robert, that is what the rw do, and ‘appearances’ are deceptive aren’t they? Their personas don’t reflect the name. “Your average voter” has a decidedly familiar “Maninthemiddle” aspect in their comments.

              • marty mars …
                9 June 2016 at 2:49 pm

                yep good observations – probably a ‘pretend we are reasonable’ name generator although as usual righties go too far and expose themselves…

                • Robert Guyton …
                  9 June 2016 at 3:39 pm

                  He’s the same person.
                  His MO is being untruthful.

                  • marty mars …
                    9 June 2016 at 3:47 pm

                    it’s naughty to try and guess peoples names or identities here Robert – or should I call you ROB!!!!! 🙂

                    • Robert Guyton …
                      9 June 2016 at 5:50 pm

                      Can’t be naughty to try and guess, marty. Publishing those guesses might be frowned upon, but making guesses, informed guesses, in the privacy of one’s own home can’t be naughty can it?
                      In any case, this guy’s as transparent as wet paper tissue. His MO can’t be concealed. He’s got form being untruthful and needs to be reminded of that whenever he comes over all sincere, that is, whenever it suits him.

                    • marty mars …
                      9 June 2016 at 6:19 pm

                      Yes I agree, please keep up the good work.

                • Anno1701 …
                  10 June 2016 at 2:49 pm

                  “undecided voter” anyone ?

    • weka 13.8
      9 June 2016 at 12:13 pm

      Questions to ask parents. And of course they are never asked by the MSM as it doesn’t suit their narrative. The government agencies can never answer the questions because of the privacy act. So round and round it goes.

      1. Is father working, if not why not?
      2. Have they been to the appropriate social welfare agency for help?
      3. If not, why not?
      4. If so, what help, if any, was offered.?
      5. Do they receive any type of social welfare payments?
      6. If so, how much?
      7. Are there adult brothers/sisters that are earning money from any source living in the van?
      8. Have they ever lived in a house?
      9. If so, what was the circumstances of them leaving their last house?
      10. Are they involved in any sort of family planning and budgeting services?

      It’s none of our business, and even if all your questions were answered, that still wouldn’t give you enough information or knowledge to form a useful opinion. For instance, you don’t ask how much debt they have, which could render all your other questions pretty meaningless.

      Let’s take a hypothetical family then. I’m always amazed at the lack of imagination by people with prejudices. By imagination, I mean being able to think through possible scenarios.

      1. Is father working, if not why not?
      Yes, minimum wage.

      Or, no, has serious depression that makes full time work impossible.

      2. Have they been to the appropriate social welfare agency for help?

      Yes. WINZ offered them a motel, but they would have to take on a WINZ debt which they cannot afford to repay.

      HNZ offered them a state house, but it’s a 1 1/2 hour drive from the grandmother who is care and at the end of her life and that distance means they wouldn’t be able to spend time with her.

      3. If not, why not?
      4. If so, what help, if any, was offered.?

      They are reluctant to go back to WINZ because each time they have been WINZ have treated them without respect and humiliated them. This is a common experience for WINZ clients, they’ve heard this from their friends and family too. In the end most people know that you don’t actually get much assistance and the assistance you do get comes with both humiliation and strings. Also, WINZ has lost their paperwork 3 times and they don’t have the time to keep going back to sort it out. WINZ no longer use appointments with case managers, so it’s a matter of turning up and sitting and waiting to see someone. Very hard to do when you are working.

      HNZ have them on the waiting list.

      5. Do they receive any type of social welfare payments?
      6. If so, how much?

      What diference does that make? You get that wages and benefits are both not enough to live on for many people?

      7. Are there adult brothers/sisters that are earning money from any source living in the van?

      All kids.

      Or, there is a 17 year old who has left school who picks up part time work here and there. What difference does that make?

      8. Have they ever lived in a house?
      WTF? You think they’ve been living in a van for 10 or 15 years?

      9. If so, what was the circumstances of them leaving their last house?
      Again, what would that matter?

      10. Are they involved in any sort of family planning and budgeting services?
      Budgeting services are pretty upfront about the fact that many of their clients can’t be helped because you can’t budget if you don’t have enough income.

