Maori support for Labour

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, October 1st, 2014 - 56 comments
Categories: labour, maori party, Maori seats - Tags: ,

One of the few bright spots for Labour in the election was the renewed support of Maori. Labour now holds 6 of the 7 Maori seats. Only Waiariki was retained for the Maori Party by co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell. Combined with a party vote of just 1.3% it seems clear that the Maori Party has failed to convince Maori that it represents their interests. This should hardly come as a surprise – poll after poll showed that the Maori electorate wanted the party to align with Labour, election after election they aligned with National.

Personally distressing as this must be for the Maori Party founders, Tariana Turia’s angry outburst in a recent speech probably hasn’t done the Maori Party any favours, and has drawn a critical response:

Turia ‘beaten wives’ speech angers

Labour MP Kelvin Davis has come out swinging against outgoing Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia, who likened Maori who voted Labour to “beaten wives” going back to their husbands. …

[Turia] quoted a Facebook post made by one her family members, which said:

“Maori will never learn. Like a beaten wife they go back for more, believing they can’t do without that particular partner. Either way Maori are again the biggest losers in a democratic system. Politics should be a must for mokopuna to learn through the education system if we are ever to see through the muddy waters of fear and lies.”

But Te Tai Tokerau and Labour MP Kelvin Davis has slammed the comment. “It’s really inappropriate to undermine the issue of domestic violence,” he said. Turia was “understandably smarting” at the Maori Party’s loss of votes this election, but she needed to “stay classy”. … “I don’t think it does anything for the fight against domestic violence.”

Turia was not immediately available for comment, but further along in her speech acknowledged it was a controversial statement.

What now for the Maori Party?

One goal for Labour in the Maori electorates should be to engage with and raise the participation of Maori in the electoral process. As Turia also pointed out “45 percent of Maori failed to even make it to the ballot box”. That is a huge concern. Every political party should be asking themselves why so many Maori, and so many Kiwis in general, choose not to vote.

56 comments on “Maori support for Labour ”

  1. BM 1

    Turia is right, Fucks knows why Maori keep voting Labour.

    The only thing I can think of is that Maori unionists are very active within the various marae organisations making sure every one votes labour.

    Because lets be honest, comparing Labour to National, Maori have achieved bugger all with labour.

    • Lanthanide 1.1

      But, one can be sure that any Labour government will do more in co-operation with the Maori Party (and/or Mana) than could be achieved between those parties and National.

      • Roflcopter 1.1.1

        Really? How does that come about when you’re told you’re the last cab off the rank?

        • Lanthanide 1.1.1.1

          2005 was almost 10 years ago.

          • Roflcopter 1.1.1.1.1

            With a Labour Party in 2014 full of the same people as in 2005… and a 2014 election comment that no deal would be done with the Māori Party.

            • Lanthanide 1.1.1.1.1.1

              “and a 2014 election comment that no deal would be done with the Māori Party.”

              Largely, I suspect, because Winston Peters ruled it out. Had National required Winston to form a government, it would have been the same situation for the MP then as well.

    • DoublePlus Good 1.2

      Only wealthy tribal elites do well out of the Maori party’s involvement with National. The rest are better served by the left.

      • swordfish 1.2.1

        Yep. The Maori Party has simply been a vehicle for delivering a whole swathe of Labour-preferring Maori voters to the National Party.

    • Chris 1.3

      What’s the bet National will abolish the Maori seats?

      • boldsirbrian 1.3.1

        @ Chris (1.3)

        Not a chance. Little incentive. Would be seen as anti-Maori. Dirty John is many things but could work this out easily.

        However, that may become part of the agenda, if Labour became smarter about the Maori seats. Did a deal, giving the electorate seats to a friendly coalition Party, in exchange for the Party votes.. Potentially a lot of extra seats for a smart Left coalition. Dirty John and his mate Whaleoil would quickly come up with a different narrative.

        • Chris 1.3.1.1

          It was National’s policy to do that possibly as late as 2008. For National it’s a matter of time.

    • I thought those on the right have been criticising analyses that suggest that voters don’t know what is in their best interests?

      • swordfish 1.4.1

        Yep. And after a good deal of highly-sophisticated theorising and elaborate conjecture, BM’s come up with an ingenious analytical framework that seeks to understand the complexities of the Maori vote through the nuanced prism of: A bunch of aggressive Maori Trade Unionists strong-arm everyone on the Marae in to voting Labour.

