Open mike 01/10/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 1st, 2015 - 162 comments
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openmikeOpen mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

162 comments on “Open mike 01/10/2015 ”

  1. The Chairman 1

    Farmer John Cochrane said the white knight needed to make his move soon.

    “We can’t disclose who it is but whoever it is needs to go public by the end of the week,” Cochrane said.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/72560581/new-suitor-claimed-to-be-in-wings-for-silver-ferns-farms

    • millsy 1.1

      Lot of unpatriotic comments below that article.

      I cannot help but be disgusted at people who plump for the Chinese takeover of this country. IMO they are no better than those in Europe who collaborated with the Nazi occupiers.

      • Puckish Rogue 1.1.1

        IMO you don’t know what you’re talking about and are resorting to hyperbole

        You seem to have thing about china taking over NZ, its starting to sound a little racist

        • millsy 1.1.1.1

          Says someone who would wave their little Chinese flag when the PLA marches up Queen St, along with O’Sullivan, Farrar, Slater, Williams, Hosking and co.

          Deng Xiao-peng (the man who I regard as the most influential figure over the past 40 years), said that ‘to get rich is glorious’. Meaning that the Chinese put the making of money over all else. Why else do you think there are no enviromental or labour laws in China?

          Soon they will get rid of them here.

        • JanM 1.1.1.2

          For heaven’s sake China is a country – we feel the same way about Australia.

      • The Chairman 1.1.2

        The argument seems to be the Chinese can help provide a distribution network, thus generate further growth. Overlooking that a 50% share of the returns will then go to the Chinese, reducing local return from any new growth.

        Moreover, ignoring the potential the NZ company has to generate its own growth and secure a contract with a major Chinese distributor. Ensuring the benefits of new growth remains in local hands. Not to mention maintaining full company control.

      • Bill 1.1.3

        Know how the ‘money guys’ of this country took the monies we generated and ‘pissed it up the wall’ in a manner of speaking…took it and pumped it into various overseas ‘casino’ type investments, or funneled all the profit streams to their banking mates overseas? And know how most everyone still gets up in the morning and bends over or kneels down for those same guys before they rush out to ‘make a buck’?

        I think your ire is seriously misplaced.

        If money is needed because NZ set itself up as a fucking toilet cistern that flushed everything away to elsewhere, then where the fuck do you think the money is going to come from if not from elsewhere?

        If you’re going to be angry (and I see no reason why you shouldn’t be) then at least be angry at the right people…the ones who have gouged and who continue to gouge this country for all it’s worth.

        • The Chairman 1.1.3.1

          Why can’t she be aggrieved by the actions of both? In some cases, they’re one and the same.

      • Tracey 1.1.4

        ” IMO they are no better than those in Europe who collaborated with the Nazi occupiers.”

        This Chinese Company or the Goverment of China remind you of Nazi Germany?

    • Pasupial 1.2

      I get the feeling that the company has been purposely run into the red to justify the merger with Shanghai Maling. There seems to be quite a disconnection between the board in their nice new corporate offices (in the custom refurbished chief main post office) and the farmer cooperative shareholders. The pressure is definitely now on to get the early votes before any counteroffer can emerge:

      Silver Fern Farms could be facing insolvency if shareholders do not approve a 50:50 joint venture with Chinese company Shanghai Maling.

      Voting has opened on the proposal before a meeting of shareholders at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium on October 16…

      The company had carried excessive debt for many years, creating a financial constraint on the operations of the business.

      While debt had been reduced significantly over the last two years and was expected to be about $140million to $160million at the end of September, that was considered to be still too high.

      Due to the highly seasonal nature of the business, there was a very significant investment in net working capital through the season. Depending on the season, that would normally result in peak debt levels up to $200million higher than opening debt.

      http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/357776/chinese-deal-vital-sff-says

      So really; the base debt is less than the seasonal variation of the business. This all feels like a giant scam.

      • Ad 1.2.1

        New Zealand farmers have had plenty of chances to get local coalitions together.
        They are just freaking lucky Shanghai Mailing isn’t asking for a whole bunch more than 50% control, given the dump trucks of cash they are about to roll in to Silver Fern’s Dunedin headquarters.

        It’s a nice little schadenfreude for all the 19th century Chinese gold miners in Otago who were treated so badly.

        • Puckish Rogue 1.2.1.1

          To be completely honest when you look at all the options that could possibly come to be, China taking over NZ isn’t so bad

          • Ad 1.2.1.1.1

            I get a little melancholic over foreign ownership, particularly when there is Ngai Tahu and plenty of old Otago money that could have had a crack at it.

            Coulda-woulda-shoulda.

            After the melancholy, I remember the political track record of cattle farmers in New Zealand, and it kind of passes.

        • The Chairman 1.2.1.2

          There has been a number of local offers, but its seems the banks don’t support them.

          The Chinese will also be expecting a share of the company’s assets and a return on their money to go with their 50% control.

          I think the Chinese have pushed it to limit. Asking for more now would have blown it for them. They’ll be playing the long game.

        • Pasupial 1.2.1.3

          Ad

          There have been attempts, but getting the board to go along with it is the problem (from The Chairman’s link above):

          Previous reports of an offer by agribusinessman John Rodwell said he had put together a group of New Zealand interests that had offered to put up $40 million for a key stake in Silver Fern Farms (SFF).

