Meet the new EFA same as the old EFA

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, November 23rd, 2010 - 66 comments
Categories: democracy under attack, dpf, election funding, national - Tags:

Remember 2008 and the Electoral Finance Act? Remember “Democracy Under Attack!”? Remember the hate filled comparisons of Helen Clark to Hitler? Remember David Farrar’s shameful series of billboards comparing Clark to various violent dictators? Yeah, me too.

And then National became the government and decided to keep most of the EFA. While the Act itself was repealed in February 2009, the interim legislation that replaced it kept the EFA’s rules around disclosure (which the Nats voted against while in opposition). To develop a permanent replacement National began a consultation process (and full credit to them for handling this much better than Labour handled their reform), with a discussion document and then a proposal document in September 2009. Legal academic and constitutional expert Andrew Geddis commented:

Electoral finance reform: back to the future?

Stage two of National’s electoral finance reform proposals is out—and it looks oddly familiar

The revelation that National is still considering limits on third party (sorry, “parallel campaigner”) expenditure attracted no more than a pro-forma “tsk tsk” from the Herald’s (regular) editorial slot. …

We may even end up with an “EFA-lite”, which would be a supreme irony given the wailing and gnashing of teeth that took place from late 2007 through 2008.

The right wing bloggers went ballistic: “National Socialists Sell Out Again!”, and “National to reintroduce EFA-lite”, and so on. In February 2010 the actual proposals were released, to strangely muted reaction. Andrew Geddis again:

The Government has announced what it plans to do with the law on electoral financing. Not all that much, actually.

First of all, the Government actually doesn’t propose very much reform at all to the existing law on election financing. …

The proposals have since been turned into various electoral bills which which are making their way through bowels of Parliament. One of these Bills — the “Electoral (Finance Reform and Advance Voting) Amendment Bill” — passed an interesting milestone yesterday when the select committee reported back:

The Government will limit what lobby groups can spend on election campaigning in its redraft of election finance laws despite strongly objecting to such a limit in 2008.

Interesting isn’t it how the responsibilities of government mean that the Nats have to repudiate so much of their irresponsible opposition rhetoric! Kudos to National for retaining limits, albeit set too high. But some of National’s spinsters — less cynical and more crazy than the MPs themselves — are taking this latest development badly. Here’s DPF:

Return of the EFA

God I am pissed off. The Electoral (Finance and Advance Voting) Amendment Bill has been reported back, and National and Labour have voted for introducing a cap on third party spending.

I really wonder sometimes why we bother changing Governments, when the new Government adopts so many politics of the old Government – especially a policy that was a big part of why they got thrown out. …

I think many of those who protested against the EFA will feel a sense of betrayal with this bill. National has put the desire to be bipartisan with electoral law (which is commendable) ahead of doing what is right.

DPF’s problem is that he actually believed the batshit crazy anti EFA propaganda that served the Nats electoral purposes in 2008. The party itself is much more “pragmatic”, and has dropped that posturing like a hot rock, the same way they dropped their Iwi/Kiwi racist tactics and their reluctance to deal with Winston Peters. While I applaud the more pragmatic perspective on the responsibilities of government, I abhor the cynical propaganda that got them there.

So, meet the new EFA, same as the old EFA. And next time the Nats unleash a tirade of self-serving propaganda on some topic, if we the people remember how expediently they change their tune when it suits them, perhaps we Won’t get fooled again.

66 comments on “Meet the new EFA same as the old EFA ”

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  1. burt 1
    23 November 2010 at 9:15 am

    rOb

    It’s a disgrace isn’t it. Imagine the angst all the Labour team are having right now. Having defended this horrible law when it was going to serve Labour you lot then worked out how bad it really was once in opposition. That feeling of relief when it was killed off now must be very worrying. Imagine the powerful weapon you supported to be used on your opposition has now been wheeled back in to be used against you. What a laugh.

    Oh, it’s still a shocking law and I’ll be there beside you fighting it – but the whole time I’ll be reminding you that you supported a more restrictive version for your own team when it suited you.

    • Eddie 1.1
      23 November 2010 at 9:35 am

      I don’t think you read r0b’s post. And I don’t think you understand the issue.

      If you’re against this new law it’s for the opposite reasons that some the Left might have concerns about it. This is essentially the EFA with higher (too high) limits and a too-short campaign period.

      • burt 1.1.1
        23 November 2010 at 9:38 am

        I did read rOb’s post, especially this bit where he was talking about Labour supporters;

        “if we the people remember how expediently they change their tune when it suits them,”

    • lprent 1.2
      23 November 2010 at 9:39 am

      I’m not going to fight it. I don’t think that r0b will either. Perhaps you should read his last paragraph again (actually just keep reading it for a while to up the skull penetration).

      It is pretty much the same as the old law with the higher spending limits that the Nats want. I can live with the new EFA limits even if I think that they’re too high. Restrictions on people with money attempting to buy elections is a sensible idea.

      The only thing that I find irritating is the loss of the longer election period. The 2005 election showed us that the effective election period is a damn sight longer than 6 months. 2008 was pretty much the same at more than 10 months.

      • r0b 1.2.1
        23 November 2010 at 9:48 am

        Eddie, lprent, when it comes to politics I don’t think that burt has ever understood anything that he didn’t read on Kiwiblog first. Thus like DPF he is stuck (forever?) in 2008 propaganda, while outside the bubble the Nats have moved on…

        • burt 1.2.1.1
          23 November 2010 at 9:53 am

          rOb

          So since I don’t understand anything other than what I read on Kiwiblog perhaps you could clarify for me where you stand today;

          Do you, like before the 2008 election, support the EFA?
          Do you, like after the 2008 election, want to see it scrapped ?

          Is it good law, bad law or are you waiting for the talking points to be issued so you know where you stand ?

