Open mike 03/12/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, December 3rd, 2012 - 83 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner).

Step right up to the mike…

83 comments on “Open mike 03/12/2012 ”

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  1. Jenny 1
    3 December 2012 at 6:20 am

    GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, VIETNAM!!! Hey, this is not a test! This is rock-‘n’-roll! Time to rock it from the Delta to the DMZ!

  2. kiwicommie 2
    3 December 2012 at 8:54 am

    Out of touch political elite raise their own salaries, while forcing the rest of us to suffer austerity measures and job cuts: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/employment/news/article.cfm?c_id=11&objectid=10850797

    • weka 2.1
      3 December 2012 at 9:09 am

       

      Mr Allen said his salary was set by the State Services Commission after a thorough performance review process.
      “And I’ve never done a job for the money.”
       

      Yeah, right.

      • kiwicommie 2.1.1
        3 December 2012 at 9:42 am

        Just putting together a few articles:

        Foreign Affairs:
        “The increase took Mr Allen’s salary to between $620,000 and $630,000 a year.”
        “”And I’ve never done a job for the money.”
        “He did not think it was a bad look to take the increase, saying the changes at Mfat were necessary and beneficial for New Zealand.”
        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/employment/news/article.cfm?c_id=11&objectid=10850797

        Meridian Energy:
        “Former Meridian Energy chief executive Tim Lusk was paid $1.37 million, including more than $800,000 in bonuses, during his last six months with the state-owned power company.

        Mr Lusk’s pay during a period when Meridian’s profits fell sharply was disclosed in its annual report, which also revealed the company’s generous pay to other top executives.”

        “But the year to June was not a good one for Meridian, New Zealand’s largest power company. Its net profit fell from $303.1 million to $74.6 million.”
        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wages-and-salaries/news/article.cfm?c_id=277&objectid=10844284

        Mighty River Power:

        “Mighty River chief executive Doug Heffernan – already one of the highest-paid bosses on the Government’s payroll – is to receive a $500,000 bonus after steering the company through its partial privatisation next year.”

        “Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said Dr Heffernan’s retention bonus was “incredible”.

        “Who’s going to pay for it? Electricity consumers. It’s yet another cost to the Government’s privatisation programme.”

        Dr Norman said the bonus came at a time when many New Zealanders were struggling.

        “We’ve already got a problem with massive inequality, and part of that is because of the overpaying of top-end wages.”
        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wages-and-salaries/news/article.cfm?c_id=277&objectid=10841749

        • vto 2.1.1.1
          3 December 2012 at 9:48 am

          “Dr Norman said the bonus came at a time when many New Zealanders were struggling.

          “We’ve already got a problem with massive inequality, and part of that is because of the overpaying of top-end wages.” ”

          In order to highlight these goings-on to the wider public the Greens should announce similar increases to the lowest paid. Announce that the minimum wage will rise by the same amount that the top paid people in NZ have received over the last ten years.

    • vto 2.2
      3 December 2012 at 9:09 am

      These are the times we live in kiwicommie.

      • kiwicommie 2.2.1
        3 December 2012 at 9:50 am

        Just counting down the days myself, am leaving New Zealand fairly soon; have the air tickets booked. If things are better after the 2014 election i.e. National is out, then I will likely return. I am going to stay with family, because there are no jobs or future for me here as a young person.

        • David H 2.2.1.1
          3 December 2012 at 7:00 pm

          I wish i could afford to leave this country with it’s Mickey Mouse Political system, and the grasping greedies in power. And it’s not going to get any better, with the stutterer, and the Fat controller, in charge of the Labour Party. No i reckon we are going to be stuck with Key and co for at least another 3 years. And that will be a disaster.

    • muzza 2.3
      3 December 2012 at 9:49 am

      Its called hush money in old language.

      Not out of touch, so much as so bent, there is no other possible outcomes

      “And I’ve never done a job for the money.

      Translation – I’m being dropped into the positions I have because in my past there are *things* being used agaisnt me, which is why I am sitting at the top of MfAT – My job is to make sure the changes are rammed through, my past ensures I will implement the instructions!

      • kiwicommie 2.3.1
        3 December 2012 at 9:54 am

        I have shown a few of these articles to my friends in the states, to them the level of corruption and waste is astounding; and they live in a country where there are big lobby groups.

        • muzza 2.3.1.1
          3 December 2012 at 11:27 am

          Yeah its reached staggeringly obvious, decades back.

          NZ – *Perceived* least corrupt country/100% Pure, and so on!

  3. Derek Seymour 3
    3 December 2012 at 9:07 am

    Come join the revolution. Contributers required for free web-based paper on the Northshore.

    http://northshorefreepress.wordpress.com/

  4. Draco T Bastard 4
    3 December 2012 at 9:12 am

    Worth a read:

    “The secrecy surrounding the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) has been given a resounding thumbs down in a Consumerlink poll conducted in mid-November”, according to Professor Jane Kelsey, a critic of the TPPA who commissioned the poll.

    Almost two out of three New Zealanders think the contents of the latest and biggest free trade agreement should be made public before the negotiations are completed and any deal is signed.

  5. Lanthanide 5
    3 December 2012 at 9:27 am

    The simplistic, to the point of being spin, analysis by the MSM of the recent polls continues.

    They started trumpeting that Labour + Greens would beat National 48% to 44%, but there is no second thought given to NZ First, who slipped to just 4% in the polls. That’s sufficient for their vote to be entirely written off when considering seats, but is a rather unlikely electoral result, especially given their recent polling in Roy Morgan.

    If you put NZFirst in at 5% and allocate them seats, the entire situation shifts dramatically. But nary a mention of that by the MSM. I guess they figure the public has such short attention spans that they couldn’t understand a hypothetical outcome (and yet other times they happily provide them – go figure).

