Labour’s Auckland Push

Written By: - Date published: 10:51 am, August 30th, 2016 - 57 comments
Categories: Andrew Little, class war, election 2017, labour, mana, maori party, national, Politics, workers' rights - Tags: , , ,

It’s been confirmed that Matt McCarten, currently Labour’s Chief of Staff, will move back to Auckland in September to head up a new project there. Matt will be in charge of maximising the vote in NZ’s biggest city and will run an office dedicated to that task.

It’s a tribute to his skills that he was retained in the Chief of Staff role by Andrew Little after being appointed by David Cunliffe. Little notes that McCarten’s value is in coordination:

“His strength is in the networks and setting up programmes and places for me to go to and getting stuff organised. And that is what I need.”

Matt has an almost unique ability to add value to whatever political project he takes on.

In his time he directly challenged the Rogernomes in Labour, helping to form NewLabour with Jim Anderton. He then oversaw the formation of the Alliance, the political grouping that spectacularly took a big chunk of the left vote in the 1999 election.

After the Alliance fell apart, he advised Tariana Turia and other disaffected MP’s who had broken away from Labour. While he was no doubt disappointed that the Maori party rejected his preferred left positioning in favour of a non challenging spot as National’s lapdog, his ability to organise was recognised shortly afterwards when he returned to the union movement as National Secretary of the Unite union.

After leaving Unite and a brief time advising Hone Harawira’s fledgling mana party, McCarten surprised many on the left by accepting the Labour Party’s Chief of Staff role, at the invitation of David Cunliffe. In his time in charge of the Opposition leaders team, he has overseen a refreshing of the ranks, and he leaves behind a solid core of staffers who appear ready for election year.

McCarten’s next challenge will be to solidify the work Labour are doing north of the Bombay’s. It’s been obvious for quite some time that National are vulnerable in Auckland.

National’s mishandling of the housing crisis, their lukewarm commitment to public transport and their failure to get a unity candidate for the mayoral election shows a party that has dropped the ball in NZ’s biggest city.

Opening a dedicated office in Auckland is a sign of Labour’s growing confidence and strategic nous. And Matt McCarten is the ideal person to maximise the outcomes, so I’m expecting good things from this appointment.

Yet again, we are seeing the Labour party making organisational gains under the leadership of Andrew Little. The parliamentary caucus is united and most of the tainted old guard MP’s are going or gone. Party membership is on the improve, the activist base is growing and the MoU with the Greens has given some solidity to the opposition not seen in recent years.

If Labour can take Auckland, they’ll be forming the next government.

Nice work, Andrew, nice work Matt.

I’m looking forward to 2017.

 

matt mcarten

 

[email protected]

https://tereoputake.wordpress.com/

 

57 comments on “Labour’s Auckland Push ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Danyl Mclauchlan 1
    30 August 2016 at 11:03 am

    [Hollow laughter]

    • Leftie 1.1
      30 August 2016 at 11:43 am

      Why Danyl Mclauchlan?

      • Ad 1.1.1
        30 August 2016 at 1:27 pm

        … is an existential question we’ve often asked.

        • dukeofurl 1.1.1.1
          30 August 2016 at 4:35 pm

          Its what happens when you are James Shaws ivory tower academic.
          Thats what the political process in NZ needs, a computational biologists input.

    • billmurray 1.2
      30 August 2016 at 2:41 pm

      te reo Putake, LOL it was a claytons dumping, McCarten will feet up , you must be on the good stuff, whose your supplier?.
      Has McCarten paid his back taxes yet?.
      Still LOL, good piece well done..

      • te reo putake 1.2.1
        30 August 2016 at 3:02 pm

        I understand that McCarten was keen to take on the Auckland office project. It’s his home town and his employment history (as detailed in the post) shows he has always moved on when he felt the time was right and there was other good work to be done.

