More Bullshit

Written By: - Date published: 9:32 pm, March 28th, 2013 - 56 comments
Categories: john key, national, Steven Joyce - Tags: ,

Nick Smith this morning on Nine to Noon, saying mining companies prospecting on Schedule 4 land weren’t interested in mining there – when they say they are.  And losing more than 10% of DoC staff won’t affect the front line’s capability or their ability to meet statutory obligations to defend the environment either apparently…

John Key yesterday saying again the Deputy Auditor-General’s report into Sky City vindicated him and his ministers, when she doesn’t think so.

The 1230 jobs lost from Telecom today – Steven Joyce thought that they’d all be programmers so they’d get new jobs easily – but Telecom think most of them won’t be.

They come up with their excuses… but reality doesn’t measure up apparently.

I call bullshit.

56 comments on “More Bullshit ”

  1. QoT 1

    Personally, I often prospect things for no reason whatsoever.

    • In response to Kaikoura mayor Kevin Hayes, Smith’s office once asserted that reports of chemtrails were due to crop dusting. He then didn’t reply to Hayes letter which pointed out that crop dusting doesn’t occur over the ocean. This follows Smith scorning Labout for supporting “conspiracy theories”.

    • georgecom 1.2

      Likewise I often enjoy spending large amounts of money investigating things I have no intention of doing. The mining companies are obviously investigating the areas for fun.

      • handle 1.2.1

        “Hobby mining” the Minister called it.

        • One Tāne Huna 1.2.1.1

          The corrupt Minister said a few things in fact, including that “no decision” has been made. He then didn’t say shit when Catherine Delahunty tabled the full mining permit.

          • karol 1.2.1.1.1

            Brownlee also referred to the Labour government permitting mining on schedule 4 land as “a beach of Green promise.”

  2. Saarbo 2

    They lie because they can…the main stream media should be holding them to account but the NZ Herald acts like National Party’s marketing agent. Paddy Gower is so far up john keys arse he only has his bata bullets sticking out. TV3’s dickheads, Espiner and Garner are only interested in doing current affairs around the edge of political issues (The Vote is crap, it would be better with the expert panel and Linda Clark…get rid of the 2 twits), and when they do they are ditto paddy gower.

    Charles Chauvel hit it on the head in his leaving speech…our main stream media in NZ is shit (ok, I’m paraphrasing, but that’s what he meant)

    National realise that they can say and do anything now.

    • Hami Shearlie 2.1

      Couldn’t have said it better myself!! The Bata Bullets was a nice touch, nicely complementing Jonkey’s flip-flops!!!

      • Saarbo 2.1.1

        I think there are some exceptions to the biased media. The fair ones from my view: Rachel Smalley (I hope she gets paid (AT LEAST) the combined salaries of the Two Ronnies, she certainly seems to do a lot more work, certainly from the consumers (us) point of view!), Corin Dann seems fair. No one from the Herald comes to mind, Armstrong and O Sullivan are extreme National party supporters. Vernon Small and Tracey Watkins are pretty fair. Waikato Times have a new reporter involved with the Maxim Institute, say no more.

    • Saccharomyces 2.2

      I find it perplexing that the left claim that the MSM is the agent of the right, while the right claim the MSM are the left’s propaganda wing….

      Perhaps they’re neither, and just pumping what will get attention to sell advertising $$’s….

      • Ugly Truth 2.2.1

        The battle between left and right is just a puppet show, both conservatives an liberals advance values that a relevant to society. It’s simply a case of finding a balance between them.

        The meaningful political axis is libertarian-statist, and the MSM has has a heavy statist bias.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.1

          It’s simply a case of finding a balance between them.

          Oh, God, now he’s starting to sound like Pete George…

          The meaningful political axis is libertarian-statist,

          …with a libertarian bent.

          Well, I suppose that explains why he thinks democracy is Mob Rule.

          • Ugly Truth 2.2.1.1.1

            Would you care to explain the difference between democracy and mob rule, Draco?

            • One Tāne Huna 2.2.1.1.1.1

              Ooh, pick me: democracy is what you resent and cry impotently about at night, and mob rule is your preferred option only if you can be the one with the megaphone.

            • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.1.1.2

              One is discussion of facts and agreement on course of action, the other is impassioned kneejerk action often riled up by a “leader”.

              As I’m feeling nice I’ll also explain to you why your preferred theory is oppressive and not the gateway to nirvana that you think it is.

              Your desire to do anything you want runs up against peoples right not to be affected by others without their say so. As everything you do affects others in some way this would require you to get permission from everyone else before yo do anything. This is impractical and so we need rules and regulations agreed to by everybody (democracy). Some of those rules will be passive and some will be active. Walking to the store the rules are passive and only get applied if you break them. Building a house is active as you have to get permission first and show that you will stick to the rules and they’re enforced as you go.

              In your world you think that the rules don’t apply to you unless you accept them – and you don’t accept them. Now if everybody did this there would be chaos and the strongest, in today’s terms that means richest, would be able to do whatever they liked, whenever they liked and nobody would be able to stop them simply because they wouldn’t be able to stand up to them. This means that those less well off have had their right not to be affected by others without their say so removed unilaterally by the well off. This is oppression and it’s what your beliefs will bring about.

              We used to have a system like this before – it was called feudalism. It’s a system that the capitalists have been trying to go back to for the last few centuries and for the last few decades, since the imposition of neo-liberalism, they’ve been quite successful.

              Freedom: The right to have a say in your own governance

              Libertarians actually seek to remove that right and they’re too stupid to realise it which is why I also say:

              Libertarianism: Dictatorship hiding behind liberal values

              • karol

                +1 and when it involves a protector father in the family, it suggests being king in your own castle.

              • Draco, your description of democracy:

                discussion of facts and agreement on course of action

                … can result in a conspiracy.

                Your assumption of my intent:

                Your desire to do anything you want

                … is wrong, I realize you that I should consider the consequences before acting and not act wrongfully.

                Your remedy:

                we need rules and regulations agreed to by everybody (democracy).

                … fails because you can’t find a lawful solution to the problem of government.

                Your assumption:

                you think that the rules don’t apply to you unless you accept them

                … misses the point that rules and law are quite different things.

                Your prediction:

                This is oppression and it’s what your beliefs will bring about.

                … fails because you have little clue what my beliefs are. It’s also ironic that the democracy that you describe typically results in the oppression of minorities.

                Your definiton:

                Freedom: The right to have a say in your own governance

                Is blatantly wrong.
                http://www.thefreedictionary.com/freedom

                Draco, you have made an ethically free analysis of my position and got it hopelessly wrong. Making assumptions and attempting to redefine words does not advance your argument, it just makes you look stupid.

                The difference between democracy and mob rule is that democracy is a form of lawful government but mob rule is not.

                • Draco T Bastard

                  fails because you have little clue what my beliefs are.

                  I know enough from what you’ve written. Suffice to say that I find them sickening.

                  It’s also ironic that the democracy that you describe typically results in the oppression of minorities.

                  No, actually, it doesn’t. As I’ve said, rights are universal and people don’t vote to oppress themselves. That canard is just put forward by those who are too frightened by the idea that the people will have power instead of them or their chosen representatives.

                  …fails because you can’t find a lawful solution to the problem of government.

                  /facepalm
                  The majority agreeing to it makes it lawful by default. You don’t like this idea which is why I said In your world you think that the rules don’t apply to you unless you accept them – and you don’t accept them.

                  Is blatantly wrong.
                  http://www.thefreedictionary.com/freedom

                  I wasn’t looking for a dictionary definition when I thought about what freedom truly is. If I was I’d be just like you – stuck in the past and whinging about it.

                  The difference between democracy and mob rule is that democracy is a form of lawful government but mob rule is not.

                  That’s what I said.

        • felix 2.2.1.2

          “The battle between left and right is just a puppet show, both conservatives an liberals advance values that a relevant to society.”

          “Left and Right” do not equate to “Conservative and Liberal” in any meaningful sense.

