Open mike 05/03/2025

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 5th, 2025 - 73 comments
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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 …

73 comments on “Open mike 05/03/2025 ”

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  1. weka 1
    5 March 2025 at 8:45 am

    Is there a resource that tracks what is being enacted in the US vs shit Trump says? I know the point of the chaos is to make it easier to replace democracy with authoritarianism, and that Trump is an all round shitposter anyway, but it would be good to know which of his bullshit is being turned into law and policy.

    Also whether the state governments can choose.

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GlNOOObXwAARIEM?format=jpg&name=small

    from https://x.com/VladVexler/status/1896945878306603269

    • Macro 1.1
      5 March 2025 at 9:16 am

      The best summation of what's going on in the US I find is an independent website whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com

    • SPC 1.2
      5 March 2025 at 10:00 am

      There is nothing like the unwoke champions of free speech for proficiency in cancel culture.

    • Mike the Lefty 1.3
      5 March 2025 at 11:08 am

      If the US President's powers are that of a monarch, then the Americans seriously need to consider whether their constitution, which they always tell us they hold so dear to their heart, is fit for purpose.

      • weka 1.3.1
        5 March 2025 at 11:45 am

        there appears to not be anything conventional to stop Trump from taking over.

        My mind is on what exists in NZ that would stop such a take over.

    • mikesh 1.4
      5 March 2025 at 11:40 am

      But, presumably, legal protests would be OK.

      • weka 1.4.1
        5 March 2025 at 11:43 am

        what's a legal protest? Protest is the most essential aspect of democracy. What various governments are doing is constraining protest to what they approve of. That’s not protest, that’s state sanctioned corralling.

    • Psycho Milt 1.5
      5 March 2025 at 1:06 pm

      It's really hard to tell. Even when he writes things into Executive Orders, there's the question of whether the order's genuinely within the authority of the executive or just Trump being unable to distinguish between owning a company and being an elected official.

      • weka 1.5.1
        5 March 2025 at 2:54 pm

        are some EOs being ignored?

        • Karolyn_IS 1.5.1.1
          5 March 2025 at 3:07 pm

          I think there have been some legal challenges to Trump's EOs.

          The EO against trans IDed males participating in women's sport has limitations, and is facing legal challenges. Plus, yesterday the Senate voted against,

          "Legislation that aimed to bar transgender women and girls nationwide from participating in school athletic competitions designated for female athletes failed to advance Monday night in a divided Senate as Democrats stood united against an issue that Republicans leveraged in last year’s elections."

          There are limitations to what can be done with EOs, and, as I understand it, it largely impacts on Federal agencies and funding.

          • Visubversa 1.5.1.1.1
            5 March 2025 at 3:49 pm

            I don't know what point the Democrat women are trying to make by wearing pink to Trump's address to Congress when they seem to be determined to favour delusional or perverted men over women every time.

            • Karolyn_IS 1.5.1.1.1.1
              5 March 2025 at 4:21 pm

              I think there's a lot of caving to powerful and well-funded lobby groups. True feminism seems to be lacking in the dominant group in the Democrat Party, and on the sport issue that are out of step with opinion polls on the topic.

            • Psycho Milt 1.5.1.1.1.2
              5 March 2025 at 5:27 pm

              Blue would have been more appropriate!

        • Psycho Milt 1.5.1.2
          5 March 2025 at 5:34 pm

          As Karolyn_IS says, there have been some legal challenges, the revoking of birthright citizenship is possibly unconstitutional and various Democratic state authorities (and all D Senators) seem determined to die in a ditch over the right of men and boys to compete in women and girls' sports.

          • weka 1.5.1.2.1
            5 March 2025 at 9:50 pm

            I think I misunderstood your first comment. I get that there are challenges, I thought you were saying that some of the EOs didn't have authority.

            • Psycho Milt 1.5.1.2.1.1
              6 March 2025 at 8:07 am

              I meant that's what the legal challenges are saying, eg that PotUS doesn't have the authority to revoke birthright citizenship on his own say-so.

  2. PsyclingLeft.Always 2
    5 March 2025 at 8:53 am

    Ah well, whats $300,000,000 ?

    Government's iRex ferry cancellation costed at $300 million – for now

    New documents reveal the coalition has set aside $300 million to cover broken infrastructure contracts and a break-fee with Hyundai, after the government ended a contract with the Korean company to build two new Interislander ferries.

    Nicky No Boats /Jobs, a bit shy of the reveal..understandable really !

