Open mike 04/03/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, March 4th, 2019 - 177 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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

Step up to the mike …

177 comments on “Open mike 04/03/2019 ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. James 1
    4 March 2019 at 7:32 am

    Hosking starts the day off well regarding the hypocrisy of James “air miles” Shaw

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12209121

    • Incognito 1.1
      4 March 2019 at 7:38 am

      I agree, Green MPs should only be allowed to travel by lime scooter or not at all.

      • AB 1.1.1
        4 March 2019 at 8:36 am

        There is nothing people like Hosking would like more than for Green MPs to be hobbled and ineffective in order to avoid bogus and shabby accusations of hypocrisy.

    • Bazza64 1.2
      4 March 2019 at 7:41 am

      Couldn’t agree more with Mike on this one. I’m sure when Lucy Lawless protested against Shell in New Plymouth she burnt up a fair bit of fuel driving there. Or did she ride her bike ?

      • Incognito 1.2.1
        4 March 2019 at 7:44 am

        What do you call a Green who’s not hugging a tree at that very moment? A hypocritical eco-socialist.

        • James 1.2.1.1
          4 March 2019 at 7:47 am

          They only hug trees when there is a TV camera there.

          • Incognito 1.2.1.1.1
            4 March 2019 at 7:59 am

            Zen. When a Green hugs a tree and there’s no camera to bear witness to it, does it make a sound?

          • Stuart Munro 1.2.1.1.2
            4 March 2019 at 11:28 am

            I don’t think that’s true – I can think of a Green transport spokesperson who goes out of their way to minimize their carbon footprint.

      • left_forward 1.2.2
        4 March 2019 at 8:09 am

        I wonder how the new ‘stainable party’s gonna cope with this one Baz?

        • cleangreen 1.2.2.1
          4 March 2019 at 9:02 am

          left forward;

          The Sustainable New Zealand Party was on the AM show today saying we need sustainable policies.

          But Vernon Tava of ‘sustainable NZ never spoke a word about sustainable transport?????

          Why didn’t he talk about rail as being the best ‘low emissions’ transport for slowing climate change??

          Does he only support the trucking of freight around NZ, and does this represent “sustainable” policy?????

          The Koch Brothers and big oil will love him for this.

          Rail uses five to eight times LESS oil than trucks USE, to move each tonne each kilometre.

          Now that would be a sustainable policy = to use rail.

          Wake up ‘ex Green Party member’ – Vernon Tava of ‘sustainable NZ’ !!!!!

          Green party is strong on rail, so why aren’t you also Vernon?

          I am a NZ First voter and they have the best rail policy now.

          Funny how political Parties change ‘hats’ isn’t it?i

          • James 1.2.2.1.1
            4 March 2019 at 9:27 am

            Because he had other topics to cover other than your obsession on trains.

            • greywarshark 1.2.2.1.1.1
              4 March 2019 at 10:37 am

              What’s your obsession James? It seems to be to disagree and sneer at any change a leftie may wish to discuss.

          • Sacha 1.2.2.1.2
            4 March 2019 at 1:05 pm

            “The Sustainable New Zealand Party”

            is not even registered yet.

      • Gabby 1.2.3
        4 March 2019 at 8:49 am

        You and Horeskin on the same page on this are you Boozza? Reading from the same script? On message?

        • Bazza64 1.2.3.1
          4 March 2019 at 10:37 am

          Good point, maybe I should change my name, I have been on the piss since 7.00 am this morning

      • Gabby 1.2.4
        4 March 2019 at 9:15 am

        But that’s Shell’s doing Boozza. No Shell, no protest.

      • alwyn 1.2.5
        4 March 2019 at 11:31 am

        Broomstick, actually.

    • Sanctuary 1.3
      4 March 2019 at 7:46 am

      “…Hosking starts the day off well…”

      Oxymoron from a moron.

      An Oxymoronmoron may well be a new word to describe trolls like James.

      • James 1.3.1
        4 March 2019 at 7:49 am

        Ahh first insult of the day from the caring left.

        The petty bullying is pathetic.

        Hosking has a good point here.

        • Incognito 1.3.1.1
          4 March 2019 at 7:59 am

          I agree, again, James. You started OM so well today.

        • Sanctuary 1.3.1.2
          4 March 2019 at 8:01 am

          Wah wah wah! Quick, someone call James a wambulance, someone insulted him and his hero the Hosk, and he ain’t standing for it!

          • James 1.3.1.2.1
            4 March 2019 at 8:07 am

            Just pointing out your behaviour this morning. Own it.

            But I notice you do this when you are unable to discuss a point.

            • left_forward 1.3.1.2.1.1
              4 March 2019 at 8:26 am

              Zen. What is the sound of James discussing a point?
              Oxymoron. James discussing a point.
              Moron. James.

              • Drowsy M. Kram …
                4 March 2019 at 6:23 pm

                Try not to overuse ‘moron’ when replying to James – he owns that word.

            • arkie 1.3.1.2.1.2
              4 March 2019 at 8:29 am

              Be James.
              Get up bright and early and read Hoskings column.
              Think to yourself, those lefties on the Standard will be interested to hear this!
              Post up the link (First!) and wait for the excited responses.
              What’s this? These lefties don’t like this rightwing opinion?! And then someone insults you? This really is the living end! Who could have guessed such terrible behaviour would come from the caring left.
              You let them know you see it and that it obviously this means they can’t discuss a point. The point you posted.
              Did you do it to get this reaction?
              Who cares, you pwned them.
              You smile knowing that you’ve started your day off well.