      How would family planning help them find a home? Do you know what Maslow’s heirarchy of needs is?

      I don’t give a shit what your politics are or who you vote for, but your attitude is basically that people are always responsible for what happens to them. That kind of judgement damages people and makes society worse off.

      • Your Average Voter 13.8.1
        9 June 2016 at 1:10 pm

        Hi Weka.

        Good reply and I appreciate you arguing the points

        Using your hypothetical family.

        Yes, unaffordable debt is another that will put you in the poor house. Try targeting the parasites that prey on the poor. Eg. truck shops, loan sharks. etc etc

        1. Yes. Job loss, accidents, health issues and mental health issues can change your circumstances for the worse in the blink of an eye. In which case the State should provide a safety net where possible.

        4. I agree completely. The system should be a lot simpler.

        6. Exactly how much would the State pay for all the kids? I’m not suggesting it’s a fortune but if it’s adequate then perhaps budgeting advise would help.

        7. What difference does it make? People living together and earning should all contribute. That is just a basic life skill.

        9. Were they kicked out for being bad tenants? Were they good tenants and the rent was to high? Yes, it adds context to everything.

        10. Reset the clock. Waive crushing debt that can never be repaid and start again with budgeting advise. Over simplistic solution I know.

        Family planning. Too many kids will keep you and the children in poverty. I know that is closing the stable door after the horse has bolted for some. But why not identify it and encourage it on smaller families before it becomes a problem to them.

        End of hypothetical family.

        No, I do not believe that people are always responsible for everything that happens to them. We all have circumstances change through no fault of our own. See above

        But I also don’t believe in giving everyone a a free pass on their own consistent bad decision making. Otherwise we run the risk of them becoming permanently reliant on the state or permanent victims. Neither which is healthy for them or society.

        How do you strike that balance?……That’s the eternal question.

        • leftie 13.8.1.1
          9 June 2016 at 1:58 pm

          YAV, National’s entire caucus got a free pass. None of them would be where they are today if it hadn’t of been for good government support. Was it bad decision making that John key lived in a state house and received free education provided by the government? Was it bad decision making that Paula Bennett cared for herself and her child on a benefit, got a house, free education and support provided by the government?

          Then the Key led National government pulled up the ladder so no one else could have the support that they themselves received.

          You realize that poverty and homelessness is NOT a “life style choice” (John key’s words), don’t you? You realize that John key and his government lie, don’t you?

        • weka 13.8.1.2
          9 June 2016 at 3:05 pm

          “6. Exactly how much would the State pay for all the kids? I’m not suggesting it’s a fortune but if it’s adequate then perhaps budgeting advise would help.”

          I’ll repeat, budgeting won’t solve the problem of not enough income.

          “7. What difference does it make? People living together and earning should all contribute. That is just a basic life skill.”

          What makes you assume that they’re not?

          “9. Were they kicked out for being bad tenants? Were they good tenants and the rent was to high? Yes, it adds context to everything.”

          How does that change the fact that there aren’t enough affordable houses in Auckland?

          “10. Reset the clock. Waive crushing debt that can never be repaid and start again with budgeting advise. Over simplistic solution I know.”

          How does that solve the problem of there not being enough affordable housing in Auckland? You can waive the debt (good idea), but if the income to housing cost ratio doesn’t change then they will end up in the same situation.

          “Family planning. Too many kids will keep you and the children in poverty. I know that is closing the stable door after the horse has bolted for some. But why not identify it and encourage it on smaller families before it becomes a problem to them.”

          Because, Maslow’s heirarchy of needs.

          “No, I do not believe that people are always responsible for everything that happens to them. We all have circumstances change through no fault of our own. See above

          But I also don’t believe in giving everyone a a free pass on their own consistent bad decision making. Otherwise we run the risk of them becoming permanently reliant on the state or permanent victims. Neither which is healthy for them or society.”

          Please cite 3 examples of people here wanting to give everyone a free pass on their own consistent bad decision making. You are arguing with a figment in your imagination.

          • Your Average Voter 13.8.1.2.1
            9 June 2016 at 3:20 pm

            “Please cite 3 examples of people here wanting to give everyone a free pass on their own consistent bad decision making. You are arguing with a figment in your imagination.

