Open mike 06/05/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 6th, 2019 - 145 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 …

145 comments on “Open mike 06/05/2019 ”

  1. Muttonbird 1

    Fascinating read into the anxious incompetence of supposed sound financial managers, John Key and Bill English.

    The pair of them pissed $1B down the drain.

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/112420653/was-the-1b-fate-of-scf-sealed-by-this-one-simple-misunderstanding

    • WeTheBleeple 1.1

      They made policy in a day, and ditched him in a minute. Not the mates I'd ever want.

    • cleangreen 1.2

      smileysmiley two smiles for Muttonbird. absolutely correct.

      Show pony ShonKey was a agent of the global elite.

    • Shadrach 1.3

      From the same article:

      "But then came the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC). The Labour government was panicked into introducing the Crown retail deposit guarantee scheme to prevent a collapse in confidence in the banking and finance company sector.

      The taxpayer was suddenly underwriting savers in what mostly looked like sound businesses."

  2. Cinny 2

    Oh dear, simon thinks he has the scoop, claiming to have a leaked cabinet paper re the cannabis referendum….

    Turns out the so called leaked paper he has is out of date….. lolololz…. did any of the news agencies check the story before running it? Will news agencies now set the story straight? If not what does that say about NZ media?

    https://twitter.com/_chloeswarbrick/status/1124878753618845696

    • James 2.1

      i don’t see her posting any evidence to back up her claim.

      • Robert Guyton 2.1.1

        "we’ve invited them to work collaboratively multiple times,"

        You reckon that's not true, James?

      • Sacha 2.1.2

        What would count as evidence?

        • Jenny - How to get there? 2.1.2.1

          "we’ve invited them to work collaboratively multiple times,"

          National are not interested in working collaboratively.

          Witness the vicious public attacks on the Green Party and the government by Todd Muller over the Zero Carbon Bill.

          Not to mention the resulting "flexible" rubber chicken that is the outcome of trying to pander to them.

          Anyone who claims they are surprised, after New Zealand's greenhouse emissions continue to rise, after the passing of the Zero Carbon Act, will be a liar.

      • Doogs 2.1.3

        TROLL Jimmy boy. The biggest Billy Goat Gruff is coming.

      • Nick 2.1.4

        james aka asswipe

    • Fireblade 2.2

      National wont release the paper or say who gave it to them. No evidence.

      Maybe Simon had another "slushy" brain fart moment.

      • Cinny 2.2.1

        It's almost like they find some info, think it's a big scoop, do nothing to fact check and then roll with it, just like last Monday and probably the Monday before that and so on.

        Meanwhile Stuff appears to be burying the story while both paula bennet and tova o'brien are looking rather foolish on the twitter.

        • McFlock 2.2.1.1

          Probably found it in a rubbish bin and thought they were super dooper secret agents. Didn't occur to them that it might be out of date rubbish.

    • cleangreen 2.3

      Chloe, why does that not surprise me at all.
      “The paper the Nats have got hold of is out of date”

      By the way Chloe; – please tell Julie Anne that we all in HB/Gisborne support her call to lower the speed of all "dangerous roads down to an 80 kms speed to lower the deaths on these narrow winding regional potholed roads.

      You must push to restore rail passenger services around our provinces too.

      Julie Anne also needs to support us and speak for us in the press to reopen the rail services they promised us before the last election to Gisborne .

      Simply so we older retired folks can use rail safely to get to our families.

      • James 2.3.1

        By the way Chloe; – please tell Julie Anne that we all in HB/Gisborne support her call

        you speak for “all” do you – but full of your own importance there clean green.

      • Sacha 2.3.2

        "By the way …"

        That's not how portfolio responsibility works.

    • Enough is Enough 2.4

      So how did they get hold of the "out of date" paper?

      Who gave it to them?

      • SpaceMonkey 2.4.1

        They retrieved it from the shredder and won't release it because we'd see the pieces sellotaped together so they could read it… wink

      • Sacha 2.4.2

        The whisky stains may have been a clue.

    • Shadrach 2.5

      Given how the Greens are being treated as the Coalitions lap dog, I doubt Chloe would have a clue.

      • Cinny 2.5.1

        On said issue Chloe is probably the most versed of all the MP's.

        Good on her for calling out paula's shite, once again.

        • Shadrach 2.5.1.1

          Huh? Paula's 'shite'? This is about an alleged leak, nothing to do with the merits or otherwise of decriminalising drugs.

          • McFlock 2.5.1.1.1

            Actually, it's about a ladder-kicking self-promoter angling for a tilt at the practically-vacant caucus leadership by releasing "leaked" out of date information when they would have had the current information if they'd accepted an invitation to actually participate in the process.

            • Shadrach 2.5.1.1.1.1

              Actually it's not. It's about an irrelevant MP from an irrelevant political party claiming to know the leaked material was old but providing zero evidence. Meanwhile, the Greens continue to be Labours lap dog.

              • Drowsy M. Kram

                It's about an irrelevant MP from an irrelevant political party claiming to know the leaked material was old current but providing zero evidence.

                • Shadrach

                  When has the Green Party been the largest political party in NZ?

                  That would be never.

                  When have the Greens led a government?

                  That would be never.

                  The Greens are nothing more than also rans, a repository for benefit frauds, those who misrepresent their work history, or who seem to think reclaiming the ‘c’ word is somehow virtuous. No wonder bugger all people vote for them.

                  • McFlock

                    Ah, the "look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!" argument as to why paula benefit is anything other than a dumpster-diver.

                    • Shadrach

                      The issue is 'relevance'.

                    • McFlock

                      Precisely. National chose to be irrelevant on this issue, that is why their information is out of date. They should be at the table, rather than going through the rubbish bins.

                      Alluding to past glories does not hide the fact that the fractured remnants of the nat caucus are in the wastelands of opposition.

