Open Mike 03/01/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, January 3rd, 2019 - 125 comments
Categories: open mike, uncategorized - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

125 comments on “Open Mike 03/01/2019 ”

  1. lprent 1

    The block to comments this morning was due to the temp directory getting full. I’d left a bash shell tail the standard’s log, and it was spooling the log output into /tmp as history. I must set the bash to not be on an infinite scroll.

  2. Robert Guyton 2

    Pete George @ Your NZ:
    “It’s hard to measure whether Kiwiblog is worse than The Standard – abuse at KB is generally worse but it is also more open, there’s a more subtle insidious approach often taken at TS – and it is aided by one sided moderation, and promoted by the master moderator, which arguably reflects more poorly on the blog.”

    https://yournz.org/2019/01/03/farrar-acts-on-ongoing-attacks-on-ardern/#comment-336562

    Why do we allow George to comment here?
    His views seem poisonous.

    • It’s a conspiracy, Robert. We master moderators have a solemn pact where we let PG comment here just to make his moaning about moderation at TS seem hypocritical. The rest of the commenters are subject to random, anarchic moderation decisions based on a throw of the I ching.

      • Robert Guyton 2.1.1

        Ah! Now I understand how it all works, TRP! The I Ching! Suddenly, it all makes sense!
        That’s a relief!

        • marty mars 2.1.1.1

          Watch out Pete’s probably writing another post on labour and Chinese names even as we speak…

          ‘At the Jacinda love blog the labour blackhats haters have once again ripped in again into immigrant and Chinese again as I predicted many time though a humble hobbyist and amiable amateur am I – I’m sure Mr or Mrs I ching is as deeply offended as I am at this and now I await my ban at that filthy jungle full of running dogs and sitting cats.’

      • NZJester 2.1.2

        The I ching, my goodness get with the times. Toss a D20 dice or shake up a custom made 8 ball filled with moderation decisions to spice things up.

    • Why do you care so much Robert?

      • greywarshark 2.2.1

        Because in everyday life you don’t make a good thing if you put poor, even poisonous, ingredients in it.

        And TRP the idea of letting anybody have a go as long as they don’t go against the basic rules supposedly is an example of free speech actually ignores why The Standard is important even vital in my opinion. It is an exchange of thinking peoples ideas

      • Robert Guyton 2.2.2

        Good question, marty mars – I have no reasonable answer to offer and thanks to you, I’m abandoning all interest in his waffling.

        • marty mars 2.2.2.1

          I’m not saying stop just make sure you’re getting what you want from it – imo you do good. Pete is Pete and that cat won’t change. But we also need to know the insidious lies he says to poison the well so if someone can stomach it well good on them.

          • Robert Guyton 2.2.2.1.1

            I think I was bored, Marty. I should have instead, pursued my old habit of learning new words. Here’s a good one: grimalkin

            “A grimalkin (also called a greymalkin) is an archaic term for a cat. The term stems from “grey” (the colour) plus “malkin”, an archaic term with several meanings (a cat, a low class woman, a weakling, a mop, or a name derived from a hypocoristic form of the female name Maud.”
            Much more fun 🙂

            • greywarshark 2.2.2.1.1.1

              Hey is that an obscure put-downm? Hah! Great word ‘grimalkin’. Thinking about cats – the Cheshire Cat might be a good concept that could indicate a paragraph of opinion within those three words. A sort of code.

              Wikipedia says: “One of its distinguishing features is that from time to time its body disappears, the last thing visible being its iconic grin. ”
              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire_Cat

              Just perfect for people who need a ban. Could say, this one deserves the Cheshire Cat treatment!

              That would fit into PGs description of TS in 2 above.
              “It’s hard to measure whether Kiwiblog is worse than The Standard – abuse at KB is generally worse but it is also more open, there’s a more subtle insidious approach often taken at TS

              Subtle, insidious, machiavellian. Just the way that the powers that be are working away manipulating our society, and people like PG are useful foot soldiers. Meet them with an understanding of their own methods I say. As long as we try to speak truth and be as open as possible except when facing the twisted.

            • fender 2.2.2.1.1.2

              “I think I was bored…”

              Humans dislike being bored so much sometimes physical pain is preferable. Experiments around sensory deprivation have shown humans will even inflict pain like an electric shock on themselves (or they will even go to yawnNZ) in an effort to alleviate their boredom.

              Some deadbeat subjects will even get so bored they will invent absurd fantasies like: ” I suppose that Marama Davidson is probably going to claim that Santa was a c**t though and claim him/her as being part of her taonga” to amuse themselves.

              Take care Robert, stick to reading the dictionary rather than the ramblings of the deranged. 🙂

          • Pete George 2.2.2.1.2

            “But we also need to know the insidious lies he says”

            That is more of an insidious lie than your vague unsubstantiated assertion.

