Media crisis may be most problematic

Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, November 27th, 2020 - 34 comments
Categories: covid-19, Media, Social issues - Tags: , , , ,

The government is simultaneously grappling with the Covid, economic and housing crises, but its failure to act urgently and boldly on the crisis in our Fourth Estate may have the most damaging longer-term effect.

Bernard Hickey, one of Aotearoa’s foremost newsmen and media innovators, has lashed out at Broadcasting and Media Minister Kris Faafoi, together with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, for their fiddling-while-Rome-burns response to an industry in meltdown.

While Covid and economic collapse have been staved off, news start-ups like Newsroom and TheSpinoff, together with print media, are precariously positioned, as already waning pre-Covid advertising has drastically plunged since the pandemic struck. NZME (NZ Herald) is reduced to hacking into its reporting backbone, having already slashed the body more severely than Monty Python’s Black Knight, while Stuff’s sale for just $1 speaks for itself.

NZME’s three-year rescue plan announced this month involves cutting historic mastheads The Northern Advocate, Hawke’s Bay Today, Rotorua Daily Post, Bay of Plenty Times and Whanganui Chronicle, replacing them with regional names ending in ‘Herald”, and filling them with generic content.

Faafoi has not done nothing. But his $50m “triage” media rescue package announced in April was almost entirely directed at broadcast media while NZ First pulled the handbrake on his planned second, albeit lesser, package aimed at other media.

In a podcast with The Spinoff’s Duncan Greive, Hickey castigated the government’s dealings with RNZ, Stuff, NZME, and the small independents like Newsroom.

He said he despairs at the lack of support for public-good journalism.

During the “biggest health crisis in our lifetime”, when the media has played a vital supportive role, the government has provided more assistance to horse racing than to the Fourth Estate, which is so crucial to any democracy, he said.

In his sometimes-bitter explanation of why he quit Newsroom (though still remaining a shareholder), Hickey said he came to the realisation “that this government does not care a jot about the public good created by the commercially run news media”.

The media was withering while this government dithers about delivering support to the non-broadcasting media.

However, a media academic and former editor of one of the doomed NZME mastheads, who did not wish to be named, told me that traditional media didn’t deserve rescuing as they had invariably wielded their power injudiciously and, as “press barons”, skewed news to favour the Right.

They had also arrogantly ignored the threat of the internet.

Hickey clearly still sees merit in both old and new media, although without intervention, he can’t see a way forward for commercial media, particularly, start-ups, for doing public-good journalism at scale.

And state broadcasters are faring little better. Far from fulfilling the 2017 promise of an extra $38m annual grant for RNZ, the state-owned broadcaster is actually having its funding cut despite the outstanding job it has done throughout the Covid crisis.

Faafoi’s spokesman says the minister is “not ignorant of the urgency of the situation for media” but having talked to some media bosses, believes a degree of stability had returned.

“Their reflection is that things are not where they were 12 months ago and probably won’t get back to that, but they are not as bad as these types of organisations were thinking that they would be.”

Faafoi will likely reprise Part 2 of his media rescue package in the May budget but it is unlikely to placate Hickey and others. It will be “in the millions” spread over three or four years, funded via NZ On Air, and would be based on the pilot local journalism model set up by Faafoi early in his tenure.

“It wouldn’t be money that would go into the general coffers of a media company’s overall running costs. It would have to be targeted to specifically to the local content they are producing.”

Hickey said Labour has merely following the pattern of all parties that in opposition love the media and hate it when in government.

He is bitter Ardern accepted the backing of mainstream media to corral the “team of five million” behind her government’s policies while failing to grasp that she, or others, may need such support for future crises.

“The message that went to the public (from our media) was clear, uncontested, essentially saying this was the right thing to do despite knowing the lockdown would damage, possibly even destroy, their organisations.

“In other countries you have a bunch of media saying dumb things, weaponizing and enabling the misinformation that bubbles up from the Facebookisphere and those countries aren’t as cohesive, aren’t as behind the message.”

