Le Matte Juste: More resignations!

Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, August 8th, 2017 - 70 comments
Categories: election 2017, greens, Metiria Turei - Tags: ,

Matthew Whitehead cross-posted from lemattjuste.wordpress.com


Wow, what is up with this election, right?

David Clendon and Kennedy Graham last night attempted to force Metiria Turei’s resignation as female co-leader of the Green Party by saying they would quit if she didn’t, and their bluff has been called. James Shaw has since addressed the issue, and confirmed that he will be seeking to have them both removed from the Green Caucus, (for actions bringing the party into disrepute- as I have said elsewhere, Green MPs aren’t supposed to engineer leadership spills, and the party actually takes good behaviour rather seriously) although he will most likely not seek to remove them as MPs and replace them given how little time is left in this sitting of Parliament.

What this means in practice is that they will be removed from the Green Party List for the coming election, likely confirming Hayley Holt and Teal Crossen1 as MPs if the party holds ground on its average performance in polls, and possibly even Teanu Tuiono and Leilani Tamu as well, if it achieves its maximum bound to date. These are all excellent candidates who deserved to be further up the list, so in terms of political impact, it would be like Clare Curran doing the same thing in the Labour Party2. Teall can easily fill Kennedy Graham’s shoes in the Green caucus, so all they need to do is get sixteen seats (2 more) to make sure they’ve got someone with comparable mana to speak on climate issues and negotiations. I see this as the most likely interna cause of movement in upcoming polling of Green Party support, (continued coverage of Metiria may cause movement, but if anything it’s likely to increase support to the Greens, and a resurgence of Labour support may tempt some soft Greens support away in the polls) but I don’t know if we’ll actually see any dips because of this.

To clarify what’s going on here a little now that things are clearer, their objection was apparently related to Turei’s having been signed up in the wrong electorate and her refusal to resign after a weeks-long media beat up that has refused to dent Party support, not simply to her admission about her actions while on a benefit, as they were part of the decision to tell that story publicly, and that decision was made with consensus within the Green caucus. (ie. everyone agreed to support the decision) How one reconciles that initial decision with creating a perception of instability for the Greens with this late resignation is something I personally find baffling, but apparently they think there is some world in which that makes sense, and they are taking a principled stand by saying it’s wrong to withold information from the government, even though Metiria has very publicly admitted the very same thing to the media several times.

This strikes me as a rather good example of making a mountain out of a molehill. These were actions that, while technically a crime and rather stupid, came before she became an MP, and that two successive Prime Ministers haven’t been punished for performing because it’s the long-standing policy of the Electoral commission that you live where you bloody well say you do, so long as you can answer mail there. Nobody was actually taking seriously the possibility of dissension within Caucus until these two went to the media, and it doesn’t seem like they had actually made the leadership team adequately aware of their concerns, as nobody seems to have been aware that they weren’t fully onside.

These are people who served our country well as MPs to date, both performing well above average, but if they can’t stand by someone whose personal story has finally given us a real and honest conversation about poverty and the welfare system in New Zealand, then they needed to go, especially if they can’t respect the way that things are done within the Green Party, and can’t have an open and honest conversation about their problems. Metiria won’t resign unless she believes that she’s done her dash, Greens don’t do leadership coups or engineering resignations, and it’s appropriate for both men to not only stand down from the campaign, but be ejected from Caucus and even to potentially be kicked out of the party altogether given their breach of normal process.

1 The new Green Party list will likely be as follows, sticking to the top 20, as no poll thus far has suggested the Greens will break that particular milestone just yet. Note that at least 15 MPs are likely if the Greens hold ground, and as many as 18 are possible if the party achieves its highest results from current polling.

  1. Metiria Turei (Te Tai Tonga)
  2. James Shaw (Wellington Central)
  3. ​Marama Davidson (Tamaki Makaurau)
  4. Julie Anne Genter (Mt Albert)
  5. ​Eugenie Sage (Port Hills)
  6. Gareth Hughes (East Coast)
  7. Jan Logie (Mana)
  8. Chlöe Swarbrick (Maungakiekie)
  9. Golriz Ghahraman (Te Atatu)
  10. Mojo Mathers (Rangitata)
  11. Barry Coates (Epsom)
  12. Jack McDonald (Te Tai Hauauru)
  13. John Hart (Wairarapa)
  14. Denise Roche (Auckland Central)
  15. Hayley Holt (Helensville)
  16. Teall Crossen (Rongotai)
  17. Teanau Tuiono (Manurewa)
  18. Leilani Tamu (New Lynn)
  19. Matt Lawrey (Nelson)
  20. Chris Perley (Tukituki)

David vacates 16th position and the Northland electorate campaign while Kennedy vacates 8th and the North Shore campaign. I’ve also provided links to candidate pages for those people who have been bumped up two ranks by these resignations. If you’d like more info about the new top 14, or about people beyond rank 20, you can see the official page on the 2017 Green Party List.