                    • Shadrach

                      So having an opposing opinion to you is 'irrelevance'. You have a history of similar opinions McFlock.

                    • McFlock

                      No – a pretender to an opposition throne dumpster-diving to find out what happened at meetings they refused to attend is irrelevant.

                      I don't even know what Benefit's opinion on MJ is. I just know it won't affect the government decision. Therefore: irrelevant.

                  • Drowsy M. Kram

                    So 6.3% of voters is "bugger all people" – how's that working out?

                    • Shadrach

                      In the context of the comparison you were making, yes, it is bugger all.

              • McFlock

                keep telling yourself that a coalition party's spokesperson on the relevant issue knows less about cross-party work on the issue than a fifth-rate ladder-kicker who was handed a bit of trash.

                I wonder if one of Judith's friends gave Bennett the paper, knowing it was out of date?

                • Shadrach

                  The Green Party spokesperson would know very little on any issue. Labour treat them like shite.

                  • McFlock

                    lol no, that's how national treated its own coalition "partners". Labour are better than that at making and keeping friends. After all, that's why they're in government and Benefit isn't..

                    • Shadrach

                      National didn't need to get from 35% to form a government. The tail (NZF) is most definitely this dog. Meanwhile, the Greens aren’t even in the pound.

                    • Drowsy M. Kram

                      And National, the biggest party in parliament – where are they?

                      Sinking into the swamp, with millstone Simon around their neck.

                    • Shadrach

                      Drowsy, National are simply at a predictable stage of an electoral cycle in which people are more consumed with the PM's baby than with her governments failings. It is amusing, because meanwhile nothing much gets changed, which is all good with me. But let me ask you this. At the same stage of the electoral cycle in 2010, where were Labour? Around 31%, according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2011_New_Zealand_general_election.

                    • Drowsy M. Kram

                      I too find National's current plight amusing, so we can agree on that.

                      Wonder how much apparent effort the ‘no mates party’ will put into courting the ‘irrelevant’ 6.3% in 2020.

                      That you’re all good with nothing much changing is a bit of a giveaway – how much longer to you reckon this golden weather can last?

                    • At the same stage of the electoral cycle in 2010, where were Labour? Around 31%…

                      Greens were on 9%, so the left parties then were around 40%, about the same as the right parties' current 40%. A situation also known as "Up shit creek with little prospect of winning the next election."

                    • McFlock

                      It's actually a little bit sad that many tories don't know how respectful partnerships work between colleagues who are not in complete agreement.

                      It's as if the only relationship they can envisage in that circumstance is inherently abusive, where the party with the most to lose ends up a manipulated supplicant, forced to endure incessant humiliation and exploitation from the more powerful party.

                    • Shadrach

                      "Greens were on 9%,"

                      Irrelevant. Unless you are suggesting the Greens are Labour lacky's?

                    • Shadrach

                      "It's actually a little bit sad that many tories don't know how respectful partnerships work between colleagues who are not in complete agreement."

                      It's actually a bit sad when supporters of a government support party don't realise when they're getting screwed over. Which is why you're getting headlines like this https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12228385.

                    • Irrelevant. Unless you are suggesting the Greens are Labour lacky's?

                      There are two left-wing parties and two right-wing parties. What matters is the combined support for the two parties, not the proportion of support held by an individual party. It doesn't matter whether a 41% level of support for right-wing parties might be 40% National and 1% ACT, while a 41% level of support for left-wing parties might be 35% Labour and 6% Green. The outlook for election results is the same in both cases – screwed.

                    • Shadrach

                      "There are two left-wing parties and two right-wing parties. "

                      Yep, you're suggesting the Green are Labour's lacky's. Still, there is ample evidence to back you up.

                    • Drowsy M. Kram

                      The National party has no mates – they can't even buy a decent lacky.

                      The National party lament:

                      Where have all our lackies gone
                      We’ve kicked them out, every one
                      When will we ever learn?
                      When will we ever learn?

                • greywarshark

                  Devious thinking!

      • Psycho Milt 2.5.2

        Given how the Greens are being treated as the Coalitions lap dog, I doubt Chloe would have a clue.

        It's almost comical how the ignorant are often full of confidence that people who know a lot more than them about any given subject actually don't have a clue. Although, on reflection, I might be confusing "comical" with "depressing commentary on the state of humanity."

        • Shadrach 2.5.2.1

          Or you may simply be naively assuming Labour give a rats backside about what the Greens want. Winston Peters has the last say, not the Greens.

          • Psycho Milt 2.5.2.1.1

            How are your opinions of relationships between the governing coalition partners relevant to the question of whether Chlöe Swarbrick "would have a clue" about issues of cannabis legalisation?

            • Shadrach 2.5.2.1.1.1

              Because the relationship is so distant that she wouldn't know whether or not the leaked document was current or old. The Greens have been on the outer of so many decisions this government has made they are becoming a joke.

              • Your theory that the Greens in cabinet don't keep their spokeswoman on this issue up to date on cabinet's deliberations on the subject is an interesting one but not a very likely one.

                If a party is considered a "joke" by people who would never vote for it, who in that party would care? I doubt anyone in the ACT Party reads my opinions of David Seymour and thinks "Oh no, this means we're losing our left-wing voter base!"

  3. Sacha 3

    Trump voters were motivated by racism and sexism, not their finances. https://psmag.com/news/new-study-confirms-again-that-race-not-economics-drove-former-democrats-to-trump

    a major study published a year ago found that Trump's support among non-college-educated whites—arguably the key to his Electoral College success—was driven far more by sexism and racism than by economic anxiety.

    Now, a new study that focuses on one key constituency—white people in Iowa who voted for Barack Obama, and later for Trump—comes to that same conclusion.

    • WeTheBleeple 3.1

      Yep, it'd pay to be a seething lowlife to back that man. There's no other decent explanation to sink so low except one is bounded by hatred and ignorance and wishing to bestow blame on others for personal limitations.

