Open mike 02/02/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:44 am, February 2nd, 2014 - 156 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

 

openmike

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 …

156 comments on “Open mike 02/02/2014 ”

  • Comments are now closed

    • joe90 1.1
      2 February 2014 at 8:09 am

      Oh dear, back to the bubbles….

    • bad12 1.2
      2 February 2014 at 8:28 am

      There’s another column from Kerre floating round on the Herald as well, a long sickening ‘gush’ over Slippery the Prime Minister,(apparently Kerre just happened to bump into Him while She was in training for a marathon,(pfft),and He was strolling round Auckland with the wife in tow doing a normal bloke routine,(that description by Kerre smacked so much of the ‘truth’ that i had a vision of John Armstrong leaning over Her shoulder whispering words of encouragement into Her ear, or more to the point wheezing the actual script of the article to be printed out of fast failing lungs),

      Put together with all the political commentary from the Heralds lineup of ‘wing-nut’ spin merchants this week i get a sense of a troop of Baboons becoming unsettled in their tree top home by the smell of approaching danger breaking into fits of insanely wild screeching all the while defecating/urinating uncontrollably in a paroxysm of fear driven terror,

      ”Took a knife to a gunfight”,how tired and old can you get,Kerre shows all the intellectual depth of a puddle of Baboons urine, and, with Her having joined the screeching of the troop you would have to wonder if Bryce now has a little competition for Armstrong’s job once the latter has drawn His last gasp…

    • North 1.3
      2 February 2014 at 8:34 am

      As McIvor nee Woodham always does – predictably facile – weirdly unintelligent – a media scrubber earning her crust.

    • ianmac 1.4
      2 February 2014 at 9:17 am

      Chris73. If you want a more realistic response to the accusations of castles and clothes then have a look at this. Fascinating lifestyle.:
      “Yesterday, the Green Party co-leader tentatively opened her doors to our photographer – and revealed a wardrobe filled with more blue than green. “I quite like blue,” she laughed…….
      “Well, this visit clears up a few things. The two-bedroom “castle” is made from stone and corrugated iron. Old fridges serve as cupboards and doorways; a large truck tyre has been turned into a window frame in the master bedroom. A new pizza oven, made from mud, straw and sand, rests on a stack of tyres.”

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11195535

      • bad12 1.4.1
        2 February 2014 at 9:54 am

        ianmac, great link to a well written story, lives in a castle indeed, why wouldn’t Mets dress to impress, most of us given the wages to do so would probably have a far more expensive means of dressing,

        Does the Childrens Commissioner dress in sack-cloth to deliver reports on the state of New Zealand Children, it is shear hypocrisy for Tolley,Collins and Slippery the Prime Minister to attack Metiria over Her chosen lifestyle with such absolute Lies,

        Hopefully the television channels pick up on this story which has in all probability already cost National big time proving to a wider audience just how ugly their fear driven attacks upon the Green Party are…

        • srylands 1.4.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 10:31 am

          The point is she is skating on thin ice wailing about poverty (and greenhouse emissions) when she clearly consumes huge quantities of food herself and spends conspicuous amounts of money on clothes. Then when she gets mildly called out she cries racist. Really?

          This has not cost National big time at all. I’ll call back in and see how you are doing when the next polls come out. Although I am sure you will have someone to blames. The media, the CE of Housing New Zealand. Maybe the Electricity Authority.

          • bad12 1.4.1.1.1
            2 February 2014 at 10:58 am

            SSLands, your latest attack on Metiria Turei, unless you would care to provide a modicum of proof, is simply more ‘wing-nuts’ lies,

            You are barely coherent this morning has the hang-over effected your ability to construct a lucid comment,not that any of the other utter rubbish you spew forth is much better,

            Yes please, F off until the publication of the next ‘opinion poll’, you wont be missed, perhaps i could ask LPrent to give you a hand in your stated intention to desist from commenting until that next poll is published…

          • QoT 1.4.1.1.2
            2 February 2014 at 2:35 pm

            Readers are invited to note srylands’ use of language:

            – Metiria is “wailing” about political issues
            – Metiria is fat so her opinions don’t matter
            – Metiria spends “conspicuous” amounts on clothes (the linked article above to the contrary)
            – She was only “mildly called out” so what’s the fuss about
            – She “cries racist” because that’s what manipulative brown people do

            Yep, no sexism nor racism to be seen here, folks. Carry on.

        • phillip ure 1.4.1.2
          2 February 2014 at 11:06 am

          @ bad..

          ..i don’t think it has hurt national..

          ..tureis’ racism-call was ‘the boy crying wolf’…

          ..and way way off the mark..

          ..(it was a hypocrisy/’nasty-natty’-smear..)

          ….and she did herself no favours..with those racism allegations..

          ..(and i know it is only a herald online poll..

          ..but that only 2% of respondents think tureis’ racism-call was correct..

          ..must tell her/say something..

          ..surely..?

          ..(and also..surely..granny-print-tolley and helmet-hair/80’s power-dresser collins criticising anothers’ dress-sense..

          ..is both very funny..and beyond irony..)

          ..phillip ure..

      • chris73 1.4.2
        2 February 2014 at 10:21 am

        I’ve no problem with people saying Tolleys comments were dumb or whatever other term you want but it wasn’t racist

    • Naki Man 1.5
      2 February 2014 at 10:49 am

      How lame of Material to play the race card. Taking a knife to a gun fight sums it up well.

    • Paul 1.6
      2 February 2014 at 11:45 am

      If you regard Kerre McIvor as a journalist worth quoting, that says a lot about you.