2 Well, at least in the case of David Clendon, who has no significant public profile. Actually it’s a little unfair of a comparison even then, because Clendon is obviously more competent than Curran. Kennedy Graham was, essentially, the solid backbencher that gets down and does a lot of good work and has valuable expertise in a party that is currently over-stuffed full of front-bench level talent. He would have been a valuable MP if he could have acted with more honour, but given he pulled this stunt, he’s not worth having in the caucus.

70 comments on “Le Matte Juste: More resignations! ”

  1. Dorothy 1

    It was Metiria who pulled the stunt. so —–
    Please stand down from the leadership of the Green Party
    for the good of the Green Party.

    • weka 1.1

      She’s getting massive amounts of support from the party, members, GP supporters and voters.

      • dukeofurl 1.1.1

        Ever heard of the echo chamber ?

        She had 100% support from her caucus too until they were asked.

        • weka 1.1.1.1

          That doesn’t make sense.

        • weka 1.1.1.2

          If paying more attention to your support base than people who don’t vote for you is an echo chamber, sure. I still don’t get why people who don’t vote Green think they’re entitled to tell the Greens what to do.

          • Matthew Whitehead 1.1.1.2.1

            Well, they will be entitled to a bit more input than usual if the Greens become part of the government, (as unlike the opposition, the government is theoretically accountable to the people) but yes, it is a bit bizarre.

            It would be like me saying that National should sack Bennett, Collins, Smith, and Brownlee because they’re all incredibly unpopular nationally when you consider people who aren’t National supporters. That’s not how politics or government works.

          • Venezia 1.1.1.2.2

            Weka..+1

          • Johan 1.1.1.2.3

            How many so called Green supporters will phone or text in, saying that they will withdraw their support from this political party?
            First, let them give their name and make known their affiliation, no doubt these agitators are all right wing supporters.

          • Cynical jester 1.1.1.2.4

            +1000

    • Again, you seem to have missed the point that before Metiria Turei’s speech at the Green AGM, she actually put this issue to the entire Green Caucus, (as they do with most political strategy) and there was a consensus that her political strategy was sound and that people were comfortable with her making that admission so long as they were allowed to say that they think welfare fraud is wrong. (which even Turei herself has admitted)

      Which is to say that both Kennedy and David backed her initial admission of lying to WINZ. If your problem was the initial admission, then you’re essentially disagreeing with the entire Green Party, not just Turei, because whoever replaced her would be just as keen on the same policies to address poverty, and would be just as likely to refuse to condemn what Turei did, and all 11 other caucus members are behind her, as is literally every Green member I know.

    • esoteric pineapples 1.3

      Please stay for the good of the party

    • Aaron 1.4

      I see the Narional Party Social Media Team is on a quick-response setting for this issue. You can judge their success by how much of the comments section is taken up with responses to their baiting

  2. Brutus Iscariot 2

    Before the race baiting comes out, i’d like to point out that Clendon is actually Maori.

    These are guys that have served the environmental and pacificist movements for decades, it seems ungrateful to see a bunch of millenials go feral on them.

    • A worthwhile point to make. I saw some people decrying this as two white men attacking Metiria, which is a little ignorant, but I don’t entirely blame people because virtually nobody knows anything about Clendon. It’s two old men attacking Metiria though, so not entirely off the mark I suppose.

      Also, for someone who’s talking out against race-baiting and honouring people’s mana, you’re painting millennials with an awfully large brush. I’m a millenial, and I hope my take didn’t seem particularly feral. The only person I’ve actually seen step rhetorically out of line was one of the young-greens co-convenors, who probably shouldn’t have told them both to “f— off,” but I can absolutely sympathise (and even agree with) the depth of feeling there. My initial reaction was similar, I simply phrased it with a more mild “I hope the door doesn’t hit them on the way out.”

      • McFlock 2.1.1

        I’m sure that the two conservative-greens were as offended by the bad language as they were by someone putting down the wrong electoral address so they could vote for McGillicuddy Serious, lol

      • Keepcalmcarryon 2.1.2

        It’s been eye opening seeing what some regular posters really think when they are upset. Painting this as some sort of male failing just makes (those) green supporters look out of touch with reality and adds to the greens current poor public showing.
        Rapid descent in to identity politics is bad form.
        My opinion of Metiria has fallen over this, although James Shaw has fronted well.
        I’m not a regular green voter and certainly won’t be any time soon despite liking many of their policies.
        It’s the greens business whether or not to keep Metiria as co leader, just as it’s their business whether they more interested in listening to the sound of their own voices than what voters think.
        Hope it plays out for them, don’t think they are on a winner.

        • Well, I think it was more coming from a place where people were feeling like saying “look, two old men are not likely to be particularly in touch with the realities of being a single mother, so they should be a lot more careful before the criticise.”

          Twitter in particular, where a lot of this discussion was had, tends to get a bit feral because it’s hard to express nuance and depth of feeling within that character limit unless you thread together responses.

