Institutional racism

Written By: - Date published: 4:20 pm, February 13th, 2009 - 110 comments
Categories: crime, racism - Tags: , , ,

Bruce Emery’s sentence of just four years and three months on a reduced charge of manslaughter for chasing 15 year old Pihema Cameron 300 metres down the street and stabbing him to death with a knife is a stark reminder of the institutional racism that still exists in this country.

Let’s not pretend for a second that Emery would have got off so lightly if he was an unemployed Maori and his victim a middle class Pakeha child, tagger or not.

And he certainly would not have gained the enthusiastic support of the so-called Sensible Sentencing Trust, whose spokesman Garth McVicar defended Emery as “a decent hard working citizen [who] is facing a murder charge because of his frustration over this issue” and argued he shouldn’t have to serve any time at all.

Some will no doubt baulk at the use of the term ‘racism’, New Zealanders don’t like to believe that such a thing exists in this country. But really, there’s no other way to describe what happened in the Emery case.

110 comments on “Institutional racism ”

  1. coge 1

    Tane, that’s a very serious criticism to level at our judiciary. Care to back it up with proof?

  2. randal 2

    the proof is in the sentence coge
    duh
    if the cap fits wear it

  3. cha 3

    On the button Tane, the murderous sack of shit has gotten away with murder. And no doubt that with time on remand taken into account Emery will serve no more than two years of his sentence. The only consolation is that he’ll do most of his time in seps in the company of some very unpleasant people.

  4. coge 4

    Justice Williams was unable to find another case of this nature. So Tane’s comparison is pure speculation.
    Let’s have some reasoned proof tendered to back this accusation of racism.

  5. Siaosi 5

    The case of Jim Fletcher (ironically taken from SST’s own website) is instructive.

    Jim, 49 years old and a member of the powerful Fletcher dynasty, was stabbed to death with a butter knife during a botched burglery in 1993. His killer, 15-year-old Siale Fotu, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. I’ll leave it to you to work out the parallels.

    There’s no way Emery’s sentence can be explained other than institutional racism.

  6. Felix 6

    coge,

    Do you think “of this nature” means:

    A: a stabbing
    B: a fatal stabbing
    C: a chase followed by a fatal stabbing
    D: an angry stabbing
    E: something completely different

    If E, then what?

  7. coge 7

    Felix I’m just quoting what Justice Williams was reported having said. I’m not an appointed member of the judiciary, are you? Although I suspect some interesting appointments were made over the last nine years.

  8. burt 8

    Tane

    Balance…. Tama Iti fires a shotgun in public with no consequernces. Try that if you are a white guy wearing a suit and see how you get on.

    I’m not saying you are wrong in this case Tane, just that you have only highlighting one example of “special treatment” based on race in the justice system…

  9. higherstandard 9

    Although none of us are judges I’m interested to know what others think the sentence should have been.

    Personally I think the sentence is far too light and sends the wrong message, I do however believe there should be some account taken of whether Emery is likely to re-offend and his prior criminal history.

    I don’t know much about the judge in question apart from this interesting piece – I also note he was the judge during the Kahui case which from the outside appeared to be a cock up.

    http://www.kiwisfirst.co.nz/index.asp?PageID=2145845378

  10. Felix 10

    coge, I’m just asking you what you think about the quote you made. Any thoughts? Anything at all?

    burt, there are plenty of examples of illegal behaviour with little consequence, but can you think of one involving a killing?

    hs,
    yes, and I’d be particularly interested in hearing from “zero tolerance” ACT supporters about what sort of sentence would be appropriate.

  11. Billy 11

    Siaosi,

    For a comparison with the Fletcher case to have been valid, Fletcher would have had to be robbing Fotu’s house. I do not recall all of the details of that case, but that’s not the way I remember it.

    I am taking a deep breath and composing myself before…

    Of course there is another explanation apart from institutional racism. That is that the sentence had less to do with the race of the victim and more to do with the activity he was engaging in when stabbed. I am not excusing Emery or the sentence, just saying that I suspect that that had more to do with the sentence than the race of the victim.

    If you could find me cases where sentences varied depending on the race of the victim, I might be inclined to believe racism was a factor. The variable here was what Cameron was up to when he was stabbed.

    Now, you may be able to argue that this should be irrelevant, or that too much weight was placed on it. And good luck to you, because such an argument would have great merit. I just do not think the leap to the accusation to racsim is the only, or even the most likely explanation for the sentence.

  12. Rex Widerstrom 12

    I’d argue it’s an issue of class more than race, Tane. It just so happens (for a myriad of reasons of which we’re both aware) that the majority of poor, unemployed, uneducated people have brown faces.

    The same people (including the increasingly odious McVicar) who despise Cameron would wet themselves if invited to take tea with, say, Ron Mark, because he’s a “good” bloke with the “right” ideas on crime.

    Yet I know who I’d rather have a drink with.

    Don’t get me wrong, I loathe the vandal taggers (the idiots who scrawl just their moniker, as opposed to those who decorate urban landscapes with their art) and when some of the little bastards tagged my parents’ front fence I tracked them down and gave them the option of cleaning it up or a bit of summary justice. But that wouldn’t have run to capital punishment and if it had, I’d have expected a term similar to that Siaosi has highlighted above.

  13. Billy 13

    HS,

    I sat in on a bit of the Kahui case. No blame could be attributed to the judge (who, of course, did not even determine guilt or innocence). The police and the Crown fucked that up all by themselves.