          SFF chairman Rob Hewett said at the time the Shanghai Maling offer was made public that the Rodwell offer was a significant amount of money but “wasn’t as good [as Shanghai Maling] and didn’t have banking support at this stage”.

          Fellow meat processor and co-operative Alliance Group said it had also submitted a bid which was rejected.

          Cochrane said shareholders and SFF itself should call the banking consortium’s bluff over calling in its contracts…

          “SFF is not only bankable but provides a genuinely attractive investment proposition. “Why else are foreign investors seeking control?” Cochrane asked.

          SFF’s year end debt of $140m represented only 20 per cent of total assets as opposed to 46 per cent two years previous when the debt was over $300m.

          • Ad 1.2.1.3.1

            … And behind that the members of the Board, whom the Meat Industry Excellence group have tried valiantly to stack, and the vacillating voting supplier farmers.

            As for the Alliance proposal, why the hell the government could not see how close this was to the dairy industry in the early 2000’s prior to the legislated amalgamation into Fonterra. Same for Zespri. Form locally owned entities in the broader interests of New Zealand. Government inaction here is so ridiculous.

      • The Chairman 1.2.2

        @ Pasupial

        Apparently, the Chinese offer has banking support.

        Wherever there is potential to gain, there is always potential for underhanded behaviour.

        However, policing of this in NZ seems rather relaxed.

  2. savenz 2

    If you are wondering why the general public is so uninformed and consumer focused here is a sample of Granddaddy Herald news – (note the online main article about the mega mall is even recycled from a couple of weeks ago! I guess with the Herald redundancies they just have 1 well connected Nat supporting Journo to recycle advertisements and rebundle them into advertorials)
    Mega mall opens today
    Naholo has teammates scrambling
    Big Wednesday: 209 lucky winners
    Apology over parking tickets
    Singer begs NZ ‘Beliebers’ for privacy

    Foreign policy
    Foreign Minister Murray McCully blasts Security Council impotence

    Nothing about Dotcom case or TPPA legal challenge that I can see.

    • Glenn 2.1

      You’re right. The Heralds getting worse. Todays paper is also blatantly pushing an Albany retirement village in an advertorial amongst the news that celebrates International day of older persons.
      “It’s like living in Club Med or on a cruise ship every day,” coos the paper.

      I get enough of that in the free midweek rag that I wrap the rubbish in without getting it in the Herald.

    • Ad 2.2

      Much easier if you think of the NZHerald as a great big full colour advertising spreadsheet, salted with a little gossip and opinion.

      Open the Herald if you want to know what to buy. Which show to go to.
      That’s it.

    • Rosemary McDonald 2.3

      But there is this….

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/maori/news/article.cfm?c_id=252&objectid=11521631

      which IMHO, is well worth a read.

      • Grindlebottom 2.3.1

        Yeah, Interesting. Pity Granny didn’t allow comments. I bet plenty would’ve been rippers.

        • Rosemary McDonald 2.3.1.1

          Yes, but it would have been dominated by the “Duff’s a Bounty Bar” brigade on one side and the reactionary rednecks on the other.

          And the message he tries to get across…about cultures adapting and changing, and the devolution of traditional power structures is lost.

          He is saying in this piece pretty much verbatim what I have been told in conversations with (mostly) rural Maori.

          Sad.

  3. Reddelusion 3

    Good to see Helen Clark backing the TPP from NY this morning on breakfast and while meeting with John Key

    • mickysavage 3.1

      No she didn’t. She said “So of course New Zealand has to be in on the action with a [TPPA] and go for the very best deal it can.”

      She was talking in generic terms about trade deals.

      Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/world/john-key-helen-clark-discuss-tppa-2015100107#ixzz3nG5HO7MT

      • Reddelusion 3.1.1

        Semantics Micky, she backs it and realises been out of it is no option

        • mickysavage 3.1.1.1

          Damn semantics if it was not for the actual meaning of words someone could say something and some one else say they said something completely different.

        • The Chairman 3.1.1.2

          “And realises been out of it is no option”

          Without even knowing what we’re signing up too?

          Only an idiot would come to that conclusion.

          • Reddelusion 3.1.1.2.1

            I am sure she and her good friend John have had a chat. Likewise she is no fool and understands how trade deal negotiations work, the benefits there of, as does labour. She only has the benefit of not having to play silly politics to keep the standards readers happy in her statements

      • Puckish Rogue 3.1.2

        So yes to a TPPA but no to this particular TPPA, glad thats cleared up

        • The Chairman 3.1.2.1

          It’s clear she is saying we need to be in on the negotiations, in an attempt to secure a good deal.

          It doesn’t automatically mean we will secure a good deal, thus it’s not an endorsement to sign it.

          • Puckish Rogue 3.1.2.1.1

            I agree, anything less would be a disgrace.

            I was replying to mickysavages dancing on the head of a pin arguement

      • AmaKiwi 3.1.3

        One picture tells you what Helen and Key said in private:

        http://www.3news.co.nz/world/john-key-helen-clark-discuss-tppa-2015100107

        Read their body language. They agreed on NOTHING.

        • Puckish Rogue 3.1.3.1

          Meh, just two alphas jockeying for top position

          • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 3.1.3.1.1

            It doesn’t automatically mean we will secure a good deal, thus it’s not an endorsement to sign it.

            Who has any position other than this?

