Mothers of the Revolution

Written By: - Date published: 6:16 pm, November 20th, 2021 - 41 comments
Categories: Donald Trump, kremlinology, military, us politics, war - Tags:

Inspiring NZ in-cinema premiere of this NZ -made movie about the amazing women of Greenham Common at the Wellington Film Festival today. Their years-long protest led directly to the INF treaty, a major advance in nuclear safety. It’s well worth seeing – a timely reminder in light of today’s news about NATO moving nuclear missiles around Eastern European nations on Russia’s borders.

The trailer for the movie is here. It is distributed on-line by Universal Pictures and is available on all the usual channels.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was an arms control treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev signed the treaty on 8 December 1987. One of the Greenham Common women claims in the movie that their sustained activity was the reason Gorbachev felt he could sign the treaty as he could trust them at least. Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the treaty in 2018 and this was completed in 2019.

The world is not a safer place because of this. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than it has ever been. Military escalation on the Russian border and the China coast, coupled with escalation in the condemnatory rhetoric that is the historical prelude to war, mean that the lessons and the legacy of the women of Greenham Common, most notably their willingness to speak up and take action are needed now more than ever.

Global warming is not the only civilisation-ending danger we face.

 

41 comments on “Mothers of the Revolution ”

  1. alwyn 1

    It isn't The Bulletin of American Scientists. It is The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

  2. Byd0nz 2

    For all the anti nuclear debates and protests over the years against nuclear weapons, anti war or whatever. Who listens, not the mad Generals in the pentagon or their British bulldog lackeys, nor the illegal Israelis with their own nuclear crap ability.

    The Americans tear up or ignore international treaties and with the paper tiger Nato pouring American weapons to surround Russia, who in turn have to upgrade their crap in counter mode. So all in all the protests show that the powers that be don’t give a shit about people who have a genuine grievance about war machines that contribute to the depletion of resources but add to global warming. The end is nigh sayers may well be correct in the dire warnings they have professed for so long.

    A world without money could solve it, but alas, that is but a dream.

  3. Ad 3

    All that was 40 years ago this year.

    The most substantial protest we face – today as we speak – is by thousands of farmers and rural people opposing water regulation.

    Seems the focus of protest has shifted somewhat.

    • francesca 3.1

      When you consider who is backing the groundswell protests and their strange , often with an American flavour , bedfellows, the notion of nuclear free NZ may very well be under threat.

      Just look at who sees fit to fund the Taxpayers Union

      A kind of regime change effected by amplifying and combining whatever nutty ant -govt sensibilities are out there.

      Just imagine a new govt, much more closely aligned to right wing US elements and we could have nuclear free ditched by lunchtime, just in time to become a de facto naval base for the US war against China

      • Ad 3.1.1

        For such an apparent internationally organised conspiracy, TV1 isn't covering it all, NZHerald and Stuff see it as minor, and none have warranted any governmental response at all.

        Latest breaking news NZ | Stuff.co.nz | New Zealand

        Seriously if a government this dominant in power can't weather a few tractors up the street, they'd need the proverbial cup of concrete.

        • lprent 3.1.1.1

          Besides which they have been so incoherent as protesters that it is hard to know what in the hell they are actually protesting about.

          Which appears to be what is making groundswell become nutswell (sounds like a very bad disease) as "Farmers pull away from Groundswell protests as messaging gets tied in with anti-Government movement"

          Groundswell organisers Bryce McKenzie and Laurie Patterson anticipated it, issuing a list of “approved messages”. None of them include “Freedom”, “MAGA [Make Ardern Go Away]” or “Media Treason”; all evident in the march on Parliament last week.

          “Enough is Enough” is allowable on a list of 15 possibilities, as are “No Farmers, No Food”, and “No 3 Waters”.

          and predictably..

          But at Sunday’s Mother of All Protests, the allowable list was not stuck to.