Hickey believes Ardern’s government has taken that all for granted.

“They just took it took in a free ride away, and walked off with it.”

However, Faafoi’s spokesman said there is no correlation between how the media reported a major event and the need for government to prop them up.

Hickey’s other beef is that Ardern has, despite the concern she expressed about the role played by social media in the Christchurch massacre, hitched her wagon firmly to Facebook, despite calling it out over the live streaming of the massacre and its subsequent failure to reform.

Hickey said that last year she aggressively pushed for big tech and Facebook to do the right thing after the Christchurch Call, “but increasingly, as the months have gone on, it has become clear to me she sees Facebook as a fantastic way to reach her audience and to reach potential voters – to essentially go around the news”.

“It’s time for someone to call out the Prime Minister and her attitude towards big tech and Facebook, in particular. “

His concern, though, is that Ardern doesn’t give a damn about traditional media.

“In the midst of the crisis, I asked her what she would do about Stuff potentially shutting down and her answer was: ‘it’s not really my issue. They are a commercial organisation’.”

(Simon Louisson is a former journalist who worked for Reuters [including with Bernard Hickey], the New Zealand Press Association, and The Wall Street Journal among others and worked two stints for the Green Party as a media and political adviser).

34 comments on “Media crisis may be most problematic ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Stephen D 1
    27 November 2020 at 8:17 am

    Mixed feelings here.

    One part of me says boo f..king hoo. Capitalists begging for a socialist hand out. They can take a long walk off a short bridge.

    On the other hand a functioning fourth estate is a vital requirement for a vibrant democracy.

    How Faafoi squares that circle will be fascinating.

    • stunned mullet 1.1
      27 November 2020 at 9:05 am

      Trouble is we haven't had much of a functioning 4th estate for several decades.

      What passes for journalism in NZ is mostly very ordinary tat, with a few notable exceptions. Let it die a natural death.

      • voiceofreason 1.1.1
        27 November 2020 at 11:56 am

        So you would prefer a newsmedia devoid world like in the USA where the unwashed masses get their news from Facebook? Look where that gets you ….. Trump.

        Are our main media outlets perfect no, but its a hell of a lot better than the Murdoch led mess that's the UK, USA, & Australia

        • Gyrogearloose 1.1.1.1
          28 November 2020 at 6:43 am

          You must have missed the memo that most of mainstream media in the USA in particular is so rabidly left wing that they are shedding customers like crazy, hence the article above

          [Others and I have noticed that you’re talking out of your orifice a lot. Here’s a nice opportunity for you to back up your assertions with solid evidence in the form of at least three links to reliable trustworthy sources, e.g. peer-reviewed published academic studies. Since this will test your reading skills and bias discriminator, you’ll have 48 hours to complete your homework task. If you fail, you’ll go on Sabbatical for a while – Incognito]

          [A six-week sabbatical for you because you didn’t even acknowledge the Moderation note and reminder – Incognito]

  2. Foreign Waka 2
    27 November 2020 at 8:33 am

    Taking cue from Mr. Trump, using facebook to "communicate" with the people. Or influencing opinion instead of delivering for all NZlanders.

    We have seen what that does, it divides a country.
    Journalists who actually report without political bias are a dying breed. For those who want total control its a god send.

  3. Sanctuary 3
    27 November 2020 at 8:53 am

    COVID brought to a head the crisis of a lot of businesses with low profit rates who were borrowing well beyond their ability to repay. There was a glut of zombie firms who keeled over the moment there was a crisis, and of those zombie businesses the media led the pack.

    The Listener, North and South and Metro were all given a golden opportunity to reinvent themselves and try for a different audience with new faces. Instead, we've Jane Clifton, Bill Ralston and all the same usual tired suspects and exhausted boomer obsessions (health for aging people, property, pearl clutching) of their previous failing mast heads.

