Key resorts to “memory lapse” defense

Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, February 21st, 2008 - 43 comments
Categories: john key, workers' rights - Tags: ,

So without Bill to run interference like he did in the House yesterday, John Key has resorted to the age-old “memory lapse” (aka “Don Brash”) defense regarding his statement to Kerikeri Business Association that “we would love to see wages drop”.

Key’s use of the memory lapse defense places him in the illustrious company of such renowned truth-tellers as Richard Nixon and Ronald Regan.

Nixon, brainstorming with aides on how to tailor grand jury testimony:

“You say, ‘I don’t remember.’ You can say, ‘I can’t recall. I can’t give an answer to that, that I can recall.'”

Reagan, to Tower Commission investigating Iran-contra affair:

“The only honest answer is to state that try as I might, I cannot recall anything whatsoever about whether I approved an Israeli [arms] sale in advance. My answer therefore and the simple truth is, I don’t remember — period.”

Closer to home, some readers may remember Don Brash’s (ultimately unsuccessful) invocation of the memory lapse defense in regard to both secret donations from the Exclusive Brethren and his comments that under a National government NZ’s anti-nuclear legislation would be “gone by lunchtime”.

This really is the same old National Party.

UPDATE: Kiwiblogblog tears to shreds Key’s twin claims that “I can’t recall” and “I was talking about Australia”.

43 comments on “Key resorts to “memory lapse” defense ”

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  1. the sprout 1
    21 February 2008 at 9:40 am

    i smell a Memorygate brewing

  2. Russell Brown 2
    21 February 2008 at 9:42 am

    He seemed to have a whole other defence talking to Mikey Havoc this morning. Y’all might want to watch out for that audio turning up on Scoop. It’s a bit boring, though …

  3. Phil 3
    21 February 2008 at 9:44 am

    Second paragraph needs some work ayb – you’re use of Nixon and Regan is too old school;

    “Key’s use of the memory lapse defense places him in the illustrious company of such renowned truth-tellers as Helen Clark and William Clinton.”

  4. milo 4
    21 February 2008 at 9:46 am

    Um. Didn’t we just have a convenient memory lapse from the Prime Minister over several aspects of the Owen Glen affair?

  5. Daveo 5
    21 February 2008 at 9:46 am

    Russell- that’s very interesting. What was his line this time?

    [captcha: feel churn – John Key’s stomach yesterday in Parliament?]

  6. the sprout 6
    21 February 2008 at 9:48 am

    “It’s a bit boring, though”

    i’d say that’s Defence 4

  7. IrishBill 7
    21 February 2008 at 9:50 am

    Yes Sprout, and there’s defense number five: “Quick look over there!”

  8. the sprout 8
    21 February 2008 at 9:53 am

    and Defence 6: “Behind you!”
    and Defence 7: “She did it first!”
    and Defence 8: “It was only a little bit!”

    bets on how many he’ll run?

  9. Whaleoil 9
    21 February 2008 at 9:56 am

    Good god and l;ittle apples, so let’s get this straight, he used the same defense that Dear Leader used over Owen Glenn and speeding through the countryside at 176kmh.

    Let me see, if he now changes it to “I didn’t say that” and then to “If I did I was only joking” then you guys will have to drop it, surely.

  10. Tane 10
    21 February 2008 at 9:57 am

    Hey Whale, if that’s the case I guess you’ll be demanding answers from John Key? Just for consistency’s sake, of course.

  11. Steve Pierson 11
    21 February 2008 at 10:02 am

    That’s the best they can come up with? No denial of the substance of what he siad just “I don’t remember”.

  12. Steve Pierson 12
    21 February 2008 at 10:05 am

    Whaleoil. Which is more serious for a political leader, their car, not driven by them, driving too fast while they work in the back, or a political leader saying he wants the living standards of all 4.25 million New Zealanders to fall as a result of lower wages (bearing in mind that lower living standards would certianly lead to higher cirme and more homicides, as it did under National in the 1990s)

  13. the sprout 13
    21 February 2008 at 10:06 am

    i would’ve thought “i’d love to see lower wages” for NZers was of slightly more gravity and worthy of remembering than what a speedo read when someone was driving Clark through the countryside.
    or maybe lowering wages really is that unimportant to Key? i mean, it’s not like it’d affect him now is it?