        • Bewildered 2.2.2.2

          You and Pete got a bit of bro love going on Robert The mutual infatuation is sweet 😊

    • Drowsy M. Kram 2.3

      Robert, thanks for keeping an eye on Your NZ and passing on some of the waffle – sorry to read you won’t be doing this anymore.

      Pete George’s catty assessment of The Standard’s moderation (and “master moderator”) arguably reflects more poorly on Pete George, and is weak poison.

      Petey is getting on in years and may be suffering from a nail and claw disorder:

      https://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/skin/c_ct_nail_nailbed_disorders

      • Robert Guyton 2.3.1

        Well, Drowsy, if Pete’s suffering from onychomycosis, which might explain his caterwauling (https://www.catster.com/cat-behavior/caterwauling-what-is-it-and-why-do-cats-do-it), then he deserves our sympathy, or at least mine, and I’m happy to offer it.

      • veutoviper 2.3.2

        That’s OK – I probably will!

        BUT a warning – I am probably older than PG …

        AND no I don’t suffer from a nail and claw disorder now that I have to have (give myself) very frequent Vitamin B12 injections to stay alive. Nails and claws are in top notch condition. LOL

        • Robert Guyton 2.3.2.1

          veutoviper – re-claws (nails and hair too) I met a woman recently who needed to strengthen hers, so drank tea made from horsetail (equisetum) daily for a month and built strong, vigorously-growing locks and nails. She recommended it highly. Yesterday I met a bloke who recommends darkening hair with water in which un-hulled walnuts have been boiled. He too swore by the process.

          • veutoviper 2.3.2.1.1

            Interesting, Robert. Good hair and nails are a small inconsequential tangent benefit of my injections, as my body cannot absorb B12 from food through the stomach/gastric system. Addison-Biemers Syndrome aka Pernicious Anaemia (PA) which is a bit of a misnomer as its symptoms/effects are body wide and not just haematological.

            Vitamin B12 (In the case of PA – injections) are essential to make good red blood cells which can then transport oxygen around my body to keep my heart, lungs, brain and every other organ functioning and to try to stem the permanent muscular and neurological damage already done which means I can no longer walk far, or do a lot of other things in particular gardening. I have always been a very keen and active gardener (come from a long line of home and professional gardeners) and the inability to do so any more is devastating. Hence my silence to date on your posts on that subject.

            (FYI the long line apparently includes three generations of Head Gardeners and gardeners at Kew Gardens London, including when Joseph Banks returned with his NZ plant collection.)

            BUT a great benefit (double edged sword?) of the B12 injections is my brain function and memory have improved probably the most of all. IMO these functions are back to what they were probably in my late 30s (and the bloody brain will not stop churning in the middle of the night!)

            I could write a thesis on all of this but won’t today – LOL (TG, they all say.)

            • Robert Guyton 2.3.2.1.1.1

              Jeepers! You’ve got great Garden Cred, veutoviper!
              The woman who recommended the horsetail treatment to me had also suffered from anaemia, though she didn’t say pernicious. She was from Baja California and looked Mexican. Great hair and nails!

      • greywarshark 2.3.3

        Suffering from nail and claw problems? Or perhaps foot-and-mouth – though different animal? That could come from trying to beef up his arguments!

    • As someone who canvasses for the Labour party I find the expression of such views useful and in particular the response to them. It gives me a greater understanding of the views out there. Unfortunately a lot of people are influenced by ridiculous anti union and anti labour views promoted by our media. It also takes me out of my bubble which is important when I want to help win elections. I do have a theory though that PG comes here to promote his blog and encourage people to click on it to see what the story is. Perhaps he comes here when his blog is quiet.

      • Pete George 2.4.1

        I came here recently to address false claims being made by Robert. he seems to feel aggrived that he should abide by reasonable standards of debate like everyone else (not here of course, he seems free to make things up).

        Did you notice that it was Robert bringing it up here and linking to Your NZ, not me.

      • greywarshark 2.4.2

        I can see the truth of your opinions TFG. That was helpful explanation.

      • veutoviper 2.4.3

        While some people here wonder why I and others bother to read PG’s and other blogs, I totally agree with what you have said re it being useful to know what is being said elsewhere and the reactions to it. As you say, this is needed to be able to put things in perspective and look at things from outside our own bubbles.

        I also suspect your last sentence is very close to the truth as to why PG comes here. (see my last para below.)

        I was actually adding to my tongue in cheek reply at 2.3.2 when I ran out of editing time, to say that I have been interested in seeing the road the comments have taken on my comment I filed on Open Mike on 1 Jan which lprent then put up as the post called “Discussion on Political Leader PR”.

        After making one slightly snide reply (sorry) to someone who commented on that post, I decided to not comment further and just see where the conversation went of its own accord. It has been an interesting exercise, and I am putting together a short summary of my observations as a sort of close off comment.