          We’ll see how the latest stuff plays out, but unless there’s a dramatic crash in support or a continued increase, it will be hard to tease out “people leaving the Greens because of the resignations of Clendon and Graham” vs “people leaving the Greens because of Ardern’s new Labour Party.”

      • RedLogix 2.1.3

        It’s two old men attacking Metiria though, so not entirely off the mark I suppose.

        As are Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn.

        These casual, thoughtless ageist cracks that are being scattered around quite a bit lately, aren’t usually worth making a fuss about, but they’re unhelpful and irksome all the same.

        Besides once you’ve defined your elders as your enemies, you’re betting on the expectation you never grow to their age yourself.

        • Planet Earth 2.1.3.1

          Well put!

        • Come on, do you really think it’s unfair to say that two men who grew up in a time before single mothers became a demographic might find it hard to understand what it’s like for a single mother on the benefit, and to correctly work out the moral calculus of Metiria’s situation?

          I’m not intending to define the older generation as categorically my enemy nor making ageist remarks. (I’m sure you’ll remember from my earlier comments on TS that in fact I am right behind both Corbyn and Sanders, especially against allegations that Sanders is in any way a sexist) What I was trying to get at is that it’s not unreasonable to see Kennedy and David within the framing of men of an older generation who don’t understand what life is like for single-parent families, a criticism that is not entirely unreasonable. (It may be unfounded on closer evaluation, but this criticism was largely coming from people whose association with the Green Party was pretty casual at best, so I wouldn’t have expected them to look into things that closely)

          • Rob 2.1.3.2.1

            Well, I am a middle aged married white male who has some thoughts on Metiria, now watch me as I shut my fucking face.

            • In Vino 2.1.3.2.1.1

              Sorry, I missed it. Can you do it again, please?
              I am 70.
              I am disgusted at the faux moralising by rednecks howling for Turei’s crucifixion.

          • RedLogix 2.1.3.2.2

            Come on, do you really think it’s unfair to say that two men who grew up in a time before single mothers became a demographic might find it hard to understand what it’s like for a single mother on the benefit, and to correctly work out the moral calculus of Metiria’s situation?

            My own father who is the other side of 90 correctly works it out. There is nothing especially ‘new’ about single/un-wed mothers.

            • Matthew Whitehead 2.1.3.2.2.1

              I agree that’s how it should be viewed, but among the good guys who don’t lean on their age as an excuse there are of course occassional dinosaurs and I can understand why people drew that conclusion based purely on “optics.” It’s not necessary right (in fact, I suspect in Graham’s case it was actually more about some very distinct moral reasoning that he shares with his more right-wing family members that immoral acts don’t have moral contexts and are simply inherently wrong or right, with no utilitarian calculus to be performed, and that MPs have to be “above that” sort of thing and very clear in advocating that type of morality. Which I view as a little bit holier-than-thou, but could have easily respected if he had gone through the normal Party processes to express his concern rather than rushing straight to the media)

    • greywarshark 2.2

      The point is that now that it is time to actually care about people close up and personal, they reveal their main preoccupation is the environment – the trees and not the huggers – and apparently pacificism which is to reduce war which is a way of devastating the environment and the people.

      The problem is that they had little empathy with a woman’s struggle to get training and a job that she could do lifelong and which would support her, is at the nub of this matter. For Maori the call is He tangata, he tangata, he tangata and for the environmentalist it is to care for and nurture all of the earth and its creatures, including human unmarried mothers.

  3. 44 south 3

    May I suggest that everyone who is so supportive of this woman and her criticism of the current social welfare system, read the latest post by James Kunstler at Klusterfuck Nation.
    The last three sentences will do if your pressed for time.
    The future you’re all hoping for,is not the one that’s coming.
    It’s time to WAKE UP!

    • McFlock 3.1

      Dude, you couldn’t even paste three sentences?

    • I’ll save you all time- don’t read that post, it’s economically illiterate, (doesn’t understand how national debt works) bunker-mentality, (literally- he at one point says not to live in cities, you’ll be in trouble “when civilization collapses”) and that “last three sentences” bit is referring directly to some dogwhistled bene-bashing.

      If you do hate yourself though, feel free to visit http://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/just-wait-little/ and gouge out your eyeballs all you want.

      edit: or, for those who just want the “critical three sentences”:

      Keep in mind that being in this world actually entitles you to nothing. One way or another, you’ll have to earn everything worth having, including self-respect and your next meal.

      Now, just wait a little while.

      That blog is a very unkind thing to inflict upon people just because you disagree with their choice of political leader. 😉

      • McFlock 3.2.1

        lols

        So on top of everything else, we’re all dooooooommmeedd!!!!! 🙂

      • Psycho Milt 3.2.2

        My God, he’s right! All these “useless eaters,” these “lives unworthy of life” who aren’t out there earning their next meal – something must be done about it!

      • adam 3.2.3

        My question always is the same to people who rant on about the world owes you nothing. Then why do you not fight harder to remove inheritance? Que – I make no sense – 123…

        • You mean cue people saying you make no sense? I’m pretty sure you’re conflating “cue,” which as a noun means “a prompt or excitation to action” with “queue,” which means “a line formed for the purpose of waiting.” Naturally they both come in both noun and verb forms, and mixing the spellings of both together.