        McCarten owes the IRD nothing and was never in arrears to them. If you want to wallow in the shallow end of the pool, pop over to WO. Facts never get in the way of a good smear over there.

        In a nutshell, you’re full of it.

        • billmurray 1.2.1.1
          30 August 2016 at 3:26 pm

          te reo Putake, you know self deception can be terminal, McCarten/ Unite do owe taxes and arrears are a fact, I truly believe that it was a claytons dumping, he was chief of staff, what is his new title?, has he dropped salary level and will he have staff?.
          I look forward to going to a few of his meetings and catching up with you but be warned I will not tolerate bulldust.
          Labour is looking vunerable with Matts departure and without a new chief of staff in sight!.

          • McFlock 1.2.1.1.1
            30 August 2016 at 3:46 pm

            McCarten/ Unite do owe taxes and arrears are a fact,

            Citation please.
            Oh, I know there was an issue a couple of elections ago, but surely they’ve come to an agreement since then? Do you have any evidence whatsoever that the debt is still outstanding?

            • te reo putake 1.2.1.1.1.1
              30 August 2016 at 4:09 pm

              Many years ago Unite operated a separate, at arms length company that provided services to the union. It was wound up and came to an arrangement with the IRD. Not McCarten’s personal responsibility. Not Unite’s either.

              In fact, the service company was structured in a way that is entirely common in NZ business. It went bust. These things happen in business. This is not corruption like, say, owning Tranzrail shares and denying profiting off them, or being the beneficiary of the world’s most thinly veiled blind trust.

              It’s a smear, is what it is.

              • McFlock …
                30 August 2016 at 4:15 pm

                Indeed.

                So as far as IRD are concerned, six years later there’s no money outstanding?

                In that case the “smear” looks to me like it’s just a touch defamatory.

              • Chuck …
                2 September 2016 at 5:36 pm

                “McCarten’s vehicle, which supplied administrative support services to the youth-orientated union Unite, was put into liquidation by a High Court order last month after the IRD pursued it for “failure to provide for taxation,” according to the first liquidator’s report.”

                “The Official Assignee rated the prospect of a dividend as “unlikely,” and is looking into the company’s possible interest in an Onehunga building lease, the report said. ”

                http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5342791/IRD-chasing-Matt-McCarten-company

                http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2011/07/matt-mccarten-tax-cheat.html

                TRP I note you say this “Not McCarten’s personal responsibility” so I assume you support ALL people that hide behind company and/or trust structures to avoid paying debts??? or just Matt???

                I guess if Matt has indeed paid it off then great…shame he thought it was OK in the first place to give the finger to all other tax payers.

            • billmurray 1.2.1.1.1.2
              30 August 2016 at 4:20 pm

              Mcflock,
              I understand that “Stuff- Businessday’ published an article whereby McCarten admitted to them that he and the Unite union owe about $170.000 to the IRD he said that he was keen to pay the debt, the article is dated 5 August 2016.
              There has not been any report on the debt repayment and surely it is fair to conclude that the debt is still outstanding.
              I have searched for any reports on the debt repayment and cannot find any, some of the $170.000 is arrears to tax owing.

              [Great. Find that article or any other that confirms that McCarten personally owes IRD money and post it. Until you can provide evidence, this discussion is over. TRP]

              • McFlock …
                30 August 2016 at 4:38 pm

                lol

                Oh, you “understand” that, do you?

                Funny, because in 2011 they were paying off 130k debt at $8k a month. By arrangment. So it should have been sorted well before last election.

                By pure coincidence, I’m sure, there was an internet site that mentioned the debt on august 5, but that was fucking kiwiblog that simply recycled the 2010 Stuff story alongside Labour’s announcement a few weeks ago of wanting to get employer kiwisaver contribution arrears sorted.

                But you wouldn’t be confusing current mention of an outstanding debt with clickbait propaganda about a debt that had been sorted well before mccarten was even associated with the Labour Party, would you?