          • r0b 1.2.1.1.1
            23 November 2010 at 10:05 am

            Do you, like before the 2008 election, support the EFA?

            Yes. The new EFA (like the old EFA) is far from perfect, but it’s OK. There need to be limits to the kind of tactics that the Nats used in 2005 (when the public reaction subsequently forced the resignation of their leader Don Brash). So, I’m not a legal / constitutional expert, and I await the analysis of those who are, but in the mean time I support the new EFA, warts and all.

            Do you, like after the 2008 election, want to see it scrapped ?

            No, I want to see it refined.

            Is it good law, bad law or are you waiting for the talking points to be issued so you know where you stand ?

            It appears to be adequate law, and I’m waiting for proper analysis by experts. You should try that open mind burt, instead of coming here vomiting Kiwiblog 2008 all the time.

          • lprent 1.2.1.1.2
            23 November 2010 at 10:06 am

            Want to point out where r0b said that he wanted a EFA scrapped?

            What I’ll bet you find is somewhere where he said it was a political problem for Labour, while still supporting the idea. But I can see how that subtle a distinction might confuse your synapses.

            Update: I see that r0b has already answered. Pretty much what I was thinking. It will be interesting to see how many procedural loopholes there are in it. The 1993 act was pretty damn awful for those.

      • Draco T Bastard 1.2.2
        23 November 2010 at 11:46 am

        I think the loss of the longer election period is all that National really wanted. They’ll start their campaigning in January or February next year. They upped the limits that can be donated anonymously as having their benefactors hidden so that they can’t be held to account is also high on their wish list.

        • lprent 1.2.2.1
          23 November 2010 at 2:30 pm

          Yeah I’m aware of that. The problem that they have is that it isn’t as pleasant an environment for them now that they’re in government. They have to campaign largely on their record and that is pretty shite.

          Somehow I don’t think that billboards attacking Labour will work this time, so the money side doesn’t help that much. Means that a lot of the campaigning has to be done with people, which is Nationals weakest point. Paid canvassers are pretty useless generally and they don’t have the tactical stuff to exploit the info. So they’re restricted to the MSM, blogs and whatever their MP’s do. All while trying to run a government.

          I’d expect that they’ll try the electoral bribery route, but the kitty is pretty damn empty.

  2. mickysavage 2
    23 November 2010 at 9:39 am

    Oh the irony. Reading kiwiblog and that other blog that cannot be named for spam reasons is suddenly enjoyable.

    It seems to be dawning on the RWNJs that their government is not one of principle but one of carefully measured soundbite and pseudo anger at any issue they can raise a backlash over.

    • lprent 2.1
      23 November 2010 at 9:41 am

      Yeah, I’ll devote some of my limited post writing to add some salt to the wounds.

    • burt 2.2
      23 November 2010 at 9:45 am

      You will need to dance on the head of a pin to avoid painting yourself and your team as muppets lprent; good luck with that.

      • lprent 2.2.1
        23 November 2010 at 10:12 am

        I’ve been absolutely consistent. Having a EFA restricting money buying elections is a good idea.

        This bill is inadequate for the task, but so was the last one. I can live with any EFA that clearly defines the spending limits and election time periods. I’ll expend effort to make those limits more reasonable (ie smaller) and the election period longer to reflect reality.

        Both of those will improve democracy here. Your moronic ideas that you never seem to actually articulate won’t.

  3. Craig Glen Eden 3
    23 November 2010 at 9:56 am

    The disgrace is the hippocracy that you and the Nats show Burt.

    Did you read the post!

    Their should be limits on third party spending and thats what National have finally acknowledged, which is not what they were saying when they whipped up a whole lot of simple RWNJ into a frenzy about how this was anti democratic, turns out it wasn’t anti democratic. Get it Burt you were sucked in, National played you like a fiddle.

    • burt 3.1
      23 November 2010 at 10:00 am

      You missed a key point, I don’t think you can talk about the need for spending limits and support retrospective validations of misused tax payers money spent on electioneering, as rOb has done repeatedly. Well not without looking like a partisan hack.

      • bbfloyd 3.1.1
        23 November 2010 at 10:22 am

        which would make them sound like you burt.. albeit with a brain..

        • burt 3.1.1.1
          23 November 2010 at 11:30 am

          So filtering out the personal attack, you seem to be agreeing with me that claiming we need to limit uncontrolled spending on electioneering and supporting retrospective validations of an unknown amount of money over 14 years spent on electioneering – is an untenable position for a reasonable person.

          • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1.1.1
            23 November 2010 at 12:00 pm

            You still going on about that burt? Sheesh, you’ve had it explained to you numerous times and you still refuse to listen. If it hadn’t been done then all the legislation and court decisions of the previous 14 years would have had to be rolled back because every single government in that time frame would have been illegal as they all used those funds that way.

            • burt 3.1.1.1.1.1
              23 November 2010 at 12:43 pm

              Well Draco, if it hadn’t been for David Henry’s written warning that the pledge card spending would be deemed electioneering the Labour party might have had grounds to play the “rules were confusing”, “others were doing it too” card(s).

              They ignored the warning and got pulled up – they didn’t like being pulled up so they validated under urgency. Tell me again why the govt of the day should be allowed to decide how they intrepret the law rather than the courts.

              Sure it would have been problematic to deal with the arrogant self serving theft of tax payers money – but there is a reason why we have laws constraining uncontrolled govt spending in it’s own best interest… It’s kind of so we can say we are a democracy.

              • Draco T Bastard …
                23 November 2010 at 4:28 pm

                The written warning itself made it necessary to put the retrospective legislation through because it retrospectively made all those governments illegal. As I told you before – it wasn’t Labours fault that the AG changed the rules.

              • burt …
                23 November 2010 at 4:34 pm

                The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules… The AG changed the rules…

                I’m not believing it yet, how many times did you need to say it before you started thinking it was true?