    The Cabinet paper was released by Treasury just half an hour after Finance Minister Nicola Willis had repeatedly refused to confirm that figure to reporters.

    The broken contracts for associated infrastructure costs – for example, port upgrades – have been resolved, but the exact amount to be paid to Hyundai is still being negotiated, which means the contingency fund of $300m set aside may not be enough to cover all the costs.

    Labour standing Up : )

    'Another humiliation' for finance minister – Labour

    Labour leader Chris Hipkins said New Zealand's bargaining position with Hyundai would be much stronger if the government had not cancelled the ferries.

    He said it was a kneejerk decision to cancel the ferries, without knowing how much the replacements would be or who was going to build them.

    "We still don't know what the replacement option's going to be, how much it's going to cost or who's going to build them, and yet we're on the hook for at least $300 million to cancel the deal with Hyundai when the government might actually go back to Hyundai and get them to build the new ferries anyway."

    Hipkins said it was "another humiliation for Nicola Willis".

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/543699/government-s-irex-ferry-cancellation-costed-at-300-million-for-now

    I was re-reading the poll

    Nearly half of public wants new Interislander ferries to be rail-enabled – poll

    Seventy seven percent of Green Party voters, 63 percent of Te Pāti Māori, 58 percent of Labour, 54 percent of New Zealand First, and 51 percent of National Party voters supported rail-enabled ferries.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/538617/nearly-half-of-public-wants-new-interislander-ferries-to-be-rail-enabled-poll

    Ok I could understand Natfans being 51 %. That is still half. But Labour supporters not much ahead at 58% ?

    Greens see it as 77%. Rail is essential. Needs more support.

    • Bearded Git 2.1
      5 March 2025 at 11:02 am

      Greens are always far ahead psych…surely you know that by now?

      P.S. I have had a few vino tintos in a Spanish bar when I opined that.

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 2.1.1
        5 March 2025 at 12:04 pm

        Hi BG. I do look at the Sustainability factor (for one example : ) in the political parties. Greens for sure are tops.

        Take easy, and have good time re Espanol : )

    • Psycho Milt 2.2
      5 March 2025 at 1:08 pm

      My assumption is that having no rail capability on the new ferries is very important to the road transport industry, and that the road transport industry's donations are very important to the National Party. If that ends up costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, neither the road transport industry nor the National Party will lose any sleep over it.

  3. Tiger Mountain 3
    5 March 2025 at 9:06 am

    A positive note to start the day…
    Mad Dog Prebble stands down from Waitangi Tribunal role–apols for linking to the filthy Herald.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/turning-the-treaty-into-a-socialist-manifesto-richard-prebble-resigns-from-waitangi-tribunal/24AHOX5RHBBFDFITFUB2KQ55H4/

    • AB 3.1
      5 March 2025 at 9:32 am

      Prebs hasn't got the attention span for real work. He's done his bit – gone in there, cast aspersions, generated controversy and got out in a hissy fit of mock horror. Possibly opening the way for someone who is as daft as he is but is actually effective in undermining the Tribunal.

      • Phillip ure 3.1.1
        5 March 2025 at 9:52 am

        Wot ab said…

        Prebble will use his brief experience as a stick with which to bash the tribunal/Maori..

        This is just part one of a plan…

      • Mike the Lefty 3.1.2
        5 March 2025 at 11:20 am

        Prebble probably went in with typical ACT Party arrogance, thinking he could change everything the way the government wanted in a short time and that everyone would praise him for it.

        He was a big headed wanker before and nothing has changed since.

        [deleted]

        [from the Policy

        “Directly or indirectly advocating violence in any shape or form (including ‘jest’ and advocating self-harm) to individuals or groups is simply not allowed. Moderators will have a no-tolerance humourless response as the only possible response. If you want to talk about political conflicts around the world, then do so being mindful of this proscription.”]

  4. SPC 4
    5 March 2025 at 9:58 am

    Jon Stewart explains that the events in the White House were also on show in WWE last Saturday when the Rock and John Cena go bad and form a corrupt alliance against Cody Rhodes.

    From 5min.

  5. Phillip ure 5
    5 March 2025 at 10:04 am

    A suggestion for those on the left grappling with formulating transformational polices to fix child poverty/hunger etc etc..

    How about having a look at those northern European countries that don't have child poverty/hunger etc etc..and who have the happiest citizens…

    And see what they do to keep those particular evils at bay…

    And what they do to ensure that ongoing happiness for their citizens…

    (There's nothing wrong with a bit of copy/paste…eh ..? .. especially of good policy ideas..)