            • maui 3.1.3.1.1.1

              Probably all those people who have vigorously defended this agreement for many months and attacked anyone against it. If they truly looked at deals based on face value they could have stayed quiet until the deal is on the table.

              • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell

                If they truly looked at deals based on face value they could have stayed quiet until the deal is on the table.

                There’s only one side being noisy.

      • Bob 3.1.4

        “No she didn’t. She said “So of course New Zealand has to be in on the action with a [TPPA] and go for the very best deal it can.””

        Nice selective quoting, What she actually said was:
        “What always haunts one as the New Zealand Prime Minister is ‘will there be a series of trade blocks you’re not part of?’. Because that’s unthinkable for New Zealand, an exporter and small trading nation. So of course New Zealand has to be in on the action with the TPP and go for the very best deal it can.”

    • The Chairman 3.2

      Not really, but its to be expected.

    • Bill 3.3

      I’d hardly expect Helen Clark, given her current position in the UN, to speak out against the NZ Government’s position on the TPPA.

      Also, given that she was a proponent of free trade (eg – China, and trying to open discussions with the USA ) and seeing as how she has never, not to my knowledge, changed her position on free trade, then I’d guess she might do no more than harbour private concerns about the government’s ‘game plan’.

      But sure, carry on with the tribal spear throwing…

    • Tracey 3.4

      Good to see Key supporters admiring Clark’s opinion

      • Puckish Rogue 3.4.1

        Theres quite a lot to admire about Ms Clark which is why John Key has modelled quite a bit of his leadership on her

        You’d think successive Labour leaders would try to emulate more of her style

        • Grindlebottom 3.4.1.1

          She had a knack with TV reporters of thinking quickly while speaking slowly and very succinctly. I think she scared them more than Key does. Like Muldoon. And it worked. Key charms them. And it works. Labour’s leaders struggle with who to emulate I suspect.

  4. alwyn 4

    I hope that the Green MPs, and their supporters, are feeling embarrassed when they read this story in the Dom/Post this morning.
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/72564945/super-fund-and-infratil-set-to-make-400pc-return-on-z-energy-stake
    If it is accurate we must be truly grateful that they, and their fellow idiots in the Labour Party had no influence on the New Superannuation funds policies in the last few years. Adopting the “no investment in fossil fuels” strategy as advocated by Russel Norman would have cost the fund about $3 million per day if this story is correct.
    I trust all those who supported the Green view will now apologise.

    • JanM 4.1

      30 pieces of silver, eh?

    • JanM 4.2

      30 pieces of silver, eh?

    • Ad 4.3

      NZSuper Fund has found plenty of other ways to make landfills full of cash other than fossil fuels for quite some time. If the Greens were in power and retooled the NZSuper governing legislation for that criteria, the world would not end.

    • Macro 4.4

      How much will it cost the planet – and your grandchildren?
      But you don’t give a shit about that so I don’t expect you have ever thought about it – just so long as no 1 is ok!

      • Draco T Bastard 4.4.1

        +1

        Exactly. Making money out of something that kills you isn’t a winning position.

    • weka 4.5

      “I trust all those who supported the Green view will now apologise.”

      Why? Their view is that fossil fuel divestment is critical to minimise AGW damage and all that that entails, and that this outweighs making shitloads of money.

      I trust now you will apologise to everyone’s grandchildren.

  5. Nessalt 5

    Where is the coverage of the Kim Dotcom extradition case? now we are in court i notice all his cheerleaders here and on the daily blog are awfully silent. Is it because the fat german isn’t what he made himself out to be and everyone rushed to friend him as he was against John Key?

    this is the real moment of truth.

    • Reddelusion 5.1

      My enemies enemy is my friend, nothing else matters

      The left cuddling up to this fruadster is becoming a little uncomfortable

      • mickysavage 5.1.1

        It is in court so we need to be careful what we comment on. And remind me where TS authors cuddled up to Dotcom.

      • Puckish Rogue 5.1.2

        I’ve always believed that the enemy of my enemey might also be my enemy as well, something the left in NZ doesn’t quite understand

        • AmaKiwi 5.1.2.1

          Which enemy?

          1. John Key
          2. Judith Collins
          3. US style police tactics and spying
          4. the empire that will impose its laws on anyone, anywhere

          • Puckish Rogue 5.1.2.1.1

            The left feting and promoting KDC and making the pilgrimage to Mecca (sorry) the pilgrimage to Coatsville told enough of the voters all they needed to know and they voted accordingly

            • mickysavage 5.1.2.1.1.1

              Citation please. A visit by Russel Norman for a chat does not make a pilgrimage by the left.

              • weka

                esp given Norman went there to ask KDC to not form the IP because of the damage it would do.

                • Tracey

                  Really? I didn’t know that Norman has said why he went? Mind you I would have been looking for it in MSM

                  • weka

                    Just double checked. He talked to KDC about the IT sector, and about not forming the IP incase it meant National got back in.

                    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11200563

                    • alwyn

                      Or to put it a little more accurately you could start by saying that
                      “Russel Norman claims that he” etc, etc.
                      Still, I suppose we should simply accept that Russel is a politician and like all of them he would say anything he thought he could get away with.

