Mana campaign heating up

Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, October 26th, 2010 - 55 comments
Categories: by-election - Tags: , ,

National made a number of large mistakes in the Mt Albert campaign. The candidate and the way she was managed were obviously the killer blows to the Nats’ hopes of winning but the strategic mistake was talking up their chances of winning in the first place. Perhaps they believed they could jawbone the public’s expectations and that would result in more votes on the day.

It nearly succeeded: generic Nat candidate vs Lab candidate polls are said to have shown the neck and neck but the reality failed to match National’s hype. Labour’s actual candidate was the excellent David Shearer and National’s was… well. National embarrassed themselves by talking up their chances then failing so badly.

They’ve learned the lesson. This time, you’re not hearing a peep from the Nats about winning in Mana. Hekia Parata doesn’t even mention winning in her press release on her nomination.

But that doesn’t mean they’re not trying. In fact, they’re trying to win very hard. The Nats’ strategy is to run an under the radar campaign that will surprise Labour and commentators. Key is spending an awful lot of time in Mana, more than he is spending in Christchurch or on the economy, including the whole weekend before last.

What can you do to fight back?

Help out the Labour campaign if you live in the region. By-elections require more manpower than electorate parties can provide themselves.

If you’re in Mana, be sure to vote for Kris Fa’afoi and don’t throw your vote away on a third party candidate who doesn’t have a chance.

Get along to the debates, including the Back Benches special being hosted at Sand Bar next Wednesday. Parata shares with Lee a weakness under critical questioning – her tendency is to attack the questioner. Take your chance to question her on National’s record on wages and jobs.

55 comments on “Mana campaign heating up ”

  1. deemac 1

    the Back Benches Mana special is next Wednesday ie 3 Nov, not this Wednesday

  2. r0b 2

    Excellent post Eddie. Pity it’s going to be lost in the rush, because you’ve made some great points here. I had no idea JK was out and about in Mana.

    • I think the whole “If you’re in Mana, be sure to vote for Kris Fa’afoi and don’t throw your vote away on a third party candidate who doesn’t have a chance.” Is silly. I mean, I know that The Standard is a Labour party cheerleader, but given that the result of the byelection isn’t going to change the structure of Parliament, and therefore won’t change policies, isn’t it best to embrace the symbolism of a byelection and vote for the party you agree with the policies of? Or, at least, the candidate who you think represents you?

      • felix 2.1.1

        Actually there are probably more writers here who support the Greens than Labour.

        • Chess Player 2.1.1.1

          Regardless, I think PP meant that people should decide for themselves, rather than just do whatever they are told by your mob.

          But then, that would be democracy in action, wouldn’t it….rather than strict conformance to dogma? Wouldn’t want to have people thinking for themselves, would we…

  3. Thomas Forrow 3

    If you’re in Mana, be sure to vote for Kris Fa’afoi and don’t throw your vote away on a third party candidate who doesn’t have a chance.

    NO vote for the candidate who best represents your values
    Or perhaps you would like the Greens to just step aside?

    Jan Logie the Green candidate is running an excellent campaign and getting amazing feedback.
    let the contest be about ideas and who can best put those ideas across. not about entrenching Labour’s position in Mana where they haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory.

    So get out meet the candidates talk to them all. Talk about the issues that concern you locally and make your voting decisions based on that.
    Its called democracy
    Ciao

    • Blighty 3.1

      You should vote for the party that best represents your values in your party vote at the general election.

      For candidate votes you should vote for the candidate with a chance of winning who best represents your values. If you don’t, you may as well abstain for all the impact your vote has on the outcome

      • Thomas Forrow 3.1.1

        So vote Chris or nobody?

        Who had the best chance of winning here? in the recent UK Election
        Caroline Lucas Green 16,238 31.3 +9.4
        Nancy Platts Labour 14,986 28.9 -7.5
        Charlotte Vere Conservative 12,275 23.7 +0.4
        Bernadette Millam Lib Dem 7,159 13.8 – 2.2

        It was after all a Labour held seat, would you have advised everyone to vote Labour?

        • Blighty 3.1.1.1

          It was clear that Lucas was in with a good chance of winning, so it would make sense for a Green-leaning voter to vote for her. That’s not true of Logie.

    • felix 3.2

      “Or perhaps you would like the Greens to just step aside?”

      If it makes sense to do so, then yes.