          But yes, it’s quite frankly astounding that people who claim to support equality of opportunity and want to remove entitlements are also strangely reluctant to take a hard line on making inherited wealth illegal. If you believe in equality of opportunity, any inherited wealth at all is a problem.

          • McFlock 3.2.3.1.1

            looks more like Fawlty towers/mcSpañol to me…

            • Matthew Whitehead 3.2.3.1.1.1

              Yeah it did look a little like spanglish at first, but think about it, “queue” and “cue” are homophones, so like “wouldn’t’ve” and “wouldn’t of,” (which are near-homophones) they’ll end up being confused. So it was likely an attempt to write “cue” that ended up confusing it with “queue” compounded by not realising how ridiculously we spell the word “queue” in the English language when actually it should be something more like “kyu.”

              • In Vino

                I would just add that ‘wouldn’t of’ is a barbarism and solecism that should be exterminated. Bring back the Grammar Daleks!

  4. The Lone Haranguer 4

    It seems that the whole caucus was happy with the original strategy to “fess up” to get mileage around the poverty trap.

    My reading of things (possibly wrong) is that the latter stuff that appeared in the paper around the electoral voting and mum being in the house (not sure why the latter was bad tho) may not have been discussed, and its that information which tipped the two MPs over.

    I understand why the GP supporters are unhappy with the two men, but Im pretty disappointed to see that the GP membership/supporters/MPs are as feral as all the other parties.

    I guess they were just better at hiding their disagreements

    • weka 4.1

      I’ve seen a few comments go hard against the two MPs but I’ve also seen more comments telling people to not be mean. Haven’t been on FB though. So not really sure what you mean. People will have opinions to express, that’s not a problem in an election.

      • Dennis Frank 4.1.1

        I didn’t see the post-caucus press conference, but a commentator on RNZ an hour ago shared impressions. Apparently the caucus decided not to expel them from the party, or even from caucus. The framing was that they agreed to withdraw from caucus till the election. The female co-convenor who was publicly derogatory to the two guys was made to apologise. Seems like all the players had cooled down sufficiently to try & patch up a compromise, and if it holds, that will be an outcome that limits the damage to the public standing of the GP.

      • billmurray 4.1.2

        weka 1.39pm
        I have never made a adverse comment about Metiras admitted benefit fraud, but the msm including tv and radio have ( readers, viewers and listeners ).
        Imo the forthcoming polls will down her as they did to Andrew.
        In the mean time I believe her continued refusal to step down shows a arrogance ( it is not bravery ) which will cause serious damage to the Greens and the left block.
        We all have to wait and see, but by then her resignation could be to late to save the day.

        • Anne 4.1.2.1

          Yes, billy-boy we know your views. 🙄

          • billmurray 4.1.2.1.1

            Anne 3.41pm.
            A Pound to a shilling they will become a fact.
            Don’t not how to do the smiley face.
            All the best.

            • Matthew Whitehead 4.1.2.1.1.1

              They won’t, as Turei just said today in response to a hypothetical 8% polling and whether she would resign then that she is definitely not resigning before the election.

              • weka

                It’s really interesting to watch, the Greens just sticking to their kaupapa and Turei refusing to resign just because some media numpties think the received wisdom is it’s time for her to stand down.

                Even after all this time they still don’t get it that the Greens do politics differently 😆

            • Stuart Munro 4.1.2.1.1.2

              Meteria has guts. She’ll still be there when you’re not even a bad memory.

          • reason 4.1.2.1.2

            Yes Anne,…. we are not getting hundreds or even dozens of posters calling for Metirias resignation ….

            Just Bill Murray the ugly face of Labour ….. posting obsessivly and trying to do the job of dozens ……. hunting with the trolls

            And creating an impression only of himself…..

            Has Bill M ever called for Bill english to resign over his falsifications and scamming $32,000 in accomdiation allowances ?….

            After all Englis and his “Greed” crime is much worse than a solo parents and their ‘need’ crime.

            • Anne 4.1.2.1.2.1

              Billy’s not Labour reason. I think he has claimed here in the past that he is… he isn’t. If he ever was Labour I’m picking his intolerant, reactionary attitude caused him to be isolated to the point where he had no choice but to leave.

              • reason

                My bad Anne ….. I formed the wrong impression when he was proclaiming the inside word for Labours ‘head office’ … in one of his posts.

                I sometimes mix up the unpleasant types/trolls … Bill reminded me of some other Labour bad apples I once disagreed with in a ‘Hone’ thread …. regarding the co-operation … at the last election ….. between National, Labour, Simon Lusk, Act, Nz first etc…… to get Hone out of parliament.

                Last election Labour levereged another attack on a social justice politician…. it was probably national voters that got Kelvin Davis elected.

                Feed the kids ??? nah …. lets all get Hone….