  14. higherstandard 14

    Fair enough Billy – it still gets my hackles up that no-one has been called account for what happened to those twins – one could argue that the treatment of that family was another example of institutional racism but that might be drawing a rather large bow .. probably more likely that as you say there’s just some idiots in the police and crown prosecution who got it wrong – just as the judge, in my opinion, has in this case.

  15. That’s a very long bow you’re drawing Tane. And if what you allege is correct, how does that square up with the exceedingly lenient treatment dished out to Bailey Junior Kurariki for his THIRD parole violation?

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10556515

  16. I thought he may of gotten Home Detention?

  17. higherstandard 17

    Brett are you channelling Garth McVicar or are you just having a psychotic episode ?

    Edit

    Brett good on you for at least realising you original vent was out of order and removing it.

  18. cha 18

    Whats with the edit Brett Dale, outed yourself as a racist 30k tory?.

  19. Yes I decided to get rid of that post!!!

  20. Billy 21

    To make sense of HS’s last comment, people need to know that Brett has edited out something long, incoherent and gramatically awful in favour of something short and grammatically awful.

  21. Pascal's bookie 22

    Billy, you are a very bad man. Thank you.

  22. Felix 23

    Interesting that when accused of being a “racist 30k tory”, Brett was offended more by being thought a tory than a racist.

  23. Quoth the Raven 24

    I agree with Rex I think this is a matter of class.

  24. spot 25

    Thought provoking stuff.

    I’m not a lawyer – do we get public access to the judges sentencing notes, or grounds/guidance on which said term was considered ‘appropriate’?

    Surely they don’t just make it up as they go, and hence wild disparities, opening up the argument of race or class bias, systemic failure on basis of etc etc.

    I also would have thought the initial not-guilty of murder to have been up for quite some debate.

  25. Billy:

    Yes I edited my post, dont want to get banned.

    I dknow in cases like this people tend to use emotion and not stats and hard data.

  26. bobo 27

    I was thinking the same thing, I can’t see how 4 years is anywhere near long enough , a euthanasia mercy killing = killing a Maori teenager about 3 years vs 4 years.. I was expecting a sentence of at least 9 years.

  27. mike 28

    Playing the race card I see Tane. Pretty poor form

  28. Billy 29

    I do not understand this idea that it is “classism”. If one believes in class, aren’t emery and cameron in the same one?

  29. I found it strange, this forum normally is against long sentences, but in this case it seems people want one.

    Just out of interest, Tane, what do you think he should his and the prison term should be for manslaughter?

  30. TBA 31

    Siaosi Said: “There’s no way Emery’s sentence can be explained other than institutional racism.”

    Yes there is, its called Justice.

  31. Felix 32

    Brett,
    this forum normally is against long sentences

    Could you show some examples please?

    TBA,
    its called Justice

    Could you please explain what that means? Soundbites like that are not very helpful.

  32. Felix:

    Just take any thread on prison sentences, on any thread on the sensible sentencing trust, anyone who asks for tougher sentences gets jumped on.

    But it seems Tane wants a tough one now, I guess if he wants to be a racist that is his business.

  33. the sprout 34

    racism is a fair call Tane, although Rex’s suggestion it could be about class is perhaps true too.

    either way it’s a disgraceful day for ‘our’ judiciary.

    the sentence needs to be re-visited or the fallout will be particularly nasty.

  34. Its like kiwiblog here, people calling for tougher sentencing.

    I wonder if the people screaming that the sentence is too soft, will get the same abuse as the sensible sentencing trust?

  35. Felix 36

    Brett,

    Please show an example of someone speaking against long sentences. If what you say is true, it won’t be a problem for you to find a couple of comments to demonstrate it.

  36. Felix:

    Im not about to do your homework for you, you have been on this blog for a long time, you know that whenever someone calls for tougher sentences here, they get jumped on and its explained that tougher sentences don’t work.

    Also look at the abuse that the sensible sentencing trust has gotten here.

    But now all of a sudden four years is not long enough, its racism, if you ask me.

  37. Siaosi

    That is in no way the same, except for the use of a weapon.

  38. Tane

    Stats and Hard Data are needed, how about some? instead of emotion.

  39. justhtefacts 40

    Yet no comment on the four years that Curtis senior received for his part in the death of Nia Glassie or on his total refusal to admit he did anything wrong.

    So lets see if I have this right…White man kills brown boy..racist murder
    Brown man kills brown baby……….no mention of it.

    I guess nothing is sacred when you lot are our to score cheap (and nasty) political points.

  40. Felix 41

    Brett,

    How can I prove a negative? You made the claim, not me. I can’t recall reading any opposition to long sentences here, especially not for killing people.

    Twice now you’ve claimed that this happens here frequently. I think you’re confused.

    Now stop being a child and back up your statement.

  41. Felix:

    LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    So you cant recall any post that is against longer jail sentences?????

    Can you recall any posts against the sensible sentences trust??

  42. the sprout 43

    handmirror seems to agree with the racist interpretation

    http://thehandmirror.blogspot.com/2009/02/im-hearing-white-privilege-all-over.html

    Brett, nice that this topic is giving you so many laughs, but perhaps you should give it a rest now – you’re starting to look like jtf trying to “score cheap (and nasty) political points”.

  43. Rex Widerstrom 44

    Felix, Brett may be thinking of me, perhaps? I’ve certainly argued here and elsewhere that longer sentences per se don’t make a difference.