                      Rather like Corbyn in a way. There is a story in the Dom/Post today. It is on page B1 but I can’t find it on-line. Apparently in his speech to the Party Conference big sections were lifted from a speech originally written by a free-lancer in the 1980’s and which has been offered to every Labour leader since. They all declined to use it.
                      Corbyn’s spokesman originally denied the source of the material and claimed similarities were “pure coincidence” Finally he had to admit that his team had spoken to the original author.
                      Why do left leaders feel the need to lie as a first option about things that really don’t matter?

                    • weka

                      Alwyn, I know that you work for Crosby Textor* and they don’t have to pay you particularly well because you are an ideological willing worker. So of course you are going to tell lies about politics and do so in a creepy smeary way rather than just coming out with it and saying you hate the GP.

                      *see how that works? Smear, smear.

                      I don’t believe all politicians lie, so am happy to judge each on their behaviour. Norman has no reason to lie in that situation and his account is entirely plausible so I’m happy enough to go with his version.

                    • HI alwyn,

                      Background concerning Corbyn’s use of Richard Heller’s words:

                      I discovered for the first time that Corbyn had used the passage almost exactly in the form I offered it to him (and others). I also discovered that some British media were suggesting that his use was unauthorised. This is quite untrue. I am delighted that the passage has been used, and am sorry that a spurious story might detract from its message. I have many disagreements with Corbyn, but I now have to admire his rhetorical judgment. On the issues where I agree with him, particularly on fundamental values of his party and mine, he is welcome to call on me for other uplifting and memorable tropes.

                    • alwyn

                      @Puddleglum.

                      I wasn’t aware that a paper, or papers was claiming that Corbyn didn’t have permission to use the material. That isn’t really relevant though is it?
                      Corbyn’s problem is that his spokesman’s first reaction seems to have been to deny that it was written by someone else and wasn’t directly written by Corbyn. He claimed that the same words being used was “pure coincidence”. Then he was forced to back-down and admit that they had spoken to the original author and that the words did come from Heller. If the spokesman didn’t know, which is possible but seems unlikely, he could simply have said something like “I don’t know where the original material came from. I’ll find out.” Then he could say later that it came unsolicited from Heller and that Corbyn liked it, or something like that.
                      It is the original denial that becomes the story. If they had started by saying that the ideas had come from Heller in the first place there would have been no story would there? It was lying about it and then having to admit to the lie that caused all the problem.

                    • alwyn,

                      I was providing background for those who might not have known what you were talking about.

                      As I understand it, the article reprinted in The Press/Dom Post was from the Daily Telegraph, wasn’t it? Something about another faux pas in a beleaguered leadership?

                      Why are you so quick to call it a ‘lie’? You yourself provide a quite believable account of how it could have been a minor error on the part of a spokesman.

                      Haven’t ‘lefties’ here been accused of wrongly calling Key himself (much less one of his spokespeople) a liar despite having much stronger grounds for the claim than is present here?

              • Puckish Rogue

                http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11201739

                Labour MP Clare Curran, who hails from the Deep South, was at Dotcom’s Coatesville estate “at least twice, and once with a large suitcase”, a source said. She caught a taxi once and was chauffeured another time. But why the baggage?

                Curran confirmed she did go to the mansion twice, but can’t recall travelling heavy.

                “I was probably on my way to or from home,” she told The Diary.

                Theres probably more that managed to fly under the radar

            • Tracey 5.1.2.1.1.2

              Pretty sure the Right have had more people at (and surrounding) Coatseville than the Left.

              Everything Key says is not true PR, and his laughing jibes about all of the left and KDC are patently false. Even on this site the left and the left have attacked each other over KDC damage tot he election.

              • Puckish Rogue

                Yes I wasn’t clear enough, there are some on the left with integrity and principles and they did say, prior to the election, that KDC wasn’t going to help the left and good on them for saying that (you know who you are) but sadly they’re in the minority

        • Tracey 5.1.2.2

          I await the day when you realise your friend (Key) is really your enemy).

          • Puckish Rogue 5.1.2.2.1

            All politicians are my enemy, its merely a matter of who is going to have the least amount of impact on my life

        • Draco T Bastard 5.1.2.3

          We understand it just fine. It’s National and their supporters who keep having us cuddling up to those who are bad for NZ.

    • Chooky 5.2

      @ Nessalt and Reddelusion… Does this help?…obviously you can’t read..or haven’t read and got up to date on Dotcom trial:

      ‘The Government can’t find the original notices in the Kim Dotcom case? Is this a joke?’

      http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/09/30/the-government-cant-find-the-original-notices-in-the-kim-dotcom-case-is-this-a-joke/

      Also getting up to date with Nicky Hager :

      ‘Police plotted to arrest and spy on Nicky Hager – the most interesting parts of 1 year on from Dirty Politics ‘

      http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/09/30/police-plotted-to-arrest-and-spy-on-nicky-hager-the-most-interesting-parts-of-1-year-on-from-dirty-politics/

      • Pasupial 5.2.1

        Plus this yesterday on NRT, and reposted on this very site:

        Kim Dotcom’s extradition hearing is currently underway, and it appears to have hit a hurdle: the government can’t find key documentation… A key question in extradition hearings is whether the supporting documents have been produced to the court. The fact that they can’t do that (and apparently failed to follow due process in briefing the Minister, creating instant grounds for judicial review) makes them look like a bunch of muppets.

        http://thestandard.org.nz/nrt-muppets/

      • Puckish Rogue 5.2.2

        I wouldn’t worry about it too much Chooky, KDC will eventually get his day in court (american court that is) where he’ll be finally be able to prove the veracity of his claims

        + 100

        • Macro 5.2.2.1

          I wouldn’t be so sure – and neither were Sony.