        While my comment started by replying to some assertions PG had made, very few people focused on what my actual comment morphed into as I wrote it which was the different treatment of PR by Ardern to that by Bridges, particularly in relation to their families – other than lprent and one or two others who actually read it in full (thanks Andre) and got the drift. I suspect most did not read it in full, but that’s life.

        I may also include a short bit about my observations of the reactions to PG’s comments on his own blog re his discussions/reactions to the thread here – Hint; very few there have taken the bait and responded in detail. Focus there is also now on Kiwiblog where yesterday Farrar finally banned someone for a hideous comment re the PM’s baby. I refuse to say anymore about that but PF has done a post on the whole situation – but has also taken the opportunity to include comparisions of Ts to Kiwiblog.

        But I also intended to include a comment similar to yours. That is, PG does put a lot of time and effort into his posts on his blogs and I give him credit for that. Sometimes, he gets a lot of on topic comments, but sometimes he gets very few. At times, it must be a bit soul destroying, and I have wondered more than once, whether he comes here for a different environment and different commenters when he is feeling a little disillusioned with his own blog. Fair enough, but also expect to be challenged.

        I also totally agree with what mickysavage says at 2.5 – both in respect to PG and as a general principle in relation to all commenters including myself.

    • mickysavage 2.5

      I have a soft spot for Pete. He has a deep respect for freedom of expression. He is tribal conservative but has reached a position where he thinks the centre provides the best result in a goldilocks sort of way.

      As long as he does not infringe the basic tenets of the site he is welcome to comment.

  3. “Hours after taking office, Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has launched an assault on environmental and Amazon protections with an executive order transferring the regulation and creation of new indigenous reserves to the agriculture ministry – which is controlled by the powerful agribusiness lobby.

    The move sparked outcry from indigenous leaders, who said it threatened their reserves, which make up about 13% of Brazilian territory, and marked a symbolic concession to farming interests at a time when deforestation is rising again.”

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/02/brazil-jair-bolsonaro-amazon-rainforest-protections

    The war has just gone up a few notches.

    • Ed 3.1

      And we get another step closer to climate catastrophe.

      • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1

        Another step well into climate catastrophe IMO. We should have stomped on this type of shit back in the 1990s but the governments have been taken over by business and refused to listen to the science.

        Now it’s going to end up being every country for themselves. The nations that won’t be too afflicted by the changing climate can’t afford the influx of refugees from those that will be.

        • Ed 3.1.1.1

          Sounds like he Listens to Happy clappy born agains.
          You know the ones who believe in the oncoming apocalypse.

          “Silas Malafia, an influential televangelist and close friend of Bolsonaro, said developed countries who centuries ago cut down their own forests should pay if they wanted Brazil to preserve the Amazon.”

          • greywarshark 3.1.1.1.1

            There is that interesting link thhat touches on Brazil’s surprisingly small haul from its oil sales. I think Brazil doesn’t have to be paid anything for doing what it should have done when the money was flowing like oi.

    • joe90 3.2

      Hence the fevered support from Netanyahu, Pence and Haley.

      Another order removed the concerns of the LGBT community from consideration by the new human rights ministry.

      https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-01-02/brazils-bolsonaro-hinders-demarcation-of-indigenous-lands

  4. Ed 4

    Glenn Greenwald shows how the Guardian has become a facade.
    Five weeks ago, it published a fake news front page story. It was totally made up.
    Its editor has been an ostrich and kept her head in the sand.
    The Guardian now displays where its priorities lie – not with the truth and not with the public, . It has become a pillar of the deep state.

    https://t.co/PvHYD56DYv?amp=1

    • greywarshark 4.1

      Thanks Ed
      There have been comments about The Guardian for ages and I can see that there is something there. Pity because the G sounds good. I was thinking of putting payments into their pockets but hey?

  5. greywarshark 5

    What’s going on down in China? How do people think about their system there, how do foreigners get treated? A close look by foreigners who live/have lived there and who know.
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNPa8fSXzzAZuT9859GVhg

    • Draco T Bastard 5.1

      You linked to the person’s subscriber channel. Which particular video are you talking about?

    • Mark 5.2

      Yeah…disgustingly privileged white people fearing their loss of privileges, one of whom is an angst fulled white South African who thinks he was ‘discriminated’ against in South Africa.

      From 9:04 to 10:16: Bemoaning the fact that the Chinese government does not accredit the diplomas of American international schools in China who follow their own curricula. He hates the fact that his kids should attend the local schools.

      Can anyone imagine the uproar in NZ say, if there were Chinese established schools teaching entirely in Chinese, teaching Chinese cultural and political perspectives, and these schools expecting to be fully accredited under the NZQA system?

      These people are pure FILTH (Failed in London Try Hong Kong) types. China would do well to be rid of such types.

  6. mauī 6

    Gardening question for our resident organic gardeners.

    My brussel sprout plants are being overrun by aphids or might be cabbage butterfly larvae. The plants are looking really unwell. What is the peraculture solution to this please?

