Job system & RA in need of reform, not benefits

Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, January 10th, 2012 - 41 comments
Categories: benefits, jobs, unemployment - Tags:

Other day, Curran asked what they should do with Red Alert. Now, Mallard’s again using it, in conjunction with Pagani on his blog, to try to do an end run around his own party to promote benefit ‘reform’. Leaving aside the fact it’s the employment system, not the backstop, that’s broken, this is more strategic idiocy.

First things first. Mike‘s already done a good job explaining why Mallard’s wrong to be promoting welfare reform in practical terms.

The welfare system isn’t broken – unless you count the 40% of 65 and 66 year olds who are getting a pension while being employed.  The point of the welfare system is to do what any civilised society ought to do: provide some basic support to those who are unable to work due to sickness or injury and to those who want to work but find none is available. It does that at a cost of $5 per day each.

The system works because when there are jobs to be had people go off the dole and into work. Employment growth under Labour dramatically reduced the number on the dole to just 17,000. Long-term unemployment recipients numbered a couple of thousand. The numbers on other benefits only rose in line with population and demographics. Overall, Labour got 100,000 people off benefits. Now, its gone up 60,000 under National. Why? Not because anything’s changed about benefits. Because there’s no fucken jobs.

How would expensive welfare ‘reform’ fix that? Wouldn’t.

Either it would be a whole lot of fuss changing nothing because no-one would actually be kicked off without a job to get. Or people with no other income would be left destitute with neither a job or a benefit.

How does beating up on the jobless do anything to fix poverty and the long tail of educational, health, social, and economic costs it causes? Doesn’t.

But sounds good.

Which is why Mallard and Pagani have decided that Labour should be on board. They will be thinking that Labour will look irrelevant unless it jumps on the bene-bashing train as well.

Unfortunately, the strategic minds that brought you Labour’s worst election result in a life-time (you know Pagani’s been on Labour’s payroll this whole time, eh?) haven’t thought it through. They don’t appear to have any actual policy to match the rhetoric. Besides, they are never going to outbid National on benefit reform.

All they are going to do is. A) make benefit reform seem like a more valid and important issue (it’s not, the extra annual benefit spending under National is similar to the amount they’ve spent on corporate bailouts). B) Make Labour look like it has no answers and National does. They’re just helping National manufacture a crisis. They are buying National’s framing and repeating it without being able to win the argument, which is basically page 1 of ‘Don’t Do what Donny Don’t Does’ when it comes to political strategy.

If Labour’s going to win, it needs to own the discourse. Not pathetically say ‘me too’ to whatever National says.

Shearer should ignore these clowns and get serious. We know what the solution to the benefit ‘problem’ is – not enough jobs. Create the jobs and the benefit numbers will fall. Costs the government at least $18,000 a year to have someone on a benefit rather than in work. A full employment policy can easily be self-funding.

If Labour were coming out with a well thought out policy to create 100,000 jobs and, for all practical purposes, eliminate unemployment, I would even consider voting for them. Instead, we have strategically inept rhetoric with nothing to back it up. Only serves the interests of the Right.

Brings me back to what to do with Red Alert. The RA concept’s great. But it has been hijacked by 2 MPs who are the last ones who should be fronting for Labour in the blogosphere. Both are constantly putting their foot in it. They seem to lack that burning feeling in the back of the neck that tells you what you’re writing is stupid and going to get a whole lot of people pissed off. That’s bad enough. But using RA for running up shit that they can’t get through caucus is worse. Undermines Labour’s democratic processes. Makes it look divided.

Shearer needs to either create rules that make RA a place for all Labour MPs not just 2 (1 post per week per MP rule?) or shut it down.

41 comments on “Job system & RA in need of reform, not benefits ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. tc 1
    10 January 2012 at 2:26 pm

    Mallard’s continuing presence must warm CT’s hearts…..a bullying, nasty, spiteful and irrelevant legacy that should be warming a seat close to the exit door not the govt front bench.

    He’s given plenty of reasons to be jettisoned but like a bad nagging flu he’s still around clogging up the system……Shearer has his work cut out here, does he have what it takes to clear out the rotting wood from Clarks reign and at the same time show he’s his own man or another puppett.

