Open mike 02/12/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, December 2nd, 2021 - 91 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:


Open 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 …

91 comments on “Open mike 02/12/2021 ”

  1. Foreign waka 1

    Not really a surprise that 48% of proerties are in trust. Tax avoidance at it finest. At the same time, and may I add in my book no difference in terms of crime intention, gangs have doubled in numvers and a softly, dont rattle the cage approach is applied. Very soon its Mad Max country and it should not be surprising that the educated move to Australia. It has already started.

    • Gezza 1.1

      The video clips of some of those recent gang funeral processions are pretty reminiscent of Mad Max scenes, as are some of those reports of Auckland & East Coast drive-by shoot ups.

      You could be right that the educated are moving to Oz, Fw – but what’s your evidence that it’s already started? Anecdata or official statistics?

      • aj 1.1.1

        Tamki's March's were Mad Max.

      • Foreign waka 1.1.2

        Two of my colleagues are already on the move and they tell me that they know others do this too, so its info from the ground up – so to speak. Its not surprising really.

    • Maurice 1.2

      There is also likely to be a concerted move to smaller towns and rural areas by those attempting to avoid future big city lockdowns. Panic may well rule for quite a while as the spread continues.

    • Peter 1.3

      Ah, Australia gets New Zealanders, over years turns them or their offspring into people they don't want, and sends them here as 501s.

      When they get here their Mad Max lifestyles make the country so undesirable the educated leave to go to Australia. Is that it?

    • Gezza 2.1

      (Viewers may need to click on the speaker icon for sound. Default seems to be sound muted.)

    • Gezza 2.2

      My very first Gezza's Stream wildlife video, using the 2 megapixel camera of my 3G Samsung clamshell cell phone. July 2016.

      I'm so embarrassed that I called these two ducks Miss OB (Orange Beak) and Miss GB (Green Beak), thinking they were both mallard hens. I know now that OB is a hybrid mallard/grey duck drake. They were a breeding couple for that breeding season.

      The pair of them took an instant like to my back yard and waddled all around it for several months, looking for & finding insects in the garden and lawns.

      https://dai.ly/k1AAWikqXQR7GKiS7zv

  2. Treetop 3

    Shane Reti needs to jump ship and go to NZ First. I do not think he is a good fit for the National Party with Luxon as leader.

    Now that would be interesting. Reti has his profession as a GP and a medical author to fall back on if NZ First does not make it back in 2023.

    • Gezza 3.1

      THEY (National) need HIM to stay. He's Māori, a medical doctor, a moderate, a businessman, sensible, a very careful, precise communicator.

      Will be interesting to see what spokesperson role Luxon gives him to tempt him to stay on board.

      • Maurice 3.1.1

        More to the point – New Zealand needs him – the parliamentary talent puddle is too shallow as it is without losing anyone with any ability at all.

        • Gezza 3.1.1.1

          yes Got that right, Maurice. Quite scary the lack of obvious good material in the House for voters to work with.

      • Treetop 3.1.2

        Reti would be an asset to any political party.

        • Gezza 3.1.2.1

          Yes. He should have been elected leader instead of that unimaginably unmitigated disaster that was Judith Collins.

    • Gezza 3.2

      A journo who agrees with Treetop.

      Sidebar heading is: All the reasons Shane Reti shouldn't lead National sound like positives

      And slipping down the National Party ranks, there is Dr Shane Reti.

      A bit of a geek, a public service nerd, not much of a politician, and a guy whose biggest weakness is that he wants to see real work be done.

      He’s a man who’s been doing the hard yards in Northland – vaccinating and winning supporters from te ao Māori – and a man whose leadership style could have given the Opposition a very fresh breath of air.

      That his differences, skills and style were not even considered strengths for the leadership must leave him pondering – maybe it’s time to take those assets somewhere they will be respected.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/300467522/the-national-party-opted-for-predictable-christopher-luxon-over-changemaker-shane-reti

      • Treetop 3.2.1

        This may have been innovative having two deputy leaders of the National Party, Reti and Willis. Were Luxon not to work out Reti could step in as leader and Willis to become the deputy leader.

        • woodart 3.2.1.1

          no, willis will be next nat leader. notjohn will need to stay clear of passing bus's.