    • Pascal's bookie 5.1
      3 December 2012 at 9:50 am

      I have to say it’s pretty unfair to criticise the media for reporting on the polls as they actually exist, rather than adjusting for what they might think ought to have happened instead.

      Take a poll, report on the results of the poll.

      I wouldn’t be at all surprised if NZF has dropped below 5, and won’t be surprised if they stay there either.

      • weka 5.1.1
        3 December 2012 at 10:03 am

        They could report on the NZF drop and what its implications are.

        • Lanthanide 5.1.1.1
          3 December 2012 at 10:25 am

          Yes weka. Instead, nary anything was said about NZFirst. Nor the potential for the 4% threshold change to allow them back in.

          My other point is that they just take a poll and then act like if an election was held, that’s what the results would be. They don’t look at past polls except the most recent and compare to that one. They (TV1/TV3) don’t look at other polls published by other media outfits and comment on whether they agree or not. At the end they state the margin of error, but it’s pretty clear that even the senior political editors don’t *truly* understand what it means (read Nate Silver to get an idea).

          Simplistic analysis that borders on spin.

          • Pascal's bookie 5.1.1.1.1
            3 December 2012 at 10:38 am

            You’re kind of ignoring the constraints they are operating under. You’ve got a few minutes to report on a poll that you and a polling outfit have conducted. You ahve to pitch it at people who don’t understand stats, and get their news from 6 o’clock bulletins.

            “Nate Silver” isn’t a magic spell. There is a reason he did what he did in a specialist blog (not even the print edition) on the NYT website.

            • Lanthanide 5.1.1.1.1.1
              3 December 2012 at 12:22 pm

              1. Fairfax has no such time constraints on their articles: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8025925/Polls-have-Labour-closing-in-on-Nats

              The only substantive thing in that about NZ First is quotes from Key.

              2. Not really sure what you mean by “Nate Silver” not being a magic spell. I simply meant that as an illustration for why I don’t believe the senior political editors truly understand what the “margin of error” is, and yet they dutifully report it at the end of every story about polls. This is evidenced by the fact that if they get a poll that shows a big shift compared to the previous poll (as has happened a couple of times this year already), they don’t try and do any analysis on it or temper with it by references to the poll’s margin of error or about the method used to generate the poll as anyone who was interested in honestly reporting on the polls would (as Nate Silver does), instead they try and justify the move with sound-bite and vapid analysis of ‘recent political events’ even if there really isn’t much of interest that had happened.

    • gobsmacked 6.2
      3 December 2012 at 10:07 am

      Good on Russel.

      The Greens have given Labour/Shearer plenty of time and opportunity to distance themselves from Jones’ attacks. Nothing happened, so now they’re fully entitled to hit back.

      Shearer (or his puppeteers) seem to think they can go through two more years just treating Green votes as a free ticket to the Treasury benches. They’d better wake up.

      • BM 6.2.1
        3 December 2012 at 10:15 am

        I don’t see an issue with Shane Jones having a go at the Greens.
        Labour != Greens.

        • Draco T Bastard 6.2.1.1
          3 December 2012 at 10:42 am

          You may not but Labour should do. From what I’ve seen on here the Labour members certainly understand.

        • felix 6.2.1.2
          3 December 2012 at 12:04 pm

          Who gives a fuck whether you see it, BM.

          You don’t support Labour OR the Greens. You don’t want EITHER to succeed.

          • BM 6.2.1.2.1
            3 December 2012 at 1:14 pm

            I’d prefer Labour to have the lions share of the left vote with the Greens making up the numbers.
            The less chance of the Greens moon bat economic policies seen the light of day, the better it is for NZ.

            Facts are, the Greens are considered extremist nut bars by a good proportion of the voting public, in my view it doesn’t help Labour if they’re seen as being too cosy with the Greens.
            Having Jones lob a few shells into the Greens camp helps to alleviate those concerns

            • Colonial Viper 6.2.1.2.1.1
              3 December 2012 at 1:32 pm

              Funny, I always thought the “extremist” nutbars were the ones who think that infinite economic growth on a finite planet is the way to go.

              And that letting the very wealthy hoard even more money and resources while others go without, is a good idea.

            • Fortran 6.2.1.2.1.2
              3 December 2012 at 1:35 pm

              BM

              Problem is that Russel Norman will make such Green policy demands of Labour that cannot be acceptable to them.
              Without acceeding to these demands Labour will not be able to govern.
              Not as pretty picture.

              • David H …
                3 December 2012 at 7:09 pm

                And what makes you think that Labour can govern with Shearer at any time??

                I reckon Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd, could govern better than Shearer or Key.

            • Draco T Bastard 6.2.1.2.1.3
              3 December 2012 at 1:50 pm

              It’s National and Act that are the true nutjobs. Their economics are truly delusional and require that the country impoverish itself to allow a few people to have more money in the bank. Labour aren’t much better although they, at least, seem to finally be waking up to what the scientists are saying as far as the environment goes.

              • BM …
                3 December 2012 at 2:20 pm

                The Greens are going to bet the house on peak oil, that’s the problem.

                • Draco T Bastard …
                  3 December 2012 at 2:28 pm

                  So, planning for the downturn in available fossil fuels is bad?

                  Yeah, I’d say that proves that you RWNJs are completely divorced from reality.

                  • BM …
                    3 December 2012 at 2:40 pm

                    Most of the Greens economic ideas seem to be geared up around the peak oil.
                    One thing I have learnt is that nothing is set in stone, to bet everything on some future event is foolish in the extreme.

                    • PJ …
                      3 December 2012 at 3:08 pm

                      What, like returning to surplus by 2014-15?