  2. the sprout 2
    10 January 2012 at 2:54 pm

    Shearer should actually tell Mallard and Pagani to fuck off, then I might start taking him a bit more seriously as an actual Labour leader. They’ve done enough damage to Labour as it is and few will mourn their passing.

    Until then Shearer’s just going to look like another neo-lib puppet in rather unconvincing drag.

    And as for allowing RA to become Mallard and Pagani’s personal wanking stage, well that’s just a tragic wasted opportunity. Whose voice is RA meant to represent – ghosts of the 80s NZLP?

    • Craig GlenEden 2.1
      10 January 2012 at 3:06 pm

      Sadly I have to agree with sprout I posted something once used the word bloody and Curren wouldn’t publish it. As a Labour party member I hardly visit RA any more Curren’s post are mostly irrelevant and as for Mallard pppffttt. Shearer wont have the balls to sort them out, I would love to be wrong but I bet the same shit will continue and Mallard and Pagani will screw up another election campaign if given half a chance.

  3. ghostwhowalksnz 3
    10 January 2012 at 3:14 pm

    Shearer needs to either create rules that make RA a place for all Labour MPs not just 2 (1 post per week per MP rule?) or shut it down
    Oh really. Issue a diktat and all will be well.
    I thought RA was created and paid for by a small handfull of MPs as a blog for their opinions.
    Theres nothing to stop the party running a ‘nationalmps’ type of web page that no one reads

    • Ari 3.1
      10 January 2012 at 3:36 pm

      They shouldn’t end-run around caucus decisions on their blog though, that’s just bad faith behaviour.

      • ghostwhowalksnz 3.1.1
        10 January 2012 at 4:39 pm

        End run ? Which part of totalitarian state are you coming from.
        Since when does linking to a UK report close off Caucus decisions, if they have even been discussed.
        Its nowhere near bad faith

    • the sprout 3.2
      10 January 2012 at 6:55 pm

      While it might not be the reality, RA pretend to be the Labour Party blog.
      If it’s a platform for only a few voices, it needs to present itself as such – take the NZLP banner off and call it the Trev and Pag Brainfart – because as it stands the views of Mallard and the minority that dominate it are starting look like the views of the entire caucus

  4. Olwyn 4
    10 January 2012 at 3:32 pm

    One thing Shearer will need to sort out is a major disconnect between the parliamentary party and the members. Perhaps they think they don’t need the present members and can win an election with a few rich backers who will make do with them when National’s star wanes, but whatever their reason, their attitude the membership seems to be one of contempt. I for one do not walk around in the rain putting their pamphlets in letterboxes because I agree to beneficiary bashing, or because I like the colour red, or because I am their fan and will accept any old policy that they put their name to. And I am sure there are many others who feel the same way.

    Labour, if you think that you lost the election because you were not right-wing enough, and now plan to remedy this, please tell me soon so that I can leave in good faith. It is hard to respect a political party that sees the need to dupe its own membership.

    • Colonial Viper 4.1
      10 January 2012 at 5:26 pm

      Perhaps they think they don’t need the present members and can win an election with a few rich backers who will make do with them when National’s star wanes

      Great 2 party democracy they have in the US – a choice between The Warmonging Banksters Party and The Other Warmonging Banksters Party.

    • Anne 4.2
      10 January 2012 at 5:46 pm

      Thank-you Olwyn. Every word you say, you have spoken for me too. For three years I felt like I was being treated with a polite air of contempt every time I expressed concerns about the Party’s direction. I don’t know what has been going on exactly, but I think the way the leadership tussle was handled is a good case in point. Those of us who knew a little about the behind the scenes activity were aware it was nasty and unseemly. Scant attention was paid to the views of the membership. Indeed I would go so far as to say the leadership meetings held around the country were to some degree a fraud. I chose not to attend the Auckland meeting for that reason.

    • seeker 4.3
      10 January 2012 at 6:46 pm

      +1 Olwyn – and certainly agree with Anne about the poor handling of the “leadership tussle”.