          It’s a bit of an Americanism to describe them this way. From this and some of your other comments, particularly those about legal history, I suspect you read a lot of U.S. oriented material which isn’t always particularly relevant to NZ.

          • Colonial Viper 2.2.1.2.1

            Not only lacking in relevancy to NZ, but when you look at the US, they are lines of thinking which is completely unhelpful for them as well.

        • karol 2.2.1.3

          There’s a big difference between left libertarians (collective organisation in a network of small groups with no overarching state control) and right individualist (individual property-defending) libertarians.

          And there’s a difference between statist governments committed to egalitarian principles, collective organisation and everyone being guaranteed a reasonable standard of living; and right wing statists, committed to creating/preserving inequalities, such that the underpaid labour of the few is required to maintain the wealthy elite.

    • UpandComer 2.3

      You’re completely wrong. The media is, and always has been, very biased towards Labour and all things left. When the media is every so slightly less blatant in it’s left bias you and other wowser kiwis interpret it as the the great right wing conspiracy in action. Espiner and Garner cover the stories that are available.

      • Tony 2.3.1

        Oh dear. Another misinformed comment. I’ve worked in news media in New Zealand and there is a very conservative streak through most of the mainstream offerings. Producers I worked for were openly pro-National and they dictated our bulletins. The interest groups we would take as “experts” were generally right wing fringe groups with strange views – No More Rates.com, Sensible Sentencing and almost every second day the AA would have their message put on the national news. More study needs to be done into media bias in NZ, but there have been some good articles on here about it:

        http://thestandard.org.nz/media-bias-democracy-ii-beyond-2-sides/#comment-577365

        You can make outrageous claims, but we all know you’re way off – notice I’m the only one that bothered to reply to your tatt. Come on Up & Comer, you can do better than that! 😉

        • Green machine UpandComer 2.3.1.1

          I’m not way off 😉

          Media will report strong views, and sensible sentencing, no more rates etc make some noise, but so do Greenpeace, and the anti-smacking crowd, and the anti-mining groups, so that’s not really an example of ‘pro-national’ bias. Given National is avoiding building more prisons these groups also aren’t necessarily in line with National views.

          No I’m talking about the kind of scope and tolerance that is provided to parties on the left that is not afforded to the right. The kind that was afforded to Helen Clark, the kind that is being afforded to David Shearer right now.

          It’s not an outrageous claim in the least. There are also differing levels of media. If you’re referring to a small town publication, sure. If you’re referring to anyone or anything media that moves in the beltway or on the major networks you are completely wrong.

          let me give you an example that illustrates the challenge for parties like National in Australasia.

          In oz, Gillard got away with labelling the liberal leader a misogynist with violence problems by saying he might have punched a wall somewhere once, but no one actually saw or it or knows what she is talking about. That is actually the story. This was run for weeks, and weeks, and weeks until Tony Abbot’s wife has to come out and say, um…. !?

          At the same time the media wouldn’t run the story that was supported with witnesses and other evidence that Gillard created a secret slush fund for her union boy-friend to buy houses and prostitutes with, until they had to run a little bit of it because it was simply untenable not to.

          Similar scenarios occur in NZ all the time, they were almost weekly under Helen Clark.

          The media right now should be absolutely getting stuck into Labour, the way they got stuck into Bill English for instance. Labour are treated with kid gloves, and even then they are still fucking it up because they are political technocrats now devoid of any intellectual or policy substance. But the media want them to succeed soooooo bad.

          You are simply incorrect, and I haven’t worked directly say for the Otago daily times etc but I know a shitload of people who have worked in those roles, and much more substantive roles.

          • karol 2.3.1.1.1

            Oh, reading that was like stepping into an alternate universe.

            No I’m talking about the kind of scope and tolerance that is provided to parties on the left that is not afforded to the right. The kind that was afforded to Helen Clark, the kind that is being afforded to David Shearer right now.

            OMG, surely you are doing some sort of Onion satire?

            • One Tāne Huna 2.3.1.1.1.1

              He’s been reading Investigate.

