National announces terms of reference for its election campaign review

Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, November 24th, 2020 - 62 comments
Categories: covid-19, election 2020, Judith Collins, national, same old national, Simon Bridges, todd muller - Tags:

So National wants to work out what went wrong during the last election.

From Radio New Zealand:

The National Party has announced its terms of reference for a review into its 2020 election campaign.

The review will be done by five panel members including former party president Judy Kirk and former National minister Kate Wilkinson.

It will look at preparations for the campaign, including candidate selection, the narrative, and the caucus’ performance.

“There is no doubt that 2020 was a difficult year for the National Party, and we would be foolish not to comprehensively review every aspect of our approach to the campaign and our work throughout the last term of Parliament. Our party membership rightly expects this, and we will deliver on it,” party president Peter Goodfellow said.

“We are committed to utilising the review results to help shape this next term, to carry out the work and changes required to position the party well into the future, and to ensure these improvements are implemented for the 2023 campaign itself.”

The review terms of reference will examine:

  • Preparations throughout the three-year term by all elements of the party, including candidate selection and Caucus performance
  • The election campaign including the political environment, strategy, narrative and execution
  • The strategic internal, social, and economic challenges and opportunities facing the National Party in the next term
  • Improvement recommendations for the next three years and the 2023 campaign

“The review panel are asked to focus on areas that the party has or could have control over and can effect positive change on. The panel has a wide mandate to seek inputs from individuals within, and external to, the party as they feel appropriate and are also asked to explore any areas they deem important …”

I am pretty confident they will not accept my advice but can I say their candidate selection was appalling.  Instead of going for local candidates who were known and actually had a degree of cut through they chose a bunch of wide boys.  Previous wide boy selections blew up.  It was almost inevitable.

Instead of seeking diversity and trying to look like New Zealand of the 2020s they went for the 1960s country party look.  They have really gone backward from the hey day of John Key where they had a significant number of token ethnic candidates.

Caucus performance was horrendous.  I have written multiple posts about National’s loyalty problem in the last three years and the incidence of leaking and undermining of the leader, whoever it was, was a wonder to behold.   Believe me I lived through Labour in 2014.  National was similar but far more brutal and far more divided.

The political environment admittedly sucked.  Going into competition with an administration that actually protected the country from the ravages of Covid and kept it out was always a tough call.  Especially when the likes of Trump and Johnson were so goddam awful and this was reinforced by the daily infection rate and the daily death rate.

The big missing aspect of the review is any mention of the environment.  Social and economic challenges get mentioned.  But environmental challenges don’t get a look in.  It is as if climate change does not exist.

If I was National I would invite them to publicly acknowledge the mess they have made of Aotearoa New Zealand, the damage they have caused to our environment through their farming friendly policies and their refusal to do something meaningful about climate change as well as their road fetish.  They should acknowledge that their attacks on the trade union movement has made us all worse off and entrenched poverty in New Zealand.  They should indicate that we are all equal, that diversity is great, and that we should not be measured by the size of our bank balances.  They should admit that their refusal to do anything about the housing crisis has plunged Auckland in particular into chaos and there is a new generation of kiwi kids who will permanently suffer from the consequences.

And they should ask for forgiveness.

I hope they take this submission into account.  Somehow I don’t think they will.

62 comments on “National announces terms of reference for its election campaign review ”

  1. Incognito 1

    Sir John Key said this:

    We have to go back and win Labour's votes.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/11/greens-co-leader-marama-davidson-reacts-to-national-leader-judith-collins-bizarre-diversity-theory.html

    It lays bare National’s problem and they can’t see it.

    • roy cartland 1.1

      From the Newshub story:

      Collins:

      "I thought it was reasonably well received by the delegates. There was tremendous support given at the conference for all the speeches there. The other thing is, we have 550 delegates in a year when we had a terrible loss like that and a really hard year. It was an enormous support for the National Party and I think it was an outstanding AGM, frankly."

      Oh dear. Reminds me of someone:

      https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1325099845045071873

      “I WON BY A LOT!!!!!”

    • swordfish 1.2

      .

      Given the massive chasm between Lab & Nat (and Left / Right Bloc) vote numbers … they need to pull off the difficult feat of winning back the vast majority of 2020 National deserters … those on the ideological Right who swung to ACT (around 160 k) & the huge bloc of Centrist-Pragmatists who moved to Labour (about 270 k) … plus a sizeable chunk of those who defected from Blue to Red back in 2017 (106 k) …. all the while, if possible, making inroads into the former NZF support-base & hoping a segment of disenchanted Labour voters swing into Non-Voting.