                • lprent …
                  23 November 2010 at 4:59 pm

                  Say it 14 times. From memory the AG’s audit annually… So that is the number of times that various AG’s could have looked at this issue..

                  You’ve said it too many times

  4. ianmac 4
    23 November 2010 at 10:13 am

    Does the “new” EFA prevent anyone from donating say $500,000 to the Waitamata (?) Trust who then pass it on to the National Party thus by-passing the limit?

  5. felix 5
    23 November 2010 at 10:56 am

    Poor burt. Getting all flustered about a post that isn’t there.

    Any comment on the one r0b actually wrote, burtie?

  6. OleOlebiscuitBarrell 6
    23 November 2010 at 11:09 am

    The big difference this time is that it was done with cross-party support. Labour’s bill was hastily and poorly drafted and allowed Labour’s detractors to believe that it was drafted to suit the government.

    • burt 6.1
      23 November 2010 at 11:31 am

      Passing it under urgency also helped create that perception.

      • mickysavage 6.1.1
        23 November 2010 at 11:44 am

        It was not passed under urgency. It went through a full select committee process.

        And because Labour is being responsible and National was not makes it right this time and wrong last time?

        • burt 6.1.1.1
          23 November 2010 at 11:49 am

          Are you sure it wasn’t passed under urgency ? Perhaps you should check that.

          • Draco T Bastard 6.1.1.1.1
            23 November 2010 at 12:03 pm

            The third reading was passed under urgency so that it could be in place by the beginning of the election period. The first two readings went through all the proper process.

          • burt 6.1.1.1.2
            23 November 2010 at 12:50 pm

            Close, there was no second round of consultation and there were litterally hundreds of amendments rushed through for the final reading that was passed under urgency.

            Hardly proper process….

            • RedLogix 6.1.1.1.2.1
              23 November 2010 at 1:29 pm

              Frack…you don’t want to see a list of legislation passed under urgency by this NACT govt then do you?

              • burt …
                23 November 2010 at 2:23 pm

                Yes I do actually. Urgency for the benefit of getting something rammed through is always a concern. Sure emergencies are sometimes real but impending xmas holidays are not justification for passing constitutional level changes in a hurry – by either/any team.

  7. Hamish Gray 7
    23 November 2010 at 11:36 am

    Wait so the Nats are going to pursue a law that you support, Rob, and instead of congratulating them you go for the “look they can’t be trusted, they change their mind on a dime” angle? Wow, real constructive stuff – even when they do something you like, you’re so blinkered that you can’t acknowledge it. Even DPF, as much of a spinmeister as he is, has the courtesy of posting when he agrees/sympathises with the Left’s position on something.

    [lprent: You look like you’re getting perilously close to trying to put words in an authors writing. I ban for that because I regard it as a type of trolling. Argue about what is in the post – don’t make crap up. If you want to push your own argument, then use OpenMike where I’m more lenient. ]

    • r0b 7.1
      23 November 2010 at 11:46 am

      even when they do something you like, you’re so blinkered that you can’t acknowledge it

      Blah blah blah. Try actually reading the post Hamish.

      • Craig Glen Eden 7.1.1
        23 November 2010 at 12:43 pm

        I dont think Hamish and Burt can comprehend, they read but have no understanding of what they read. This trait is often seen by teachers with Kids who read a book but ask them why things happened in the story or what happened next, total blank response ah ah. Reading level age 12 comprehension level 8 year old.

  8. SHG 8
    23 November 2010 at 12:30 pm

    I lambasted Labour and the Greens for the EFA back in 08. I decided to vote National in the last election almost solely because of the EFA and Labour’s justifications for it.

    So today I’m feeling rather silly.

    Did I say silly?

    I MEANT FUCKING FURIOUS.

    • r0b 8.1
      23 November 2010 at 12:50 pm

      There is a lot like you on the right wing blogs I’m sure.

      Sorry, but I think you’ve all been used in a cynical propaganda exercise that the Nats themselves never believed. Yeah, I’d be angry too.

      Keeping that in mind, why not go back and re-evaluate Labour’s record objectively when it comes time to vote again in 2011.

  9. ak 9
    23 November 2010 at 1:41 pm

    My God this is hilarious. After rising from the floor solely on the back of Brash’s racism – only to receive F&S Mk II for all their faux-sincere shrieking – and then two whole years of grinning along under an inane and incompetent smack-ban”Labour-lite” before finally having the most obscenely contrived instance of their very own hysteria-mongering thrust back in their faces, our erstwhile tory moronity is now genuinely outraged!

    Puts Monty Python way in the shade – talk about bring on the clowns, look- there’s even wee burt with his retrospectively validateds!! Come on Slater, gis some porn with Grinny’s head on it, go on granny, wheel out the Lenin pix!

    It’s our new export opportunity: comedy – with our very own Bush impersonator. These from just the last few days:
    Sometimes winning is losing, and this is one of those
    Nothing’s changed in NZ; actually we think it’s better
    I think they voted with their feet on Saturday…..they voted for the National Government

    The Farce of the South Pacific.

  10. Tanz 10
    23 November 2010 at 4:08 pm

    This site should embrace National and it’s undemocratic, lying, BS policies, yes, some of us voted National and we got Labour, except with a grinning idiot up front. National/Labour, no bloody difference. What a pack of blue-blooded liers. Giving the finger to the public once again. No wonder people in general are either cynical or not interested in NZ (corrupt) poliircs, eh what.

    • Colonial Viper 10.1
      23 November 2010 at 4:17 pm

      The grinning idiot upfront has a very short political life expectancy.

      • Tanz 10.1.1
        23 November 2010 at 4:20 pm

        Hope so. Such dishonesty. Where is the Herald on this one. Come on, granny. Can we have Helen back now? All is forgiven.