          • Treetop 3.2.1.1.1

            I would have picked Willis over Luxon.

            notjohn? Please clarify.

            • Gezza 3.2.1.1.1.1

              I would hazard a guess that notjohn is Christopher Luxon (he’s NOT John Key).
              And that the reference to passing buses is a euphemism for Willis’s ambition.

  3. Blazer 4

    Just the man for the …job!-his faith is a personal matter,his property investments are a…personal matter.But he turned around Air NZ and Unilever Canada….believe it…or not.

    Christopher Luxon's property gains soar as National promises to tackle housing crisis | Stuff.co.nz

    • Barfly 4.1

      "he turned around Air NZ and Unilever Canada"

      Yeah …nah….Tui

      • tc 4.1.1

        Totally. More like a gattung/sperings/ferrier whose tenure had favourable conditions with a brief of dont f it up.

        2 out of 3 ain't bad eh Teresa.

  4. Sabine 5

    i knew yesterday that this scheme is bullshit and today it was confirmed.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/hospo-misses-out-on-37m-government-voucher-package-to-reactivate-auckland/Y3QTKI6ORUYVWXACE2LG3THOQM/

    How about they pull a Biden and give any welfare dependent family a Christmas bonus – anywhere in our fair land – of say an extra week of benefit and then let these people choose how to spend it?

    But no, this is the council owned business recovery package, and the rest of the businesses that have been hit the hardest, the ones that actually have to work to make money, oh well seize the day sucker, and make it work. You are of no importance to Labour.

    Dubbed "Explore Tāmaki Makaurau this summer", the $37.5 million reactivation package includes $12m in vouchers to attractions and discounts to Auckland's council facilities, funding for events and food support.

    Up to 350,000 people would benefit from the scheme, with the allocation process to take into account postcodes.

    Businesses can register to be part of the Local Activation Programme to organise free events for the public and should use their imagination and creativity to make it work for them as part of their recovery after over 100 days of lockdown.

    "Hospitality is not included so it is up to businesses to seize the day and play their part in reactivating the city."

    that is not 'business' support that is throwing money at the Council, another lottery for poor and the desperate to maybe mabye get a ticket in (works so well in MIQ), some money for food banks, and it is cynical to the hilt. No kindness here. No siree, the lady don't support the poor. She supports the rich, she knows where her next job will come from.

    They could have announced a little stimulus payment for those that have the least amount of money to spend, for those that lived the last three month on food parcels from charity, but hey now, they need a little Hunger Game lottery is a sexy thing, a whole lot a money thrown at some Council 'attractions', and i am sure that Grant Boy will be so happy if this scheme will also result in an 'underspend'.

    Oh and it wont start before Jan 15.

    Labour, can't won't will not do a nice thing for those that desperately need a nice thing. The poor. Or the businesses that actually are a week short of closing.

    Labour 2023 – does it look like we care?

    • Gezza 5.1

      A bleak analysis, but I actually agree with you & see where you are coming from.

    • Ad 5.2

      You are flat wrong as usual.

      Government isn't directly subsidising alcohol and restaurants.

      That is, they are subsidizing family activities.

      And taking post codes into account in allocation means it's more likely to assist the less well off

      And by targeting post Jan 15 they avoid subsidy into a period no one needs it, and focus on extending the expenditure shoulder.

      Ask you own Council to do something.

    • Stephen Doyle 5.3

      How much of the taxpayers money have they already had via covid subsidies? And they still want more.

      Capitalist’s happy to take socialist money.

      Hypocrites.

  5. Blazer 6

    'it is better to be beautiful…than to be 'nice'-but it is better to be…'nice' than to be…ugly'.

    (O.Wilde )

    • Gezza 6.1

      Except he was wrong. It's better to be nice than to be beautiful.

      • Blazer 6.1.1

        How do you…know?surprise

        • Gezza 6.1.1.1

          So many "beautiful people" are reported to be rather nasty. The lifestyle news is full of stories about them.

          Best bet is to be beautiful and nice. Works for me. indecision

          • Maurice 6.1.1.1.1

            People have said to me: You are a "nice" B…stard!

            No one ever thinks I am beautiful though …….

          • Anne 6.1.1.1.2

            "So many "beautiful people" are reported to be rather nasty."

