Mallard’s moa idea is not going to fly

Written By: - Date published: 1:38 pm, July 1st, 2014 - 97 comments
Categories: colin craig, david cunliffe, labour - Tags: ,

Politics is a funny thing.  The most earnest and well constructed of policies by an opposition party are often ignored.  Then someone makes a joke or a gaffe or gets caught out in some sort of personal scandal and then main stream and social media goes berserk for all the wrong reasons.

Today has been a bit like this.  This morning Trevor Mallard said with his tongue at least partially in his cheek that locals and scientists should work towards the possibility of moa one day striding again through the bush of Rimutaka Forest Park.  Scientifically the idea is not one that is utterly impossible.  Work on genetics goes on all the time and it is possible that one day reconstituting an extinct creature from recovered DNA may actually bring that creature back to life.

Our politicians should be future thinkers and should be willing to discuss ideas and concepts, no matter how bizarre they currently may be.

Social media has exploded.  Trevor Mallard and Moa are trending on local twitter feeds in a way which must make the creators of #TeamKey very jealous.

David Cunliffe has joined in the fun.  The Herald quote him as saying:

“I don’t think this one’s going to fly. There’s a lot of scientific work to go under the bridge before moas are going to be flopping around in Wainuiomata.

The moa’s not a goer.”

The quality of Cunliffe’s puns are something that my daughter would approve of.

But some commentators and some media have chosen to complain that Labour is getting sidetracked on irrelevant issues and not concentrating on policy.  Firstly can I assure everyone that Labour has been rolling out policy for a while and intends to continue to do so.  If you compare Labour’s offerings to what National has proposed so far there is significant more detail already.  Apart from more roads and some uncosted and unfunded promises of further tax cuts the lack of detail on the part of National is rather stark.

And oddly enough some in the media have criticised Labour because the media has chosen to report the moa story and not report on the policies which Mallard talked about including housing affordability.  But honestly this is weird, the media criticising Labour because the media chooses to talk about something.

Others have taken the comment in the way it was intended.  Duncan Garner has tweeted “Colin Craig supports the Moa idea and wants to take one to the moon to be the first thing to ever walk there”.  For the record and the avoidance of a defamation suit I should say that I am sure Garner was joking and that Craig does not really want to do this.

And I would not be surprised if some in the National Party automatically thought when Mallard’s comments were broadcast that Labour had nine long years to bring back the Moa and why is it talking about this now?

Politics can be a brutal, overly serious business sometimes.  We should tolerate the odd occasion when our elected representatives break out of their shell and make the odd wisecrack.

97 comments on “Mallard’s moa idea is not going to fly ”

  1. George 1

    The man is only in Parliament now so he can be speaker. If he continues on like this, the job will go to another National backbencher (or god forbid, three more years of the current imbecile), and he will have absolutely no reason to exist.

    At least he isn’t running Labour’s campaign this year.

  2. mikesh 2

    Perhaps it will be nicknamed the neo mallard duck.

  3. amirite 3

    The problem is that the media can’t wait to hook into irrelevant crap like this as just another chance to have a go at Labour.

    • Colonial Viper 3.1

      OK I agree re: the media. Next question: why is there “irrelevant crap like this” being put out there in the first place, 80 days before an election.

      The moa quip could have worked – if Mallard had followed up with serious points on how Labour was going to support genetic and genomic research (and science in general) in NZ over the long timeframes needed to pull off something like a moa project. Backed up by a real commitment of money. Stuff that a government in waiting might say on the campaign trail in other words.

      But no, there was no actual substance or follow up. So it just looks daft.

      As for other Labour policy being announced – I see Twyford has just put out a policy making it cheaper for real estate developers to get council services out to new subdevelopments, and making general ratepayers pay more for their property development projects. Fab.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 3.1.1

        “Labour backs genetically modified organisms”.

        The media is not your friend. They are not going to become friendly if you cower in the face of their bullying.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 3.2

      No. The problem is that the media isn’t interested in reporting or analysing Left policy unless it’s to report John Key’s opinion of it. Mallard’s mention of the Moa is the only reason his speech was reported at all.

      Perhaps you think humour has no place in public speaking.

      • phillip ure 3.2.1

        aside from being seriously unfunny…no..i don’t think this has any place in labours’ campaign..

        ..now..or ever..

        ..and really..?..you are blaming the media for smelling/sniffing at this pile of crap..?

        ..i’d look to the crapper..if you feel like apportioning some blame..

