Len Brown’s future

Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, October 19th, 2014 - 41 comments
Categories: len brown - Tags: ,

Penny Hulse

There was an interesting article in yesterday’s Herald where Len Brown’s future was discussed. Bernard Orsman raised the prospect of Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse having a tilt at the top job.

He said:

Auckland mayor Len Brown has returned from a month-long overseas holiday to a budget revolt by local boards and his deputy Penny Hulse not discounting a bid for the mayoral chains.

Last night, Mrs Hulse said she was asked three or four times a day if she wanted to be mayor and indicated she would make a decision next year.

“Would I have a crack at the top job? I wouldn’t discount it but there is an awful amount of water to flow under the bridge and a hell of a lot of time before the next election,” she told the Weekend Herald.

Mrs Hulse said she was loyal to the mayor and would never stand against him.

“The last thing he needs is a deputy mayor quietly kneecapping him in the background. That is not something I would do,” Mrs Hulse said.

Refusing to rule something out is normally political speak for something is being seriously considered.

Although there is two years to go until the next election the size of the job means that planning should start now. There are 1.3 million citizens in the Super City and the logistics of campaigning are complex.

The article raises two questions, should Len run again, and if not Len then who should progressives support?

The impression I get at this stage is that Len does want to run again. His proposed rates increase of 2.5% is conservative and barely enough to keep up with inflation let alone fund the inner city link which he is committed to doing. If this was going to be his last term he probably would have aimed higher because the political implications would be less important.

But can he succeed? You would have to question this given the revelations concerning Bevan Chuang. It is not as if he was held in high esteem by the left before the revelations were made.

Up against a substandard candidate and a bunch of inept campaign managers last time Len won easily. This time you can expect the right will be much better organised.

If not Len then Penny Hulse may be the front runner candidate for the broad left. She has huge support in West Auckland and if she can get the support of the Labour Party in South Auckland she could succeed. She has been solid on Council. She has managed to keep work progressing for Len and has built a reasonably solid majority for him on most matters. On issues such as the Ports of Auckland attack on the MUNZ union she has voted the right way including one occasion where she voted in the opposite way to Len.

None of the other progressive Councillors look like they are up to the job. They would need to be able to unite South and West and Penny looks like the only person able to do this.

The other option would be for an MP, a la Lianne Dalziel, to make the transition. Phil Goff’s name has been mentioned in the past as a possible contender.

The position is vital. The super city mayor has huge powers and is probably the third most powerful politician in the country. National designed the role thinking that only one of their kind could amass the resources needed to campaign successfully. Len has shown how to do this. If this is Len’s last term then progressives need to settle on a successor and make sure they win.

41 comments on “Len Brown’s future ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. ghostwhowalksnz 1
    19 October 2014 at 10:39 am

    There are rumours that CR heavyweights are lining up AT Chairman Dr Lester Levy as their candidate. No more Palinos, Weweges and Slaters, or for that matter convicted felon John Archibald Banks( who had strong connections to the Slaters).
    Big money and the Herald would swing in behind Levy, even though he hasnt previously sought election to his previous posts.

    Penny Hulse, has been a quiet achiever and typically has to work twice as hard as a man would in the same job. She has got her support by getting funding for her pet projects, and in the case of Auckland, as the letter from the Local Boards shows, there is no longer any money for myriads of make overs for the suburbs.

    • karol 1.1
      19 October 2014 at 11:05 am

      I would love to see Hulse as mayor. But as you say, corporate and media power will be doing their best to promote a candidate more friendly to their anti-democratic aims.

      • ghostwhowalksnz 1.1.1
        19 October 2014 at 11:38 am

        Penny is not adverse to corporate interests as you might think. A huge amount of money was locked in contracts before the super city takeover that promoted commercial interests in a huge strip mall project out at Westgate and a revamp that benefited the shop owners in New Lynn.

        • Ad 1.1.1.1
          19 October 2014 at 1:52 pm

          Actually what you will find those contracts did was generate massive urban renewal that has massively increased pedestrian traffic, public transport use, cemented New Urbanist principles into the new Council, forced developers to act on a scale that required them to call for the public sector to partner up with them, and bring whole suburbs out of accelerating decline.