      It's a big ask …a popular Leader who can compete with Ardern is crucial … but also (like Brash between 2002-05) they really need to find an Elephant-in-the-Room issue that galvanises a very diverse range of voters, drawing all those deserters back to the mothership … If Ardern could see her way clear to leaving for a prestigious position on the International stage … then the Nats would certainly be much obliged, Guvn’r.

      • swordfish 1.2.1

        .
        Note: Technically, of course, winning back defectors to ACT isn't crucial for National's electoral prospects … all part of the Right Bloc … but National voters are nothing if not biiiig FPP-supporters & genuinely believe the largest Party deserves to form Government. They really need to get back to well over the 40% mark to remain credible.

      • Incognito 1.2.2

        Yes, good points, thank you.

        I could unpack my comment and write a Post about of >600 words, at least. Too busy at work though 🙁

  2. tc 2

    More of the same please.

    Toxic leadership, conspiracy promotion, faux christianity, broad based insults and the ever present dirty politics.

  3. AB 3

    Lots of talk from talking heads about 'disunity' being the problem. Which is an interesting little bit of self-deception – stopping at a particular point in the causal chain that suits the narrative. The issue with that explanation, is that the loss of support from the public preceded the disunity – Bridges' poor poll results triggered the infighting and descent into farce. So the real problem lies earlier than the disunity. Basically through about March-May, pretty much everything coming out of the National Party showed that that would have cocked up the Covid response – not locked down properly, prioritised an abstraction called 'the economy' over people's wellbeing, tried to maintain the flow of profits to their supporters and donors, and had us looking like the UK.

    The real cause therefore was the fundamental inability of right-wing ideology to deal with a crisis that required collective action, a reversal of the logic of continuous and uninterruptable capital accumulation, and the equalisation of all people as having the same intrinsic value. There is nothing National can 'fix' here and still be National.

    • Patricia Bremner 3.1

      AB, The rot set in when the public learned of Whaleoil and Collins treatment of Blomfield, Ede and company in Key's Office Dirty Politics, Key's "Hats" (only one he did not have was one like Muller's) then followed by the Bridges Jaimie Lee Ross saga.

      Goodfellow was there for all of that and everything that followed and is still there with Collins…. More of the same expected.

      Yet he says JA is the cause Lol!! Self Deception is a kind description.

    • Duncan 3.2

      The National Party are united when they are winners and in disarray as losers. When they are losing some heads need to be put on pikes.

      So poor poll results mean some might not get the gold plated salary so here comes disunity.

      The reason given for electing Goodfellow was "he's a good little fundraiser". Nothing else. You would be amazed at the grubby deals going on behind the scenes between the National Party and NZ's richest families as the "fundraising" kicks off.

      For the Nats it's all about money and retaining power so they can disseminate their version of evil.

      Let's hope Labour are not heading down the same path.

  4. Stuart Munro 4

    The search for local candidates makes a lot of sense – diversity though, is not a carte blanche as the Greens seem to be about to discover in the person of a certain outspoken fool. Those who left the Gnats are likely pragmatists, and it is probably pragmatism that would be National's path to eventual recovery, if they ever shed enough deadwood to bother reforming.

  5. observer 5

    Their review is doomed from the start because they are incapable – really, mentally, physically incapable – of saying "Ardern is very good at what she does, and obviously so much better at this politics business than we are".

    As long as they have that mental block then it's a waste of time. They are National, the decision-makers, leaders, sleeves rolled up, economy managers, titans. She is just a fluffy little thing, and can't possibly have won the election for any reason except the stupidity of the deluded voters, which means they are really the ones to blame, and so National aren't.

  6. joe90 6

    Previous wide boy selections blew up. It was almost inevitable.

    Wide boys to dodgy AF boy blunders.

    https://twitter.com/WorriedOf/status/1330741801326571520

  7. Jack 7

    National are always behind the persistent, inevitable, wave of social change. They instinctively want yesterday not tomorrow. This will always be their fundamental problem. NZ society will continue to move beyond their grasp.

  8. Phillip ure 8

    I thought there was a brief opening of nationals' very own overton window @ about the time of the toppling of bridges…while puzzled they did not elect the woman who beat ardern twice previously…to me she was the obvious choice…but her as deputy..and being the most 'liberal' of the tories I saw her as getting national 'real' on issues like the environment…('cos for national to continue in the long term – and being aware how they came from the ashes of two other parties of their ilk.. you'd think..?)…anyway..they need to realise that the environment is a non-ideological issue now…and they need to green-up…and I thought if they got that sorted…their chances would increase..and I would submit their loss would not have been as precipitous as it was….but anyway..muller then imploded…and with that the overton-window snapped shut again..and they swung furiously back to the right..which clearly did not work for them….so they can continue as now..and shrink into country party status…'cos clearly for national to become more relevant they have to swing back to the centre…(and as an aside) in fact looking further down the track you could see act/nats/labour/greens/maori party as roughly equal in levels of support/mp's..