    • Tom Gould 4.4
      11 January 2012 at 2:58 pm

      Olwyn, the disconnect that needs sorting is that between Labour and the voting public. Those who envoke ‘the membership’ are so hidebound and screwed up with identity politics and correctness from the Clark era, they have little to contribute, other than raising their ‘concerns’ about what other people think and do, wringing their hands, and white ant others, so are largely irrelevant.

      • Olwyn 4.4.1
        11 January 2012 at 4:53 pm

        I am one of the people you are talking about, and your description does not apply to me. I am not “hidebound and screwed up with identity politics and correctness” from any era. My left wing views are grounded by a belief in justice, a living wage, affordable housing, effective unions…that kind of thing. And I expect a centre-left party to be concerned with such things to at least some degree. If you have to be a callous, myopic bastard to connect with middle New Zealand, then God help middle New Zealand is all I can say.

  5. Draco T Bastard 5
    10 January 2012 at 5:14 pm

    Create the jobs…

    And just how are you going to do that considering that world productivity is so high that a single country can damn near produce everything that the world demands? Throw in the fact the real resources are running out as well and creating jobs isn’t something that actually possible.

    It’s not about creating jobs any more but about producing only that which we need and proper distribution of that produce instead of giving all the wealth to the parasitical capitalist class.

    • Gosman 5.1
      10 January 2012 at 5:47 pm

      So in other words using the system that was tried and failed so spectacularly in Russia, Eastern Europe, and China for over 50 years. I believe it was called centralised planning or Communism.

      • Populuxe1 5.1.1
        10 January 2012 at 6:28 pm

        Because doG knows that Capitalism never goes tit-up, eh Gosman? (Tulip Bubble, South Seas Bubble, the Great Depression, the ’80s crash, the current Financial Crisis…)

      • Draco T Bastard 5.1.2
        10 January 2012 at 6:55 pm

        Central planning is not communism but state capitalism*. And, as the last 5000 years have shown, capitalism doesn’t work whether it is private capitalism or state capitalism.

        * Capitalism can be easily recognised by its hierarchical/authoritarian model.

      • RedLogix 5.1.3
        10 January 2012 at 7:03 pm

        You’ve no idea how boring it is to see the same brain dead binary thinking over and over. Capitalism or Communism. There Is No Alternative…. TINA thinking over and over. Boring, boring, turgid beyond all tolerance.

        Both systems work within a fairly narrow range of constraints; both have failure modes. There are useful aspects to be gleaned from both, and aspects to be rejected. Think about the strengths and weaknesses of each and consider how they complement each other.

        Then consider how an entirely new set of environmental and resource challenges confront us, challenges of a type that we have never encountered as a species before. And how they demand solutions on a scale we’ve never contemplated before.

        Now apply some imagination; try and think of at least a dozen new alternatives to Business As Usual. Try and be interesting for a change…put that great big brain to some actual use.

      • Frank Macskasy 5.1.4
        12 January 2012 at 2:36 pm

        Oh dear…

        Funny how libertarians resort to extremes when pushing their ideology.

        Why refer to the Soviet Bloc when the Scandinavian model works very well?

        Your own “free market” was perilously close to collapse had governments not bailed out Goldman Sachs, et al, using tax-payers’ money. The reverberations from the global banking crisis (not, Gosman that it’s not called the global WORKER’S crisis) has created high unemployment and people losing their homes. (Not that it matters to you, judging by your past statements.)

        The neo-liberal system is as much in danger of collapse as the old marxist system. The only difference is that the taxpayer is here to foot the bill for bailouts.

        That’s how well your “free market” ideology works.

  6. just saying 6
    10 January 2012 at 6:56 pm

    Saddest thing to me is Labour will probably lead the next government regardless, because National is set to lose. This isn’t choosing to be neolibs because there is no other way to be elected. It’s just choosing to be neoliberal – and therefore the enemy of the people Labour pretends to represent.

    Nah – this is intentional.

    Come the revolution, I hope the people remember Trevor Mallard and John Pagani (as forgettable and medicocre as they both are).