    • Fran 6.1

      Kia ora Maui,

      This might help.

      A garlic spray can deter aphids, mites and white butterflies. Try crushing several cloves of garlic, add 1 litre of boiling water, leave to cool, then strain through a sieve. Add 1 teaspoon of soap or detergents to help the spray stick to the leaves.

      • mauī 6.1.1

        Cool, thanks for that Fran. Worth a go.

        • patricia bremner 6.1.1.1

          yes and using a baby hair brush to knock them down helps. Put small pots of cornstarch out for the ants. They actually put the aphids to work Cheers’

          • mauī 6.1.1.1.1

            Thanks Patricia. ideally I’m looking for a solution that is part of the garden design and doesn’t involve human interaction if possible.

            • weston 6.1.1.1.1.1

              prob gd to have the brassica doing most of their growing in a cooler time of the year maui ditto peas etc

  7. veutoviper 7

    I am going to try to put this up as a totally neutral comment (with one exception*).

    FYI, yesterday David Farrar finally banned someone on his Kiwiblog General Debate post for an absolutely noxious* comment wishing violence to the PM’s daughter.

    I am not going to link to that comment or Kiwiblog, or give any more detail.

    Today, no General Debate post has been put up on Kiwiblog.

    h/t to a commenter on Pete George’s YourNZ blog. (I have checked and there is no GD for today on KB.)

    Pete George has done a detailed post on his blog on this banning and his views on comments on Kiwiblog and Farrar’s approach to moderation.

    This post and the comments on it can be viewed here.

    https://yournz.org/2019/01/03/farrar-acts-on-ongoing-attacks-on-ardern/

    There are no mentions of The Standard in the post itself but there are some in the comments, primarily by Pete George, with one or two small related replies from others.

    • Draco T Bastard 7.1

      FYI, yesterday David Farrar finally banned someone on his Kiwiblog General Debate post for an absolutely noxious* comment wishing violence to the PM’s daughter.

      The most important word being finally.

    • Robert Guyton 7.2

      They egg each other on and lose their sense of perspective. Seen fresh from the outside it all looks sick but the players know the nuances and histories of who’s saying what and see it all very differently. I think it suits Farrar to have those things said on his blog; he simply claims he can’t moderate them and thus allowing the harmful claims to see the light of day where a lot of “silent watchers” will see them. It’s an ugly strategy, imo.

      • One Two 7.2.1

        Spot on, Robert…

        That is precisely what DF is doing…

        I’ve been to KB once many years ago…read the comments sections…never went back…

        I’ve also seen well known and highly placed business people link and quote from KB…

        DF takes his orders from somewhere…ugly indeed…

  8. Ed 8

    Bryan Bruce reflects on knighthoods, questions the hardworking ethic of the new rich and lament the loss of egalitarianism in this country.
    As ever, he is spot on.

    “While I think it is important to acknowledge people for their contribution to our communities and our country, I do think it’s time we had the discussion again about what Knighthoods and Damehoods signify.
    Do we still want to cling to these vestiges of the British Empire or is it time to replace them with our own honours that reflect our now diverse multi-cultural country ?
    Your answer to that question, I suspect ,reflects what you think it means to be a New Zealander.
    A few days ago I was talking with Liz Gunn on her Drive show on Radio Live when I found myself remembering out loud that one of the things that once marked our National character is that we were an egalitarian country – that we believed “Jack was as good as his master” and that we called no man “Sir”
    It’s a charactistic, I regret to say, that is in grave risk of disappearing from the New Zealand psyche.”

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/01/03/guest-blog-bryan-bruce-call-no-man-sir/

    • greywarshark 8.1

      I don’t mind giving homage to a man or woman that I deeply respect. Some deserve it. It is who receives this homage that bothers me. I think it should be up to the people to vote.

      • Morrissey 8.1.1

        MEMO: greywarshark
        FROM: The Knights of the British Empire

        It has been brought to our attention that you have had the gall and temerity to write: “Some deserve it. It is who receives this homage that bothers me. I think it should be up to the people to vote..”

        We would like to point out that a Knighthood is the culmination of a lifetime of careful groveling to the powerful and assiduously keeping an eye out for “the main chance.” This process is what the “great unwashed”, i.e., such oiks as yourself, are obliged to call “public service”.

        We strongly contest your implication that some Knights and Dames do not deserve their honours.

        Respectfully,

        Sir Paul Holmes
        Sir Thomas Eichelbaum
        Sir Jimmy Savile
        Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet
        Sir Peter Leitch
        Sir Jeremiah Mateparae
        Sir John Key
        Sir William “Double Dipper” English
        Sir William Gallagher
        Dame Lesley Max
        Sir Clive Woodward
        Sir Robert Jones

        • DJ Ward 8.1.1.1

          We?