          Trump supporter flags were flown, as well as signs that described New Zealand’s current situation as being ‘apartheid’.

          Several cars on Auckland’s Queen St beared signs of “Trump” and MAGA – a play on former American President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan. Racist signs were also used.

          It is kind of hard to take Nutswell seriously.

          Perhaps the farmers concerned could just raise their issues with government in a coherent manner. Preferably after looking at what problems that the government polices, that they are objecting, were made and come up with some alternatives to deal with them.

          After all climate change methane issues and water degradation have been on the table for decades – and the effect our farmers have on those has gotten dramatically worse over those decades by total quantity if only because of the farming intensification.

          Of course if they persist then the food production will eventually tail off. Water pollution and extreme weather from climate shifts are both primary vectors for destroying farming productivity within short periods – and both are increasing.

          However it seems to me that this group of farmers have a extremely short-term view and in my view seem to live with their heads firmly pushed up the rectum of another their next idiot peer living in the mythical past.

          • Ad 3.1.1.1.1

            Indeed they could seek to influence the working group between government and local government and iwi that's already going on, and after that they could actually do thinking and generating a clause-by-clause response in Submissions, like good advocates have done for a century.

          • Poission 3.1.1.1.2

            Water pollution and extreme weather from climate shifts are both primary vectors for destroying farming productivity within short periods – and both are increasing.

            Climate shifts are bounded by the dominant weather systems ( called attractors in maths) here in NZ the dominant weather systems are the southern annular mode and the ENSO complex system.

            SAM is the largest weather pattern on the planet in terms of redistribution of mass,ENSO is second both of which outweigh other patterns in terms of precipitation changes in NZ.

            https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/20/21/2007jcli1430.1.xml

            Current thinking (the consensus) is that changes in the SAM is dominated by ozone depletion,and that changes implemented under the montreal protocol will both reverse and cancel changes by GHG forcing in the next half century.

            https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/qj.2330

            • lprent 3.1.1.1.2.1

              Seems like a very limited way of looking at it. To be precise they appear to look at the meteorological history rather than the geological history of similar periods.

              You’ll note that the first paper you referenced was from 2007 and references climate models from the 1990s and early 2000s (somewhere in the dark ages of climate analysis) to explain historical patterns over the past 200 years. It makes no attempt to incorporate the effects of increased energy from greenhouse gases.

              If I read this correctly it would not explain the rapid and now nearly biannual switches between ENSO in recent years. 10 shifts in 200 years doesn’t exactly marry up with the every two years we are now getting. Nor the recent increased variability in the strength of the SAM. I’d say that this is paper was a excellent historical piece that hasn’t dated well and just doesn’t correlate current climate patterns.

              As for the 2014 abstract. Hard to tell since I can’t read the paper. But again that looks very dated and focuses mostly on the limited meteorological record rather than the geological record.

              But I suspect that if it was written today that the authors might be interested in the last few decades of fluctuations in the northern polar jetstreams. They too were as stable as the SAM jetstreams two decades ago. These days with the thinning and gradual reduction in summer extent of the northern sea ice sheets, they’re now moving their amplitude far further south. Just on the face of it, I think that authors are under-estimating the relationship between cause and effect. Warming water thins and melts summer ice sheets even more than insolation effects. That hasn’t shown up in old meteorological data because polar water temperatures has only become measurable recently and obviously observable in the north over the last decade.

              And that is before you look at the geological sea strata research coming out of Antarctica from previous retreats of the ice sheets which indicate that they can take mere decades when there are changes in water temperatures. Ummm – recent report on the geological research that has been looking at this in Antarctica.

              Gawd I really hate reading climate papers based on a steady state of a really tiny time series of data (like 200 years of met data and 40 years of satellite observations) and then trying to use that as a basis for predicting the future.

              When you’re looking at climate change, it is really important to look at what is possible and you find that in the geological record. Because that is where you see Murphy at work. If something is possible, then at some stage over the last 4 billion or so years – it has already happened. When you find out what caused it it, then you have an idea of what to look for.

