Michael Lhaws’ irrelevancy proven

Written By: - Date published: 2:50 pm, February 7th, 2011 - 68 comments
Categories: human rights, scoundrels - Tags: ,

Yesterday, Lhaws’ SST piece called for involuntary sterilisation and reproduction licences (ie. forced abortions). Pure fascism.  Today, no uproar. Once, his stoush with some school kids was news. Now, he offers a eugenic ‘solution’ to the underclass and not a peep. He’s truly a has-been. He won’t have that SST column for long.

68 comments on “Michael Lhaws’ irrelevancy proven ”

  1. Interestingly he has been one of the loudest and most voiciferous opponents of “nanny state” but when it comes to the most extreme form of state control over an individual he is suddenly all for it.

    I guess he has no problem if nanny state is applied to the poor as opposed to the wealthy.

    • Colonial Viper 1.1

      “Nanny state”? With Lhaws promoting spading of the poor, we’re really talking a “Vet state”.

  2. Richard 2

    I think he rightly sees a difference between a “police state” and a “nanny state”.

    He is just confused about the dangers each pose.

  3. tsmithfield 3

    Yet if he runs for NZ First, Labour could soon be cuddling up to him and his ideas.

    • Hahahahahahahahahaha

      Tsmithfield you are such a crack up some times.

    • Kaplan 3.2

      Do you mean in much the same way National cuddle(d) up to Roger Douglas & Hone?

    • NX 3.3

      Yeah, my thoughts exactly. The irony.

    • Bright Red 3.4

      mark my words – there will never be a deal with Labour and an NZF including Lhaws. He won’t be in NZF for starters.

      • NX 3.4.1

        So you’d rather see John Key returned to power than a Goff/Laws/Winnie trio.
        I guess ‘The Standard’ does have a standard after all.

      • tsmithfield 3.4.2

        Why should it be a problem for Labour if Laws unites with NZ First? Afterall, Labour seems quite happy to cohabit with Peters who is also a racist. So, whats wrong with one more racist in the mix.

        Labour will sell its soul if it means getting back into power, so I fully expect their to be a coalition between Labour and NZ First if the cards fall that way.

      • there will never be a deal with Labour and an NZF including Lhaws

        Well they were happy to consider the prospect in 1996, when they knew full well Lhaws was pulling Winston’s strings and indeed Lhaws would occasionally swan into the coalition negotiating meetings, all the while making it clear he had better things to do and was leaving the tedious stuff to his underlings like the Leader and the Party President.

        To their unending credit Mike Moore and Michael Hirschfeld baulked at his demands, and NZF went on to become a nightmare for Shipley. But then neither of them are calling the shots this time, and it’s not as though there isn’t a not-so-faint whiff of desperation emanating from the Goffice.

        As for Lhaws not being in NZF, Lhaws has no principles. He’d join the Socialist Workers’ Party if it had a chance of holding the balance of power, so don’t imagine for one moment any policy niceties, for instance, will hold him back. It wouldn’t be a case of “crash or crash through” so much as “grab the wheel and swerve till we plunge to our deaths”.

        • orange whip? 3.4.3.1

          But then neither of them are calling the shots this time

          Neither is Laws. So where are we again?

    • Bored 3.5

      Hey TS, how about doing something useful. Like getting some focus on Simon Powers planned changes to the Criminal Procedures Act that will take away your right to silence if charged with an offense, and make you give your defense to the prosecution pre trial. Its the same sort of nonsense as Lhaws spouts but far more dangerous. Methinks you might (as one of their own) be a good person to raise merry hell on this issue with the Nacts.

      • tsmithfield 3.5.1

        Its your ex-labour man who first came up with this idea.

        …law commissioner and former prime minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer to come out with the knee-jerk reaction that perhaps it was about time we did away with the right to silence for those accused of criminal offences.

        How can you blame Powers for following this one up when even an ex Labour prime-minister thinks its a good idea?

        • Bored 3.5.1.1

          Certainly can. The whole issue transcends party, left or right. Both sides of the fence over the last thousand years have fought for these rights, think of habeas corpus, Magna Carta, etc. They are hard to get, easily taken away. Which is why you might agitate against it on “your” side of the fence.

          PS Palmer hmmmm he was Labour was’nt he? Did’nt seem like one of “ours”.