        • KJT 1.3.1.3
          4 March 2019 at 8:36 am

          Hosking is a right wing parrot.

          Who had an original thought, once, maybe in his life.

          See the similarity, James?

          Note: to self, exercise restraint and don’t call him a lying ignorant arsehole.

        • cleangreen 1.3.1.4
          4 March 2019 at 9:05 am

          Ahh – First insult of the day from the non-caring Natz.

    • left_forward 1.4
      4 March 2019 at 8:17 am

      ‘Except, of course, it isn’t, hasn’t and most likely probably won’t be.’
      Hosk wisdom on global warming.

      • Wensleydale 1.4.1
        4 March 2019 at 9:03 am

        I’m fairly sure Hosking won’t acknowledge global warming until his fabulous house is on fire and his face resembles a melted candle. Actually, with all the hair product he uses, it’ll probably just explode showering anyone nearby in blood and bone fragments.

    • mauī 1.5
      4 March 2019 at 8:28 am

      Yes, a real green party like Sustainable New Zealand would bundle up all their emissions and put them on a rocket to mars. Only if the business case stacked up of course.

    • Gabby 1.6
      4 March 2019 at 8:53 am

      I’m sure the Good James will leap on board the first available solar powered airliner with alacrity jimbo.

    • WeTheBleeple 1.7
      4 March 2019 at 9:12 am

      Hosking is an unmitigated **** for cash.

      To follow his views makes you a puppet of a muppet.

      And truth be told, he doesn’t give a shit what he’s saying he just lubes up on whale oil and delivers his daily bukkake theatre to the masses. No kissing, takes the money from the bedside and leaves.

      [Edited for sweariness. TRP]

    • Sabine 1.8
      4 March 2019 at 10:53 am

      Oh is Hoskins getting his marching orders from the US?

      Cause there they just attached AOC for ‘traveling by UBer’! Gasp, shock, clutches pearls, faints!

      https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1102021054363586561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1102021054363586561&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstory%2F2019%2F3%2F3%2F1839039%2F-AOC-fires-back-at-report-that-Uber-usage-makes-her-a-hypocrite-says-she-s-living-in-the-world

      I can’t think of a more sad, disheveled person then Mike Hoskins to whinge about other peoples travel. This man, who essentially still lives in the late 90.s the last time he was young (if ever he was ) , who travels by maserati in a country with notoriously bad roads, and a 100 km speed limit is not fit to read the morals to anyone.
      Not on marriage, not on child raising, not on affording children and certainly not on environmentally friendly travel.

      He is slowly but surely turning into that old coot that shakes his limp fist at the sky and yells at kids to stay of the lawn.

      Just goes to show that you can have a good live and still be the most miserable fuck there is.

      • Bruce 1.8.1
        4 March 2019 at 2:08 pm

        i just cant understand why he puts so much effort into emulating the people he despises. holey jeans was grunge last century i think . Maybe he thinks will make him hip.

    • Jimmy 1.9
      4 March 2019 at 11:31 am

      Does it really matter what James Shaw says or does? He is so irrelevant…needs a woman to tell him what to say or do. Openly supports benefit fraud and use of the “C” word in front of children. He lost all credibility a long time ago. Needs to step aside and let Chloe take over as sole leader.
      Mind you …..I think Winston likes toying with him so he probably likes having him there.

  2. Jinx 2
    4 March 2019 at 8:04 am

    Espiner had Bridges on the ropes..

    • Wensleydale 2.1
      4 March 2019 at 9:05 am

      Bridges is on the ropes so often these days, he may as well just stay there and try to make it look as nonchalant as possible.

      • patricia bremner 2.1.1
        4 March 2019 at 9:21 am

        Wensleydale, lol lol ha ha!! Good one.. Simon, slightly punch drunk… in the wrong division??

      • mac1 2.1.2
        4 March 2019 at 9:29 am

        I believe Simon Bridges is learning from Muhammed Ali with his ‘rope a dope’ ploy. It is defined as “a strategy to appear weak to convince an opponent to attack and fall into a trap.”

        Well, he’s succeeding with the first part of the strategy.

  3. Rosemary McDonald 3
    4 March 2019 at 8:38 am

    Well, sheesh. I cruised past TS on my usual am perambulation and thought whoah!!! All those comment so early…must be something really, really earthshatteringly important.

    Meanwhile…seriously dodgy shit going on up at Richpricksville.

    Boundary pegs???? Hah! We scoff at such restrictions…

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/110998405/us-billionaire-ric-kayne-builds-fence-on-mangawhai-wildlife-reserve

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6UllZwj9c

    SSDD

    • Jinx 3.1
      4 March 2019 at 9:14 am

      Sadly the UK Labour Party has been hi jacked by Tom Watson and his motley crew.
      Another motley crew derails the Standard daily.
      I miss Bill and Ed.

      Instead we have rwnjs dictating the tenor of this blog.

      • te reo putake 3.1.1
        4 March 2019 at 9:17 am

        Er, you are Ed, Jinx. Did you forget which sockpuppet you were using this morning?

      • mauī 3.1.2
        4 March 2019 at 9:31 am

        Thank you Jinx, another fine commentator has joined this blog.

        And yes we all miss Ed.

        • Ad 3.1.2.1
          4 March 2019 at 9:34 am

          We really don’t.