            Where did I say that people here are giving a free pass? I was stating my own opinion.

            If you read and thought about what I have actually said instead of a knee jerk reaction then perhaps there could be be some rational debate.

            No wonder nothing changes. How bloody sad.

            • marty mars 13.8.1.2.1.1
              9 June 2016 at 3:49 pm

              name 25 things that don’t change?

              • McFlock …
                9 June 2016 at 3:53 pm

                1: the rich and powerful exploiting the poor and weak.
                2: acolytes of the rich and powerful pretending to be concerned at the suffering of the poor and weak, while seeking excuses to ignore it.

                Those two seem pretty constant.

                • marty mars …
                  9 June 2016 at 4:08 pm

                  you enjoy the lists don’t you 🙂

                  silly to expect average fool to answer – 15 reasons why he won’t answer?

                  1. takes too long to text bennett and key when it is easier to just talk to them across the room, even though they aren’t talking to each other because of the tiff resulting from bennett putting key’s arse in the fire and allowing one of his many lies to be easily refuted, but almost impossible to get the storylines straight regarding talking points and muddle thrown because of said tiff.

            • McFlock 13.8.1.2.1.2
              9 June 2016 at 3:50 pm

              Forget “free” pass – the “Hail Mary” pass is to hope nobody notices that you ignored five points to latch onto one comment that you might be able to turn into an excuse to shake your head in a theatrically-disappointed manner and leave.

              You raised the question of the moral hazard. Obviously, if nobody wishes to give everyone a a free pass on their own consistent bad decision-making (with its concomitant problems in the fevered tory mind), then that particular question is irrelevant to people sleeping in cars.

            • weka 13.8.1.2.1.3
              9 June 2016 at 3:54 pm

              “Where did I say that people here are giving a free pass? I was stating my own opinion.”

              yeah, like I said, you are arguing with a figment in your imagination. That’s why you don’t understand what people are saying here, or why they are calling bullshit on what you are doing. Now you are just saying we are all bad debaters and blaming us for the problems. That sounds awfully familiar, ie you just like blaming people who don’t fit your ideas of what is proper behaviour.

              Out of everything I said in my last comment, you pick one thing and decide we’re not being fair. Try arguing the actual points.

    • The New Student 13.9
      9 June 2016 at 12:32 pm

      Your Average Voter has a nice checklist of excuses to withhold the provision of help and support to those who really need it. Good work. Sums up the average voter rather well.

      Also: “we don’t have child poverty in this country” So ignorant its hilarious. Again, the actual view of the average voter in this country. Why? Is the truth too inconvenient? Does it damage their fragile belief that somehow only they possess the power to pull themselves up their bootstraps, that they’re special, unique little snowflakes? Oh dear.

      • Expat 13.9.1
        9 June 2016 at 5:43 pm

        The New Student

        Great Summary!!

        The question is: What happened to the real NZers, it appears greed and self interest has replaced kindness and empathy.

    • Paul 13.10
      9 June 2016 at 6:13 pm

      Unbelievable.
      Borderline psychopathic.
      Google empathy.

  14. Your Average Voter 14
    9 June 2016 at 1:43 pm

    “Your Average Voter has a nice checklist of excuses to withhold the provision of help and support to those who really need it.”

    The response will depends entirley on the box that is ticked. Or are you suggesting that everyone should get State money just for turning up and spinning a good story instead of analysing pertanent facts.

    “Also: “we don’t have child poverty in this country” So ignorant its hilarious”

    You have taken my comment out of context. Here it is in full

    “We don’t have child poverty in this country. We have poverty inflicted upon children that is driven by circumstances or neglect by their parents or caregivers. Adults have choices, children do not. They rely on their parents/caregivers to make the right choices on their behalf”

    You will notice that I have used the words circumstance or neglect. See my comments above. 13.8.1

    To help the children you have to help the adults first.

    • leftie 14.1
      9 June 2016 at 2:03 pm

      Bollocks Your average voter, and your comment hasn’t been taken out of context, it’s utter rw bullshit.