                This feels the same to me …… and its notable this elections .. the target is the only party that did not join in the politcal mugging and underhand games used against Hone.

    • You can’t help what your supporters do, you can only tell them to be better and show them the way. If you want to see what Greens behave like, look at the caucus and look at Party members. There were one or two party members that could have expressed themselves more cleanly, but I didn’t see anyone I actually knew was a party member getting anything near “feral.”

      The only one I objected to was the comment by the Young Greens co-convener, really, which now that I’ve reviewed it in context is actually much more mild than I had remembered it- “fuck kennedy and david tbh ;)” is basically just an irreverant way of saying “I don’t care about Kennedy and David.” (Seriously, have a look at people saying “fuck X tbh” on twitter. They’re mostly saying “I don’t have time for X” when viewed in context) I had thought it contained “fuck off,” which is very different from “fuck X tbh.”

  5. The Lone Haranguer 5

    I dont do FB for politics so cant comment on that.

    But on the “two greens Go” section here (now complete with 396 comments) I thought the general tone was pretty feral.

    It was the invective/savage response that stood out to me.

    Kennedy Graham has always struck me as a very considered sort of person and he most certainly expressed his opinion (which you say isnt a problem in an election) and he got an internet bashing of bigly proportions.

    • OncewasTim 5.1

      Which is tantamount to saying thoroughly nice people are incapable of behaving like total pratts.
      You know (for e.g.) Chris Finlayson is normally a thoroughly nice person. It’s just that when surrounded by self-entitled holier-than-thou gentry, it rubs off with an accelerant applied.

    • weka 5.2

      Ok, we’re using the word feral differently. In that thread I saw a relative consistency across commenters that what the 2 MPs had done was wrong. I hope you’re not suggesting they are above criticism.

      Graham’s problem isn’t that he expressed an opinion, and if think that’s what people are angry about then you’ve not been paying attention.

      • Indeed. The problem is that they went straight to the media rather than working things out with the caucus, that they tried to engineering a leadership coup, (this is literally the first time that has ever happened, the only appropriate time for a challenge is at the party AGM, and even then, nobody’s ever done it before, they’ve always waited for resignations because the party culture has been that it’s more important to be collaborative than to advance personally) and that they did both of these things, which are outside of normal behaviour within the party, in the middle of an election campaign and at a time when we have just had another party in this pre-election coalition have its own leadership change, and in a time when the media has been spinning full-tilt to try and discredit the debate the party is trying to have about poverty, effectively transitioning the story back to being about whether Metiria is a viable leader rather than what really matters: how people are doing in New Zealand.

        IMO they are quite lucky that Shaw has relaxed a bit since yesterday and is willing to set aside whether to expel them from the party rolls altogether. It would absolutely have been reasonable to exile them for a while and let them apply again later if they want back in.

    • popexplosion 5.3

      Please. Nobody resigned. Leaving caucus ain’t resigning. Noise in politics is essential to keeping attention and communicate yourself to voters. MT did nothing more than Key did in not living in the constituency, nothing more than English did paying back double Dipton, nothing more than any taxpayer does that claims family credits but does not declare their student son paying cash towards up keep, cash in hand jobs, mates crashing on the couch and buying a round, facts are than criminalising a benefitary when middle class rorts abound is the greater crime. Two hundred dollars a week should not mean winz rule them removing all means to make a extra buck in native capitalism. why do the Nats hate entrepuerism. and then winz does not have the capacity to enforce every social economic transgression. where fraud does happen and should be decried is when it’s so explicit, so enriching, that any reasonable person would say it’s a crime. making ends meet does not qualify.

      • Clendon and Graham did resign, from the 2017 Green campaign, and if it wasn’t so close to the election, they would have had to choose between resigning from Parliament or being kicked out by the Greens. Instead they “just” get kicked from Caucus so as not to make unnecessary paperwork.

        • popexplosion 5.3.1.1

          Or. Nats were not biting so Greens have an internal stoush to keep the issue live. That using welfare to abuse poor people is wrong, costly, self serving.

        • Dennis Frank 5.3.1.2

          Read the nuances. It was an exercising in peacemaking. Did they get kicked from caucus? Not according to RNZ news. It was framed as their choice. The spectre of expulsion vanished overnight. The caucus met to consider suspension, but that didn’t happen either. Anyone asserting their subjective take on events as fact is performing spin, not being factual.

          Seems to me all agreed to a resolution because they knew the split was historic, had started visualising how history would record it, and then realised it was in their common interests to reframe our perceptions pronto.

  6. Meh , all these shenanigans.

    Lets just get the Greens and Labour in power and give Metiria Turei a Damehood for services to the New Zealand public . For those without a voice, for those who are marginalized , for those who are poor and those who are chronically ill.

    And be done with it.

    Oh . And rescind John Keys knighthood.

    And no more of this palaver.

    WGBH Music: The Chieftains – The Frost is All Over (Live) – YouTube
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VND5EkAGC4

  7. Psych nurse 7

    Having watched the news its obvious this is all about getting at labour not the Greens.