              • Tony

                It was an alternate universe alright! Surely it must be satire?? Using an Australian example to summarise New Zealand news media?! And pulling Helen Clark references out five years after the fact? I don’t know how to respond to it seriously but I’ll give it a go…

                First of all, did you read the article that I referenced? Secondly, I worked for one of the major news networks and I speak from experience, so how can I be incorrect? You’re simply seeing this from your (what is quite obvious) right wing perspective – you simply believe that news media should be aligned with your personal ideology. This happens in the industry too, many people find it difficult to remove their personal perspectives from their work and others simply don’t want to.

                You talk about the news media needing to get stuck into David Shearer – what for? He’s not doing much. The news media’s coverage of the Labour conference was all about the leadership challenge and instability within the party, is that tolerance and lenience? He was ripped apart for his housing policy and his memory loss over the UN bank account was given plenty of coverage. In the main however, the press largely ignore Labour, which is the point – they don’t get the coverage of the incumbent.

                We could sit here and take apart individual news articles but it’s pointless – you have your perspective. You’ve merged your own personal feelings towards Labour (political technocrats now devoid of any intellectual or policy substance) whereas I haven’t mentioned my opinions of National at all – I’m addressing your ridiculous claims about a media bias for the left, which is so obviously driven by your disdain for Labour, not based on fact.

                I personally believe that journalists should declare their bias because it’s almost impossible to remove. Those of us that know what we’re reading can pick it up anyway, but the mainstream masses can’t, they just consume. Of course there are whole other issues regarding corporate ownership and media bias, statistical polling with barriers for entry etc, but I’m sure your friends in much more substantive roles (not that you have any idea what my role was) have you up to date regarding that.

                Bye now!

                • xtasy

                  “Secondly, I worked for one of the major news networks and I speak from experience, so how can I be incorrect? ”

                  Working for some major (usually commercial) “news media” these days does give any critical person EVERY right to question your authenticity, integrity, moral compass and so forth, as it will ultimately be the payroll that dictates what is allowed and consented, and what not!

                  So do not show your arrogance by claiming that you must be correct simply for the reason of having worked for such media! You are wrong and imposing!

                  “The news media’s coverage of the Labour conference was all about the leadership challenge and instability within the party, is that tolerance and lenience? He was ripped apart for his housing policy and his memory loss over the UN bank account was given plenty of coverage.”

                  Now you really expose yourself, first you rip into the Labour conference that was supposedly about a “leadership challenge”, which few if any members have any recollection about (apart from Shearer and a few ABCers), and then you even dare to mix in stuff that was not even a topic then, like housing policy and the UN bank account.

                  You are a mischievous trouble stirrer here, you have NO integrity and credit re what you comment on here! You accept that the “masses” just “consume” media, your other comments are condescending and arrogant, as if you try to justify bias or no bias, that you guys working in the media should be excused for even entertaining such behaviour.

                  Sorry, dear, you are discrediting your profession further, and I for myself had the guts full of shit journos, justifying their chosen personal prostitution for a paid job for some corp outfit, or even large TV company, whatever ownership. You are not doing your jobs, not researching, too busy pissing up with the pay you get, and you are mercenaries to the commercial interests that dominate the game these days. Good night!

        • dumrse 2.3.1.2

          I’ve heard about you…. “Decent journalist, trained and skilled”… Nice to meet you Tony, I shall keep an eye out for your unbiased work.

          • felix 2.3.1.2.1

            I’ve heard about you too, dumrse…. “Cloth-eared, dumb as all fuck, no self-awareness whatsoever, entitled arrogant twat to boot” …. I shall keep an eye out for your pointless trooling and subsequent tall tales on the trademe forums.

          • Tony 2.3.1.2.2

            Umm… did I say that?? Well it’s pretty safe, it’s not too arrogant to claim to be a “decent” journalist 😉

            Nice to meet you too sir! Unfortunately you’ll be disappointed to know that after being told what to say, write and do by senior producers with personal agendas I left the industry after just a few years – completely disillusioned with news media in NZ. You are right, you can’t completely remove bias from journalism so I think it should be declared, through editorial or otherwise.