              • One Anonymous Bloke …
                30 August 2016 at 4:40 pm

                When is Trevor Rogers going to stop embodying National Party values?

      • Bob 1.2.2
        30 August 2016 at 3:06 pm

        “it was a claytons dumping”
        That’s how I saw it too, but good to see it has TRP re-energised.
        The sign off “Nice work, Andrew, nice work Matt.” and “I’m looking forward to 2017” did make me laugh. They haven’t actually done anything so not sure what they are being congratulated for, and looking forward to next year just sounds like another Warriors supporter!

        • te reo putake 1.2.2.1
          30 August 2016 at 3:36 pm

          Rabbitohs, Bob. And yes, it’ll be next season for us, too. Glory, glory, South Sydney!

          Little has turned Labour around. He’s got the caucus behaving properly for the first time since Clark departed. He’s got Labour working in close cooperation with the Greens, something previously unheard of. Labour and friends have been close too or ahead of National for most of the polls in the last year or so.

          And, tellingly, he’s still there, leading from the front. Not a hint of discontent from his MP’s.

          McCarten has built the team in Labour’s office. First, with Cunliffe, now with Little. Everything I’ve heard, and every communication I’ve had from them as a member, suggests he’s got the office humming.

          I know an efficient, focussed Labour team is a surprise to many, but Little and McCarten seem to have achieved exactly that.

          • Bob 1.2.2.1.1
            30 August 2016 at 4:02 pm

            “Little has turned Labour around”
            I will give you the part where the caucus are behaving properly (the ABC’s have gone quiet for a start), but they are polling at their lowest level since the 2014 election, so I guess saying he has “turned Labour around” really depends on what their main focus is.

            “I know an efficient, focussed Labour team is a surprise to many, but Little and McCarten seem to have achieved exactly that.”
            You are right, that would surprise me for one. I guess it is just a case of the work going on behind the scenes isn’t being conveyed to the public, could be a reason why McCarten is moving to a new role…

            BTW, I would suggest next year is more likely to be the Rabbitohs year than the Warriors.

            • te reo putake 1.2.2.1.1.1
              30 August 2016 at 4:18 pm

              I certainly hope the bunnies get up. A great working class club I’ve supported since well before there was a Warriors. Proud of their roots, part of their community.

              Re: Little etc. The key point is getting Labour in a position to form a government. Even at RM’s bogus 25.5%, Labour are there and have been there pretty much since Little took over. Personally, I think the Greens have gained a few soft points since the MoU. This possibility was discussed here at TS at the time.

              however, if the two parties combined reach the 40’s on election day, and most polls suggest that’s likely, that’s a mandate to try and put a government together.

          • Jenny Kirk 1.2.2.1.2
            31 August 2016 at 9:46 am

            + 100%

    • Mike Bond 1.3
      30 August 2016 at 2:43 pm

      I will join you in that laughter Danyl. Ha Ha Ha

  2. Jo 2
    30 August 2016 at 11:18 am

    Little is tinkering while Rome burns.
    What is he doing about the crisis developing with the Maori vote and there is now talk of Mahuta either jumping ship or resigning and forcing a by-election, demoting her was politically very stupid. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but then he demotes Mahuta and Cunliffe, who both have very good grassroot appeal.
    This is the first time in the election cycle since National came to office where they look vulnerable and Labour can’t budge off 25%, they loose the Maori vote and this will be the best they can hope fore at the general election.
    It is time for people to take the heads out of the sand, Little does not have the charisma and it would also appear he also lacks the political nous to take Labour to the next election. Labour need to act now and even then it may be too late.

    • weka 2.1
      30 August 2016 at 11:41 am

      “and there is now talk of Mahuta either jumping ship or resigning and forcing a by-election, demoting her was politically very stupid.”

      Where is that talk happening exactly?

      If you think Labour need a charismatic leader and that Little isn’t it, what do you suggest they do?