          • bbfloyd 3.5.1.1.1

            palmers tenure was never more than a lesson in how to create a fall guy when it gets too ugly.. lange, by all accounts had twigged asto what douglas and co were really doing, and had decided to pull the rug out from under them. palmer was put up to stop mike moore from possibly reversing the prevailing mood of resentment towards the govt and snatching a win in 1990.

            i think it shows how bad his mental state was by then. personally, and rather a large number of people in my circles at the time, and still recently, think the same, i would have been ready to support a moore leadership. he, at least was closer to real labour values than nearly half the cabinet in the eighties.

            labour lost a hell of a lot of votes purely on the palmer elevation. most old school labourites have never recognised, and never will, geoffry palmer as a labour prime minister. or leader.nonetheless highly competant, intelligent and effective mp regardless.

        • Pascal's bookie 3.5.1.2

          How can you blame Powers for following this one up when even an ex Labour prime-minister thinks its a good idea?

          because he’s the minister wots doin it, that’s why.

          Sheese. I knew righty tighties don’t know nuffink bout nuffink an that most of what they say is just lies, but don’t ya’ll pretend to believe in responsibility and shit?

    • Irascible 3.6

      Laws has always been more in tune with National than any other political party. He, like Key, is a poser and media spin creation more known for opportunistic appearances than any substance.

  4. Rharn 4

    Yep Lord LHaws LHaws is a has been. Just hope Peter’s does not have a bar of him.

  5. NX 5

    Yeah, Laws would be quite at home in the NZ 1st party. Which reminds me, aren’t you guys pinning your hopes on a Winnie return?

    • Bright Red 5.1

      such short memories. Lhaws was in NZF before he resigned from Parliament in disgrace. Later, Lhaws became an advisor to NZF dissident Neil Kirton, whom Peters sacked. No love lost there.

    • Pascal's bookie 5.2

      Laws would be quite at home in the NZ 1st party.

      So NZFirst looks pretty much like a kiwiblog thread then yeah?

      • NX 5.2.1

        Yes, every Kiwiblog thread talks about the need for eugenics and castration – particularly DPF.

        • Pascal's bookie 5.2.1.1

          Did I say every thread? No I don’t believe I did.

          Did I mention DPF? Again, that would be a nah.

          • NX 5.2.1.1.1

            Your original comment is #5.2. DPF is the auther of Kiwiblog.

            • Pascal's bookie 5.2.1.1.1.1

              So?

              I said a kiwiblog thread.

              I implied that laws would feel right at home there, in a kiwiblog thread.
              I’m happy to stand by that.
              You don’t seem keen to disagree.

  6. Contraception is what prevents pregnancy. A womans reproductive life can span 40 years. The cost of preventing pregnancy is unaffordable for some females. I challenge Michael Laws to get implemented by every district health board what MCH have done.
    http://www.3news.co.nz/New-initiative-sees-fall-in-teen-pregnancy-rates/tabid/420/articleID/197172/Default.aspx

    • Lanthanide 6.1

      The problem that Laws is trying to expound upon is that just making contraception available isn’t going to be enough. Even contraception + education won’t completely solve the problem because there will always be those who are too lazy, or just too stupid to use it (and a minority that want to use it but can’t for some reason). His solution is to change the default from being “fertile and needing contraception” to “infertile”.

      At present, society sees this as authoritarian and violating human rights.

      • Bored 6.1.1

        Lan, you have bought right in. There is no problem. People make choices, most of which I think are wrong….thats my problem, not theirs. If you admit to there being a “problem” you buy into the Lhaws mindset. Its called framing.

        • Lanthanide 6.1.1.1

          I never said I agree with Laws at all. I’m just trying to clarify what Laws is talking about.

      • Treetop 6.1.2

        I have never met a teenager who does not know what the meaning of free is. There is also no such thing as 100 %.

        Probable solutions which work, need to be used to their full advantage, e.g. morning after pill.

        Regardless of reproductive age, everytime a woman has sex she can fall pregnant, even with the best intention not to. A vasectomy is a good option for a male.

        • Colonial Viper 6.1.2.1

          We don’t need a 100% effective contraception policy, as treetop implies that is never going to occur.

          But a few simple steps to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies which occur annually by just 2000-3000 would be a miracle of compassion upon humanity.