  14. the sprout 14
    21 February 2008 at 10:07 am

    steve, are you me?

  15. Whaleoil 15
    21 February 2008 at 10:13 am

    not nearly as grave as forgetting that you didn’t, and if you did it was only joking about offering a Ministerial portfolio in return for donations.

    or, not recalling the name of a donor you met three hours before in Sydney, or not committing a prima facie case of Forgery……

  16. Tane 16
    21 February 2008 at 10:15 am

    Yawn… so how much is your pay cut gonna be Whale? And how’s that make you feel?

  17. Matthew Pilott 17
    21 February 2008 at 10:16 am

    Ok Whale – you’re implying you think the defence is bullshit – I’m going to make a wild guess that you didn’t believe Clark over Owen Glenn and the motorcade incident (I’m guessing because I’d rather have a tabasco sauce enima that trawl through the shit-hole that is your website).

    So what you’ve come onto The Standard, to loudly proclaim, is that Key is probably lying to the public, and he wants to see our wages drop.

    Good on you…

    Not the sharpest tool are we, buddy?

  18. gobsmacked 18
    21 February 2008 at 10:18 am

    Key’s real problem is not what he says or remembers, but what his supporters want him to say. Like cutting wages.

    It’s going to be a fun 2008 campaign: expect headlines like:

    “Business Round Table welcomes Key’s plan to cut benefits”

    “ACT backs Key, soars to 2% in polls”

    “Key clarifies slip of tongue: some of his best friends are on benefits”

    “BRT /ACT / Kiwiblog slam latest flip-flop”

    etc

  19. Bart 19
    21 February 2008 at 10:21 am

    Keep going people, all you are doing is basing an entire policy debate on one line in a local newspaper. Show me the tape, the interview, whatever. And as you conveniently fail to mention the actual policy goal of sustainable wage increases LINKED TO PRODUCTIVITY INCREASES, rather than the artificially generated faux-prosperity that the Labour government have attempted to generate via working for families, the holidays act, and the raising of the minimum wage and abolition of youth rates without any attendant attention to increasing the quality of infrastructure vis broadband, rail or freight. Reduction in business compliance costs, and so on and so on.

    And if any of you actually beleive that John Key will cut wages. You keep beleiving that and banging on about it, meanwhile, the rest of us will actually look at the real policies and the real issues.

    You lot are all smoke and no substance!

  20. Steve Pierson 20
    21 February 2008 at 10:26 am

    Sprout. I wish.

    captcha: abse- Auckland, that’s, um, that’s weird

  21. Whaleoil 21
    21 February 2008 at 10:29 am

    No wage cut I expect, probably because I don’t work for wages or salary, or in fact at all.

    I’m one of those rich pricks that Michael Cullen talks about. You know the ones a “wage payer” rather than a “wage earner”.

    Though Michael considers $60k the mark of a rich prick that is hardly enough to pay the Amex bill.

  22. Matthew Pilott 22
    21 February 2008 at 10:34 am

    Bart, I did mention it back here but I don’t think you responded

    http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=1175#comment-19341

    Given the National Party’s chronic inability to give out any policy, or engage in constructive debate I think it’s a bit rich hearing you complain about criticising sound bites.

    Tell me, what has National been Harping on for the last three days? A matter of real consequence, or something about a $7,000 donaton as part of a loan?

    Please feel free to mention how you would look at increasing productivity (here I will mention the billions Labour has spent restoring the nation’s infrastructure that was left to rot under National – or sold off to be pillaged by the private sector) because John Key hasn’t gotten round to that yet, Bart.

    He said he wants wages to drop, and that he will increase productivity by cutting taxes. Either he is an economic retard (which I grudgingly admit, he’s probably not 🙂 ) or he has no ideas abiout raising productivity.

    Therefore I see his talk of cutting wages as an indirect attack on WFF, benefits, minimum wages, union organisation and so on – but if this is the man’s policy, I want to bloody hear it – not just the goddamn soundbite.

    So tell me when you get round to the ‘policy and real issues’ and while you’re at it, send a letter to John Key asking him to do the same.