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      3 December 2012 at 3:14 pm

                      A future event that happened 5 or 6 years ago. And, yes, I’m quite aware of fracking and unconventional oil. Suffice to say, I don’t think they’ll get the type of return that the pro-oilers expect and they will, of course, trash the environment even more. 4 degrees is catastrophe, 6 degrees is Hell. We’re on track for the former and the unconventional oils will put us on track for the latter.

                      Again, you show just how disconnected from reality you are.

                    • BM …
                      3 December 2012 at 4:07 pm

                      Not the actual peak oil event , the after effects of peak oil.

                      Having some guy running for parliament who is so certain that the world economy is going to collapse in the near future and believes that the best way forward for NZ is detaching us from the global economy and in the process destroying the NZ economy is criminal.

                      If Norman takes us down that path there will be hell to pay.

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      3 December 2012 at 4:53 pm

                      Um, why would broadening the NZ economy, making it independent of oil supplies and protecting the environment (the part that the economy can’t do without) destroy the economy?

                    • Pascal's bookie …
                      3 December 2012 at 5:25 pm

                      Most everything of ‘getting ready for the effects of peak oil’ is about using energy more efficiently.

                      If it never happens, you’re still better off.

                    • BM …
                      3 December 2012 at 6:38 pm

                      No we won’t, our dollar will be worth dirt, the only one doing well will be wheelbarrow manufacturers, every one else will be fucked.

                      I guess Norman can always escape back to Oz if his theory turns out to be shit, tough luck for any one else.

                    • Pascal's bookie …
                      3 December 2012 at 6:45 pm

                      You’re demented old chap. Have a lie down.

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      3 December 2012 at 7:15 pm

                      No we won’t, our dollar will be worth dirt, the only one doing well will be wheelbarrow manufacturers, every one else will be fucked.

                      And thus push us to develop technologies and other stuff that develops society here rather than importing. We won’t be fucked but be in a new boom times according to standard economic theory. Of course, standard economic theory is BS anyway and is just a justification for capitalism and the undermining of society.

            • felix 6.2.1.2.1.4
              3 December 2012 at 5:58 pm

              “I’d prefer Labour to have the lions share of the left vote with the Greens making up the numbers.”

              BM, I addressed this already. You’re a right winger. Of course you want the more-right-wing party to have more say than the less-right-wing party.

              This site, on the other hand, is run for the benefit of the (small “l”) labour movement. It’s for people who want to promote left-wing ideas. It’s for people who’s interests are the opposite of your interests.

              So why should anyone here care what you think?

              • BM …
                3 December 2012 at 6:23 pm

                Is Labour not left wing?

                • McFlock …
                  3 December 2012 at 6:42 pm

                  🙄

                • Socialist Paddy …
                  3 December 2012 at 7:07 pm

                  Hey BM

                  If you want to reduce the say of the Greens in the Government after the next election party vote Labour.

                  • BM …
                    3 December 2012 at 7:13 pm

                    I’m starting to like the look of Shearer,the way he eviscerated Cunliffe was indeed pleasing, once he brings back Tamahere and shit cans all the liberals, I may be tempted to vote Labour.

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      3 December 2012 at 7:16 pm

                      Once he does that, and it looks like he will, then the true name of Labour will be National.

                    • felix …
                      3 December 2012 at 7:53 pm

                      I’m starting to like the look of National. I like the way Key dealt with that fucking grasshopper.

                      As soon as he gets rid of all the right-wingers, corporate crooks, dirty fed farmers, authoritarians, populist lightweights, neoliberals, neocons, religious extremists, homophobes, racists, misogynists and enablers, I’ll totes think about giving them a tick.

                    • Socialist Paddy …
                      3 December 2012 at 7:58 pm

                      Aye especially if he commits to doing something about poverty and global warming.

        • Murray Olsen 6.2.1.3
          3 December 2012 at 4:57 pm

          Labour’s not National either, but Shane Jones might as well be.

      • Jim Nald - Once Was National 6.2.2
        3 December 2012 at 10:52 am

        +1. Indeed.

        I never thought I would see the day arrive so soon when I would be in broad agreement with Russel Norman’s comments.

        He has indeed been gracious in giving the Shearer-Robertson leadership time to respond. There should have been more than enough hours, days and weeks for them to receive internal polling and focus groups from left, right & centre.

        “Deafening silence” is generous and charitable. Comatose or persistent vegetative state would be more apt.

    • vto 6.3
      3 December 2012 at 10:11 am

      Good work Russel.

      What say thee Shane Jones? Or are your clear conflicts and compromised positions too great for someone like you to overcome? Perhaps Labour needs a bigger man instead of wee man Jones.

    • Draco T Bastard 6.4
      3 December 2012 at 10:40 am

      Quoting article:

      The mistreatment of crews working on foreign chartered vessels has been well documented; they are essentially slave labour. The National Government has taken far too long to start to address this and Mr Jones played a part in allowing this disgrace to happen in the first place.

      The Greens Strike Back

      Now, we need all the parties on the left to say what they’re going to do about this slavery.

  7. historyman 7
    3 December 2012 at 10:33 am

    People who do not know history are destined to repeat it.

  8. millsy 8
    3 December 2012 at 11:15 am

    4 year term?

    Discuss.

    • Pascal's bookie 8.1
      3 December 2012 at 11:31 am

      I’m unconvinced it’s necessary.

      Pollies and technocrats whinge about ‘boohoo not enough time to do the things that really need to be done’ and all I hear is ‘whah whah no one agrees with me that these things actually do need to be done, and I can’t be arsed convincing them, or my convincing attempts have all failed’

      Pollies in NZ have a very easy time of it. No executive veto, no second house, a court system that is respectful of parliamentary sovereignty.

      The only thing holding them back from doing things is the threat of not being re-elected, the arg’s for a 4 year term mostly revolve around diluting that.