            I knew quite a few of them in my younger days. They were not necessarily nasty, but were often extremely arrogant and they believed themselves to be superior to the rest of the population. It mattered who your parents were and what school you went to. In reality they were incredibly boring people with little personality. I learnt to avoid them like the plague.

  6. Bruce 7

    Well perhaps its good for the lottery winners but the news is not so good for those on fixed income struggling with rapidly rising inflation and a council that uses its residents to fund its green wash,

    https://auckland.scoop.co.nz/2021/12/climate-levy-a-cash-grab-dressed-up-as-a-green-fig-leaf/

  7. Gezza 8

    Depressing.

    Gang affiliations around the country seem to be growing at a fast rate, with more than 8000 gang members now officially recorded in New Zealand.

    That is almost double the figure recorded by authorities five years ago, when there were 4420 people recorded as gang members on the national gang list.

    A total of 8061 gangsters have been identified in New Zealand as of June, according to data given under the Official Information Act to Stuff.

    Police add to the list using information from search warrants and operations or simply from someone with a gang tattoo or with a gang patch.

    Good territory for National's new Police spokesperson under Luxon to focus on & say what they're going to do about the problem 1. short term, 2. long term.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/gang-member-numbers-almost-double-around-the-country-in-five-years/MDXZ4BWDVO3P4I7CWWW6Y6UAPA/.

    • joe90 8.1

      Loyal, hold the line, and do what you're told, up all night, sleep all day, plenty of mates and as much piss, pot, puss and P as your heart desires.

      Life's a party. What's not to like about being a parasitic POS?

      /

      • Ad 8.1.1

        Being hunted in every breath, being shunned by 99% of society, low likelihood you will get any reward for your work other than a wage, high likelihood of serious beatings and injury, unlikely to have long term relationships, unlikely to get ahead in life, high likelihood your entire group will be attacked without warning, high likelihood of injury causing permanent disability, reasonably high risk of long period of jail, very high likelihood of poverty in old age, high likelihood of shorter than average lifespan.

        • joe90 8.1.1.1

          That the victims of gang offending are almost exclusively in the same group reinforces the parasitic nature of them and their organisations.

      • bwaghorn 8.1.2

        Sounds more fun than going to work in some dull job with no real hope of excitement or challenge bringing home just enough to pay off some rich fallas investment for him, or get your own house with a mortgage so big you'll be doing well to pay it off by the time you retire

    • McFlock 8.3

      Isn't that the intel list of suspected gang associates? The one it's easy to get onto, hard to get off, and only started a few years ago? The one Mickeysavage wrote a post on?

      Five years ago was 2016. When the Gang list was first created. Apparently, they've doubled the number on the list since they counted off the ones they already knew about when they compiled the initial list.

      How many, I wonder, have been involved for years, just not obviously enough to be added in 2016? How many happen to be, e.g. co-offenders with low-level gang affiliates who got nabbed doing their own thing, rather gang activity? How many have been kicked out or left the gangs since then, but are still on the gang list?

      The list is a good intelligence tool. Having it centralised means the information isn't trapped in regional silos, taking ages to figure out the purpose of an individual from the Hawkes' Bay coming into Marlborough.

      But it's not a census of gang membership. The Herald is writing cheques their data can't cash.

  8. James 2 9

    It's clear now that lockdowns cannot practically stop Delta (here or overseas) and come with significant and negative side effects across the board, including missed cancer screenings and appointments and a range of mental health outcomes.

    My young nephew, who already was a somewhat cautious and anxious little chap, is now such a fear filled, reserved boy. At an age he should be exploring and testing boundaries, he's developed to be withdrawn and anxious. Outside = danger danger and he clings to his mask like Linus does to his blanket. It breaks my heart sometimes and I shudder to think of the stunted mental development across children and what this will bring to the future.

    It's also becoming clearer that the modelling on Covid infections and ICU was hopelessly over-egged. It's understandable in a way – better to be the scientist who cried wolf than didn't cry at all. Especially when you're being paid $6 million like Professor of Physics Hendy's little venture was.

    But this mis-assessment and groupthink happened here and abroad. UK's Freedom Day was meant to be a catastrophic but it wasn't and the UK is looking better positioned for the winter than many European nations. Yes, it came at a cost, but so has our course! (Not least the mass human tragedy that is MIQ).