      • Muttonbird 14.1.1
        9 June 2016 at 3:01 pm

        Next we’ll hear Your Average Voter used to vote Labour, along with his father, and his father’s father…

        • TC 14.1.1.1
          9 June 2016 at 3:22 pm

          Yup the tr@lls are very busy shifting their virtual strawmen about planet key and popping up with new handles.

          • Stuart Munro 14.1.1.1.1
            9 June 2016 at 6:56 pm

            The MoU has really put the wind up them – there must be much more prosecutable dirt than we suspected.

        • marty mars 14.1.1.2
          9 June 2016 at 3:37 pm

          LOL Muttonbird very true and funny that

    • The New Student 14.2
      10 June 2016 at 4:25 pm

      Yes, what you say is true: adults need help so they may be better positioned to help their children. I think we can all agree on that. So why the beef? Why do we need to withhold assistance? Why do we need to be petty?

      Meanwhile, these children are still in poverty, no matter which way you’d like to spin it.

      I personally believe all of NZ’s children have the right to much more than just being clothed, fed and housed. But this country is failing them on even these basic necessities.

  15. Sirenia 15
    9 June 2016 at 3:06 pm

    Ruth Richardson and the National Government got rid of the Family Benefit that would have given the family another several hundred dollars a week (just as John Key’s mother got the equivalent of a third of the pension for each child). What a different that could make to them now.

    • Your Average Voter 15.1
      9 June 2016 at 3:23 pm

      Hi Sirenia

      Yes, and from memory you were able to capitalise the family benefit to put toward a deposit on a house. It literally helped thousands of young people with families into their own homes.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 15.1.1
        9 June 2016 at 3:34 pm

        Obviously people made better choices back then 🙄

        • Sabine 15.1.1.1
          9 June 2016 at 4:12 pm

          People only make bad choices under the National Party led government. Its like the National Party contagious disease…..it spreads from the National Voter to the National Party MP to the National Party PM and so on, and before you know it the whole country is sick, tummy aches, runny nose etc etc etc and all the hospitals have been closed down.

  16. kieron 16
    9 June 2016 at 5:09 pm

    Time to charge parliament and remove all politicians ala the iraqi people storming their parliament

    • McFlock 16.1
      9 June 2016 at 5:26 pm

      have fun with that.

      Although NZ is not Iraq, so people might think your proposal… disproportionate.

      • Expat 16.1.1
        9 June 2016 at 5:51 pm

        Not a bad idea though, although, if you look at another banana republic, Papua New Guinea, the police shot the protesters (students) who were only trying to hold the corrupt govt to account, which only happened yesterday.

        • McFlock 16.1.1.1
          9 June 2016 at 5:56 pm

          PNG has a massive gang problem and corruption problem and general violence problem at the moment. As does Iraq.

          Don’t get me wrong, I reckon we’re artificially high in the international corruption-free ratings, but we’re not at the Sleeping Dogs level yet.

          • Expat 16.1.1.1.1
            9 June 2016 at 6:19 pm

            No we’re not, but very concerning when any govt starts shooting their own citizens.

            • One Anonymous Bloke 16.1.1.1.1.1
              9 June 2016 at 6:57 pm

              Why shoot them when preventable infectious diseases, poor housing and changes to employment law can save on bullets?

          • ianmac 16.1.1.1.2
            9 June 2016 at 7:27 pm

            Aha Sleeping Dogs! Trying to remember the name of that film as it is a fine line between that film and current NZ trends.

            • McFlock 16.1.1.1.2.1
              9 June 2016 at 7:29 pm

              nah – much more Muldoony.

              this lot are more about distraction and boredom than direct control and martial law.

  17. Paul 17
    9 June 2016 at 8:52 pm

    TA’s story hits the MSM.

    ‘Homeless family: The realities of living in a van
    A family who lived for four months in their van kept going to work and school throughout their ordeal – and their daughter almost won a scholarship to St Cuthbert’s College.
    The two parents and six children aged 7 to 17 got up early every day to shower and eat breakfast at the mother’s workplace.
    Their 11-year-old daughter has posted on Facebook under the pseudonym “TA” about how she made lunches for all the children – “but sometimes there’s barely anything”.
    “It’s hard to do my homework with my family around,” she wrote.
    But despite being homeless, she just missed out on winning one of four scholarships offered by elite St Cuthbert’s College to Year 7 Maori and Pacific students each year.
    Favona Primary School deputy principal Heather Harvey, who encouraged her to apply and drove her to the test, said the college offered “fabulous resources” that the girl would never have access to at Mangere’s Decile 1 high schools.
    “She’s a very lovely, capable girl,” she said. “She was the head of our kapahaka team.”
    Mrs Harvey also wrote a letter supporting the family’s application for social housing, but had no response.
    “Things have been very hard for them. I just can’t understand how they lived,” she said.’