          • cleangreen 3.1.2.1.1
            4 March 2019 at 10:13 am

            Ad you may not!!!!- but do miss Ed.

            Please don’t use ‘we’ !!!!

            As that assumes I am part of your ‘we and I am not..

          • adam 3.1.2.1.2
            4 March 2019 at 12:15 pm

            Another royal ‘we’ from Ad.

        • WeTheBleeple 3.1.2.2
          4 March 2019 at 10:47 am

          I miss Bill where is the cantankerous old Scot? Is he OK?

          • greywarshark 3.1.2.2.1
            4 March 2019 at 9:25 pm

            I miss felix. And thank r0b for dropping by now and then.

            But Rosemary’s story about the millionaire and the commons is educational. How to appear to be concerned about the rules, but watch that they don’t get the inkling of implicit agreement to the plans of the squatter when you think you are making a small concession. Note the comment from the Environment Court Judge. I think we need the process tightened up. These wealthy types are running rings around us.

            “To protect that native planting from users of the Wildlife Refuge, including those employing motorised vehicles, a standard rural post and batten fence was installed. This was agreed with and supported by DOC. That standard farm fence sits within the edge of the planting and is now largely hidden within it.”

            HOW THE FENCE GOT THERE

            Among the many resource consents the developers applied for was for the earthworks and water required to turn a sandy pine forest into a grassed golf course.

            Environment Court Judge Jeff Smith noted in his ruling several resource consent applications had been made: “The piecemeal approach of the applicant seems to be designed to avoid making an application which requires notification, and therefore the prospect of the entire consent being subject to scrutiny.”

            Among the conditions in the decision was requirement, subject to agreement with DoC, for a fence to be placed on the northern boundary of the property and for a 60m-wide strip of planting to be a corridor between a wetland and the beach.
            The ruling said the planting could take place on either side of the boundary.

            Initially the discussion between Tara Iti Holdings and a community liaison group discussed whether a fence could be used to control predators, said Rogan. As a representative of the Fairy Tern Charitable Trust, she was keen the endangered fairy tern in the reserve would get as much protection as possible.

            “The plan we jointly agreed with the developers was for an ordinary fence, but the lower parts of it would have a kind of a mesh that would corral predators to certain places where you put traps and would stop them getting to the wildlife refuge.”
            The fence built to stop people walking over planted and weeded areas. There are no signs on the fence indicating it’s not a boundary, or suggesting people don’t walk in the area.
            Photo:
            The fence built to stop people walking over planted and weeded areas. There are no signs on the fence indicating it’s not a boundary, or suggesting people don’t walk in the area.

            According to Rogan and others at the meeting there was talk about the placement of the fence, and the possibility of the fence deviating from the actual boundary line due to topography. Its final placement came as a shock.

            “If it was just a little bit of a wave here and there, sure. You would obviously put a fence in the best position but it’s quite a long way inside the wildlife refuge.”

            Rogan is also disappointed at the lack of the predator mesh on the bottom half of the fence.

            The chap should have to take the fence down, now.

        • Jinx 3.1.2.3
          4 March 2019 at 2:31 pm

          The radical socialist left and ecological activists are being silenced on this site.

        • solkta 3.1.2.4
          4 March 2019 at 3:03 pm

          And yes we all miss Ed.

          I guess like in the sense that i “miss” the wart i had on my thumb when a child.

          • Drowsy M. Kram 3.1.2.4.1
            4 March 2019 at 6:42 pm

            Was Ed any more of a ‘loss leader’ than James @1 ?

            Many of Ed’s viewpoints seemed progressive (to me), and they posted links of interest (to me.)

            In time, perhaps I’ll come to recognise James’ redeeming features, although tbh there’s probably about as much chance of that as there is that I’ll understand why Ed attracted so much ridicule left and right.

            • Sacha 3.1.2.4.1.1
              4 March 2019 at 6:58 pm

              Never much love for sockpuppeteers (save for some mutual admiration prehaps).

              • Drowsy M. Kram …
                4 March 2019 at 7:49 pm

                Prehaps, prehaps (sic)…

                Thanks Sacha, I had to Google ‘sockpuppet'(eers). Assumed that it was a simple term of abuse used by the usual suspects, so had never bothered to pursue it further, but now I see I was wrong. Would love to know the back story, but maybe too much like “washing your dirty linen in public”?

            • solkta 3.1.2.4.1.2
              4 March 2019 at 7:59 pm

              Wanting to have people sent to labour camps because they deny climate change is not progressive.

              • Drowsy M. Kram …
                4 March 2019 at 9:45 pm

                Fair enough – my impression was that often Ed’s heart was in the right place (not sure the same can be said for James, who seems mostly to be out to cause as much ‘damage’ as possible).

                Sometimes Ed presented views on climate change and other topics they were ‘passionate’ about in stark terms, more starkly for sure than climate change being (in Ardern’s words) “my generation’s nuclear-free moment“.

                Maybe Ed’s extreme points of view do more harm than good in the cause to slow the global warming juggernaut. With any luck history will be the judge of that.

                • Milly …
                  4 March 2019 at 9:48 pm

                  I think we should be very concerned about climate change.
                  Scientists are now telling us we’ve 12 years left.
                  Shouldn’t we all be passionate about that?
                  Indeed, is there an issue more important?

                • solkta …
                  4 March 2019 at 10:03 pm

                  Ed is an authoritarian pure and simple. It was not just CC that he held such views about. That doesn’t put his heart in the right place, it makes him an arsehole.