    • weka 5.1
      5 March 2025 at 10:55 am

      the trick is how to achieve those things in our cultural context. We're not Scandinavia and we've lost a lot of our socialist democracy ethos. 40 years of neoliberalism has altered our national values, a lot.

      If we want socialist policies, we have to rebuild the values in the general population.

      • Phillip ure 5.1.1
        5 March 2025 at 11:36 am

        It will need transformational policies ..to have any hope of success…

        ..and yes…there will need to be a clawback on the wealth generated by the last decades of neoliberal incrementalism..

        …it's time the rich/corporates got a little damp..

        …they have been soaking us ever since..

        ..y'know..!..fuck the rich…!..we have hungry children to feed…families to lift out of poverty..(extending working for families to all families would be an easy fix…)

        And the first clawback surely must be the massive handout to landlords… that'll help to feed some children…

        …but there is so much more…

        ..we won't achieve the much needed changes…by doing nothing…

        ..we need a 'realignment'…eh..?

        • weka 5.1.1.1
          5 March 2025 at 12:52 pm

          TPM and the Greens have transformation policies, but not enough people vote for them. That's the problem, how to get NZ people engaged and voting for the parties that would end poverty. Hence my point about culture change, because atm most NZ voters don't want that, even on the left.

          • AB 5.1.1.1.1
            5 March 2025 at 2:37 pm

            My instinct is that we need a radical diagnosis of the issues and their causes, but humility and caution on the solutions. Without the radical diagnosis we just get piecemeal tinkering, while with radical action we get unintended consequences that harm those most in need of help and kill our project at the ballot box. Paradoxically, the great strength of contemporary capitalism is its fragility. Rather than a system that tends towards equilibrium and stability and benefits all, it's a complex system of feedback loops that tends towards dis-equilibrium and disorder followed by harsh corrections that hurt the weakest, such as the post-GFC austerity. Thoughtlessly messing with it is extremely dangerous – as Nicola Willis is discovering now.. Central to this is having a new economic idea that exposes the failures of the last 40 years but is not simply a reversion to what preceded them.

            • weka 5.1.1.1.1.1
              5 March 2025 at 2:48 pm

              Central to this is having a new economic idea that exposes the failures of the last 40 years but is not simply a reversion to what preceded them.

              completely agree with this. It also needs to be an attractive and compelling option for our future that gives people buy in. Hard to know how to bring that about, neoliberalism was brought in by stealth.

              My instinct is that we need a radical diagnosis of the issues and their causes, but humility and caution on the solutions.

              I like this too. What's your thinking on radical diagnosis if it's not already being done by say anti-poverty groups or WEAG.

      • aj 5.1.2
        5 March 2025 at 3:32 pm

        I agree. Once the selfish society takes over the concept of the common good is very difficult for some to grasp.

    • Bearded Git 5.2
      5 March 2025 at 11:06 am

      Wealth Tax, Wealth Tax,..

      Did I mention Wealth Tax?

      • Stephen D 5.2.1
        5 March 2025 at 11:55 am

        Craig Renneys thinking is that a wealth tax will give a sugar rush. A capital gains tax more revenue over time.

        • Phillip ure 5.2.1.1
          5 March 2025 at 12:02 pm

          Or…you have both.

          …as part of a suite of measures…

          ..we don't need no more incrementalism….

          ..that much is clear…

          • aj 5.2.1.1.1
            5 March 2025 at 12:54 pm

            A financial transaction tax seems to have disappeared off the radar.

            • Phillip ure 5.2.1.1.1.1
              5 March 2025 at 3:10 pm

              An ftt is low hanging fruit/a user pays obvious part of that suite of change…

              And as far as transformational policies are concerned..

              Yes..the problems/needs must be clearly identified..

              ..but a crucial part of winning voters to the changes needed….is the way to get there must be clearly defined….

              ..the nuts and bolts must be shown to the voters…

              Not just concepts/ideas..but how to do that…so they can see the path ahead…can see where/why we are going…

              • gsays …
                5 March 2025 at 3:40 pm

                The important part of a FTT is the users that pay are banks and currency traders who aren't paying any tax ATM.

                ​​​​​

                • Obtrectator …
                  5 March 2025 at 5:27 pm

                  The important part of a FTT is the users that pay are banks and currency traders who aren't paying any tax ATM.

                  …. and who will promptly pass that cost on to their hapless clients.