      • North 1.6.1
        2 February 2014 at 12:01 pm

        What journalist ? Where ? A tired flibbitigibbert hack I see.

        • phillip ure 1.6.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 2:29 pm

          @north..

          ..have you seen the offerings from shelley bridgeman..?

          ..whoar..!..

          ..bridgeman makes woodham read like tolstoy laced/leavened with wodehouse..

          (..which if so..would be a tasty/interesting mix..)

          ..phillip ure..

  2. karol 2
    2 February 2014 at 8:00 am

    It’s important to address male violence in all communities. But isn’t Shane Jones just reinforcing negative stereotypes and prejudices about Maori men?

    Especially when he frames it in contrast to issues of land, manu whenua, and colonisation, in this way:

    “[It is] high time iwi leaders stopped obsessing over the ownership of earth, wind and fire and showed more ownership over the miserable record of the violence culture afflicting our young men,” said Jones, who hails from Northland’s Ngapuhi iwi.

    He pointed to the attack on German tourists in Whakatane in December which left a 19-year-old man with missing teeth as well as cuts and bruises and an 18-year-old woman with facial and arm injuries including fractures.

    • Flip 2.1
      2 February 2014 at 8:32 am

      “But isn’t Shane Jones just reinforcing negative stereotypes and prejudices about Maori men?”

      No. It highlights that Maori leadership is working to reduce violence in their communities. Maori are disproportionately represented in the violent stats as everyone knows. Working to fix that is a good thing not enforcing a stereotype or prejudices.

      • karol 2.1.1
        2 February 2014 at 8:49 am

        Working to reduce violence in one’s own communities is an excellent thing to do. But Jones is whistling hard for his dog here. And his timing is telling: along with the way he opposes the anti-violence message to core issues associated with Waitangi Day.

        • Mary 2.1.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 3:59 pm

          Precisely, Karol. The guy’s an idiot and a liability to Labour. They need to cut him loose. If they want an excuse get a journalist to ask him to name one thing he has in common with the Labour Party and there they’ll have it.

      • One Anonymous Knucklehead 2.1.2
        2 February 2014 at 11:43 am

        What has ethnicity got to do with it? Other than being a right wing dog whistle for bigots to drool over that is?

    • bad12 2.2
      2 February 2014 at 8:43 am

      Shane Jones, He who replaces waffle interspersed with words in the nature of 12 or more letters in an attempt to portray Himself as the ‘Oxford scholar’ should know better,

      Statistics will show that such young Maori as those highlighted have little knowledge and/or connection with their particular Marae and in fact live in exactly the same manner as their Pakeha counterparts,

      Maori no longer live surrounding a particular Marae, something that seems to have escaped Shane, and, Maori are now spread far and wide where they may reside in any rohe on the motu and most of what goes on at a Marae level these days is simply preaching to the converted so how Jones intends the voice of Iwi leaders in Te Tai Tokerau to be taken notice of, or even heard,in say Whanga-nui-a-tara is beyond me…

      • BM 2.2.1
        2 February 2014 at 8:56 am

        Out of curiosity what do you reckon the % of Maori would be who are actively involved in their tribe/ marae?

        10%, 20%,50% ?

        Also can someone from a different tribal area cruise along to the local Marae and get involved?

        • bad12 2.2.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 9:19 am

          BM, all of those numbers and sometimes higher depending upon the definition you apply to ”actively involved in their Marae”,

          There are many un-noticed an un-reported Marae based and inter-Marae based sporting competitions that the participants in have as their only strong connection to a Marae,(apart from Tangi),

          Just as there are many sports teams in the wider community that a particular Marae favors in terms of participation by it’s members without there being an actual Marae connection,

          i have spent a couple of spare weeks working on carvings at Marae while mostly accept for discussions in the family,(which might or might not have a wider reach), and, stopping ‘in’ on the odd occasion,usually in the wee small hours,for a spot of karakia is my ‘connection’,

          Why do you ask…

          • BM 2.2.1.1.1
            2 February 2014 at 9:44 am

            It was more of a question regarding your comment about Shane Jones being out of touch and his comment not being relevant to how Maori live these days.

            I could be completely wrong here but If you compared Maori who are more actively involved( not just turning up for a tangi every so often) in their Marae with Maori who are not, I’d say the bad statistics such as violence and crime would be way down and probably on par with most other ethnicities.

            Which I then wondered if a person who moved from one tribal areal into another could join up to their local Marae even though they’re from a different tribe.?

            If they can’t I do wonder if Maori Marae need to get together and maybe form Marae affiliations so Maori from other tribal areas have a place to go and feel involved in the local Maori community.

            • bad12 2.2.1.1.1.1
              2 February 2014 at 10:15 am

              BM, in some places this occurs but you have to remember that Marae and those who ‘belong’ are basically a family institution with a history going back centuries,

              On a deeper level it would then be hard for those who do not have knowledge of this history to join in but in the area of say sports, some cultural events and Marae based training activities friends of the wider whanau are welcome to join in, much of this depends upon how ‘active’ a particular Marae is, some mostly in a more urban setting have and are becoming again the focal point of tribal activity,

              What your really asking is for Marae,(an extended family),to take ownership of problems which they are in no way part of, a bit like asking you to take ownership of a particular homeless street kid with offending problems you have little or no prior knowledge of,

              Would you???…

              • phillip ure …
                2 February 2014 at 2:35 pm

                as a pakeha..(we who have nothing..in that sense..)