    • solkta 8.1

      Your comments are hideous to try and read. I won't bother with that one.

      • Phillip ure 8.1.1

        still cleaving to the capital-letter..?

        • Phillip ure 8.1.1.1

          dunno about you..but I think it all went south when we stopped using whorls around those capital letters..eh..?

        • solkta 8.1.1.2

          Fuck: capital letters, commas, full stops, sentences, paragraphs. I really don't understand why you prefer to appear illiterate.

          • The Al1en 8.1.1.2.1

            I admit I gave up on that in line two. Not even the Gibberish Translator would help.

          • Phillip ure 8.1.1.2.2

            Try reading it out loud…I write for the ear…not so much for the eye..

            • Andre 8.1.1.2.2.1

              Nope. It's no clearer that way.

              Maybe you could try sentences and paragraphs?

            • Robert Guyton 8.1.1.2.2.2

              Then you have a fine writing style…for radio…

            • solkta 8.1.1.2.2.3

              It sounds maybe more retarded. There is a reason we have punctuation.

              • Phillip ure

                The same reason there was for whorls ..wha' happened..?

                • solkta

                  Hmmm, i'm starting to think you are not trying to sound like an idiot.

                  • Phillip ure

                    It is a fact that sentences packed together into paragraphs was because of the imperative of efficiency of use of paper…and capital letters are just a false honorific..especially in names/title..Mr being a sop to/for the lower classes…which reeks of the evils of the class-system…i decided no need for all that nonsense nearly two decades ago..and that frees up language to flow easier…to have more natural rhythmns..I find…but hey..,! if you can't read it..don't try..eh..?

                    [The Moderators here have been making efforts to have commenters use quote marks and block quotes when citing stuff and provide links. They also ask to go light on italics and bold font and only use these to emphasise certain words rather than whole sentences or text strings. Most commenters try to comply with these requests and make an effort to adhere to the basic rules of written English text and for good reason. Unfortunately, you don’t 🙁 However, you’ve been making an effort to engage positively and constructively, mostly, and some of your comments are actually not too bad, I have to say 😉

                    That reminds me, you failed to give a link despite being asked specifically for one by a commenter today. Next time, please respond and give the link, thanks – Incognito]

            • Incognito 8.1.1.2.2.4

              I find it easier to read Morse code.

          • Tricledrown 8.1.1.2.3

            Modernizing the language has always happened and now in the time of texting Twitter tick tock and tinder.

            Simplification of the way the language is put together to communicate has changed and will continue to change.

            The points philip has brought up are accurate and easily understood.

            • Sacha 8.1.1.2.3.1

              Yet people are not getting to read them because of bad formatting. If saving expensive paper is no longer a consideration, then paragraphs make perfect sense. Sentences, even.

              • Phillip ure

                Do you speak in sentences..?..(full-stops and all)..I find speech is more free-form…and the strictures from sentencing words actually inhibit that flow..and I am trying to write as I speak…it's as simple as that..but I do take on board that in longer comments I should give the words more air..

                • Sacha

                  When I wrote radio scripts .. there were plenty of spaces .. to help people read them.

                  There were sentences.

                  There was white space.

                  There was even some emphasis .. so presenters would know how to read what I had written for them.

                  The purpose was communication .. which means being received.

                • solkta

                  If you talk like that then you must be even more irritating in person.

                  • Sacha

                    Body language adds punctuation. Who knows, Mr Ure might have particularly expressive hands or eyelashes?

                    Most of us learn to translate that urge to gesture into a written marker like commas or spaces..

                  • Phillip ure

                    @ solkta.. Heh..!…some would say that..

              • solkta

                I am at a loss as to how using paragraphs would have saved paper. Paragraphs are used to group a set of ideas to make one point. Without them you just have jumbled nonsense.

                • Sacha

                  One space after a para is less than one after each sentence, to be fair. Love seeing historical dramas where the letter paper is so tiny – even for the wealthy.

                  • solkta

                    One space after a para is less than one after each sentence

                    I don't get what you mean. Did they use paragraphs as an alternative to sentences?

                    Traditionally the start of a new paragraph was indented by several spaces, and the space at the end of the preceding paragraph to the side of the page left unused.

                    • Sacha

                      You are right. I was thinking of vertical spacing which would have only come in with the typewriter.