    • Foreign Waka 1.5

      It is not Maori but the upper hierarchy of Maori that leans towards national. This should not come as a surprise. It is in the Maori Hierarchy interest to do so as a tribal structure feed all funds upwards. This is very similar to the way National designs its polices. Look at the statistics. After 6 years of that great relationship Maori kids are the greatest proportion of the poorest in the country. All the funds that were received and National has boasted about its great record, the situation has worsened. Why would that be?

    • Murray Olsen 1.6

      Great post, BM. It shows that you don’t have a clue about the history of our country and almost everything you think you know comes from Whalespew. It’s pretty obvious why hardly any of them still vote for the Maori Party, given its subservience to NAct.

  2. DoublePlus Good 2

    The 7 Maori seats averaged around 18000 votes. By contrast, Mangere, Manukau East and Manurewa had around 22000 votes, Kelston was around 26000, and all others were in the 28000-35000 range.

    If turnout was another 10,000 in each of the 10 electorates with the worst turnout (so they’d roughly match the low end of other electorates), and those extra votes mirrored the result in those 10 electorates, that’s something like 70,000 extra votes for Labour, Greens, NZ First and Mana compared to 30,000 for Maori party and National.
    A very rough calculation indicates that to be something like +1.2% for the left, which could be enough that National would not have an absolute majority and would need to rely on Peter Dunne, David Seymour and the two Maori party candidates to form a government.
    If the two Maori party candidates weren’t there and Mana was in parliament because Labour had shown some semblance of understanding of how to MMP, then at a stretch even a Labour-led government could have been formed.

    So Labour focussing on increasing turnout in the Maori electorates and in South Auckland could pay off in a huge way.

    • Lanthanide 2.1

      So Cunliffe’s idea of a Maori deputy (or co-deputy?) is a pragmatic approach.

    • lprent 2.3

      There are programs to do exactly that. They are based around neighbourhood level efforts so are pretty slow to expand. But they do seem to be working. Needless to say that they seem to be largely run without much party level support.

  3. Tariana’s choice of words was unfortunate and the analogy doesn’t really work for me but the sentiment is correct imo. The ‘bright spot’ for labour is a dark spot for tangata whenua but as they voted so shall they reapith. As for kd – his true colours will come out soon enough and mark my words they won’t be any hue of red.

  4. Ant 4

    I can get what Tariana is saying, but the Māori Party failed to live up to its potential, and also failed to articulate what real gains it was making for Māori in return for legitimising National and Key.

    Personally, I voted for Peeni although I would have preferred Rangi sans the Māori Party. (not to take anything away from Peeni because he seems like he will still be good).

    I still hope Mana and the Māori Party can reconcile at some point.

  5. Used to be a socialist 5

    Maori party were excluded by Clarke, they were invited into the tent by John Key. The old saying it is better in the tent pissing out than out of the tent trying to piss in. Thus Flavell is right, his choice is to be in Government all the time no matter if Labour or National win. Maori in general who voted for Labour are now outside the tent with no say of what is going on or what to do. I can’t put it simpler than “it is better to have some influence than none at all”!

    [lprent: BTW tagging you as a probable troll. The misspelling of Clark is symptomatic. You will be on moderation for some time until you can convince me that sufficient intelligence to participate in the debate lurks behind such a stupid interior. ]

    • lprent 5.1

      Perhaps you should also point out that the Maori party are going rapidly backwards electorally in the clutches of National. From the wikipedia page.

      Election # of candidates nominated (electorate/list) # of seats won # of party votes  % of popular vote
      2005
      42 / 51

      4 / 121
      48,263
      2.12%
      2008
      7 / 19

      5 / 122

      55,980
      2.39%
      2011
      11 / 17

      3 / 121
      31,982
      1.43%
      2014
      24 / 24

      2 / 121

      27,074
      1.29%

      It rather looks to me as if the only thing that kept Flavell in his seat this time around was the split between Labour and the Mana party. They are widely regarded as being the party of the Iwi corporates, including by many of those who support them.

      • Kiwiri 5.1.1

        Labour (sans Davis) and Mana should have had a chat about a progressive arrangement to enhance representation in Parliament:

        Labour would campaign for the party, not electorate, vote in TTT.

