No mates Simon

Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, February 7th, 2020 - 86 comments
Categories: jacinda ardern, Maori Issues, maori party, Maori seats, national, Politics, racism, racism, same old national, Simon Bridges - Tags:

The repercussions from Simon Bridges’ disastrous Waitangi performance continue to reverberate.

He did not show up for Waitangi Day itself an chose to mark that most important of National days by engaging in some dog whistling.

From Charlie Dreaver at Radio New Zealand:

National Party leader Simon Bridges has added the Waitangi Tribunal to the list of what he thinks New Zealand should eventually do away with.

He said at Waitangi this week that he and his party believed Māori electorate seats should eventually go.

Bridges cited the Royal Commission in 1986, which proposed that if the country adopted the MMP system, it should abolish the Māori electorates.

That logic still stood, he said.

“We have more Māori in Parliament today than in a very long time under a MMP environment, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to impose that. In fact, the reality of the situation we are in New Zealand at the moment is that it is a long time coming.

“It does have to be with Māori, with iwi there does have to be consultation, you would need to see Māori voices realistically proposing that the time has come,” he said.

Bridges said the same may also be true for the Waitangi Tribunal.

“When we have moved past grievance, which I hope all New Zealanders would like to see at some point in time and those historic[al] issues with settlements have been full and final, you do have to say what is the role of the Waitangi Tribunal?” he said.

While many people would say a new, updated role for the tribunal should be found, Bridges said that was not his view.

His Waitangi Tribunal comments are disappointing.  The Tribunal reports represent some of the most important jurisprudence that the country has.

And Article 2 created an ongoing responsibility for the Crown to ensure Māori enjoys “the unqualified exercise of their chieftainship over their lands, villages and all their treasures”.  The obligation does not extinguish.  Ensuring that guaranteed rights under the Tribunal are respected could provide the Tribunal with business for generations to come.

As for the Māori seats when Māori elect in sufficient numbers to go onto the general electoral roll then perhaps their future can be reviewed.  Until then they should stay.  Which is what he sort of said when he said “you would need to see Māori voices realistically proposing that the time has come”.  But the dog whistle had clearly been blown by then.

Bridges’ rhetoric has put the Māori Party into a difficult situation.  And they have responded by indicating it is more likely they will side with Labour if elected.

From Jo Moir at Radio New Zealand:

National Party leader Simon Bridges has talked about a resurgent Māori Party as a potential ally, but it may not have a willing partner, with the Māori Party President Che Wilson indicating a strong preference for Labour.

“We’re clear that our people align more to Labour and so we are open to having a conversation with Labour.

“If we ever do talk to National it will have to be a big deal for us to move that way again,” Wilson said.

“The perception and reputation by aligning with National affected us.”

“It kicked us out and so it would have to be a pretty impressive package for us to consider it,” he said.

This is an important development.  There is talk of John Tamihere running in Tamaki Makaurau for the Māori Party.  Their willingness to openly discuss a relationship with Labour dampens the argument that they should be supported.

I get the feeling this is a finely calibrated play by Bridges to shore up support on the right by engaging in some good old fashioned Maori bashing.  I hope his calibration is wrong.

Because things are changing.  Jacinda Ardern has helped to transform Waitangi Day into something we all can be proud of.

Simon Wilson, who has written some wonderful articles on Waitangi has said this about Waitangi this year:

… things have changed at Waitangi, for the better. The pleasure on people’s faces – all kinds of people – is palpable.

It’s not that race relations, poverty and inequality have been consigned to history. Nor that everything is now sweetness and light. Passions still run high, some higher than ever.

But a space for reflection has been created and, in that space, it’s become clear the loudest people are not always the most passionate people, and anger isn’t the only passion. The sense of respect is strong, the sense of discourse too. Nothing much gets thrown.

If you could get everyone to visit, or if you could bottle the spirit of Waitangi and put it in every town’s water supply, we’d be such a richer country.

I hope that Simon’s dog whistling fails.  Aotearoa New Zealand is far too wonderful a place to be ruined by his Trumpian derived nonsense.