  8. Roy 8

    This is a similar level of hate-mania levelled at Corbyn, and look what happened there. And in NZ the balance of power is much closer.

    Keep the convo on Met standing up for the poorest, even Hooton tried to spin it as ‘no one cares what she did, it’s about what she’s doing’.

    “He policy, he policy, he policy” as the saying goes*.

    *not really, but may as well

  9. Dennis Frank 9

    Matthew wrote yesterday “The problem is that they went straight to the media rather than working things out with the caucus, that they tried to engineering a leadership coup” but I haven’t seen any evidence that this is true.

    I saw Kennedy Graham explaining that he had been expressing his disapproval of her stand to the other Green MPs ever since she announced it at the party conference. Looks like they were blind-sided. Incredible that she didn’t bother to obtain caucus consensus prior to her public disclosure.

    Gower told TV3 viewers this morning that there’s a poll being released on tonight’s 3News but it probably isn’t recent enough to establish the extent of damage caused to the GP by her bad decision-making.

    • Anne 9.1

      …there’s a poll being released on tonight’s 3News but it probably isn’t recent enough to establish the extent of damage caused to the GP by her bad decision-making.

      I don’t know Dennis Frank. I received a call from Reid Research last night around 6pm.
      The caller was carrying out a survey on behalf of Newshub. They were only interested in talking to people between the ages of 35 and 44yrs. I failed the age test by three decades. 🙁

      Strike a blow to the Greens while the iron is hot eh?

      • Dennis Frank 9.1.1

        I suspect that means they already had enough respondents in other age brackets Anne, and were just having to complete their research in that particular bracket when they called you.

        I’ll be voting Green for the 10th election in a row regardless of the shambles, but that won’t stop me informing folks online about what they’re doing wrong. I just listened to Guyon Espiner talking to James Shaw yesterday morning on the RNZ site and James confirmed that they had been working through the lack of consensus in caucus for the prior couple of weeks. That testimony proves Matthew wrong.

        He said he thought consensus had been achieved but things changed over the weekend and the two guys broke the 48 hour notification rule when they went public with their stand. If so, they are in the wrong in that respect. However, James wasn’t able to articulate a specific caucus decision that established consensus. His subjective impression that they’d reached consensus doesn’t suffice. Nobody can operate democratic decision-making processes on the basis of subjective impressions, and James would probably concede that. Looks very much like a process failure to me.