        • greywarshark 8.1.1.2

          Well Morry i can see some obvious ones in the list that bring to mind that old circular saying that someone is famous for being famous (although having some position in the community and/or wealth would be a requirement.)

          Perhaps we should retrospectively duck them in a pond and see if they come up to see who is one of the truly chosen.

          And to be really boring I’ll repeat Bad Sir Brian Botany which I guess not everyone has come across, I hope.

          Here is a reading from Chris Blue who is a NZr, He also does another one about knights.
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKoL-fVMm5A

        • Ed 8.1.1.3

          Talley is a notorious knight.

  9. Ed 9

    Ben Norton nails it.

    “Today, on the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, don’t forget that for years the ENTIRE WORLD has voted at the UN to call for an end to the illegal, crippling US embargo on Cuba.
    In 2018, the vote was 189 nations to 2 (USA and Israel).
    189. To. 2.”

    I would add the words of Morgan Artyukhina that Cuba is “a model for socialism & decolonization in innumerable ways. Real grassroots democracy ensures popular participation in politics everyday-not 1 day every 2-4 years like in capitalist democracies. Its medical system is the envy of the world, based on the local polyclinic.”

    Happy 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution! ¡Hasta la victoria siempre!.

    • greywarshark 9.1

      Amazing numbers there. Cross your heart that’s totally factual?

      Good on Cuba, anyway. They have been through the mill. What about Puerto Rico?

    • joe90 9.2

      Hasta la victoria siempre!.

      Your kinda place, eh, Ed.

      /

      Day and night, the screams of tormented women in panic and desperation who cry for God’s mercy fall upon the deaf ears of prison authorities. They are confined to narrow cells with no sunlight called “drawers” that have cement beds, a hole on the ground for their bodily needs, and are infested with a multitude of rodents, roaches, and other insects.

      These female prisoners lack all sort of necessary personal possessions and almost always have no water, even for bathing, often drinking this precious liquid full of insects. The food distributed to them is terrible, smells rotten, and is stored in receptacles lacking in hygiene. Even prison officials have complained of the small quantities served.

      In these “drawers” the women remain weeks and months. When they scream in terror due to the darkness (blackouts are common) and the heat, they are injected sedatives that keep them half-drugged.

      They are supervised by men who personally administer the feminine products they need and who so often open these “drawers” without respecting their privacy.

      One female prisoner cried out, “get me out!”, “get me out, I’m suffocating!”, and an official called Marino replied: “stick your nose out through a hole and shut up!”

      If anyone in the penitentiary protests out loud, they are taken to assigned punishment cells where they must abide by a ruthless discipline.

      https://web.archive.org/web/20090331143515/http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y03/nov03/10e8.htm

    • DJ Ward 9.3

      One of the only nations where the Red Cross is banned fron visiting prisons. Under there rules all of us would get about 17 years in prison for our anti National or anti Labour comments. So hardly a free country.

      The health system as commented by ED is free but it’s also not free. Treatment is compulsory with no right of complaint. If the doctor wants to cut your arm off, your arm gets cut off. Some of the high profile political prisoners are Doctors and without free speech we actually have no way of knowing how good the system actually is. We very rarely hear about its errors or failings. Life expectancy figures shows it’s pretty good. Born today 78.8 years male: 76.5 years female. Not sure why women die younger. Maybe with less economic pressure etc on men unlike our society things are better for men. Plus they have regulated shared care so don’t have the ridiculous male suicide rate we get from our fault divorce, gynocentric family court scam.

      • greywarshark 9.3.1

        Okay Cuba isn’t paradise. I’ll write it off my list of drawcards for my next overseas holiday, though if they are poor they might welcome me. Howecver I had better have super health insurance by the sounds of it. Probably a picture for much of the world.

  10. greywarshark 10

    A fast talking punchy USA comedian Hasan Minhaj. Looking at Amazon and the behaviour of behemoths.
    (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5maXvZ5fyQY

  11. Herodotus 11

    I read many reviews on climate change. After spending an afternoon in the garden, whilst in the bathroom spotting a few exposed areas that missed out on suntan lotion, gave thought to how strong the sun is and the absence of comment regarding the ozone. NZ may “benefit” from a change in climate, yet we face hash consequences from the loss in ozone.
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/06/ozone-layer-not-recovering-over-populated-areas-scientists-warn

  12. Morrissey 12

    Christopher Hitchens at his best

    Try to forget the memory of the sad fellow he became in the 2000s. He used to be great once….

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJFMRYTaJSI

    • Poor Hitchens must have been in despair in those years, knowing how low he’d fallen in morrissey’s esteem.

      • Morrissey 12.1.1

        Hitchens jumped, suddenly and inexplicably, on to the doomed ship of neocon fools after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Even more foolish than that mad choice was his crazed attack shortly after on, of all people, Noam Chomsky. Interviewed by Kim Hill on National Radio in early 2002, Chomsky memorably wrote Hitchens off as “incoherent.”