                …i have marae-envy…

                ..and would like to see similar community-based/focused set-ups most places…

                .(possible name:..’parae’..?..)

                ..seriously tho’..!..

                ..phillip ure..

        • Paupial 2.2.1.2
          2 February 2014 at 9:22 am

          BM

          What do you reckon the % of Pākehā would be who are actively involved in community organisations? 10%, 20%,50% ?

          Depending on past actions, anyone (Māori, Pākehā, or Tauiwi) can cruise along to the local Marae and get involved. The tikanga (protocol) of doing so can be complex however. I find my lack of fluency in te reo greatly inhibits my ability to participate, especially down here in Kai Tahu country where the dialect is different to the Northland one that has become the standard.

          The important things to remember are respect and humility; so I’d advise you to stay far away.

        • KJT 2.2.1.3
          2 February 2014 at 1:56 pm

          To answer your question. Yes.

          Pakeha and Tau iwi are welcome also, on any Marae I have visited.

          Like any community group there are protocols and customs.
          Just like the local yacht club or Rotary.
          Not as complicated as the Masons, though.
          You won’t get into any trouble if you genuinely try to confirm to them.
          Ask a local.

          And. Also like any community group, if you are willing to pick up a tea towel or a hammer you will become Tangata Whenua very quickly.

          • Tracey 2.2.1.3.1
            13 February 2014 at 7:28 am

            or the Northern Club when I was a practicing solicitor. On two occasions settlement meetings were held there so I couldn’t attend. Women only.

            I didn’t practice in the 1880’s, I practised in the early 1990’s…

    • Naki Man 2.3
      2 February 2014 at 10:56 am

      Shane Jones is a very smart man. Has anyone told him he is in the wrong party?

    • Bill 2.4
      2 February 2014 at 11:08 am

      Maybe I’m missing some nuance. But it read to me as a straight forward appeal to bring people and community into a frame that has exclusively sat around concerns of material acquisition. Reinforcing stereotypes? no. Acknowledging shortcomings within the culture of iwi leadership? yes.

      • karol 2.4.1
        2 February 2014 at 6:26 pm

        It’s partly the timing – coming up to Waitangi day where the issues for many MOR NZers are those Maori going on about land rights, the Treaty etc. And partly the way he expressed it. Jones didn’t say it’s about materialism, obut something more vague – “ownership of earth, wind and fire” – serves as a dog whistle for those against Waitangi settlements – and along with such a mind set goes a stereotype of criminally inclined, violent Maori.

        • Murray Olsen 2.4.1.1
          3 February 2014 at 1:58 am

          I see Sealord Jones’s statements exactly the way you do, Karol. He’s saying “Shut up about the Treaty, the dispossession, and focus on what concerns pakeha bigots about Maoridom.” He’s serving himself once again as he plays his kupapa role in the politics of Te Tai Tokerau.

    • Jimmie 2.5
      2 February 2014 at 11:25 am

      No he is just highlighting the unfortunate fact that maori males are way over represented in family (and all) violence and crime stats.

      He is also highlighting the unfortunate fact that a deafening silence is all you hear from leadership in maoridom in regards to maori crime and violence however if anyone dare disturb a taniwha there are hikoi and hui up and down the country denouncing the same.

      • One Anonymous Knucklehead 2.5.1
        2 February 2014 at 11:41 am

        What has ethnicity got to do with it? Come on Jimmie enlighten us.

        • phillip ure 2.5.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 2:42 pm

          @ oan..

          ..jones is reaching out to/affirming to/dog-whistling to..

          ..the pakeha working class racist underbelly..

          ..confirming their prejudices/sneers..

          ..and painting himself to them..

          ..as a maori who will ‘sort out’ ‘the maori’.. in general..

          ..jones is smart enough to know the potency of that message..

          ..to that working class racist underbelly..

          ..it’s as simple as that..

          ..oan..

          ..eh..?

          ..phillip ure..

      • RedBaronCV 2.5.2
        2 February 2014 at 7:37 pm

        Nah they just aren’t as keen to arrest the white bullies

    • greywarbler 2.6
      12 February 2014 at 7:16 pm

      karol
      He done all right. Not everyone comes up to our high standard.

  3. North 3
    2 February 2014 at 8:03 am

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11195207

    So we’re meant to congratulate this fucked old bully Mr Al Kirk the principal of Whangarei Boys High School because he’s “unrepentant” are we ???

    And what are these weasel words from the same fucked old bully ?

    • karol 3.1
      2 February 2014 at 8:12 am

      Oh, he was just causing some “inconvenience” to the pupils, in order to put pressure on the parents.

    • North 3.2
      2 February 2014 at 8:18 am

      Comment not fully posted – the weasel words are here:

      ‘…..headmaster Al Kirk stands by his hard line on outstanding fees, saying the 15 students who were removed from class on Thursday and another 15 yesterday were not done so to be humiliated, but parents were more likely to pay if their sons were inconvenienced. He insists that this not a form of punishment for the students.

      “I have done this every two years for the last eight years. I am amiable with [the students] and there is no animosity. I emphasise that they have done nothing wrong,” Mr Kirk said.’

      Wonder what the fucked old bully Mr Al Kirk thought about the rapists who raped a girl but still insist that it wasn’t rape because they weren’t violent. Same thing.

      This fucked old bully Mr Al Kirk is meant to be an educator. He is not Baycorp. He and the self-importants on the board of trustees who seemingly empower him should be sacked immediately.