        • Draco T Bastard 5.2.2.2

          Everything looking like the US and NZ governments getting egg all over their face with all charges against KDC being dropped.

          • keepLeft 5.2.2.2.1

            They have “found” the paper work. Yeah right. More lies. Let have them put them online so we can verify them!

            #savekim

    • Tracey 5.3

      You mean apart from comment sin Open Mike and other places? Oh and the entire post about the stuff up the MOJ has made of the warrant and other paperwork?

      IF the MSM is quiet, you might want to ask yourself why.

  6. Chooky 6

    The other side of the story:

    ‘Russian military in Syria: ‘Diametrically different approach’

    https://www.rt.com/op-edge/317035-syria-isis-russia-troops/

    “The key difference between the Russian and Western campaigns in Syria is that Moscow has been asked for help Damascus officially, unlike the US who “neither waited for the Syrian government to ask for help, nor had a mandate from the UN,” experts say.

    ‘Washington gives tacit support’

    “US’ “tacit support” for the Russian operation is a major change to its previous stance, and the reason is that “the Western bombing of Islamic State has been a complete failure,” says John Laughland, Director of Studies, Institute of Democracy and Cooperation in Paris.

    “We know that Washington and Moscow are cooperating and that Washington is giving tacit support. It’s precisely the result of the meeting that occurred in the UN building between presidents Putin and Obama. Moscow would inform Washington about its airstrikes in order to prevent any kind of accidents, any kind of conflict breaking out,” he said….

    • Puckish Rogue 7.1

      No no you don’t understand, she was only talkign about TPPAs in general, not this specific TPPA

      There is a difference apparantly 🙂

    • The Chairman 7.2

      See my post at 3.1.2.1

    • Macro 7.3

      What else would you expect from her – she is as wedded to the FTA’s as Grocer and equally misguided. Who was it that pushed through our disastrous FTA with China? And where are we now? Billions in debt. Unemployment around 6% and no sign of reducing, 25% of youth under and unemployed. 25% of our children living in poverty, underfunding of health and record numbers of people living on the streets or in shoddy housing. All the result of exporting jobs overseas and importing crap from off shore. FTA’s are so good for us arn’t they.

      • marty mars 7.3.1

        + 1

        These ‘trade’ agreements are bogus trojan horses full of nasty capitalists.

      • Draco T Bastard 7.3.2

        +1

        The free-marketeers don’t seem to understand that if we had the level playing field that is necessary for free-trade to work none would happen.

        • Macro 7.3.2.1

          The thing is tho Draco – it’s not even a level playing field. NZ has to be the most naive of all nations when it comes to opening our borders to all manner of crap. And the amazing thing is – after 30 years of this idiocy – will still expect other countries to do the same as us! Here we think we have this amazing deal with China when we can export unsawn logs and get wine bottles in return! We can’t export sawn timber – China won’t allow that – they want the jobs of saw milling for themselves. Similarly with almost every other product. We allow carte blanche the importation of almost every imaginable product thereby under cutting almost all of our productive capacity – in the hope that we can export the unprocessed product of of our agriculture, fisheries and forestry.This is the only “economic” plan that NZ has had since 1984. And we wonder why our economy is so sick.
          I know I’m preaching to the converted here – you understand this as well if not better than I. But we – u and me and the others on here have to keep repeating this theme because it is only when the penny finally drops with those wedded to the “conventional wisdom” will we ever be able to move ahead as a country

    • Tracey 7.4

      So, you cite Clark when you agree with her?

    • The Chairman 8.1

      Another beat up and appeal to the ignorant.

      The image was used as an visual affect. The fact that it was a stillborn is largely irrelevant as the image of an aborted child (in the context of discussion) would have been similar.

      However, they should have foreseen this type of attack, thus used real footage.

      And no, they’re not a terrorist organization.

      • McFlock 8.1.1

        Did it occur to you than an abortion in those circumstances (late term, 20+ weeks) would be more likely because of medical necessity than an unwanted pregnancy?

        Interesting stat on infoshare: 67 out of 13,000 abortions occurred after the twentieth week of gestation.

        The image was used “as visual effect” in order to misrepresent the issue of abortion.

        • The Chairman 8.1.1.1

          If the visual affect is the same, where is the misrepresentation?

          • weka 8.1.1.1.1

            try asking women about the differences between miscarrying and having an abortion.

            The anti-abortion activists lied in a fairly gross and manipulative way, and got caught out, what’s do hard to understand about that?

          • McFlock 8.1.1.1.2

            What “visual effect” are you talking about?

            A near-term still-birth is not anatomically (let alone “visually”) “the same” as 99.5% of abortions, and the abortions that might look the same probably took place as a result of a medical emergency in order to save a life that actually exists, rather than one that potentially, in your imagination, might exist.

            • The Chairman 8.1.1.1.2.1

              The one were an image of a stillborn was used.

              In the context of discussion, the visual representation in this case is the same, regardless if the baby was a stillborn or aborted.

              I’m not questioning the legitimacy of an abortion, I’m concerned about the goings on before and after the fact.