                  • Drowsy M. Kram …
                    4 March 2019 at 10:24 pm

                    Strongly support your view that authoritarians are (generally) arseholes. But (for your own safety) softly softly, aye – there may be some closet authoritarians reading.

                • greywarshark …
                  4 March 2019 at 10:18 pm

                  Ed regularly swamped post with his pronouncements. It’s not his soapbox. But he tended to want to dominate it. And put up short sharp comments too often, when it is meant to be a place of discussion. And was pushing out NZ stuff with foreign muck. I treasure TS for a place to discuss mostly, NZ muck and pass on some high points that are positive when I see them. I don’t want somebody taking over the whole discussion and filling up people’s brains and time with what he has decided will rule. It ain’t democratic. You just get left with a tic. I am surprised other people haven’t noticed his pushy ways.

              • mauī …
                4 March 2019 at 10:52 pm

                “Wanting to have people sent to labour camps because they deny climate change is not progressive.”

                It’s ironic how easy the centre-left labels anyone they don’t like hearing from as a “fascist” and then do their utmost to make sure those people are silenced.

                • solkta …
                  4 March 2019 at 11:06 pm

                  I haven’t labelled him fascist. I’ve just said what he said.

                  So ironic you saying this given how many times Ed called me a Neoliberal.

        • Milly 3.1.2.5
          4 March 2019 at 8:05 pm

          At least you continue to connect us to George Galloway and other brave, independent spokespeople from the left.
          Thanks Maui.

          • greywarshark 3.1.2.5.1
            4 March 2019 at 9:06 pm

            Can you not access George Galloway yourself Milly? It doesn’t pay to be too dependent on others – the spirit of enquiry can take a person away into that place where you don’t know what you don’t know. There are more bits of info than there are galaxies in space. Fascinating, have a dig and pass on the link and tell us about it.

          • Bewildered 3.1.2.5.2
            4 March 2019 at 9:12 pm

            Also as a cat loving country Ed also introduces us to other cat lovers in the Uk

        • Incognito 3.1.2.6
          4 March 2019 at 9:14 pm

          We all miss us. The missus misses us. We are miserable missing the missus missing us. It gives us misty eyes and near misses.

          Nailed it?

      • alwyn 3.1.3
        4 March 2019 at 11:43 am

        The commentator I miss most from those of the past is Lanthanide. His comments were always worth reading and you could always hold a civil debate with him.
        Did he just give up in the end as the debate became ever more polarized or was he banned?

        • te reo putake 3.1.3.1
          4 March 2019 at 12:41 pm

          No ban that I’m aware of. People do come and go (you wanna see the authors list!).

        • Andre 3.1.3.2
          4 March 2019 at 12:42 pm

          Lanthanide never came back after getting a one week ban that I thought was OTT. It was in the midst of a mod-fight and the temperature was pretty raised…

    • WeTheBleeple 3.2
      4 March 2019 at 9:15 am

      We can hope for tidal inundation in some cases…

      • Rosemary McDonald 3.2.1
        4 March 2019 at 9:53 am

        Thank you WTB.

        For addressing the content of my post, and offering a perfectly acceptable potential solution ….in the absence of any action from local or central government.

        SSDD

        • adam 3.2.1.1
          4 March 2019 at 12:13 pm

          We could just eat Kayne, although I’m sure he would taste smug – which would leave your tongue with that furry feeling.

    • KJT 3.3
      4 March 2019 at 9:45 am

      Shades of Mr pulp and paper repaying all our tax payer subsidies, by out lawyering the Waiheke council, over access to a public road.

    • cleangreen 3.4
      4 March 2019 at 10:33 am

      Rosemary,

      Typical that these rich foreign pricks are still coming in in droves’ to tread all over our “natural environment’ as I in 1993 saw the same thing from Atlantic beach in Virginia to the Florida cost line as i drove south.

      The whole coastline has virtually been fenced to keep others out now!!!!!

      So Tangata whenua; – you had better guard the coastline here, as the yanks are coming with their roughshod rules on taking over sensitive coastal areas. .

      • KJT 3.4.1
        4 March 2019 at 12:33 pm

        I’ve had personal experience of that.

        Never been stopped from going on Maori land, you just have to ask.
        Same with most Kiwi farmers.

        However I’ve had dogs set on us, using a public beach below the HWL, by the German owner.

        And had an officious representative of a rich yank trying to tell me i couldn’t land on their beach. Despite there being a public ROW, to said beach.

      • Herodotus 3.4.2
        4 March 2019 at 12:52 pm

        Interesting the timing of your post and this today, with public land being lost to protect the privacy of Ric Kayne, an American Billionaires house.
        “Go for a stroll in the reserve and it’s unlikely you’ll realise you could get within eyeballing distance of a bathing billionaire. A sturdy, eight-string fence built by Tara Iti Holdings, extends – in places – up to 90m into the public reserve.”
        Also the ability of planners to circumnavigate “the system”
        “Environment Court Judge Jeff Smith noted in his ruling several resource consent applications had been made: “The piecemeal approach of the applicant seems to be designed to avoid making an application which requires notification, and therefore the prospect of the entire consent being subject to scrutiny.”
        https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/110998405/us-billionaire-ric-kayne-builds-fence-on-mangawhai-wildlife-reserve

        • patricia bremner 3.4.2.1
          4 March 2019 at 4:22 pm

          He sure didn’t sneak it past you Rosemary. Thank you for that. Do we comment to the Mangawhai Council/ Eugene/ others??