    What's the damage here, in our radical Government policies? Immense, even apart from our main city reduced to a zombietown for months. There is a radical repositon of freedom as conditional, state coercion as forever necessary response (remember, Labour won't be in power forever..), human rights viewed as a barrier not an enabler, techno-solutions embraced to reduce humanity to a single variable, and society already prone to this now let loose on segregation and demonisation. The public interest narrowly redefined by a narrow group of elites.

    At what point do people say – 'enough of your ridiculous traffic lights, I'm not buying this false narrative of "you're a Libertarian granny killer" simply because I believe other values (and quality of lives) matter and that loss is part of life we need to rationally asses and respond to and return our democracy'. Summer is the right time to return, as we sit at an extremely low risk level for most Kiwis and peak immunity from vaccination.

    Continuing our current, narrow, and radical path carries costs just too great for how we should want our society to be – inclusive, positive, free, meaningful, and with critical thought embraced. Not a ragtag, groupthink, semi-democracy filled with fear.

    Just as an abundance of risk-taking and underreaction is damaging, so is an overreaction of caution and fear hugely damaging. It's time we started enabling our citizens to assess and respond to risks themselve. Its time we let go of Linus's blanket.

    • Pete 9.1

      I scroll down the Herald on my phone.

      "How Auckland avoided the hundreds of Covid deaths in Sydney and Melbourne. The outbreaks in Sydney and Melbournes have each claimed more than 500 lives."

      Further down: "Mike Hosking: Damning report on Covid-19 response tells us what we already know. Opinion: Government's Covid response has been lacking since day one."

      The response has been so lacking we've missed out on having thousands more deaths. So lacking 190,000 have come through MIQ and got on with their lives back here.

      I see Fiji, population less than a million, has had 56,000 covid cases to our <12,000 and 696 deaths compared to our 44. Our response in not free-wheeling has clearly been lacking, a real disaster.

      • dv 9.1.1

        And if we had the same infection rate as the UK, we would be having about 400 cases per day, and 20 odd deaths.!!!

    • Ad 9.2

      You know we go into the full managed Traffic Light system tomorrow right?

    • gsays 9.3

      Well said James the second.

      I was talking to a buddy yesty and he is despairing. Slow to get vaccinated as he had all sorts of auto-immune issues start after his first round of vaccines as an infant.

      Now, as an employer, he is having to face up to some of his staff and tell them their employment is untenable due to their understandable reluctance. Try replacing experienced kitchen staff who can work at a high standard. Even complying all this may not save the business, a business that him and his wife work at 70 + hours a week. As well as a few members of the family.

      Then to add insult to injury, it isn't necessarily the unvaxxed that are the concern, the omicron was bought into Aus and spread by a fully vaccinated person.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/456975/new-omicron-case-found-in-nsw-hundreds-of-covid-19-swabs-to-be-retested

      We need to rethink this traffic light shenanagins. It ain't fit for purpose.

      • Maurice 9.3.1

        Will Omicron idle at the RED traffic light …. or 'break through' on the ORANGE?

        Probably won't wait for the GREEN light.

      • Rosemary McDonald 9.3.2

        We need to rethink this traffic light shenanagins. It ain't fit for purpose.

        Based on vaccination status…no it ain't.

        Not with Omicron, and arguably arguable with Delta.

        It's a tricky little virus. wink

        • gsays 9.3.2.1

          Tricky virus, true.

          The fearful, nasty, arrogant attitudes is not necessary and can be avoided, if people would just calm down a little.

        • James 2 9.3.2.2

          Based on having a highly vaccinated population?

          A vaccine which is inadequate to make us free..but inadequate to mandate and divide the country?

          None of you actually make arguments except: smugness that there is danger. So what? We all know that. That's not an argument for Stockholm Syndrome of a country.

          And the next variant, and the next, and the next? I genuinely think many people can't let go, regardless. I'm not prone to exaggeration generally but I think we'll look back and see when Nz lost something immense.

    • Craig Hall 9.4

      As explained by modellers and professional advisors relying on modelling, there are multiple scenarios checked, and then the calculations/outcomes usually presented as best case, worst case and probable which is hopefully in the middle somewhere.