86 comments on “No mates Simon ”

  1. Chris T 1

    It isn't anything Winston hasn't said before.

    In fact she is classic nicking his policy after saying you won't work with him in the vain hope of grabbing some of his voters.

    Pretty desperate stuff tbf

  2. You_Fool 2

    This is all very calculated stuff. Nothing he said can't be spun as good common sense, and so if Labour or the "left" get up n arms then Simon can just point out he didn't mean now for either, but when their job is done. But all the racists hear is that National are on their side. Even this sort of post, which is nice and rational, will help to fuel the "national are common sense and the left are not" sort of response.

    It is sort of sad that we are here in our collective evolution….

  3. Gosman 3

    The concept of the Maori party is ridiculous. If a party formed that purported to represent Anglo-Celtic New Zealanders it would rightly be ridiculed given the diverse range of opinions within the New Zealand Anglo-Celtic community. The Maori Party is really the party of conservative Maori (i.e. those who support the traditional Maori structures). It would be more appropriate to call them the Conservative Iwi party.

    • Robert Guyton 3.1

      The concept of the Act Party is ridiculous.

      Fify.

      • Gosman 3.1.1

        The concept of the ACT party is entirely consistent with a socially liberal and economically individualistic party on the political spectrum. It is no more ridiculous than a socially liberal and economically collectivist party.

        • You_Fool 3.1.1.1

          The idea of a "socially liberal and economically individualistic party" is perfectly fine on the political spectrum. If only we had a party like that….

          Hint: ACT are not that party… they are the party that National put the more radical policies so that they don't have to campaign on them, but can then enact them if they get in on the grounds that they are the cost of coalition building…

          As soon as ACT show they are their own party with their own unique and original ideas then they can claim to be a real party

          • Gosman 3.1.1.1.1

            You have no clue how ACT works as a political party. I assure you National has no impact on what policies ACT decides to promote.

          • veutoviper 3.1.1.1.2

            "As soon as ACT show they are their own party with their own unique and original ideas then they can claim to be a real party"

            Well, not that I am in any way an ACT supporter, I think that Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill – possibly one of the most contentious Bill every before the NZ Parliament and which was passed (69-51) in Nov 2019 – certainly met those criteria!

            And while voting on all stages of the Bill was on the basis of personal not party votes (although NZF and the Greens each block voted), a strident group of National Party MPs were certainly the most vocal against it, filibustering at every stage of its passage through the House. Proportionally, the number of National MPs voting against it was the highest of any Party.

            https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12284982

            Background etc

            https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12285000

            Breakdown of MPs voting

            It remains to be seen whether it will get the numbers to come into force in the referendum on 19 Sept 2020 …

  4. riffer 4

    Nothing new here from National. They've always made it kind of clear that they'd feel better if we did away with Maori altogether. Always makes me laugh when National supporters say to me "why can't we all just be one people?" and I say "excellent idea, let's all be Maori." That doesn't seem to go down too well for some reason.

    Most National voters are all for total assimilation and annihilation of the Maori as a race, albeit it mainly unconscious. After all, "they don't have a racist bone in their body."

    • Chris T 4.1

      "Most National voters are all for total assimilation and annihilation of the Maori as a race, albeit it mainly unconscious."

      WTF?

      • Peter 4.1.1

        It is a bridge too far to say 'most National voters are all for total assimilation and annihilation of the Maori.' There is no proof of that, just a wild guess. Now if Curia were to do a survey amongst National supporters about whether they're for assimilation or annihilation they'd know for sure.

        Incorporating the 'Trumpian derived nonsense' another question could be asked too: 'Do you think all Maori should be behind a wall?' Simon Bridges would be just the type to ask that sort of thing I reckon given the way he operates .

        I wouldn't guess what the result of asking that would be, but from my observations I think that a significant number of National voters would go for that option rather than others. I can imagine the earnest, "No, I wouldn't get rid of them but they should be behind a wall." I should put the suggestion on Kiwiblog to see what happens! No need, I know what'd happen.

      • Gosman 4.1.2

        Because it is okay to label most right wing people in NZ potential genocidal psychopaths if you are left wing it seems.