        • greywarshark 3.4.2.2
          4 March 2019 at 10:24 pm

          Rosemary put that link up at 3 before we wandered off about Ed, and I replied up there so have put the same thing you have done Herodotus. I didn’t know you were down here.

  4. Robert Guyton 4
    4 March 2019 at 9:08 am

    Nandor Tanzcos wrote about climate change and the political response from Whakatane.
    https://nandor.net.nz/2019/03/03/responding-to-climate-change-in-whakatane/

    • WeTheBleeple 4.1
      4 March 2019 at 9:23 am

      Outstanding to see such comprehensive thought entertained by (local) government bodies.

      It annoys that all the community groups are based in facebook. A lot of people wont go to them including me. It is a lazy cheap ass way to make a website and feeds into a highly corrupt tax-dodging business.

      • KJT 4.1.1
        4 March 2019 at 9:47 am

        Unfortunately, they have to be on Facebook to reach people.

        Not all community groups can afford a website, advertising it, and hosting fees.

        • WeTheBleeple 4.1.1.1
          4 March 2019 at 10:12 am

          Yeah. FB is like oil to me in some regards: we’ve become dependant on a thing that is bad for us. The attraction of both is not lost on me. The problems with both clearly apparent.

          Like oil, we need to wean ourselves off FB. An artificial social construct posing as (and replacing) real community. It’s not the model so much as the management. TS works, FB is corporate, not community, it is a poser. Divide into groups, polarise, manipulate, sell…. what a shitty place to hold a community meeting, or any meeting really.

          The insidious nature of it made my skin crawl. talk about a thing in a pm, get a targeted ad or political meme… arrrrgh!

          Not a fan, one might say.

          • Sabine 4.1.1.1.1
            4 March 2019 at 11:01 am

            This bullshit aobut facebook seriously ist getting tired.

            You can use facebook, you can put up as much or as little information you want, you can give as much or as little informaiton you want, and that is that.

            It is a tool. If you use a W. T. Bleeple as your name it will be accepted, if you give no information i.e. birth day, town etc it will be accepted, yo udon’t have to read stuff you don’t like, you don’t have to like stuff you dont’ like . Etc etc etc.

            essentially it is a tool. Use it for your purposes and ignore the rest.

            • WeTheBleeple 4.1.1.1.1.1
              4 March 2019 at 11:54 am

              Thanks for the confirmation FB is a tool. A tool of corporate design.

              Congressional hearings… nothing to see here.

              FB had nothing to do with Trump, and besides, hasn’t he improved the world anyway.

              This BS where people wont support huge corporations all because they’re inhuman assholes is getting tired. Especially picking on poor tax dodging billionaire sack of shit corporations.

              Fuck FB and everything they stand for.

              Shill.

              • Sabine …
                4 March 2019 at 12:20 pm

                Shill? seriously?
                A hammer is always only a hammer. No matter if you use it for a nail or to bash someones head in. The tool is simply that a tool.

                Facebook is a tool. For people to connect. For people like me that have a lof of friends oversees to chat. For people with small businesses to sell their wares. For people who live away from family to easily update etc.

                It is a tool for these guys here, Community Fruit Harvesting – a local non profit that collects surplus fruit and makes it into Jams, Cordial, Fruit leather etc that then gets distributed among NZ Food banks, schools, old folks homes etc. It is a tool for Community Fruit n Vegetable stands -local stands on private grounds for people to drop of surplus from their gardens and jams/chutneys, seedlings, tins of food for those that don’t have enough – Motto, leave what you can, take what you need.
                It is a tool for gardeners to meet, discuss growing of produce, advice new comers, swap seeds, share recipes etc – NZ Veggie Growers.
                I know, nefarious businesses all of them and I am happily shilling for these guys, each and everyone of them.

                Short it is a tool, and it is up to you as to how much you use it, how you use it, how much information you give or not, it is not the demon personified, no more then is Apply, Samsung, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and the likes.

                I mean, personally i prefer Carrier Pigeons, i am however being told that it was not a viable way of connecting in our days.

                • greywarshark …
                  4 March 2019 at 10:33 pm

                  Actually Facebook is apparently all you say Sabine and when I get it
                  sorted and know how to work it well I am sure I will find it useful.
                  But it keeps wanting to get my photo, my details etc. very annoying. And in the absence of getting information it puts up things picked up from my family. Most of the profile is false but I didn’t put that up. Don’t believe everything you read on Fbook. But because it is up and in public if people like one’s employer saw stuff on it they might think it had been put up deliberately to deceive.

                  Don’t diss carrier pigeons will you. They may be the in thing at the end of the day.

        • Molly 4.1.1.2
          4 March 2019 at 10:57 am

          There are plenty of free online tools that allow you to communicate with others, including blogging sites that can be customised with a fairly cheap domain name.

          The problem is not the availability of alternatives, it is just that many are familiar with Facebook and go with the tool they know.

  5. Gabby 5
    4 March 2019 at 9:18 am

    Pretty mean of Frontbum Tamihere to accuse Gfoffoloffle of only just discovering he’d like to be mayor. Is he willing to sell his soul for the job?

  6. Sanctuary 6
    4 March 2019 at 9:24 am

    Question. Why does John Tamihere have to be such a dick?