            I live overseas now (along with 20% of the population) but perhaps I’ll be back one day and maybe I’ll even work in New Zealand journalism again! Though I doubt it…

            • xtasy 2.3.1.2.2.1

              Tony – thanks for your honesty, after all. I posted my firm view above, not seeing your further response. You are doing what many Kiwis have done and are doing, leaving the shores for better opportunities and incomes.

              I have one more for you: Sadly, as much as I understand persons like you, to many you are nothing but GUTLESS TRAITORS, not standing your grounds when it is needed. You were not happy with your job, so you left it and went overseas.

              This is what tens and hundreds of thousands of Kiwis do. They resign and fold up tent, and move off-shore. That to me is NOT a solution.

              I come from Europe, I ran away from some challenges also, here and there, but I learned, there is NO getting away from the ultimate challenges we will ALL face inevitably, be this economic collapse, global climate change with disastrous consequences or whatever, you will NEVER get away from all of this.

              And for NZ, it could have done heaps better, had it more resolute people, that connect, stand their bloody ground, unite and fight the shit challenges that are ruining this country. But no, it is all for selected groups and individual agendas, to jump ship, to get out and fuck the rest. That is NOT PATRIOTISM, mate.

              You better rethink your whole life and philosophy. Che Guevara for instance came from rather well off backgrounds, but he looked for the challenges to take a stand, and he paid for it with his life. Some will say he was idealistic or ideological, but he believed in a better world, like many others. The RESOLUTE ACTION and a personal stand make the difference, not the personal agenda of flight and seeking more comfy alternatives.

            • xtasy 2.3.1.2.2.2

              Thanks Tony, at least you are telling the truth and exposing the “media regime” in NZ, as being nothing but controlled, authoritarian and therefore somehow manipulative and even dictatorial! The bias in NZ media is the most compelling I have seen ANYWHERE!

              And with changes of government it appears to become more obvious.

              So yes, I do not totally blame you for leaving this place, as I long ago realised, this is the most sophisticated smallish dictatorship on this planet, that is The Dictatorship of Aotearoa New Zealand, which is not noticed as such, due to all the successful pretences and brainwashing, but a dictatorship that is not perceived as such surely is the MOST PERFECT dictatorship one can think of.

              • Tony

                Goodness. Ok… Look, I was talking about my personal experiences in the industry – I was not saying that this means I am right, I am saying that this is an account of my experience in the industry so how can someone say that this account is incorrect? (did you even read the comment I was replying to?) Sorry for the misinterpretation, but I am not claiming to be an expert on NZ news media – I know what I saw, heard and experienced on an everyday basis and yes I have opinions which are drawn from those experiences.

                I was saying that the Leadership Conference was painted as a leadership challenge by the media, but I see you’ve missed the point. To be honest though, I really can’t be bothered! I came on here because I do care about Aotearoa and I wanted to see a different perspective to NZ’s inept news media – I’ve been pulled into debates by some absurd comments and now I’m being told that I have no integrity? I’m not excusing any behaviour by the media, I am simply giving an account of my experience and yes, I add a cent or two here or there, because I am human.

                Regarding my old job – I did my best to challenge the status quo but institutions don’t change and they don’t like trouble makers (which according to you, is what I am). I’ll do what’s best for me and my family, if that means our future is overseas so be it. I love my country but staying in NZ to compromise my work and make some middle aged dude richer when there are better opportunities elsewhere is not my idea of patriotism.

                And as for calling me a gutless traitor?? Whatever you say, I’m off to spend my pounds at the pub.

                Time to take a break from The Standard…

                • xtasy

                  Tony – I concede, that I misinterpreted a part in your earlier post further above! So I apologise for that.

                  Otherwise it seems you are doing fairly ok or better in the UK – or is it Australia now?

                  As I stated before, the problem with NZ is, that too many give up and leave. And I agree, it is not easy to stand your ground, when the boss(es) and networks of colleagues and partners at work and in business come from a certain interest background, also having their personal agendas, so they want to keep things as they are.