    What evidence is there that throwing government money at a system that only still stands for want of the immanent alternative will produce anything other than a supply of brain goo for zombie capitalism?

    • JanM 3.1
      27 November 2020 at 9:40 am

      I lived in Sydney for a year in the late 70s. I missed The Listener so much that I made regular trips to the NZ embassy to access it. I wouldn't cross the road to read it in its present state!

      • Brigid 3.1.1
        27 November 2020 at 10:46 am

        Nor I

        I would savoir it; read every word. Since it became a not even credible copy of womans' wankly I haven't read it for 15 years

  4. woodart 4
    27 November 2020 at 10:39 am

    yet another free market fan wanting a gov bailout. phuck off

    • greywarshark 4.1
      27 November 2020 at 3:43 pm

      Not pleasant for the pheasant to be phlucked, and not helpful to the peasant. Too simple to label and climb on high horse without discernment. You might just slip in the saddle and fall off the other side. Like you, other people have their good opinions and bad ones. Sorting them out is the task, not just wiping them.

  5. Pat 5
    27 November 2020 at 10:48 am

    Yet another example of the action not matching the rhetoric.

    When trust lost its almost impossible to regain.

  6. Anne 6
    27 November 2020 at 10:51 am

    In a podcast with The Spinoff’s Duncan Greive, Hickey castigated the government’s dealings with RNZ, Stuff, NZME, and the small independents like Newsroom.

    He said he despairs at the lack of support for public-good journalism.

    ….

    However, a media academic and former editor of one of the doomed NZME mastheads, who did not wish to be named, told me that traditional media didn’t deserve rescuing as they had invariably wielded their power injudiciously and, as “press barons”, skewed news to favour the Right.

    So, what needs to happen?

    1) Ensure that those alternative media sites who provide public good journalism are able to continue with some financial support from government?

    2) Ensure good establishment media outlets continue to be able inform the public provided it is without fear or favour?

    On the one hand I don't want to see the fringe extremists at either end of the political spectrum gain a foot-hold on the minds of the more gullible among us. At the same time the tendencies of some traditional media personalities who have wielded their power injudiciously and skewed the result in favour of the right needs to be curbed.

    Faafoi is walking a tight rope here and we'll have to wait and see how he handles it.

    • Sanctuary 6.1
      27 November 2020 at 11:06 am

      The conundrum is throwing money at the established MSM with no strings attached and they'll just spend it to try and prop up their failing business model and content for a little while longer, but adding strings and you'll get hysterical cries of a one party state controlled media.

      But you let them fail either – the shared civic square for the debate of facts is to important to lose to a fractured space of polarised echo chambers.

      • SPC 6.1.1
        27 November 2020 at 2:56 pm

        One could limit the subsidy to non profit media – to reduce foreign corporate media bludging while peddling neo-liberal capitalism (yes MZME that's you).

        That would assist in moving NZME to the Stuff non profit model – which would be a good thing.

  7. xanthe 7
    27 November 2020 at 11:17 am

    The MSM in New Zealand have completely lost their way. There may well still be a few creditable journalists about but they are powerless in an environment of editorial dishonesty.

    Yes the media have an important roll to play. in no sense are they fulfilling this roll.

    The Government should make it clear that no funds will be forthcoming until some ethical standards of editorial conduct are established and then only to those outlets that sign up to and uphold that standard..

  8. Gyrogearloose 8
    27 November 2020 at 11:27 am

    Recently watched an interview with Thomas Sowell in 1984, and when asked why he had stopped giving interviews his response was

    'because there was no correlation between what he said and what was reported. '

    He gave an example of how it was reported that he was claiming blacks underperformance was due to genetic deficiencies, but that his position was genetics had nothing to do with it.

    I used to read Stuff but got sick of the poor biased reporting. Then they went and changed the commenting and feedback system. There were a lot of comments on that page that echoed my feelings…. that this was the end and I would stop reading Stuff

  9. SPC 9
    27 November 2020 at 2:46 pm

    . It will be “in the millions” spread over three or four years, funded via NZ On Air, and would be based on the pilot local journalism model set up by Faafoi early in his tenure.