          • KJT 6.1.2.1.1

            Free and easily available contraception would go a long way towards reducing unwanted children.
            Making sure that teenagers have better options than the dole, McD’s or the DPB would do a lot more.

            • Colonial Viper 6.1.2.1.1.1

              Yep. I know good kids, unable to get into the courses that they wanted to do, either unemployed now or if they are ‘lucky’ working soul destroying jobs for sweet f.a.

              And why are we surprised that we end up with so much bad shit going on in society.

          • Blondie 6.1.2.1.2

            I think the Mirena IUS would be quite popular, if it was freely available. It’s been shown to be as effective as sterilsation – although once it’s removed, one can conceive immediately – lasts for over 5 years, doesn’t cause weight gain (like the pill or injection do), and the only noticable side effect is a lack of periods.

            Seriously, if you made this one free, I bet there’d be an awful lot of girls and women who’d take it up just because they didn’t enjoy periods. Probably be a fair few blokes who encouraged their girlfriends to use it too, for the same reason. But – even if you have a bunch of teenage girls who get it inserted simply so that they won’t menstruate for a few years, that’s still a lot of unplanned pregnancies that just won’t happen – WITHOUT taking away any women’s right to control her own fertility.

            • Lanthanide 6.1.2.1.2.1

              I believe that people can access these devices for free, or heavily discounted. No idea if just anyone can get them or if you have to meet conditions (like not being able to take the pill), but I’m pretty sure it is subsidised to some extent.

              Also, a side-effect of Law’s plan (and this one for IUS) which I hadn’t considered is that you’d get a spike in STD transmission as condoms were now less used.

              • Blondie

                Yes that’s true – I suppose there are a lot of people who wouldn’t use condoms if they didn’t have to worry about pregnancy.

                However I suspect that many don’t use condoms as much as they should, anyway? Not when you consider the high rates of STDs in this country – and the abortion rate (it can’t ALL be due to broken condoms, so I’m suspecting a lot of unplanned, unprotected sex).

                Sadly though, no, most women can’t get these devices for free. Some women can get the Mirena free if they have heavy bleeding and are becoming anaemic because of it, but how many women will that apply to – and of those women, how many will be aware of it?

                To be honest it’s probably out of reach for a lot of low-income earners. It cost me about $400 to get mine done (at Family Planning, the cheapest option) – money I consider well-spent, but which many people would consider expensive. The pill is subsidised, but it’s not terribly reliable – if one is sick/vomiting, or on antibiotics it won’t work – let alone if one simply forgets to take it, or takes it late.

                I’m not at all an advocate for enforced sterilisation, let alone enforced abortions – but I do believe that making reliable and effective contraception freely available would enable women to make sensible decisions regarding their own fertility. It’s a real shame if women end up pregnant, not by choice, but because they just couldn’t afford contraception that works.

  7. JS 7

    Why didn’t Michael Lhaws apply his philosophy to his own reproductive processes?

  8. Chris73 8

    I agree with his article, just because someone can give birth doesn’t mean they should. Why subject an innocent child to days, weeks, months or years of abuse. Go Laws keep up the good stuff (just don’t go with Winnie)

  9. We don’t need eugenics, all we need is an educated breading class, because if most mothers understood how fucked up the future is for their children, they would all be rushing to the abortion clinics.
    The ONLY way to reduce suffering in the near future is to not add another ‘sufferer’
    Our futures look bloody bleak, for the kids it only gets worse for longer.
    Sadly

    Spam word ‘production’

  10. millsy 10

    With pricks like Laws around, I wonder whether we fought on the right side on the war (Im sure Rommel would have loved to have the Maori Battalion (or for that matter, the entire 2NZEF) under his command in the western desert…)

    When newspaper columnists openly call for policies such as sterilisation and eugenics and no-body barely raises a peep, or they mumble words in strong support, you know there is something very wrong with our country. His hatred for people who dont fit into the idea representation how New Zealanders should be knows no bounds, and his protrayal of anyone on a welfare benefit with a dark skin as someone who would beat their child to death without a single thought, really needs some serious challenging.

    This is the thin end of the wedge, plain and simple. It is a simple excersise to shift blame of all that is wrong the society and the economy on a group that quite simply can not fight back, and the worse part of it is that people are swallowing his poison like Jim Jones followers did in Guyana back in 78.