              • McFlock

                In the context of discussion, the visual representation in this case is the same, regardless if the baby was a stillborn or aborted.

                And you assert that based on what?

                • The Chairman

                  On the information I’ve seen. Thus, they are being challenged on the use of the stillborn image and not the actual visual comparison.

                  • McFlock

                    Well, forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.

                    After all, the discussion is about somebody making misleading claims about illegal footage in order to further their political agenda.

                    How do you know that the “information you have seen” wasn’t similarly lied about?

                    • The Chairman

                      Don’t take my word for it. Use you own commonsense.

                      A stillborn at 20 weeks would generally be as developed as a aborted foetus at 20 weeks. Thus, the visual comparison is the same.

                      ROBERTS: Lexi, do you hope that the organization that put together this video reaches out and apologizes to you or offers any sort of explanation?

                      LEXI FRETZ: No. I have talked to them directly and we’ve cleared the air and my husband and I are fine that it’s been used.

                      http://www.lifenews.com/2015/09/29/msnbc-got-a-big-surprise-while-pushing-its-abortion-agenda-on-mom-of-this-stillborn-baby/

                      Seems it’s no longer illegal use.

                    • McFlock

                      the only thing that the two foetuses necessarily have in common is that neither is ever going to be a living human being, and even a healthy foetus is not viable at that stage.

                      In addition to the differences in mode of leaving the woman’s body, your assumption is that serious developmental differences were not the reason for the fact of the stillbirth or the need for the medical procedure of abortion.

        • The Chairman 8.1.2.1

          No, it doesn’t.

          Hence, they’re not officially considered a terrorist organization.

          Therefore, claiming so is incorrect, but continuing to do so assists your smear-tactic affect.

          • McFlock 8.1.2.1.1

            Would you prefer “an organisation with leaders closely connected to a terrorist organisation” as a more accurate description? It doesn’t really improve their reputation.

        • The Chairman 8.1.2.2

          No evidence of manipulation in Planned Parenthood videos

          http://www.adfmedia.org/files/CoalfireCMPvideosReport.pdf

          • joe90 8.1.2.2.1

            That you’re citing rabid hate machine the Alliance Defending Freedom makes me think you should fuck off back to where you belong.

            Partnered with more than 300 like-minded institutions, including the Federalist Society, the Home School Legal Defense Association, the rabidly anti-LGBT Pacific Justice Institute, the Thomas More Law Center, anti-gay hate group the Family Research Council, the Heritage Foundation, and the now-defunct “ex-gay” organization Exodus International.

            • Filed a brief supporting statutory bans on gay sex in Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 case in which the Supreme Court ultimately found state anti-sodomy laws unconstitutional.
            • Opposed anti-bullying efforts in public schools, calling for exceptions for speech or actions based on religious views and decrying “tolerance training” and “special protection” for LGBT students.
            • Created its own “Day of Truth” to combat the Day of Silence, which commemorates LGBT victims of bullying, harassment, and violence.
            • Crusaded against a gay-inclusive Boy Scouts of America, calling the BSA’s decision to allow gay scouts an assault on “freedom” and working with churches that sponsor scout troops to work around the new membership policy.
            • Defended California’s same-sex marriage ban, Proposition 8, in Hollingsworth v. Perry.
            • Offered free representation to Iowa county recorders who refused to provide same-sex couples with marriage licenses.
            • Dispatched chief counsel Benjamin Bull to Russia to meet with Yelena Mizulina, the legislative leader of that country’s crackdown on LGBT people.
            • Represented 18 plaintiffs challenging the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that for-profit employers cover contraception at no additional cost to employees.

            http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/12/04/meet-alliance-defending-freedom-foxs-favorite-a/197132

            [lprent: Please be a little more careful when you paste crap HTML into our pages. It “FUBAR’ed” the page because

            1. you put in li tags without an enclosing ul or ol
            2. you started with a i tag and didn’t close it (besides you should have used blockquote and /blockquote)

            I manually fixed it. But this isn’t something that I plan to make a career of. ]

            • The Chairman 8.1.2.2.1.1

              Wake up.

              I’m citing a independent report prepared by Coalfire Systems, Inc.

              I see you’re still playing the smear-tactic game.

              One can only assume you have nothing credible to put forward.

              • joe90

                One can only assume you have nothing credible to put forward.

                *sniff*

                joe90 …
                30 August 2015 at 10:17 am

                Planned Parenthood commissioned an independent review of the videos and the conclusion – yet another dishonest smear campaign waged by unhinged, deceptive anti-choice arseholes.

                A thorough review of these videos in consultation with qualified experts found that they do not present a complete or accurate record of the events they purport to depict.
                Each release by CMP contained a short edited video, between eight and fifteen minutes in length, that intercuts clips from the undercover recordings with other content, and a “full footage” video that claims to provide the raw, unedited footage of each interview. A video forensics expert, a television producer, an independent transcription agency, and Fusion GPS staff reviewed this material. While these analysts found no evidence that CMP inserted dialogue not spoken by Planned Parenthood staff, their review did conclude that CMP edited content out of the alleged “full footage” videos, and heavily edited the short videos so as to misrepresent statements made by Planned Parenthood representatives. In addition, the CMP transcript for the “full footage” video shot at Planned Parenthood’s Gulf Coast facility in Texas differs substantially from the content of the tape.
                At this point, it is impossible to characterize the extent to which CMP’s undisclosed edits and cuts distort the meaning of the encounters the videos purport to document. However, the manipulation of the videos does mean they have no evidentiary value in a legal context and cannot be relied upon for any official inquiries unless supplemented by CMP’s original material and forensic authentication that this material is supplied in unaltered form. The videos also lack credibility as journalistic products.

                http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-30082015/#comment-1064529

                • The Chairman

                  Yes, I’ve seen the report, hence I posted a link to another independent review refuting it.