    • mauī 3.2

      That'll work. Get a few university elites to tell 'em they're just a bunch of racists. And by the way we can't help or work with racist deplorables. Our work here is done.

      • WeTheBleeple 3.2.1

        I know right. Calling a racist a racist and a sexist a sexist is just plain mean. They should be able to base their lives around falsities, victimising and fear. Calling them out is victimising them.

        What these racist wife beaters need is support groups – like the US Republicans.

      • joe90 3.2.2

        Grace and decency is all well and good, but you can't meet a bigot in the middle. You can't be nice to racists in the hope that they might be nice to you and fights have always been won by fighting, not cuddling. You may not like it, but it's true.

  4. Rosemary McDonald 4

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/388549/whangarei-people-with-disabilities-join-city-s-homeless

    The town's Open Arms day centre for the homeless says high rents are forcing more people on to the streets as winter approaches – and a number of them have serious disabilities.

    "Some are too immobile or in too much pain to get out of their cars to come in for lunch so we take the food out to them in the carpark," manager Sam Cassidy said.

    When RNZ paid a visit on Thursday, several regulars were toughing it out in their vehicles, with bedding crammed into the back seats.

    One older man was hunched over the driving wheel of his van in obvious discomfort.

    The 70-year-old former farm worker has been waiting years for a knee replacement, and he told RNZ he was on morphine for the pain.

    Not that it helps much, he said.

    "I can't bloody walk at the moment, eh. Might as well cut the leg off and be done with it."

    The pensioner left his rental home near Kaikohe last winter when the landlord put the rent up.

    "He wanted $200 a week for a leaky home – I couldn't pay that."

    He's been living in his van with his small dog, ever since.

    I honestly don't know what to say about this.

    Elsewhere there's a conversation developing about how badly some folk treat other folk that was triggered by an article featuring an eighty year old fired in an email.

    Welcome to 2019, old- timer.

    I guess a working eighty year old's dignity deserves greater protection than that of those who perhaps struggle to manage the basics.

    But no one deserves to be forced to live in a car.

    In pain, injured, living with significant impairments and often mental health and addiction issues.

    With a 15 year old son crammed in the back seat of the Suzuki car.

    I really don't know…so much for this coalition of kindness, this transformational government claptrap.

    These folk aren't feeling the love, that's for sure.

    Where are the homes for the homeless Jacinda? You promised.

    (And no, sending them off to live in a motel is not the answer.)

    I despair.

    • Kay 4.1

      Rosemary, I think it's time to go on another media blackout. It's just getting too depressing again. More and more stories like this are going to keep surfacing, but seriously, what's going to change?

      Now on the 6 month countdown to the end of my lease and hoping like hell I can get it rolled over. You see, I'm not allowed to drive so I don't have a car to sleep in… why the hell are we having to live (exist) like this?? crying

      • greywarshark 4.1.1

        They are waiting for a new machine to be developed to solve the problem.

        • greywarshark 4.1.1.1

          Maybe the Welfare Working Group report will be a game-changer. Chris Trotter on WWG. https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/99513/chris-trotter-looks-how-sepulonis-welfare-reform-agenda-bumps-against-robertsons

          There is every reason for Robertson to be all over this hands-on approach to moving citizens from welfare to work. He was, after all, the man assigned the task of investigating “The Future of Work” by Labour leader, Jacinda Ardern’s, predecessor, Andrew Little. He knows full well that as artificial intelligence wipes out more-and-more middle-class professional occupations, the whole concept of a “steady, well-paid, nine-to-five job” will become increasingly archaic. The trick, politically, will be to make it possible for the same technological and scientific revolution that is wiping out all these “good” jobs to be harnessed to the task of ensuring that the emerging “gig economy” is both less individually exploitative and more socially beneficial.

          It is in this potentially game-changing context that the Ministry of Social Development might finally begin to live up to its name. The expertise it gains in assisting the least qualified and most vulnerable citizens into situations where their strengths can be maximised and their weaknesses worked around will become increasingly useful in a society where the work required to make profits for capitalists will be the preserve of intelligent machines, and the work required to sustain social, cultural and physical environments will be the preserve – and delight – of human-beings.

          • The Chairman 4.1.1.1.1

            There is every reason for Robertson to be all over this hands-on approach to moving citizens from welfare to work.

            Seeing as around half the children living in poverty come from working households, it would be wiser for the Government to first improve work and wage conditions if they want work to be the solution.

        • cleangreen 4.1.1.2

          Yes old containers is it GWS?smiley

  5. The Chairman 5

    Govt underwhelms with welfare report response.

    Calls again being made for a new political party to better represent the left.

    Mouthpieces of the left widely disappointed.

    Labour are proving to be unwilling to deliver. The Greens are just bloody hopeless. Is a new party of the left the answer?

    • greywarshark 5.1

      Barracuda cruising around waiting for victims to bite and gloat over political disappointments.

      • The Chairman 5.1.1

        This goes beyond political disappointment. This is about denying via delaying further help to real people struggling in poverty. So no, I'm not here to gloat, I'm seeking solutions. Is a new left party the answer or do you think it will be possible to encourage Labour to act with urgency?

        • The Chairman 5.1.1.1

          No hope for progressive welfare reform from this government – Sue Bradford.

          If we’re ever going to hope for transformative and progressive welfare reform, it is now clear it will need to be championed by a party that is not yet in Parliament.

          https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/06-05-2019/no-hope-for-progressive-welfare-reform-from-this-government/?utm_source=The+Bulletin&utm_campaign=be05b653ca-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_03_01_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_552336e15a-be05b653ca-533756713

          • Psycho Milt 5.1.1.1.1

            No hope for progressive welfare reform from this government – Sue Bradford.