        In October 2014, this writer, i.e. moi, wrote that Hitchens was:

        a supremely gifted writer, who ended up being regarded by most people as a courtier, a crawler and a callous, unapologetic liar. In his risible final book, he spends several pages enviously detailing how wonderfully urbane his friend Martin Amis was in the company of the young women at a Manhattan brothel they were visiting. He also indulges in a ridiculous attack on Noam Chomsky, and calls the democratically elected Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez a “dictator”.

        George Galloway, who memorably humiliated him in 2005 in New York City, was dead right when he said that Hitchens had transformed himself from a butterfly into a slug.

        https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-18102014/#comment-913383

        Still, thanks to the wonders of YouTube and the library, we can now appreciate Hitchens as he used to be, before he became unhinged.

        • Ed 12.1.1.1

          I never could fathom why he turned from the brightest of lights to a slavish defender of the neocon wars of conquest.

          That debate between Galloway and Hitchens is memorable.
          In it George said of Hitchens,”What you have witnessed is something unique in natural history – the first ever metamorphosis of a butterfly back into a slug.”

          If that didn’t quite signal the full animosity he meant to convey, he extended the image: “The one thing a slug leaves behind it is a trail of slime.”

  13. DJ Ward 13

    This could result in a few murders or even a war. OK there’s been a few murders already but the dreaded, often predicted water wars.

    Egyptians population growth is out of control with population set to double over the next 50 years. They are already facing an immediate fresh water crisis, power crisis so unless they get there act together things will get nasty.

    Then there is this bold move by Ethiopia. Yes Ethiopia.

    https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/2/egypt-water-anxiety-grows-over-ethiopia-dam-nile/

    • Morrissey 13.1

      You fool, you’ve quoted a Moonie paper.

      • DJ Ward 13.1.1

        Explian how that worthless comment matters to the dam? The article is News far more than opinion so deal with it.

        I’ll quote who I like. Most if not all your fixations on media is irrational. All of us realise that media, no matter who it is, are pushing one eyed wheelbarrows.

        The recent comments by the former female editor of the NY Times is a good example of bias. The NY Times being blatantly anti Trump, driven by click bait and graduates out of the lefty indoctrinated universities. Same in NZ.

        • greywarshark 13.1.1.1

          Blatantly anti-Trump. Perhaps she is just trying to find that elusive balance. Are you a Trump supporter?

  14. greywarshark 14

    The ability of the do-it-yourselfer with or without No.8 wire, this guy uses duct tape and lots of it, is the subject of this next serious skill-building video.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKoL-fVMm5Ahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOU3d_kJEls

  15. Sacha 15

    Stoked to see the top-notch material that talented NZ musicians and film-makers can produce these days:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RxHDd_qrDc

    • Sacha 15.1

      @Lprent – for your notes, auto-embed worked and then it disappeared when I edited the text. Oh, and now it’s back even though the edit window is still open.

  16. Morrissey 16

    J.K. Rowling writes amusing children’s fantasy,
    but that’s as far as her talent goes, unfortunately.

    http://normanfinkelstein.com/2018/12/30/nouveau-riche-j-k-rowling-doesnt-want-to-share-her-bundle-of-swag-so-naturally-she-cries-antisemitism/

    • Ed 16.1

      She is a notorious anti-lefty on Twitter.
      Spends hours going after Corbyn.
      She has forgotten the days she was penniless writing in an Edinburgh cafe.

      • greywarshark 16.1.1

        Ed
        She does have the right to consider Corbyn unsatisfactory. Why don’t you think of some things to ask your next local government candidates as on Matthew’s post?

        • Morrissey 16.1.1.1

          She does not have the right to recycle vicious lies, however.

          Yes, yes, she’s made a career out of penning fantasies, but she’s foolishly signed up to repeat the sad and stupid fantasies of Yenta Hodge, Rudolf Giuliani, Alan Shredowitz, Binyamin Netanyahoo, et al.

          As we see every day with that loon in the White House, money can’t undo the stupid.

      • joe90 16.1.2

        Rowling; influenced by socialist writer Mitford, a well heeled supporter of multiple causes including ending child poverty, single parents, the welfare of child mental health patients, Médecins Sans Frontières, human rights, refugees, and a long time supporter and donor to UK Labour.

        Ed, an ahistoric, poe-faced malcontent with a boner for war criminals and corrupt, authoritarian thugs.

        • Morrissey 16.1.2.1

          Ed, an ahistoric, poe-faced [sic] malcontent with a boner for war criminals and corrupt, authoritarian thugs.

          You’re trying too hard, joe. Lying like you’re doing never helps. Not for long.

    • DJ Ward 16.2

      Your really don’t get it do you.
      Your source Norman? Links to Twitter, that longs further into Twitter. Why not direct to the Rowling comment.

      A Rowling comment.