  7. Peter 7
    4 March 2019 at 9:25 am

    Some of the comments about Mike Hosking are a tad unfair. I saw his headline which said “full of hot air.”

    It’s clearly his field of expertise, for goodness sake, leave the man alone!

    • ankerawshark 7.1
      4 March 2019 at 12:19 pm

      Ha, ha ha Peter.

      I loved that Jacinda said she wanted to hear from people about the tax payers working group who weren’t Herald columnists…………………….Yes, yes yes. We’ve heard from Barry, Heather and Mikey to name but a few. Why their opinions are elevated to being worthy of publication is beyond me.

  8. Kat 8
    4 March 2019 at 9:26 am

    The fish wraps front page with two articles one on Bennett with a photo that looks like it was taken at a Tupperware party being “happy, healthy and proud” the other on Bridges being a “dirty little street fighter” posing with his family. Then an attack on the Greens co leader by the Hosk. No wonder Nationals little poodles get exited.

  9. KJT 9
    4 March 2019 at 9:29 am

    While we are being nice to each other, i think it will be useful, to remind everyone about dishonest debating tactics.

    Usually used by those whose argument is weak.

    Like Hosking quoted above.
    Needling. Repetition and False equivalence, spring to mind

    http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html

  10. cleangreen 10
    4 March 2019 at 9:30 am

    Robert – Thanks for the link to Nandor’s blogspot.

    I may contribute to it now also. It has a “old green Party feel” of ‘common sense’ about it as NZ First has.

    So Nandor may do well here.

  11. cleangreen 11
    4 March 2019 at 9:36 am

    KJT.

    Hoskings is an agent of the elitists; – nothing more.

    • Gosman 11.1
      4 March 2019 at 9:54 am

      Except he probably has more support from “mainstream” NZers than many Politicians claiming to speak for them.

      • KJT 11.1.1
        4 March 2019 at 9:58 am

        No. We think he is an arse.

        • cleangreen 11.1.1.1
          4 March 2019 at 10:15 am

          KJT Ageed 100%.

          • alwyn 11.1.1.1.1
            4 March 2019 at 11:53 am

            I suppose I should simply quote back to you your own reply to Ad at 3.1.2.1.

            “‘KJT’ you may not!!!!- but do miss ‘Hoskings’
            Please don’t use ‘we’ !!!!
            As that assumes I am part of your ‘we and I am not..

            Or is it different when everybody is assumed to agree with you?

            • KJT 11.1.1.1.1.1
              4 March 2019 at 12:15 pm

              Congratulations.

              I should have added quotes around the “we” to make it even clearer what Gosman was doing.

              However, many people, i talk to, think Hoskings is an arse. Even the ones that often agree with him.

              • alwyn …
                4 March 2019 at 12:28 pm

                I really wasn’t complaining about you by the way.
                It was Cleangreen being inconsistent in his complaining.
                Personally I think that people get far to precious about the word. It doesn’t imply complete inclusion of the whole population.

      • patricia bremner 11.1.2
        4 March 2019 at 4:36 pm

        The 25000 who signed the petition did not like Mike H at all.

  12. soddenleaf 12
    4 March 2019 at 10:01 am

    q. Employers cry out for more staff. Why? It’s the market, the employees would rather work in oz than here. Why? Well neolibs are lazy and stupid, coz they won’t stop big govt interference in the market. Seems your average employee would rather get paid more, also pay less income taxand pay a CGT in OZ. Seems the media can’t explain that to kiwis, that the reasons for high OZ Bank profits out of NZ, the risk premium on interest, the low productivity, the sad selling of companies early so we don’t grow more medium to big companies that shrinks the stock market offerings… …the list is extensive. 0% CGT means kiwi employees pay higher income taxes to fund employer CGT contrabutions, whereas Oz employers do. So kiwi employers are advantaged against their competitors and are carried by their employees. Now you’d think that given how many employees their are compared to owners, you’d expect the masses to be kick up holy dirt, but no.

    Yet strangely there is a way to rectify matters, employers could offer employees a share in the business. In fact, govt should legally force all business to provide 10% of their company shareholding to their employees. No need for a CGT. Balance the books.

  13. greywarshark 13
    4 March 2019 at 11:18 am

    Repetitive trolling by James. Predictable. If change can’t happen to assist the flow of intelligent, probing, quality discussion on this blog, then its value to thinking and preparedness for our future is compromised. At present change is happening fast outside in the world and keeping up with it difficult.

    The tenets that TS was set up on seem to allow and even enable timewasters like James to come here. It results in that people argue on behalf of their presence them because they are amusing, they put up something worthwhile, they try to argue their points; these attitudes are so laid-back last century stuff.

    Spare a fellow feeling for sloths – like all of us they are under threat from change and depredation. In NZ we should be able to understand them, our traits being so close to theirs. But we don’t want to look at us, rather the US, Venezuela; or the menu showing the troubled Country du Jour gets wise opinionated know-alls on their case. It is so sad that wise people are wasting away here when international calls should be made begging them to come and bring their Dr Strangelove superior intellects to assist.

    Here, an opinionated person on NZ from past Labour is Phil Quin. I can’t work out whether he is mired in past century thinking and trying to roast Labour for where they have failed, or is looking at the NZ situation objectively and just stating the facts. His latest piece points out that local government can’t keep up with infrastructure from growth, and rates are rising fast. Who ya gonna call, ghostbusters? Or call out the Labour Coalition?

