Open mike 05/07/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 5th, 2021 - 93 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 …

93 comments on “Open mike 05/07/2021 ”

  1. Incognito 2

    The last red flag to look out for is, is the information presented in a way that seems designed to make you angry or scared. Good information put out to help you make an informed choice won’t do that.

    Indeed, and I apply this rule-of-thumb to comments on this site too, i.e. when there is much anger and/or other negative emotions in it – the opposite tone applies as well, of course.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300347048/how-to-spot-covid19-misinformation

    • Sabine 2.1

      And while the country waits patiently to get the vaccines to arrive, for invites to be send out, for those over 65 to finally get their jabs they should have gotten some weeks ago, we again discuss those that may not want it the jabs.

      that in itself seems to become misinformation now, how many will actually not want a jab – for what ever reason?

      But we are lucky, – good news, 150.000 doses arrived two days earlier. If we ration that properly to some 5000 doses a day delivered it might last till then next shipment and thus we don't run out 🙂 good news.

      • Incognito 2.1.1

        Take it away, Sabine! We know you can do it!

        https://www.newsroom.co.nz/charting-new-zealands-vaccine-rollout

        • Sabine 2.1.1.1

          https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-group-4-vaccination-rollout-start-date-wording-changed-on-government-website/XOCYASHL22RFHM5RHCBV3HXHPM/

          but yeah, you post that link Incognito as if you life depend on it. 🙂 It is still a meaningless link to those that are in groups that should have been vaccinated but aren't.

          But lets discuss the few that may or may not refuse a vaccine that they will not get for another few month.

          • Drowsy M. Kram 2.1.1.1.1

            It is still a meaningless link to those that are in groups that should have been vaccinated but aren't.

            https://covid19.govt.nz/

            So what can be done about "those that are in groups that should have been vaccinated but aren't"? I can't do anything about vaccine supply, but maybe you can? Or maybe you have some ideas about what our Government can do, or coulda/shoulda done to ensure a better supply during this on-going pandemic?

            Expect the tragic global COVID death toll on Worldometers to top 4 million on Tuesday/Wednesday, although the actual excess mortality is likely higher.

            Only 26 tragic COVID deaths in NZ so far, the last one almost 5 months ago, so surely the team of nearly five million deserve a pat on the back for that – we don't know how lucky we are.

            Personally I recommend the placebo moan – feeling better already wink

            Major depression: an illness with objective physical signs
            Anxiety is a conspicuous and an integral element of affective state and may be expressed by severe restlessness and agitation. Muscle tension, wringing of hands, weeping and moaning, repeating over and over in a monotonous and stereotyped way phrases expressive of misery are all important clinical signs of major depression.

            And a response/critique:

            Blue is the new black

            Of course they're only experts – really not worth my time.

          • Incognito 2.1.1.1.2

            You have mentioned twice that we (??) need to “discuss” this but you don’t discuss anything!? You just put down and pull down without offering up anything, just meaningless ignorant vitriol.

            Besides hijacking and diverting this thread to an imaginary discussion you’re pissing in the wind again, as usual.

            I’ve got badly scratched broken old records that sound better than most of your comments because the professionalism and quality still come through. When will you stop screeching and start contributing something new and useful to the conversation?

        • AB 2.1.1.2

          One of the things I don't miss about working in the corporate world is being part of project teams that had talented, hard-working people busting themselves to get something difficult done. Then having to go and sit in front of lazy, entitled managers who wanted everything done yesterday and ignorantly impugned our competence and commitment – and took every issue, challenge and delay as evidence that these were lacking. I guess it's a more general human phenomenon than I realised.

          • GreenBus 2.1.1.2.1

            Yes, one can get a little over the constant harping on about the smallest things when really the ship is sailing smoothly on very rough sea. All the crews asses are safe thanks to a great captain in charge. There are always a few stirrers on board though that are never happy.

            • woodart 2.1.1.2.1.1

              I get very tired of the constant whingers, they must be a real joy(sarc alert) to live with. maybe they should take a look at the rest of the planet, and if they can find somewhere better, bugger off there . especially the moaners who dont have any solutions.

            • McFlock 2.1.1.2.1.2

              Although there was one Cook Strait crossing where B bought a dozen handles of speights just before the bar shut, and a particularly large roll took them all off the table. That was a damned tragic event mourned deeply by all present. 🙂

              • mac1

                You call that a tragedy? A tragedy would have been having beer spilt. 🙂

                • McFlock

                  them's fighting words 🙂

                  • mac1

                    What beer we drink and what team we support really do define us, don't they, like an accent or style of clothing.