      • vto 8.1.1
        3 December 2012 at 11:55 am

        Yep p’s b and that equates to accreting more power to their offices. Such a move is in the completely wrong direction. The power needs to be heading back to the people, not away from the people. As such, I advocate for 2 year terms.

        • Lanthanide 8.1.1.1
          3 December 2012 at 12:15 pm

          You might want to read up on the US congress and how the 2 year terms pretty much deadlock their system and prevent any real work from being done, since they’re effectively permanently campaigning and fundraising.

          • Pascal's bookie 8.1.1.1.1
            3 December 2012 at 12:22 pm

            That’s not the electoral system’s fault. If it was, it would have always been thus.

            Senators have a six year term, and lo and behold, they have become more and more obstructive and partisan over the last couple of decades. Perhaps we should give them a ten year term?

            • Lanthanide 8.1.1.1.1.1
              3 December 2012 at 12:30 pm

              “Senators have a six year term, and lo and behold, they have become more and more obstructive and partisan over the last couple of decades. Perhaps we should give them a ten year term?”

              Or perhaps, 6 years is too long, 2 years is too short, and they should split the difference and make it 4? Much like the presidency already is?

              • Pascal's bookie …
                3 December 2012 at 12:53 pm

                I suspect the problem in the US is that the congress has largely given up its role as being a check on the presidency; the system has become parliamentary in reality with the President’s party doing what it can to support the Presidency, and the other party opposing.

                The constitution is basically 100 years or so out of date. If you look back, for most of its history the US parties have not been ideological, you had conservatives and reformers in both parties. Getting things done meant forming cross-party coalitions, rather then getting party based majorities.

                Starting in the late sixties, and accelerating after Reagan, the parties have become more homogenised and internally coherent, and thus, partisan in their dealings with the presidency.

          • vto 8.1.1.1.2
            3 December 2012 at 12:22 pm

            There is very little of their supposed “real work” that I rate.

            Alternatively, longer terms on the sole proviso that referendums are held and followed on all main planks of change.

            The power must be driven back to the people, not towards the politicians and their paymasters. Why on earth would anyone want to give the politicians more power?

            Concentrated power leads directly to this, amongst much more…… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyUagbsg-HI …. lest we forget

            • Lanthanide 8.1.1.1.2.1
              3 December 2012 at 12:32 pm

              I would easily and willingly agree to a 4 year term if there were improved provisions for binding referenda.

              Failing that, 3 years vs 4 years term, I’m mostly undecided although slightly leaning toward 4 years. One big difference between us and the rest of the world (which largely has longer terms) is our unicameral system, so there’s that.

              • KJT …
                3 December 2012 at 3:14 pm

                50 000 people can trigger a binding referendum in Switzerland.

                Despite twice our population.

                Time we had democracy also.

  9. muzza 9
    3 December 2012 at 12:09 pm

    So TVNZ screened the documentary about a *concerned jurer* from the Bain trial, and raised *questions* around the topic of compenation about 8/9 days ago, now we see This from Stuff

    HERE is some angles about the TVNZ *documentary* from LF.

  10. Dave Kennedy (bsprout) 10
    3 December 2012 at 1:24 pm

    We need to work out robust ways of working together and managing a future coalition, and not giving free rein to bullying mavericks. http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/greens-want-more-disciplined-labour.html

  11. aerobubble 11
    3 December 2012 at 2:10 pm

    Moral of the Hobbit fiasco. When the high dollar, and Movie company financial troubles set to destroy your movie, and you go to the tax payer to bail youself out, remember that your brand, in a time of global depression could be hurt by the anti-union-low-wages attack of the government of the day.
    Unless of course, here’s the moral, you lead characters have big hairy feet and pointed ears.

  12. Draco T Bastard 12
    3 December 2012 at 2:30 pm

    The Tumeke NZ Blogger Alignment Awards 2012

    Without further ado, here are this years Tumeke NZ Blogger Alignment Awards 2012, with much referencing to Wiki for the Dungeons & Dragons alignment descriptions.

  13. Draco T Bastard 13
    3 December 2012 at 3:01 pm

    Opinion divided on ‘100% Pure’

    As Gareth Morgan and Susan Guthrie the other day pointed out in another outstanding missive, farmers who rely on irrigation to support stock, who grow crops or vegetables, or practice dairy farming with industrial intensity… “reap private benefit from their activity but pay very little to cover the environmental damage they cause, some of it irreversible, the rest requiring clean-up which the general public has to pay for. The natural injustice in this is a no-brainer”.

    There’s really not much to say about it – you really can’t pick and choose your facts.

    • vto 13.1
      3 December 2012 at 3:18 pm

      It is in fact worse than that Draco…

      Not only do WE have to pay to clean up the shit from their business…

      WE also have to pay for them to create it in the first instance. For example, taxpayers are forking out $400million to help with irrigation projects. Another for example, Central Plains Water gets locans form old lady ratepayers in the Selwyn District to forward their private irrigation schemes.

      It is simply disgusting.

      How about some farmers out there step up and explain …………….

  14. Draco T Bastard 14
    3 December 2012 at 5:23 pm

    And Tamihere proves that a leopard can’t change its spots.

    Ms O’Brien asked him this morning if he was sexist, a misogynist or a homophobe, and he took to the radio waves to voice his anger.

    “Tova, go jump in the lake you stupid little girl,” he said.

    Yep, just the same old bigoted git – and now a member of Labour and likely to become a candidate.

    • QoT 14.1
      3 December 2012 at 6:59 pm

      Don’t you especially love how he waited till she was gone and he was safely ensconced behind his microphone to insult her? That’s very brave.

      • Jim Nald - Once Was National 14.1.1
        3 December 2012 at 8:02 pm

        Who needs to bring Paul Henry back from across the ditch when Labour has opened its doors, taken in a talking disaster and given him party membership ?

        John Tamihere = Labour’s in-house Paul Henry.

        John Key and Natz are lovin’ it.