    Since a fair proportion of violent crimes are carried out either a) under the influence of drugs, b) while “seeing red” as Emery clearly was, or c) both a & b, the ridiculous nonsense that judges spout at sentencing about there needing to be “a message of deterrence” over and above what the particular individual deserves is frankly laughable.

    Do these learned adjudicators really believe that someone so off balance as to be tipped into a murderous rage by something as physically unthreatening as graffiti; or someone high on P and desperate for money for their next fix, truly stops for one second and says “Oh, hang on, Judge Beak handed down a nine year sentence last week for what I’m about to do. I’d better just go home and have a lie down”?

    I don’t think any judge does, so they are effectively colluding with our politicians to delude the pubic into thinking the way the system presently functions has the answers to keep them safe.

    As an aside, I spend a good deal of my life trying to make people re-think their gut reactions to crime and the fact that Brett did so in this instance is something for which he should be commended, not damned (that’s not directed at you, Felix).

    Meanwhile Billy posits:

    If one believes in class, aren’t emery and cameron in the same one?

    Have I missed something? (which is quite possible, being out of the country). Isn’t Emery what might broadly be termed “middle class”? Certainly his attitude to property suggests so.

  44. Felix 45

    Brett,

    Can you recall any posts against the sensible sentences trust??

    Yes of course, but not over the length of sentences. I think you’re confused.

    You seem to have completely missed that the outrage expressed at Emery’s sentence is due to a perception of inconsistency in sentencing.

    Rex,

    Brett may be thinking of me, perhaps?

    It’s possible, but I think Brett is mistaking an argument against knee-jerk “tough on crime” rhetoric for an argument about actual practicalities of sentencing. If he’d been referring to you I’m sure he would’ve said so.

    Btw I do enjoy your perspectives on these justice and crime issues Rex, always interesting and insightful.

  45. Ag 46

    Im not about to do your homework for you, you have been on this blog for a long time, you know that whenever someone calls for tougher sentences here, they get jumped on and its explained that tougher sentences don’t work.

    It depends on the crime. I think you would find a great deal of support for increased sentences for white collar crime.

    Otherwise, the arguments for increased sentences as they occur in New Zealand are usually stupid. Either people thinking that New Zealand should bring back the death penalty or adopt American style sentencing. In general, if we are talking about violent crimes and someone is proposing more than a 30% increase or decrease in average sentence, you can be sure that its just a kneejerk reaction.

    But the majority of arguments from the left for decreased sentences are for crimes caused by economic hardship and a perceived lack of a stake in society. We all know who commits these crimes, and as a society we should find something better for them to do.

    Vigilantism is to be discouraged at all costs, and potential vigilantes are usually people with enough of a stake in society to be deterred by a stiff sentence. There are plenty of New Zealanders who are just waiting for the opportunity to wreak state-sanctioned violence on perceived “evildoers”. They’re the kind of idiots that think Texas is a civilized place.

  46. Tane 47

    Sorry, I’ve been out having a few quiets. Don’t have time to respond to all of the criticisms right now, will try to later if I have time. Re the class vs race thing, I see class and race as mutually reinforcing – if you’re poor you suffer racism far worse, and if you’re brown and working class you’re also victim to forms of oppression that your working class whites don’t have to deal with.

    As for the “why are you arguing for longer sentences?” remark, I’m not. I don’t believe the current prison system, the length of sentences or even the concept of prison as we know it is a good thing. But I think a more fundamental democratic issue of fairness and equality is at stake here. People shouldn’t be getting more lenient treatment for killing someone merely because they are white and rich and their victim is brown and poor.

  47. Joshua 48

    The lawyer for Emery makes me sick with his attitude. Telling the family to just “get over it” is incredibly heartless. Then moaning about the financial woes of Emery’s family when he owns two properties.

    I know his job as a defence lawyer is to represent his client as best he can, but this really takes the cake. My word it makes me angry.

  48. IDS 49

    What was the name of the guy in the 80s who came out of prison, did another burglary with a gun and was deemed to have committed murder because he took the gun, so therefore ‘intended to use it’? I dont see how this man can be said to have committed manslaughter – for what purpose other than use did he carry the knife?

  49. ak 50

    Nicely put Rex, all the best in your work. As Tane notes, the issue in this one is not so much sentence length but consistency and the perception of equal treatment.
    And I’d chuck into the mix the effect of the unprecedented blossoming of right-wing hatemongering and irresponsible journalism we’ve seen in recent years: I don’t know Emery from a bar of soap, but if he’s a kiwiblog browser, talkback fan or Herald reader, then a portion of that poor kid’s blood is on a lot more hands than just his. Just “fomenting merry mischief” you say Pontious Farrar? Cute, but sorry old son, those stains are indelible.

  50. DeepRed 51

    Sprout: “the sentence needs to be re-visited or the fallout will be particularly nasty.”
    Either way no one wins. If the sentence is commuted, Camerons’ family or a street gang will extract their pound of flesh.
    If the sentence is held or lengthened, the Sensibles will scream, shout and arangue for Emery’s release – or possibly even break him out by force.

    I may have mentioned it before, but is it going to take a major social Chernobyl – ie, Los Angeles 1992 or Greece 2008 – to jolt the warring factions to their senses?

    Joshua: it seems symbolic of a wider problem of rank discrimination.

    IDS: Dean Wickliffe, maybe?

  51. Michael 52

    Oh f@$k I really want to do a come-sky joke but my Mum is a …ska so I won’t.