      • Tautoko Viper 3.2.1
        2 February 2014 at 9:11 am

        A better solution would be for Head Master Al Kirk to start up a fund whereby the past pupils association or the public could donate to assist (in a discreet way) the students from financially strapped homes so that they can participate in extracurricular activities or get help with stationery or uniform requirements.
        I have had a complete gutsful of people who have no understanding of how hard it is for those who are struggling financially and who can just stand by and offer criticism. perhaps the Northern Advocate can start to advocate by setting up a fund.

        • North 3.2.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 12:06 pm

          Yeah good suggestion TV but that wouldn’t answer the big fish bully in his little pond fiefdom. Unrepentant ? What a fucking disgrace.

          • Will@Welly 3.2.1.1.1
            2 February 2014 at 7:54 pm

            Repeat what I wrote earlier when I saw this, the man is queuing to first in line for one of John Key’s principal leaders – a nice little bonus of $50,000 thanks. F**k the kids, or the local community – the man needs a right bullocking !!

      • greywarbler 3.2.2
        12 February 2014 at 7:19 pm

        The word rape is lining up to be another word coming under Godwin’s law.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.3
      2 February 2014 at 1:30 pm

      He needs to be fired ASAP.

    • QoT 3.4
      2 February 2014 at 8:47 pm

      What is it with some school principals? I mean, the obvious abuse of power aside, how do they get to run schools when they clearly have no fucking idea how schoolkids think and react?

      I’m reminded of Pukekohe High principal Ian McKinnon’s complete hand-waving away of sexual assault in his schoolyard: http://ideologicallyimpure.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/principal-ian-mckinnon-accepts-bullying-as-normal-a-joke/

    • Murray Olsen 3.5
      3 February 2014 at 2:00 am

      I had the honour of being expelled from WBHS. One of the best things that ever happened to me.

  4. phillip ure 4
    2 February 2014 at 8:20 am

    myself..and quite a few others..

    ..are getting a bit pissy about how..with the ongoing wave internationally of ‘normal’isation of cannabis laws..

    ..at a time when they should have put down their bongs/stood up/and spoken out..loudly..

    ..our local ‘drug-warriors’ have all impressed with/by their stunned-silences..

    ..are they just thinking/acting thru their wallets..?

    http://whoar.co.nz/2014/clinic-on-high-alert-comment-and-what-has-happened-to-the-new-zealand-drug-warriors-too-busy-raking-it-in-from-pushing-legal-highs/

    phillip ure..

  5. karol 5
    2 February 2014 at 8:20 am

    Matt McCarten on the dodgy unemployment stats (courtesy of Mike Treen’s research).

    Here’s a really depressing statistic Mike Treen found. Using a broader definition of jobless, he says that in the late 1990s about 75 per cent of jobless received a benefit. Today it’s less than 20 per cent. He estimates more than $1billion a year is withheld from the poorest. Little surprise then that at the same time we are told the economy is rosy churches and voluntary social services are overwhelmed by the poor begging for charity.

  6. karol 6
    2 February 2014 at 8:46 am

    Very important Daily Blog post from Wayne Hope, on the transnational elite that is the core of the rulers of our 21st century world.

    This elite has at its core transnational corporations, especially those of speculative finance:

    Or, to put this question another way, how do the rulers of the world rule? They do it through a loose network of power which William Robinson has called the transnational state. It incorporates policy development organisations such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Trilateral Commission (TC), the Bilderberg group, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBSCD) and, of course, the World Economic Forum (WEF). Together, these organisations constitute a cultural milieu of financiers and corporate executives who, selectively, invite in major government leaders, non-government organistions (NGOs), leading intellectuals and `try hard ` celebrities such as Sting and Bono.

    It is such a loose network of power that I referred to in several posts on “networks of influence”. It’s not a carefull orchestrated conspiracy, but something far harder to counter: people involved in a range of intersecting networks all working in their own ways to get and use power, wealth and influence.

    • bad12 6.1
      2 February 2014 at 9:01 am

      If you add in the US Federal Reserve along with the hand in that particular glove the American Mega-Banks you have the template for how 30 years of Neo-Liberalism was able to permeate across the political and societal landscape, sweeping all befor it to gain an ascendency it still holds today…

    • just saying 6.2
      2 February 2014 at 9:33 am

      Empires strike back. And win.

      I’ll be looking forward to his next post. How do communities fight back?

      It seems to me that most people’s lack of free time nowadays, the way life is structured so that work almost never ends, is a big factor here. It’s probably a factor in the rise of “clicktivism” – people have their computers on and can dip into sites like this without using up too much time.

    • travellerev 7.1
      2 February 2014 at 9:56 am

      I wish there was a like button for comments.

      AND…I just linked through to your blog. Never realized Whoar was your blog.

      Even more like now!

      • phillip ure 7.1.1
        2 February 2014 at 11:34 am

        chrs 4 the kind words re whoar..

        ..and that article is a killer/must-read..

        ..(for all in labour..for all who label themselves as ‘progressives’..)

        ..eh..?

        ..phillip ure..

    • Te Reo Putake 8.1
      2 February 2014 at 10:00 am

      “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi

      • alwyn 8.1.1
        2 February 2014 at 12:33 pm

        You seem to be implying that this is something that Cunliffe could say.
        A more appropriate quote from Mahatma Gandhi might be

        “I have been known as a crank, faddist, madman. Evidently the reputation is well deserved. For wherever I go, I draw to myself cranks, faddists and madmen”

        Does that remind you of some of the Cunliffe supporters?

    • travellerev 8.2
      2 February 2014 at 10:01 am

      No, you don’t actually. It’s the mocker who after winning the initial point scoring loses his credibility when people actually begin to listen to the mocked.