    • karol 14.2
      3 December 2012 at 7:03 pm

      Not if Nanaia has her way!

  15. Draco T Bastard 15
    3 December 2012 at 6:25 pm

    Govt might overrule broadband pricing advice:

    John Key says the government will not rule out using legislation to overrule Commerce Commission recommendations for wholesale broadband pricing.

    Yep, the government seems to be more concerned with a private companies profit than the best interests of the country.

    And just think, if we hadn’t deregulated and sold off Telecom then we would a) be several billion dollars better off, b) have most of the country already on FttH c) not having these regulatory issues and d) not have a government more concerned with the interests of a private company over the interests of the country.

  16. muzza 16
    3 December 2012 at 9:02 pm

    Christchurch GP earned $750,00 for compo assessment work but falsely claimed further $18,300 for expenses.

    Dr Wright, a 52-year old Christchurch GP who has been working as locum GP in Rangiora, was sentenced to 150 hours of community work on October 25 for receiving $18,300 from ACC that he was not entitled to.

    In the dual meaning of the initials G.C, this guy has the negative nicely covered off!

  17. prism 17
    3 December 2012 at 9:18 pm

    Read Colonial vipers item at 8 and lots of 1’s at 2.19 pm on the USA direction.
    This reminded me of a future talker on 9toNoon this morning:

    09:40 Trends shaping the future of the world economy and what this will mean for NZ
    The executive editor of The Economist, Dr Daniel Franklin. He is in New Zealand as a guest of Massey University and is delivering the keynote address at the new New Zealand Forum, which will discuss New Zealand’s future. Daniel is also the editor of Megachange: The World in 2050, a book published this year about the mega-trends shaping the future of the globe.

    Don’t know what I think about him – have to listen again.

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  • Seymour’s Treaty bill making Nats nervous

    A delay in reappointing a top civil servant may indicate a growing nervousness within the National Party about the potential consequences of David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill. Dave Samuels is waiting for reappointment as the Chief Executive of Te Puni Kokiri, but POLITIK understands that what should have been a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    10 hours ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #36

    A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 1, 2024 thru Sat, September 7, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is about how peopele are not born stupid but can be fooled ...
    Skeptical Science
    19 hours ago
  • Time for a Change

    You act as thoughYou are a blind manWho's crying, crying 'boutAll the virgins that are dyingIn your habitual dreams, you knowSeems you need more sleepBut like a parrot in a flaming treeI know it's pretty hard to seeI'm beginning to wonderIf it's time for a changeSong: Phil JuddThe next line ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Six.

    The “double shocks” in post Cold War international affairs. The end of the Cold War fundamentally altered the global geostrategic context. In particular, the end of the nuclear “balance of terror” between the USA and USSR, coupled with the relaxation … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 day ago
  • Buried deep

    Here's a bike on Manchester St, Feilding. I took this photo on Friday night after a very nice dinner at the very nice Vietnamese restaurant, Saigon, on Manchester Street.I thought to myself, Manchester Street? Bicycle? This could be the very spot.To recap from an earlier edition: on a February night ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies, Excerpt Five.

    Military politics as a distinct “partial regime.” Notwithstanding their peripheral status, national defense offers the raison d’être of the combat function, which their relative vulnerability makes apparent, so military forces in small peripheral democracies must be very conscious of events … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    2 days ago
  • Leadership for Dummies

    If you’re going somewhere, do you maybe take a bit of an interest in the place? Read up a bit on the history, current events, places to see - that sort of thing? Presumably, if you’re taking a trip somewhere, it’s for a reason. But what if you’re going somewhere ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Home again

    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
    2 days ago
  • Dead even tie for hottest August ever

    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:The month of August was 1.49˚C warmer than pre-industrial levels, tying with 2023 for the warmest August ever, according ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 7

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the debate about how to responde to climate disinformation; and special guest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Have We an Infrastructure Deficit?

    An Infrastructure New Zealand report says we are keeping up with infrastructure better than we might have thought from the grumbling. But the challenge of providing for the future remains.I was astonished to learn that the quantity of our infrastructure has been keeping up with economic growth. Your paper almost ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    3 days ago
  • Councils reject racism

    Last month, National passed a racist law requiring local councils to remove their Māori wards, or hold a referendum on them at the 2025 local body election. The final councils voted today, and the verdict is in: an overwhelming rejection. Only two councils out of 45 supported National's racist agenda ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Homage to Simeon Brown

    Open to all - happy weekend ahead, friends.Today I just want to be petty. It’s the way I imagine this chap is -Not only as a political persona. But his real-deal inner personality, in all its glory - appears to be pure pettiness & populist driven.Sometimes I wonder if Simeon ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Government of deceit

    When National cut health spending and imposed a commissioner on Te Whatu Ora, they claimed that it was necessary because the organisation was bloated and inefficient, with "14 layers of management between the CEO and the patient". But it turns out they were simply lying: Health Minister Shane Reti’s ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • The professionals actually think and act like our Government has no fiscal crisis at all

    Treasury staff at work: The demand for a new 12-year Government bond was so strong, Treasury decided to double the amount of bonds it sold. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 6-September-2024

    Welcome to another Friday and another roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. As always, this and every post is brought to you by the Greater Auckland crew. If you like our work and you’d like to see more of it, we invite you to join our regular ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    3 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies; Excerpt Four.

    Internal versus external security. Regardless of who rules, large countries can afford to separate external and internal security functions (even if internal control functions predominate under authoritarian regimes). In fact, given the logic of power concentration and institutional centralization of … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    3 days ago
  • A Hole In The River

    There's a hole in the river where her memory liesFrom the land of the living to the air and skyShe was coming to see him, but something changed her mindDrove her down to the riverThere is no returnSongwriters: Neil Finn/Eddie RaynerThe king is dead; long live the queen!Yesterday was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bright Blue His Jacket Ain’t But I Love This Fellow: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power E...