        • One Anonymous Bloke 3.2.1.1

          No, Phil, it’s you who doesn’t get it – the only way media are going to ignore quips in Labour speeches is if they remove them altogether. Then the media will report on how boring their speeches are.

          If they can’t find something substantive to attack they’ll just make something up.

          The only way to win is not to play – connect directly with people – good luck doing that if they’re not allowed to make people laugh.

          • phillip ure 3.2.1.1.1

            it..wasn’t..funny..!

            ..and any ‘laughing’ is because people think it is utterly stoopid..

            • One Anonymous Bloke 3.2.1.1.1.1

              Not to you. Were you at the speech? Neither was I. Humour is about timing, Phil.

              • humour is also about material..oan..

                ..good timing won’t save crap material..

                ..in the past i have ‘heh!’ed to yr quips…

                ..my confidence is now shaken..

                • One Anonymous Bloke

                  There are people on the left whose views I find difficult to reconcile with my own. Trevor Mallard is one of them. Sometimes.

                  You are demanding the impossible.

        • Its a sad state our country has got into under this ghastly government when we are unable to laugh at a great have on.My wife and I really enjoyed the joke we are still laughing.
          Poor old Nats cant see the fuuny side of anything .They would have been a pain in the ass in a situation lile the Blitz. When bombed Londoners still managed to see the funny side of life.

  4. Sanctuary 4

    Valiant attempt at a defense and a very generous interpretation of Mallard.

    However.

    Moas, cycling, biathlons, lazy in his portfolios, listless and bad tempered behaviour in the house, a massive generation gap with his own party – Trevor Mallard comes across as the archtypical time-serving office cynic, petrified of reform primarily because someone might discover how lazy he actually is or he’ll be made to do some real work for a change. He is a walking, talking poster boy for term limits – a completely institutionalised lazy bastard, a dinosaur from another political era who is keeping better talent out of the parliament because he thinks the country owes him a living.

    Mallard is an utter self-serving has-been.

    • George 4.1

      Haven’t seen him at the Lower Hutt Riverbank Markets yet.

      You forgot the punch-up and the endless Twitter idiocy. Tau Henare is his equivalent, but the difference is that Key has had the numbers in his caucus to winnow a large number of the many National Party MPs who are absolutely useless. Cunliffe has no such luxury.

    • TE 4.2

      Sanctuary, That is the very best interpretation of the duck, ever.

      • gobsmacked 4.2.1

        Sanctuary +1

        Mallard’s message to the voters has been the same for years: “I’m here for me, so indulge me”.

        He has screwed up under four successive leaders, and will continue to help Labour’s opponents until he gets the boot he deserves.

        Frankly, defensive posts like MickeySavage’s don’t help Labour one bit. Tell the old guard like Mallard where to get off, call them out instead of covering for them – or stay in opposition.

        • mickysavage 4.2.1.1

          GS I think that humour has a very important place to play in politics. The more that it is branded as a “problem” by people across the political spectrum the more it will become one and I do not see why it has to become one.

          My post is in part an attempt to point out the fickleness of the media and the general population and what the left is up against.

          • Sanctuary 4.2.1.1.1

            You’ve got to do the hard yards first before you can get away with being a wise guy.

            Otherwise, you are just a jerk trying to be funny.

            • One Anonymous Bloke 4.2.1.1.1.1

              Mallard’s views don’t align with mine either, but just one minor point: how many times have you won an electorate seat for the left?

              Where are your ‘hard yards’?

              • he lucked into a safe labour seat…

                ..that didn’t take any particular skill..

                ..that’s like going..’wow!..what a star!’ about mccully..

                ..just ‘cos he has/had (heh!) a safe seat in east coast bays..

                ..(that hotbed of progressive-thought/ideas..)

                ..and i wonder what the poorest in mallards safe labour seat feel about how labour has treated them since rogernomics..?

                ..with mallard in all that shit up to his neck..

                ..a poster-boy for that uncaring/fuck-the-poor!-neo-lib/rand-ite-labour..

                ..i wonder how many non-voters are in mallards’ seat..

                ..that could be quite illuminating/a barometer..

                • One Anonymous Bloke

                  Yes, I’d like better MPs too. Read Nandor’s valedictory: they don’t call it the worst possible system apart from all the other ones for nothing.

              • Sanctuary

                @One Anonymous Bloke 1 July 2014 at 4:24 pm

                Did you see the news? One shot of Mallard hanging himself by repeating his stupid idea,. a vox pop of five government minister getting free shots, Cunliffe saying it wasn’t a goer and Mallard contradicting him. FFS.