    • Fotran 6.1
      11 January 2012 at 1:45 pm

      Labour WILL lead the next Parliament after 2014 supported by the Greens, because without them, there will be no left majority.
      And they will extract many pounds of flesh. Norman has already said he wants Finance.

  7. randal 7
    10 January 2012 at 7:08 pm

    where are the jobs?
    according to kweewee if the rich got tax cuts it would stimulate investment and everything else would trickle down automatically.
    peace on you too bro.

  8. belladonna 8
    10 January 2012 at 7:29 pm

    As a Labour supporting invalid beneficiary if they keep up the beneficiary bashing then they can just get stuffed.
    How many invalid and sickness beneficiares are there, can Labour afford to lose our vote. I was concerned to hear David Shearer doing his bit of bene bashing in the election promos. He had better pick his game up or Labour will be heading for a defeat that will make 2011 look insignificant.

    • just saying 8.1
      10 January 2012 at 8:02 pm

      Bashing people who are already experiencing the most hardship is beneath contempt. Not only are there no jobs, but there are many who can’t work, as you so rightly point out.
      Real people. Already struggling, already hurting. And it could be any one of us, any time, we are all just one accident or illness away from this fate.
      Shame on you Mallard and Pagani.

      • Hami Shearlie 8.1.1
        10 January 2012 at 10:40 pm

        Agreed JS! Shame on bene-bashing mp’s from any party- and when you read how much the taxpayer contributes to THEIR superannuation – DOUBLE SHAME!

  9. randal 9
    10 January 2012 at 7:40 pm

    if the nashnil gubmint doesn’t get kicked out in a vote of no confidence then they will be defeated at the next election.
    in three years they wil have wrecked the eduction system, sold off the states assets and generally pissed the whole country off.

  10. The Voice of Reason 10
    10 January 2012 at 8:08 pm

    A couple of quick questions for Zet. Can you show the link, in a general sense, between Mallard and Pagani? How do we know there is one? And can you provide the evidence that shows that Pagani has been on Labour’s payroll ‘this whole time’? ( I thought that stopped eighteen months ago).
     
    Cheers.

  11. marty mars 11
    10 January 2012 at 8:55 pm

    Good post z.

    The lies they spin about so called benefit reform make my eyes water. I’ll leave labour people to sort out their own mess, but it is extremely sad to hear of these machinations. I’m thankful I voted Mana.

  12. Pundit X 12
    11 January 2012 at 10:34 am

    Whilst I hate to intrude on private grief there is a party on the left that enables open and serious online debate, has no disconnect between its MP’s and members, and enables full participation of all the membership in all decision making. And not least its entire membership is involved in the election of its leadership. Its called the Green Party. Some of you may wish to take a look as an alternative to flogging an already dead horse..

  13. prism 13
    11 January 2012 at 12:06 pm

    Mallard is confusing. How can he be a dry and still so wet?

  14. Anne 14
    11 January 2012 at 9:29 pm

    Trevor Mallard has commented on RA about this post and has effectively answered TVoR’s question. He denies there is any close association between himself and Pagani and I accept his word. Accordingly, I apologise for ‘laughing’ over a certain comment made yesterday. Both of us should have checked whether this particular assertion was correct.

  15. Nearly70 15
    11 January 2012 at 11:39 pm

    Everyone talks about ‘creating jobs’. What a load of bollacks.

    For the last 30 years of my life, I have been writing software that had the specific goal of ‘eliminating people involvement in the business process’. And I was very good at it. So a lot mof jobs became ‘automated’.

    So I (and a great many others) have eliminated jobs that will never, ever be re-created.

    It’s the industrial revolution in a shorter form.

    So creating new jobs becomes even harder.

    I am still waiting for Russel Norman to explain how he was going to “create 100,000 green jobs”.

    • Colonial Viper 15.1
      16 January 2012 at 8:57 pm

      Then you can see it better than most of us. We have created an economy which does not need most people, which does not involve most of society, and which increases profits to the very few by eliminating the flow of wages and salaries into very many local communities.