        • felix 10.1.1.1
          23 November 2010 at 11:17 pm

          Nah, you don’t want her back. Don’t you remember? She was a childless lesbian who wanted to ban showers. Or something.

          That’s why you wanted a change, right? You get that 50 bucks a week?

          • Tanz 10.1.1.1.1
            24 November 2010 at 12:19 pm

            How judgmental. She is married, so how could she be a lesbian. I don’t care about her being childless, that’s her choice, but I do care about childless people telling parents how best to raise their kids, especially when most parents do their utmost to be good parents. The real child abuse meanwhile carries on, pretty much unabated, and often unreported, royal weddings are given much more importance and coverage, gossip, etc.

            Bill English is more a carbon copy of Clark, Key is just a smiling poster boy who loves and craves the media attention. Oh well, we’re stuck with him for some time yet…unless Goff can pull a rabbit out of a magic hat…Key has lots of luck, I reckon.

            • Pascal's bookie 10.1.1.1.1.1
              24 November 2010 at 12:26 pm

              “She is married, so how could she be a lesbian.”

              Why dontcha ask your mate Wishart?

              • Tanz …
                24 November 2010 at 12:30 pm

                So, you do read his books, then? I try to take a fair point of view, from both sides of the fence.

                • Pascal's bookie …
                  24 November 2010 at 12:43 pm

                  I’ve read plenty of his work, but what’s that got to with anything?

                  • Tanz …
                    24 November 2010 at 1:03 pm

                    Because you mentioned his name. At least I know you’ve read his books, before judging them and him, that’s all.

                    • felix …
                      24 November 2010 at 1:19 pm

                      Who’s judging, Tanz?

                      Pb just implied that Wishart thinks Hulun is a lezza is all.

                      Which ain’t judging, ‘cos it’s just saying what Wishart says an that.

                • felix …
                  24 November 2010 at 12:48 pm

                  Tanz are you single? I’d like to hook you up with my mate Brett Dale.

                  • Tanz …
                    24 November 2010 at 12:59 pm

                    Yep, single, Like Queen Elizabeth 1, single.

                    • felix …
                      24 November 2010 at 1:41 pm

                      What’s that mean, single and German? Single and into ruffles? I don’t know all the dating scene lingo – you want to meet my mate Brett or not?

                      I reckon you’d get on like a house fire, albeit a slowburning one.

    • Draco T Bastard 10.2
      23 November 2010 at 4:41 pm

      What a pack of blue-blooded liers.

      I don’t know why you’re surprised – some of us have been saying for years that NACT are a bunch of psychopathic liars.

      National/Labour, no bloody difference.

      There’s a difference. Labour are no where near as right-wing as National nor as authoritarian.

      • lprent 10.2.1
        23 November 2010 at 4:56 pm

        Half of the problem I suspect is that many of the people complaining about National now (and who voted for them at the last general election) weren’t old enough to savor the full hypocritical stench of a National government after the last time they gained the treasury benches. It was 20 years ago.

        Basically National will promise anything to get into power. They will then renege on all of the important things once in office.

        The easiest way to describe people surprised by this long established behavior is that they are born suckers. Time to suck up the experience and learn.

        Labour generally is somewhat better after winding up doing some of the same during the 80’s. At least they had a relevant reason, had a rather strong division inside the party fighting it (hard to see any shame amongst the Nats), and eventually exported the people who thought that lying to the public to get elected was a good idea to Act.

        Helen largely achieved or tried to achieve what was in her pledge cards, and so will Phil. National doesn’t even really try unless it is so minor that it is irrelevant.

        • Tanz 10.2.1.1
          23 November 2010 at 6:59 pm

          Or that will get Key a front-page photo op. Oh, the angst! This govt is wasting their time in office being really dumb. Yes, I feel pretty silly too, you just can’t trust the Nats. This is worse than the Shipley years, because she had least had gumption. I hope that National sink in the polls. Perhaps the PM will chose early retirement, maybe he’s tired of it all, because this is strange stuff, indeed. Drats.!

        • felix 10.2.1.2
          23 November 2010 at 11:39 pm

          Yep Lynn, I’ve noted that too. If you were under 30 in 2008 you hadn’t really seen much of National in power as a voting age adult.

          You can also add to that a large group of people who have immigrated to NZ during the last 10 years or so.

          It adds up to a decent chunk of voters who, politically speaking, were simply born yesterday.

        • Rex Widerstrom 10.2.1.3
          24 November 2010 at 3:44 am

          The easiest way to describe people surprised by this long established behavior is that they are born suckers. Time to suck up the experience and learn.

          Or born in the 80s (when they’d have been shielded from most of it by childhood) or even the 90s.

          These people can’t help when they were born, and thus their complete lack of historical reference or perspective.

          The problem arises when their very youthfulness is what gets them hired as news reporters and presenters, promoted immediately to the Gallery, and unsupervised by anyone who didn’t grow up surgically attached to a game console.

          I learned a hell of a lot about what Labour was, could and should be like by listening at length to a man who used to write speeches for Peter Fraser and Walter Nash. I learned a lot about politics and how to report it from reporters who’d covered Holyoake onwards when I started out a decade later, after observing politics closely since Marshall and then dabbling in part time reporting. And I still floundered for context and some wisdom to impart for around another ten years.

          You don’t know what you don’t know, as they say. And there’s no shame in that… unless others are reliant upon you to tell them what they don’t know.

  11. Rex Widerstrom 11
    23 November 2010 at 5:52 pm

    The party itself is much more “pragmatic”, and has dropped that posturing like a hot rock, the same way they dropped their Iwi/Kiwi racist tactics and their reluctance to deal with Winston Peters. While I applaud the more pragmatic perspective on the responsibilities of government, I abhor the cynical propaganda that got them there.