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  • Another mother of a budget
    A National government would make spending cuts on a scale not seen since the 1990 – 96 Bolger government.That much was confirmed with the release of their Fiscal Plan on Friday.Government spending is currently high as a percentage of GDP — as high as it was during the Muldoon ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    30 mins ago
  • A crucial week starts as early voting opens in the NZ Elections … it’s been a ride so far. Are y...
    Chris Hipkins down with Covid, at least for 5 days isolation, National continue to obfuscate, ACT continues to double-down on the poor and Winston… well, he’s being Winston really. Voters beware: this week could be even more infuriating than the last. No Party is what they used to be ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    8 hours ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #39
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 24, 2023 thru Sat, Sep 30, 2023. Story of the Week We’re not doomed yet’: climate scientist Michael Mann on our last chance to save human civilisation The renowned US ...
    17 hours ago
  • Clusterf**ck of Chaos.
    On the 11th of April 1945 advancing US forces liberated the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald near Weimar in Germany. In the coming days, under the order of General Patton, a thousand nearby residents were forced to march to the camp to see the atrocities that had been committed in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    23 hours ago
  • The party of business deals with the future by pretending it isn’t coming
    Years and years ago, when Helen Clark was Prime Minister and John Key was gunning for her job, I had a conversation with a mate, a trader who knew John Key well enough to paint a helpful picture.It was many drinks ago so it’s not a complete one. But there’s ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    23 hours ago
  • 2023 More Reading: September (+ Old Phuul update)
    Completed reads for September: The Lost Continent, by C.J. Cutcliffe Hyne Flatland, by Edwin Abbott All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque The Country of the Blind, by H.G. Wells The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles ...
    2 days ago
  • Losing The Left.
    Descending Into The Dark: The ideological cadres currently controlling both Labour and the Greens are forcing “justice”, “participation” and “democracy” to make way for what is “appropriate” and “responsible”. But, where does that leave the people who, for most of their adult lives, have voted for left-wing parties, precisely to ...
    2 days ago
  • The New “Emperor’s New Clothes”.
    “‘BUT HE HASN’T GOT ANYTHING ON,’ a little boy said ….. ‘But he hasn’t got anything on!’ the whole town cried out at last.”On this optimistic note, Hans Christian Andersen brings his cautionary tale of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” to an end.Andersen’s children’s story was written nearly two centuries ago, ...
    2 days ago
  • BRYCE EDWARDS: The vested interests shaping National Party policies
      Bryce Edwards writes – As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: A conundrum for those pushing racist dogma
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – The heavily promoted narrative, which has ramped up over the last six years, is that Maori somehow have special vulnerabilities which arise from outside forces they cannot control; that contemporary society fails to meet their needs. They are not receptive to messages and ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER:  The greater of two evils
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.   Chris Trotter writes – THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 30
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Labour presented a climate manifesto that aimed to claim the high ground on climate action vs National, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The ‘Recession’ Has Been Called Off, But Some Households Are Still Struggling
    While the economy is not doing too badly in output terms, external circumstances are not favourable, and there is probably a sizeable group of households struggling because of rising interest rates.Last week’s announcement of a 0.9 percent increase in volume GDP for the June quarter had the commentariat backing down ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: The wrong direction
    This week the International Energy Association released its Net Zero Roadmap, intended to guide us towards a liveable climate. The report demanded huge increases in renewable generation, no new gas or oil, and massive cuts to methane emissions. It was positive about our current path, but recommended that countries with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • “Racism” becomes a buzz word on the campaign trail – but our media watchdogs stay muzzled when...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Oh, dear.  We have nothing to report from the Beehive. At least, we have nothing to report from the government’s official website. But the drones have not gone silent.  They are out on the election campaign trail, busy buzzing about this and that in the hope ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Play it, Elvis
    Election Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t have time for. You’re welcome, etc. Let us press on, etc. 1.  What did Christopher Luxon use to his advantage in ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Pure class warfare
    National unveiled its fiscal policy today, announcing all the usual things which business cares about and I don't. But it did finally tell us how National plans to pay for its handouts to landlords: by effectively cutting benefits: The biggest saving announced on Friday was $2b cut from the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to Sept 29
    Photo by Anna Ogiienko on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour, including:duelling fiscal plans from National and Labour;Labour cutting cycling spending while accusing National of being weak on climate;Research showing the need for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 29-September-2023
    Welcome to Friday and the last one for September. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt highlighted at the latest with the City Rail Link. On Tuesday, Matt covered the interesting items from Auckland Transport’s latest board meeting agendas. On Thursday, a guest post from Darren Davis ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    3 days ago
  • Protest at Parliament: The Reunion.
    Brian’s god spoke to him. He, for of course the Lord in Tamaki’s mind was a male god, with a mighty rod, and probably some black leathers. He, told Brian - “you must put a stop to all this love, hope, and kindness”. And it did please the Brian.He said ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Labour cuts $50m from cycleway spending
    Labour is cutting spending on cycling infrastructure while still trying to claim the higher ground on climate. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Labour Government released a climate manifesto this week to try to claim the high ground against National, despite having ignored the Climate Commission’s advice to toughen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • The Greater Of Two Evils.
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very rarely is an opposition party elected ...
    3 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #39 2023
    Open access notables "Net zero is only a distraction— we just have to end fossil fuel emissions." The latter is true but the former isn't, or  not in the real world as it's likely to be in the immediate future. And "just" just doesn't enter into it; we don't have ...
    3 days ago
  • Chris Trotter: Losing the Left
    IN THE CURRENT MIX of electoral alternatives, there is no longer a credible left-wing party. Not when “a credible left-wing party” is defined as: a class-oriented, mass-based, democratically-structured political organisation; dedicated to promoting ideas sharply critical of laissez-faire capitalism; and committed to advancing democratic, egalitarian and emancipatory ideals across the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
    The D&W analysis Michael Grimshaw writes –  Given the apathy, disengagement, disillusionment, and all-round ennui of this year’s general election, it was considered time to bring in those noted political operatives and spin doctors D&W, the long-established consultancy firm run by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Known for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    4 days ago
  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    4 days ago
  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    5 days ago
  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Old habits
    Media awareness about global warming and climate change has grown fairly steadily since 2004. My impression is that journalists today tend to possess a higher climate literacy than before. This increasing awareness and improved knowledge is encouraging, but there are also some common interpretations which could be more nuanced. ...
    Real ClimateBy rasmus
    5 days ago
  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    5 days ago
  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    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 ...
    5 days ago
  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    6 days ago
  • Always Be Campaigning
    The big screen is a great place to lay out the ways of the salesman. He comes ready-made for Panto, ripe for lampooning.This is not to disparage that life. I have known many good people of that kind. But there is a type, brazen as all get out. The camera ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 days ago
  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    6 days ago
  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    6 days ago
  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    6 days ago
  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    6 days ago
  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • CRL Progress – Sep-23
    It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
    7 days ago
  • Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
    We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
    Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago

  • 100 new public EV chargers to be added to national network
    The public EV charging network has received a significant boost with government co-funding announced today for over 100 EV chargers – with over 200 charging ports altogether – across New Zealand, and many planned to be up and running on key holiday routes by Christmas this year. Minister of Energy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Safeguarding Tuvalu language and identity
    Tuvalu is in the spotlight this week as communities across New Zealand celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week. “The Government has a proven record of supporting Pacific communities and ensuring more of our languages are spoken, heard and celebrated,” Pacific Peoples Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Many ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
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    6 days ago
  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
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    1 week ago
  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
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    1 week ago
  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
    40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
    The lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...
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    1 week ago
  • Appointment of District Court Judge
    Susie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today.  Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...
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    1 week ago
  • Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilience
    The Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...
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    2 weeks ago
  • Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-up
    Another $2.1 million to boost capacity to deal with waste left in Cyclone Gabrielle’s wake. Funds for Hastings District Council, Phoenix Contracting and Hog Fuel NZ to increase local waste-processing infrastructure. The Government is beefing up Hawke’s Bay’s Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up capacity with more support dealing with the massive amount ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Taupō Supercars revs up with Government support
    The future of Supercars events in New Zealand has been secured with new Government support. The Government is getting engines started through the Major Events Fund, a special fund to support high profile events in New Zealand that provide long-term economic, social and cultural benefits. “The Repco Supercars Championship is ...
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    2 weeks ago
  • There is no recession in NZ, economy grows nearly 1 percent in June quarter
    The economy has turned a corner with confirmation today New Zealand never was in recession and stronger than expected growth in the June quarter, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. “The New Zealand economy is doing better than expected,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s continuing to grow, with the latest figures showing ...
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    2 weeks ago
  • Highest legal protection for New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs
    The Government has accepted the Environment Court’s recommendation to give special legal protection to New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs, Te Waikoropupū Springs (also known as Pupū Springs), Environment Minister David Parker announced today.   “Te Waikoropupū Springs, near Takaka in Golden Bay, have the second clearest water in New Zealand after ...
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    2 weeks ago
  • More support for victims of migrant exploitation
    Temporary package of funding for accommodation and essential living support for victims of migrant exploitation Exploited migrant workers able to apply for a further Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (MEPV), giving people more time to find a job Free job search assistance to get people back into work Use of 90-day ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Strong export boost as NZ economy turns corner
    An export boost is supporting New Zealand’s economy to grow, adding to signs that the economy has turned a corner and is on a stronger footing as we rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle and lock in the benefits of multiple new trade deals, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “The economy is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Funding approved for flood resilience work in Te Karaka
    The Government has approved $15 million to raise about 200 homes at risk of future flooding. More than half of this is expected to be spent in the Tairāwhiti settlement of Te Karaka, lifting about 100 homes there. “Te Karaka was badly hit during Cyclone Gabrielle when the Waipāoa River ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Further business support for cyclone-affected regions
    The Government is helping businesses recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and attract more people back into their regions. “Cyclone Gabrielle has caused considerable damage across North Island regions with impacts continuing to be felt by businesses and communities,” Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Building on our earlier business support, this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New maintenance facility at Burnham Military Camp underway
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has turned the first sod to start construction of a new Maintenance Support Facility (MSF) at Burnham Military Camp today. “This new state-of-art facility replaces Second World War-era buildings and will enable our Defence Force to better maintain and repair equipment,” Andrew Little said. “This Government ...
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    2 weeks ago
  • Foreign Minister to attend United Nations General Assembly
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will represent New Zealand at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week, before visiting Washington DC for further Pacific focussed meetings. Nanaia Mahuta will be in New York from Wednesday 20 September, and will participate in UNGA leaders ...
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    2 weeks ago
  • Midwives’ pay equity offer reached
    Around 1,700 Te Whatu Ora employed midwives and maternity care assistants will soon vote on a proposed pay equity settlement agreed by Te Whatu Ora, the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service (MERAS) and New Zealand Nurses Association (NZNO), Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “Addressing historical pay ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New Zealand provides support to Morocco
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We are making a contribution of $1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help meet humanitarian needs,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
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    3 weeks ago
  • Government invests in West Coast’s roading resilience
    The Government is investing over $22 million across 18 projects to improve the resilience of roads in the West Coast that have been affected by recent extreme weather, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today.  A dedicated Transport Resilience Fund has been established for early preventative works to protect the state ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Government invests in Greymouth’s future
    The Government has today confirmed a $2 million grant towards the regeneration of Greymouth’s CBD with construction of a new two-level commercial and public facility. “It will include a visitor facility centred around a new library. Additionally, it will include retail outlets on the ground floor, and both outdoor and ...
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    3 weeks ago
  • Nanaia Mahuta to attend PIF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will attend the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Suva, Fiji alongside New Zealand’s regional counterparts. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply committed to working with our pacific whanau to strengthen our cooperation, and share ways to combat the challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent,” ...
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    3 weeks ago
  • PREFU shows no recession, growing economy, more jobs and wages ahead of inflation
    Economy to grow 2.6 percent on average over forecast period Treasury not forecasting a recession Inflation to return to the 1-3 percent target band next year Wages set to grow 4.8 percent a year over forecast period Unemployment to peak below the long-term average Fiscal Rules met - Net debt ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • New cancer centre opens in Christchurch
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall proudly opened the Canterbury Cancer Centre in Christchurch today. The new facility is the first of its kind and was built with $6.5 million of funding from the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group scheme for shovel-ready projects allocated in 2020. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

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