    • veutoviper 8.3
      2 February 2014 at 10:09 am

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/opinion/9650607/The-secret-diary-of-John-Key

      26 January 2014

      When you are mocked you lose all credibility.

      • chris73 8.3.1
        2 February 2014 at 10:23 am

        “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi

        *Disclaimer, I used to listen to a fair bit of Genesis so I won’t hold that against Cunliffe

      • Bearded Git 8.3.2
        2 February 2014 at 10:28 am

        add to this Dunne, Banks et al….and Supper’s Ready is my absolute favourite

        • chris73 8.3.2.1
          2 February 2014 at 10:37 am

          I always liked Duchess and Home By The Sea 2

          • phillip ure 8.3.2.1.1
            2 February 2014 at 11:28 am

            could someone alert iprent to the fact the site has been/is being attacked by ‘genesis’/phil collins spam-bots..

            ..and that it’s getting pretty ugly down here..

            ..(shudder..!..)

            phillip ure..

            • phillip ure 8.3.2.1.1.1
              2 February 2014 at 11:31 am

              and that braunias-piece on cunnliffe is funny..

              “….I want to begin with an anecdote that humanises me as an ordinary New Zealander.

              I had a bit of time to kill one morning over summer –

              – so I decided to climb Mt Everest.

              It was icy in places – but I wrapped myself in the scarf I used to wear as a student at Otago University.

              The smell of the wool brought back priceless memories.

              Memories of rocking out at parties to the sounds of Genesis.

              Those were the days!

              Or were they?

              As I stood on the peak of the world’s highest mountain listening to Sessudio on my iPod –

              – I felt then what I felt in Dunedin: cold.

              You might say “Well – David – that’s your problem.”

              But it’s also New Zealand’s problem..”

              (heh..!..it goes on..)

              phillip ure..

      • QoT 8.3.3
        2 February 2014 at 2:38 pm

        Yeah, not the best idea fisiani’s ever had.
        http://lmgtfy.com/?q=steve+braunias+secret+diary

    • phillip ure 8.4
      2 February 2014 at 11:44 am

      when you are ‘fisani’..you lose all credibility..

      phillip ure..

    • North 8.5
      2 February 2014 at 12:10 pm

      Freudian in the extreme FussyAnnie.

    • alwyn 8.6
      2 February 2014 at 12:19 pm

      Hmm.
      One would have to say that there isn’t a politician in the country who has very much credence then. At least among the ones that the public has heard of.
      Among the “secret diary” versions he has published are ones about:
      Colin Craig, Winston Peters, John Palino, David Cunliffe, Grant Robrttson, John Key and Peter Dunne.
      Those were only the ones on the first screen of the google results from
      “steve braunias secret diary of stuff”.

    • Paul 8.7
      2 February 2014 at 12:40 pm

      Looks like the Tories don’t have any actual arguments..just insults.

      • blue leopard (Get Lost GCSB Bill) 8.7.1
        2 February 2014 at 1:40 pm

        +1 lol yes they are really scraping the barrel having to resort to linking to satirical pieces – is that all they’ve got?

        No arguments attacking the great policies coming out of the left-wing – simply false ‘flags’, and jackets (their version of addressing ‘material’ problems I guess). No, simply ‘ooh someone is making fun of Cunliffe – he must, therefore, be finished [:roll:]

        Veutoviper already linked to one – here is another

        Also another interesting ‘opinion piece’ [Stuff, 29 December 2013] about writing those ‘Secret Diaries’ from Steve Braunias, from which I quote:

        “OPINION: It was a vintage year for low farce and high foolishness in New Zealand public life, for shameful acts and disgraceful behaviour, for sheer stupidity and evil doing, and I was very grateful…”

        “…John Key and David Shearer tied for most appearances in the Secret Diary, with three each. Poor old Shearer! Twitchy and equivocal, he ended up jumping the snapper.

        Key held on to power, and continued to resemble a moral and intellectual vacuum. I usually wrote diaries about his head floating away. I guess I felt about bad it, because I dreamed I ran into him, and lied, “Listen, deep down, I’ve got a lot of respect for you.” He stormed off. I respected him for it… “

        Humour is great (and that piece about Cunliffe was funny!)

        Thanks Steve Braunias, & keep up the good work!

    • Murray Olsen 8.8
      3 February 2014 at 2:13 am

      Yes indeed, fake Warrior. They’ve already done John Key and most of the others that serve mainly to inspire man love in you.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/opinion/9650607/The-secret-diary-of-John-Key

  9. travellerev 9
    2 February 2014 at 9:48 am

    This morning I was watching Max Keiser and I highly recommend the show but on his site another video caught my eyes. The video called: Jump you fuckers and it is a song dedicated to the masters of the universe also known as the London city/Wall street bankster crowd.

    This song is not for the faint of hart. In fact it’s brutal so if you don’t like swearing and wishing the pox on an entire group of people no matter how much they deserve it this song is not for you.

    But if you feel the need to blast the bastards with a song that tells them what you think give it a go! I firmly held John Key in my mind when I listened to it and it gave me great joy!

  10. fisiani 10
    2 February 2014 at 11:19 am

    Wow The TV3 poll results are fascinating. National slumped to 42% Labour 35% and Greens 11%. Certainly seems like The Cunliffe bribe has fooled enough people. Looks like there is no way that John Key can be Prime Minister. Labour/Greens still need Winston to come on board as last cab.