      • New view 4.1.3

        I’m always amused with statements like you have written here CT. Back it up with some sort of facts or be accepted as the bigot you seem to be. The fact that you feel you know how I think or any one else for that matter shows you to be acting like the mentally challenged individual that you seem to be.

    • Wensleydale 4.2

      I think annihilation is a bit strong. It's more that they want them to sit down, shut up and let the affluent white men in suits run the show. You know, because National is apparently 'the natural party of government'.

      • Gosman 4.2.1

        Oh no, National party supporters aren't genocidal just outright racists. That is much better and therefore again doesn't require any supporting evidence it seems.

        • McFlock 4.2.1.1

          Well, it's not like removing the Māori seats and the Waitangi Tribunal would be sending a message to Māori that they are welcome to keep asserting their rights.

          • Gosman 4.2.1.1.1

            You are assuming that keeping the Maori seats is entirely in the interests of Maori and therefore all Maori support their retention. Simon Bridges has Maori heritage and he does not see any need for them so your assumption is wrong.

            • McFlock 4.2.1.1.1.1

              Your assumption is that bridges is putting the interests of Māori before his personal interests as a politician.

              The concept of Bridges speaking for all Māori is rediculous. If a single pakeha politician were held up as a purported representative of all pakeha it would rightly be ridiculed given the diverse range of opinions within the pakeha community. Someone wrote something similar about the Māori Party upthread, you should maybe have a chat with them, you hypocrite.

        • Chris T 4.2.1.2

          Winston

          "Two Wongs don't make a white"

          Labour

          Lets find us some Asiany sounding last names and blame them for the housing issues, while not bothering to check if they are residents, citizens or born here.

          • Muttonbird 4.2.1.2.1

            In fact the purpose of the exercise was to do exactly that. Link up purchasers with residency status. No data was collected at that point, deliberately in my opinion.

            There was evidently a big difference in the number of house sales to people 'with Asian names' relative to the number of citizens and residents 'with Asian names'.

            Clearly many houses were being bought by offshore interests by proxy and anecdotal evidence supported that.

            This was causing a huge distortion in the NZ market and the National government were deliberatey ignoring it.

            Something bold had to be done and look at the sudden changes made immediately afterward:

            Brightline tests and NZ tax numbers required.

            Thanks Phil!!!

        • Rapunzel 4.2.1.3

          I'm an everday-ish Kiwi from an everyday-ish-Kiwi family & group of friends who has stood in a room in an work environment or wider family gathering & heard derogatory things said about Maori that are completely generalised & far from the truth. In the work place I was able to object but with little effect but I aired my discomfort & lived with the "label" afterwards – I wasn't close enough to any of those people to know their political alliances or even if they had any. On the "family" side I do have a clear picture of how they see the world and their politics. They like anyone are entitled to their opinion, nothing will change that and in deference to those who would be saddened or hurt by seeing family engage in disagreements over our views I prefer to distance myself from the urge to "say something". I have some time back in the past & it was ugly and resolved nothing plus ir was my strong belief that that none of the people being disparaged needed my defending anything because it was generalised rubbish anyway. I've seen these things because it is assumed by those saying it that I will have similar beliefs when it comes to Maori as they do, those experiences told me long ago that right-leaning voters often do hold racist opinions in NZ – a lot of the time they are two-faced about it when they see a reason to beI'm an everday-ish Kiwi from an everyday-ish-Kiwi family & group of friends who has stood in a room in an work environment or wider family gathering & heard derogatory things said about Maori that are completely generalised & far from the truth. In the work place I was able to object but with little effect but I aired my discomfort & lived with the "label" afterwards – I wasn't close enough to any of those people to know their political alliances or even if they had any. On the "family" side I do have a clear picture of how they see the world and their politics. They like anyone are entitled to their opinion, nothing will change that and in deference to those who would be saddened or hurt by seeing family engage in disagreements over our views I prefer to distance myself from the urge to "say something". I have some time back in the past & it was ugly and resolved nothing plus ir was my strong belief that that none of the people being disparaged needed my defending anything because it was generalised rubbish anyway. I've seen these things because it is assumed by those saying it that I will have similar beliefs when it comes to Maori as they do, those experiences told me long ago that right-leaning voters often do hold racist opinions in NZ – a lot of the time they are two-faced about it when they see a reason to be

      • Gosman 4.2.2

        Not even a "In my opinion"

        • McFlock 4.2.2.1

          Reread the first two words.