    Try as I might, I can’t find a thesaurus anywhere that shows “pragmatic” as being interchangeable with “unprincipled”, “gutless” and “willing to do anything to regain or retain power”.

    Perhaps I’ll go look under “Quislings”…

    • r0b 11.1
      23 November 2010 at 6:10 pm

      The “scare quotes” help with the translation…

      • Rex Widerstrom 11.1.1
        23 November 2010 at 7:39 pm

        I was referencing the second, unquoted, use of the term. But I know we disagree on this r0b as we’ve had the debate before. You, along with many others, seem to see reversal of fundamental principle and dealing with abhorrent political forces as pragmatic governance. I see it as a total lack of integrity.

        Because I happen to believe that many of the National MPs who spoke against the original EFA (DPF has somne examples here) believed what they were saying and still believe it. But they’ll allow their vote in favour of EFA Mk II to be cast in favour, like good little troopers, so as not to interfere with their personal preferment.

        I accept there are perfectly logical reasons for supporting the provisions of the EFA. What I don’t accept, however, is opposing something yet voting for it.

        Yes, it’s virtually the basis of party politics and “stable” government. It is not, however, good government because it is inevitably a tyranny of the minority (usually the Executive, or more commonly nowadays a select subset thereof). That is the very anithesis of the operation of a Parliamentary democracy, and we need to keep reminding ourselves that when praising compromise, pragmatism, or any other terms used (inaccurately, IMO) to describe the process.

        • r0b 11.1.1.1
          23 November 2010 at 10:59 pm

          You, along with many others, seem to see reversal of fundamental principle and dealing with abhorrent political forces as pragmatic governance. I see it as a total lack of integrity.

          It is both. But the sin arises not from being pragmatic now, but from the original sin of the hysterical attacks in 2008.

        • Pascal's bookie 11.1.1.2
          24 November 2010 at 7:16 am

          I happen to believe that many of the National MPs who spoke against the original EFA (DPF has somne examples here) believed what they were saying and still believe it

          But why believe that they were being honest back then. I think, and thought back then, that were being as precisely honest about this as they were being about:

          lightbulbs,
          shower heads,
          Maaaaris stopping good kiwi battlers having barbies on the beach,
          ‘Communism by stealth’,
          ‘breeding for a business’,
          the sanctity of marriage,

          …all of which got cranked up to 11, and all of which was cynical bullshit. So why would you think they meant their allegedly heart felt rhetoric on the EFA when the rhetoric around the other issues was just as strident?

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    13 hours ago
  • Today’s 10 Politics Headlines: Luxon flails and Simeon Drives

    1/ Jobseeker numbers are going the opposite way of Luxon’s KPIs. Against a target of minus 50,000 by 2030, the new forecast shows the Government is looking at an increase of 24,000 jobseekers in its first term.In Thomas Coughlin’s report, Upton responds by blaming Labour: “We inherited an economy in ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    18 hours ago
  • Kaka project: What could a revamped Entrust do with/for/to Vector?

    Long story short, I interviewed transport and energy activist Patrick Reynolds this week about the bid to run Entrust by a new campaign group he’s part of called More for you; better for Auckland. There’s a lot more detail in this GreaterAuckland post and on ‘Better’s’ website.They’re campaigning to win ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    19 hours ago
  • Missing the Feckin’ Targets

    And although my eyes were openThey might just as well have been closedAnd so it was laterWhen the miller told this taleHe said that her face at first just ghostlyAnd then turned a whiter shade of paleSongwriters: Keith Reid / Gary BrookerI want to talk about two things today, subjects ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    19 hours ago
  • Deadly floods and streams of non-solutions

    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:Central Europe is reeling from the devastating effects of Storm Boris, which has so far caused 21 deaths and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    20 hours ago
  • Weekly Roundup 20-September-2024

    Welcome to the end of the week, as we head towards the spring equinox. Let us brighten your week with links to stories about how to make our city a little greater. This roundup is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew. If you’d like to support our work ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    21 hours ago
  • Three years of recession deeper than GFC

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September 20:New Zealand’s total GDP contracted less than expected in the June quarter, but per-capita GDP extended its three-year-long slump at a rate that is faster than ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    21 hours ago
  • That’s Gangsta!

    The gang patch legislation finally passed in the House after a long period of fanfare from National. Gangs won’t be allowed to publicly display gang insignia on the body or in vehicles, and if they’re very naughty i.e. caught thrice, police will be able to enter private homes to search.How ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    22 hours ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 20

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-host talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including media coverage of extreme events and how big tech is gobbling up so much renewable power growth; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • A very healthy distrust of how this Government is handling health across the board is needed…

    And alongside that, is the ultimate question for the public, and indeed Opposition Parties trying to appeal for enough of the public to support a change from this heinous direction of travel being imposed on us: how much of the damage here can even be stopped in time? Let us ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    1 day ago
  • Hang up on him David, just stop

    There is a story I want to tell, but I'm not going to begin with it because it would be too abrupt. I'll start by telling you that I'm a big fan of the way Nicola Toki conveys her message. And Nicola Toki is a big fan of the way Jane ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Tax the rich!

    We already know that the rich people aren't paying their fair share. But it turns out its worse than that: we're a tax-haven! Our rich people pay lower taxes here than in any comparable country: Well-off New Zealanders are paying less tax than their peers in nine similar OECD ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Worse and worse

    Cancer Minister Casey Costello is in trouble again over her secret, magically appearing tobacco policy document. The Ombudsman has already found that she acted contrary to law in refusing requests for it; now she has been referred to the Chief Archivist over a possible breach of the Public Records Act ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • NZ’s lack of a capital gains tax means the richest here pay vastly less than elsewhere

    The lack of a capital gains tax means the richest Kiwis are sitting pretty compared to taxpayers overseas. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 19:New Zealand’s richest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Verrall to Levy: “Health NZ NDAs are North Korean – Get rid of it.”