    In the absence of bold reforms that empower communities and overcome this financial crunch, councils will be forced to pursue yet more cost-cutting and corporatisation – as we’re seeing with water reforms.
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-body-elections/110954401/undemocratic-and-uneconomic-local-government-is-in-a-bind

    He goes on to quote Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta fom a recent Cabinet paper, that rates are rising faster than inflation with the greatest likely to occur in the next three years. The Minister refers to “optimal services and achieving good outcomes”. But isn’t that BAU for NZ at present, no surprise. He sounds as if he is waiting for the Financial Tooth Fairy to collect its austerity teeth and leave a gold coin under our pillow. The Labour Coalition as a magical be-ing.

    This is a piece he wrote at the time of the last elections. Is he pro-Labour or contra? Is he objective, or inclined to put his boot in if National would like that?
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/97185921/phil-quinn-inside-the-nationallabour-chasm

  14. indiana 14
    4 March 2019 at 11:18 am

    “For former prisoner Awatea Mita, the Electoral Strengthening Democracy member’s bill is a welcome addition to the political debate, and any change can not come soon enough.

    Not being able to participate in shaping a better future for herself and her family was humiliating and dehumanising, she said.”

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/110934374/greens-want-prisoners-voting-ban-overturned-to-strengthen-democracy

    How was it not dehumanising and humiliating for being convicted and sentanced for committing a crime? Was the future better shaped for herself and family by conducting the act of committing a crime?

    • Gabby 14.1
      4 March 2019 at 12:01 pm

      indinana do prisoners still pay taxes?

      • greywarshark 14.1.1
        4 March 2019 at 12:18 pm

        She is a former prisoner. The object should be to include all people in a society that acts in a fair way from cradle to grave. We don’t have that and some people have to make tremendous adjustments trying to cope in this situation.
        There are people in prison who would be better dealt with in other ways, there are people outside prison who should be in there even for short periods, and there are people outside who haven’t been caught yet who deserve a good prison sentence. So life isn’t black and white as your simple-minded questions imply
        indi-anna.

      • Naki man 14.1.2
        4 March 2019 at 12:33 pm

        That would be no Gobby. They cost 100k per year to keep the bastards.
        It’s funny how these poor wee petals feel hurt but don’t give a fat rats arse about their victims.

        • Gabby 14.1.2.1
          4 March 2019 at 1:17 pm

          You mean they don’t buy stuff Nastiman? How about the ones on parole? Are they exempt from income tax if they’re working?

          • Naki man 14.1.2.1.1
            4 March 2019 at 1:37 pm

            I assumed that you meant people who are locked up when you said prisoners,
            not the few that are working just before being released.

        • greywarshark 14.1.2.2
          4 March 2019 at 1:47 pm

          Naki man
          What do you do for the victims? And what do you do for the criminals to help turn their ideas and get a moral outlook on life so they feel empathy for others in society. Oh they are all just bastards says thoughtful Naki man.

    • KJT 14.2
      4 March 2019 at 12:12 pm

      If you look at the background of the majority of prisoners, it is society that failed them. In the first instance.

    • bwaghorn 14.3
      4 March 2019 at 12:13 pm

      My guess is most people in prison never voted prior to going to prison .
      So one would think that getting them enrolled and voting and teaching them about their civic duty would be part of the rehabilitation.
      Making them feel they have a voice might just help .
      But na your type would rather just hate and punish a??

  15. adam 15
    4 March 2019 at 12:08 pm

    God Bless Jackie Walker

    • greywarshark 15.1
      4 March 2019 at 12:25 pm

      Looked up Jackie Walker – might be a large part of the constant cry of anti-semitism around Corbyn.

      Here’s something about it.
      https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/labour-expulsion-hearing-set-anti-zionist-jackie-walker
      “I’m so pleased to have a date for my hearing,” Walker told The Electronic Intifada.
      “Whatever the outcome, it’s been amazing to be part of an anti-racist, anti-Zionist left that has refused to be silenced by what has been the worst political witch hunt of our generation.”

      Since Jeremy Corbyn first ran for the Labour leadership in the summer of 2015, the party has faced an unrelenting witch hunt targeting the left and Palestine solidarity activists.

      The NCC* functions as the party’s internal trial court, sending accused members charge sheets and legalistic bundles of documents. But it is a highly politicized body.
      Up until September, it was still controlled by Maggie Cosin, a member of Labour’s right wing once described as the party’s “witchfinder general.”

      The new chair, Anna Dyer, has promised to bring change, after a pro-Corbyn majority was elected to the NCC at the Labour Party conference in September.
      * National Constitutional Committee, or NCC, Labour’s disciplinary body.

      I looked further on the site and came up weith this interesting summary of an apparently implacable Corbyn hater, Joan Ryan. This from 20 February 2019.
      Lawmaker Joan Ryan quit Labour on Tuesday, citing party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s supposed “demonization and delegitimization” of Israel.

      Ryan is the leading member of Parliament in Labour Friends of Israel – an Israeli embassy front group.

      She notoriously fabricated a charge of anti-Semitism against Labour member Jean Fitzpatrick at the UK opposition party’s 2016 annual conference.

      Labour Friends of Israel was defiant on Tuesday night, insisting that Ryan would “remain in her position as our parliamentary chair” despite her departure from the Labour Party.

      In her resignation statement, Ryan claimed Corbyn is responsible for a “culture of anti-Jewish racism and hatred for Israel” and a government led by him “would be an existential threat” to the Jewish community.