    • Ad 10.1
      2 February 2014 at 11:42 am

      And I am so going to enjoy being at the airport to wave Key to his home in Hawaii. Cunliffe promised new leadership, brought in a whole tide of fresh supporters (some of whom will refresh caucus), got explicit support from the entire Ratana movement, and understands really clearly who needs to vote in order to change the government.

      Key’s supporters can stay seduced by his smiles, his royal visits, the great sheen of the fawning and uncritical media, and will all weep at the end.

      Anyone surprised by the personal attacks this week? Cunliffe just launched a policy with far greater sweet spot power than simply trying to bribe the teachers union. He just told everyone Labour loves your family, but using a nice deep code. National saw how positive it was trending, and had to mount a full and hard attack.

      Watch the secret tidal change of major donors slipping over to the other side when they can see how fast and hard the tide is running out on National, below the surface.

      I was quite happy to have a crack at Labour if this poll was catastrophic, and I am very pleased to see how confounded I have been.

      Fisiani, come over to the side good, while there’s still time.

      • Will@Welly 10.1.1
        2 February 2014 at 8:02 pm

        Trust me, if Key thinks he’s going to lose, Airforce One will be winging it’s way out in the early hours of the morning. I’m picking a Knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday’s Honours List, just in case. He might even resign in the last week if the polls are against him, handing over to whoever, so he can F.O. Remember, he only likes “winners.”

    • ianmac 10.2
      2 February 2014 at 11:57 am

      Which poll was that fisiani? Recent was it?

    • bad12 10.3
      2 February 2014 at 12:01 pm

      Lots of water to run under the bridge befor the vote, lots more policy announcements to come from Labour and the Green party,

      48% in a Parliament without an overhang should be enough to form a Government, things are looking to be on a reasonable track this far out from the actual day,

      TV3 polls aint known for being kind to Labour, and many, including the rumor mill from downtown Wellington, who usually can be relied upon to ‘know’ something, have been since well befor the Policy announcements from both Labour and the Green’s in the past coupe of weeks, saying that National are polling in the low 40’s,

      Fisiani can call people fools all He likes, and, if He considers Labour’s ‘Best Start’ to be a bribe He must then acknowledge the National Party’s ‘tax switch’ as a bribe as well,

      Yell it from the roof-tops Fisiani, ”the people are stupid” should be the battle cry of you and Slippery the Prime Minister for the 2014 election, your pretty much odds on for another 9 in Opposition as it is, might as well make it a certainty…

      • srylands 10.3.1
        2 February 2014 at 12:08 pm

        Please stop capitalising personal pronouns. “He” makes you look ridiculous.

        The tax rebalancing was good policy designed to promote markets and self responsibility. The baby bribe is bad policy designed to entrench welfare dependency.

        How can you not see the difference?

        • bad12 10.3.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 12:33 pm

          Please stop commenting as each one makes you look ever the more a ‘wing-nut’, Soooo making the poorest sections of society pay more of their income in GST while offering no counter to rising prices of an ongoing nature and the payment of yet more GST as those prices rise promotes self responsibility,

          The heights to which your un-genius intellect will soar in search of bullshit knows no bounds and i am sure if the forces of gravity were not to be a factor of our little planet said intellect would simply travel the universe searching for the source of the one true piece of bullshit,

          What is this welfare dependency you speak of, the facts show that very few people as a % of the total recipients of welfare that have an entrenched dependence on the provision of welfare, in the great scheme of things most spend a while on a benefit and then move into the workforce…

        • Paul 10.3.1.2
          2 February 2014 at 12:51 pm

          Please return to kiwiblog.

        • McFlock 10.3.1.3
          2 February 2014 at 2:31 pm

          please just stop.

        • Draco T Bastard 10.3.1.4
          2 February 2014 at 2:44 pm

          The tax rebalancing was good policy designed to promote markets and self responsibility.

          You really have drunk the Kool-Aid. Nacts tax re-balancing was to make the rich richer and the poor poorer and that’s exactly what it’s done. It’s also left a massive hole in the governments accounts – just like it was supposed to – so that the government would have even more excuse for massive borrowing and austerity.

  11. joe90 11
    2 February 2014 at 1:06 pm

    The penny’s dropping.

    The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation has estimated that more than 60% of the 5.7 million U.S. manufacturing jobs lost over the last decade were because of rising imports of manufactured goods. The Peterson Institute of International Economics estimates that 39% of the increase in U.S. income inequality is because of this imbalanced trade.

    Yet Washington keeps negotiating so-called free-trade agreements that seem to open the U.S. market while leaving others relatively closed. A major reason for this is the classic economists’ argument that the generally lower consumer prices that may arise from imports will exceed the more limited wage losses that may occur in a few specific industries, and therefore, on balance, free trade will always and everywhere be a win-win arrangement. In other words, despite the millions of jobs lost as a result of the rising U.S. trade imbalance, the overall U.S. economy is supposed to be better off today than 10 years ago because of lower prices for consumers. The argument is that the wage losses occur only in a limited number of industries, while the lower prices are available to the entire population.

    This simplistic analysis is incomplete and wrong. Its key assumption is that the economy is at full employment. In such a situation, workers who lost jobs in a few industries would lose wages only for a limited period until they found new jobs at the same wages as the old jobs. Thus there would be no overall downward pressure on wages and only limited and temporary wage losses for a relatively small part of the labor force, while the whole population would be benefiting from lower consumer prices.

    http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-prestowitz-sotu-trade-deficit-20140130,0,1832709.story

  12. veutoviper 12
    2 February 2014 at 2:12 pm

    Well, it seems it is out with the old, and in with the new.