    Tell me when you read about the government’s initiatives on Broadband which are making a difference, and John Key puts out some policy that will help.

    Tell me when you look into roading and rail infrastructure spend in New Zealand under Labour and National, because the substance there is only from the left; don’t forget to let me know when John Key has released some infrastructure policy, if he actually does (you know, if he wants to privatise it all he’s unlikely to tell anyone before the election).

  23. Robinsod 23
    21 February 2008 at 10:40 am

    Hey Whale – how’d you get rich when your last company went into liquidation? Do you creditors know you’re this flush.

  24. Steve Pierson 24
    21 February 2008 at 10:50 am

    whaleoil. so you would like to see wages fall, like Key?

    Go on you can say it: you want to see the bulk of families who get most of their incomes from wages suffer, so that a do-nothing rich prick such as yourself can get a little wealthier.

  25. Bart 25
    21 February 2008 at 12:21 pm

    Matthew, I’d love to see them, and so would Labour, so they can immediately adopt those policies as thier own, as usual!

  26. Matthew Pilott 26
    21 February 2008 at 1:25 pm

    Bart – if they’re good policies, then I would love to see them adpoted, no matter where they originated. Hell, even the idea was from the LibertariaNZ (there. I said it.)

    If, OTOH, National were deliberately disguising its policies behind a friendly face, then the public is being decieved.

    And if we think about it, policies that National should be releasing, in theory, won’t be adopted because they would be contrary to Labour’s ideology. If that’s not the case (as is the case, seemingly) then it would seem both parties have gone centrist.

    I just believe one has done so for show, and they won’t be remotely centrist should they win in 2008 – and that’s deception in my books.

    The other party could take a swing to the left though, but a bit of third-term pragmatism seems to be the order of the day.

  27. Russell Brown 27
    21 February 2008 at 1:32 pm

    The Havoc interview is here:

    http://95bfm.com/assets/sm/186370/3/JohnKey21.mp3

    Key implies that the “young guy” (ie: reporter) in attendance took faulty notes, he would never had said that, etc. Claims they’ve tried to track down the notes.

    He then bridges to how he’s been talking about higher incomes for years, unlike Michael Cullen, etc…

  28. infused 28
    21 February 2008 at 1:37 pm

    Funny that. HC resorts to a memory lapse everyday.

  29. Robinsod 29
    21 February 2008 at 1:40 pm

    Right so now we’ve had:

    1. Not a word – let Bill talk about Australia.

    2. I forgot.

    3. I never said it – I was misquoted.

    4. I was talking about Australia

    5. It was joke about Australia

    6. (again) I never said it.

    Hmm.

  30. Robinsod 30
    21 February 2008 at 1:45 pm

    Oh and I have it from a very reliable source that the notes show Key certainly said it and that he was talking about New Zealand. Jeez, if the ‘Sod can find out why can’t National? Oh that’s right they still haven’t found out who “stole” the emails either…

  31. Horisthebear 31
    21 February 2008 at 3:08 pm

    the statement was made in relation to Aust wages not NZ wages. I could pick almost any sentence out of context made by Labour and do the same.

    We now have ridiculous protests by people at Bunnings demanding to be paid the same wages as Austrailans. Well it is easy, go to Australia or of course the ‘rich prick employers’ could cut their massive profits. I know lets everyone simply demand to be paid what Australians are getting paid – See Easy no wage gap!

    Umm wait a minute. What happens then, yeah I know company closes shop, operating moves to low cost model…

    I had this exact experience recently with our Union who demanded that a company that makes millions of dollars a year can afford 5% wage rises. After pointing out that yes you are right it is bad, I should shut down move the plant sell the land to a developer move production offshore to a contract maker and put my money in the bank and make more money risk free but hey that means no jobs.

    The grand socialist conspiracy that exists that firms are bad, profits are evil and the workers are good is just bumpkin.

  32. Robinsod 32
    21 February 2008 at 3:17 pm

    I had this exact experience recently with our Union

    No you didn’t.

  33. Tim 33
    21 February 2008 at 3:45 pm

    Horisthebear – I’m sure that if you could make more money in the manner described in your post above you would have already done it. If it weren’t profitable to employ workers you wouldn’t do it.