      Ryan has been a leading voice in the manufactured “Labour anti-Semitism” smear campaign over the last few years.
      https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/joan-ryan-mp-who-fabricated-anti-semitism-quits-labour

      With friends like this in the same Party, who needs enemies? Incidentally I think I saw that the Friends of Israel are getting behind the Independents from Brexit.
      On the same blog.

  16. WeTheBleeple 16
    4 March 2019 at 1:38 pm

    I have talked about water a bit. How to drought and flood proof landscapes using earthworks and swale systems. I have presented evidence for the drought proofing ability of such systems but until now have not seen a ‘100 year flood’ hit one.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gytyQS6cyjA

    Sweet as.

    • greywarshark 16.1
      4 March 2019 at 3:22 pm

      Great WtB. That Geoff Lawton is good.

      And if you watch the one about Greening the Desert – it’s not just about trees.
      This is providing humans with gardens in the driest conditions, and it shows how we all could utilise this clever management. Water is for conserving, not for giving away to $-balls for them to get money from so they can afford a seat on a rocket to space or a harem of poor young women for pleasure.

      Too much money is bad for us apparently – it doesn’t turn us into comfortable, better, generous people. I’d settle for reliable enough with a bit extra for funsies.

  17. Andre 17
    4 March 2019 at 1:47 pm

    It appears there’s now 4 Repug senators ready to vote against Donny Diaper’s wall emergency tantrum.

    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/03/senate-emergency-declaration-rand-paul.html?via=homepage_recirc_recent

    By itself, it won’t matter if the Senate votes that there’s no emergency. Because it needs the satsuma stubbyfingers to sign it, but he’ll just veto it. And there’s not enough votes in either the senate or the house for a veto over-ride.

    Where it will make a big difference is in the courts. The Constitution gives the power of the purse entirely to Congress. So if a majority of both the House and the Senate votes to say no to spending money on a wall, that should hold a lot of weight in any argument the prez is illegally violating the constitution by trying to spend on something that Congress has explicitly told him “no”.

    • Ad 17.1
      4 March 2019 at 3:03 pm

      Trump’s tactic of reallocating from a variety of DoD workstreams should protect him from Congress investigating Federal law budgetary breaches, so long as he doesnt cut too hard against the Antideficiency Act.

      Its his best funding shot.

      But then comes detailed design and procurement. Coupla years.

      • Andre 17.1.1
        4 March 2019 at 3:12 pm

        Big picture to keep in mind through all this is Don of the Deadbrains doesn’t actually care about a wall, he just wants to keep his wallnuts onside. A long drawn out fight is just as good for that as actually building anything. Maybe better.

        • Ad 17.1.1.1
          4 March 2019 at 3:24 pm

          Wallnut base will shrink as each commentator – like Coulter – sees through its gaming.

          2020 not even a wheelbarrow moving: I cant see base growth in that.

          He needs a fresh source of hate.

  18. Ad 18
    4 March 2019 at 1:56 pm

    I can see test Rugby going the way of test Cricket if the US broadcasters pick up on the growing superiority of the US Sevens Rugby team:

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12209181

    Only five years ago were mortified if we lost to Fiji in a Sevens final.

    Now we lose to the US in a semi-final, more often than not. We don’t even get to the finals as much, let alone win.

  19. joe90 19
    4 March 2019 at 2:01 pm

    Mark Taylor spent five years with IS.

    One of his regrets? Not being able to afford a Yazidi slave.

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/383879/new-zealand-jihadist-mark-taylor-captured-in-syria-and-jailed-in-kurdish-prison

    • Ad 19.1
      4 March 2019 at 2:43 pm

      I believe there are positions going to help clear rats from the Auckland Islands.

      He can enslave and behead as many rats as he likes, as well as doing good for New Zealand and the world.

    • Jimmy 19.2
      4 March 2019 at 5:07 pm

      I guess society failed him in the first instance too

      • greywarshark 19.2.1
        4 March 2019 at 10:43 pm

        Society failed you, they must have run out of empathy shots when you came along.

  20. WILD KATIPO 20
    4 March 2019 at 3:02 pm

    Big Read: Miners ready to re-enter Pike River mine to try … – NZ Herald
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12208132

  21. greywarshark 21
    4 March 2019 at 3:16 pm

    Any Red Dwarf fans out there.? And Timothy Spall? Found this wee clip. Good.
    (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qIkXfxyB-8

    Just throwing it into the mix for the fans.

  22. Cinny 22
    4 March 2019 at 4:57 pm

    BREAKING….
    Just heard via the wireless that ‘the ship’ is resigning from the board of the China Construction Bank.

    I think she should resign her title of dame as well.

  23. greywarshark 23
    4 March 2019 at 9:01 pm

    Scientists of NZ – stars for gazing at and learning from:

    On Innovation in NZ –
    http://www.press.auckland.ac.nz/en/browse-books/all-books/books-2013/Get-off-the-Grass-Kickstarting-New-Zealands-Innovation-Economy.html

    Sir Paul Callaghan and Professor Shaun Hendy 2013 (Sir Paul died in 2012)

    What we should be doing instead of low cost retailing (at least the Warehouse is NZ owned I think.)

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 27

    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    49 mins ago
  • Ticket To Anywhere

    You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 hours ago
  • Stories of varying weight

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-07-27T01:15:51+00:00