      Worst case scenarios are labelled as that along with the assumptions behind them. We have avoided those worst case scenarios by understanding those assumptions and taking measures to minimise them. This is not a failure of modelling, it is a success.

      That said, to quote someone else, "all modelling is wrong, some modelling is useful".

      • James 9.4.1

        This is hilarious.

        I've got a magic murder spray. I wear it and it protects me from murder.

        You want proof? I haven't been murdered yet.

        Correlation does not equal causation.

        Modelling is not any kind of science or objectivity if its not falsifiable. If ANY outcome validates the approach then this is ridiculous. This is not some goddam hypothetical computer model of stock market events, its peoples livelihoods and freedoms.

        If that's what we're going to base the biggest decisions of our country, severe limits to human rights, and medical segregation then we may as well just stir tea leaves and dance around the fire instead to foretell the future.

        • Craig Hall 9.4.1.1

          Modelling is a branch of mathematics using probabilities, not scientific method in and of itself. Epidemiology's fundamental concepts of R0 and Re are mathematical representations of disease spread developed so modelling can be done.

        • roblogic 9.4.1.2

          Modelling predicted that if we didn't lock down thousands would die.

          The UK and USA were the idiotic control groups; allowing the pandemic free rein killed hundreds of thousands needlessly.

          Vaccine hesitancy and basic ignorance of science are the biggest obstacles to us having wider freedoms.

          • James 2 9.4.1.2.1

            Modelling had made innumerable predictions, mostly vastly overrated even when pursuing the non-pharmacetical interventions proposed.

            There are countless articles in The Atlantic, The Times etc on this. Or from The International Journal of Forecasting:

            "Epidemic forecasting has a dubious track-record, and its failures became more prominent with COVID-19. Poor data input, wrong modeling assumptions, high sensitivity of estimates, lack of incorporation of epidemiological features, poor past evidence on effects of available interventions, lack of transparency, errors, lack of determinacy, consideration of only one or a few dimensions of the problem at hand, lack of expertise in crucial disciplines, groupthink and bandwagon effects, and selective reporting are some of the causes of these failures".

            As Craig Hall says, it's not scientific method. So why are we basing massive decisions fundamental to society and democracy pretending it is science? And why on earth would we pretend deaths are the only metric?

            Talking about lockdown, an interesting new study today. "According to a new study from Brown University: "We find that children born during the pandemic have significantly reduced verbal, motor, and overall cognitive performance compared to children born pre-pandemic," wrote the study's authors. "Results highlight that even in the absence of direct SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 illness, the environmental changes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic is significantly and negatively affecting infant and child development."

            Given the average age of Covid-19 deaths in the UK in 2020 was near the overall average age around 79, this does question the tradeoff on child development, just for one example.

            And yes, Roblogic can spout all the ridiculous comparisons he wants. NZ is not unvacvinated USA in winter 2020, but I understand rationality doesn't rule now. Emotional-ladden fear responses are what persuades.

            We are highly vaccinated NZ heading into summer 2021 with improved treatments even Herr Bloomfield is praising. Our reward? Orange and Red Lights which are Levels 2-4 by another name.

            The PM has explicitly ruled out Green this summer. Then what – declining vaccination immunity come Autumn. Freedom then? No, it'll be too dangerous with winter coming up and variant Omega/Zeta/whatever. Our Vaccine Passports will expire – I don't remember my NZ Passport expiring after 6 months – seems to be more effective than the vaccine.

            When freedom is a promise of a state drunk on control and caution and a population whose fear-addled brain has diminished, it will never happen.

            And the scary truth is…I don't think people want to be free anymore. I think they want a Chinese control and techno-social credit system (the Linus blanket).

            • roblogic 9.4.1.2.1.1

              Dude I am with you on the OTT mandates and annoying traffic lights. Being stuck in Auckland lockdown has tested my (already questionable) sanity.

              But what Jacinda and Ashley have done right, is listen to the experts. I don't get why people hate science, when it has saved us from a nationwide tragedy.

        • Robert Guyton 9.4.1.3

          Where did you get your "magic murder spray" (as claimed @ 5;59 pm) from, James?

  9. Gezza 10

    Good one, that pilot!