    Open article. Note the video of the Health Select Committee excerpts starts at 1:22 In watching the Health Select Committee yesterday, it became clear to me why Margie Apa remains Health NZ CEO.During Levy’s testimony, Apa sat like a rock next to her boss. She nodded supportively, scribbled notes to ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • The Show Must Go On

    Empty spaces, what are we living for?Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and onDoes anybody know what we are looking for?Another hero, another mindless crimeBehind the curtain, in the pantomimeHold the lineDoes anybody want to take it anymore?The show must go onSongwriters: Brian May / Freddie Mercury ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Managing on-street parking for local benefit

    This guest post by Malcolm McCracken originally appeared on his blog Better Things Are Possible, and is republished here by kind permission. The case for Parking Benefit Districts: managing on-street parking for local benefit Parking is often the centre of debate in our cities; particularly on-street car parks, who gets ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • Doubling down?

    This is a re-post from And Then There's Physics I wrote a post a little while ago commenting on a Sabine Hossenfelder video suggesting that she was now worried about climate change because the Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) could be much higher than most estimates have suggested. I wasn’t too taken with Sabine’s arguments, and there were others ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Too much haste & waste in Simeon Brown’s need for speed

    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong story short, the Government’s myopia of only choosing transport policies that reduce travel times means we’re missing out on the health benefits of more cycling and walking, along with the health cost savings from fewer accidents, less pollution and mentally healthier ways of getting ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • What seemed so simple is now so complex

    The Health NZ rescue that seemed so simple back in July was presented to a Select Committee yesterday as a complex challenge that could take some years to sort out. In July, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Health NZ was on track to record a deficit of $1.4 billion for ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • The utterances of Shane Jones

    Let us consider the utterances of Shane Jones.Let us consider the derogatory terms of abuseNow is not the time for Green Wombles, it's black and white decision making.We will stand with the energy industry and ensure they are not monstered by Green Termites nibbling away at our economic capital.The Green ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Ukrainian militia receives defective shipment of pagers that just send and receive messages

    There’s been a major setback for one Ukrainian-backed militia on the Russian border, after the group ordered a large shipment of pagers to use as improvised explosive devices. The plan was to litter the pagers throughout abandoned homes and buildings in hopes of wounding Russian soldiers. But upon arrival of ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • A constitutional shitshow

    Last month, we learned that the government was half-arsing its anti-gang legislation, adding a significant, pre-planned, BORA-abusing amendment at the committee stage, avoiding all the usual scrutiny processes. But it gets worse. Because having done it once, they're now planning to recall the bill in order to add another such ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Political Round Up

    Note: An earlier version of this article noted Levy was a “party time Health NZ commissioner” - this has been updated - forgive my Freudian slip.Dr Lester Levy is charging $320,000 a year to be a part time Health NZ commissioner. Rachel Thomas reports that Levy is still teaching 2 ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Postcard from Sydney: Southwest and City Metro extension

    This is a guest post from Sydney reader Nik Clement After 2 years in Auckland I moved back to Sydney just over a year ago. While in Auckland, I went to the opening of Puhinui station and used it a fair bit, living in Manukau Central and being able ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago
  • Tolling revolt brewing in National heartland

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 18:Locals gathered in Woodville last night to protest at the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s decision to toll the new road linking the Manawatu and Hawkes Bay, saying ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • The doom spiral

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In his last post, Zeke discussed incredible warmth of 2023 and 2024 and its implications for future warming. A few readers looked at it and freaked out: This is terrifying and This update really put me in a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Government directs Te Puni Kōkiri to conduct Māori Language Week in English

    The coalition government has issued a directive to Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development, instructing them that – in the interests of clear communication – they are to conduct this year’s Māori Language Week primarily or exclusively in English. The directive is in line with the Government’s policy ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Government celebrates fact that New Zealand’s healthcare is so good people are queuing up for it a...

    At yesterday’s post-cabinet press conference, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, flanked by his Health Minister Shane Reti and someone we can’t independently verify was a real sign language interpreter, announced that he had some positive news for the country. “Alright team, I’m just going to hand over to uh, Dr. Shane, ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Heartwarming: Thoughtful driver uses indicator to tell you what they’ve just done

    It’s 4:10pm in the morning, and you’re in the middle lane heading north on the great southern motorway of our nation’s capital, Auckland. There are no cars directly in front of you, but quite a few in the lane to your left. Suddenly, without warning, a black ute enters your ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • NPC teams will now be allowed to actually use the Ranfurly Shield in play

    Following decades of controversy, the governing body of New Zealand rugby, New Zealand Rugby, has ruled that the team currently holding the Ranfurly Shield may once again use it in play during the National Provincial Championship (NPC). The ruling restores the utility of a prize that for many years was ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Climbing out of the hamster wheel

    I arrived home with a head full of fresh ideas about mindfulness and curbing impulsive aspects in my character.On the second night home I grabbed a piece of ginger and began swiftly slicing it on our industrial strength mandolin, the one I have learned through painful experience to treat with ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • More Notes From Stinky Town

    Good morning, folks. Another wee note from a chilly Rotorua morning that looks much clearer than yesterday. As I write, the pink glow in the east is slowly growing, and soon, the palest of blue skies should become a bit more royal.A couple of people mentioned yesterday that I should ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Make it make sense: why axe valuable local projects?