    If not pure racism, then an affiliation by the judge with the accused surely applies? Both are grey and balding with families, scared of youth, taggers (oh how evil they are), the brown, rappers, skate boarders, and of course instant death to Boy Racers (but not once they own a Porche or Merc or BMW).

    What would a 20yr old from Sth Auckland get if they did an armed bank robbery?
    In Christchurch if you are white (dads a mason?) & went to St Andrews ($10K per year) you would get home detention.

  52. Simon 53

    Bruce Emery is a hero.

    Emery stood up to the Labour electorate and refused to be intimidated. He protected his family and his property from a welfare-guzzling, violent criminal.

    Pihema Cameron is just one less burden on Kiwi taxpayers that we’re thankful to be rid of; one less scumbag committing crime against decent Kiwis while sucking back welfare generation after generation.

    [this is, without a doubt, the most disgusting thing I’ve ever read on this blog. And we regularly get spam from child pornographers. Simon, I’m only letting your comment through so others can see that people like you exist and be aware that we must be vigilant against your type. SP]

  53. Michael 54

    Whoops should have said. the “mitigating factor” the judge believed was that the ex-STAC old boy was threatened in the Christchurch Casino. That’s right, the boys set on him, in the only place in Christchurch under 24/7 CCTV and no video was presented to support this.

  54. ak 55

    Deepred: If the sentence is held or lengthened, the Sensibles will scream, shout and arangue for Emery’s release – or possibly even break him out by force.

    Force? Garth and the boys storming Paremoreno? You’ve got to be joking Deepo: redneck motivation is pure, scurrilous, momentary, adrenalin rush. Adolf and the KKK may adorn their peeling walls, but history’s eviscerated their tiny balls: I await with dreary anticipation the findings of some future study outlining the inevitable correlation between middle-aged pakeha male embrace of tory ideology and masturbation.

  55. Ben R 56

    How predictable & pathetic that someone would suggest racism in the sentencing!

    He hardly got off lightly given that he was chasing vandals off his property.

    Taggers are bullies. They realise that people are too scared of getting bashed to do anything. They prey on communities and destroy other peoples property for their own amusement.

    They realise that if caught they will probably get diversion or a minimal sentence of community work.

    I’m not convinced at all that if a white kid was stabbed after tagging a Marae the stabber would get a longer sentence than what Emery got. I also suspect the media would emphasise the fact that the guy was engaged in a disrespectful and criminal activity which provoked the angry response.

  56. Ben R 57

    “Joshua
    February 13, 2009 at 10:50 pm

    The lawyer for Emery makes me sick with his attitude. Telling the family to just “get over it’ is incredibly heartless. Then moaning about the financial woes of Emery’s family when he owns two properties.

    I know his job as a defence lawyer is to represent his client as best he can, but this really takes the cake. My word it makes me angry.”

    I thought the lawyer was unbelievably insensitive based on the excerpts on the news.

    I do feel sorry for Emery’s family though. Generally defendants qualify for legal aid, but Emery was one of the exceptions who had some assets so wouldn’t have been eligible. The costs of the defence would have been ruinous.

  57. tsmithfield 58

    I won’t state an opinion about whether the sentence was racist or not, even though, on the face of it, I thought the sentence was quite light.

    Trying to prove an argument with a sample of one case is hard to do.

    What is needed is detailed statistics showing for instance:

    The race of the offender
    The income of the offender
    The previous criminal history of the offender
    The likely ongoing threat of the offender to the community

    Enough cases to be statistically significant would be required. Then there would be a more compelling basis to make an argument for institutional racism. If we are going to argue on the basis of just one case, then as above, others will point to examples of cases that prove the exact opposite so the debate becomes meaningless.

  58. I read this post with a heavy heart, reading the messages I almost despair.
    The subject of this post is racism. Implied or real it does exist in this country.

    When this crime first occurred how many of us just assumed that the tagger was Polynesian? I did. Racism, or conditioning from the constant barrage of stories about Polynesians and Maoris misbehaving?

    I was mildly surprised that the attacker was euro. And my initial thoughts regarding him were “you poor b*stard”. No sentence would have been long enough for some or short enough for others.

    How did we get to this point?
    Putting aside skin colour I will try and explain what I think the problem is.
    As a 43 year old I still remember vividly how the young interacted with the police, teachers and parents 30 years ago.
    The police were on foot and if they caught you doing something stupid you got a clip around the ear or you were dragged home for something a bit heavier than a clip. We had boundaries and crossing those boundaries had consequences. The same applied at school.
    Removing consequences and discipline has seen the tragic conclusion in this story.
    Taking the commodores, speed guns and ticket books of the cops would be a good start, reintroducing corporal punishment in schools would be another.

    Using this tragic case to blame whitey for everything is beneath the author of this post and is in a similar vein to the antics of Brendan Sheehan attempting to launch a political career over the corpse of a dead woman.

  59. Graeme 60

    Jim, 49 years old and a member of the powerful Fletcher dynasty, was stabbed to death with a butter knife during a botched burglery in 1993. His killer, 15-year-old Siale Fotu, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. I’ll leave it to you to work out the parallels.

    There’s no way Emery’s sentence can be explained other than institutional racism.

    There is a another way. The further definition of murder in section 168 of the Crimes Act. It couldn’t apply to the Emery case, and it could apply to the Fotu case.