        • Bearded Git 5.2.1.2
          5 March 2025 at 10:06 pm

          That would seem to assume the wealthy would find ways to avoid a wealth tax.

          The Greens WT (in their last election manifesto) appears to raise large and immediate revenues that, if not avoided, would be continuous.

  6. tWig 6
    5 March 2025 at 1:06 pm

    5% of pensioners apply for the accommodation supplement: and the number is growing, according to RNZ.

    'there were 48,789 people receiving NZ Super and an accommodation supplement in December, up from 47,223 in December 2023 and 34,279 in December 2019.' Around 950,000 people get the pension.

    • Barfly 6.1
      5 March 2025 at 1:38 pm

      The number will continue to go up as the incoming pensioners contain a growing percentage of renters. Frankly I would have thought the number would be higher.

      • Descendant Of Smith 6.1.1
        5 March 2025 at 7:55 pm

        The asset threshold to get it is $8.100 for single and $16,200 for a couple. Many who have just retired might take a little while to get their savings down to that level.

        Some of the growth will be blue collar broken down baby boomers who ended up on benefits (super was 60 once partly for this reason) and have already used up their savings while getting $140 or so less than those on super per week.

        Even one year at $140 per week less comes to $7,000 of your savings just to be on the same footing as someone on super. 5 years is $35,000 dollars of savings used up.

  7. tWig 7
    5 March 2025 at 1:12 pm

    As I suggested yesterday, the cost of water repairs in Wellington could be higher than for other local councils, due to the system age, the fragile asbestos pipes, and the 2016 earthquake.

    From RNZ today 'Civil Contractors New Zealand chief executive Alan Pollard told Morning Report it was difficult to compare the cost of network repairs in Wellington to others around the country. "The maintenance required on the Wellington network is substantially higher than anyone else. So if you are looking at three times the cost, we are doing three times the work then we are anywhere else." '

    Yesterday in Hardcopy The Post, their article stated that when Wellie Water was set up, the local councils skimped on the admin and oversight governance, which made the running of the organisation less transparent around contracting, etc.

    • Belladonna 7.1
      5 March 2025 at 1:51 pm

      Seems to be a degree of concern about overcharging and underdelivering – as well as the lack of transparency. No one seems to be clear over just why it costs more to replace pipe in Wellington, than it does anywhere else. Not the question of whether more of the infrastructure needs replacement (which age, quality, earthquake would all play into), but why it costs more per-metre of pipe actually replaced.

      Guppy at least, appears to believe they were systematically lied to, in order the line the pockets of the contractors.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018977495/fallout-from-wellington-water-report-continues

      https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360598263/damning-wellington-water-report-about-land-mayors

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/top/543627/wellington-water-chairman-mulls-resigning-after-damning-report

      • Obtrectator 7.1.1
        5 March 2025 at 5:32 pm

        No one seems to be clear over just why it costs more to replace pipe in Wellington, than it does anywhere else.

        Among doubtless other reasons, see tWig's reference above to asbestos. "Asbestos removal" = "licence to print money".

        • Belladonna 7.1.1.1
          6 March 2025 at 9:06 am

          So, out of the whole f NZ, only Wellington has ever had asbestos in it's pipes?
          It seems incredible to me.
          If asbestos was ever a feature of pipe manufacture in NZ (I don't have any information on this, one way or another) – it would have been routinely used in all pipes laid in NZ during that period. There is nothing to single out Wellington as having more exposure to this problem than any other NZ city of the same vintage. All of whom will have the same costs for replacement.

      • tWig 7.1.2
        6 March 2025 at 10:48 am

        Not negating that there's undoubtedly corruption, just pointing out a fact about Wellington City water network itself. If you've ever lived in Wellington City itself, it's pretty obvious that the cost of maintenance and repair on twisty narrow streets is a bigger issue than on wide streets.

        If you go to fix a leak, and you need to replace or reline three times the length of pipe you would expect from a single-source leak, because the run of pipe has multiple cracks, due to earthquake damage, then yes, it will cost three times the price.

        However, the costs in the Hutt and Porirua, also under Wellie Water should be a bit lower, because of newer systems and straighter streets.

        • Belladonna 7.1.2.1
          6 March 2025 at 10:55 am

          I do understand that the extent of the pipes needing replacement are greater in Wellington City (more kilometres of pipe needing to be replaced) – and earthquake is a good explanation of this.
          However, it doesn't seem to explain why it costs, metre-for-metre – more to replace pipe in the Wellington region than anywhere else. And that's what my reading of the report showed was happening.