            No mandate from voters for radical welfare reform from this government – Psycho Milt.

            • The Chairman 5.1.1.1.1.1

              Where is your evidence for that?

              • Using McFlock's handy link, the evidence that voters gave no mandate for radical welfare reform:

                1. Parties supporting progressive welfare reform of any description (Labour and Green): 54 seats.

                2. Parties opposed to progressive welfare reform of any description (National, NZF, ACT): 66 seats.

                Now it's your turn (or Bradford's): what evidence is there that Labour/Green have either a mandate from voters or the numbers in Parliament to enact the radical welfare reform you'd like to see?

                • The Chairman

                  McFlock’s handy link fails to back your assertion.

                  Where is your evidence NZF are opposed?

                  This report (in the link below) counters your NZF assertion.

                  New Zealand First has shown support for the overhaul, with Tracey Martin, a New Zealand First MP and Minister, saying the working group would be a great support to the "much needed overhaul" of the welfare system.

                  https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/05/welfare-reform-government-announces-law-changes.html

                  • Well, duh – if it wasn't willing to support these limited actions that you're turning your nose up at, the actions wouldn't be happening.

                    The party's fundamental principles state:

                    The Welfare State must be an umbrella to meet genuine and deserving need. Government has a duty to properly determine those needs and respond to them. That said, social welfare must no longer neglect assisting recipients to become independent of the State.

                    Note the bit about welfare being for the "deserving," and the importance of making recipients independent of the state. I'm not seeing any support for what the likes of Sue Bradford would call "progressive" reform in that.

                    • The Chairman

                      That (what you posted) doesn't counter their stated support of the "much needed overhaul."

                    • You're not making sense. Labour and the Greens are willing to commit to this level of action, and you call it "beyond political disappointment" and "denying help to people struggling in poverty." Sue Bradford describes it as "no hope for progressive reform."

                      NZ First are also willing to commit to this level of action, and you claim it's evidence of their commitment to progressive reform.

                      So, is this action demonstrative of commitment to progressive reform or not? If it is, stop bad-mouthing Labour and the Greens over it. If it isn't, accept that NZF's fundamental principles are in opposition to the radical reform you and Bradford would prefer to see.

                    • solkta

                      But he is not here to concern troll Winston First.

                    • The Chairman

                      The Greens, Labour, and NZF are all supportive of the report and are committed to doing more, it's the extremely long delay that goes beyond disappointment.

                      Whereas, you've claimed NZF opposes the overhaul. Which, evidently isn't so.

                      Now you are suggesting NZF's opposition (which you have failed to prove) is the reason for the hold up. Yet, I've yet to hear the Greens, Labour or NZF claim that. Therefore, where is your evidence for this nonsense?

                      Labour are largely claiming (such as Incognito is) it is going to take years to formulate policy. Which, is total rubbish.

                    • No, I'm suggesting that the government has no mandate from voters for radical welfare reform and that's why it's taking a cautious approach. The retirees and rural conservatives who vote NZF don't do so because of their enthusiasm for radical leftist policy, and Labour also has a considerable bloc of electoral support that is really not very left-wing. The fact that you and Sue Bradford would like the government to pursue a far more radical agenda than it has a mandate for is worth one vote apiece, so you can expect the government to value your preference on that basis.

                    • The Chairman

                      No, I'm suggesting that the government has no mandate from voters for radical welfare reform and that's why it's taking a cautious approach.

                      Here we go again. You've yet to prove that. Merely repeating it doesn't make it so.

                      Sixty-five percent of New Zealand First supporters wanted the party to go with Labour. Who widely campaigned on addressing poverty and inequality.

                      Additionally, if it were just Bradford and I that are disappointed Labour wouldn't have a problem. Unfortunately for them, the disappointment is widespread.

                      Moreover, failing to deliver on more of the recommendations sooner will lead to their fiscal management coming under the spotlight. People will question why they aren't prepared to invest now to save the greater cost and social harm of not doing so.

                    • McFlock

                      lol

                      2/3 NZ1 voters supported Labour's welfare policies? OK, let's be generous and take that interpretation. 6 of NZ1's 9 seats go left.

                      labgrnNZ1(left):46+8+6 = 60

                      NACTNZ1(noreform):56+1+3 = 60

                      60:60 is not a mandate for radical welfare reform.

                    • Of course I can't prove that the retirees and rural conservatives voting NZF weren't doing so in the hope that the party would promote a radical left policy agenda. Likewise, I can't prove there aren't fairies at the bottom of your garden.

                      However, we can have a high level of confidence that there actually aren't fairies at the bottom of your garden, and likewise we can have a high level of confidence that Winston's retirees and rural conservatives really didn't vote for his party because they felt it would promote their desire for radical left reform.

                      Voter support for radical welfare reform comes from Green voters, a subset of Labour voters, and (presumably) a subset of NZF voters. Most likely there were also some supporters who gave their support to sub-5% parties, but their votes don't count. I'd question whether the voter support for Bradford-style reform was any higher than voter support for further right-wing restrictions on welfare. In short – no mandate.

                  • RedLogix

                    I'd argue that the reason why Labour is struggling with welfare reform is simply because none of the mainstream parties have a clue how to go about it.

                    • The Chairman

                      I doubt that is the hold up.

                    • RedLogix

                      They're stuck fiddling with a fundamentally broken system. If they had a reform model that was efficient and made sense to the majority of people they would have gotten on with it by now.

                    • The Chairman

                      The report highlights what is required. Therefore, it's not that they don't have a clue.

                      They aren't stuck fiddling, they are stalling.

                  • Incognito

                    The report is not a detailed blueprint for transformative policy. The Government needs to take in the report and design a coherent suite of policies, a policy platform, which addresses as many points raised in the report as possible as well as many others that are completely outside the report. That’s the job of the Government and it is a huge one. One of the obstacles they’ll face is that they’ll have to deconstruct to rebuild. That is never an easy thing to do in politics and comes with risk and upheaval. And it takes time!