      How well do you think a civilisation powered by such a lovely economy is going to last?

    • RedLogix 15.2
      16 January 2012 at 9:23 pm

      or the last 30 years of my life, I have been writing software that had the specific goal of ‘eliminating people involvement in the business process’.

      So have I. Because the business corporate model is more or feudal state, the productivity benefits of our life’s work has been captured by business owners and financiers. The workers simply lack the economic power to claim their share of the gains.

      This is a large portion of what motivates me here. I’ve been aware that the very work I do changes the nature of work, and not always for the better. For the very large part automation technology replaces fairly boring, routine and unskilled repetitive tasks… and that’s a good thing as long as this leads to something better for the individuals affected.

      In a different economic model it’s not hard to imagine a system that used this surplus labour and out it to better uses. Actually a fair bit of this already happens; the last 30 years has seen a massive growth is the services sector, a dramatic expansion in the range and depth of all sorts of jobs that simply did not exist when I began working. Yet even this shift has it’s own limits.

      Because the capitalist model inherently concentrates wealth, and our carbon fueled technologies have only amplified this effect, ordinary people are becoming increasingly alienated from the very world they live in.

  16. prism 16
    13 January 2012 at 2:03 pm

    Nearly70
    If you are interested in 100,000 jobs green or not why don’t you get on and help create them using your fine skills and intelligence? Why sit around and leave the hard work to do something positive for people to others while you do positive things only for business interests? If you have the spare time to write here then turn it to something which will result in you being remembered gratefully.

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    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    20 hours ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    20 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    21 hours ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    24 hours ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

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

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago

  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    Turning Point: “What has turned me away from the mainstream news media is the very strong message that its been sending out for the last few years.” “And what message might that be?” “That the people who own it, the people who run it, and the people who provide its content, really don’t ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
    No – nothing about that in PM Luxon’s nine-point plan to improve the lives of New Zealanders. But beyond our shores Jamie Dimon, the long-serving head of global bank J.P. Morgan Chase, reckons that the chances of a goldilocks soft landing for the economy are “a lot lower” than the ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago

  • Sad tales from the left
    Michael Bassett writes –  Have you noticed the odd way in which the media are handling the government’s crackdown on surplus employees in the Public Service? Very few reporters mention the crazy way in which State Service numbers rocketed ahead by more than 16,000 during Labour’s six years, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • In Whose Best Interests?
    On The Spot: The question Q+A host, Jack Tame, put to the Workplace & Safety Minister, Act’s Brooke van Velden, was disarmingly simple: “Are income tax cuts right now in the best interests of lowering inflation?”JACK TAME has tested another MP on his Sunday morning current affairs show, Q+A. Minister for Workplace ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Don’t Question, Don’t Complain.
    It has to start somewhereIt has to start sometimeWhat better place than here?What better time than now?So it turns out that I owe you all an apology.It seems that all of the terrible things this government is doing, impacting the lives of many, aren’t necessarily ‘bad’ per se. Those things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Auckland faces 25% water inflation shock
    Three Waters became a focus of anti-Government protests under Labour, but its dumping by the new Government hasn’t solved councils’ funding problems and will eventually hit the back pockets of everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 8:06 am today are:The Government ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Small accomplishments and large ironies
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume VII
    In order to catch up to the actual progress of the D&D campaign, I present you with another couple of sessions. These were actually held back to back, on a Monday and Tuesday evening. Session XV Alas, Goatslayer had another lycanthropic transformation… though this time, he ran off into the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Accelerating the Growth Rate?
    There is a constant theme from the economic commentariat that New Zealand needs to lift its economic growth rate, coupled with policies which they are certain will attain that objective. Their prescriptions are usually characterised by two features. First, they tend to be in their advocate’s self-interest. Second, they are ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • The only thing we have to fear is tenants themselves
    1. Which of these acronyms describes the experience of travelling on a Cook Strait ferry?a. ROROb. FOMOc. RAROd. FMLAramoana, first boat ever boarded by More Than A Feilding, four weeks after the Wahine disaster2. What is the acronym for the experience of watching the government risking a $200 million break ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
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