  60. Anyone have the stats of sentences handed out by this judge, what is his history?

  61. dave 62

    it’s blatantly obvious that something is wrong here, how can a middle aged man chase two teenagers 300 metres down the road, stab one to death, then get four years prison?? im sorry, but that sounds like a complete crock to me, especially when hearing that he was emotionless in the dock. he should be held accountable for his actions, and that he is guilty of murder

  62. Ianmac 63

    The debate seems to have missed the most compelling point regarding leniency for Emery. He was described early on as being a “good Christian.” And everyone knows that being so is proof that you are above reproach. Right????

  63. the sprout 64

    Herald reports Emery could be eligible for home detention in 11 months

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10556726

    What’s odd is that the reported comments by judge Justice Williams seem to suggest Emery should have received a much stiffer sentence than he got.
    The sentence reeks of inconsistencies.

  64. Ben R 65

    “Rex Widerstrom
    February 13, 2009 at 5:38 pm

    I’d argue it’s an issue of class more than race, Tane.”

    Indeed, and that’s why Tane’s counterfactual is deceptive. If he wants to isolate race as a factor he needs to hold other factors, like social class, constant.

    So instead the comparison would be:

    A 53 year old Maori business man Mr Tapsell is at home with his wife of 20 years and young daughters. His wife is preparing food for an indonesian church the next day. He lives in a poor white suburb and is the owner of an upholstery business he runs from home. His garage is regularly tagged.

    About 11pm he sees someone tagging his garage door of his home and business.

    There are two, identities disguised by hoodies. Mr Tapsell isn’t anonymous. They know his property and therefore who he is. He hurries downstairs, grabs a fishing knife, gives chase. He is dressed in shorts and T-shirt, his feet bare.

    There is an altercation. The knife had a 14cm blade but penetrated 5cm, so it’s hard to say it was some frenzied attack. Mr Tapsell claims he was defending himself.

    Mr Tapsell is convicted of manslaughter. Mr Tapsell had no prior criminal record.

    Judge John Parata sentences Mr Tapsell to 4 years 3 months in jail. Judge Parata notes the danger of using knives.

    Mr Tapsell’s lawyer sought a sentence of home detention. He also sought donations to help his family. Mr Tapsell did not qualify for legal aid, his business had to close and he had exhausted his finances on his defence.

  65. expat 66

    Institutional racism – big call.

    Lets get some more evidence out there huh.

    [what constitutes evidence in this fools’ minds? A signed admission of a latent racism in his decision for mthe judge? SP]

  66. randal 67

    hands up who got creeped out listening to Garth McVicar on the radio this morning saying he should not have gone to jail at all
    in mcvicars world having no paint on the garage door is necessary and sufficient reason to murder
    this is the real face of the tightunderpants anally fixated rightwingers

  67. Justice Williams is an experienced and respected Judge.

    His hands were somewhat tied after the Jury threw out the Murder charge and convicted Emery of manslaughter. When that stage was reached personal circumstances became relevant and given that Emery had never been in trouble before and appeared to be “respectable” the Judge had to give substantial discount and 4 years is not out of the range of possible results.

    I do not wish to disagree with my leftie mates but the Jury is where the “problem” is and their world view is obviously tainted. The system is colour blind and just gets on with the processing of charges but it would appear pretty obvious that members of the Jury felt some sort of sympathy for the defendant and little if any sympathy for the deceased.

    Maybe defence counsel managed to find 12 Act Party supporters and got them all selected.

    The presumption of innocence means that some guilty people are acquitted as it is better than innocent people being convicted. This is something that we change at our peril.

  68. expat:

    What would count as racism in this case, would be a history of shorter sentences for Pakeha, carried out by this judge.

    Since no one has showed this is the case, I don’t see how anyone can call him racist.

  69. shonkey 70

    i’m not sure the Pakeha/brown kid flip is that relevant. consideration of this crime requires acknowledgement of context. It happened In January 2008, during feverpitch media coverage of South Auckland gang violence. This media coverage — in the herald and allother MSM — had by that time whipped up public fear of gangs, so much that every brown kid in a flat-peaked baseball cap and baggy pants conjured the words ‘gangster’, ‘P-crazed’ and ‘killer’.

    This was great for the MSM because fearful people tend to consume more information about the things they fear. But — plainly — it was bad for society. It was also great for the political right-wingers. Consider:
    — the frothing rightard bloggers at that time
    — John Key’s ‘Underclass’ speech:

    “illiterate and innumerate school leavers; youth gangs prowling our neighbourhoods and sporadically dishing out beatings”

    The Court heard evidence that Bruce Emery took the knife with him because he feared being attacked. None of what happened excuses his crime, but a fair degree of moral (rather than legal) culpability should be laid at the feet of those who naiively and wilfully whipped up the fears that went some way to motivate the crime.

  70. I hate it when the Media and Political parties use FEAR and not FACTS.

  71. Santi 72

    Wrong sentence! The guy should be freed.

  72. Chris Auld 73

    Siaosi,

    Unless Mr Fletcher was the one committing the botched burglary and Siale Fotu was the poor victim of such ‘botched’ theft then I think the ‘parallels’ you speak of don’t go much beyond the fact that the crime involved a knife.

    If you can’t tell the difference between a situation where someone was killed by an agressor who broke in to their home in the pursuit of a crime and the situation of someone who was killed while actually in the pursuit of a crime then I’m afraid you need to have a bit of a rethink.