      • Rumpelstiltskin 3.2.1

        And in return, Grant Robertson could step aside in Wellington Central for the Green candidate there…

        • Thomas Forrow 3.2.1.1

          Who would probably win, actually James Shaw is a really strong candidate in WC.. and we do have a Green Mayor
          And an electorate seat would be soo nice :~)

  4. Rumpelstiltskin 4

    Kris is going to win. Labour have a 6,000+ majority. Let’s say you halve that to account for (a) Hekia’s doing better than she did last time, (b) Kris isn’t Winnie Laban and (c) is an out-of-town candidate without much on-the-ground support (yet). The Greens would need to nearly triple their vote for Kris to lose.

    So I would say you can safely have the integrity to vote for the candidate who best represents your values and still get the next best thing, i.e. Kris.

  5. gingercrush 5

    Kris Fa’afoi could do a Melissa Lee every day for the rest of this by-election and he’s still going to win.

  6. swordfish 6

    Excellent post, Eddie. I think you’re spot-on on a number of levels.

    Here’s how I see it:

    (A) Problem:

    (1) Media (together with Key/Nats and Right-leaning blogosphere) = have greatly exaggerated traditional strength of the Labour vote in Mana (much emphasis on it supposedly being one of the great Labour strongholds of all time / conflation of old staunchly-Lab Porirua seat of pre-1996 FPP days with greatly expanded and much more marginal Mana under MMP/ National as enormous underdog, fighting impossible odds…)

    (2) So = Very high benchmark / enormously raised expectations for Labour/Fa’afoi (emphasis in media and Tory blogosphere on the idea that anything other than a significant Fa’afoi majority – some suggest at least 6000 – would constitute disaster for Labour and Goff / vote of confidence in National).

    (3) Problem: Mana is not the stronghold being portrayed.

    (i) Two-thirds of current Electorate MPs have majorities larger than Winnie Laban’s 6155.

    (ii) More Importantly, of Laban’s 6155 majority, 4452 votes were cast by people who split their vote (casting their Party-Vote for Parties other than Labour in 2008). This included 1757 Green voters (about 60% of all Greens in the seat), 1091 Nat voters, 695 NZ First voters and 909 minor-party voters. Without the luxury of two votes, it’s more than possible that these 4452 voters could return to the candidate of their preferred Party in the (one-vote) by-election. (For example, the 1757 Greens who split their vote in 2008 between the Greens (Party) and Winnie Laban (Candidate), returning to Green candidate Logie rather than Labour’s Fa’afoi and so on).

    (iii) Simply in order to retain their majority, therefore, Labour will need to win over 4452 people who are not, in fact, Labour voters (and now, in the by-election, have only one rather than two votes). Will they vote tactically for Fa’afoi ? Or will they treat it like a FPP election where their vote for the candidate is simply an expression of which Party they fell most closely-aligned to ?

    (iv) Arguably, then, the Party-Vote may be a better reflection of Mana’s political complexion than Winnie Laban’s Candidate-Vote. And Labour’s majority over the Nats in the Party-Vote in 2008 was just 2508. Relatively marginal.

    (v) With this in mind, compare recent nationwide opinion poll averages (Nats 50%, Lab 32%) to the nationwide Party-Vote at the last election (Nats 45%, Lab 34%). If we assume that these differences (Nats + 5 percentage points, Lab – 2 percentage points) are true across every Electorate, then Labour and National would be neck-and-neck in Mana on about 42% each.

    (vi) And, on top of all this, by-elections almost always involve a much lower turnout. And, more often than not, those staying at home are lower-income Labour voters.

    (vii) It’s true that Mt Albert (with a very similar Party-Vote to Mana in 2008, and with Helen Clark – like Winnie Laban – considerably more popular than Labour’s Party-Vote there) worked out extremely well. But as Eddie has suggested, things were looking very tight there at last year’s by-election until Melissa Lee caused a collapse in National’s vote.

    • swordfish 6.1

      I should clarify, here, that by “majority” in “(iii) Simply in order to retain their majority..” (my comment above), I mean, of course, the SIZE of their majority.

      I should also point out that about 1500 people in Mana in 2008 cast their Party-Vote for Labour but voted for a Candidate other than Winnie Laban (indeed, I was one of them. I and one of my close family members went for the Green (and former Alliance) Candidate, Michael Gilchrist ). The point being that, using my rationale above, most of those 1500 can be expected to return (at this by-election) to voting for the Labour candidate – thus somewhat mitigating the effects of the 4452 moving in the opposite direction. But, of course, only somewhat. Still almost a 3000 vote deficit to make up.

  7. swordfish 7

    (B) Solution:

    The first two are, of course, little more than stating the bleeding obvious.