    My conclusion last week was that The Rings of Power season two represented a major improvement in the series. The writing’s just so much better, and honestly, its major problems are less the result of the current episodes and more creatures arising from season one plot-holes. I found episode three ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    3 days ago
  • Who should we thank for the defeat of the Nazis

    As a child in the 1950s, I thought the British had won the Second World War because that’s what all our comics said. Later on, the films and comics told me that the Americans won the war. In my late teens, I found out that the Soviet Union ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #36 2024

    Open access notables Diurnal Temperature Range Trends Differ Below and Above the Melting Point, Pithan & Schatt, Geophysical Research Letters: The globally averaged diurnal temperature range (DTR) has shrunk since the mid-20th century, and climate models project further shrinking. Observations indicate a slowdown or reversal of this trend in recent decades. ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • Media Link: Discussing the NZSIS Security Threat Report.

    I was interviewed by Mike Hosking at NewstalkZB and a few other media outlets about the NZSIS Security Threat Report released recently. I have long advocated for more transparency, accountability and oversight of the NZ Intelligence Community, and although the … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • How do I make this better for people who drive Ford Rangers?

    Home, home again to a long warm embrace. Plenty of reasons to be glad to be back.But also, reasons for dejection.You, yes you, Simeon Brown, you odious little oik, you bible thumping petrol-pandering ratfucker weasel. You would be Reason Number One. Well, maybe first among equals with Seymour and Of-Seymour ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • A missed opportunity

    The government introduced a pretty big piece of constitutional legislation today: the Parliament Bill. But rather than the contentious constitutional change (four year terms) pushed by Labour, this merely consolidates the existing legislation covering Parliament - currently scattered across four different Acts - into one piece of legislation. While I ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Nicola Willis Seeks New Sidekick To Help Fix NZ’s Economy

    Synopsis:Nicola Willis is seeking a new Treasury Boss after Dr Caralee McLiesh’s tenure ends this month. She didn’t listen to McLiesh. Will she listen to the new one?And why is Atlas Network’s Taxpayers Union chiming in?Please consider subscribing or supporting my work. Thanks, Tui.About CaraleeAt the beginning of July, Newsroom ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Inflation alive and kicking in our land of the long white monopolies

    The golden days of profit continue for the the Foodstuffs (Pak’n’Save and New World) and Woolworths supermarket duopoly. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 5:The Groceries Commissioner has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The thermodynamics of electric vs. internal combustion cars

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler I love thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is like your mom: it may not tell you what you can do, but it damn well tells you what you can’t do. I’ve written a few previous posts that include thermodynamics, like one on air capture of ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Three.

    The notion of geopolitical  “periphery.” The concept of periphery used here refers strictly to what can be called the geopolitical periphery. Being on the geopolitical periphery is an analytic virtue because it makes for more visible policy reform in response … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Venus Hum

    Fill me up with soundThe world sings with me a million smiles an hourI can see me dancing on my radioI can hear you singing in the blades of grassYellow dandelions on my way to schoolBig Beautiful Sky!Song: Venus Hum.Good morning, all you lovely people, and welcome to the 700th ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • I Went to a Creed Concert

    Note: The audio attached to this Webworm compliments today’s newsletter. I collected it as I met people attending a Creed concert. Their opinions may differ to mine. Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Government migration policy backfires; thousands of unemployed nurses

    The country has imported literally thousands of nurses over the past few months yet whether they are being employed as nurses is another matter. Just what is going on with HealthNZ and it nurses is, at best, opaque, in that it will not release anything but broad general statistics and ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • A Time For Unity.

    Emotional Response: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addresses mourners at the tangi of King Tuheitia on Turangawaewae Marae on Saturday, 31 August 2024.THE DEATH OF KING TUHEITIA could hardly have come at a worse time for Maoridom. The power of the Kingitanga to unify te iwi Māori was demonstrated powerfully at January’s ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again

    National's tax cut policies relied on stealing revenue from the ETS (previously used to fund emissions reduction) to fund tax cuts to landlords. So how's that going? Badly. Today's auction failed again, with zero units (of a possible 7.6 million) sold. Which means they have a $456 million hole in ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Two.

    A question of size. Small size generally means large vulnerability. The perception of threat is broader and often more immediate for small countries. The feeling of comparative weakness, of exposure to risk, and of potential intimidation by larger powers often … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Nicola Willis’s Very Unserious Bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander Cancellation

    Open to all with kind thanks to all subscribers and supporters.Today, RNZ revealed that despite MFAT advice to Nicola Willis to be very “careful and deliberate” in her communications with the South Korean government, prior to any public announcement on cancelling Kiwirail’s i-Rex, Willis instead told South Korea 26 minutes ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Satisfying the Minister’s Speed Obsession

    The Minister of Transport’s speed obsession has this week resulted in two new consultations for 110km/h speed limits, one in Auckland and one in Christchurch. There has also been final approval of the Kapiti Expressway to move to 110km/h following an earlier consultation. While the changes will almost certainly see ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago
  • What if we freed up our streets, again?