    Chris

  73. Rex Widerstrom 74

    shonkey suggests:

    This media coverage — in the herald and allother MSM — had by that time whipped up public fear of gangs, so much that every brown kid in a flat-peaked baseball cap and baggy pants conjured the words ‘gangster’, ‘P-crazed’ and ‘killer’

    That is an excellent point. While not wishing for one moment to devalue Cameron’s life, how good would it have been Emery’s defence lawyer had put the media on trial, laying the blame for his client’s irrational fear and otherwise inexplicable rage squarely at their feet?

    If it had wound back the drooling hyperbole into which crime reporting had descended, it would almost be worth it if it worked as a defence.

    If this were “Boston Legal”, some smart lawyer would now be suing the media on Emery’s behalf, alleging his downfall was due to the fear of anyone young and brown they’d implanted in Emery’s head. And I for one would be cheering them on to win.

  74. Ben R 75

    “The Court heard evidence that Bruce Emery took the knife with him because he feared being attacked. None of what happened excuses his crime, but a fair degree of moral (rather than legal) culpability should be laid at the feet of those who naiively and wilfully whipped up the fears that went some way to motivate the crime.”

    Wouldn’t you fear being attacked in that situation? I think most people for that reason would lock the door.

  75. Pascal's bookie 76

    Wouldn’t you fear being attacked in that situation? I think most people for that reason would lock the door.

    Not quite sure what you mean here Ben. The fact that he didn’t lock the door, but instead picked up a knife and chased them down the street, tells us some things.

    He wasn’t afraid of confronting them, but wanted to do so. We know this because this is what he did.

    He wasn’t content with seeing them off, but wanted to confront them. We know this because he chased them some hundreds of meters up the street.

    He may have been concerned that in that confrontation he was seeking out things might turn violent, and that he would need a weapon. So he took one, which he used to stab someone, who died.

    Whether or not he was scared is not the point. He wasn’t scared enough to stay put, he was only scared enough to escalate to killing someone.

  76. Karen Rees 77

    It seems more people pity a businessman and his property than the loss of a young man’s life. A life full of potential – if he’d been lucky enough to have lived in the UK or Holland he would’ve been encouraged to find his graffitti voice and become an important graffitti artist with something to say; he’d have been encouraged to do so and not treated like a criminal. I take photos of the graffitti street art when I visit my friends in Barcelona or Paris, those cities and countries where the people fight for what is right, where they stand up to be counted and sometimes change things for the better. Banksy (a UK graffitti artist, yes, an ARTIST, there’s a book on him in the Waikanae library if you’re interested), Banksy was applauded for his bravery when last year he graffitteed peace symbols on the famous wall keeping the Palastinians out of their own country, away from their own land and homes. He could’ve been killed doing that but he did it anyway. But in New Zealand, the man who murdered the young boy (who admittedly made him angry, but who didn’t deserve to be chased down and knifed like an animal for it) should be tried for murder. And he should serve an appropriate term for committing such a crime. And if we don’t stand up against such injustice then the next time it will be us. It’s not racism or classicism, it’s apathy and ridiculous laws passed without any thought or bother by white middle class men in suits who get angry if they don’t get their own way. Let us take courage from the boy’s name, a good Scottish name Cameron, with a famous song to go with it –
    “There’s many a man of the Cameron Clan,
    That has followed his chief to the field;
    He has sworn to support him, or die by his side,
    For a Cameron never can yield.
    I hear the pibroach sounding, sounding,
    Deep o’er the mountain and glen;
    While light springing footsteps are trampling the heath,
    ‘Tis the march of the Cameron Men.
    Oh! proudly they walk, but each Cameron knows
    He may tread on the heather no more;
    But boldly he follows his Chief to the field,
    Where his laurels were gathered before.
    I hear the pibroach sounding, sounding,
    Deep o’er the mountain and glen;
    While light springing footsteps are trampling the heath,
    ‘Tis the march of the Cameron Men.
    The moon has arisen, it shines on the path
    Now tread by the gallant and true;
    High, high are their hopes, for their chieftain hath said
    That whatever men dare they can do”.

  77. Lew 78

    It seems likely to me that Bruce Emery’s house or front fence or whatever will be tagged regularly for the rest of his life. People who aren’t white, middle-aged, middle-class men with a chip on their shoulders are taking this pretty personally.

    L

  78. Redbaiter 79

    “People who aren’t white, middle-aged, middle-class men with a chip on their shoulders are taking this pretty personally.”

    White middle aged men are probably sick to death of cowardly little c*mmie skunks threatening their property too, and the failure of the justice system to protect them from such vile products of the left’s social engineering.

  79. Lew 80

    RB,

    White middle aged men are probably sick to death of cowardly little c*mmie skunks threatening their property too, and the failure of the justice system to protect them from such vile products of the left’s social engineering.

    I see. Summary execution for property defacement.

    That chip sure suits you.

    L

  80. I have seen a few people ask for evidence of this institutional racism and nothing yet to back it up. Will Tane or anybody answer this?

  81. expat 82

    Steve plays the man not the ball on an innocuous comment.

    >> expat
    February 14, 2009 at 11:44 am

    Institutional racism – big call.

    Lets get some more evidence out there huh.

    [what constitutes evidence in this fools’ minds? A signed admission of a latent racism in his decision for mthe judge? SP]

  82. Karen Rees:

    I think there is a difference between tagging and Graffiti???

    Still no one deserves to die like he did.