                    The pub I played in during the early Eighties was about the first pub to pour Mac's Real Ale. It broke the Lion/DB duopoly. The brewery had to go to Nelson and buy a cidery to be able to access beer bottles as the two had sewn up the supply through the ABC.

                    Now NZ has 200 breweries. Last night I we dined with my son-in-law and daughter next to a great local brewery. Schnitzel and sauerkraut, garlic bread and two craft beers, a hazelnut beertini and a porter, and a wee taste of a salty sour.

                    Unheard of food or ales when I was young, and a compensation for getting old!

                    • McFlock

                      yeah, tbh honest I tend to drink a pale ale these days. Still attached to speight's though.

                      The trouble is that the mainstream beers are but shadows of their former selves. Export gold tastes like wizz to me, but when they had their 50th they released original recipe export (maybe even export gold?). Really nice, layered, nuanced, a bloody nice beer.

                      Speights today isn't as bad as export (less uriny hue for a start), but I suspect it's still a shadow of what it was even in the mid-1990s (when the beernami happened).

              • Pat

                Spilt Speights is a blessing

        • alwyn 2.1.1.3

          That's wonderful. We are now at 122nd place in the world for percentage of the population who have been vaccinated.

          That is really at the front of the queue isn't it?

          • Incognito 2.1.1.3.1

            I know Sabine and you are excited and can hardly contain yourselves with giddy glee but don’t you think you’re embarrassing yourselves just a tiny wee bit?

            • woodart 2.1.1.3.1.1

              you have to be self-aware to be embarrassed. being self-aware is NOT being self-important..

              • Incognito

                I wasn’t aware of that, thank you.

              • McFlock

                or have something in the line of integrity or shame.

                Everyone has their own malfunction, but some are more serious [or tragic] than others.

      • Sacha 2.1.2

        150.000 doses arrived two days earlier. If we ration that properly to some 5000 doses a day delivered it might last till then next shipment and thus we don't run out

        The PM on tvnz's Breakfast show this morning said there is another 150,000 due in a week, then two more shipments that will take it to 1,000,000 for July.

        Best find some other angle to whinge about.

  2. peter 3

    David Seymour is on the rampage about the Human Rights Commission giving a $200 koha to the Waikato Mongrel Mob. Simon Brown and Judith Collins are into it boots and all.

    The mob recently having members arrested on drug charges makes the payment appalling.

    Seymour has Dilworth School in his electorate. I wonder if they get any assistance from government agencies. You know, the school with many cases and allegations of sexual assault on young people over years.

    • Sabine 3.1

      Considering the sexual assault report of the CHCH Girls School, rape in schools is as Kiwi as, and its not as if it were a hate crime or anything, so they get nothing. Also, its only kids, and kids in NZ can get abused at home, in schools or in government care and nothing much is done.

      So i don't thing they would get monetary assistance. They can hold a bake sale though?

      • Pete 3.1.1

        Dilworth is a private school and has its own ways of operating. My wondering is across the spectrum of activities, whether any Government agencies are contributing to their operation, or people working have received any contribution.

        Did the Christchurch report say there'd been rape at a school? You intimated last week it did and touch on that again here.

        (Typo in my first comment. It should have been 'Simeon" Brown. I hope he doesn't think he's being picked on.

          • Pete 3.1.1.1.1

            Thanks, I was aware of all that. What I tried to get at was an intimation that rape happened at school.

            • cricklewood 3.1.1.1.1.1

              aah missed the distinction…

            • Sabine 3.1.1.1.1.2

              sorry if i worded that incorrectly.

              What i intimated (correct term?) at is that:

              sexual violence, physical violence, verbal violence directed at children in NZ is kiwi as.

        • Sabine 3.1.1.2

          Yes, at least 20 girls came forward, at least three have allegations of 'gang rape' or 'having a train run over them'.

          this is from the women who ran the review.

          https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2021/06/29/exclusive-dr-liz-gordon-sexual-harassment-silence-and-power/

          The police and school initially stopped the girls from protesting the boy school in question – truancy, for their own safety blablablah

          https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/124657314/students-protesting-sexual-harassment-turned-back-from-boys-school-by-police

          but then

          https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/christchurch-girls-high-schools-sexual-harassment-survey-police-meeting-with-students-after-20-say-they-have-been-raped/VWD2TPTKNGLTFDRGJ5VNQ33UNI/

          mind these things might be considered a crime, or maybe not – maybe they just like rough and degrading sex

          A survey of 725 Girls’ High students found more than half had been sexually harassed, a quarter saying it had happened on 10 occasions or more. Three have now laid formal police complaints, with another nine considering it.