                  The result is, we have them get away with it, because in present day over individualised, self centred NZ people pack up and go off-shore. This country therefore stays under the control of the same pack of self serving lobbies that have run it for ages, and that stop any progress. Therefore we continue to export milk powder, logs, raw fish and so forth, earning most of the nation’s income. Not enough gets done to develop other activities and industries, and opening the local market to a level that prohibits competing on labour costs, the ground is hard to start something else that can lead to value added exports.

                  Smart people are not wanted, if they do not “fit in” or dare rocking the boat.

                  Hence NZ stays backward in a sense, primarily in the minds of too many. The dumbing down machine called “media” here perpetuates this, and believe you me, since you must have left, things have go a HELL OF A LOT WORSE now.

                  That is why I get so damned angry.

                  I have shared information and views via the Standard, as it is one of the very few blogs and mediums left where this is possible. The rest of the media is largely SHITE. They have not even reported anything of significance at all about draconian welfare reforms in any mainstream or leading media here, which will bring in a regime that will cause the deaths of many, similar to what happened in the UK under new, bizarre and extreme, insane work capacity tests (there under Atos Healthcare – for DWP). Hence my view that this country is in some ways like a dictatorship, and the media only reporting on stuff that will not change and challenge anything and anyone. It is unbelievable what goes on here, and I see almost nobody take a resolute stand.

  3. Draco T Bastard 3

    They have to BS. If they didn’t then they’d have to admit that their beliefs are wrong and some people just won’t do that no matter what the evidence says. National fall into the group that won’t change.

    • TheContrarian 3.1

      “some people just won’t do that no matter what the evidence says.”

      Like you, you mean?

  4. infused 4

    Most of Telecom workers are engineers from Gen-I. This isn’t because of the recession, it’s because Gen-I keep fucking up everything they touch.

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1

      [citation needed]

      • infused 4.1.1

        I don’t need to. I work with them. Take it or leave it.

        You can find some of the info for yourself. They have lost a lot of govt contracts, as they are not the main govt provider anymore.

        They are losing a lot of big business because their departments don’t know how to talk to each other.

        • felix 4.1.1.1

          “I don’t need to. I work with them.”

          Err, you do know that citing and referencing is not for your benefit, eh?

          “Take it or leave it.”

          Leave it thanks, unknown interweb character.

        • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.2

          You can find some of the info for yourself. They have lost a lot of govt contracts, as they are not the main govt provider anymore.

          Who is then? Where was this announced?

          They are losing a lot of big business because their departments don’t know how to talk to each other.

          Awfully simplistic call to make. And if it were true, the fault lies in the hands of executive management. And especially the Telecom Board for not spotting problems with the business unit earlier.

          Funny how its the workers who bear the brunt of senior management failures though.

  5. They have no fear and so they just spill the lies and lies get bigger and more obvious but they don’t care because they have no fear of retribution – in the polls or on election day. People can stop them and we will.

  6. Joe Bloggs 6

    Steven Joyce thought that they’d all be programmers

    I call bullshit on this – there’s nothing in the link provided to support the claim.

    • Draco T Bastard 6.1

      Only a minority of the staff that will be shed by Telecom during its current restructuring will be “skilled IT workers”, whose skills the communications minister says are in demand.

      First paragraph.

      The comments appear to undermine assurances from Employment Minister Steven Joyce that staff let go by Telecom should find it easy to regain employment.

      Fifth paragraph.

      Just another RWNJ that needs to learn to read.

      • Joe Bloggs 6.1.1

        just another LWNJ who doesn’t know the meaning of the word “all” – used to refer to the whole quantity or entire extent of a particular group.

        Just in case you missed the point, Joyce never claimed that every Telecom worker to be made redundant was a programmer. QED, the statement made above is bullshit.

        • Galeandra 6.1.1.1

          No, just overstated. But if it pushes your buttons, feel free to win the battle while losing the war.
          Bonus point if you can explain the Latin phrase the acronym refers to without using wikipedia.

          • Joe Bloggs 6.1.1.1.1

            quod erat demonstrandum, motherfucker. The mathematician’s way of saying “SNAP, bitch!”

            as for overstatements, you’re clearly in a better place than I to comment on that. But thank you for acknowledging my point.