          • Gosman 4.2.2.1.1

            Yeah. That was in relation to the term annihilation not the rest of the sentiment which is presented as fact not opinion..

            • McFlock 4.2.2.1.1.1

              Except that the entire paragraph follows on from those two words, leaving it as implicit.

              This would be the 11 millionth case where you parse human syntax like a computer rather than a human being, lol

              • Wensleydale

                He's being deliberately obtuse. It's what he does so he can feel justified in riding his tricycle around the thread in feigned outrage.

                I should really know better than to respond at all.

              • Gosman

                It is not implicit. The "I think" was ONLY in relation to the first part of the sentence.

                • Wensleydale

                  No, it wasn't. But what do I know? I'm just the one who wrote it. I bow before your superior wisdom, Gossie.

                • In Vino

                  No, Gosman. You are wrong. 'I think' introduced the entire paragraph.

                  A new paragraph would be needed to break that link.

                  I am a teacher of languages. You are a troll, failing in this case to be clever.

      • McFlock 4.2.3

        I agree. The nat proposal certainly gives the impression that they just want certain people to shut up, and removing Māori representation and legal avenues is one way to do that.

        • Gosman 4.2.3.1

          You are wrong. National has no problem with Maori expressing their views in any way they choose to do so. They just don't think they should have a unique way of doing so in our electoral system. This shouldn't be a controversial view. The Treaty of Waitangi made no mention of special representation within a democratic system merely their rights, culture, and possessions would be protected. There are many ways this can happen.

          • McFlock 4.2.3.1.1

            National has no problem with Maori expressing their views in any way they choose to do so.

            cf:

            They just don't think they should have a unique way of doing so in our electoral system.

            • Gosman 4.2.3.1.1.1

              Yes. They should express their views in the same democratic method as the rest of the population.

              • McFlock

                And yet the WT might be the way they choose to do so.

                • Gosman

                  Do we all have recourse to the WT ? In which case there is nothing wrong with it. If you think we have recourse to it please advise me what I could take to it as a NZ European

                  • McFlock

                    Any prerequisite for this discussion would be a real injustice where Māori violated the Treaty and stole land or resources from your ancestors.

                    Next you'll be complaining that ACC won't give you a wheelchair just because you have full mobility and balance.

          • Sacha 4.2.3.1.2

            The Treaty of Waitangi made no mention of special representation within a democratic system merely their rights, culture, and possessions would be protected.

            Really? How would you describe tino rangatiratanga?

            • solkta 4.2.3.1.2.1

              He's going to pull the english version out of his arse and pretend like he has never discussed these issues before.

            • Muttonbird 4.2.3.1.2.2

              Wiki says:

              The Māori electorates were introduced in 1867 under the Maori Representation Act. They were created in order to give Māori a more direct say in parliament.

              I'd add that Maori electorates were clearly created in order for the Treaty's contents to be brought forward and upheld in a time when they were not.

              What has changed? Warfare between Settlers and Maori is no longer but conservative power-brokers continue to delegitimise Maori taonga with such actions as attempting to eradicate the Maori language, a national language, from the state broadcaster.

              This is the kind of insidious cultural genocide to which riffer clumsily referenced and one which strong Maori representation in parliament guards against.

              • Sacha

                Our Pakeha parliament setting aside 4 Māori seats is hard to see as an expression of tino rangatiratanga.

          • Marcus Morris 4.2.3.1.3

            Had those Maori chiefs who signed the treaty in 1840 had even the slightest notion of what was to happen to them, both socially and politically over the next thirty years I venture to suggest that the Treaty would not have been signed at all or would have looked very different from the document they put their names to. One of the more important policies of our present government is that NZ history will be taught in all schools. As a result it is to be hoped that young students will be exposed to such outrageous injustices as the one quoted below:

            “Prendergast was attorney-general from 1865 to 1875, and then chief justice of the Supreme Court until 1899.