          Students described being grabbed on buses, offered money to allow them to be touched,
          three allegations of gang rape, being slapped in the face when having sex against their will, and being forced to touch boys

          We don't care as a society. We just don't. And the fact that these girls don't actually go to police or to anyone just shows how internalised that knowledge is. As evidenced by the Police and School stopping the protests against the sexual violence meeted out to them, rather then then asking themselves where they – our institutions in which these children should be safe – have failed.

          added, these girls are between 13 – 18 years old. Schoolgirls.

          • Treetop 3.1.1.2.1

            Too many authority figures with out dated thinking when it comes to complainants. No money for legal aid either. Our children, adolescents and young adults are being failed.

            I have never seen the Police Commissioner or the PM ever wear a red ribbon. A red ribbon is the ribbon for sexual violence. I will post them a few each once I can source them.

            • Incognito 3.1.1.2.1.1

              I have never seen the Police Commissioner or the PM ever wear a red ribbon. A red ribbon is the ribbon for sexual violence. I will post them a few each once I can source them.

              Huh??

              • Treetop

                Like the white ribbon.

                • Incognito

                  The red ribbon is like the white ribbon!?

                  • Descendant Of Smith

                    Here's a list of ribbons and causes.

                    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awareness_ribbons

                    • Incognito

                      Treetop said this:

                      A red ribbon is the ribbon for sexual violence.

                      This is news to me and not backed up on your Wikipedia page either, as far as I can tell.

                    • Treetop []

                      I will search for when the red ribbon was used by rape crisis. It could have been taken over by the white ribbon.

                    • Descendant Of Smith

                      I wasn't backing it up. Just providing a reference. I hadn't heard of it being associated either. Closest I could think of was red is also used for anti-genital mutilation in some places.

                      "There's not much more meaningless than wearing a ribbon."

                      I'm in that camp – I feel the same way about ribbons, badges, poppies, daffodils ……..

                      Except for Rick – the peoples poet. His badges are fine.

                    • Incognito []

                      Tattoos, bumper stickers, SM accounts, fridge magnets, all meaningless attributes to show you’re a unique member of a specific tribe.

                    • Treetop

                      Thanks for the list.

                  • I Feel Love

                    There's not much more meaningless than wearing a ribbon, John Key was part of the White Ribbon thing FFS. It's an imported American thing, like "hopes & prayers", meaningless.

                    • Incognito

                      That’s Sir John for you and he fully deserved that knighthood!

                    • greywarshark

                      To paraphrase –

                      Do not go gentle into that good knight,
                      Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
                      Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

                  • Treetop

                    Yes. Rape Crisis have the red one. Not sure whether the red one came before the white one. Both ribbons are about violence and sexual violence is not family or domestic violence.

                    I was not impressed with Ardern this morning on TV One speaking to Campbell. The subject came up of the March 15 2019 survivors who were excluded by not being covered for a mental injury with ACC when there was no physical injury. Ardern used an example of witnessing a murder. There is a difference with witnessing murder due to a terrorist attack.

                    Even if both were covered the number is not that high for witnessing a murder.

                    • Incognito

                      What is a mental injury?

                      Mental injury is a legal concept rather than a clinical concept and as such is defined by legislation.

                      Accident Compensation Act 2001

                      A mental injury is defined as:“a clinically significant behavioural, cognitive or psychological dysfunction”(s27).

                      ACC can provide cover for mental injury arising from:

                      • Sexual abuse (sensitive claims),
                      • A covered physical injury,
                      • A work related traumatic incident, and
                      • Treatment injury.

                      https://www.acc.co.nz/assets/provider/edb599d6ad/mental-injury-assessment-guide.pdf

                      It is not in the PM's hands, so there's little point in blaming her for this, least of all for her trying to explain the situation.

                    • Treetop []

                      It is in the government's hand to take responsibility and to not exclude people who were not physically injured due to a terrorist attack.

                      The Jade ribbon is now used.

                    • Incognito []

                      The goal posts are moving.

                      This was the issue:

                      The subject came up of the March 15 2019 survivors who were excluded by not being covered for a mental injury with ACC when there was no physical injury.

                      The answer is clear and it has nothing to do with the PM or this Government. However, you could then argue that the Act needs to be changed to include mental injury arising from an act of terrorism. If so, then make that case.

                    • Treetop []

                      Mental injury caused through witnessing a terrorist attack needs to have its own category for ACC cover. A terrorist event is rare in NZ. People who recieve cover for a physical injury get cover for that regardless of how they were injured.

              • Treetop

                Jade ribbon Sexual assault/sexual abuse including Military, sexual trauma.