    (1) Counter the media spin.

    (2) Turnout, Turnout, Turnout !!! Mobilise those core Labour voters (especially in the Porirua East/Titahi Bay/Elsdon heartlands).

    (3) Needs to be a concerted effort by Labour activists when canvassing to encourage Greens (especially those 1757) to vote strategically for Fa’afoi (Rationale: For longer-term electoral good of Centre-Left as a whole / Vote for Green’s Logie wasted (she can’t win) and will ensure greatly-reduced Fa’afoi majority (possibly even outside chance of Nat’s Parata win), thus, in turn, prompting negative momentum in media regarding Labour/Green 2011 election chances, not to mention debilitating speculation on Goff leadership = downward spiral / By all means give your Party-Vote to the Greens in 2011, but please, in the strategic interests of the Centre-Left as a whole, consider voting tactically for Fa’afoi at the by-election).

    • Except, of course, that a lot of Greens don’t want another 9 years of a centrist do-nothing Labour government…

      • swordfish 7.1.1

        But they do want an increasingly Right-wing National Government ?

        Many commentators would argue that Labour has just moved to the Left. Certainly not quite as far as some of us would like but surely better than an asset-selling, beneficiary-bashing, anti-union second term Key Government ?

        And, in any case, more than a few Greens seem more than a little centrist: only ideology – Green (the idea of Left and Right as “archaic”).

    • Rumpelstiltskin 7.2

      It’s huge assumption that electing Kris is in the “longer term electoral good of Centre-Left”. Try out this narrative/scenario mash-up for size:

      (1) Goff is a warmed-over Baby-Boomer who once said that the main problem of Roger Douglas’ ’80s reforms had been in communication, not policy. He is deeply unpopular in the country and barely lukewarm within his party. He is one of the least Green-friendly Labour tribe and would prefer to kill the Greens off than work with them.

      (2) Labour have a bunch of Gen X talent waiting in the wings. Currently low-profile, they are Green-friendly and ‘get’ MMP in a way Goff doesn’t.

      (3) Let’s say there’s a possibility of a Goff-led Labour/Green win in 2011 – Goff’s position shored up by a big Kris Fa’afoi win in Mana. It will be terribly unpopular:
      – With Goff in charge Labour appears to the outside world to be largely unreconstructed.
      – The Greens will be seen to be propping up the left-overs of Helen Clark’s regime before “that nice man Key’s time is up”… (There hasn’t been a 1-term government since the 1950s and generally Kiwis like to give their governments 2 terms. It’s simplistic Kiwi fairness at play.)
      – Goff will get to be PM for at least one term and that Gen X talent has to continue to sit waiting in the wings.
      – This unpopular warm-over from a previous era drags itself through a term or two before finally expiring, Goff retires and Labour’s younger, more talented people move up. However, now they’re back in opposition for a couple of terms…

      (4) Or let’s try out the alternative – Kris wins by the skin of his teeth or even loses. Goff’s position is weakened.
      – Labour dumps Goff and replaces him with a newer model. Labour’s brand is renewed and finally a generation of leaders who weren’t visibly part of the Fourth or Fifth Labour Governments moves up. Labour’s popularity improves as do relations with the Greens.
      – If Labour dumps Goff before 2011 and a Labour/Green coalition wins it will be more popular than a Goff version, because it doesn’t resemble anything from the ’80s or ’90s and the coaltion looks more like a marriage of love than convenience.
      – If Labour dumps Goff after a 2011 loss then the Gen X people take over then they’ll be in Government in 2014 rather than having to wait up to 12 years for Goff to lose, National to govern and then them to get in.

      Ergo, the “longer term electoral good of Centre-Left” is for Goff etc to be replaced by some of the really strong new people, either before 2011 or immediately after. A Kris Fa’afoi narrow win or loss assists that.

      Vote for Jan Logie.

      • Thomas Forrow 7.2.1

        You make sense Rumpel !
        I particularly liked the bit about Vote for Jan Logie

        • Colonial Viper 7.2.1.1

          Ergo, the “longer term electoral good of Centre-Left” is for Goff etc to be replaced by some of the really strong new people, either before 2011 or immediately after. A Kris Fa’afoi narrow win or loss assists that.

          Goff is by far the strongest leader not just of the centre left, but in Parliament today, and he will be an excellent PM.

          • Rumpelstiltskin 7.2.1.1.1

            A terrible indictment of the state of leadership on the centre left and in Parliament.Which is kind of my point. If the last rat to leave Roger Douglas’ ship is the best we’ve got, the centre-left doesn’t really deserve to be in Government.