    Laws is a hatemonger, plain and simple. If the unions had any guts they would boycott him, and march on his radio studio every day until he resigns.

    +++

    The irony is, that he left the National Party way back when Ruth Richardson and Jim Bolger decided that they would get the money that they used to bail out the BNZ off the poor by slashing their benefits, and off sick by killing one of the best healthcare systems in the world. Hell, he even appeared on Alister Barry’s doco, Someone Elses Country, you can see it yourself by using your mouse….>>>>>

    • Chris73 10.1

      “We fought”:, yeah right since when did you ever serve your country?

      We fought so that people have the freedom to express their views no matter how distasteful they may be to some (yet to others are right on the money)

      If you don’t like freedom of expression (as long as its the same as your own views) then piss off to some other country where its not allowed

      • The Voice of Reason 10.1.1

        You’re not too bright, are you Chris? Millsy’s use of ‘we’ refers to NZ, not himself personally. Given your obvious functional problems, don’t you think you you should do society a favour and kill yourself? It’s the only reasonable thing to do, given your parents complete irresponsibility in allowing you to be born, when it must have been obvious how you would turn out.

      • lprent 10.1.2

        An interesting rewrite of history. If you bothered to dig around in actual history rather than the mythology that you seem to prefer, you’ll find that ‘freedom of expression’ was way down on the list of motives for any war. We don’t have an unfettered freedom of expression and are unlikely to ever get it – just look at the legislation in NZ to find the limits. But even better look at the limits that we place on ‘freedom of expression’ here to ensure that there is an capability to argue without getting shouted down by unfettered trolling.

        I’d say that the overwhelming reason for participation in wars from moderately democratic societies (and many other societies) is the concept of self-determination of that society. Internally that means there is a lot of argument from various groups and a determination that it is an argument inside our societies ‘family’. But I suspect that subtlety of that argument will escape you.

        And as a person who has served in the army along with many past and current family members, I’d have to say that any arsehole like yourself who tries to use that particular argument deserves to spend time as a helper to the aged or at one of the soup kitchens. You clearly don’t understand the concept of service to your society, and that is a pretty good way to find out.

        • Chris73 10.1.2.1

          As a former serving soldier myself (as well as other family members) I would like to say “Fuck You”

          You don’t like/want dissenting views on these blogs, well tough shit, not everyone thinks like you do.

          And for the voice of reason; you’re a big, tough guy on the net, did you get a raging stiffy when you typed that?

          • NickS 10.1.2.1.1

            And for the voice of reason; you’re a big, tough guy on the net, did you get a raging stiffy when you typed that?

            You did say something utterly fucking stupid, so yes, you expect to be cluebatted with some vigour you moron.

            As for Lynn’s analysis, he’s quite fucking right, wars over recent history have never been fought for “freedom”, rather stripping away the rhetoric used to justify them, resources come up as one reason, perceived threats another, ranging from the political (government legitimacy, civil disorder etc) to being attacked by another actor, and plain old human stupidity. But hey, it’s not as if soldiers are required to think beyond the rhetoric and orders feed to them.

            You don’t like/want dissenting views on these blogs, well tough shit, not everyone thinks like you do.

            Get back to your hugbox. Have you been banned for having a different opinion? No, because unlike much of the RWNJ blogs, here you can disagree, as long as you don’t be a complete fucking douchebag. It’s spelled out in the rules, and it’s basic shit, that you should have already picked up on, and had enough nonce to not be a schmuck like you’ve been above.

            Sheesh, next you’ll be telling us WWII was fought to save teh Jews…

          • lprent 10.1.2.1.2

            Chris: Don’t be a idiot. If your comment had required moderation under the guidelines then you’d have gotten it quite clearly in moderation mode. It didn’t.

            What you got was several comments opining about your opinion and you. Clearly you don’t like it. Obviously you’re too thin skinned to be capable of intelligent argument. Either that or you are incapable of arguing your position. Or both.

            Figures. You sound like bit of a braggart who prefers to bullshit rather than being able to participate in a discussion.

          • The Voice of Reason 10.1.2.1.3

            “Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own.”

            Jonathan Swift.

      • millsy 10.1.3

        Chris, do you even know what WW2 was about?