                  • joe90

                    Yes, I’ve seen the report, hence I posted a link to another independent review refuting it.

                    But you can’t be arsed citing the independent review refuting it.

            • joe90 8.1.2.2.1.2

              I manually fixed it. But this isn’t something that I plan to make a career of

              Yeah, apologies, blockquote it is then – thought the i > would work but obviously not

  7. Penny Bright 9

    FYI

    URGENT! TPPA – WALK AWAY! PROTEST! TODAY 1 October 2015

    Focus – John Key / shareholder in Bank of America!

    Have new petition focused on John Key + plenty of TPPA leaflets!

    Plus banners / placards / John Key / Tim Groser masks / street theatre!

    WHEN: Today 1 October 2015
    TIME: 3 – 5.30pm
    WHERE: Outside Auckland University
    Symonds St / Grafton Rd intersection
    _____________________________________________________

    WORDING OF NEW PETITION:

    To Prime Minister John Key
    MP for Helensville

    We, the undersigned:

    Are deeply concerned that as a key advocate for the ‘Trans-PacificPartnership Agreement’ (TPPA), you are a shareholder in the Bank of America, as detailed in the 2015 MPs Register of Financial Interests: (Pg 29)

    “Rt Hon John Key (National, Helensville)
    2 Other companies and business entities
    ………………………………………….
    Bank of America – banking”

    We see this as a serious ‘conflict of interest’, given that big banks like the Bank of America, stand to benefit, and profit from this pro-corporate TPPA.

    If this National Government, which you lead, does not ‘walk away’ from the secretive, undemocratic, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement’ (TPPA), then we pledge to campaign vigorously amongst our friends, families, neighbours and workmates, for the voting public to ‘walk away’ from National.
    ______________________________________________________________________________________

    Penny Bright

    ……

    ‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’

    2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate

  8. Penny Bright 10

    FYI

    ‘Open Letter’ to Auckland Mayor and Councillors / ALL MPs / Media:

    “Please provide evidence proving that I have ever stated anything that was factually inaccurate, concerning Auckland Council, or Auckland Council CCOs.”

    Kind regards

    Penny Bright

    …………………..

    ‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’

    ………………..

    2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate

  9. Tracey 11

    It’s over. In my opinion TPP will pass this weekend. Key is being to smirky

    • b waghorn 11.1

      Let’s hope all the pressure applied from many different groups in nz has made get a deal worth having.

      • Puckish Rogue 11.1.1

        It was always going to be a good deal for NZ, you lefties will not be able to stand there and take credit for it

        • maui 11.1.1.1

          Be interesting to see the public reaction to this “good deal”.

        • b waghorn 11.1.1.2

          Oh come on you know key is just a little puppy who is addicted to pats ,he’ll try and please any one who is vocal enough.
          I suspect he’s got father issues.

  10. Draco T Bastard 12

    Oops. somebody broke it. Looks like it could be This one but I could be wrong on that.

  11. b waghorn 13

    http://m.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11521631
    Alan Duff doesn’t pull his punches. I would find it hard to disagree with what he has to say.

  12. SPC 14

    When Oz signed a FTA with China – they retained their right to block foreign buying of property and they got a better deal on dairy than we did.

    When we signed one, we gave Chinese the same rights to invest here as those in Oz, and that included property ownership.

    Our negotiators are second rate.

    But what could we expect we gave the world free trade for nothing, all we have left to give is governance sovereignty.

    Back in the 80’s the left of the Labour caucus took pineapple lumps (nuclear free status) and gave away the economy to the free market. A position on Cabinet and a chance to be leader by adhering to the deal. Once one learns that the climb up the ladder is enabled by betraying those below, there is no position that is then out of reach.

  13. Morrissey 15

    When did Jim Mora and co EVER discuss the TPPA seriously?
    The Panel, Radio NZ National, Thursday 1 October 2015
    Jim Mora, Beck Eleven, Kevin Milne

    After noting that the old trougher Helen Clark has undermined the Labour Party by backing the TPPA [1], host Jim Mora then said: “We’re not having another big discussion about the TPPA now…”

    “Another big discussion”? I would appreciate it if someone tell us when Mora’s light chat show dealt with the TPPA in more than a perfunctory, scoffing fashion, leave alone any “big discussion”.

    The only topics that Mora—or more likely, Richard Griffin—deals with in any depth are coffee, football and vexillology.

    Anything else gets the once-over-lightly. [2]

    [1] http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/72604363/former-pm-clark-backs-controversial-trade-deal

    [2] http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-20082015/#comment-1060938

  14. Paul 16

    Mora’s appalling panel discuss declining ratings on TV3 without even mentioning the boycott of the channel after the political axing of Campbell Live.
    Self censorship or total ignorance by the woeful panel.

    Mora must have self censored.
    His Tory bones doesn’t allow debate of topics that question his comfortable life.