    Last week, Matt looked at how the government wants to pour a huge chunk of civic infrastructure funding for a generation  into one mega-road up North, at huge cost and huge opportunity cost. A smaller but no less important feature of the National Land Transport Plan devised by Minister of Transport ...
    Greater AucklandBy Jolisa
    4 days ago
  • Driving blind at higher speeds

    An open letter by experts about plans to raise speed limits warns the “tragic consequence will be more New Zealanders losing their lives or suffering severe injury, along with a substantial burden on the nation's healthcare and rehabilitation services”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • 2024’s unusually persistent warmth

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink My inaugural post on The Climate Brink 18 months ago looked at the year 2024, and found that it was likely to be the warmest year on record on the back of a (than forecast) El Nino event. I suggested “there is a real chance ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • National plan for 2000 more Kiwis a year in prison

    Open for allYesterday, Luxon congratulated his government on a job well done with emergency housing numbers, but advocates have been saying it‘s likely many are on the streets and sleeping in cars.Q&A featured some of the folks this weekend - homeless and in cars. Yes.The government’s also confirmed they stopped ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • I Found a Note in a Tree

    Hi,On most days I try to go on a walk through nature to clear my head from the horrors of life. Because as much as I like people, I also think it’s incredibly important to get very far away from them. To be reminded that there are also birds, lizards, ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Politicians need to lift their game

    Declining trust in New Zealand politicians should be a warning to them to lift their game. Results from the New Zealand Election Study for the 2023 election show that the level of trust in politicians has once again declined. Perhaps it is not surprising that the results, shared as part ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Police say they won’t respond to bomb threats anymore as ‘it’s never anything’

    Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says that New Zealand’s police force will no longer respond to bomb threats, in an attempt to cut costs and redirect police resources to less boring activities. Coster said that threat response and bomb disposal was a “fairly obvious” area for downsizing, as bomb threats are ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • A dysfunctional watchdog

    The reality of any right depends on how well it is enforced. But as The Post points out this morning, our right to official information isn't being enforced very well at all: More than a quarter of complaints about access to official information languish for more than a year, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: The threat of a good example

    Since taking office, the climate-denier National government has gutted agricultural emissions pricing, ended the clean car discount, repealed water quality standards which would have reduced agricultural emissions, gutted the clean car standard, killed the GIDI scheme, and reversed efforts to reduce pollution subsidies in the ETS - basically every significant ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vegas Baby

    Good morning, lovely people. Don’t worry. This isn’t really a newsletter, just a quick note. I’m sitting in our lounge, looking out over a gloomy sky. Although being Rotorua, the view is periodically interrupted by steam bursting from pipes and dispersing—like an Eastern European industrial hellscape during the Cold War.Drinking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Why Entrust Needs New Leadership

    I am part of a new team running in the Entrust election in October. Entrust is a community electricity trust representing a significant part of Auckland, set up to serve the community. It is governed by five trustees are elected every three years in an election the trust itself oversees. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • London Bridge is falling down

    In the UK, London is the latest of council groups to signal potential bankruptcy.That’s after Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, went bankrupt in June, resulting in reduced sanitation services, libraries cut, and dimmed streetlights.Some in the city described things as “Dickens” like.Please, Sir, Can I have some more?For families with ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Govt may kick elderly out of hospitals

    The Government is considering how to shunt elderly people out of hospitals, and also how to cut their access to other support. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Getting the nephs off the couch

    The so-called “Prince of the Provinces”, Shane Jones, went home last Friday. Perhaps not quite literally home, more like 20 kilometres down the road from his house on the outskirts of Kerikeri. With its airport, its rapidly growing (mostly retired) population, and a commercial centre with all the big retail ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • De moralibus orcorum: Sargon of Akkad, Rings of Power, Evil, and George R.R. Martin

    I have noted before that The Rings of Power has attracted its unfortunate share of culture war obsessives. Essentially, for a certain type of individual, railing on about the Wokery of Modern Media is a means of making themselves a online livelihood. Clicks and views and advertising revenue, and all ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37

    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 8, 2024 thru Sat, September 14, 2024. Story of the week From time to time we like to make our Story of the Week all about us— and ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago
  • Salvation For Us All

    Yesterday, I ruminated about the effects of being a political follower.And, within politics, David Seymour was smart enough on Friday to divert attention from “race blind” policies [what about gender blind I thought - thinking of maternity wards] and cutting school lunches by throwing meat to the media. Teachers were ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A warm embrace

    Far, far away from here lives our King. Some of his subjects can be quite the forelock tuggers, but plenty of us are not like that, and why don't I wheel out my favourite old story once more about Kiwi soldiers in the North African desert?Field Marshal Montgomery takes offence ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Literal clowns are running the place, we must put a timeout on this stupidity… right Aotearoa?

    These people are inept on every level. They’re inept to the detriment of our internal politics, cohesion and increasingly our international reputation. And they are reveling in the fact they are getting away with it. We cannot even have “respectful debate” with a government that clearly rejects the very ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    6 days ago
  • Fact brief – Does manmade CO2 have any detectable fingerprint?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does manmade CO2 have any ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • Judge Not.

    Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY men and women professing the Christian faith would appear to have imperilled their immortal souls. ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Managed Democracy: Letting The People Decide, But Only When They Can Be Relied Upon To Give the Righ...

    Uh-uh! Not So Fast, Citizens! The power to initiate systemic change remains where it has always been in New Zealand’s representative democracy – in Parliament. To order a binding referendum, the House of Representatives must first to be persuaded that, on the question proposed, sharing its decision-making power with the people ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Looking For Labour’s Vital Signs.

    Flatlining: With no evidence of a genuine policy disruptor at work in Labour’s ranks, New Zealand’s wealthiest citizens can sleep easy.PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN has walked a picket-line. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has threatened “price-gauging” grocery retailers with price control. The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform situates it well to the left of Sir ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Forty Years Of Remembering To Forget.

    The Beginning of the End: Rogernomics became the short-hand descriptor for all the radical changes that swept away New Zealand’s social-democratic economy and society between 1984 and 1990. In the bitterest of ironies, those changes were introduced by the very same party which had entrenched New Zealand social-democracy 50 years earlier. ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Kōrero Mai – Speak to Me.