                    People are jumping up & down in a frenzy, impatiently shrieking “Scrap this! Do that! The report!!”. As if saying “make it so” makes it so.

                    Of course, the Government is out of its depth. But they took on the job and they should bloody well get on with it (AKA let’s do this). And I think they are. I have to think so because otherwise we are utterly stuffed. As with Climate Change …

                    • The Chairman

                      I never stated the report is a detailed blueprint. But it is a comprehensive report that outlines what is required.

                      Nevertheless, I understand formulating policy will take time, but it shouldn't take years. Hence, the widespread disappointment and public uproar.

                      If Labour were wise and wanted to keep supporters onside, they will offer more in the up coming Budget.

                      The last thing Labour will want is a new left party forming out of the growing disappointment (TPP, CGT, welfare reform etc…).

                  • Incognito

                    I see, you are a policy analyst now, in fact, a whole team of senior policy analysts. You know exactly how to take the recommendations of the report and turn them into effective policy. You know how to avoid gaps, overlap, duplicity, unintended consequences, clashes with other existing and/or new policies, compliance issues with the Law, budget blowouts, etc. You know how to get these policies pushed through the political system and Parliament, if any bills or amendments are required. You know all these things and yet you don’t tell us or anybody in Government. All you do is criticise in an unconstructive manner. Your concerns lack credibility IMO.

                    • The Chairman

                      Again, nobody is expecting them to deliver it tomorrow, but as the report highlights, it requires urgent attention and Labour are not acting with urgency, hence the uproar.

                      This failure to act with urgency will lead to a lot of avoidable social ills and cost the lives of a number of those struggling. It's shameful.

                  • Incognito

                    I see, you want Labour to run around like headless chickens giving the impression of urgency and immediate action while serious policy professionals burn the midnight oil to draft policy. What exactly do you want Labour to do urgently, Mr Policy Analyst? Should they call a National Emergency, cancel all rugby matches and flights in and out of Wellington until all recommendations of the report have been fully tested and implemented? Or should they continue to govern this country whilst absorbing the report and putting a coherent plan together? I hear you roar and bark but very little of substance seems to emanate from you.

                    • The Chairman

                      I said act with urgency (not headless chickens) as the report recommended. So you do understand this isn't just coming from me a single voice in the crowd? Seems you missed my little tutorial on Labour trolls.

                      Lifting benefits (and all interrelated criteria) must be done first and foremost.

                  • Incognito

                    Again, you offer nothing constructive and of substance. You act like an impatient petulant child chanting “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”. Ad infinitum. You feel bolstered because of other ignorant children chanting the same tune. You understand that repeating your own lines it does not make it happen? You understand that your ‘tutorials’ are simply rants? You understand that engaging Government is a little more nuanced than simply stating demands and ‘huffing & puffing’ when they don’t respond immediately?

                    For the record, benefits need to be lifted and brought into line with wages and CoL. You see, I even agree with you …

            • Stuart Munro. 5.1.1.1.1.2

              There wasn't any mandate for asset sales either. Didn't seem to trouble the pollies.

              • alwyn

                That is untrue Stuart, and you know it.

                National listed the assets they proposed to sell if they were re-elected in 2011. They did it prior to the election. Well they were elected and they did sell the assets. Your mates in the current Government claimed they were going to buy them back, didn't they?

                Well how is that going?

                • Stuart Munro.

                  First of all, there had been plenty of polling which show in excess of 75% of people opposed asset sales. And then there was the 2013 referendum which also indicated asset sales lacked a popular mandate, 67% being opposed. A referendum the corrupt Key Kleptocracy naturally ignored.

                  "That is untrue Stuart, and you know it."

                  What I know Alwyn, is that you don't have a leg to stand on and as usual you have resorted to making shit up.

        • cleangreen 5.1.1.2

          Good luck with that Chairman.”encourage Labour to act with urgency?”

          No Labour is being run by the treasuy surely you can see that.

          • The Chairman 5.1.1.2.1

            So where to for the left from here, cleangreen?

            If Labour’s response to the Welfare Report results in a big slide in their polling, do you think that will encourage them to change?

        • OnceWasTim 5.1.1.3

          To think, not long ago I was on the verge of rejoining the Labour Party.

          Two things made me hold off, despite the promises of transformational change and the grand plans – most of which I am/was in agreement with, and which 'resonated' with coalition partners. I'll probably still have to continue with Labour/left (maybe) because, as always it's becoming evident it might be the least worst option

          But, the first thing was when being unintentionally stuck half/quarter way up a himalaya unintentionally doing a Ben Fogle for a few months and receiving a sibling/Jacinda Adern's "selfie' at a gorgeous post-election Martinborough Conference. All around me, and half a world away, people and families had been adversely affected in some way by all the "best practice" of NZ (and OZ, UK, and to a lesser extent, Canadian Immigration policy) – i.e. truly ripped off as a result of false promises, outright lying, lack of basic government oversight, and what amounts to the same sort of 19thCentury colonial thinking. In many cases, those "best practice" policies had been just as devastating as the large international corporate impact on farming and subsistence living right throughout families beneath central and north western Himalyan areas – indebtedness, desperation (leading to) suicides, the works! In fact, quite obviously under the previous gNat junta, it had all been not just enabled, but also encouraged. The bizzniss of shitty immigration, shoddy tertiary education, exploitative work practices, ticket clipping – in some cases worse than one expects from 3rd World places.

          Yes! I L-G is a nice guy; J A is a nice compassionate lady; I L-G had himself been exploited and knows what's going on; the gNats have left such a shambles that needs to be fixed, and Rome wasn't built in a day.

          And then all that leading to the second. Given all the above, and the apparent awareness among Labour politicians of all the problems left by a decade or more of bullshit, of under-funding and under-resourcing, an apparent lack of awareness of those complicit and encouraging the dysfunction.