                Look, Mallard was once a fine MP. The operative word there are “was once”. He was clearly burnt out by the time Labour lost in 2008. Generationally and ideologically he belongs in a museum. He has been completely ineffective in opposition, he hasn’t fired a shot. He has not had a fresh policy idea or shown any enthusiasm for his job for six long, useless years. Worse, his weird demeanor, speech and general attitude indicates he now inhabits a surreal reality of his own making. Classic symptoms of an institutionalised inmate.

                What is really telling about this Moa episode isn’t that he came up with the idea – it is that he somehow thought it would be taken seriously by the public or the media.

                Finally, where the fuck is his discipline? He is like some strange guy rambling off message about fuck knows what. And you and me and everyone reading this is paying that clown to sit there and take the piss out of his employers – us.

                • One Anonymous Bloke

                  Yes, let’s accept right now that the election is all about Trevor. With associates like you, who needs friends?

          • Nakiman 4.2.1.1.2

            Good to see Labour concentrating on the important stuff.
            Cunners was not happy with another distraction from Mallard and Mickey makes a feeble attempt to try and spin this as some sort of joke and blame the media.
            Labour are the joke.

            • One Anonymous Bloke 4.2.1.1.2.1

              Nakiman provides yet more evidence that authoritarian followers cannot cope with anything other than Stalinism.

              Read all about it.

          • Clemgeopin 4.2.1.1.3

            Don’t know for sure what was going on in his active brain. Mallard is a very clever man. May be he wants to keep his Wainuimata residents eager, proud and happy so that they may continue to vote for him for another 50 to 100 years, or may be he is a little bit pregnant longing for a very large hot cup of small moa soup some day. Who knows! In Trevor’s case, ANY publicity IS good publicity!

    • alwyn 4.3

      And that is the good things about Trevor from Sanctuary.
      Now, how about telling us about his negative qualities?

    • Karen 4.4

      +1 Sanctuary

    • fisiani 4.5

      Mallard is part of the ABC faction. Do not think for a moment that this was not a deliberate ploy. For the first time he has a candidate who will thrash him in the meet the candidates meetings. You do not appear on Seven Sharp with a loony idea unless you want to take the focus off your leader. The Cunliffe was blindsided by this. He is a saboteur.

  5. freedom 5

    The Moa was always going to make an appearance in the house today.

    But who would have thought it would expose the heart of the National Party so vividly.
    The PM’s very first mention of the Moa, was for it to be consumed.

    “the special will be a Moa Burger”

  6. fender 6

    I think it’s rather charitable of Mallard to give Key a new subject to bang away on in his attempt to get laughs during his question time stand-up routine.

  7. really..?..really..?

    ..not a brain-fart..but just some jolly-hijinks..?

    ..you put this clown-routine next to his immigration policy release on sun..

    ..where nobody told the media it was happening…(!)

    ..and that’s a good-look..?

    ..you reckon..?

    ..a good look for labour..?

    ..at this particular point in time..?

    ..when you hardly have gravitas to burn..?

    ..send mallard on a cycle-tour until the election is over..

    ..and take his mobile phone off him..

    ..and there he sits in parliament..reveling in being the butt of nationals’ serial-one-liners..the centre of attention..

    ..he’s been there for so long his past-use-by date sticker has yellowed..and peeled away…and fallen off..

  8. gobsmacked 8

    Look at the photo in this link:

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/10219380/Top-five-reader-comments-moa-edition

    It wasn’t an off-the-cuff remark, a “wisecrack”. It was in his speech, prepared, planned, deliberate.

    So, a senior Labour strategist and spokesman sat down and thought: “This will be good. This will get publicity. This is what my party needs.” And then he acted on that thought. Yes, really.

    I can’t be bothered to explain yet again how stupid this is, since so many of us said it all in 2011. Nothing has changed. He must go.

  9. infused 9

    Well. That’s one way to spin it.

  10. Tautoko Viper 10

    Lighten up , everybody. Remember, we are fighting against the Blue team. FFS we don’t need to waste our energy scrapping with each other. Eyes on the ball will help. The referee (media) is blind. Just keep playing until the whistle blows.

    • gobsmacked 10.1

      But Trevor’s not fighting for the team. That’s the whole bloody point.

      Please don’t tell us to do unpaid what MPs won’t do for us.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 10.1.1

        Bollocks – media driven bollocks to boot.

        Are all Labour’s public speakers to dull their speeches down to “media-acceptable” levels then?

        • gobsmacked 10.1.1.1

          No, just to campaign-acceptable levels.