            And if there’s truly no one in Labour’s caucus who’s as strong a leader (so to speak) than Goff, then (a) it’s remarkable anyone’s bothering to vote Labour at all and (b) it’s going to be a “long,cold night” in Opposition.

            Better then, for the long term good of the centre-left, to turn over such mediocre players and allow a new generation into the leadership, even if they’re a little under-experienced.

            Think of the parallels to the UK: there’s simply no way the Lib Dems could have propped up a fourth term of Labour, even though they were politically far more aligned – Labour was a zombie under Gordon Brown, had been a zombie since before he took over. For the health of the democratic system, Labour had to enter opposition and renew it’s leadership, with a new generation capable of representing the idea that it had cleaned out the defunct old guard and stood for a new way of doing things, relevant to a new generation of people.

            Goff? Really? He’s the *best*? Better get used to Key, then.

      • Maynard J 7.2.2

        Too much of a long bow to draw a link between this by-election and the result of the Geebral Election.

  8. cowbell 8

    It doesn’t matter who wins. The balance of power in the house will remain the same.

    This is a fine platform for some A-grade grandstanding though 😀 Let the games begin.

    • Not necessarily. If the seat goes Green, they will get an extra MP at the expense of Labour, bringing Parliament further to the left. You’re right though, in that the seat going to Labour or National won’t change the proportionality or parliament.

  9. oscar 9

    the only reason labour want fa’afoi to win is because if he loses, tizard is in. I normally vote labour, but the jack up in kris’ selection has left me with little choice, but to either a) stay home or b) vote logie. I’ll probably pick option B, Eddie. At least then I would have voted.

    • Colonial Viper 9.1

      Tizard is in? What the hell kind of disinformation are you on about.

      • Oscar 9.1.1

        She’s next on the list isn’t she? So Laban has gone, next on the list is Tizard. If Parata wins, National gain an electorate, but no more MPs.
        Labour is missing an MP, ergo, next on the list comes in.

    • You’re right, in that if Fa’foi loses, Tizard goes in. The distribution of MPs in parliament remains the same.

      • Thomas Forrow 9.2.1

        A by-election result can change the proportionality of Parliament that was determined at the preceding general election (for example, if a by-election is won by a candidate representing a different party from that of the member who vacated his or her seat).

      • Marty G 9.2.2

        Tizard doesn’t go in is Fa’afoi loses. If a list MP retires, the next list candidate replaces them. That’s not the case with electorate MPs

  10. swordfish 10

    (C) Specifics:

    Core Green areas for Labour activists to focus on:

    (1) The Green stronghold is in the far-north of the electorate (essentially the southern end of Kapiti Coast).
    Of the 5 suburbs/communities in the far-north, 2 (Paraparaumu and Raumati Beach) recorded only average Green Party-Votes (8%), but the other 3 (each strong Arts communities) are very much Green strongholds – Raumati South 17% (241 Green party-votes), Pukerua Bay 17% (139 votes) and Paekakariki a whopping 28% (241 votes).
    (there is some evidence to suggest that Paekakariki Greens were not only more numerous on the ground, but also even more likely than other Greens in the seat to split their vote in favour of Laban in 2008. Paekakariki Greens may therefore be particularly open to voting strategically for Fa’afoi. The only potential problem here, however, is that Green candidate Jan Logie lives there – so may shore-up Green vote).

    (2) Greens also received above-average Party-Vote support in some suburbs of what I would call the near-north (middle to high income areas surrounding Pauatahanui Inlet and northern Porirua Harbour entrance). Plimmerton 12% (161 votes), Mana 9% (112 votes), Paremata 9% (92 votes).

    (3) Finally, 4 large suburbs which – despite only average or below-average Green Party-Vote percentages – contain a significant raw number of Green voters simply as a corollary of their sizable populations. Titahi Bay 8% (222 votes), Linden 7% (150 votes), Whitby 5% (218 votes), Raumati Beach 8% (181 votes).

    Voters in the above 10 suburbs comprise about 50% of all Mana voters, but more than 60% of all Green voters.

  11. Thomas Forrow 11

    I can tell you the word in Paekakariki and Northern Mana is that the Greens are going to do very very well.
    Which should set them up nicely for the 2011 elections which of course is what it is all about.
    particularly as Labour has little chance of winning the GE

    Maybe if Labour supporters don’t like Goff as a leader they should fire a shot over Labour’s bows and vote Green .That might be a better strategic decision in the long run

  12. Thomas Forrow 12

    We have just learned that Matt McCarten will announce tomorrow he is standing on Mana by election.
    That will shake things up

  13. deemac 13

    McCarten can do what he likes of course but what a waste of his time and talents. Pointless.