                I will check by email as to when the red ribbon ceased.

                • Pat

                  It would appear that the red ribbon has been used for many things….but not sexual assault/abuse

    • Jimmy 3.2

      Good on Seymour. Gangs like Mongrel Mob should not be given ANY tax payer money whether it be called a "donation" or "koha".

      These gangs distribute meth and other drugs and should not be supported. It's not like they contribute anything good to society.

      • greywarshark 3.2.1

        If only the government had made cannabis legal, a lesser drug, and now also having good medicinal effect relieving the conditions of some people! There would have been something to do for the gangs looking for a profitable business. There needs to be inspired thinking about what should be done in times of trouble, what will work best, and let's improve the situation.

        Perhaps do a flip and enable the gangs to make meth to a controlled strength? Prohibition when there is much money involved isn't an answer, nor is a prison sentence. The harm has been done, how can it be lessened. Not getting squillions of dosages from China et al would be a help to control drug crime.

        Of course the other rarely mentioned point, is that if people would only care about their health and wellbeing and be wary of drugs, there would not be such a market for them.

        • Jimmy 3.2.1.1

          Over 50% of public voted for cannabis not to be legal so govt just went with what the majority wanted. But what difference would it make anyway if it had been made legal? Gangs would still sell meth and P and stronger than legal cannabis.

          Regardless of that, tax payer money should not go to gangs.

      • joe90 3.2.2

        Seymour ruled out returning donations from a man who threatened to destroy mosque after mosque till I am taken out but you're pissy over a couple a hundy going to these losers.

        .

        Righto….

        • Jimmy 3.2.2.1

          Sorry, I didn't realise you were a gang supporter, I'll be more careful in future.
          I don’t believe any of the gangs should receive any money.

      • Sacha 3.2.3

        The $200 seems like a red herring. Has the Human Rights Commission said why they were meeting with the gang in the first place? I can imagine people disagreeing with that but it's really not about the money unless you're a hopeless rightie.

    • Treetop 3.3

      A group of Auckland lawyers are doing pro bono for historical Dilworth sexual assault cases as staff were the alleged offenders. Dilworth has a billion in assets so the lawyers will get paid.

      Anyone else like the Lake Alice child and adolescent unit survivors will have to find funding which will delay justice and consume a complainants time and energy.

  3. Forget now 4

    It's good that at least one MP is willing to speak out about forced labour (& organ harvesting) in China. It seems a valid point that; we are complicit if we profit from this, and perhaps our laws should be amended to reflect that (though prison labour would also be an issue for purchases from other countries too – USA springs to mind).

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/446189/labour-mp-breaks-ranks-to-accuse-china-of-organ-harvesting

    What happened with Wall at the last election anyway? I know the broad outline of the Manurewa seat being taken from her to be gifted to one of Robertson's allies (so she is list only now). But why?

    Is she too inconvenient to party discipline in speaking her mind and putting forth controversial member's bills? Maybe just tainted by association with Cunliffe? There is obviously some background there that I missed by not paying attention (&/or being aware of the Auckland political scene).

  4. Muttonbird 5

    ‘Eat a bat and die’: Vile threats against Wuhan lab conspiracy-buster

    Facebook’s decision to remove large amounts of misinformation about Covid-19 and replace it with fact-checked material, including Dr Anderson’s, infuriated extremist conspiracy websites so much that one published her email address.

    The man dubbed America’s “most prolific” conspiracy theorist, Texan Alex Jones, named Dr Anderson as “the woman running projects with weaponised COVID” and claimed she “ran all the censorship for Facebook … and silences the president”.

    Geelong-born Dr Anderson had no idea she was being targeted until a friend from New York asked: “Why am I seeing your face?”

    The first email to hit her inbox read simply: “Eat a bat and die, bitch.”

    It is sad to see scientists being targeted by right wing lunatic conspiracy theorists.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health … racybuster

    • greywarshark 5.1

      Further it is sad to see people being targeted and abused by others prepared to say horrible things to them. What gunge is in such people's head that they spew up at others – it must be awful in there. Get out in the sunlight and look for something to smile at, carry that good feeling for at least ten minutes, pass that smile to someone you encounter with a kind word that will make them feel good. Exercises for mental health!

  5. bwaghorn 6

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300349366/labour-mp-breaks-ranks-to-accuse-china-of-organ-harvesting

    I hope Wall can prove it cause shes probably just killed the golden goose!

    Edit no delete function I see this is posted above

    • Sabine 6.1

      from the article.

      She based that on findings from a recent independent tribunal chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice, a British QC, who previously worked with the International Criminal Court.