      “I chose to remain a domiciled taxpayer for a couple of reasons. The main one was that I wanted my children to grow up where I grew up, to have proper roots in a culture as old and magnificent as Britain’s; to be citizens, with everything that implies, of a real country, not free-floating ex-pats, living in the limbo of some tax haven and associating only with the children of similarly greedy tax exiles.
      A second reason, however, was that I am indebted to the British welfare state; the very one that Mr Cameron would like to replace with charity handouts. When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become under John Major’s Government, was there to break the fall. I cannot help feeling, therefore, that it would have been contemptible to scarper for the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque. This, if you like, is my notion of patriotism. On the available evidence, I suspect that it is Lord Ashcroft’s idea of being a mug”

      The top tax rate is 45% and she has earnt at least 650million pounds. You want her to pay more? Other people’s money eh.

  17. beatie 17

    ‘A former All Blacks manager and national rugby president has claimed a Polynesian star was robbed of a match appearance because the tour bosses couldn’t spell his name.

    The outrageous revelation was made by West Coast rugby identity John Sturgeon, and brought howls of laughter from a Greymouth audience.’

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12184488&fbclid=IwAR0FbcCoWyy4ujfsG2f6YuY8qRhoX_n6gkW8S9j2EwB4WUt7ApiVc56cPC0

    So, not only was Va’aiga Tuigamala’s career adversely affected, Sturgeon and his audience think racism is hilarious.

    But, hey no racism in Newzild, eh.

    • greywarshark 17.1

      It was a superb example of ineffective management though. What a dumbie, and couldn’t the office workers get their information correct? Was there a legal side, where you are expected to have names correct? It’s not necessarily racism, it’s slackism.

  18. greywarshark 18

    Does anyone know why Music 101 and Alex Behan have been dropped from Radionz?
    And going back why did Simon Mercep get put off? He’d hardly got started.

  19. greywarshark 19

    Everyone is having trouble fronting up to the waste problem. The authorities don’t take control – in this case the workers are losing out as well as those trying to run a difficult business. This in Scotland.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-46741497

    And in India, two poor brothers run an efficient scrap business and just make a living. Is this what the west really want?
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46616372

    But Indians are generating more waste than ever as processed food takes over kitchens, cheap electronics fly off the rack, and home delivery apps fill up phones. And a deep-rooted sense of thrift (the same one that has fuelled India’s famous “jugaad” or cheap innovation)

    So what’s this ‘jugaad’?

  20. Ed 20

    Interesting 2019 predictions from Bomber Bradbury.
    I agree with someof them…. I don’t see the establishment being shaken out of its complacency to climate change, I am hopeful Jeremy Corbyn will lead a Lexit.

    Interesting thoughts from Martin.
    Thought provoking.

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/01/03/pessimistic-predictions-for-2019/

  21. Eco Maori 21

    The Western Australia has got there future on the correct path renewable enery is going to power our future ka pai
    Renewable energy
    New lithium hydroxide factory in Western Australia wins federal approval
    Plant set to boost local jobs and supply growing global demand for lithium, which is used in renewable energy storage Earthworks for a new lithium hydroxide factory in Western Australia are expected to begin this month after the $1bn project received federal environmental approval.
    The plant owned by the world’s largest lithium producer, the US chemical company Albemarle, was approved by the WA government in October and is estimated to create up to 500 jobs in construction, with another 100 to 500 operational jobs once it is operational.
    Australia’s trade minister, Simon Birmingham, said the plant would provide a much-needed local jobs boost and supply a growing global demand for lithium, which is used in renewable energy storage.The company has been ordered to identify a new breeding and foraging habitat for WA’s three threatened black cockatoo species – Carnaby’s cockatoo, Forest red-tailed cockatoo, and Baudin’s black cockatoo – to offset habitat lost by clearing the 89ha plant site, including 54ha of coastal plain vegetation that is home to a number of threatened native orchids.
    The director of the Conservation Council of Western Australia, Piers Verstegen, said the environmental impacts of the project were “manageable” Ka kite ano links below P.S I know wild whenua will be ruined but its will counter by limiting carbon being burnt

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/03/new-lithium-hydroxide-factory-in-western-australia-wins-federal-approval