          Don’t believe me – look at the Auckland City Council counterfactuals in Avondale, Otahuhu, Mt Albert – on Friday there were protestors at the Council begging for Avondale to get half of the treatment New Lynn got.

          Astonishes me the ignorance of commenters like you.

          Exactly what would good public sector intervention into town centers look like in Auckland if it didn’t look like New Lynn, or Hobsonville? There is none better in New Zealand.

      • Chooky 1.1.2
        19 October 2014 at 11:46 am

        +100 karol…”I would love to see Hulse as mayor”

        • Ad 1.1.2.1
          19 October 2014 at 3:37 pm

          Note too she is now taking care of her image.

          She has given up drinking entirely, started walking and running most days, and as a result ha shed a good 20 kilos.

          If she’s gearing up for a better I’m age, she’s getting it.

    • Tom Gould 1.2
      20 October 2014 at 7:53 am

      Now the Herald has dropped the name, stage one, we can now wait for the Tory smear machine to get to work on Hulse. Look for the rumours, then the tweets and blogs, then the Herald. That’s how the character assassination works, right?

  2. Clemgeopin 2
    19 October 2014 at 11:38 am

    I dislike Brown for his dubious Sky City shenanigans as well as for disrespecting/fouling the council offices and the Ngati Whatua Room at the Auckland Town Hall – an area of special significance to Maori – where he was caught in the act by a security guard. The man is an idiot and a nincompoop. Needs to go. Should have gone a long time ago for bringing the council, the city and indeed the country into disrepute.

    • Chooky 2.1
      19 October 2014 at 11:47 am

      +100 Clemgeopin

    • ghostwhowalksnz 2.2
      19 October 2014 at 11:53 am

      Ngati Whatua Room at the Auckland Town Hall – an area of special significance to Maori ?????

      What ever gave you that idea ? Every council building has meeting rooms named for this or that, the Rangitoto room, the Orakei room, Penny Bright Room ( just kidding).

      Its just an idea taken from convention centres the world over, so the jokes on you

      • TE 2.2.1
        19 October 2014 at 12:40 pm

        The Ngati Whatua room is named after a Iwi,
        which will have significance to Maori who belong to Ngati Whatua tribe.
        If the name of the room was ghostwhowalksnz-nani,
        would you be pissed off if brown had sex all over the table in that room with his mistress?
        bet it wouldnt be a joke then.
        len brown is a disgrace

        • ghostwhowalksnz 2.2.1.1
          19 October 2014 at 12:47 pm

          Of course its named after a iwi, but it has no special significance. For goodness sake its only a room with chairs and tables, not a shrine at Lourdes

          It was probably previously named the Sir Earnest Davis room, which didnt mean it had special significance for drinkers of Lion Red.

          if your restaurant menus are in French, does that mean special significance for French born, or a marketing gimmick.

          • TE 2.2.1.1.1
            19 October 2014 at 1:08 pm

            hahahaha you are the real obfuscator,
            tables and chairs, Lourdes, lion red, french restaurant,
            ask your mate that belongs to Ngati Whatua just how significant that name is,
            if you have one.

            • Colonial Rawshark 2.2.1.1.1.1
              19 October 2014 at 2:18 pm

              Ngati Whatua spokesperson already told the NZ Herald it wasn’t a big deal and that the meeting room was not considered any kind of special or consecrated venue.

              Your pretend offence is very thoughtful though.

      • Clemgeopin 2.2.2
        19 October 2014 at 12:54 pm

        Don’t know the veracity of that, but read it mentioned in the world-notorious-in-NZ paper, the Herald.

        Well, anyway, Len has contaminated that ‘Ngati Whatua Room’ into the ‘Naughty Farter’s’ or ‘Naughty F%^&*’s Room’. Idiot Mayor. So cocky!

  3. Treetop 3
    19 October 2014 at 11:42 am

    I heard some rate increase figures in Auckland on radio this morning over the past three years and they were far higher than 2.5%.