        From 1939 onwards, the Allied governments threw EVERY resource they had into defeating Nazi Germany. They knew what was at stake (Im going to stick to the simple version, Im going to leave the other issues and thoughts to the revisionists at the moment), they were fighting a regieme that held the white 6 foot, blond haired and blue eyed aryan as the master race. EACH AND EVERY OTHER RACE was in their eyes fit only for extermination or slavery.

        The Nazi government came to power on a platform of blaming minorties, etc (esp. Jews) on Germany’s post WWI misfortune, amongst a period of global economic uncertainty, and excessive hyperinflation. And that is what exactly is happening at the moment with the likes of Micheal Laws, Glen Beck, Bill O’Reilly, etc.

        Everytime I hear him blame Maori for our child abuse rates, blame the poor for dragging the country down, blame gays for what every, I make no distinctions between him and the thugs in brown shirts who roamed around Berlin smashing jew owned shops and roughing up old men.

        Laws is a facist. Plain and simple. The only good thing is that he is a coward who sits behind his pen and his mike slagging off brown people. I would love him to go and some of our poorest areas and say what he says.,

  11. North 11

    Laws is a narcissistic would-be fascist. He is a has been though. Thank The Lord. That don’t mean he won’t have a foray but can you see the madness not travelling with him……..wherever he ends up ?

    He’d shit in his own nest……..just like his far less strong willed cuzzy bro’ Paul Henry. Eventually………get found out. Anyway, as much an unreasoned wild card as Old Winnie can be………. I can’t see him inviting the viper into the nest for a second time.

    Hey, I reckon he thinks he’s something of the elder statesman. Enjoying watching him actually.

  12. orange whip? 12

    Laws is a saddo.

    A while back (after the Paul Henry business) Laws on his radio show made a sad little joke out of repeating Henry’s “looks and sounds like a NZer” comment, prefacing it with something along the lines of “just in case the broadcasting standards people are listening”.

    It was a desperate cry for attention, saying “hey I’M an offensive loudmouth bigot too, don’t forget about ME!”

    But no-one cared. It was just sad. So in a further desperate plea he started using the recording as a promo for his show, playing it a few times a day. They might even still be using it for all I know.

    And still no-one cared. It only served to underline the fact that even in the realm of complete fuckwittery, Laws has no original material.

  13. Lanthanide 13

    For interests sake:
    http://abcnews.go.com/Health/International/us-woman-pays-british-addicts-kids/story?id=11916808

    “An American charity that pays drug addicts to get sterilized has expanded its operation into Great Britain, and while it has so far paid only one British man to undergo the procedure, it has triggered a storm of criticism.

    Barbara Harris, the founder and head of Project Prevention, shrugs off the criticism of her group, which has paid 3,600 American drug addicts $300 each to get sterilized or undergo other long-term birth control procedures.”

    • Chris73 13.1

      If I had the money I’d help set that up here

      • Colonial Viper 13.1.1

        You shouldn’t bother, you’ll just get a load of rich people who have structured their affairs so they have low/no income come to you, to get you to pay for their vasectomies.

  14. jcuknz 14

    The article contains a lot of non-PC common sense yet misses the major reason… that of the world’s population explosion. People want a responsible society but are not prepared to behave in a responsible manner. There are too many people on earth for irresponsibility to be tolerated.

    • Rosy 14.1

      With as much supposition as you’ve just demonstrated (people breed because they are not responsible) it’s clear that the way to reduce population growth is to educate women and ensure people’s financial security not only immediately, but in times of crisis (e.g. health) and also in old age. The countries of old Europe and Japan are perfect examples with their declining birthrates. Now that’s common sense.

  15. millsy 15

    Im not really keen for society to be forced into your crappy little 1950’s box, jcuk. You know, where spousal rape was legal, gays were kept in the closet and relentlessly bullied, and children were taken from the poor and brought up by rich christians.

    Piss off old man. Your time has been and gone. A new future where everyone is allowed to be themselves without being bullied or lynched by people like you is a desireable.

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    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    2 days ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    3 days ago
  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    4 days ago
  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    4 days ago
  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago
  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    5 days ago
  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    5 days ago
  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    7 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 ...
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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 ...
    1 week 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
    1 week 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 ...
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • 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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