  83. hack 84

    Simon does have a point though

  84. Well the chain of events are simple:
    Pihema Cameron – bored loser kid (known to the law, who was drinking alcohol and getting stoned at age 15) decides to vandalise the property of someone who did nothing to him.
    Bruce Emery – Otherwise innocent man catches Cameron and calls him to stop, and goes over the top. Chases after him and whatever happens at the time, stabs him. We’ll never really know what happened then. The wounds kill Cameron. Emery returns home shaken and keeps quiet. Stupidly or callously fails to call Police or an ambulance.
    Cameron is dead.
    Emery charged of murder, manslaughter sustained (insufficient evidence of intent to kill) and gets four years in prison, for effectively a mistake in going overboard in self defence.
    Cameron’s family calls for retribution. A family that clearly did little to stop the boy from alcohol and drug abuse, or gives a damn that he was a criminal.

    Many New Zealanders understand Emery’s anger and frustration, having themselves been victims or known victims of the anti-social destructiveness of the likes of Cameron, and who instinctively believe the likes of him are a drain on taxes, criminal justice resources, insurance premiums and their own hard work.

    Many others seem to empathise with the vandalising underclass teenager who paid the ultimate price for his foolishness, or even Tariana Turia who seems to think tagging is just another form of expression.

    The real point is that Cameron was a criminal, he was caught in the act by the victim, who grossly overreacted and then was too scared to turn himself in or seek help for the boy. Emery got the right sentence, he was provoked, had no previous record, is hardly a risk to anyone else and so loses several years of his life and his career.

  85. lprent 86

    Pihema Cameron – bored loser kid (known to the law, who was drinking alcohol and getting stoned at age 15) decides to vandalise the property of someone who did nothing to him.

    Duh! Where have you been living for the last 30 years. Some kind of la-la land? You just described most of the kids I’ve known since I was a kid myself. For that matter with the exception of the dope – you described me. Guess that I’d kind of expect that would also be the case with a lot of the people around here and on most of the blogs. The only real difference as far as I can see if that it is happening a few years earlier these days.

    I’m kind of sure that if you got you to open up about some of the stuff you pulled – we’d see similar patterns. I’ll bet your parents knew as much about it as mine.

    All it would have taken to shift it to this case would probably be some maniac with a knife chasing any of us down a street.

    Bruce Emery – Otherwise innocent man catches Cameron and calls him to stop, and goes over the top. Chases after him and whatever happens at the time, stabs him.

    Emery charged of murder, manslaughter sustained (insufficient evidence of intent to kill) and gets four years in prison, for effectively a mistake in going overboard in self defence.

    And there we differ again. As far as I’m concerned carrying a weapon and using it gives a prima facia case of intent. Otherwise how can this bozo be regarded as an adult. If he couldn’t see the probable consequences of carrying weapon and attacking someone then then I’d say he is also too dangerous to have on the streets. This is the kind of maniac that would engage in road rage because someone bumped into his car and winds up killing. It is the sign of a sociopath who considers that their rights outweigh those of everyone else. It is a behaviour that we see in adolescents – not adults*.

    I notice that in your summary that you failed to mention that he was carrying a weapon and that he used it.  For self-defense? When he was running down the road after the little shits* rather than the other way around.

    Emery got the right sentence, he was provoked, had no previous record, is hardly a risk to anyone else and so loses several years of his life and his career.

    He got the wrong sentence. The jury should have convicted on murder. I cannot see anything in the published evidence that shows he didn’t intend to use the weapon after he deliberately forced a confrontation. That is what his actions and the events say. Since Emerson killed the only witness to the terminal events, I’d say that his ‘evidence’ has to be regarded as being somewhat self-serving.

    The sentence was pretty much what the judge was forced to give after the jury returned that daft result. It was wrong.

    Hopefully the Camerons will get hold of a good civil lawyer and add to the sentence. Hopefully the police will appeal the judgement. It is a really bad precedence to set.

     

    * I intensely dislike taggers – but not to the point of killing them. In my opinion being convicted of tagging should carry a prison sentence of a few years. Something like what Emerson got for killing.

  86. Redbaiter 87

    So, if you were going to chase any criminals from your property and attempt to apprehend them, you’d do it, in violence saturated NZ, without any kind of arms? The guy took a knife with him, as any sane person would. I’d say that the violence that ensued after that could have been down to anybody, and four years is too high a sentence for a conviction that is largely circumstantial.

  87. Billy 88

    It seems likely to me that Bruce Emery’s house or front fence or whatever will be tagged regularly for the rest of his life.

    Not so, apparently, Lew. I read something recently which reported that Emery’s street is now tag-free.

  88. higherstandard 89

    “So, if you were going to chase any criminals from your property and attempt to apprehend them, you’d do it, in violence saturated NZ, without any kind of arms”

    A little rat bag stole a bike from my garage last Friday, I chased him with a largish stick – but I certainly wouldn’t have grabbed a knife and gone after him….clearly I am getting old as I failed miserably to catch the shite … the insurer has told me the replacement price of the bike has to take into account depreciation plus the increase because of no claims i.e waste of time claiming…..bah bah and double bah

  89. vto 90

    All I can say about this whole unfortunate affair is that old saying “life can turn on a dime”. sad sad sad.

    edit: HS, you should’ve chased the shite on another bike

  90. Billy 91

    Riding bicycles is undignified anyway, HS.

  91. Felix 92

    hack
    Simon does have a point though

    Yes. On his white hat.

  92. Redbaiter 93

    “A little rat bag stole a bike from my garage last Friday, I chased him with a largish stick – but I certainly wouldn’t have grabbed a knife and gone after him .”