    The elderly and unemployed will struggle to pay for the increase in rates, in particular long term. I am not sure what affect selling their home is going to have on the housing market.

    • karol 3.1
      19 October 2014 at 11:54 am

      Overall, does the average for the rates increase? I understood the valuation of properties just determined the percentage of rates paid in each area – It’s a relative thing. So while the value of many properties have increased sizeably, it doesn’t mean that the majority will be seeing a huge rates increase.

      • Tracey 3.1.1
        19 October 2014 at 12:05 pm

        It is just the values which have gone up hugely, but so far that is the publicity not the rates per se. Rates are going up an average of 2.5% some higher, some lower…

        BUT it is only a matter of time, imo, before they go up further and a few landlords use the publicity to take a rent rise.

        • karol 3.1.1.1
          19 October 2014 at 12:12 pm

          I was looking at the valuations and thinking maybe the best places to move to rent would be Kawau Island, Whangaparoa, or further up the coast.

      • Treetop 3.1.2
        19 October 2014 at 12:20 pm

        See for yourself.

        Auckland new CV revealed: Valuations rise by more than a third.

        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11344874

        [Link fixed – MS]

        • Treetop 3.1.2.1
          19 October 2014 at 12:46 pm

          Link is a dud.

          At some point rates will increase by more than 2.5%.

          I am not sure how the cost of water is part of the rates component.

          • karol 3.1.2.1.1
            19 October 2014 at 2:44 pm

            Aren’t water rates at least partly based on amount used?

            And aren’t the total rates charges, at least based on what the council needs for its planned spending? Then the valuation of properties determines the shared to be paid by each property owner?

            • Treetop 3.1.2.1.1.1
              19 October 2014 at 5:26 pm

              Are Auckanders billed separately for water?

              If water is not in the rates then the tarrif will probably increase due to a CV increasing?

            • tracey 3.1.2.1.1.2
              19 October 2014 at 6:53 pm

              we have been on a water meter for many years

  4. Kiwiri - Raided of the Last Shark 4
    19 October 2014 at 11:47 am

    Like it or not, there needs to be a succession plan and mentoring. The right already have their plan and tactics lined up.

  5. phillip ure 5
    19 October 2014 at 11:48 am

    i remember writing complaining about banks blowing out council debt to $750 million..

    ..now..the auckland city ratepayers fork out/piss down the toilet one million dollars each and every day..

    ..in interest on the gargantuans loan the council now runs..

    ..(did u know that..?..that does my fucken head in..)

    ..and a question i still have not seen answered..

    ..is:..cd u plse point me at/show me what we got in that period of sky-rocketing debt..?

    ..what we are actually paying off..?

    ..or is it as i suspect..that that debt has grown to feed/fill the pockets of the few..?

    ..at the expense of us all..?

    ..and as a sub-question:..cd someone tells me why the council needs spin-doctors/p.r-trouts numbering in the hundreds..?

    ..(and phil goff as mayor of ak..?..(shudder..!..)..wash yr mouth out..!..)

    • ghostwhowalksnz 5.1
      19 October 2014 at 11:56 am

      Well Phil, the council needs spin doctors because they have hundreds of brochures alone to produce. Just check out the local library ( or your own voluminous archives) someone had the create all that stuff, it just doesnt write itself.

    • Treetop 5.2
      19 October 2014 at 12:01 pm

      I can hear how cross you are and there is nothing to laugh about.

    • Clemgeopin 5.3
      19 October 2014 at 12:38 pm

      I read somewhere that the council employs over a thousand or so of paper pushers each earning over a $100,000. I don’t know the actual figures but it seemed completely ridiculous when I read it sometime ago. What the heck is wrong with our free market, inefficient, corrupt, pro-wealthy selfish state of affairs in our country and indeed in the world!

      • Lindsey 5.3.1
        19 October 2014 at 9:14 pm

        Council employs a lot of well qualified professionals who are paid at a rate comparable with the private sector. There are engineers, architects, planners etc all with at least 1 degree. They are not “paper pushers”.