    This guest post is by Tommy de Silva, a local rangatahi and freelance writer who is passionate about making the urban fabric of Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland more people-focused and sustainable. New Zealand’s March-April 2020 Level 4 Covid response (aka “lockdown”) was somehow both the best and worst six weeks of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • No Alarms And No Surprises

    A heart that's full up like a landfillA job that slowly kills youBruises that won't healYou look so tired, unhappyBring down the governmentThey don't, they don't speak for usI'll take a quiet lifeA handshake of carbon monoxideAnd no alarms and no surprisesThe fabulous English comedian Stewart Lee once wrote a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Five ingenious ways people could beat the heat without cranking the AC

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons Every summer brings a new spate of headlines about record-breaking heat – for good reason: 2023 was the hottest year on record, in keeping with the upward trend scientists have been clocking for decades. With climate forecasts suggesting that heat waves ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago
  • No new funding for cycling & walking

    Studies show each $1 of spending on walking and cycling infrastructure produces $13 to $35 of economic benefits from higher productivity, lower healthcare costs, less congestion, lower emissions and lower fossil fuel import costs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 99

    Dad turned 99 today.Hell of a lot of candles, eh?He won't be alone for his birthday. He will have the warm attention of my brother, and my sister, and everyone at the rest home, the most thoughtful attentive and considerate people you could ever know. On Saturday there will be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Open Government: National reneges on beneficial ownership

    One of the achievements of the New Zealand’s Open Government Partnership Fourth National Action Plan was a formal commitment from the government to establish a public beneficial ownership register. Such a register would allow the ultimate owners of companies to be identified - a vital measure in preventing corruption, money ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt One.

    This project analyzes security politics in three peripheral democracies (Chile, New Zealand, Portugal) during the 30 years after the end of the Cold War. It argues that changes in the geopolitical landscape and geo-strategic context are interpreted differently by small … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago
  • Tea and Toast

    When the skies are looking bad my dearAnd your heart's lost all its hopeAfter dawn there will be sunshineAnd all the dust will goThe skies will clear my darlingNow it's time for you to let goOur girl will wake you up in the mornin'With some tea and toastLyrics: Lucy Spraggan.Good ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • NLTP 2024 released – destroying pipeline of shovel ready local projects

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Waka Kotahi yesterday released the latest National Land Transport Plan (NLTP) for 2024-27. The NLTP sets out what transport projects will be funded for the next three years, including both central and local government projects. As expected given the government’s extremely ideological transport policy, it’s ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago
  • Can Brown deliver his roads

    The Government’s unveiling of its road-building programme yesterday was ambitious and, many would say, long overdue. But the question will be whether it is too ambitious, whether it is affordable, and, if not, what might be dropped. The big ticket items will be the 17 so-called Roads of National Significance. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • New paper about detecting climate misinformation on Twitter/X

    Together with Cristian Rojas, Frank Algra-Maschio, Mark Andrejevic, Travis Coan, and Yuan-Fang Li, I just published a paper in Nature Communications Earth & Environment where we use the Computer Assisted Recognition of Denial and Skepticism (CARDS) machine learning model to detect climate misinformation in 5 million climate tweets. We find over half ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago
  • Excerpting “Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies.”

    In the late 2000s-early 2010s I was researching and writing a book titled “Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Chile, New Zealand and Portugal.” The book was a cross-regional Small-N qualitative comparison of the security strategies and postures of three small … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    7 days ago
  • Hating for the Wrong Reasons: Of Rings of Power, Orcs and Evil

    A few months ago, my fellow countryman, HelloFutureMe, put out a giant YouTube video, dissecting what went wrong with the first season of Rings of Power (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ6FRUO0ui0&t=8376s). It’s an exceptionally good video, and though it spans some two and a half hours, it is well worth your time. But ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    7 days ago
  • Climate Change: “Least cost” to who?

    On Friday the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released their submission on National's second Emissions Reduction Plan, ripping the shit out of it as a massive gamble based on wishful thinking. One of the specific issues he focused on was National's idea of "least cost" emissions reduction, pointing out that ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • Israeli Lives Matter

    There is no monopoly on common senseOn either side of the political fenceWe share the same biology, regardless of ideologyBelieve me when I say to youI hope the Russians love their children tooLyrics: Sting. Read more ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Luxon Cries

    Over the weekend, I found myself rather irritably reading up about the Treaty of Waitangi. “Do I need to do this?” It’s not my jurisdiction. In any other world, would this be something I choose to do?My answer - no.The Waitangi Tribunal, headed by some of our best legal minds, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Just one Wellington home being consented for every 10 in Auckland

    A decade of under-building is coming home to roost in Wellington. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday September 2:Wellington’s leaders are wringing their hands over an exodus of skilled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Container trucks on local streets: why take the risk?

    This is a guest post by Charmaine Vaughan, who came to transport advocacy via her local Residents Association and a comms role at Bike Auckland. Her enthusiasm to make local streets safer for all is shared by her son Dylan Vaughan, a budding “urban nerd” who provided much of the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    1 week ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #35

    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, August 25, 2024 thru Sat, August 31, 2024. Story of the week After another crammed week of climate news including updates on climate tipping points, increasing threats from rising ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • An Uncanny Valley of Improvement: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power, Episodes 1-3 (Season ...

    And thus we come to the second instalment of Amazon’s Rings of Power. The first season, in 2022, was underwhelming, even for someone like myself, who is by nature inclined to approach Tolkien adaptations with charity. The writing was poor, the plot made no sense on its own terms, and ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • Alcohol debris and Crocodile Tears

    I write to you this morning from scenes of carnage. Around the floor lie young men who only hours earlier were full of life, and cocktails, and now lie silent. Read more ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • When Do We Look Away?

    Hi,The first time I saw something that made me recoil on the internet was a visit to Rotten.com. The clue was in the name — but the internet was a new thing to me in the 90s, and no-one really knew what the hell was going on. But somehow I ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago
  • The decades just fly by

    You turn your back for a moment and a city can completely transform itself. It was, oh, just the other day I was tripping up to Kuala Lumpur every few months to teach workshops and luxuriate in the tropical warmth and fill my face with Char Kway Teow.It has to ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • 2024 Reading Summary: August

    Completed reads for August: Aesop’s Fables (collection), by Aesop Berserk: Volume XXV (manga), by Kentaro Miura Benighted, by J.B. Priestly Berserk: Volume XXVI (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVIII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXIX (manga), by Kentaro Miura ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • Is recent global warming part of a natural cycle?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is recent global warming part ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • White Noise

    Now here we standWith our hearts in our handsSqueezing out the liesAll that I hearIs a message, unclearWhat else is there to decide?All that I'm hearing from youIs White NoiseLyrics: Christopher John CheneyIs the tide turning?Have we reached the high point of the racist hate and lies from Hobson’s Pledge, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The Death Of “Big Norm” – Exactly 50 Years Ago Today.