            The Wi Parata case involved a block of land at Porirua, which Ngāti Toa had given to the Anglican church on the understanding a school would be built on it. Though no school was built, the church was later issued a Crown grant to the land.

            Prendergast ruled that the courts lacked the ability to consider claims based on aboriginal or native title. The Treaty of Waitangi was ‘worthless’ because it had been signed ‘between a civilised nation and a group of savages’ who were not capable of signing a treaty. Since the treaty had not been incorporated into domestic law, it was a ‘simple nullity’.

            Though Prendergast’s ruling was essentially based on earlier Court of Appeal decisions, it would be used to justify the alienation of much more Māori land.

            https://nzhistory.govt.nz/the-chief-justice-declares-that-the-treaty-of-waitangi-is-worthless-and-a-simple-nullity

          • woodart 4.2.3.1.4

            gosman apparentley speaks for all national voters, when did you ask them all gosman? please give numbers for proof. ….or sit down and stop being a fool(again)

    • Gosman 4.3

      Can we get some moderators in on this please as it is entirely inappropriate. Even if you want to leave it here surely this person should back up the claim "Most National voters are all for total assimilation and annihilation of the Maori as a race, albeit it mainly unconscious." I know I have been banned for a period for making much less of a claim without supporting evidence.

      • Wensleydale 4.3.1

        Here's some pearls Gossie. Get clutching.

      • Muttonbird 4.3.2

        Truth hurts.

      • RedLogix 4.3.3

        I'm totally with Gosman on this. The statement he is objecting to is not only wrong, it's offensive.

        • Muttonbird 4.3.3.1

          I’m totally with Gosman on this.

          No surprise there.

          It’s not even a little bit true?

          • RedLogix 4.3.3.1.1

            If a similar statement was made about most Labour or Green party voters you'd be justified in being offended. But when a leftie puts the boot in, you think it's wonderful. Hypocrisy.

            I'm actually surprised I have to explain this.

            • Dennis Frank 4.3.3.1.1.1

              I'm actually surprised I have to explain this.

              Fairness: incomprehensible to a partisan, whether left or right. Tribalism makes politics as team sports non-rules-based. Vestiges of civilisation evaporate.

              Why we need deep psychology to decode political behaviour. Tribalism induces death-cult thinking. Hypocrisy never shows up on the internal radar. Win at any cost takes over the mind of the partisan.

              So, despite progress being a shibboleth oft cited by leftists, regress is what the partisan ones actually do. Voters learn to ignore the words and learn from the actions. The more leftists regress, the greater the self-harm. Simple cause & effect. Centrists watch this shit with distaste…

            • WeTheBleeple 4.3.3.1.1.2

              I agree with Gosman. Yes, I just wrote that. Making assumptions about an entire group of people is lazy and nonsensical. The statement offered was also offensive.

              I do think Gosman can be an obtuse troll, but I do not think that makes all of National the same.

            • Muttonbird 4.3.3.1.1.3

              I'd say assimilation (or segregation) is right up there with a significant proportion of National voters.

              Gosman reinforces that with almost every comment he makes. That of 'Maori can celebrate Waitangi Day on their own but don't include the rest of us'. That of 'the Waitangi Tribunal should be abolished'. That of 'Maori shouldn't be spoken on the radio (Brash)'.

              All of these seek to dilute Maori identity and weaken spirit so as to ultimately be homogenised into the wider New Zealand identity – whatever the hell that would look like if Maori culture were weakened and hidden.

              I'm not sure that the people described – generally white, wealthy and right wing realise how much New Zealand culture is intertwined with Maori culture. It literally is our founding event – they just refuse to accept it.

  5. Roflcopter 5

    Some people in here need a reminder that Simon Bridges is Māori.

    Some of the shit above is just pure nasty.

    • Gosman 5.1

      It is beyond nasty. It does highlight the mindset of a number of far left people though.