          Fill in the blanks: “To all Labour MPs: from the leadership team

          Today the campaign will focus on …… , we will be talking to the media about …… , and the leader would like all MPs to support this by focusing on …..”.

          If the missing word is “Moa”, then Trevor was working for the Labour election campaign. Maybe there was a memo, who knows?

          But I’m guessing there wasn’t, otherwise Cunliffe would be backing his man. Sadly, Trevor doesn’t care about the team, and it shows.

          The media reported Mallard’s comments because he wanted them to. Labour don’t. National do. That’s the problem, right there.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 10.1.1.1.1

            Yes, because that would totes work, because the media is so impartial the way to win elections is to bypass them completely.

            Clearly, Jonolism is Trevor Mallard’s fault.

            headdesk

            • gobsmacked 10.1.1.1.1.1

              Where did the story come from? Who provided it? A journalist’s imagination?

              See link at #8.

              You think it was a good idea. I think it was a bad one. You think the media are to blame. I think the guy who gave it to the media is to blame. I think election campaigns should be disciplined and smart. You think “Whatever”. I think 2011 was a self-inflicted disaster, Mallard was in charge, and now he should STFU.

              Fine, we disagree.

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                Yes, and let’s be clear about what we disagree on: I don’t think the left has the motivation, the philosophy, let alone the resources (for fuck’s sake) to employ sycophants who toe the party line, and therefore partisan media will be able to lampoon our MPs for independent thought in much the same way as they report on the behaviour of David Garrett and Graham Capill and Judith Collins and Maurice Williamson and John Banks and the stupidity of Simon Bridges and the mendacity of John Key and the incompetence of Hekia Parata and Gerry Brownlee and Bill ‘Double Dipton’ English (who gets a special mention for incompetence and corruption).

                Take a deep breath and remember that Trevor will be Trevor, and Jonolists will strive to rise to Paddy depths.

                • Sanctuary

                  “…Take a deep breath and remember that Trevor will be Trevor, and Jonolists will strive to rise to Paddy depths…”

                  Dude, WTF?? What do you think parliament is, Hogwarts? I haven’t got time for “Trevor to be Trevor”. Taxpayers working bloody hard don’t fork out the thick end of 200K PA so Trevor can swan around being Trevor. He is there to do his fucking job, for Christ’s sake. Talk about a sense of entitlement. Do you really believe the taxpayer owes “Trevor will be Trevor” Mallard a fucking living?

                  Labour MPs are not put there to be indulged like brats at a posh boarding school. They are put there to do a job for the poor, the marginalised, the sick, the battlers, the low paid working three jobs. Those people – does Trevor even remember them? Or is he to busy picking a new $5,000 bike to help with his new personal best time?

                  Get outta there Mallard, and let someone else who appreciates the privilege of serving the people and will take the job seriously have a go.

                  Trevor Mallard is a relic from the 1980s, a waste of space that is blocking better talent and new ideas.

                  • One Anonymous Bloke

                    Nah, I’m more concerned about John and Bill and Hekia and Judith and Paula and Simon just at the moment. You want to make the election all about Trevor? Way to go.

                  • blue leopard

                    I actually think that was a set-up by Labour – not just Mallard. Injecting some light-hearted distraction – as in distracting the media from attacking Labour. It worked too. Keeping their faces on the news, yet in for a light-hearted reason is all good. Nothing like coverage that is a bit out of the ordinary to get people noticing you.

  11. Adrian 11

    Bring back Haasts Eagle, I reckon. Just imagine, very obedient kids ( something really scary to frighten the little buggers with ) great for the tourist industry, not so good for the trampers though and would completely fuck sheep farming but that’s rooted anyway.
    But boy, what a sight!!.

    • mac1 11.1

      +1 Adrian.
      The we could have a Four Eagle Day and watch HE at play. I’m on the border of Wales, about to visit Dylan Thomas’s haunts and perhaps see a ‘hawk on fire’ above Sir John’s just hill.

      Anniversary of the Somme today, on a more serious note. Warfare- that’s something I wish we could lose the DNA for.

    • Stuart Munro 11.2

      And you they’d love to hunt in spaces like golf courses …

  12. greywarbler 12

    Think outside the square. It sounded silly and time-wasting to me first, and then I thought what a game-changer. And it is not about money spent or sleeping partners. Mind you a little bit of moa goes a long way. But keep it going a while Mallard, you’ve hit a six there.