                    • solkta

                      I think vertical spacing was a post-computer improvement. It makes reading paragraphs much easier, particularly for dyslexic people like myself.

                • Phillip ure

                  And to confuse matters even more..when doing more formal writing giving each sentence it's own line..no matter how short/long it is…is a favoured way of writing…

                  the rationale being that you afford that sentence the dignity of its' own line..and that there is no shortage of white space..so no need to jumble/cram sentences together into paragraphs..eh..?

                  (And apologies to the author of this post ..my only defence being 'i didn't start it'..and once said it doesn't need to be said again..)

                  • Sacha

                    See, you do know how to write more understandably.

                  • solkta

                    You can't form an argument like that. How do the sentences relate to each other to form a more complex point?

                    In academic writing essays not only have paragraphs but are also structured into three parts: introduction, body, conclusion. The conclusion should have usually one sentence to refer to the point made in each paragraph of the body. The last sentence or few should pull all the points from each paragraph together to make the overall point. Without paragraphs it would be pointless babble.

            • solkta 8.1.1.2.3.2

              Says a person using sentences. You could have simplified what you wrote by making it one paragraph.

    • Duncan 8.2

      Well ok, but how does that work when Goodfellow and his cronies are among the biggest players in the seafood and dairy industries in NZ.

      You really think they would allow Nikki to be leader.

      I don't think so.

  9. Byd0nz 9

    Leave National alone.

    Let them drown in their toxic swill for fuckin ever.

  10. Phillip ure 10

    I reckon they should lock down brownlee as campaign manager for '23..

  11. ken 11

    They kept Goodfellow and they're taking advice on housing from Key, so we don't need to worry about National for the foreseeable future.

  12. So National wants to work out what went wrong at the last general election. Basically, the party failed to get more seats under MMP than Labour. Main reason for that is Jacinda Ardern did a pretty good job of guiding NZ in troubled times, so people saw no reason to dump her.

    As others have noted, candidate selection was not good either. This is a recurring issue for the Natz. In the 2017 election a farmer who stood for National in Clutha (I think it was) had to drop out of the race becos he was charged with dirty dairying offences.

    Wish I'd been a fly on the wall when the party apparatchiks came around to tell him he was damaged goods.

    Good point Micky about the failure to tackle environment problems. National's interference with Environment Canterbury tells you all you need to know.

  13. Chris T 13

    Labour went though the same shit for 3 elections, and they managed to sort it out.

  14. Lettuce 14

    Bring back Boag 2023!

  15. peter lepaysan 15

    There is a huge age demographic shift going on among the active voters. Labour has been out of power for so long in the last 60 or so years. There are two generations of voters who are sceptical enough to question the natz self entitled "born to rule" attitude. A lot of the so called "boomers" (media laziness in search of a headline) are less interested in politics if they are comfortably well off.

    The ones reliant on superannuation solely lurk in the shadows. The younger generations are looking ahead at wtf and the natz keep banging on about the "economy" and "business" and "profits".

    If the so called "business sector" ( the corner dairy and Bezos?) got together the natz would sort it out?

    The natz rely and support BIG business and try to bamboozle the rest into thinking they know best.

    A Wall Street trader should lead NZ? C'mon, get real. We tried that. He quit, they know when to and leave the suckers behind.

    It will be interesting to see if an ex chief executive of air nz rescues us.

    How much CO2 does any aeroplane leave in the atmosphere? We rely on tourism?

    OBTW I am too old to be a boomer. They were born post WW2. I arrived somewhat earlier.

  16. Henry Filth 16

    Just as dog-owners are supposed to come to physically resemble their dogs, do political party caucuses come to physically resemble their donors?

  17. Ad 17

    If New Zealand were the United States of America now, National would be legally challenging the results and would have had a meltdown in front of the cameras, continue to refuse to concede, actively foment the population to rise up against the Ardern government, glue all the locks within Parliament, remove the heads of the military and intelligence agencies, prepare to form their own online TV and radio station that consistently sought to eradicate the Treaty of Waitangi and deny welfare payments to the unemployed, encouraging all Councils to be out on the streets opposing mask-wearing, and then after playing days of golf Judith Collins would come out in praise of real estate agents and stockbrokers.

    Which makes even Kiwiblog writers look rational.

    • Incognito 17.1

      Where were you in 2017?

      National won the Election but screwed up missed out forming a Government.

      They never got over it and that definitely includes KB.

      They should start their review at the 2017 Election.

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    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    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
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    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. ...
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    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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  • 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 ...
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  • 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 ...
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    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 ...
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    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
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    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 ...
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  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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