    According to Audrey Young (even though the formal announcement is not due until 3pm), Whyte is the new Act leader, and Seymour will be the Act candidate for the Epsom seat. Meaning that they have split the roles; and dumped Boscawen.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11195695

    • McFlock 12.1
      2 February 2014 at 5:08 pm

      fucksake, ACT have yet another idiot who fumbles the “skeletons in the closet” question.

      When your current MP is being prosecuted, and former MPs have committed identity fraud and who knows what else, the correct answer is “NO” – not “depends on what you call skeletons”

  13. Draco T Bastard 13
    2 February 2014 at 2:21 pm

    What can we actually learn from the UK’s first marijuana ‘overdose’?

    But when Nutt, a former chief drug advisor to the UK, raises the question of what Moss’s case can teach us about the dangers of smoking pot, his response is unequivocal: “I think the answer is nothing.”

    Nutt isn’t being cold – he’s being realistic. “Taking any amount of cannabis,” he writes, “like all drugs, like so many activities, puts some stresses on the body.”

    To suggest that a single incident – in which, it bears repeating, Moss smoked less than a joint’s-worth of marijuana – should ever be weighed seriously against weed’s history as a drug with no immediately lethal consequences is not only unreasonable, it distracts from more meaningful discussions about the actual dangers posed by drugs, illicit or otherwise:

    It would seem that some people are getting terrified of the legalisation that is spreading around the world.

  14. Mike 14
    2 February 2014 at 2:49 pm

    I’m wondering why there is a TV3 poll tonight – only the tail end of their polling would have covered the Labour announcement last Monday, (and Akl holiday weekend), but fully includes the effect of the National announcement

    Gower keeps calling it (this single poll) a ‘game changer’, so we’ll see
    But if you were going to time your six-weekly poll in a way to downplay the chances of one party after the ‘states’ of the nation, this would be it

  15. greywarbler 15
    2 February 2014 at 2:55 pm

    There was a review on radionz of film 12 years a Slave. A freeman was grabbed from New York I think, because he was black and was delivered to the South to be a salave, and it took him 12 years to get away.

    It was impressed on me the other day when I looked up the term shanghai-ing which I understood was the kidnapping of any unwary man to form part of a ship’s crew, how this was another type of slavery. Black slavery was done en masse, factory style, and for profit in a business chain where was money made at each node in the chain. The black slaves were goods later to be labour, but not as precious as supplying the correct number of crew before a voyage. So there couldn’t be the same ‘wastage’ as with the black slaves who were crammed into ships with lots of trauma, sickness, and death that decimated their numbers.

    The ones ‘impressed’ or press-ganged’ for crew were needed bodily on the spot. They were needed to work as crew so could not be allowed to die with such disinterest. And the British Royal Navy were the biggest perpetrators as they attempted to fill the crews for their battleships in their sea war maneouvres. Brit businessmen also were big on transporting and dealing in black slaves. So the mix of cruelty and desire for profitable business is deep n the English mix.

    Now Cameron and his ‘white shirts’ are reversing the social welfare and human rights advances so laboured over and sacrificed for, which has been used as exemplars of a modern better world. It is frightening to think of how low they can go, rationalising as to TINA all the way.

  16. phillip ure 16
    2 February 2014 at 3:04 pm

    boscowan has been given the boot from act..

    ..he got nothing..

    ..whyte is party president..

    ..seymour(?) is the candidate..

    ..they obviously swallowed boscowans’ pitch on the need for two roles..

    ..just sidelined him in their choosing..

    ..(his automoton-like appearance on the campbell show this week wouldn’t have helped his case..)

    phillip ure..

  17. fisiani 17
    2 February 2014 at 3:42 pm

    John Key will not have a “cup of tea” He will simply explain how MMP works and that to avoid a Greens led government stopping all progress a National led government has to be elected. He will explain that the key to this lies in just three constituencies. Epsom, Ohariu and East Coast Bays. He will explain that National supporters should give their party votes to National but cast their constituency votes for Seymour, Dunne and Craig. That will ensure that no one will think that a vote for ACT, UF or the Conservatives will be wasted. This will maximise the Centre owned by National.

    • bad12 17.1
      2 February 2014 at 3:45 pm

      Fish-head, Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha, it’s going to be quite a big Opposition then, Ha Ha Ha…

      • srylands 17.1.1
        2 February 2014 at 4:12 pm

        yes ha ha. You know nothing. After 12 months of being convinced that we were stuck with a Greebour nightmare, I am convinced that a National led Government is a near certainty for another 3 years.

        The money agrees with me.

        https://www.ipredict.co.nz/app.php?do=contract_detail&contract=PM.2014.NATIONAL

        bad12 – I suggest you take 6 months rest and get on the meds again.

        • McFlock 17.1.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 4:16 pm

          Money doesn’t vote, sspylands.

        • bad12 17.1.1.2
          2 February 2014 at 4:51 pm

          Yet another Clown comment SSLand, ipredict is a site for the stupid who think that by rearranging the % of the vote as a prediction of the election outcome doing so will make it come true,

          Wishful thinking taken to it’s logical conclusion in other words, oh and that logical conclusion???, a fool and His money are soon parted which fits you to a T…

        • felix 17.1.1.3
          2 February 2014 at 4:56 pm

          srylands, please stop saying “we” and “our” when referring to New Zealand related matters.