      • Jo 2.1.1
        30 August 2016 at 11:56 am

        Leader Cunliffe, deputy Ardern and move Parker back into finance. Make it very clear that the focus is not on 2017 but 2020 when Key is gone. The biggest problem Cunliffe had was, there was no time for him to settle in as leader, it was almost like he tried too hard and he obviously had some very difficult personal problems to deal with.

        So what if people like Goff (soon to be gone) and King (past her use-by-date and she is awful in the house with her shrill interjections) don’t like him, they are not the future of the party.

        It is a bloody travesty that Cunliffe was replaced, take out Dot.com and he would probably have been the PM and then the caucus force him out! Little was elected with zip support outside of the Unions, at least Cunliffe had the backing of the membership, Little didn’t even have that.

        • Brigid 2.1.1.1
          30 August 2016 at 12:07 pm

          Cunliffe “obviously had some very difficult personal problems to deal with.”
          Care to elaborate?

          • Jo 2.1.1.1.1
            30 August 2016 at 12:23 pm

            He separated from his wife not long after the election, pretty tough going through that and trying to win an election at the same time.

        • Matthew Whitehead 2.1.1.2
          30 August 2016 at 12:50 pm

          The biggest problem Cunliffe had was the careerists determined to lose an election spectacularly in order to undermine him, but I will concede that you make a very good play for second-biggest there. 😉

          • Jo 2.1.1.2.1
            30 August 2016 at 1:09 pm

            and you can also add that they and Little hope he will resign in 2017. The problem the ABC club has is that Robertson has shown himself to be very ineffectual as the Finance spokesman and lazy to boot. Which means he would be useless as leader and now they have no one but Little to hang their hat on. But who cares we kept Cunliffe out and that was what was important.

            Labour will go no where until Goff, Cossgrove, King, Dyson and Mallard are gone. Unfortunately they are all going to be in charge until 2017.

            • Matthew Whitehead 2.1.1.2.1.1
              6 September 2016 at 8:31 pm

              To be fair I think Robertson is actually competent in finance and makes Bill English look stupid if you understand economics and political science, it’s just he doesn’t get how to communicate that in feelings, like much of the ABC club he’s a technocrat who thinks if they get the policy right everything will work out fine. The job is 90% communication, not 90% policy. (To be fair Cunliffe didn’t even get that mix right either, but he was the best leader they’ve had since Clark on that front)

              I agree with you on most of the old guard you refer to, (especially Mallard, who I imagine is desperately holding on to try and be Speaker before he’s forced out, and to be fair, that’s about the only role I’d want to see him in, as he may yet pull a Lockwood Smith and turn out to be much better as a Speaker than as an MP) although having actually seen some of Dyson’s work behind the scenes, she is actually a very effective MP from said technocratic- and representational side of things, and I wouldn’t mind her staying on as a backbencher with a senior portfolio, it’s just these people need to realise they are elder statespeople, not leading lights, and need to be mentoring their replacements and preparing to retire from the Party.

        • Mike Bond 2.1.1.3
          30 August 2016 at 2:46 pm

          Well said Jo.

    • Leftie 2.2
      30 August 2016 at 11:41 am

      Where did you hear that load of crap from Jo?

    • Bill 2.3
      30 August 2016 at 12:03 pm

      There’s always the possibility – just a possibility mind – that Little is attempting to successfully pull off Ed Miliband’s electoral strategy.

      That strategy (according to Corbyn) was to under-promise and over-deliver. Miliband got tied in knots by it, but essentially the idea was to mollify the ‘right’ of the party by fighting on that small and kinda boring contested area that’s occupied by the ‘wealthier mashed potato with no salt people’ (muddle NZ in our case) and then deliver on policy tailored for the greater unwashed and abandoned (poorer) masses.

      If – big if – that’s the game plan, then Mahuta, Cunliffe et al don’t come into play until after the election.