  13. Puckish Rogue 13

    Well its Mallard so its not like anyone takes him seriously anyway

  14. Clemgeopin 14

    I think some of you here and in the media are missing the most subtle point here:

    The media has hardly given any publicity to so many of the important policies announced by Labour so far, whereas Key and National get enormous publicity to their few unremarkable announcements.

    However, a statement by Mallard (not the Labour party) gets huge publicity, the media and the posters going crazy! This moa has taken a big flight here! That is the point. A dig and a wake up call to the media and the public to pay more attention to the REAL serious policies of Labour which have either been ignored by the media or have received scant exposure, unlike those of National. Isn’t the media irresponsible, biased and unfair to the country, its people and democracy? Take a look at the Labour party website to see the number of policies already released so far and compare them to the scant exposure they were given by our wonderful print and TV media to see the point I am making.

    Perhaps this flying moa will help cause some much needed better take off for Labour now. Here is hoping!

    • One Anonymous Bloke 14.1

      +1

    • McFlock 14.2

      pretty much.If you can’t get the point across because they won’t give you serious exposure, you might want to make a point any way you can.

      Mallard suggests that sometime in the future we might be able to bring the Moa back from extinction. While the nats are willing to make Maui’s dolphins extinct for a quick buck. Illustrates the left/right divide, in my opinion.

      • poem 14.2.1

        +1000 McFlock
        Interestingly there are other countries that do take this seriously, Australia want to bring back the Tasmanian tiger and Russia have already brought back an extinct flower.

    • poem 14.3

      +1000 Clemgeopin and there some on here that need to lighten up !!

      • blue leopard 14.3.1

        +1

        It kept the airheads in the media happy. It was good natured and I don’t think it was solely conducted by Mallard as others appear to have assumed – I really think we need moa of this type of stuff 😉

        [yeah, o.k sorry, I just couldn’t resist; corny as it was….]

        • poem 14.3.1.1

          Yes, and I agree with you Blue Leopard, Mallard most definitely didn’t do this on his own, he would have the support of Cunliffe and team.

          I loved it when Mallard said he only wanted small ones, so he could pat them on the head !! Lol Warm fuzzy !!

    • miravox 14.4

      +1 quite subtle

      It’s a bit of a reminder that Labour hasn’t forgotten the local issue that Hutt is a science base through the endangered CRIs, which increasingly have a commercial function. The rest of the speech got sod-all coverage and probably wouldn’t have got any at all without musing about moas.

  15. dimebag russell 15

    SEE YA SAMOA!

  16. One Anonymous Bloke 16

    If Mallard’s joke one day comes to fruition, think what that would mean. Would the neo-Moa be a genetically modified organism? Would it make sense to bring back Haast’s Eagle to prey on them (why not?), and more importantly, would this lead to parents being able to increase the IQ of their offspring despite the fact this would be bad news for the National Party?

  17. thecard 17

    ha ha what a jolly jape.

  18. JK 18

    Right on, Clemgeo. and Mickey for highlighting this. Maybe some posters need to go looking for their sense of humour !

  19. Clean_power 19

    What is Trevor Mallard trying to achieve? Heard him on the radio saying he is serious about the moa.

    His undermining of the party continues. he needs to be think again or be kicked out.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 19.1

      Your concern has been noted and is now being used as toilet paper.

    • dimebag russell 19.2

      clean power sounds like he uses tooooo much soap.
      never mind he will never in a million years be able to wipe away the stench of corruption and evil that hangs around the national party.

    • Nakiman 19.3

      “His undermining of the party continues. he needs to think again or be kicked out.”
      Clean_power you cant tell the truth like that you will upset the deluded left who want to blame others for Labours clusterfuck.

  20. dimebag russell 20

    that sounds great coming from someone that was hatched on a piece of corrugated iron in the son.

  21. notowenglenn 21

    David Cunliffe resurrected the Mallard so anything is possible. Hopefully cloning is out of the question.

  22. vto 22

    he who laughs last laughs best…

    so the saying goes..

  23. lurgee 23

    Awesome. Labour waste precious airtime with waffle about extinct indigenous fowl.

    Carry on setting the agenda, you colossal hopeless cuticles. You’re doing the workers and poverty stricken children proud with you moa-mooning moronical musings.

    I think Mallard was really suggesting not that the Moa should rejoin the modern world but that Labour should join the ranks of extinct species.

  24. fisiani 24

    The Moa became extinct 600 years ago. Mallard becomes extinct on September 20th.

  25. fender 25

    Apparently Key wanted to bring back a dinosaur, until it was pointed out that he already had one as Finance Minister. So he set his sights on bringing back feudalism instead..