    Such a mechanism, as used for broadcasting, is not the wrong way to go. Applications for local news reporting, regional news, investigative reporting etc. It sort of depends on funding levels.

    It's just a pity the petty cash approach to RNZ (to restore it after the National era) and the lack of ambition for TV (as per TV 6/7) and post pandemic – educational TV and on-line (for use in schools and the home).

  10. Patricia Bremner 10
    27 November 2020 at 3:57 pm

    I for one do not miss the likes of John Armstrong and those he represented.

    Jacinda speaks directly, her own words.. not a perfidious interpretation.

    I wouldn't pay a $1 for their rubbish.

    As for Bernard, hard to write when he is losing people to quote Lol.

  11. Corey Humm 11
    27 November 2020 at 3:58 pm

    Media doesn't need to be saved it needs to be burnt down and recreated.

    What is the future of news media and local productions? It's streaming tv is dead. Print is dead. Radio will out live them all. Young people don't watch tv and they may click on news sites a couple of days but that's it. Long term there's no revenue to be made from a couple clicks.

    Tvnz is an irrelevant institution to people under 40, it needs to start fully pivoting to creating streaming content as that is it's future. in 20 years there will be five remaining boomers watching tv . Corporate media is dead atleast in this country, if there was ever any profit to be made murdoch would be here. the future of news is an independent govt body that funds online media both online text and video , that will have to be certified to be suffiently neutral, informative and educational and crowd sourced reader/viewer funded news ad revenue isn't coming back. Infotainment is out. You can do as many spin off tv series , woke kid pandering stuff as you want people aren't gonna watch it. So the govt will have to create a new independent body that funds approved (outlets that aren't tin pot conspiracy theorist fake news jobs) independent media outlets and tvnz needs to go revenue free, let all the ads go to the dying private corporate media and it needs to create content that's first and foremost priority is accessibility on line rather than being produced for tv then uploads to on demand.

    Our media landscape and the journalists in it are pretty useless not once did a journalist talk about general poverty in the election without the word child coming before it despite being in a health and economic crisis. . During the beginning of lockdown all they cared about was their industries problems and hit pieces on the govt being heartless for not exempting people on compassionate grounds, they have race baited, fear mongered ,benny bashed , told people Maori who are all bashing their kids and are coming for the beaches (imagine if they actually reported that honestly) bashed policies like cgt as envy taxes and if they didn't outright attack policies or politicians they wouldnt provide the alternative view when their interviewee does it. It's fulled with reckons reality shows and infotainment. Good riddance.

  12. Stuart Munro 12
    27 November 2020 at 4:10 pm

    Over the past decade, media have gone to great lengths to prove we can do without them – now most of us do.

    I don't think we'd miss them if they all went. Mass cheap migrant labour is going to score pretty high against Faafoi already. But why only 2000? NZ's worst employers want 100 000 or more, and the minister clearly doesn't give a damn about our laws, Covid risk, or working New Zealanders.

    Bring them all in – and get the complete collapse of our society over and done with.

  13. tc 13
    27 November 2020 at 5:06 pm

    It's called 'the market' covid just quickened their demise. Paying a sub to granny for the privilege of reading Peter Dunn, the hosk, hooty etc…..seriously !

    They ceased being the 4th estate awhile back. Reforming TVNZ/RNZ as 21st century public content providers should be attempted but will not be.

    We have a copy/paste msm that’s an extension of business/national party interests whining again.

  14. gsays 14
    27 November 2020 at 5:30 pm

    In regards our 'local ' papers, Feilding Herald, Manawatu Standard and Dominion, There is a lot of shared content and acres of real estate advertising. Glossy stuff, that I pay to handle and dispose of but that is an outrage for another day

    Commercial radio I gave up on years ago (Radio Sport cricket commentary the exception). RNZ and Radio Control (Massey) are it nowadays. No ads.