      His 600-page report, called the China Tribunal, says the killing of political prisoners for organ transplants is continuing in China and that many people have died “indescribably hideous deaths” in the process.

      this is why is is saying what she says

      The MP, who is part of a global network of politicians monitoring the actions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), also says her own government needs to do more to counter what she calls the slave labour trade in China.

      and this is the solution to what she said- based on the above linked comment about a 600 page report.

      “What the UK and Canada have done is they've got modern slavery acts and they want to ensure the corporates who are taking those raw materials, actually ensure that the production of those raw materials complies with the modern slavery act. I like that mechanism.”

      She said the Government also needs to pass new laws to stop New Zealanders getting organ transplants sourced from China or from any country that cannot verify the integrity of its organ donor programme.

      China sources some organs from political prisoners, she said.

      I think she is quite confident that the gold on the goose is just paint.

    • Byd0nz 6.2

      She is a victim of the anti everything China brigade, they have no substantiated proof, just mud speak to help the Imperialist infowar which shows up the death throes of the American Empire whos dreams of hegemony is crumbling.

  6. Muttonbird 7

    Lol, Duncs is firmly in the Collins camp. Couldn't make it more obvious if he tried. Everybody's fault but the leader's, he cries:

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/07/duncan-garner-the-national-party-is-in-complete-disarray-here-s-who-needs-to-go.html

    • Jimmy 7.1

      If the Nats had any sense, they would get rid of Goodfellow.

    • mac1 7.2

      And the questions that Garner didn't ask? "What fault does a leader share in National's fault-ridden performance; and who could do it better?"

      For me, the leader and the performance of the party are intertwined. Before she became leader, she was a senior MP, experienced and even had been disciplined by her Leader. She helped form the culture- mean, dysfunctional, narrow, mysogynistic. She revelled in a nickname, the Crusher- undeserved except of her own in actuality, but indicative. She is snarky, smirky and her practice is the norm, the usual, the National way. She is divisive, and her party is divided.

      New Zealand is blighted by a culture of poor middle management. National's problem is that this cadre of poor managers has elevated into the leadership at party and parliamentary level.

      • woodart 7.2.1

        nailed it mac1. collins has been there for years. part of the furniture. no amount of praying will wash her hands clean.

    • Pete 7.3

      They played team tag to destroy Lees-Galloway. Garner was probably disappointed he didn't get to maul Muller with Collins too.

  7. greywarshark 8

    edit
    Good one FNDC – Far North District Council. Is this in accordance with Hone Carter’s wishes? Or is it Whangarei Mayor Sheryl Mai and Deputy Greg Innes who find it hard to come up with practical and simple necessities of life for those in need?

    FNDC has shown courageous leadership as it strives towards the goal of being the very best Council in New Zealand. Their journey started four years ago when the Council undertook its first CouncilMARK™ assessment which helped FNDC establish a baseline of performance. From there, a comprehensive work programme was created that centered around continuous improvement.

    Despite this? What about the children! Further than that cliche' – what about ordinary people being photoshopped out of the picture?

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/446072/whangarei-pair-living-in-park-trespassed-as-homelessness-skyrockets 3 July 2021
    Whangārei rough sleepers are facing trespass notices amid a rapid rise in homelessness.

    This week, RNZ revealed new figures showing the city's homeless population had increased from 21 people in 2018 to 293 in 2020.
    The figures were part of a Northland District Health Board report released this week.

    It said "a very high proportion" of homeless were Māori and that was "reinforcing and extending existing inequities" but it was "unlikely there is sufficient transitional housing in Northland to meet the need".

    The report also said he kainga ora was an "unreachable dream" for too many people in Te Tai Tokerau and that most homeless people in Whangārei were living in vehicles or around bridges and toilets.
    On Wednesday, two homeless people illegally living in a park were trespassed by the Whangārei District Council and warned they could be fined up to $1000 or imprisoned for up to three months if they returned within two years.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCs1rkAXZ9o – Easy to be Hard

  8. Sabine 9

    On Wednesday, two homeless people illegally living in a park were trespassed by the Whangārei District Council and warned they could be fined up to $1000 or imprisoned for up to three months if they returned within two years

    ah, well that will fix it.

  9. greywarshark 10

    The dross has left Mataura. And put in a place where it can't get wet and release ammonia. I seem to remember a lot of talk about 'dries' in economic terms a while back. Perhaps it has been sent to their headquarter to join the other dross, or scum as it's sometimes called.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/446228/tiwai-point-by-product-completely-removed-from-southland-town

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 hour ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    3 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    4 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    10 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    11 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T06:01:08+00:00