    A man who allegedly shone a laser at a rescue helicopter, was tracked by the pilot and later arrested by police.

    The incident took place in South Dunedin about 1.45am on Thursday, Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said. The pilot of the Otago Regional Rescue helicopter reported a laser was repeatedly shone at the helicopter while it flew over the area.

    The pilot was able to pinpoint the address of the property to aid police, Bond said.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/127160705/extremely-dangerous-and-idiotic-man-arrested-after-allegedly-shining-laser-at-rescue-helicopter

    • weka 10.1

      even more important because we can expect rescue helicopter flights to increase once covid arrives.

  10. RedLogix 11

    An interesting new piece of Australian legislation:

    Cyber hackers, human rights abusers and corrupt officials will be banned from visiting Australia or investing their ill-gotten gains here, under historic legislation set to sail through the lower house of federal parliament today.

    Key points:

    • The laws will allow the government to sanction individuals in foreign countries who commit human rights abuses
    • It is partly based on the United States' Magnitsky Act, with similar laws in place in the UK, Canada and European Union
    • Campaigner Bill Browder said the individual sanctions can effectively deter cyber crime

    The proposed laws, which passed the Senate with unanimous support late on Wednesday will allow the Australian government to sanction individuals and entities responsible for "egregious conduct", like threatening international peace and serious human rights violations.

    This is sound and strong legislation that has gotten bi-partisan support. I'm curious to know if NZ has anything parallel either operating or proposed?

    • Ad 11.1

      Lordie if only.

      It would be a step but it would also be a useful bipartisan proposal for Republicans and Democrats – especially in the Senate.

    • weston 11.2

      Sanctions against human rights abuses ??against threatening international peace ??eh ?Hows that gonna work arnt the ausies best mates with america ??

  11. arkie 12

    Please take some time to sign the petition to ban mining on conservation land. Multinational OceanaGold is planning to mine the habitat of Archey's frog:

    Archey's Frog is found only in the Coromandel Peninsula and near Te Kuiti in the North Island of New Zealand. This species, along with others in the family, have changed little over the past 200 million years, thus they represent "living fossils".

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archey%27s_frog

    It has now been more than four years since Prime Minister Rt Hon. Jacinda Ardern promised through the Speech from the Throne that, “there will be no new mines on conservation land.” Yet, since this promise was made, applications for prospecting, exploration, and mining activities have been approved on 150,000 hectares of conservation land.

    https://action.greens.org.nz/no_new_mines

    Please help us let the Govt know that they need to uphold their promises.

  12. Barfly 13

    Warning – attempt at humour

    What is the most common trait of National Party politicians?

    Dunning-Kruger

  13. Stephen D 14

    Keep you friends close and your enemies closer.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/12/simon-bridges-given-coveted-finance-portfolio-after-stepping-aside-to-let-national-elect-christopher-luxon.html

    This could backfire. If Luxon slips up, looks weak, or the polls don’t seriously improve, Simon is poised ready to pounce.

    • Puckish Rogue 14.1

      Worked out pretty well for Helen Clark and John Key

    • McFlock 14.2

      Payoff for Simon's withdrawal from the contest, I suspect.

      If Luxon pulls them back from the brink of being beat by ACT, Simon will have to hold fire. But at least Luxon gets an initially smooth ride from most of the backstabbers.

  14. Ad 15

    With Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows now cooperating with the House committee investigating January 6th, Steve Bannon going to jail for contempt of Congress, and DoJ senior lawyer Jeffrey Clark also held in contempt (but now likely to be more fulsome in cooperation), Trump's complicity in the January 6th insurrection is getting more assured/

    Jan. 6 panel recommends Jeffrey Clark be held in contempt, but gives him leeway – Roll Call

  15. Dennis Frank 16

    Yanks finally figure out partisan political psychology is toxic: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/11/30/why-american-politics-is-so-stuck-and-what-new-research-shows-about-how-to-fix-it-523517

    To date, the political science literature has shown that political polarization leads partisans not only to dislike each other, but to see the other side increasingly as a threat to the country.

    Giving people a voice in the process does not mean they will change their minds about the value of the policy. But it does increase the chances that they will see the policy as a sincere attempt to solve problems rather than a form of hidden malice. That, in turn, can help lower the temperature and de-escalate the cycle of polarization.