    Norman KirkPrime Minister of New Zealand 1972-1974Born: 6 January 1923 - Died: 31 August 1974Of the working-class, by the working-class, for the working-class.Video courtesy of YouTubeThese elements were posted on Bowalley Road on Saturday, 31 August 2024. ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • Claims and Counter-Claims.

    Whose Foreshore? Whose Seabed? When the Marine and Coastal Area Act was originally passed back in 2011, fears about the coastline becoming off-limits to Pakeha were routinely allayed by National Party politicians pointing out that the tests imposed were so stringent  that only a modest percentage of claims (the then treaty ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand Honours Maori King ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • The Principles of the Treaty

    Hardly anyone says what are ‘the principles of the treaty’. The courts’ interpretation restrain the New Zealand Government. While they about protecting a particular community, those restraints apply equally to all community in a liberal democracy – including a single person.Treaty principles were introduced into the governance of New Zealand ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The Only Other Reliable Vehicle.

    An Elite Leader Awaiting Rotation? Hipkins’ give-National-nothing-to-aim-at strategy will only succeed if the Coalition becomes as unpopular in three years as the British Tories became in fourteen.THE SHAPE OF CHRIS HIPKINS’ THINKING on Labour’s optimum pathway to re-election is emerging steadily. At the core of his strategy is Hipkins’ view ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • A Big F U to this Right Wing Government

    Open to all - deep thanks to those who support and subscribe.One of the things that has got me interested recently is updates about Māori wards.In April, Stuff’s Karanama Ruru reported that ~ 2/3 of our 78 councils had adopted Māori wards in NZ.That meant that under the Coalition repeal ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: James Shaw’s legacy keeps paying off

    One of the central planks of the previous Labour-Green government's emissions reduction policy was GIDI (Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry). This was basically using ETS revenue to pay polluters to clean up production, reducing emissions while protecting jobs. Corporate welfare, but it got the job done, and was often a ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Gravity

    Oh twice as much ain't twice as goodAnd can't sustain like one half couldIt's wanting moreThat's gonna send me to my kneesSong: John MayerSome ups and downs from the last week of August ‘24. The good and bad, happy and sad, funny and mad, heroes and cads. The week that ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Action to grow the rural health workforce

    Scholarships awarded to 27 health care students is another positive step forward to boost the future rural health workforce, Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “All New Zealanders deserve timely access to quality health care and this Government is committed to improving health outcomes, particularly for the one in five ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    45 mins ago
  • Pharmac delivering more for Kiwis following major funding boost

    Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour has welcomed the increased availability of medicines for Kiwis resulting from the Government’s increased investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the Government,” says Mr Seymour. “When our Government assumed office, New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 hour ago
  • Sport Minister congratulates NZ’s Paralympians

    Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop has congratulated New Zealand's Paralympic Team at the conclusion of the Paralympic Games in Paris.  “The NZ Paralympic Team's success in Paris included fantastic performances, personal best times, New Zealand records and Oceania records all being smashed - and of course, many Kiwis on ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Government progresses response to Abuse in Care recommendations

    A Crown Response Office is being established within the Public Service Commission to drive the Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care. “The creation of an Office within a central Government agency was a key recommendation by the Royal Commission’s final report.  “It will have the mandate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Passport wait times back on-track

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says passport processing has returned to normal, and the Department of Internal Affairs [Department] is now advising customers to allow up to two weeks to receive their passport. “I am pleased that passport processing is back at target service levels and the Department ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New appointments to the FMA board

    Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister has today announced three new appointments and one reappointment to the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) board. Tracey Berry, Nicholas Hegan and Mariette van Ryn have been appointed for a five-year term ending in August 2029, while Chris Swasbrook, who has served as a board member ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • District Court judges appointed

    Attorney-General Hon Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new District Court judges. The appointees, who will take up their roles at the Manukau Court and the Auckland Court in the Accident Compensation Appeal Jurisdiction, are: Jacqui Clark Judge Clark was admitted to the bar in 1988 after graduating ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government makes it faster and easier to invest in New Zealand

    Associate Minister of Finance David Seymour is encouraged by significant improvements to overseas investment decision timeframes, and the enhanced interest from investors as the Government continues to reform overseas investment. “There were about as many foreign direct investment applications in July and August as there was across the six months ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand to join Operation Olympic Defender

    New Zealand has accepted an invitation to join US-led multi-national space initiative Operation Olympic Defender, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. Operation Olympic Defender is designed to coordinate the space capabilities of member nations, enhance the resilience of space-based systems, deter hostile actions in space and reduce the spread of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government commits to ‘stamping out’ foot and mouth disease

    Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says that a new economic impact analysis report reinforces this government’s commitment to ‘stamp out’ any New Zealand foot and mouth disease incursion. “The new analysis, produced by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, shows an incursion of the disease in New Zealand would have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Improving access to finance for Kiwis

    5 September 2024  The Government is progressing further reforms to financial services to make it easier for Kiwis to access finance when they need it, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.  “Financial services are foundational for economic success and are woven throughout our lives. Without access to finance our ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Prime Minister pays tribute to Kiingi Tuheitia

    As Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII is laid to rest today, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has paid tribute to a leader whose commitment to Kotahitanga will have a lasting impact on our country. “Kiingi Tuheitia was a humble leader who served his people with wisdom, mana and an unwavering ...
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