              For instance when earths magnetic field flips or the magnetic pole moves around at ever increasing speed (like it is doing now), this has extreme effects on the ozone and energy isolation on specific places. Yet as far as I am aware we don’t see the kinds of massive climatic effects in the geological that the 2014 paper implies should happen. Why not?

        • DukeEll 3.1.1.2

          It’s odd. The vehemence of these protestors is something new, yet most individually (Brian Tamarind excluded) are somewhat sensible.

          I don’t recall ever seeing “worst pm ever signs” affixed to cars during Key or Clarke’s reign at the top.

          • Ad 3.1.1.2.1

            Really? You missed the late 1970s, late 1980s and entire 1990s?

            Back in the day …

            • DukeEll 3.1.1.2.1.1

              Back in the day stories are like golf stories.

              no one enjoys them unless you were there and you are the one telling the story

          • Graeme 3.1.1.2.2

            Helen Clark got exactly the same right wing misogynistic response.

            I watched the business owner next to us lose his shit, his business and his relationship due to Helen derangement syndrome. All his problems were due to THAT WOMAN….

            I hope this current lot don't follow the same trajectory, it's messy.

            • Anne 3.1.1.2.2.1

              "Helen Clark got exactly the same right wing misogynistic response."

              Yes she did but the tactics were a bit different. They spread sick stories about her and her husband through the right-wing underground network – Dirty Politics – which eventually surfaced online and in the more disreputable tabloids

              They tried it on Jacinda with the sick "nanny" story but it flopped, so its in your face noisy road raging protests. They appear to only represent a fraction of the rural community – the Neanderthal end.

              Its no coincidence Helen Clark and Jacinda Ardern have been the most derided NZ prime minsters ever. They're women and they're Labour. That is what it is all about.

              • alwyn

                "Helen Clark and Jacinda Ardern have been the most derided NZ prime minsters ever".

                I really don't believe that has any basis in truth. The derision aimed at them is no different to what was thrown in John Key's direction.

                None of it compares with what was aimed at Robert Muldoon. Have you heard any widespread derision along the lines of "Piggy Ardern" thrown at the current PM?

                • Anne

                  Muldoon? I know as much about the Muldoon years as you do. Maybe more. Piggy Muldoon was often used as a term of endearment. It effectively became his nickname and one I am sure he enjoyed.

                  • alwyn

                    "one I am sure he enjoyed".

                    He most certainly did not enjoy it. However, as an intelligent man, he was very well aware that there was no use complaining about it.

                • bwaghorn

                  Yeah but, key was a main player in the dirty politics era of national, and a borderline sexual abuser of waitress and kids hair fiddler, so he deserved derision!

                  That said I'm a little embarrassed by my period of kds

              • RedLogix

                They appear to only represent a fraction of the rural community – the Neanderthal end.

                Having both Maori and Neanderthal genes I've not yet decided whether as an indigenous 'first owner' to claim my fraction of our iwi tribal land – or the whole of the fucking planet.devil

                • alwyn

                  Please bear with me but isn't the following true?

                  Neanderthals coexisted with Homo Sapiens rather than one preceding the other. Thus having, as a very large percentage of the population does, some Neanderthal DNA doesn't make you a "First Owner". It just means that someone in your far past lineage indulged in a little hanky-panky with someone of a slightly different but coexisting species.

                  Sorry bud but that doesn't make you anymore of a first species that someone whose ancestors stuck rather boringly to the straight and narrow path.

              • Graeme

                I wouldn't say that it's a fraction of the rural community that's into Groundswell. From my vantage it's quite widespread. But solidarity is very strong in the Farmers Union, more than any 70's Trade Union in NZ. It takes a lot of courage to question, and those that do are swiftly shouted down or worse.