    Redundancy is commonly used as a threat when workers ask for a wage increase but it’s a counter-intuitive argument. If you make everyone redundant, you don’t have anyone to make you money and you don’t have profits. A threat to withdraw capital when faced with a threat to withdraw labour is cutting off your nose to spite your face.

  34. Tane 34
    21 February 2008 at 3:54 pm

    I am getting sick of people coming on here pretending to be anti-union employers.

  35. Horisthebear 35
    21 February 2008 at 4:08 pm

    Robinsod – yes I did. And we employ nearly 300 people, 90% unionised…60% production exported.

    Tim. It is profitable to do so CURRENTLY. I think you like many Labour supporters confuse return on capital with profits. But our business is constantly facing major cost pressures. We are an exporter with about 90% of our costs fixed as a price taker. It is costly and hard work to move production offshore, I can employ the same skilled labour for 50% of the cost in other countries, and simply input production and keep my sales team here. I have recently commissioned some work to look into more. I think you missed the point it is not about redundancy it is about surivial as a business. In the past 2 years we’ve laid off about 30 people just to survive against imported products in the face of the alternative, it is the only cost we can control in the short term in an industry where EBIT margins are 3-5% and staff are about 10% of costs. I am moving more and more to being an importer rather than export.

  36. Draco TB 36
    21 February 2008 at 4:36 pm

    No wage cut I expect, probably because I don’t work for wages or salary, or in fact at all.

    I’m one of those rich pricks that Michael Cullen talks about. You know the ones a “wage payer’ rather than a “wage earner’.

    I’m fully in support of income being fully determined by productivity and WhaleOil’s income subsequently being cut to zero because, as he fully admits, he doesn’t produce anything of value.

  37. Draco TB 37
    21 February 2008 at 4:53 pm

    I had this exact experience recently with our Union who demanded that a company that makes millions of dollars a year can afford 5% wage rises. After pointing out that yes you are right it is bad, I should shut down move the plant sell the land to a developer move production offshore to a contract maker and put my money in the bank and make more money risk free but hey that means no jobs.

    So you think its ok that the entire society should be held to ransom by a few?

  38. Tim 38
    21 February 2008 at 5:18 pm

    Horis – Wage increases are not the real factors, as an exporter, that are putting pressure on your business. The high dollar and competition from cheap labour in China and Thailand are more likely the real pressures. We’re never going to be able to compete with those countries on labour costs, nor should we try to.

    You can’t really compare your situation with Bunnings. They are mostly minimum wage workers in a retail industry. I’m guessing you are in the manufacturing sector judging by your comments about employing skilled labour and having a 90% unionised workforce. Those two industries are completely different.

    However, if it’s still profitable to run your business in New Zealand, then don’t you think that your employees deserve a fair share of the profits? A 5% claim really only keeps up with the CPI and inflation. It’s hardly unreasonable.

  39. Horisthebear 39
    21 February 2008 at 5:37 pm

    Tim – CPI = Inflation not plus… You assume as does the Union that everyone can pass on costs. We (and most others) can not – I am not a monopoly or Govt agency.

    Typically although the famed CPI is 3% pa our importer competitors costs rise by say 1% so this is the most we can pass on hence reduced profits each year or invest heavily to improve productivity. Union won’t allow this, and simply want more “because the CPI went up”. Free trade with Thailand is great, simply means fewer jobs in NZ for Unions…The Unions fight tooth and nail to allow competitive processes and replacemetn of labour with capital to compete with low wage economies.

    I have no issues with paying people for the value they create. But if I don’t have it I can’t pay it. Fair pay for fair work. Typical wage we pay is twice minimum wage.

    Draco TB – Not at all.

  40. Draco TB 40
    21 February 2008 at 7:32 pm

    Not at all.

    Capitalism = Dictatorship

    Thank you for confirming that.

  41. Horisthebear 41
    22 February 2008 at 10:18 am

    Draco TB – funny that my reply to you last night wasn’t posted…

    Anyways…Capitalism works, Socialism doesn’t. I believe in one person one vote. I believe that Unions can do good. I used to be a member of one. But stupidity seems rife in some of them. I will give you another example. In our firm we offer Super subsidies on a 1:1 basis – ie free money to encourage staff to remain long term savers and to build loyalty. One union rep told me it was just a way to avoid paying staff more – nuts. Result 100% takeup in non union staff. 20% takeup in union staff.