    The same lesson holds for those of us who are not policymakers but ordinary citizens who want to have better conversations about politics. If you think you know what the other side’s real intentions are, think again. What you see as malice might be an unintended side effect. And if you want someone to give you the benefit of the doubt, put in the work of making them feel heard before you make yourself heard.

  16. Jimmy 17

    How come James Shaw is allowed to isolate at home, whereas Nanaia Mahuta has to go to a MIQ facility?

  17. Joe909 18

    My mate was recently x-rayed and diagnosed with an age-related degenerative spinal condition and told he wouldn't be seen by a specialist.

    As he's deteriorated over the past months he's been seen more than a dozen times by GPs at his PHO, prescribed analgesia by the bucket, seen several physios and been sent home from the ED five times.

    Today, after weeks of worsening pain has become intolerable and unable to walk or talk, he was given an MRI scan.

    My grubby old mate with the heart of gold and the kindest man I've ever known who's been fobbed off and ignored for months because he is a grubby, little old man who smells, has advanced cancers of the lung, spine, neck and brain. I am fucking incandescent.

    • Rosemary McDonald 18.1

      This is truly shit Joe909 and my heart goes out to your mate. Sadly this is not an uncommon story, either here or overseas. No wonder so many of us don't trust the medical system. I truly believe that the doctors who actually give a shit are in the minority.

    • Treetop 18.2

      This is the side of the health system which is unacceptable and the clinicians who saw your mate need sorting out. This will require energy and take months.

      I can tell by what you wrote that you care a lot about your friend and will continue to do so.

    • roblogic 18.3

      After a severe break to my humerus bone last year, I was continually fobbed off until a local (private) doctor actually looked at my x-rays and got in touch with the right people. They don't even have time to investigate. NZ's chronically underfunded, unmaintained health system is just a temporary lifestyle choice for the medical profession, they make tons more money elsewhere

    • Drowsy M. Kram 18.4

      So sad your old mate was underserved by medics – will be great if lessons are learned, but there's likely more age, class and ethnicity-related rationing of healthcare to come
      sad

      I predict that the apparent minority of "doctors who actually give a shit" will continue to shrink, as those prepared to undertake the challenging and costly medical training required to evaluate and treat patients will increasingly also need the 'mental toughness' to handle criticism for inevitable mistakes.

      Medical students attitudes toward and intention to work with the underserved: a systematic review and meta-analysis [Feb. 2021]
      Medical students attitudes toward the underserved decline throughout medical education. Educational interventions dedicated to improving the attitudes or intentions of medical students show encouraging but mixed results.

    • Patricia Bremner 18.5

      Sorry to hear that Joe 909. Bloody sad. We do need more MIR machines and operators, and less rationing. Be there for your mate. I lost a friend in a similar fashion 20 years ago. Thinking of you both.

    • RedLogix 18.7

      A pretty typical story joe and your anger is heard loud and clear. Our medical system has become a curate's egg – good in parts.

      I actually feel rather sorry for many of the ordinary nurses and clinicians working within the system – it devalues them in many ways, some obvious and other less so. It sure as hell isn't easy working in a large hospital and I've nothing but respect for those who do their honest best at serving their patients.

      Yet like Rosemary I'm think a lot of people have lost much faith in the profession as a whole and COVID has only made matters worse in my view.

  18. Can someone please reboot Auckland Council? It appears to be malfunctioning.

    Failing to hold AT to Climate Change commitments – instead we get more roads, bugger all for alternate modes.

    Making the housing crisis into a disaster, doing the usual Nimby shit

    Can't be bothered protecting trees

    https://twitter.com/fundypost/status/1466249650596241411?s=20

  19. Cricklewood 20

    Fuck me Auckland lost another massive Pohutakawa today outside the church on Kyhber Pass…

    Council talks about the need to green the city millions to buy and plant mature trees.

    How bout we stop cutting them down… bloody sad.

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
    7 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
    8 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 ...
    9 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
    9 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
    10 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
    11 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
    14 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
    15 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
    16 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
    17 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
    19 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    8 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
    13 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
    15 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
    15 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
    5 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 2024-03-19T11:50:39+00:00