                But the true colours of Groundswell and it's supporters / hangers on is starting to show and there might be some sense prevail. Their wives are having something to say about some of the attitudes coming out.

          • weka 3.1.1.2.3

            Brian Tamarind 😂

    • Julian Richards 3.2

      Yip, dull angry sloganised farming protests.

      Plant a tree and smile in protest.

  4. DukeEll 4

    Putin seems to think he can achieve through a divided west what nuclear power can’t… the restablishment of a client state buffer in Eastern Europe. Pity the poor ukranian people.

    • In Vino 4.1

      Given that the USA immediately after WW2 did nothing but set up buffer states against Russia with Marshall aid, why should Russia have no leeway from you?

      These protestors are hardly the intelligentsia. (Make Ardern Go Away. Really? How terribly eloquent!)

      • alwyn 4.1.1

        The Marshall Plan actually offered aid to all the countries in Europe, including Russia and all the countries in the Eastern Bloc that were under Russian domination.

        Stalin refused to take part in the scheme. He apparently took the view, probably correctly, that economic integration with the West would allow Eastern Bloc countries to escape Soviet control.

        • In Vino 4.1.1.1

          Of course there were strings attached – to secure loyalty to Western system. I doubt that the USA ever expected Stalin to sign up. The effect is what matters, and along with special aid to the Japanese, it resulted in the USSR being surrounded by countries with wealthy, Western-style economies. How convenient.

          • ghostwhowalksnz 4.1.1.1.1

            Tito after his break with Stalin in 1948 did accept military and economic aid from US .

            It had no discernable effect on Yugoslavia staying as a Leninist single party state

          • DukeEll 4.1.1.1.2

            Lol, “wealthy western-style economies”

            you almost make it sound like a bad thing.

      • DukeEll 4.1.2

        They’re probably quite proud of not being of the intelligentsia.

        especially when it talks down to them as if being of lower intelligence and then criticises them for not being part of the “intelligent” class. Like you just did

      • Gosman 4.1.3

        You think the French were a client state of the US post WWII do you?

  5. RedLogix 5

    Going on 80 years of nuclear weapons – and still no major power war. Clearly deterrence has worked, although everyone recognises it as a Faustian bargain.

    The logic however is inescapable – they will not and cannot be uninvented. Anyone serious who does not yet have them, could likely make a useable one by lunchtime. eg Taiwan. The risk is not the weapon, it is nation states or entities who are either so weak they have no other option, or nothing left to lose.

    There is only one possible path out of this bind – and it is the same one taken by humanity from the first day two competing, warring clans found a way, usually by marriage, to become a single larger tribe united under one leader. History is mostly this story repeating over, with variation for colour.

    • Gosman 5.1

      Agreed on the deterrence front. I remember in the mid 1980's that anti-nuclear groups used to argue that no arms race ever ended without a major war occuring. That was shgown to be false by the outcome of the Cold War. The US forced the Soviets to back down and ensured no major conflict occurred between the two Superpowers at the time.

  6. Castro 6

    Pangolin dog, Wu Mao Mike?

    [lprent: Idiot. Banned for two years. You were previously warned about this after you were previously banned for five months for the same thing.

    I guess that you are compensating for something – certainly seems like it from your piss-poor track record at writing anything that reads as being an adult with even vaguely coherent ideas.

    I won’t speculate about what you are compensating any more than I did on the last note. Suffice it to say that you appear to have worn out your welcome here as well for the moment. Try reading the policy before you come back because I really can’t be bothered dealing with pathetic recidivist dimwitted dickheads like you. ]

  7. Gosman 7

    Why would Gorbachev need to trust a bunch of female protesters who had no effective political base?

  8. Obtrectator 8

    The film ought to be shown as a double feature alongside Threads. (I seem to remember reading – sorry, LP, can't find confirmation on-line – that it may have been seeing the latter which helped prompt Mr Gorbachev's efforts to dial back somewhat on stockpiling nuclear weapons.)

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    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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