      • Jo 2.3.1
        30 August 2016 at 12:19 pm

        So in other words lie! Well the UK voters saw through it and so will the NZ voting Public.
        The problem is, when people suspect you are doing that they ask very specific questions like; will you introduce a capital gains tax or raise the retirement age? Part of John Key’s appeal was he said he would not raise the retirement age, and if National did he would resign as leader. Black and White, discussion over, is Little going to do that or is he going to say we are going to set up a commission/working group to look in to it? People then think, am I voting for this man and his party or some faceless working group. What if I don’t like what the working group comes up with? Better vote for the devil I know!

        • Leftie 2.3.1.1
          30 August 2016 at 2:09 pm

          The devil you want lies all the time. John key is notorious for that. No thanks Jo, 9 years of National’s corruption, sell outs and abject failures is enough. There will be nothing left to fight for should Key rig his way in for another term. I for one, will be voting for change and will vote for a Lab/Green coalition government. You stick with your empty guns though.

          • Reddelusion 2.3.1.1.1
            30 August 2016 at 2:13 pm

            Never would have guessed 😀

          • Jo 2.3.1.1.2
            30 August 2016 at 8:03 pm

            well if the Maori/Mana party take the Maori seats and go into coalition with National then Lab/Green/NZF are not going to be in the dance.

  3. Leftie 3
    30 August 2016 at 11:44 am

    Very nice post there Te Reo Putake, it is most definitely going to be a very interesting year ahead.

  4. Ad 4
    30 August 2016 at 11:57 am

    +100
    We Labour members are very lucky to have actual hard core activists like Matt pushing the leadership from within. Well overdue that Auckland gets some specific focus.

    Can I just put a vote in for a decent fundraiser evening? I understand there are some actual dedicated fundraising resource in Labour HQ these days.
    I went to one in central Auckland when Helen was still around with an art auction in it, and it was a total frenzy of bidding. I remember losing on an Ann Robinson to Charles Chauvell. I don’t think it would be hard to get the Usual Suspects out for a bit of an evening.

    • save nz 4.1
      30 August 2016 at 2:19 pm

      +2 Ad – although I think the focus should be on getting votes and winning the hearts and minds and trust of Aucklander’s. Fundraising should be secondary or not a huge focus. If Winston only has $80,000 and doing ok, then Labour should be focusing on getting more than 25% of vote, not getting money out of people to send them postcards to get more than 25% of the vote. A post card will not change someones mind to vote. A vision and passion and integrity is.

      I am a fan of Cunliffe but it was not a good look when Labour lost the last election to blame fundraising as a reason. It was certainly not fundraising issues that lost last election for Labour. It was the behaviour, policy and strategy of Labour MP’s that lost the last election.

  5. Righty right 5
    30 August 2016 at 12:30 pm

    Well you see Auckland speculator can’t afford any change if labour were to bailout the home owner and reduce our mortgages that would be a winner
    We need the current environment to stay solvent we personally can’t afford low cost home to be built labour should scrap kiwi build and state homes

  6. save nz 6
    30 August 2016 at 2:11 pm

    Great move by Little. Labour seem to have a plan and executing it skilfully.

  7. Michael 7
    30 August 2016 at 2:16 pm

    FWICS, Little has no chance of becoming Prime Minister at any time. Although I understand Labour’s calculation that it does not need the vote of proletarians, or people who live outside the three big cities (same thing, really), in order to take office next year, I think it’s going to be too hard for it to persuade a couple of hundred thousand metropolitan voters (Labour’s target market) to abandon Key and tick the Party Vote box next to the B Team next year. Although Labour should be able to stick Key with all the blame for Auckland’s dysfunctional residential property market (the only issue the target market cares about), I have yet to see any evidence that Labour knows how to manage the problem (I take it as granted that no one knows how to solve it). Exploiting the fear and greed of the target market so as to gain political office calls for a deft hand that I don’t see Labour possessing. Perhaps McCarten has such a hand well-hidden up his sleeve?