    Look at what China has done once it started to embrace capitalism, look at what happened in Venezula when Chavez decided to create a new social republic. There has never been in the history of the planet been a capitalist dictator. But pretty much I can rattle off a dozen socialist dictators…

  42. Tane 42
    22 February 2008 at 10:29 am

    You probably mistyped the captcha Horis.

    There has never been in the history of the planet been a capitalist dictator.

    There’s actually quite a list Horis. Try Pinochet for a start.

  43. Tim 43
    22 February 2008 at 10:42 am

    “Look at what China has done once it started to embrace capitalism” – mass exploitation of the working class, encouraged by big business in America coupled with shocking environmental degradation. You need to watch “China Blue” Horis, then maybe you’ll think twice about moving production offshore.

    Chavez has faults, but his revolution has benefited the working poor immensely and he has popular support. Free health clinics and education for example. I’m sure the people in the barrios of Caracas would disagree with your comment.

    Capitalist dictators – JP Morgan, Carnegie, the Bush dynasty, the list goes on. The money spent on the war on Iraq (and the profits for Halliburton, Lockheed, Shell and so on) could have ended starvation and death from preventable diseases in Africa.

    Capitalism is an inefficient system based on exploitation. It’s killing the planet.

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    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    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
    3 days ago

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago

  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    3 days ago

  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The stupidest of stupid reasons
    One of the threats in the National - ACT - NZ First coalition agreements was to extend the term of Parliament to four years, reducing our opportunities to throw a bad government out. The justification? Apparently, the government thinks "elections are expensive". This is the stupidest of stupid reasons for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • A website bereft of buzz
    Buzz from the Beehive The new government was being  sworn in, at time of writing , and when Point of Order checked the Beehive website for the latest ministerial statements and re-visit some of the old ones we drew a blank. We found ….  Nowt. Nothing. Zilch. Not a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • MICHAEL BASSETT: A new Ministry – at last
    Michael Bassett writes – Like most people, I was getting heartily sick of all the time being wasted over the coalition negotiations. During the first three weeks Winston grinned like a Cheshire cat, certain he’d be needed; Chris Luxon wasted time in lifting the phone to Winston ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Luxon's Breakfast.
    The Prime Minister elect had his silver fern badge on. He wore it to remind viewers he was supporting New Zealand, that was his team. Despite the fact it made him look like a concierge, or a welcomer in a Koru lounge. Anna Burns-Francis, the Breakfast presenter, asked if he ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL:  Oranga Tamariki faces major upheaval under coalition agreement
     Lindsay Mitchell writes – A hugely significant gain for ACT is somewhat camouflaged by legislative jargon. Under the heading ‘Oranga Tamariki’ ACT’s coalition agreement contains the following item:   Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 According to Oranga Tamariki:     “Section ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record. Brian Easton writes – 1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Cathrine Dyer's guide to watching COP 28 from the bottom of a warming planet
    Is COP28 largely smoke and mirrors and a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel? Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: COP28 kicks off on November 30 and up for negotiation are issues like the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition, contributions to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Monday, Nov 27
    PM Elect Christopher Luxon was challenged this morning on whether he would sack Adrian Orr and Andrew Coster.TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am on Monday November 27, including:Signs councils are putting planning and capital spending on hold, given a lack of clear guidance ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the new government’s policies of yesteryear
    This column expands on a Werewolf column published by Scoop on Friday Routinely, Winston Peters is described as the kingmaker who gets to decide when the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded but equally important role as the ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • The New Government’s Agreements
    Last Friday, almost six weeks after election day, National finally came to an agreement with ACT and NZ First to form a government. They also released the agreements between each party and looking through them, here are the things I thought were the most interesting (and often concerning) from the. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • How many smokers will die to fund the tax cuts?
    Maori and Pasifika smoking rates are already over twice the ‘all adult’ rate. Now the revenue that generates will be used to fund National’s tax cuts. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The devil is always in the detail and it emerged over the weekend from the guts of the policy agreements National ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • How the culture will change in the Beehive
    Perhaps the biggest change that will come to the Beehive as the new government settles in will be a fundamental culture change. The era of endless consultation will be over. This looks like a government that knows what it wants to do, and that means it knows what outcomes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • No More Winnie Blues.