    This spokesperson is barking up the wrong tree. They have been serving real estate industry and other business for years. Go see them if you want a handout.

  15. gsays 15
    27 November 2020 at 6:00 pm

    Always keen to amplify the fears and outrage.

    This is on stuff.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300169826/dilworth-school-former-auckland-scout-master-facing-sex-abuse-charge-dies

    The only mention of scouts is in the headline and one line in the story as a descriptor in the article.

    The abuse of children is bad enough, but why waste an opportunity to magnify doubts and fears. More desperate that it is from the 1970's.

  16. newsense 16
    27 November 2020 at 10:02 pm

    Missing here is the main message: subscribe.

    You want an elimination standard communication system pay for it.

    Keep up the pressure on the government, sure. Also not mentioned that deserves its own post: cancelled RNZ funding.

    But, yeh, lefties, nothing for free. Subscribe, subscribe, subscribe and tell your friends and their friends and their dog.

  17. peter lepaysan 17
    27 November 2020 at 10:43 pm

    One only has to read the "leader" editorials to see why they are dying.

  18. Ad 18
    28 November 2020 at 2:45 am

    If the mainstream media in its entirety were pushed off a cliff tomorrow, and replaced with youtube clips of Labrador puppies in snow, I don't think we'd take too long to adjust.

    As for complaining that the Prime Minister uses Facebook while seeking to regulate Facebook, well even Bernard Hickey drives on roads and can also complain about drivers without a mote of hypocrisy. You're soaking in it. She's just a wee bit better at it than Bernard Hickey or indeed Simon Louisson.

    This is the definition of 2020s most horseshit "crisis". Simon Louisson misplaced his irony detector while complaining about the decline of the mainstream media using New Zealand's most popular left-leaning journal of any kind: The Standard.

  19. newsense 19
    28 November 2020 at 12:55 pm

    I think you should listen to the podcast. He makes a compelling case for the closures of newspapers across the Midwest and well everywhere and the decline of democracy.

    He also talks about talks the impact of different media owners. Do you think we'd be as happy if there had been a substantial part of the media attacking lockdown? It certainly would have changed a lot of things.

    He paints a picture of a benign media landscape unlike many other countries, but one that will be effected by further failures.

    I’d really recommend listening to the podcast.

  20. peter lepaysan 20
    28 November 2020 at 7:45 pm

    I used to respect Hickey a lot. Now I am not so sure.

    What is his end game?

  21. Christopher Randal 21
    29 November 2020 at 2:14 pm

    Perhaps she uses Facebook because the she now full well that MSM (Herald, Stuff, RNZ, TVNZ in particular are so biased towards National that talking to them is a waste of good breaths

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    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    4 days ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago

  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    5 days ago

  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • The stupidest of stupid reasons
    One of the threats in the National - ACT - NZ First coalition agreements was to extend the term of Parliament to four years, reducing our opportunities to throw a bad government out. The justification? Apparently, the government thinks "elections are expensive". This is the stupidest of stupid reasons for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • A website bereft of buzz
    Buzz from the Beehive The new government was being  sworn in, at time of writing , and when Point of Order checked the Beehive website for the latest ministerial statements and re-visit some of the old ones we drew a blank. We found ….  Nowt. Nothing. Zilch. Not a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • MICHAEL BASSETT: A new Ministry – at last
    Michael Bassett writes – Like most people, I was getting heartily sick of all the time being wasted over the coalition negotiations. During the first three weeks Winston grinned like a Cheshire cat, certain he’d be needed; Chris Luxon wasted time in lifting the phone to Winston ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Luxon's Breakfast.
    The Prime Minister elect had his silver fern badge on. He wore it to remind viewers he was supporting New Zealand, that was his team. Despite the fact it made him look like a concierge, or a welcomer in a Koru lounge. Anna Burns-Francis, the Breakfast presenter, asked if he ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL:  Oranga Tamariki faces major upheaval under coalition agreement
     Lindsay Mitchell writes – A hugely significant gain for ACT is somewhat camouflaged by legislative jargon. Under the heading ‘Oranga Tamariki’ ACT’s coalition agreement contains the following item:   Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 According to Oranga Tamariki:     “Section ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record. Brian Easton writes – 1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Cathrine Dyer's guide to watching COP 28 from the bottom of a warming planet
    Is COP28 largely smoke and mirrors and a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel? Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: COP28 kicks off on November 30 and up for negotiation are issues like the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition, contributions to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Monday, Nov 27
    PM Elect Christopher Luxon was challenged this morning on whether he would sack Adrian Orr and Andrew Coster.TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am on Monday November 27, including:Signs councils are putting planning and capital spending on hold, given a lack of clear guidance ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the new government’s policies of yesteryear
    This column expands on a Werewolf column published by Scoop on Friday Routinely, Winston Peters is described as the kingmaker who gets to decide when the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded but equally important role as the ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    6 days ago