      • fisiani 17.1.2
        2 February 2014 at 5:07 pm

        Do the arithmetic 47%+ 2%+1%+4% =54% which equates to 64/120 MP’s + MP 3 MP’s = 67/120 Thus giving dissension room for either the Cons or the MP over specific issues since they will seldom share points of view.

  18. tricledrown 18
    2 February 2014 at 5:29 pm

    Seryalyerand fishyanal

    If you want less people on lonterm unemployment Dpb benefits Don’ t vote National going back to 1900 right wing govts have had more unemployment.
    National and National lead govts have had more on these benefits and for much longer .
    NZ statistics 1990 to 2000 National had over 6.5% unemployed averaging nearly 2 years on benefit Labour lead govt 3.5% unemployment with at an average of less than 6 months on benefits.

    So by your own logic you would be pushing to get rid of the bludgers party.
    What would make you even dispose Nactional even more is the picking winners BS nactionals broken promise of corporae welfare handef to media movie and mining moguls Nactionals friends!

  19. North 19
    2 February 2014 at 5:43 pm

    Ah, “Philosopher” Whyte.

    Here are some views expressed in articles he’s written:

    “Of course demand for GPs is too high — a visit costs zero – A moderate fee will deter people with sniffles” – 17th March 2010

    “Base bankers’ pay on market’s bump and grind – Lap dancers’ financial arrangements could be a model for remuneration in investment banks and cut scope for criticism” – 28th September 2009

    “Strip the Bank of England of its power – Leaving a team of ‘wise men’ to set interest rates is absurd. Market forces will always do it better” – 2nd July 2009

    “The economy’s not dying. It’s poorly – What will really harm our future wealth is a hyperactive state which takes on too much power” – 15th April 2009

    “The market is destructive. Good – Brown and Obama declare they love free trade. So why don’t they follow the logic of their thinking?” – 18th March 2009

    “Business is not responsible for social justice – My company’s only cause is to make a profit “- 12th March 2009

    “Perfect day to blow up the nanny state – The cost of protecting children from death is too high when it means that millions lose the chance of enjoying themselves” – 5th November 2008

    “Nobody knows the importance of everything – When it comes to spending money on behalf of other people, no one can get it right. So no one should try” – 21st August 2008

    Some consolation – at least it’s now official. If after 2014 Key governs only on account of electoral jack up with ACT we’ll truly be governed according to the imperatives of foreigners.

    Acknowledgment: not read any of the articles which are listed at http://www.whocomments.org/wiki/Jamie_Whyte. They’re behind a Sunday Times log-in or paywall.

    The kaupapa seems pretty clear however.

    • srylands 19.1
      2 February 2014 at 7:24 pm

      They read like perfectly sensible views to me.

      • McFlock 19.1.1
        2 February 2014 at 7:45 pm

        I can’t figure out whether your acceptance of them reinforces my view that they’re morally bankrupt and idiotic aphorisms, or that it simply reinforces my view that you’re a morally bankrupt idiot.

      • felix 19.1.2
        2 February 2014 at 7:49 pm

        Yes, but you’re a far-right extremist with very, very fringe views shared by an almost immeasurably small percentage of voters (according to all available polling data) and you have no understanding of the culture and society of New Zealand, a country you’ve only visited via Wikipedia and GoogleMaps.

      • Murray Olsen 19.1.3
        3 February 2014 at 2:47 am

        Thanks, SSlands, for confirming that you are a nastier piece of work than I had ever imagined. The cost of keeping you and your like away from my grandkids will never be too high.

    • greywarbler 19.2
      2 February 2014 at 8:43 pm

      These lines read as if may be part of a film like one on at present Elysium – mad complex life games with no value for no apparent human purpose.

      t

  20. tricledrown 20
    2 February 2014 at 5:44 pm

    Childhood poverty creates longterm welfare depedency.
    National the party that creates poverty.

  21. tricledrown 21
    2 February 2014 at 9:56 pm

    Schrillglands time to use your private health insurance ACTparty support down by .8% to Zero.
    Free straight jackets supplied to delusional rwnjs.
    Crosby taxdodgers must be scrapping the bottom of a very empty barrel to pay an Airhead like you.

  22. xtasy 22
    2 February 2014 at 10:19 pm

    As I am not sure whether anyone else here has taken not of some highly revealing information that Chris Trotter has made available on The Daily Blog, I will just in case post this here:

    http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/01/31/falls-the-shadow-everything-you-didnt-know-about-the-committee-for-auckland/

    Inform yourself about the “Committee For Auckland”, the who knows who selected boys and girls club, that “advises”, “inspires” and guides Auckland Council (the mayor, counsellors and their staff).

    Go through it, and you will start to understand, why we have what we have, and why “democracy” is in the Super City nothing but a total farce. I would claim it is a FARCE in the whole country of New Zealand.

    Some info of the key stakeholders and business bosses that make up the leadership within that Committee:

    http://www.committeeforauckland.co.nz/about/staff-and-governance/executive-team

    http://www.committeeforauckland.co.nz/about/staff-and-governance/committee-for-auckland-limited-board

    “Independent”, yeah right, like the MSM (mainstream media) journalists cheer-leading Key and the Nats into office again. Look also at their “Communications Manager” and her background (in corporate media)!!!

    So how “independent” is Len Brown from big business then???

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Stories of varying weight

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • Balancing External Security and the Economy

    New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    17 hours ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: The unravelling of the offsets

    The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago
  • What makes us tick

    This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    23 hours ago
  • Foreshore and seabed 2.0

    In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

    The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway

    The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

    New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 'Pacific Futures'

    President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests.    Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone.    Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-07-26T23:55:13+00:00