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11653678

  18. Tanz 18
    10 June 2016 at 12:37 am

    Perhaps JK could open up his mansion to the homeless? He could rent out his garage for four hundred a week (apparently the going rate for a garage), or perhaps his garden shed. FFS, he is a multi millionaire. Why does he not simply hand the homeless enoughfor a home each> or at least help say ten to fifty families…yes, I am dreaming.

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Top 10 for Monday, December 11
    Luxon does not see the point in Treasury analysing the impact of some of his government’s ‘first 100-day’ reforms. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Monday, December 11, including:Scoop of the day: A Treasury ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    49 mins ago

  • BRIAN EASTON: How should we organise a modern economy?
     Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. Brian Easton writes – The Cold War included a conflict about ideas; many were economic. Alan Bollard’s latest book Economists in the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 hour ago

  • Coalition Circus of Chaos – Verbal gymnasts; an inept Ringmaster, and a helluva lot of clowns
    ..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Curtain Closes…You have to hand it to Aotearoa - voters don’t do things by halves. People wanted change, and by golly, change they got. Baby, bathwater; rubber ducky - all out.There is something ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 hours ago

  • “Brown-town”: the Wayne & Simeon show
    Last week Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown kicked off what is always the most important thing a Council does every three years – update its ‘Long term plan’. This is the budgeting process for the Council and – unlike central government – the budget has to balance in terms of income ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 hours ago

  • Not To Cast Stones…
    Yeah I changed my wine into waterHad a miracle or four since I saw youSome came on time, some took a whileLocal Water Done Well.One of our new government’s first actions, number 20 on their list of 49 priorities, is the repeal of the previous government’s Water Services Entities Act 2022. Three Waters, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 hours ago

  • So much noise and so little signal
    Parliament opened with pomp and ceremony, then it was back to politicians shouting at and past each other into the void. Photo: Office of the Clerk, NZ ParliamentTL;DR: It started with pomp, pageantry and a speech from the throne laying out the new National-ACT-NZ First Government’s plan to turn back ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 hours ago

  • Lost in the Desert: Accepted
    As noted, November was an exceptionally good writing month for me. Well, in an additional bit of good news for December, one of those November stories, Lost in the Desert, has been accepted by Eternal Haunted Summer (https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/) for their Winter Solstice 2023 issue. At 3,500 words, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    13 hours ago

  • This Government and their Rightwing culture-war flanks picked a fight with the country… not the ot...
    ACT and the culture-war warriors of the Right have picked this fight with Te Ao Māori. Ideologically-speaking, as a Party they’ve actually done this since inception, let’s be clear about that. So there is no real need to delve at length into their duplicitous, malignant, hypocritical manipulations. Yes, yes, ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    15 hours ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #49
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Dec 3, 2023 thru Sat, Dec 9, 2023. Story of the Week Interactive: The pathways to meeting the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C limit The Paris Agreement’s long-term goal of keeping warming “well below” ...
    Skeptical Science
    22 hours ago

  • LOGAN SAVORY: The planned blessing that has irked councillors
    “I’m struggling to understand why we are having a blessing to bless this site considering it is a scrap metal yard… It just doesn’t make sense to me.” Logan Savory writes- When’s a blessing appropriate and when isn’t it? Some Invercargill City Councillors have questioned whether blessings might ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    23 hours ago

  • Surely it won't happen
    I have prepared a bad news sandwich. That is to say, I'm going to try and make this more agreeable by placing on the top and underneath some cheering things.So let's start with a daughter update, the one who is now half a world away but also never farther out ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago

  • Let Them Eat Sausage Rolls: Hipkins Tries to Kill Labour Again
    Sometimes you despair. You really do. Fresh off leading Labour to its ugliest election result since 1990,* Chris Hipkins has decided to misdiagnose matters, because the Government he led cannot possibly have been wrong about anything. *In 2011 and 2014, people were willing to save Labour’s electorate ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • Clued Up: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    “But, that’s the thing, mate, isn’t it? We showed ourselves to be nothing more useful than a bunch of angry old men, shaking our fists at the sky. Were we really that angry at Labour and the Greens? Or was it just the inescapable fact of our own growing irrelevancy ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • JERRY COYNE: A powerful University dean in New Zealand touts merging higher education with indigeno...
    Jerry Coyne writes –  This article from New Zealand’s Newsroom site was written by Julie Rowland,  the deputy dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland as well as a geologist and the Director of the Ngā Ara Whetū | Centre for Climate, Biodiversity & Society. In other ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.
    Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.For the last couple of weeks its felt as though all the good things in our beautiful land are under attack.These isles in the southern Pacific. The home of the Māori people. A land of easy going friendliness, openness, and she’ll be right. A ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Speaking for the future
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.MondayYou cannot be seriousOne might think, god, people who are seeing all this must be regretting their vote.But one might be mistaken.There are people whose chief priority is not wanting to be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • How Should We Organise a Modern Economy?
    Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. The Cold War included a conflict about ideas; many were economic. Alan Bollard’s latest book Economists in the Cold War focuses on the contribution of ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    3 days ago

  • Willis fails a taxing app-titude test but govt supporters will cheer moves on Te Pukenga and the Hum...
    Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Defence has returned from Noumea to announce New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and (wearing another ministerial hat) to condemn malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government. A bigger cheer from people who voted for the Luxon ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • ELIZABETH RATA: In defence of the liberal university and against indigenisation
    The suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere. Elizabeth Rata writes –  Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the skewed media coverage of Gaza
    Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • “Your Circus, Your Clowns.”
    It must have been a hard first couple of weeks for National voters, since the coalition was announced. Seeing their party make so many concessions to New Zealand First and ACT that there seems little remains of their own policies, other than the dwindling dream of tax cuts and the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 8-December-2023
    It’s Friday again and Christmas is fast approaching. Here’s some of the stories that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered some of the recent talk around the costs, benefits and challenges with the City Rail Link. On Thursday Matt looked at how ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    3 days ago

  • End-of-week escapism
    Amsterdam to Hong Kong William McCartney16,000 kilometres41 days18 trains13 countries11 currencies6 long-distance taxis4 taxi apps4 buses3 sim cards2 ferries1 tram0 medical events (surprisingly)Episode 4Whether the Sofia-Istanbul Express really qualifies to be called an express is debatable, but it’s another one of those likeably old and slow trains tha… ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 8
    Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro arrives for the State Opening of Parliament (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)TL;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:New Finance Minister Nicola Willis set herself a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • New Zealand’s Witchcraft Laws: 1840/1858-1961/1962
    Sometimes one gets morbidly curious about the oddities of one’s own legal system. Sometimes one writes entire essays on New Zealand’s experience with Blasphemous Libel: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/blasphemous-libel-new-zealand-politics/ And sometimes one follows up the exact historical status of witchcraft law in New Zealand. As one does, of course. ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    3 days ago

  • No surprises
    Don’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #49 2023
    113 articles in 48 journals by 674 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Diversity of Lagged Relationships in Global Means of Surface Temperatures and Radiative Budgets for CMIP6 piControl Simulations, Tsuchida et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0045.1 Do abrupt cryosphere events in High Mountain Asia indicate earlier tipping ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Phone calls at Kia Kaha primary
    It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...
    It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news  out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Xmas  good  cheer  for the dairy industry  as Fonterra lifts its forecast
    The big dairy co-op Fonterra  had  some Christmas  cheer to offer  its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for  the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast  midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • MICHAEL BASSETT: Modern Maori myths
    Michael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28
    Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the irony
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
    It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
    Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • The Prime Minister's Dream.
    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago

  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago

  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago

  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago

  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    7 days ago

  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 week ago

  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 week ago

  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-12-10T23:32:18+00:00