          I think that there have been significant levels of featherbedding and corruption going on.

          And the gaslighting of the elected representatives (in Hutt – and probably the other cities as well) – has been inexcusable.

    • gsays 7.2
      5 March 2025 at 2:11 pm

      It's hardly surprising Fulton Hogan's industry body goes into bat for them by murking the waters and a dose of whataboutism.

  8. tWig 8
    5 March 2025 at 1:27 pm

    Trump is trashing the US weather service. Arwa Marhdawi at The Guardian

    'Ultimately, however, the attacks on Noaa show that even the weather has been swept up in the culture wars. It used to be a safe topic, something you could chat about with strangers. Now, simply providing context to weather reports can get people very heated indeed. For example, during the summer 2022 heatwave in the UK, when temperatures reached record highs of 40.3C, weather forecasters such as Laura Tobin found themselves getting harassed for linking the heatwave to the climate crisis.

    This abuse is part of a trend. Meteorologists around the world have been subjected to increasing harassment. This is partly, I suspect, because, deep down, even the science deniers are fearful. There is an apt tweet about the climate crisis that pops up a lot: “Climate change will manifest as a series of disasters viewed through phones with footage that gets closer and closer to where you live until you’re the one filming it.” What used to seem abstract and remote is now steadily encroaching on all our lives – even those of people living in places once considered climate havens. Trump can declare war on the weather all he likes, but it’s become alarmingly clear that this is a war that no one will win.'

  9. tWig 9
    5 March 2025 at 1:35 pm

    BHN show up Luxon lying about nurses' incomes.

    • Incognito 10.1
      5 March 2025 at 3:54 pm

      Less link-spamming and more (intelligent) commentary, please. TS ≠ SM.

      • tWig 10.1.1
        6 March 2025 at 11:06 am

        Context: I post at the library when my data credit runs out, so I'm news-grazing over a couple of hours, hence bundled-up links. Isn't one aim of TS to highlight critical political news, nationally and internationally? Wasn't this very concept of TS news aggregation suggested here between Standard stalwarts over the weekend, as a response to the continual narrowing of non-partisan NZ reporting? It's also one reason why I go to BHN, because they do an excellent job of sweeping (pre-digesting) the national media, and interviewing those involved.

        This Gaza headline seemed self-explanatory to me, which is why I didn't comment or extract. It's a really important piece of reporting for the future of Gaza, outside of the Trump circus; and as important, if not more, as column cms on Ukraine's future.

        I'd also point out there are many here who post lengthy extracts without commentary, whereas I usually pop in a paraphrase of my link content. If I left off commentary or extracts, it's because I feel the title of the article spoke for itself.

  11. tWig 11
    5 March 2025 at 2:29 pm

    From Newsroom, Lester Levy parachutes in old buddies from PriceWaterhouseCooper into the jobs all those women were kicked out of recently.

    • aj 11.1
      5 March 2025 at 3:36 pm

      Seems like the 'layers of management ' are increasing.

    • tc 11.2
      5 March 2025 at 5:38 pm

      Dodgy auditors with their bag of tricks to the rescue.

      When was the last time Brown or Levy faced decent questions on this empire they've added to management etc.

      Seymour’s new dept lives a charmed life also.

  12. joe90 12
    5 March 2025 at 5:39 pm

    Making maternal mortality great again.

    /

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration signaled Tuesday it will move to let Idaho enforce its strict abortion ban, even in the treatment of pregnant women suffering medical emergencies, a dramatic reversal from the previous administration in a closely watched lawsuit.

    The state’s largest hospital system said it could be forced to airlift women out of state for care if the federal lawsuit is dismissed. That convinced a judge to quickly grant a temporary order allowing doctors to keep providing abortions they deem necessary to treat emergencies.

    https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-idaho-emergency-087ffe58073649062a9d9ef08f9d95f6

    Question Was the adoption of complete or 6-week abortion bans associated with changes in infant mortality rates?

    Findings This analysis of US national vital statistics data from 2012 through 2023 found higher than expected infant mortality in states after adoption of abortion bans (observed vs expected, 6.26 vs 5.93 per 1000 live births; relative increase, 5.60%). Estimated increases were relatively larger among infants who were Black, had congenital anomalies, or were born in southern states.

    Meaning Abortion bans were associated with increases in infant mortality. These increases were larger for populations that already experienced higher than average rates of infant mortality.

    https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2830298?guestAccessKey=b72029ae-86e1-4152-b21b-996a42715af0