  14. swordfish 14

    Anyway, my friendlies, time to take a quick peek at the geography of Party-Vote support in Mana (2008), in order to clarify party strongholds and weakspots in the up-coming by-election (even though it’s way past my bedtime and I’m already in my jim-jams with little First World War British and German by-planes all over them).

    Moving away from the nonsense in the media that Mana is an entirely blue-collar, poverty-striken Labour stronghold, I would (and, indeed, will) divide Mana into 5 broad sub-regions (each comprising a cluster of geographically-contiguous and, for the most part, politically-similar suburbs). (assuming that “contiguous” is a real word ? If it isn’t, it should be).

    (1) The East (The true Labour stronghold. Lower/Lower-Middle income suburbs to immediate east and north-east of Porirua City Centre. High proportion of state houses and Pacifika and Maori residents – though I think Europeans comprise a slight majority).

    2008 Party-Vote: 75% Lab / 11% Nat

    Lab/Nat Party-Vote split in each suburb: Ascot Park 63/21, Porirua East 68/15, Waitangirua 80/9, Cannons Creek 83/6.

    (2) The West (The other Labour stronghold, though to lesser degree. Mixed Lower and Middle income suburbs west and north-west of Porirua City Centre (on and immediately south of Titahi Bay peninsula). Mix of private and state housing).

    2008 Party-Vote: 55% Lab / 25% Nat

    Lab/Nat Party-Vote split in each suburb: Takapuwahia 48/25, Titahi Bay 53/26, Elsdon 64/16.

    (3) The Near-North (The National stronghold. Almost a mirror-image of the vote in The West. Middle and High-income upwardly-mobile suburbs surrounding Pauatahanui Inlet and northern entrance to Porirua Harbour).

    2008 Party-Vote: 28% Lab / 54% Nat

    Lab/Nat Party-Vote split in each suburb: Pauatahanui 21/62, Whitby 26/58, Papakowhai 30/53, Paremata 30/50, Mana 30/50, Plimmerton 31/46.

    The remaining two sub-regions have a very similar political profile: both highly marginal but National-leaning (albeit with a noticably strong Green vote in The Far North):

    (4) The Far North (Mixed/Middle-income suburbs/townlets at southern end of Kapiti Coast with strong Arts community and high Green vote).

    2008 Party-Vote: 36% Lab / 40 % Nat / (14% Green).

    Lab/Nat/(Green) Party-Vote split in each suburb: Raumati Beach 34/46/(8), Raumati South 34/38/(17), Pukerua Bay 35/37/(17), Paraparaumu 37/42/(8), Paekakariki 41/23/(28).

    (5) The South (Low and Middle-income suburbs between Porirua and Tawa).

    2008 Party-Vote: 39% Lab / 41% Nat

    Lab/Nat Party-Vote split in each suburb: Tawa(northern portion only) 34/45, Linden 39/42, Kenepuru 55/22.

  15. swordfish 15

    And so, finally, to clarify how Labour won the Party-Vote in Mana in 2008, and therefore to highlight the kind of support-dynamics going on in this by-election, let’s aggregate these 5 into 3 larger sub-regions – each with a roughly similar-sized Total Vote (I’m beginning to sound like a pompous teacher. Brilliant !):

    (1) East/West (the 2 Labour strongholds combined).

    Party-Vote Number/Percentage:
    Labour 6327 (67%)
    National 1518 (16%)
    Total Party-Votes: 9376

    (2) Near North (same Nat stronghold as in previous comment).

    Party-Vote Number/Percentage:
    Labour 2690 (28%)
    National 5289 (54%)
    Total Party-Votes: 9743

    Therefore, although more votes were cast in National’s (Near North) stronghold (9743) than Labour’s (East/West) stronghold (9376), Labour remain 2210 votes ahead of National (obviously because of Lab’s greater strength (67%) in East/West than Nat’s 54% in Near North).

    (3) Far North/South (the 2 marginal, National-leaning sub-regions combined).

    Party-Vote Number/Percentage:
    Labour 3267 (37%)
    National 3568 (40%)
    Total Party-Votes: 8927

    Clearly, the 301 Party-Vote advantage to National in Far North/South alters the picture only slightly.