        In turn, Mana would campaign for the party, not electorate, vote in Waiariki.

        • lprent 5.1.1.1

          There is a basic issue with these kinds of deals. The experience of getting *dependent* on the largess of a larger party in NZ (and offshore) for sweetheart deals is that they appear to lead to the most dependent party dying over time.

          For long-term survival, parties need to be able to win their electorates and/or party vote. If they can’t then they should merge or die.

          In NZ the resilience of both NZ First and the Greens is due to them building a constituency and then retaining and building on it. Admittedly NZ First had to do that several times 🙂

          • SPC 5.1.1.1.1

            Labour only won this seat because of the National and NZ First vote for Davis.

            It is Davis who is the dependent.

      • The Lone Haranguer 5.1.2

        Lynn, you are correct that the Maori Party are getting eaten alive electorally, by being in bed with the Nats. And it would be a very accurate summary of the ACT story too – they did okay till they got around the Cabinet table.

        And looking back further in time, the small parties that took seats around the Cabinet table with the Clark led Labour government didnt fare much better really, largely because they lose their identity and the big party seems keen to hoover up their voters over time.

        Even Winston had three years in the wilderness.

        Both of the big parties think and act in a very FPP kind of way. I guess its in their blood.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 5.2

      😆

      Before LBJ’s famous remark about J. Edgar Hoover gets mangled any further let’s remember what he actually said: “It’s probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in.”

  6. Jay 6

    I very much agree with Mrs Turia. Sit in opposition, achieve little. Sit in government, achieve more. And the more seats you have, the more you achieve. Instead of five mps in government for the next three years they have two, with them languishing in opposition. What’s the point. Why not just for coalitions with whoever each election? It’s a no brainer.

    • DoublePlus Good 6.1

      “Achieve more” in this case means making some cosmetic improvements that look like you are doing something for Maori while you prop up a government that is making things dramatically worse for Maori.

      • boldsirbrian 6.1.1

        Remember it was the Labour Party who unnecessarily rejected the Maori Party before the Election. NOT the other way around. There could possibly have been a result where the Maori Party could have been the kingmakers. And in that situation may have chosen Labour. Labour do need to learn about MMP.

        The Maori Party is not propping the Government up at the moment. They had the choice of being in Opposition, alongside an unfriendly Labour Party, or achieving some limited goals within Government. I cant say I blame them.

        Would they have fared any better staying on the Left of politics? Doesn’t seem likely, based on how Labour treated Mana. Labour was just as happy to rub Mana’s face into the ground. It’s almost as if Labour were campaigning for extra votes from the Greens and Mana, and not so concerned about attracting votes away from Dirty John.

        Labour actively opposed both the Maori Party and the Mana Party. What I read from that, is that Labour are far more interested in the power achieved from the Maori seats than they re about making things dramatically better for Maori. How little things seem to have changed from when Helen Clark contemptuously treated Maori concerns.

        What Mana policies do Labour actually object to? Is there something dreadfully wrong with Hone Harawira’s concerns with poverty? Because if there isn’t, Labour should go back to classes in MMP 101, and work WITH Hone. Let Mana have two or three electorate seats (Mana have some excellent candidates), and in return campaign for the Party vote in those electorates. Labour have done it before with Anderton; Dirty John is doing it with Seymour and Dunne. It’s not rocket science.

        Remember it was Cunliffe (the darling of the so called left of Labour) who appeared to find Mana’s Poverty and Justice concerns so objectionable. Things get very topsy turvey in politics sometimes. I could perhaps have more faith in poverty concerns from the so called “nasty neoliberal rightists” of Labour. Even Dirty John is sensing a gap in this policy area, and is craftily attempting to drive a wedge into this area (or at least appear to be doing so)

        There is the opportunity for Labour to show that they have won the Maori seats and are willing to treat the seats with respect. Time will tell.

        These will be the issues that I will taking into account, before I cast my vote for Labour Leader in the next few weeks.

        I don’t give a damn whether the candidates are left/right; up/down; or east/west. I don’t give a damn whether the candidates are neo-liberal or neo-communist or neo-Burger-King, which seem to be the concerns of far too many people on this blog.