    Good morning all you lovely people. 🙂I woke up this morning, and it felt a bit like the last day of school. You might recall from earlier in the week that I’m heading home to Rotorua to see an old friend who doesn’t have much time. A sad journey, but ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • Winning ways

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Street architecture adjustment, KolkataShare Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • 48 seconds on a plan that would reverberate for a million years

    Despite fears that Trump presidency would be disastrous for progress on climate change, the topic barely rated a mention in the Presidential debate. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Using blunt instruments and magical thinking to ignore evidence of harm

    The abrupt cancellations and suspensions of Government spending also caused private sector hiring, spending, and investment to freeze up for the first six months of the year. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThis week we learned:The new National/ACT/NZ First Coalition Government ignored advice from Treasury that it didn’t have to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power Episode 5 (Seaso...

    Another week of The Rings of Power, season two, and another confirmation that things are definitely coming together for the show. The fifth Episode of season one represented the nadir of the series. Now? Amid the firmer footing of 2024, Episode Five represents further a further step towards excellent Tolkien ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • In Open Seas; A Book

    The background to In Open Seas: How the New Zealand Labour Government Went Wrong:2017-2023Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand, published in 2020, proved more successful than either I or the publisher (VUP, now Te Herenga Waka University Press) expected. I had expected that it would ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 13

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the climate implications of the US Presidential elections; and special guests Janet ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Do or do not. There is no try

    1. Upon receiving evidence that school lunches were doing a marvellous job of improving outcomes for students, David Seymour did what?a. Declared we need much more of this sort of good news and poured extra resources and funding into them b. Emailed Atlas network to ask what to do next c. Cut ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Dangerous ground

    The Waitangi Tribunal has reported back on National's proposed changes to gut the Marine and Coastal Area Act and steal the foreshore and seabed for its greedy fishing-industry donors, and declared it to be another huge violation of ti Tiriti: The Waitangi Tribunal has found government changes to the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: National wants to cheat on Paris

    In 2016, the then-National government signed the Paris Agreement, committing Aotearoa to a 30 (later 50) percent reduction in emissions by 2030. When questioned about how they intended to meet that target with their complete absence of effective climate policy, they made a lot of noise about how it was ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Treasury warned Govt lower debt limits meant less ‘productivity-enhancing investment’

    Treasury’s advice to Cabinet was that the new Government could actually prudently carry net core Crown debt of up to 50% of GDP. But Luxon and Willis instead chose to portray the Government’s finances as in such a mess they had no choice but to carve 6.5% to 7.5% off ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Is the Media Complicit?

    This is a long read. Open to all.SYNOPSIS: Traditional media is at a cross roads. There is a need for those in the media landscape, as it stands, to earn enough to stay afloat, but also come across as balanced and neutral to keep its audiences.In America, NYT’s liberal leaning ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Black Friday

    It's Black Friday, the end of the weekYou take my hand and hold it gently up against your cheekIt's all in my head, it's all in my mindI see the darkness where you see the lightSong by Tom OdellFriday the 13th, don’t be afraid.No, really, don’t. Everything has felt a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 13-September-2024

    Ooh, Friday the thirteenth. Spooky! Is that why certain zombie ideas have been stalking the landscape this week, like the Mayor’s brainwave for a motorway bridge from Kauri Point to Point Chev? Read on and find out. This roundup, like all our coverage, is brought to you by the Greater ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago

  • Tourism on the table for Pacific Ministers’ meet-up

    Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey will meet with Trade and Tourism Minister of Australia Don Farrell and Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica in Rotorua this weekend for a trilateral tourism discussion. “Like in New Zealand, tourism plays a significant role in Australia and Fiji’s economy, contributing massively to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Young people report on family and sexual violence

    The Te Puna Aonui Expert Advisory Group for Children and Young People has presented its report today on improving family and sexual violence outcomes for young people, to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour.  The presentation at the Auckland event was an opportunity for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • $18 million being invested in the victims of crime

    The Government is putting more than $18 million towards improving the experience of the criminal justice system for victims, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Minister for Children Karen Chhour say. “No one should experience crime, but for those who through no fault of their own become victims, they need to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Landmark phonics check in te reo Māori

    For the first time, schools can use a purpose-built tool to check how a child is progressing in reading through te reo Māori. “Around 45 schools are trialling a New Zealand first te reo Māori phonics check, known as Hihira Weteoro. It will help kaiako (teachers) focus on what ākonga ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • New sea walls safeguard Ōpōtiki’s transformation

    Two new breakwater walls at Pākihikura (Ōpōtiki) Harbour will provide boats with safe harbour access to support the continued growth of aquaculture in Bay of Plenty, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones say. The Ministers and leaders from Tē Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea and other ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • Kitmap to improve access to science infrastructure

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced an online platform to optimise the use of New Zealand’s science and technology research infrastructure and to link the public and private sector. “This country is home to world-class science, technology, and engineering expertise. Kitmap is set to empower Kiwi innovators, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Driving the uptake of low emission heavy vehicles

    The Government has launched the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund (LEHVF) to promote innovation and offset the cost of hundreds of heavy vehicles powered by clean technologies, Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts say. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Speech on replacing the Resource Management Act

    Replacing the RMA Hon Chris Bishop: Good morning, it is great to be with you. Can I first acknowledge the Resource Management Law Association for hosting us here today. Can I also acknowledge my Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Simon Court, who is on stage with me. He has assisted me in establishing the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Replacement for the Resource Management Act takes shape

    Two new laws will be developed to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), with the enjoyment of property rights as their guiding principle, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say. “The RMA was passed with good intentions in 1991 but has proved a failure in practice. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • Tough laws pass to make gang life uncomfortable

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