  26. Scott1 26

    In the end – the first country to breed an extinct animal will have the lead in an incredibly valuable industry as well as getting a massive tourism boost.

    If you laugh at it as being impossible you are clearly just wrong. If you laugh at it as being something that one cannot support (maybe with some tax breaks or supporting policy) again you are clearly just wrong. And if you find it immoral then you are a dinosaur and are in need of a bit of reincarnation..

    As a political move I think it is OK, it is a bit of a distraction and, those that are idiots or Luddites get a chance to stamp idiot or Luddite on their heads, good for them.

    • so..anyone who don’t support mallards ‘i had a dream..about 50 yrs into the future’..

      ..is a ‘luddite/idiot’..?

      ..and we should hurriedly allocate funds/tax-breaks/policy to make mallards dream come true..eh..?

      ..right ho..!

      .you’re onto it there..scott..!

      ..heh..!

      ..(you’re funny scott..!..you can keep on hanging around..

      ..just keep those laffs coming..eh..?..)

      • Scott1 26.1.1

        Trevor isn’t proposing tax breaks.
        Can you try to engage with the argument as opposed to just being a laughing fool?

        • phillip ure 26.1.1.1

          well..y’see scott..to ‘engage’ with any degree of seriousness..with this particular brain-fart..

          ..would indeed label me as a ‘fool’..

          ..so i’ll just keep on ‘laughing’ at those who do..eh.?

          ..and i believe you piled on even more idiocy..with the tax-breaks call..

          • Scott1 26.1.1.1.1

            It isn’t a call for tax breaks – my point was that there are things one could do to assist in planning for the future. A tax break is an option but to decide to do that one would need to look at the facts of the matter.

            If you are saying you would oppose a the government having policy (or even stating an opinion) even if the facts of the matter proved it was highly beneficial – then I don’t know what to say… You should join the libertarianz party I suppose because only they would be that stupid.

            As far as I can tell that is what you are saying…

            • phillip ure 26.1.1.1.1.1

              “.. one would need to look at the facts of the matter…”

              well..there’s yr problem in one there..scott..

              ..’cos it being just a mallard brain-fart..

              ..means there are really no ‘facts of the matter.’..eh..?

              ..aside from that brain-fart-stain on on the inside of his cycling-cap..eh..?

      • Scott1 26.1.2

        As to what I can make out of your argument I’ll just say – I think it would be nice if we did have some consideration for the long term (and were willing to at least debate it seriously) – but apparently you don’t seem to believe in that.

        • phillip ure 26.1.2.1

          do i ‘believe in’ mallard..?

          ..no scott..no i don’t…

          (see comment number four..for why..eh..?)

          • Scott1 26.1.2.1.1

            Even from a straight pragmatic perspective – labour can deal with this all by themself with a quiet little “yeah it was interesting but we won’t be doing anything” if that is the thing they think will work politically.

            I find it hard to imagine they will get seriously hurt by it UNLESS phillip ure unleashes his scathing attacks and tears the heart out of the party.

            In the end the problem as per OAB is when media are going through your speeches with a fine tooth comb for stuff to laugh at you don’t want to play the game at all. Anyway, better to be mentioned and laughed at than never mentioned at all.

      • Clemgeopin 26.1.3

        I suspect that people would have made similar points/objections as yours when scientists and visionaries first proposed ideas years and years ago for space exploration, moon and mars landing etc.

        May be for computers, telephone, radio, live pictures picture images on TV, automobiles, printing, driverless cars, human organ transplants, sheep cloning, round Earth etc too?

        May be in 50 to 100 years. along with the cryogenically still preserved Walt Disney Trev Mallard may himself, be brought back to life laughing all the way to Bee Hive once again as the new young Trev the moa man. Who knows!

  27. Bob 27

    “Politics can be a brutal, overly serious business sometimes. We should tolerate the odd occasion when our elected representatives break out of their shell and make the odd wisecrack”, an interesting point you make Mickeysavage, yet you don’t seem to take the same stance when it comes to our Prime Minister….