            • felix 6.1.1.1.1.1

              Or in this case the pedant’s way of saying “nyah nyah nyah nyah”

            • One Tāne Huna 6.1.1.1.1.2

              While you’re dancing around on that pinhead, here’s the NBR quoting Joyce on the Telecom layoffs:

              “Development Minister Steven Joyce says the ICT job shortage means the market will take care of things.”

              “Steven Joyce thought that they’d all be programmers” works for me.

              But nice derail. Wanna talk about the topic of the OP, which provides evidence of Ministers of the Crown either telling blatant, easily refuted lies, or perhaps giving evidence of their own delusional bias?

  7. xtasy 7

    I love BULLSHIT!

    I honestly do, it is the best thing in the world, if you only would know how to use it.

    Having grown up on a farm, “bullshit” and “other shit” was common place, common fare, common fertiliser. Of course when farming gets too intensive, the nitrate levels go up, and that is where issues start. So that will need to be addressed, and it is being addressed, but like other countries, NZ is still in the early phase of developing systems to minimise environmental harm.

    What concerns me most is, that any advances will likely be used to design more intensive farming in a “smart” way, so that the same pollution will be allowed by using more cows, cattle, sheep or whatever. It is the argument between minimalisation and maximisation. So the balance between resource, environment and output is likely to be tilted towards more output with the same pollution.

    If that is an achievement, we will have virtually NO achievement. But then again, that is about where this government leads us to.

    AND while I was thinking AGAIN of BULLSHIT, of the other type, really, I was really meaning, hey, that BS is exactly the fertile stuff our government delivers us. You will soon find that any capable opposition will flourish on such BS, as it will be fertile grounds to grow something new and better from. There is a chance, I wonder if somebody will use it.

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    Submissions on National's corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law are due today (have you submitted?), and just hours before they close, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has been forced to release the list of companies he invited to apply. I've spent the last hour going through it in an epic thread of bleats, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    10 hours ago
  • On Lee’s watch, Economic Development seems to be stuck on scoring points from promoting sporting e...
    Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    11 hours ago
  • New Zealand has never been closed for business
    1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    12 hours ago
  • Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    14 hours ago
  • Melissa Lee and the media: ending the quest
    Chris Trotter writes –  MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    16 hours ago
  • The Hoon around the week to April 19
    TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    16 hours ago
  • The ‘Humpty Dumpty’ end result of dismantling our environmental protections
    Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five 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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    17 hours ago
  • Nicola's Salad Days.
    I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    17 hours ago
  • Study sees climate change baking in 19% lower global income by 2050
    TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    18 hours ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-April-2024
    It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Simms on some lessons from Texas. AT’s ...
    19 hours ago
  • Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  The data is from February this ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    20 hours ago
  • Clearing up confusion (or trying to)
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    22 hours ago
  • How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log iPhone Without Computer
    How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A StepbyStep Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and thirdparty applications. So, lets dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. Thats why they introduced the Recently Deleted folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Heres how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the Recents tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on Edit. Select Show Recently Deleted. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose Recover to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Heres how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose Erase All Content and Settings. Follow the onscreen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose Restore from iCloud Backup during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore ThirdParty Apps (with Caution): ...
    23 hours ago
  • How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
    Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
    1 day ago
  • How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
    Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
    Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
    1 day ago
  • Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    1 day ago
  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    1 day ago
  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    1 day ago
  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    1 day ago
  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    1 day ago
  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    1 day ago
  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    1 day ago
  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    1 day ago
  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    1 day ago
  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    2 days ago
  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    2 days ago
  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    2 days ago
  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    2 days ago
  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago
  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    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 ...
    3 days ago
  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    3 days ago
  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    4 days ago
  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    4 days ago
  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    5 days ago
  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
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  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
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    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
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    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
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    2 days ago
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  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
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    3 days ago
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    3 days ago
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    4 days ago
  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
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    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
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    4 days ago
  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
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    4 days ago
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    5 days ago
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    5 days ago
  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
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    5 days ago
  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
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    1 week ago
  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
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  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
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  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
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    1 week ago
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  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
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    1 week ago
  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
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