      • Muttonbird 5.1.1

        Have you seen David Farrar's "Tribute for Waitangi Day"?

        • Gosman 5.1.1.1

          What is your point?

          • Muttonbird 5.1.1.1.1

            It highlights the mindset of a number of far right (and centre right) people.

            • Gosman 5.1.1.1.1.1

              What mindset does it highlight exactly?

              • Muttonbird

                Racism.

                • indiana

                  Was it left or right that came up with the concept of "Chinese sounding" names?

                  • Muttonbird

                    Can you say, "false equivalence"?

                    • RedLogix

                      The post was put up under the name Kokila Patel, which dare I say it is an 'Indian sounding name'. Assuming this person is of colour then it is impossible for them to be racist. By definition.

                • Gosman

                  I think it was a joke at the expense of the authors of Tintin. It was making fun of how Tintin is incredibly political incorrect (read racist) by today's standards. I see no suggestion that it should be taken in any other way.

                  • Muttonbird

                    Impressive somersaults there in trying to justify that cartoon which was posted on a very abrasive right wing blog site not known for it's informed and polite discussion.

                    This is the blog site which had to bring in closed moderation immediately after the Christchurch massacre because there were too many unchecked islamophobic comments getting through previously. Hundreds per day. It was an acceptance by Farrar that his contributors were part of the problem.

                    I see the cartoon for what it is – a dogwhistle to his base to rise up against Maori identity.

                    The comments section proves it.

                  • I Feel Love

                    Err no, there were a couple early books Congo and the Russia one that were even by the times standards were racist (1930s), Herge was incredibly embarrassed by them which is why they weren't republished in book form. After that he was very careful about research and sensitivity. There were issues that he kept working through occupation during WW2, but Herge was not a racist. So stick that tired trope where the sun don't shine buddy.

                • Gosman

                  Do you think this is racist?

                  https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/land-of-the-long-white-cloud/story/2018721665/land-of-the-long-white-cloud-episode-7-cook-thinks-again

                  It was funded by taxpayers dollars and it has been promoted by our State owned Radio broadcaster.

    • Wensleydale 5.2

      Based on his performance at Waitangi, Simon Bridges needs a reminder that Simon Bridges is Maori.

      • Gosman 5.2.1

        Is there an official body deciding who is and isn't Maori?

        What are the criteria?

        Is there a similar set of criteria detailing if someone is a valid NZ European?

        • Wensleydale 5.2.1.1

          I wouldn't know. It's entirely possible I'm an invalid NZ European.

          • Gosman 5.2.1.1.1

            Quite possibly if you think there is some sort of criteria which makes you a "proper" Maori.

            • McFlock 5.2.1.1.1.1

              oh look: someone needing a reminder that they are Māori has morphed into whether someone else dictates whether one is a "proper" Māori – a position only the whinging tory introduced into the thread.

              Another gossie masterpiece.

        • te reo putake 5.2.1.2

          Yes, Gosman, there is such a body. It's Rugby NZ's Maori All Blacks selection panel.

          • Gosman 5.2.1.2.1

            Would Simon Bridge's qualify based on their criteria?

            EDIT: Based on this link all he needs it to have his Whakapapa traced and confirmed by the Team Kaumatua and he’s in. Since he definately has Maori heritage and presumably is aware of his Whakapapa then it seems he is a Maori then according to the NZRFU. On a side note it is good to see we are using the NZRFU to decide these matters.

          • Wensleydale 5.2.1.2.2

            Heh heh.

  6. Cinny 6

    The National Party leader Simon Bridges was approached for comment but declined.

    This new chapter is hilarious after simons oh so proud announcement earlier in the week regarding coalition partners.

  7. Ian 7

    Never trust a pompous clown with 3 billion dollars of other peoples money to give away,my mother used to tell me.

  8. Grant 8

    A bit harsh talking about her own son like that..

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    5 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    8 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    8 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    9 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    10 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    14 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    15 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    16 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    18 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    4 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
    7 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
    12 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
    14 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
    5 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
    5 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
    7 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
    7 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
    1 week ago
  • 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
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T11:05:35+00:00