  28. Mr Tank 28

    Trevor did not come up with the idea. That also explains why he had no idea how to present it and no idea as to the context in which it should have been used. The heat it generated is indicative of just how useful it could have been if done right. The next time someone catches a whiff of one of my ideas I suggest they talk to me before shooting their mouths off. Incidentally, I would NEVER have run that up the (public) flag pole without making sure that my colleagues knew enough to help make it fly. Ambushing your own is not a smart move…

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  • Watts going on about climate change – minister’s speech sets out govt’s position to COP28
    Buzz from the Beehive  Just one bit of governmental news has been recorded on the Beehive website since Point of Order last checked on what our new bunch of ministers are up to. It is a copy of the COP28 National Statement for New Zealand which has given Climate Change Minister Simon ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 hour ago
  • Climate Change: The wrong direction again
    In 2019, Aotearoa legislated a methane reduction target of 10% (from 2017 levels) by 2030. Dirty farmers think it is unfair that they should be expected to cut their pollution by a fraction of what the rest of us are doing, and want to do less. Meanwhile, the Food and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 hours ago
  • Top 10 for Monday, December 11
    Luxon does not see the point in Treasury analysing the impact of some of his government’s ‘first 100-day’ reforms. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Monday, December 11, including:Scoop of the day: A Treasury ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 hours ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: How should we organise a modern economy?
     Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. Brian Easton writes – The Cold War included a conflict about ideas; many were economic. Alan Bollard’s latest book Economists in the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 hours ago
  • Coalition Circus of Chaos – Verbal gymnasts; an inept Ringmaster, and a helluva lot of clowns
    ..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Curtain Closes…You have to hand it to Aotearoa - voters don’t do things by halves. People wanted change, and by golly, change they got. Baby, bathwater; rubber ducky - all out.There is something ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    8 hours ago
  • “Brown-town”: the Wayne & Simeon show
    Last week Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown kicked off what is always the most important thing a Council does every three years – update its ‘Long term plan’. This is the budgeting process for the Council and – unlike central government – the budget has to balance in terms of income ...
    9 hours ago
  • Not To Cast Stones…
    Yeah I changed my wine into waterHad a miracle or four since I saw youSome came on time, some took a whileLocal Water Done Well.One of our new government’s first actions, number 20 on their list of 49 priorities, is the repeal of the previous government’s Water Services Entities Act 2022. Three Waters, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    9 hours ago
  • So much noise and so little signal
    Parliament opened with pomp and ceremony, then it was back to politicians shouting at and past each other into the void. Photo: Office of the Clerk, NZ ParliamentTL;DR: It started with pomp, pageantry and a speech from the throne laying out the new National-ACT-NZ First Government’s plan to turn back ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • Lost in the Desert: Accepted
    As noted, November was an exceptionally good writing month for me. Well, in an additional bit of good news for December, one of those November stories, Lost in the Desert, has been accepted by Eternal Haunted Summer (https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/) for their Winter Solstice 2023 issue. At 3,500 words, ...
    18 hours ago
  • This Government and their Rightwing culture-war flanks picked a fight with the country… not the ot...
    ACT and the culture-war warriors of the Right have picked this fight with Te Ao Māori. Ideologically-speaking, as a Party they’ve actually done this since inception, let’s be clear about that. So there is no real need to delve at length into their duplicitous, malignant, hypocritical manipulations. Yes, yes, ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    19 hours ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #49
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Dec 3, 2023 thru Sat, Dec 9, 2023. Story of the Week Interactive: The pathways to meeting the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C limit The Paris Agreement’s long-term goal of keeping warming “well below” ...
    1 day ago
  • LOGAN SAVORY: The planned blessing that has irked councillors
    “I’m struggling to understand why we are having a blessing to bless this site considering it is a scrap metal yard… It just doesn’t make sense to me.” Logan Savory writes- When’s a blessing appropriate and when isn’t it? Some Invercargill City Councillors have questioned whether blessings might ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Surely it won't happen
    I have prepared a bad news sandwich. That is to say, I'm going to try and make this more agreeable by placing on the top and underneath some cheering things.So let's start with a daughter update, the one who is now half a world away but also never farther out ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Let Them Eat Sausage Rolls: Hipkins Tries to Kill Labour Again
    Sometimes you despair. You really do. Fresh off leading Labour to its ugliest election result since 1990,* Chris Hipkins has decided to misdiagnose matters, because the Government he led cannot possibly have been wrong about anything. *In 2011 and 2014, people were willing to save Labour’s electorate ...
    2 days ago
  • Clued Up: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    “But, that’s the thing, mate, isn’t it? We showed ourselves to be nothing more useful than a bunch of angry old men, shaking our fists at the sky. Were we really that angry at Labour and the Greens? Or was it just the inescapable fact of our own growing irrelevancy ...
    2 days ago
  • JERRY COYNE: A powerful University dean in New Zealand touts merging higher education with indigeno...
    Jerry Coyne writes –  This article from New Zealand’s Newsroom site was written by Julie Rowland,  the deputy dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland as well as a geologist and the Director of the Ngā Ara Whetū | Centre for Climate, Biodiversity & Society. In other ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.
    Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.For the last couple of weeks its felt as though all the good things in our beautiful land are under attack.These isles in the southern Pacific. The home of the Māori people. A land of easy going friendliness, openness, and she’ll be right. A ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Speaking for the future