          I think I've given enough time for sufficient 'conversations' out of which there have been a number of 'learnings' (and as I think I heard JA say on RNZ MR last Thursday or Friday ), some 'resonations' – which presumably means agreements.

          The Natives are getting restless, and it'd be a big bloody shame for Labour to piss their political capital (which is well on the credit side of the ledger) up against the wall, on the trivial – especially when there are some really easy things that they could be doing that don't require legislative change that'd earn a few brownie points. Perhaps the problem might be that JA and cohorts are too nice – alternatively that they're a little bit naive.

          Meantime, in the absence of anything else, it'll be a case of the least worst option, but it's all a bit reminiscent of a staunch Labour father-in-law abandoning the party when it embraced the neo-liberal religion.

          , despite

          • The Chairman 5.1.1.3.1

            Meantime, in the absence of anything else, it'll be a case of the least worst option…

            It will no doubt be the position of a number on the left.

            • OnceWasTim 5.1.1.3.1.1

              Well that, AND simply more and more becoming disengaged and staying away from the polling booth.

              The worst part of it all is that it's not as though Labour and its partners don't have a few quite smart cookies within their ranks. Especially when you contrast it all with the current gNat crop on the front bench.

              Like I said, from what I can see, the natives are becoming quite restless whilst the bubblistas continue to sup.

              In fact, despite Winnie's fatherly oversight and willingness to protect the current star (who deservedly does have all that star status), I would'nt be surprised if there are a few in NZ1 who're beginning to worry about a bit of the namby pamby-ism. After all, NZ1 have made a few 'compromises' as well when they signed up to it all.

              We'll see I 'spose. We get the politicians (and the bullshit artists) we deserve……and apparently, we don't know how lucky we are

    • rod 5.2

      Charman, where did you get that load of crap. Hosking or Hooton ?

      • The Chairman 5.2.1

        From left leaning mouthpieces and social advocates on NZ social media.

        The Governments inaction over the Welfare Report is going down like a cup of cold sick.

        Moreover, their failure to address more of the reports recommendations looks fiscally irresponsible as the savings it produced going forward would outweigh the cost of investing more now.

        • WeTheBleeple 5.2.1.1

          " their failure to address more of the reports recommendations looks fiscally irresponsible as the savings it produced going forward would outweigh the cost of investing more now."

          Absolutely.

          • The Chairman 5.2.1.1.1

            Labour and the Greens made all this song and dance about their BRR and being fiscally responsible to avoid attacks from the right, only to now act fiscally irresponsible, gifting National more ammo to shoot them down with. Go figure?

            Seems they'd rather risk their fiscal reputation than act fiscally responsible and help the poor.

          • cleangreen 5.2.1.1.2

            smiley yes WTB

            "Penny wise pound foolish"

        • rod 5.2.1.2

          So who are these left leaning mouthpieces chairman, speak up we are waiting.surprise

  6. greywarshark 6

    A post on TDB on hate speech, George Orwell, Phil Quin, Stuff and Golriz Ghahraman by Chris Trotter in April 2019. I think Trotter makes good points. (For those who didn't see it earlier.) https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/04/15/recognising-hate-speech-when-you-see-it/

    In an alternative universe, only slightly different to this one, Ghahraman would be leading the charge against kneejerk demands for blanket curbs on hate speech. She would be reminding New Zealanders of what it actually involves: radio stations broadcasting instructions to “kill the cockroaches” (i.e. the Tutsis). She would explain how these incitements to genocide were preceded by many months of unrestrained racial vilification across all media.

    n that universe, Ghahraman would be calming down her more zealous followers: warning them that unreasoning zealotry is always the problem – never the solution. She would also be reassuring them that New Zealand’s statute books already contain plenty of legal remedies against dangerously hateful expression.

    The reason why the Green Party leadership should pay heed to Quin’s biting criticism of Ghahraman’s failure to supply much-needed guidance on this issue, is because he is very far from the only person expressing misgivings about the Greens’ justice spokesperson.

    (I like the quote that Trotter picked:

    “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” ― George Orwell (goodreads)

    • Gabby 6.1

      So the Trotsker reckons hate speech is the truth? Lovely.

      • In Vino 6.1.1

        Super-cynicism there Gabby, but maybe he is saying that Hate Speech is linked to fear or dislike of the truth? Usually it is linked to a false truth, to my mind.

        So now we have Fake Truth. ?

  7. Kevin 7

    Hmmmm, despotic leader, implementation of sharia based law, shit loads of oil…

    Anyone told John Bolton?

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/05/brunei-says-it-will-not-enforce-lgbt-gay-sex-death-penalty-after-backlash?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

    • Morrissey 7.1

      Appreciate your point, Kevin, but let's be clear about this: Bolton is in no way a morally superior or more responsible person than the Sultan of Brunei or anyone else.

      Hell, even Prince Jeffie is a saint compared to Bolton.

      https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/brunei-sultans-salacious-family-secret/news-story/8ba6a2827705c8a699f01335487b2649

      • cleangreen 7.1.1

        smiley To morrissey. Bolton is a 'industry armament agent' initiating more war,

    • Peter Christchur8 7.2

      The sooner we find an alternative to oil, the better. Not just for environmental reasons, but political as well.

      Where would all these evil dictatorships be without the oil to prop up their insanity?

      • cleangreen 7.2.1

        smileyAgreed peter,

        Behind big oil is the road freight industry and the truck building industry, so they are layered interest groups all pushing to use more oil so their profit rises.

        They all hate rail as it uses far less oil and use no tyres that are produced using oil as well, so that is why rail is given the heave ho by these criminals sadly.