    • Morrissey 16.1

      Well spotted Paul. But why did neither Beck Eleven nor Kevin Milne dare to mention it? My bet is that they know that “management”, i.e. John Key’s man Richard Griffin, would not approve, so they kept silent.

      Obviously they both need the money.

  15. Ffloyd 17

    Mora is on now. No idea what they are saying. It’s just white noise. Regarding Clark. A while ago my husband told me he had been speaking to a Nat. Party stalwart who told him that at a Nat P meeting they were told that according to a local NP mp that NZ would be shocked if they knew how often Clark had flown into NZ to have secret meetings with key. I scorned the idea but am now wondering if there is some truth in it. Also, has she seen the text that is so secret, if so is she happy that the good citizens of NZ are being treated like mushrooms.

    • Morrissey 17.1

      Helen Clark’s unwelcome re-entry into New Zealand politics, unsurprisingly endorsing the undemocratic and secretive National government, is a reminder how little serious scrutiny has been carried out on her actions in government. (The foul abuse and ridiculous campaigns by the likes of David Farrar, Whaleoil, Ian Wishart and the rest of the National Party’s foaming right wing army do not qualify as serious.)

      Chris Laidlaw gave her a free and uninterrupted platform last year….
      http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-06012014/#comment-753962

      As did Lisa Owen a couple of months ago….
      http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-29082015/#comment-1064147

      The only decent grilling she ever got was by John Campbell.

    • lprent 17.2

      Helen comes to NZ quite a few times each year, usually as a leg on one of the enormous trips that her work requires. They are hardly a secret – they show up on facebook. Her husband Peter lives here and so do her parents. I rather suspect that has more to do with it than with anything else. /irony

      But being at the UNDP and with NZ trying to get onto the security council (and now on it), it isn’t that surprising that John Key was trying to catch her when she was here.

      It is probably like the amount that every kiwi politicians and diplomat going to New York seems to try to get a meeting with her if she is in town. Just like they try to get time with whoever is the ambassador and/or their staff if they get to Washington. It is about getting local information. /sarc

      Not everything is about the damn TPPA /irritation

      I suspect that when we finally find out what is in the TPPA, it is going to be way worse than expected even two years ago. I’ll disagree with Helen unless I can see a considerable movement from what has been leaked. The problems it is going to cause for the tech export industry alone is going to be immense.

      • Anne 17.2.1

        Thanks for that lprent.

        It beggars belief how so many people create false conspiracies about everything Helen does. And she’s always been open about her travels and activities. Since her mother died, she phones her Dad (now in his nineties) every day. She and her husband hook up whenever they can – she comes to NZ whenever she can fit it in… he goes to her in New York 2 or 3 times a year. That’s my understanding anyway.

        In other words, her trips to NZ are for personal reasons and have nothing to do with politics. Of course she keeps in touch with friends she made during her political years, but she made it clear from the start of her new career that NZ politics was out of bounds as far as she was concerned. All the indications are: she has kept strictly to that resolution.

    • Anne 17.3

      Ffloyd, that is mischief-making on the part of the National Party dirty tricks brigade. You know, the one ‘wot John Key knows nuffink about’ even though it was closely linked to his office.

      In the last term of the Clark govt. some of the malice ridden fantasies spread around about Helen – and indeed her husband – were utterly grotesque. The worst were by word of mouth because if they had appeared in print, the courts would have been submerged in defamation suits brought by all manner of people.

  16. Morrissey 18

    “I think Story‘s a GREAT show! I think Heather’s doing BRILLIANTLY.”
    Kevin Milne’s ludicrously false praise does his reputation no good at all.

    The Panel, Radio NZ National, Thursday 1 October 2015
    Jim Mora, Beck Eleven, Kevin Milne

    Since John Key’s man Richard Griffin has obviously forbidden him from dealing with anything “boring” (i.e., serious) during his program, host Jim Mora has to find SOMETHING to talk about each day. So the program is full of chatter, over a bed of endless laughter, about virtually meaningless trivia taken straight off the bottom of the page on Google News.

    This afternoon, casting about desperately for something to take up five minutes or so in the last part of the program, Mora noted that Television One’s god-awful Rawdon Christie vehicle, Breakfast, had been canned. This led on to a bit of chat about the (possibly terminal) decline of TV3. Utterly unmemorable, except for this horrible example of misplaced loyalty to a friend by Kevin Milne….

    KEVIN MILNE: I think Story‘s a GREAT show! I think Heather’s doing BRILLIANTLY….

    As time is almost up, the host utters one of the few straight-up statements he’s made in weeks….

    JIM MORA: We’ve got ninety seconds. Now, uh, we can’t speak very usefully about Islamic State….

    Masochists and aficionados of the comedy of mortification may like to check out just how “BRILLIANTLY” Heather is doing…..
    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24082015/#comment-1062391

  17. Mike the Savage One 19

    So the government’s “investment approach” to social security is NOT really a proper investment approach, according to Bill Rosenberg from the CTU:

    http://union.org.nz/sites/union.org.nz/files/Investment%20Approach%20is%20not%20an%20investment%20approach%20-%20Rosenberg_0.pdf

    Yet more proof of the flawed welfare reforms we have been served up!

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    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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
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    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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    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
    2 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
    6 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
    8 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
    9 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
    23 hours 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
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    5 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, ...
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    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 ...
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    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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
    6 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
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  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
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