  • The New Government’s Agreements
    Last Friday, almost six weeks after election day, National finally came to an agreement with ACT and NZ First to form a government. They also released the agreements between each party and looking through them, here are the things I thought were the most interesting (and often concerning) from the. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago

  • How many smokers will die to fund the tax cuts?
    Maori and Pasifika smoking rates are already over twice the ‘all adult’ rate. Now the revenue that generates will be used to fund National’s tax cuts. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The devil is always in the detail and it emerged over the weekend from the guts of the policy agreements National ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • How the culture will change in the Beehive
    Perhaps the biggest change that will come to the Beehive as the new government settles in will be a fundamental culture change. The era of endless consultation will be over. This looks like a government that knows what it wants to do, and that means it knows what outcomes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • No More Winnie Blues.
    So what do you think of the coalition’s decision to cancel Smokefree measures intended to stop young people, including an over representation of Māori, from taking up smoking? Enabling them to use the tax revenue to give other people a tax cut?David Cormack summed it up well:It seems not only ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 19, 2023 thru Sat, Nov 25, 2023.  Story of the Week World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chief  Exclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must ‘stop ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Some of it is mad, some of it is bad and some of it is clearly the work of people who are dangerous ...
    On announcement morning my mate texted:Typical of this cut-price, fake-deal government to announce itself on Black Friday.What a deal. We lose Kim Hill, we gain an empty, jargonising prime minister, a belligerent conspiracist, and a heartless Ayn Rand fanboy. One door closes, another gets slammed repeatedly in your face.It seems pretty ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • “Revolution” is the threat as the Māori Party smarts at coalition government’s Treaty directi...
    Buzz from the Beehive Having found no fresh announcements on the government’s official website, Point of Order turned today to Scoop’s Latest Parliament Headlines  for its buzz. This provided us with evidence that the Māori Party has been soured by the the coalition agreement announced yesterday by the new PM. “Soured” ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • The Good, the Bad, and the even Worse.
    Yesterday the trio that will lead our country unveiled their vision for New Zealand.Seymour looking surprisingly statesmanlike, refusing to rise to barbs about his previous comments on Winston Peters. Almost as if they had just been slapstick for the crowd.Winston was mostly focussed on settling scores with the media, making ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • When it Comes to Palestine – Free Speech is Under Threat
    Hi,Thanks for getting amongst Mister Organ on digital — thanks to you, we hit the #1 doc spot on iTunes this week. This response goes a long way to helping us break even.I feel good about that. Other things — not so much.New Zealand finally has a new government, and ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago

  • Thank you Captain Luxon. Was that a landing, or were we shot down?
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Also in More Than A FeildingFriday The unboxing And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Cans of Worms.
    “And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”LAURIE AND LES were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • Disinformation campaigns are undermining democracy. Here’s how we can fight back
    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not ...
    Skeptical Science
    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
    1 week ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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