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqR7MihP5k4

  22. Eco Maori 22

    ‘Momentum is growing’: reasons to be hopeful about the environment in 2019
    As we reflect on a year of extreme weather and ominous climate talks, Guardian environment writer Fiona Harvey explains why 2019 could see some much-needed breakthroughs E
    xtreme weather hit the headlines throughout 2018, from the heatwave across much of the northern hemisphere, which saw unprecedented wildfires in Sweden, drought in the UK and devastating wildfires in the US, to floods in India and typhoons in south-east Asia.
    According to the World Meteorological Organisation, last year was the fourth hottest on record and confirms a trend of rising temperatures that is a clear signal that we are having an effect on the climate. Droughts, floods, fiercer storms and heatwaves, as well as sea level rises, are all expected to increase markedly as a result.
    Late in the year there was also the starkest warning yet from scientists of what our future will be if we allow climate change to take hold. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the global body of the world’s leading climate scientists, which has been producing regular reports on the state of climate science since 1988, produced its latest comprehensive overview examining what the future will look like if we undergo 1.5C (2.7F) of warming. That does not sound like a lot – most people would be hard put to notice a temperature difference of 1.5C – but in climate terms, 1.5C above pre-industrial levels is enough to take us into the danger zone. It would see the mass die-off of coral reefs, the extinction of some species, rising sea levels, wet areas of the world becoming wetter and dry areas drier, and the decline of agricultural productivity across swaths of the globe Ka kite ano links below.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/02/climate-change-environment-2019-future-reasons-hope

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvaCM1TNBBk

  23. Eco Maori 23

    Its cheaper and more intelligent to prevent making a mess of our lakes and awa rivers. Change to organic farming the tourist boom was predicted by national so why was there no intro structure money invested in the places were they new the tourist booms would take place well ask simon. We need to get the toilets and sewage systems up to a standard to handle the tourist.
    The end is nigh for our lakes
    Queenstown and Wanaka are New Zealand’s poster children, Instagram worthy and renowned around the world – always with our ostensibly ‘pristine’ lakes in the foreground.
    The appearance belies the reality – our Southern-Lakes waterways are in danger and no-one is talking loudly enough about it. It’s not bad all the time, and for some, that’s enough leeway to ignore the problem.
    There’s a map, on the Ministry of the Environment’s webpage that shows the real-time, most recently recorded water quality for every large lake and river in the country. The colour coding goes from red being ‘poor’ to blue being ‘excellent’.
    If you look closely enough, there’s a trend, the red dots are creeping their way upstream, multiplying, coming ever-closer to the source. Our waterways are dying.
    Water quality is a weathervane, it signals changes on the horizon. Those changes are occurring at a rapid rate. The Southern-Lakes is home to New Zealand’s fastest growing population, increasing annually at around 8 percent – a lot when compared with Auckland’s 2 percent.
    We have over 3 million visitors a year, and that number is multiplying with airport expansions and draft tourism strategies tabled that forecast five million visitors in the not too distant future. Our water quality is in danger across the district – not only big bodies of water under regional council control but also drinking water and stormwater under local district council control. The infrastructure is under too much pressure – from development runoff, stormwater provisions, sewage treatment
    E. Coli, cyanobacteria, Lake Snot, these are all terms that have become part of our everyday vocabulary. We have begun to expect days in summer where the quality is so bad as to be unswimmable rather than being shocked by it. That desensitisation leads to a slippery slope of acceptance.
    The only response to anything less than pristine and excellent condition of our waterways should be outrage. Foot-stamping, loud, vocal, in-your-face outrage. There’s a crisis afoot, not just brewing, and we need our authorities to recognise it.
    Just because water looks clear doesn’t mean it isn’t contaminated. So where’s the problem? What is causing it? And most importantly, what can we do about it?
    Ka kite ano

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/01/03/377614/the-end-is-nigh-for-our-lakes

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQOm37Szgow

  24. Eco Maori 24

    No need for Eco Maori words this mana wahine say’s it all for me.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5153NQZ4wj8

  25. Eco Maori 25

    No need for Eco Maori words Tama Iti say it all.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeK3SkxrZRI

  26. Eco maori 26

    Kia ora Te kaea one has to keep a eye on the weather when diving there are a few people drowning While diving.
    Ngati porou pa wars is going strong I seen a couple of faces I know.
    Feed the need is a good idear feeding the children with no lunches at school.
    Ka pai Te whano apunui has a wakama team for there tamariki.
    It’s cool to see way wine boxing getting some media coverage.
    Ka kite ano

  27. Eco maori 27

    Kia ora Newshub some people need to learn how to forgive the American hip-hop 2 different groups from the USA fight in Aotearoa no way to be a role model for the tamariki.
    I wonder if he knows that he has bitten off more than he can chew trump that is .
    Let’s hope there is not any lives lost or to much damage in the Tasmanian Bush fires.
    Ka pai to all the new Democrats members of the American Representative of The House.
    It was a sad loss the Rugby league Fai drowning trying to save a m8.
    Congratulations to China for landing a spacecraft’s on the far side of the Marama.
    I seen a show were a lady could detect some dease just buy smell to .
    It will be a great way to diagnose cancers from someone’s breath that will save a lot of lives. Ka kite ano

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
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    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
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    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
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    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
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    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
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    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
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    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
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    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
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    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
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    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
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    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
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    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
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    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
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    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
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    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
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    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
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    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
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    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
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    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
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    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
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    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
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    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
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    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
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    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
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    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
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    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
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    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
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    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
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    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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    1 week ago

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