        Where do the candidates stand, but more importantly what will they do, for poverty, for inequality, for employment, for fairness, for justice, for the environment, for science, for the arts and leisure, and last but not least for prosperity?

        • Colonial Viper 6.1.1.1

          fair and broad ranging criticisms. Labour’s extinguishing of potential allies and cross party partnerships even as its own clarity of purpose and party vote declines further, has done no one on the ‘Left’ any favours.

          I’m still pissed off that we lost Hone and Laila, and got bloody Kelvin Davis, yet another future Labour leader to be, instead. National on the other hand actually get MMP, and keeps its useful pets around so it can get political cover for ever more ridiculous and damaging policies.

        • Lanthanide 6.1.1.2

          “Remember it was the Labour Party who unnecessarily rejected the Maori Party before the Election.”

          Actually it was NZFirst. Labour clearly needed NZFirst to form a government, so had to echo his comments. National also could have been in exactly the same position.

          “There could possibly have been a result where the Maori Party could have been the kingmakers. And in that situation may have chosen Labour. Labour do need to learn about MMP.”
          It would be incredibly unlikely that the MP could be a in kingmaker position that was not eclipsed by NZFirst.

          “Remember it was Cunliffe (the darling of the so called left of Labour) who appeared to find Mana’s Poverty and Justice concerns so objectionable. ”

          No, it was the public who found Mana, and more importantly Kim Dotcom, so objectionable, and Cunliffe tried to distance Labour from them so as not to completely turn off “middle NZ”, whose votes they need in order to win the election (as was clearly demonstrated by their loss).

          • boldsirbrian 6.1.1.2.1

            @ Lanthanide (6.1.1.2)

            “Remember it was the Labour Party who unnecessarily rejected the Maori Party before the Election.”

            Actually it was NZFirst. Labour clearly needed NZFirst to form a government, so had to echo his comments. National also could have been in exactly the same position.

            Labour did not “have” to do anything of the sort. Labour did what it did because it wanted to. For a start,
            (1) I heard no demand from NZFirst to do so;
            (2) I heard no agreement that NZFirst would go into coalition with Labour on the condition that the Maori party were snubbed and
            (3) I heard NZFirst say nothing else than they would wait and see what the result of the election was before negotiating
            (4) Far more importantly I do not accept that Labour has to sell it’s soul to gain power. Labour should do what is right. If what you say is true that Labour was simply treating Winston Peters as their Master, their politics have slipped to an all time low. ……

            ~~~~~~

            “There could possibly have been a result where the Maori Party could have been the kingmakers. And in that situation may have chosen Labour. Labour do need to learn about MMP.”
            It would be incredibly unlikely that the MP could be a in kingmaker position that was not eclipsed by NZFirst.

            Of course it would have been unlikely. But when should principles be compromised by how likely something is to happen?

            “I’m going to dangle this block of concrete above your head. But that’s ok, because there is only a one in a million chance of the rope breaking…. OK?

            ~~~~~~

            “Remember it was Cunliffe (the darling of the so called left of Labour) who appeared to find Mana’s Poverty and Justice concerns so objectionable. ”

            No, it was the public who found Mana, and more importantly Kim Dotcom, so objectionable, and Cunliffe tried to distance Labour from them so as not to completely turn off “middle NZ”, whose votes they need in order to win the election (as was clearly demonstrated by their loss).

            For a start they were distanced from Mana and the Internet Parties in exactly the same way that National was distanced from the minor parties on the right. They were different parties. At the very worst, Labour could have treated Mana in exactly the same way as National treated the Conservatives – by keeping a button on the lips.

            Labour chose to react to the story that was the making of Dirty John, and in knee jerk reaction in vilifying Mana themselves, Labour set the “objectionable” story about Mana for the public as much as Dirty John was responsible. Labour chose to let Dirty John set the agenda. Dirty John in contrast, astute politician, maintained his own position for his far more lunatic (potential) partners on the far right.

            Pray tell in what way was the Mana-Internet Party so objectionable? They were certainly objectionable to Dirty John…. as there were potentially two or three or even four seats that he might not receive. But I’m not aware of a whole lot of policies that they were promoting that the Left could not have embraced. What was objectionable about Mana’s main plank of fighting poverty; promoting justice?