  8. greywarshark 9

    The public cheated of building use because of inadequate design allowing for robust and practical use in a coastal position which has led to toxicity and now likely demolishment 20 years later after years of deterioration.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/110570207/at-least-16-years-of-leaks-revealed-for-kapiti-library-now-closed-due-to-mould (February 2019)

    and
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/112427024/its-a-writeoff-kpiti-coast-council-reveals-yet-another-leaky-mouldy-building (May 2019)
    Councillor Scott serves up the indigestible facts on the Paraparaumu library.

    ""They're proposing to spend $1.2m on a building worth $1.2m. The only money we should be spending is to run a bulldozer over it.""

    This is the second Kapiti Coast council building to be affected. Who were the prime movers involved in enabling the building of these with new unproved systems?

    In February, it was revealed 16 years of known leaks led to last year's closure of the Waikanae library due to toxic mould. About 27,000 books were decontaminated but its reopening date remains unclear.

    The background to the building of the Paraparaumu Library.

    In 1998 the Council agreed to site a new library to the northwest of the Rimu Road council building. This decision reopened questions about a vision for a town centre – and plans for the new library were temporarily put on hold. In April 2001, councillors voted unanimously for the new library concept plan – with a focus for community pride and awareness.

    Fletcher Construction received the contract to build the new library designed by Warren and Mahoney Architects. The new Paraparaumu Public Library opened in November 2002. https://www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/libraries/my-library/about-the-library/history-mission-statement/

    Ironically in April this year there was a meeting there to discuss the problems and hazards of 5g EMF. So while the public are trying to deal with degraded building standards for structures we have been building for centuries, now with perverted methods, they are confronted with new and dangerous future-changing and very likely toxic technology looming over them. Coping with all this, trying to comprehend; how hard, how difficult!

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

    https://www.prendos.co.nz/leaky-buildings-hide-their-secrets/

    Harry [Harry Dillon, Property consultant with Prendos] questions whether untreated timber framing and various cladding systems should ever have been permissible under New Zealand construction law (use of untreated timber framing in houses has been largely banned since July 2011). The problem was already known in Canada, where it is called “leaky condo syndrome”, he says, and Canadians are now going back to fix what they thought they had already fixed years ago as we are now doing in New Zealand too….

    What causes leaky buildings? (See panel.) Harry puts it down to people opting for the cheapest price, and being willing to accept cheaper untreated wood from dominant timber companies. It was also poor design coupled with a drive to maximise the house size on its footprint, typically using Tuscan-styled architecture. Couple these to a general lack of knowledge and skill and a 1991 performance-based building code that permitted “fit-for-purpose” product to be used, and you can have leaky buildings.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=2847786 Lessons our Builders should have learned. September 2002

    The [Canadian] Barrett commission [1998 and 2000] estimated there were serious leaks in about 25 per cent of British Columbia's condominiums (multi-unit apartments or developments) built from 1980-99. Experts later estimated that more than half leaked, and one report put the problem rate as high as 90 per cent….

    Canada's experience is effectively the blueprint for New Zealand's leaky building crisis. When the building industry here belatedly woke up to the problem in March, [2002] it called in experts from Vancouver to lead a "weathertightness" conference in Auckland.

  9. adam 10

    So the war on terrorism was started with the death of 3 and a half thousand US citizens lives.

    But the US can kill near on 40,000 in Venezuela via sanctions in two year. The real kicker is that media tells us the democratically elected government in Venezuela is evil.

    Simply put, which no doubt someone will work out a weaselly way to side track this – the US sanctions would fit the definition of collective punishment of the civilian population as described in both the Geneva and Hague international conventions.

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1905/S00001/40000-dead-venezuelans-under-us-sanctions-media-ignores.htm

  10. The Chairman 12

    NZEI vice president Liam Rutherford says the results send a clear message to the Government, now is the time to do something.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/05/public-overwhelmingly-backs-more-money-for-teachers-poll.html

  11. Adrian Thornton 14

    Great interview from RT with one of the greatest political cartoonists of any period, Steve Bell…about the only thing with any credibility left on The Guardian.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hUvCwO9o5A

  12. rod 15

    Mondays on Morning Report sounds more like a party political broadcast on behalf of the National Party, who the hell is running RNZ National ? I thought the Silver Fox had gone.

  13. Ad 16

    Crap ring Jacinda.

    Send him back to the shops.

    1.5 e colour, VVS1, or better.

    Come on team.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 16.1

      Didn't pick you for a fashionista!

      Recycling (a family heirloom) might be preferable to consumerism – walking the talk smiley

  14. Some Eco Maori Music for the minute

    https://youtu.be/tgIqecROs5M

  15. This bad weather that went through America was not well published trump suppressing our reality once again the Papatuanukue has to act NOW to save our decendints future. PLEASE PEOPLE.

    We’re talking about an event here of historic proportions, circumstances that nobody ever recalls ever happening in their lifetime,” said Steve Wellman, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture director and third-generation.

    The “bomb cyclone” – an intense winter storm – that swept through the US in March followed record-breaking cold in January and unprecedented snow in February. Huge blocks of loose ice jammed waterways, and the Missouri river swelled, topping levees in four states, and breaking DAMS Ka kite ano links below.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/27/us-farmers-count-cost-of-catastrophic-bomb-cyclone-in-midwest P. S Hope the hard working farmers are given the correct tools to servive this

  16. Ka pai Hohepa I hope your voice can rise above the many others Ki Kaha

    Last week, he was announced as the newest member of the the country's highest bench.

    He's previously held roles as the Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court and chair of the Waitangi Tribunal – and was appointed as a Judge of the Court of Appeal last year.

    "It's a big leap from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court, to the last court, and of course being the first Māori always creates expectations that will undoubtedly not be met, but I'll do my best," he said.

    "I am kind of excited and a little afraid for how the future will play out.

    Justice Williams said it was important that Māori in the courts came to see their culture was valued, and it was up to the system to signal that it valued Māori culture.