    So what do you think of the coalition’s decision to cancel Smokefree measures intended to stop young people, including an over representation of Māori, from taking up smoking? Enabling them to use the tax revenue to give other people a tax cut?David Cormack summed it up well:It seems not only ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 19, 2023 thru Sat, Nov 25, 2023.  Story of the Week World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chief  Exclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must ‘stop ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Some of it is mad, some of it is bad and some of it is clearly the work of people who are dangerous ...
    On announcement morning my mate texted:Typical of this cut-price, fake-deal government to announce itself on Black Friday.What a deal. We lose Kim Hill, we gain an empty, jargonising prime minister, a belligerent conspiracist, and a heartless Ayn Rand fanboy. One door closes, another gets slammed repeatedly in your face.It seems pretty ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • “Revolution” is the threat as the Māori Party smarts at coalition government’s Treaty directi...
    Buzz from the Beehive Having found no fresh announcements on the government’s official website, Point of Order turned today to Scoop’s Latest Parliament Headlines  for its buzz. This provided us with evidence that the Māori Party has been soured by the the coalition agreement announced yesterday by the new PM. “Soured” ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • The Good, the Bad, and the even Worse.
    Yesterday the trio that will lead our country unveiled their vision for New Zealand.Seymour looking surprisingly statesmanlike, refusing to rise to barbs about his previous comments on Winston Peters. Almost as if they had just been slapstick for the crowd.Winston was mostly focussed on settling scores with the media, making ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • When it Comes to Palestine – Free Speech is Under Threat
    Hi,Thanks for getting amongst Mister Organ on digital — thanks to you, we hit the #1 doc spot on iTunes this week. This response goes a long way to helping us break even.I feel good about that. Other things — not so much.New Zealand finally has a new government, and ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • Thank you Captain Luxon. Was that a landing, or were we shot down?
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Also in More Than A FeildingFriday The unboxing And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Cans of Worms.
    “And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”LAURIE AND LES were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Disinformation campaigns are undermining democracy. Here’s how we can fight back
    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record.1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is not even an entry in Wikipedia. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • The New Government: 2023 Edition
    So New Zealand has a brand-spanking new right-wing government. Not just any new government either. A formal majority coalition, of the sort last seen in 1996-1998 (our governmental arrangements for the past quarter of a century have been varying flavours of minority coalition or single-party minority, with great emphasis ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    7 days ago

  • The unboxing
    And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the tree with its gold ribbon but can turn out to be nothing more than a big box holding a voucher for socks, so it ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • A cruel, vicious, nasty government
    So, after weeks of negotiations, we finally have a government, with a three-party cabinet and a time-sharing deputy PM arrangement. Newsroom's Marc Daalder has put the various coalition documents online, and I've been reading through them. A few things stand out: Luxon doesn't want to do any work, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • Hurrah – we have a new government (National, ACT and New Zealand First commit “to deliver for al...
    Buzz from the Beehive Sorry, there has been  no fresh news on the government’s official website since the caretaker trade minister’s press statement about the European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement. But the capital is abuzz with news – and media comment is quickly flowing – after ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Christopher Luxon – NZ PM #42.
    Nothing says strong and stable like having your government announcement delayed by a day because one of your deputies wants to remind everyone, but mostly you, who wears the trousers. It was all a bit embarrassing yesterday with the parties descending on Wellington before pulling out of proceedings. There are ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Coalition Government details policies & ministers
    Winston Peters will be Deputy PM for the first half of the Coalition Government’s three-year term, with David Seymour being Deputy PM for the second half. Photo montage by Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: PM-Elect Christopher Luxon has announced the formation of a joint National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government with a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • “Old Coat” by Peter, Paul & Mary.
     THERE ARE SOME SONGS that seem to come from a place that is at once in and out of the world. Written by men and women who, for a brief moment, are granted access to that strange, collective compendium of human experience that comes from, and belongs to, all the ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

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

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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