            What was objectionable about Dotcom? His weight? His country of origin? The fact that he had a criminal conviction? The fact that he was rich? They are all smears…. We have had plenty of obese politicians. Dotcom’s wealth was achieved in almost an exact parallel way that Dirty John himself became wealthy. Germans have a wonderful reputation in New Zealand … World War 2 started 75 years ago! There are plenty of politicians who have had a past that included a criminal conviction.

            Where on Earth did Labour park any sense of fairness and justice over all this? At the first sign of a smear, they panicked, and panicked bad. What they could have done is talked with pride about their own policies, and explained how close and admirably similar the Internet Mana party’s main policies also were. It’s called integrity, and believing in your own party, believing in fairness, believing in justice, and believing in not succumbing to bigotry and ignorance.

            I hope that there is a lesson in there for Labour.

            • Murray Olsen 6.1.1.2.1.1

              You make a lot of sense, Boldsirbrian. I also wonder what role Matt McCarten may have played in distancing Labour from Mana. I certainly didn’t see any evidence of the political genius proclaimed so loudly on The Daily Bog.

              Over the long term I predict that Maori will continue to leave Labour and Labour will continue to take Maori for granted.

              • boldsirbrian

                @ Murray Olsen (6.1.1.2.1.1)

                I don’t know about Matt McCarten’s role. Regardless of the person who thought it up, the buck must stop with David Cunliffe, for implementing the “strategy”

                In the election Maori have “come back to Labour”, with regard to the Maori seats. So Labour do have an opportunity now to not repeat the mistakes of the past. I’m optimistic that Labour will consider this issue well in their review, and not take Maori for granted ??

                It’s sort of a Clayton’s win though with all the Maori seats. A win that is not really a win. They have dealt a king hit to Mana, who could have been a potential valuable MMP partner. That is the part that is the most frustrating, for those wanting a Left victory in the future. The Mana Party is the sort of Party that I could have imagined a smart Labour Party inventing, rather than killing off.

    • Tracey 6.2

      they still get less than ACT… and, arguably, peter dunne.

      4500 people innz voted for dunne.

      ANY suggestion that the MP is getting stuff reflecting their electoral position is a little misguided… less so this time due to drop in party vote, but white middle aged male parties known as act and uf are boxing WAY above their electorate weight.

  7. swordfish 7

    While I agree with the broad thrust, Anthony, you’re possibly being just a tad naughty with your suggestion: “Combined with a party vote of just 1.3% it seems clear that the Maori Party has failed to convince Maori that it represents their interests.”

    This implies that the Maori Party only averaged 1.3% across the Maori seats, when, of course, it’s actually the New Zealand-wide figure (and that’s not really all that much down on 2011’s 1.4%). In the Maori seats, the Maori Party’s Election Night Party-Vote ranged from a low of 10.1% to a high of 21.4%.

    Hate to be some sort of self-righteous, holier-than-thou lurgee-type figure, but there you are.

    The reality is: this time around, the Maori Party took a hit in the Candidate-Vote, but not the Party-Vote. They’d taken a major hit in the latter back in 2011.

  8. mikesh 8

    Has Flavell been offered a ministerial role? And if not might this not portend the abolition of the Maori seats?

    • The Lone Haranguer 8.1

      I think thats getting announced next week. No idea why it wasnt announced with the ACT and UF deals tho.

      Key did say, post election, Flavell would probably get Maori affairs

      • Dazzer 8.1.1

        As I understand it, Flavell is undertaking hui around the countryside before agreeing (or not) to the proposal.

  9. Phil 9

    … poll after poll showed that the Maori electorate wanted the party to align with Labour, election after election they aligned with National.

    Incorrect. Poll after poll showed that Maori Party party-voters wanted the MP to align with Labour if the party held the balance of power. They haven’t, and the only post-election choices available to the party have been to support national or be in opposition. Also remember that the post-election hui have supported being in government rather than being in opposition.

  10. SPC 10

    The Maori MP’s are subordinated within the wider Labour caucus and Labour cannot give them anything without compromising itself in the centre.

    Only by having an independent ally can this be avoided, as National does with MP.

    Turia is right. This is the best for Maori.

    Thus Labour could well get out of these electorates and allow a left wing Maori Party as an alternative to the “iwi corporate” MP.