    He wanted to see more tikanga Māori and culture and identity programmes in prisons, and cultural training also needed to be targeted at officials, he said.

    "I think it is happening and it needs to happen quickly, not just the prison population but those who create the prison population – the officials, the corrections officers, the probation officers, all the way through to the judges.

    "Once people at the bottom of the pile see that they are valued, my experience is that that brings quite an important shift in attitude amongst those people."

    He said it could be as simple as pronouncing Māori names and place names correctly, understanding concepts of whanaungatanga, mana, tapu and local whakpapa Ka kite ano links below.

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/388649/first-maori-on-the-supreme-court-bench-wants-a-focus-on-his-culture

    https://youtu.be/DgGr_n4fgyI

  17. Here's a good story about the sad state OUR Papatuanukue and her creature are in at the minute if we act now we can pull back from the brink of Extinction .

    There is no need to make mitigateing climate change to complex KEEP IT SIMPLE.

    Stop using carbon plastic and recycle everything . At this point in time the only environmental engineering that is smart and simple is design everything to minimise waste and the waste of energy just getting rid of the inefficiency can save millions of tons of carbon emissions being pumped into OUR atmosphere.

    May be paint our roofs white but major geo engineering project are only going to pump more carbon into our atmosphere they are just a blind from the carbon barron designed to make us think that we can carry on burning carbon and geo engineering is going to save us but know we have to make sacrifices in our way of living to combat climate changes small price to pay to protect our Mokopuna futures.

    The Guardian picture essay

    'The future of life on Earth lies in the balance' – a picture essay

    Almost 600 conservation experts have signed a letter by the wildlife charity WWF, published to coincide with UN report into loss of biodiversity

    Overfishing

    “We are overfishing our oceans at an alarming rate and choking them with plastic and other pollutants. If we want to see healthy seas that will continue to provide us with food, we need to stop this over-exploitation, protect our incredible marine environments and make sustainable fishing the norm, as we see here. Ka kite ano link below

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/07/the-future-of-life-on-Earth-lies-in-the-balance-a-picture-essay P.S we need to invest heavily into combating climate change

    https://youtu.be/gOsM-DYAEhY

  18. Some Eco Maori Music for the minute

    https://youtu.be/IuwxZSIS__4

    They are saving carbon now Whanau

  19. Kia ora Newshub.

    Congratulat on the new pepi tama.

    I think that it's good sacking the health board of Waikato hospital it been a bit of a mess there lately.

    HUMANS have disrespected our wildlife and environmental for long enough it time for a change in our attitudes and the ways in how we live its a couple of decades out because of oil barron suppression of the truth about human caused climate change.

    We all know that trump cannot resist grabbing good publicity from Rakau Ka pai it's good for multicultural tangata all around te Papatuanukue Kia kaha Rakau.

    Ka kite ano

  20. Kia ora Te ao Maori News

    Condolences to the Whanau of the Maori leader who's has pasted his tangi was in Rotorua sorry I miss his name my te reo and Mokopuna are at fault Kia ora .

    Just so long as Maori stop being turned into jailbird because weed a medicine is illegal at the minute what a stupid law.

    I support the people protesting about tangata not getting the correct treatment for their cancers at the Beehive.

    Tangata whenua O tairawhiti the ones that know the correct history are still greaveing so is Eco Maori about the stuff that was served up to us by the Crown if they want Cooks statue removed and put in a museum so be it Kia kaha Ka kite ano

  21. Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.

    https://youtu.be/5Yj4j_lZMBo

    It gives me a sore face when I see all the tangata whenua teeth Kia kaha

  22. Kia ora The AM Show.

    Cameron it cool that you are checking out your whakpapa.

    I think you idea about the youth serving one year in the army no. But one year in civil training and the army teaching trades would be awesome for OUR youths Wairua.

    I say that teaching the youth about respect in school is a must the early the better 9 yeas old would be good .

    A lot of children with behaviour problems get the imbalances of their chemicals make up from birth when the mother is a drug addict pharmaceutical drugs pee ect its stuffs up the children now everyone's wondering why we have heaps of lost wayward children .

    I agree with Verity our new government has made changes for the better it ain't perfect but people's lives are getting better slowly. Ka kite ano

  23. Some Eco Maori Music for the minute

    https://youtu.be/CFwm3Vi66A4

    Thanks to all the tangata that Tau toko Eco Maori from here and around the Papatuanukue

  24. Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.

    https://youtu.be/IPfJnp1guPc

    Whanau everythings cool just fixing the Waka

  25. Kia ora Newshub .

    There you go Whanau simon and national useing the housing short they created to damage our new government Mana go figure

    Farmers have to be included in our climate change mitigatetion as they are big greenhouse gas emitters if we don't get our farmers emissions down we will have a hard time meeting our Paris agreements..

    Mike some people have no care of others people wellbeing ripping those poor foreign workers off is unethical respect is need .

    I wonder if trumps m8 sold up their shares yesterday .

    That ausse bloke who flooded the hotel in Australia it shows me how the hard drugs stuff you up don't touch the shit whanau .

    Ka kite ano

  26. Kia ora Te ao Maori News

    Its a sad day when tangata whenua lose a leader he was a te reo tohunga .

    Its gives Eco Maori a sore face seeing our government committing to combat climate change and setting targets for our fast reduction of green House gas emissions I it's about te Mokopuna.

    I agree a few small changes can make a whare dry and warm thermal drapes ruggs and blocking drafts I most times end up having to do that mahi to my whare shut all windows at 5 pm to

    Ka pai Turanga health checking the Whanau vehicles to make sure they have the pepi car seats installed correctly.

    Ka kite ano

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    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
    2 days 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 ...
    2 days 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 ...
    2 days 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
    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
  • 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    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 ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    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

  • 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
    7 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
    12 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
    14 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
    14 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    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

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