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.MondayYou cannot be seriousOne might think, god, people who are seeing all this must be regretting their vote.But one might be mistaken.There are people whose chief priority is not wanting to be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • How Should We Organise a Modern Economy?
    Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. The Cold War included a conflict about ideas; many were economic. Alan Bollard’s latest book Economists in the Cold War focuses on the contribution of ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    3 days ago
  • Willis fails a taxing app-titude test but govt supporters will cheer moves on Te Pukenga and the Hum...
    Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Defence has returned from Noumea to announce New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and (wearing another ministerial hat) to condemn malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government. A bigger cheer from people who voted for the Luxon ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • ELIZABETH RATA: In defence of the liberal university and against indigenisation
    The suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere. Elizabeth Rata writes –  Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the skewed media coverage of Gaza
    Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...
    3 days ago
  • “Your Circus, Your Clowns.”
    It must have been a hard first couple of weeks for National voters, since the coalition was announced. Seeing their party make so many concessions to New Zealand First and ACT that there seems little remains of their own policies, other than the dwindling dream of tax cuts and the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 8-December-2023
    It’s Friday again and Christmas is fast approaching. Here’s some of the stories that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered some of the recent talk around the costs, benefits and challenges with the City Rail Link. On Thursday Matt looked at how ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    3 days ago
  • End-of-week escapism
    Amsterdam to Hong Kong William McCartney16,000 kilometres41 days18 trains13 countries11 currencies6 long-distance taxis4 taxi apps4 buses3 sim cards2 ferries1 tram0 medical events (surprisingly)Episode 4Whether the Sofia-Istanbul Express really qualifies to be called an express is debatable, but it’s another one of those likeably old and slow trains tha… ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 8
    Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro arrives for the State Opening of Parliament (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)TL;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:New Finance Minister Nicola Willis set herself a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand’s Witchcraft Laws: 1840/1858-1961/1962
    Sometimes one gets morbidly curious about the oddities of one’s own legal system. Sometimes one writes entire essays on New Zealand’s experience with Blasphemous Libel: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/blasphemous-libel-new-zealand-politics/ And sometimes one follows up the exact historical status of witchcraft law in New Zealand. As one does, of course. ...
    4 days ago
  • No surprises
    Don’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #49 2023
    113 articles in 48 journals by 674 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Diversity of Lagged Relationships in Global Means of Surface Temperatures and Radiative Budgets for CMIP6 piControl Simulations, Tsuchida et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0045.1 Do abrupt cryosphere events in High Mountain Asia indicate earlier tipping ...
    4 days ago
  • Phone calls at Kia Kaha primary
    It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...
    It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news  out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Xmas  good  cheer  for the dairy industry  as Fonterra lifts its forecast
    The big dairy co-op Fonterra  had  some Christmas  cheer to offer  its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for  the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast  midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • MICHAEL BASSETT: Modern Maori myths
    Michael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28
    Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the irony
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
    It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
    4 days ago
  • Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
    Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • The Prime Minister's Dream.
    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    5 days ago
  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    5 days ago
  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago
  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    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 ...
    6 days ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    6 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    7 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    7 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    1 week ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  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. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    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
    1 week 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 ...
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 week ago

  • First step to flexible labour market
    The Government is delivering on its commitment to repeal the Fair Pay Agreement legislation by Christmas 2023. “We are moving quickly to remove this legislation before any fair pay agreements are finalised and the negative impacts are felt by the labour market,” says Minister van Velden.  “Fair pay agreements undermine ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    50 mins ago
  • Extending 90-day trial periods to all employers
    The Government is delivering on its commitment to extend the availability of 90-day trial periods to all employers.  “Extending 90-day trial periods to all employers gives businesses the confidence to hire new people and increases workplace flexibility,” says Minister van Velden.  “Whether a business has 2 or 200 employees, bringing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    50 mins ago
  • COP28 National Statement for New Zealand
    Tēnā koutou katoa Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. An island nation at the bottom of the Pacific, New Zealand is unique.          Our geography, our mountains, lakes, winds and rainfall helps set us up for the future, allowing for nearly 90 per cent of our electricity to come from renewable sources. I’m ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
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