    The one provisio, National would respond to this by getting cold feet about the Maori electorates delivering electorate seats (overhang) to a Labour ally. Thus end support for Maori seats continuing while Maori wanted them to and seek to put this to a wider referendum.

    Having Mana operate (winning one or two of the seats) and compete with Labour is the less than optimum compromise, but it avoids that risk.

  11. Tautoko Viper 11

    Although I was disappointed that Hone lost the Te Tai Tokerau seat and that the split vote Hone/Labour didn’t eventuate, I do see some good signs in the Māori support for Labour. I believe they voted for the social justice policies. If Labour is moved towards the centre, then this support will be withdrawn, along with that of grassroots LEC members.
    The party does not “belong’ to the MPs. The direction of the party will be determined by the people. If an MP finds that direction untenable, then he/she should resign.

    • Colonial Viper 11.1

      The party does not “belong’ to the MPs. The direction of the party will be determined by the people. If an MP finds that direction untenable, then he/she should resign.

      And that is the entire game, right there, in two sentences.

  12. Used to be a socialist 12

    To Comrade iprent: hit a we nerve did we? To castigate me for spelling Clark’s name is petty. In doing so on such a small matter you missed the big picture altogether!

    [lprent: Just bored with inadequate trolls.

    “used to be a socialist”, misspelling of Clark, and being a stupid jerkoff just scream “RWNJ concern troll” to me. It wasn’t as if you said anything of significance. I’ve seen tens of thousands of similar comments on the site in the past 7 years. So we won’t waste any more time with an such a pathetic troll refugee from 2008. I think even the right wingers on the site will be bored.

    Go back home to blubberboy. Bye bye ]

  13. word 13

    Tariana Turia is showing her true colours, she is behaving like a nasty RWNJ. Turia should know that Maori do not support her Right Wing Maori Party.

    • boldsirbrian 13.1

      @ word (12)

      One thing about Tariana is that she cares much less about right wing and left wing, and is more passionate about policies that will benefit Maori.

      Tariana had a senior position in Labour, and was treated by Labour with contempt. She walked from Labour on a point of principle, even with a high prospect of political oblivion.

      That she formed the Maori Party that has achieved more successes is to her credit. That she has been treated better by the Nats than she was by Labour may annoy Labour supporters, but who can blame the Party?

      I think there may be only one or two MPS (if any) in the whole house who did not have a high respect for Tariana as a politician.

      The landscape has now changed, a decade later. The Maori Party exists; Mana has come and gone, but still not finished; and Labour has, once again, got the majority of Maori seats.

      This should have been a lesson for Labour. Not to stick the knife into your allies. To cherish what you have and not neglect it; and before throwing the barbs, look in the mirror first.

      Labour have an opportunity. They once “owned” the Maori seats. But nothing can be taken for granted. The seats have experimented with Winston First, and the Maori Party. It’s time for Labour to pay far more than lip service to the needs of Maori.
      My vision: A caring Society, with comparable statistics for Maori and Pakeha for wealth, employment, health, education, justice, will provide benefits for both Maori and Pakeha

      And if Labour get that, it would be a fitting tribute to Tariana.

      • word 13.1.1

        @Boldsirbrian. Tariana Turia had a point of principle while propping up the National Party, donned her revolutionary cap, but continued to support John key to sell this country and its people out. Money and false sense of power won over her and Sharples so called set of “principles”

      • DS 13.1.2

        Actually, Helen Clark bent over backwards to accommodate Tariana Turia. Allowing her to vote against Government legislation while remaining a cabinet minister was unprecedented.

        Turia was so blinded by spite that she jumped into bed with a party that consciously screws over her people whenever they get the chance.

  14. red blooded 14

    True. Tariana Turia was given considerably more latitude and respect than she later gave Hone Hawarera. And let’s take note that the Māori Party did not convince National to repeal or substantially alter the Seabed and Fireshore Act (its stated aim).

    While the Labour MPs now representing most voters on the Māori roll don’t have immediate influence over this government they will, both by virtue of numbers and of their symbolic importance to Labour, have significant impact on the policies and priorities of the next Labour government and should help to provide a strong pool of talent for ministerial portfolios in times to come.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • 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 hours 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
    6 hours 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
    11 hours 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
    11 hours 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
    24 hours 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
    2 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
    3 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
    4 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
    5 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
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-12-09T05:22:38+00:00