        • phillip ure 5.3.1.1
          19 October 2014 at 9:38 pm

          ok lindsey..why the hundreds of spin-doctors/p.r.trouts..?

          ..and what was that mega-debt spent on..?

          ..what have we got to show for it..?

          ..aside from very well-paid p.r.-trouts..?

          ..fucken hundreds of them..

  6. greywarshark 6
    19 October 2014 at 12:02 pm

    What was the content of the local boards complaint to Len Brown? Here is the list arising as a result of the disappointment at not seeing the outcomes in this speech.

    In one 2010 address, according to the letter, Brown said he presented “a vision of an inclusive and united Auckland … A city proud of local communities … and their place as part of a metropolitan powerhouse”.
    He continued in the speech: “For our … communities to flourish, we will provide them with the parks and pools to be active, the libraries to learn, and the theatres and galleries to foster the creative talents of our artists and performers.”

    Local board policies to foster Brown’s vision have for “the most part [been] ignored”, the 21 board chairs said.
    I got this through going to Got News Wire. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10630588/Browns-Auckland-masterplan-gets-21-gun-refute
    (NB A sub editors witty headline here!)

    ghostwhowalks nz seems to query whether Penny Hulse will maintain her support if the money dries up for the people in the local boards areas.
    She has got her support by getting funding for her pet projects, and in the case of Auckland, as the letter from the Local Boards shows, there is no longer any money for myriads of make overs for the suburbs.
    edited

  7. Tracey 7
    19 October 2014 at 12:04 pm

    Will Cameron Brewer tilt for mayor this time or just go straight tot he national party ticket in 2017?

    • ghostwhowalksnz 7.1
      19 October 2014 at 12:36 pm

      hes joining Carrick Grahams expanded dirty politics lobby firm. Graham Brewer Simich.
      Full time mayor , I dont think so.
      Brewer was only John Banks poodle, and a jumped up Broadway suit salesman.

      His Bio says this:Cameron worked for six years as a political press secretary for former Prime Minister Dame Jenny Shipley, the now Local Government Minister Act Leader Hon Rodney Hide, and Auckland City Mayor Hon John Banks. He also worked as a researcher in the previous National Government’s Parliamentary Research Unit ( thats code for the dirty tricks unit where Farrar, Ede learnt their trade)

  8. Kingfish 8
    19 October 2014 at 1:33 pm

    I think you may be thinking of Karen Soitch? Ricardo Simich is working with Graham and Brewer. He is Clem Simich’s son.

  9. Tiger Mountain 9
    19 October 2014 at 4:38 pm

    Given the huge non vote in Auckland and lack of public political participation generally Len could well achieve a third term if he wanted it. He has straddled the left/right divide, cuddled up to business and knows the engineers, committees and systems well enough to defeat existing challengers particularly with a split field.

    Many still spit and fume about Len daily as if all the defects of the super city and CCOs were his fault. He is administering Rodney Hides undemocratic legacy. But in the end low turnout will likely leave the ’shits and rats’ or whatever the Nats are called losers again. Would Slater dare to do a Wewege II?

    Hulse would be preferable to an open right winger or Brown who crapped on the wharfies from a great height. But really I like the policies Minto for Mayor put up, like–slash the $100,000 plus salaries and bring in free public transport and a city wide living wage campaign. That is the kind of bold stuff that might get a few more voting.

  10. les 10
    19 October 2014 at 8:02 pm

    Penny Bright for mayor..tip the establishment on its head!

    • Rob 10.1
      21 October 2014 at 10:01 am

      Yeah good idea Les, she could lead the selling of her house by the council to recover her outstanding rates bill. All makes perfect sense to you doesn’t it. But what an example she would present to the rest of Auckland rates payers who would be forced to pay for her by rates charges when she wont pay her fair share herself.

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    Geoffrey Miller writes – 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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days 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
    3 days 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
    3 days 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
    3 days 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
    3 days ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week ago

  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago

  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago

  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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
    3 weeks ago

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