    • Ad 7.1
      30 August 2016 at 3:03 pm

      McCarten has the best interests of working people in his blood.
      As does Andrew Little.
      You would know this from a cursory glace at their track records.

      • Michael 7.1.1
        30 August 2016 at 8:58 pm

        McCarten maybe, Little no. I base this conclusion on a close reading of their respective track records.

    • Garibaldi 7.2
      30 August 2016 at 3:05 pm

      I tend to agree with you Michael. It’s like Little is “Third way mk2”. Labour is still basically a right wing party with its free market dogma introduced by Douglas etc back in ’84. I can’t see Little campaigning successfully against Key when their policies are basically similar. How many Nat policies would Labour change outright? Bugger all.

      • In Vino 7.2.1
        30 August 2016 at 6:35 pm

        Yes, Labour have tended to stall the Neo- Lib progress, but never remove the plumbing, meaning that National can easily push the agenda when they get back in.
        And Working for Families was a sop to Righties, rewarding only the virtuous who had work, and leaving the poorest children with no help.
        More open commitment needed to my mind.

        • Cricklewood 7.2.1.1
          30 August 2016 at 6:52 pm

          I’ve always admired the unwavering support given to Labour by some on the left.
          When you look at the last two lab govts they have done very little for the most down trodden in society… made worse by the fact they laid the platform for Ruth Richardson and then couldn’t bring themselves to undo the harm that was done in any meaningful fashion….

          • Michael 7.2.1.1.1
            30 August 2016 at 8:57 pm

            Cricklewood – I agree with your analysis. Labour abandoned its base many years ago and no longer wants to reconnect with it. Perhaps it is just too hard to mobilise alienated voters, when all Labour needs next year is the Party Votes of 200,000 (or so) flakie bourgeoisie, whipped into a state of hysteria over the nominal values of their homes in the big cities. Any government that results from an appeal to this sliver of the electorate won’t be a Labour one, of course.

  8. Jenny Kirk 8
    31 August 2016 at 9:50 am

    Hey tereoputake – great post, but it sure did bring some rightwing trolls out of the undergrowth ! They sound a bit worried ……… as they should be !

    • te reo putake 8.1
      31 August 2016 at 10:13 am

      Yep! One of Key’s strengths has been to ride out difficult patches. But the Auckland housing crisis drags on and on and the Nats continue to look hopelessly ineffective. Hence the obvious worry from the right here and on other social media.

      Plus, it occurs to me that ‘Labour did it too’ is getting less useful as the years pass and it’s seen as odd for Key to both blame Helen Clark for all manner of things and at the same time to be singing her praises in the UN.

  9. Mr Righty 9
    31 August 2016 at 10:22 am

    Hey TRP
    Mccartens company, of which he was sole director was wound up by the liquidators with no money recovered and Mcarten removed as director.

    https://www.business.govt.nz/companies/app/service/services/documents/424A2139C091556AFB779B40F5BC3BDF

    Where is the evidence that he and his company paid the money owing?

  10. Mr Righty 10
    31 August 2016 at 10:32 am

    Mccarten should be labour spokesperson on economics, a failed Director of a company wound up by the courts in 2013 with no $ recovered. Wipe the egg from your face TRP

    http://www.insolvency.govt.nz/oasis3-web/oasis3/page/-oasis/domain/communications/SearchInsolvencyRegister.wdk

    • te reo putake 10.1
      31 August 2016 at 10:45 am

      He’s not an MP, you egg. And having a failed company doesn’t mean a thing. There’s plenty of NZ business owners who didn’t always succeed. Doesn’t mean they’re precluded from doing other things in their professional lives. Grow up, mate.

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    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    22 hours ago

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

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

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

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 day ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    2 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago

  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago

  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: 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 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    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
    2 weeks 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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