    Not at all parallel circumstances. Emery took the knife to protect himself against stronger and potentially extremely violent and more numerous offenders. (and he may not have had a similar opportunity to grab a stick even if he had had time to consider)

    Nothing pisses me off more than listening to the left whine about this when the whole damn event is a direct result of their long term attacks on the moral fabric of society. They have deliberately destroyed law and order, they have deliberately created a violent and amoral underclass, and they have done it as a means to political power, always the obsession behind everything the left do.

  93. @ work 94

    I would have thought 300 meters would have been enough, having chased them that far, I wouldn’t have thought Emery would have needed to attack them in self defence.

  94. Libertyscott

    Very good post indeed.

  95. Chris G 96

    “and they have done it as a means to political power, always the obsession behind everything the left do.”

    You wouldnt happen to subscribe to the Hollow Earth Theory would you RB?

  96. rave 97

    The white racism that was introduced to this country by the settlers who grabbed and otherwise stole the land to create their god of private property is still alive and well, and getting off murder charges.

    The Maori/polynesian so called underclass is the product of being colonised by racists and oppressed as low paid workers, and when failed by society, turn to crime against that society.

    The destruction of Maori society is still reflected in the self-destruction of the survivors of that society, a universally documented reality of oppressed people. The Maori cop who shot Steven Wallace in cold blood is an example of that self-destruction.

    The racist civilisation mongers commenting on this post who celebrate the death of Cameron and hero worship Emery are the white mongrel descendants of those who visited their capitalist plague of death on the indigenous people of this country, who enlisted as vigilante colonial troops to sack Parihaka, and now call for a new race war to protect their sacred private property.

    The tragedy is that Cameron and all those like him was expressing his alienation and resistance to the society that failed him. Perhaps his political assassination will wake people up to the need to stop acting as uncle toms fighting over the crumbs from the table of finance capital, and unite to destroy the parasitic rule of capital instead of destroying themselves.

  97. SBlount 98

    “A little rat bag stole a bike from my garage last Friday, I chased him with a largish stick – but I certainly wouldn’t have grabbed a knife and gone after him .clearly I am getting old as I failed miserably to catch the shite the insurer has told me the replacement price of the bike has to take into account depreciation plus the increase because of no claims i.e waste of time claiming ..bah bah and double bah”

    My brother and I once chased a group of burglars with an axe and a cricket bat for several k’s. It was the fourth time that year we had been burgled, and through a modest measure of violence we managed to reclaim our possessions, and the culprits beer for good measure. A very satisfactory outcome.

  98. higherstandard 99

    Rave

    Can you go and wring your hands elsewhere .. around your own neck perhaps ?

  99. SBlount 100

    “white mongrel descendants of those who visited their capitalist plague of death on the indigenous people of this country.”

    ‘A Moriori survivor recalled: “[The Māori] commenced to kill us like sheep…. [We] were terrified, fled to the bush, concealed ourselves in holes underground, and in any place to escape our enemies. It was of no avail; we were discovered and killed – men, women and children indiscriminately”. A Māori conqueror justified their actions as follows: “We took possession… in accordance with our customs and we caught all the people. Not one escaped…..”[3]

    After the invasion, Moriori were forbidden to marry Moriori, nor to have children with each other. All became slaves of the Ngati Tama and Ngati Mutunga invaders. Many died from despair. Many Moriori women had children to their Maori masters.’

  100. edited.

    Opps I have just been to your blog, you aren’t joking, I thought you were someone from kiwiblog, trying to have a laugh.

    Anyway back to your blog, how are things with the is the communist party of New Zealand?

    What are the views on Taxes and health and education and such?

    PS: If you want to be taken seriously you need to get the chip off your shoulder about the states.

  101. QoT 103

    Emery took the knife to protect himself against stronger and potentially extremely violent and more numerous offenders.

    Seriously, Redbaiter? Emery took a knife to protect himself against “stronger … numerous offenders” he was CHOOSING TO CHASE. This isn’t a farmer whose house is broken into grabbing the rifle off the mantlepiece and ending up facing manslaughter charges. Emery chased Pihema Cameron down with a knife.

    If you’re going to bait, try to make it vaguely plausible, yes?

  102. teitei 104

    [deleted]

    [lprent: If you cannot spell, then don’t write here. This isn’t a txt. Read the policy before writing again so you know what things are unacceptable ]

  103. expat 105

    K-Wality.

  104. teitei 106

    hey fuck you. spel chek tht bahtch..

    i’ve seen heaps of spelling mistakes on here. so fucken what. the message was spot on. so spell check it and put it back on.

    [lprent: Sure there are spelling mistakes, they aren’t performed as a style. Your efforts are unreadable, make me wince and generally qualify you as an eyesore to a sysop. You are heading to being classed as a public eyesore, a sub category of bloody nuisance. There are sites that like that type of self-expression – this isn’t one of them – because I have to read it.]

  105. teitei 107

    Ok I read the policy. So I apologise for my personal attacks towards those fuckwits. But you should put the non-offensive part back up because its true.

    [lprent: You’ll have to write it again. When I kill something it stays dead. You don’t have to apologize – just do it with more finesse]

  106. teitei 108

    Well dickhead, I was basically saying that the lowest form of life is a Pakeha. And its maggots like BD and SB that prove that statement.

    IrishBill: and you’re banned for a week for insulting the blog owners.

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    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 ...
    2 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    5 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    6 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    7 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    8 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    11 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    13 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    16 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T08:27:39+00:00