    And so to bed…

  16. Thomas Forrow 16

    Brilliant analysis Mr/s Swordfish

  17. I’ve no love for National but i think Parata would make the better MP.

    Fa’afoi doesnt deserve it. He’s got no grassroots connections to anything Pasifikan and has been an MSM and political suckhole his whole life.

    Are we to expect he’s suddenly become all socially conscious and culturally aware that he’ll fight on behalf of the invisible Pasifikan underclass now ?

    Nah…he seems to be an opportunistic political animal kissing the party arse and only in it for himself.

    Last thing Labour needs is a failed spindoctor and another housenigga warming the back benches.

    Jeez Goff makes some fucked up decisions. He doesn’t deserve to be PM or leader of the Labour party either but then again, neither does key or english deserve to be running the show and in charge of the countries pursestrings.

    whats a bro to do ???

  18. swordfish 18

    2008 NZ First Party-Vote in Mana:

    % / (raw number)

    (1) The East
    Porirua East 4 (61), Ascot Park 4 (27), Waitangirua 3 (38), Cannons Creek 2 (46).

    (2) The West
    Titahi Bay 5 (136), Elsdon 5 (26), Takapuwahia 4 (12).

    (3) The Near-North
    Mana 3 (32), Whitby 2 (75), Papakowhai 2 (32), Plimmerton 2 (31), Paremata 2 (25), Pauatahanui 2 (19).

    (4) The Far-North
    Raumati Beach 4 (84), Paraparaumu 4 (48), Raumati South 3 (35), Pukerua Bay 3 (24), Paekakariki 3 (23).

    (5) The South
    Kenepuru 5 (7), Linden 3 (58), Tawa 3 (7).

  19. swordfish 19

    There were 1029 NZ First Party-Votes in 2008 in Mana. 68% of them (695) cast their Candidate-Vote for Labour’s Laban, with only 15% going for National’s Parata.

    And just under 2000 people in Mana in 2008 cast their Party-Vote for a minor-party (meaning: a party smaller than Act and NZ First). Here’s the way they split their vote:

    Mana 2008

    Minor Party—-Raw Number
    ——————-Party-Vote
    —————-for Minor Party
    —————in Mana as a whole—————–% Candidate-Vote 2008 Mana
    ————————————————–Laban (Lab)—–Gilchrist (Green)——Parata (Nat)

    United Future—–458—————————–24——————2———————-38——-

    Maori————–356—————————–54—————–12———————19——–

    Progressive——-274—————————–63——————11———————11——–

    Bill and Ben——-213—————————–42——————15———————-26——-

    Kiwi—————206—————————–14——————-2———————–15——

    Pacific————189—————————–51——————–0————————4——

    Cannabis———-133—————————-39——————–29———————-14——-

    Family————-85—————————–29———————2———————–26——

    (The other 6 minor-parties all received less than 20 Party-Votes each and so have been excluded from this analysis).

    • swordfish 19.1

      And so, of the minor-party voters, we might expect those of the Maori Party, the Progressives, the Pacific Party, Legalise Cannabis, and Bill and Ben to favour one Left-leaning Candidate or another in the Mana by-election. The same goes for NZ First voters.

  20. swordfish 20

    And, lastly, a very rough attempt at a map of the seat.

    ————————————————————————————————Paraparaumu

    —————————————————————————————–Raumati Beach
    —————————————————————————————Raumati South___(Far North)
    ————————————————————————————–
    ———————————————————————————–Paekakariki

    ________________________________________________________
    ________________________________________________________
    __________________________________________________Pukerua Bay

    _________________________________________________
    _________________________________________________
    _________________________________________________
    _________________________________________________
    ________________________________________Plimmerton
    ______________________________________________Mana/Camborne___(Near North)

    ______________________________________________Paremata_____Whitby___Pauatahanui

    ____Titahi Bay__(West)__________________________Papakowhai

    __________________________________________________Ascot Park____Waitangirua_____(East)
    _ Elsdon/Takupuwahia________________
    __________________PORIRUA CITY CENTRE______Porirua East/_____Cannons Creek
    _______________________________________________Ranui Heights

    __________________________Kenepuru

    _________________________Linden____(South)

    ________________________Tawa

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    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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    2 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. ...
    2 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
    2 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 ...
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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 ...
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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. ...
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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 ...
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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 ...
    5 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 ...
    5 days 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
    5 days 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
    5 days 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
    5 days 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
    5 days 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
    5 days 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    6 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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 ...
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 day ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days 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
    3 days 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
    3 days 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
    4 days ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
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