Open mike 06/07/2020

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 6th, 2020 - 180 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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

Step up to the mike …

180 comments on “Open mike 06/07/2020 ”

  1. Sacha 1

    Yep, sucking up to TERFs is surely the key to our recovery. Wonder how it got missed from her speech..

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

    [non-bold, general moderator comment below. Everyone please read before commenting in this subthread – weka]

    • Sacha 1.1

      Expecting this irrelevant comment to be moved to Open Mike in 3,2,1..

    • Incognito 1.2

      Your comment seems uncharacteristically off!?

    • Tabletennis 1.3

      Sasha
      Who needs misogyny when you have women who use slurs to shut other women up – the mob cancel culture.
      Who dare they to express their concerns.

      • Sacha 1.3.1

        Tubletennis

        Speech has consequences. Speech intended to eliminate a group of people tends to attract ire. Moreso than 'slurs' in general, especially when the term in question was coined by the people who it is being applied to. Only a slur once it became inconvenient.

        • Tabletennis 1.3.1.1

          It still not clear to you that a large group will feel eliminated if certain policy changes will be implemented. Maybe you are not interested, so be it – but your very nasty misogynistic slur outburst got me reacting.
          Your attitude belongs much more at home in the front bench of the NP.

          • Sacha 1.3.1.1.1

            Perhaps reflect on 'feels' eliminated vs actually being eliminated. I'm sure the KKK feel really victimised these days too.

    • Gabby 1.4

      What the fuck is TERF?

      • Incognito 1.4.1

        WTF don’t you use Google or another search engine?

        First hit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TERF

        • Gabby 1.4.1.1

          So lazy fuckers take the time to type their bullshitty jargon out in full that's why the fuck.

          • Incognito 1.4.1.1.1

            I call BS on that. If they had typed “trans-exclusionary radical feminist” you would have been none the wiser and you would have said “What the fuck is trans-exclusionary radical feminist?”. However, if you did know what “trans-exclusionary radical feminist” stands for you would have known the acronym TERF. You could have looked it up yourself or asked nicely but you did neither because you knew exactly what TERF means, didn’t you? Your foul language gave it away, IMHO.

            • Gabby 1.4.1.1.1.1

              I know now and it was clearly a lie, which would have been apparent had it been written in full. Probably why it wasn't, IMHO.

              • Incognito

                Let’s do a search here on TS on “Gabby” and “TERF” and see what comes up, shall we?

                Any guesses what we might find?

                • Gabby

                  Go on then, IYHO what are you predicting?

                  • Incognito

                    My guess is that there’s high chance that it will show that in all likelihood you knew the meaning of the acronym. Are you still denying that?

                    • Gabby

                      Have you done it yet?

                    • Incognito []

                      No, not yet, but I’ll get to it, don’t you worry. I can’t stand dishonesty.

                    • Gabby

                      I'm not a big fan of dishonesty either.

                    • Gabby

                      Well I've just invested 30 secs of time and .. nuttin. Looking forward to your findings.

                    • Incognito []

                      Why? Afraid that you have a TERF skeleton in your closet that I might find? You don’t trust your own memory? I don’t trust mine so I can understand that.

                    • Gabby

                      I have zero trust in my own memory. Someone could have told me what it meant last week and I could have forgotten it while retaining contempt for its bullshitty jargon. Do you have any reason to believe that the person it was flung at, is a radical feminist?

                    • Incognito []

                      Your contempt was obvious, which caught my attention and it begged the question why you’d react in such a way if you didn’t know what you were reacting to and why. It came across as disingenuous and dishonest. So, I will do some detective work and will get back to you with my findings. At this stage, I think I’ll have difficulty accepting the John Key ‘excuse’ of ‘actually, I have no recollection of that but what I can say, at the end of the day, is that it made my blood boil’. Not too late to come clean 😉

                    • Gabby

                      Do you have any reason to believe that the person hectored is a radical feminist? That's what the RF stands for.

        • greywarshark 1.4.2.1

          I looked up that link Rosemary. Deals with the female-centred wash from idle, amoral minds swamping the world. Really ugly. In the past one didn't know or even suspect the awful side of people's minds and thoughts. Now they flaunt all their sick-minded unlovely negativity and dislike across the world as if it is some revelation to spread for everyone's education.

          It is on a par with what Germany suffered at the hands of Nazis. They built up bad attitudes to Jews, which then enabled them to start physical attacks etc. which were largely accepted, despite protests from many and then increased in severity. Society has indulged itself in punishing the 'other' with witch-baiting and burning, watching mad people as if a circus, seeing public hangings as a spectacle.

          We need to be careful of building up outrage, one group versus another, when either group becomes swollen with resentment and anger.

          There seems to be a madness that arises from a mindset that can grow in societies – to fix on a group or person to be a scapegoat for all to focus their negative feelings on, their discontent either with themselves, others, or anything. In psychology they call this projection.

          Psychological projection is a defense mechanism people subconsciously employ in order to cope with difficult feelings or emotions. Psychological projection involves projecting undesirable feelings or emotions onto someone else, rather than admitting to or dealing with the unwanted feelings. https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/psychological-projection-dealing-with-undesirable-emotions/

          eg as in – https://rdln.wordpress.com/2020/06/24/new-misogyny-has-many-forms/

          and then a heightened response to every comment prevents any rationality in discussion – https://rdln.wordpress.com/2020/06/20/stuff-continues-the-diatribes-against-j-k-rowling/

          The approach of focussing the dark thoughts of society on one thing or being was the subject of a play by a USA author. One person would be stoned to death each year as part of the culture of a particular area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lottery

          More than ever we need to have the study of human personality and philosophy to help us control what must be atavistic tendencies that need to be controlled by the healthy, balanced mind. So we need more Humanities, not seeing them wiped from tertiary study in favour of Science.

          • Rosemary McDonald 1.4.2.1.1

            Really ugly. In the past one didn't know or even suspect the awful side of people's minds and thoughts. Now they flaunt all their sick-minded unlovely negativity and dislike across the world as if it is some revelation to spread for everyone's education.

            Yep.

            https://lesbian-rights-nz.org/shame-receipts/

    • weka 1.5

      Moving this to OM from the "Jacinda’s address to the Labour Congress" post because I want to address it without derailing another author's post.

      I consider TERF to be a slur. Like many words directed at women, it has other uses too, but most use now is perjorative and often abusive (thinking twitter here). It is so ubiquitously used as a pejorative now that this is true irrespective of how the person using it intends.

      From a moderator perspective, I will maintain boundaries here for the sake of both trans people and gender critical feminists. Calling a commenter a terf will get my moderator attention, calling women offsite might too. Talking about 'terf' in a gender context I'll take each situation as it goes. In this case Sacha, acknowledging letting your bitchy side come out gave some context, but it was still a flamey derail that in other places would have devolved into a shit show.

      I'm not willing to let that shitshow happen on TS, for the sake of TS and also for the sake of trans people, women and GCFs. It's already really hard for women to take part here, especially women authors. That longstanding issue has not been resolved and as a feminist who has to limit what she can write about because of that, I'm not ok with another layer of trouble being added to this space. I also consider TS to not be particularly safe for trans and non-binary people either.

      It's possible that the gender war issues will be an election issue. Also possible that people here will want to discuss them. So I'm signalling some boundaries around managing those conversations so that the robust debate and the 'tone/language not excluding others' ethos are maintained.

      Happy to have discussion about this if anyone needs clarification. I'm not available for an argument today.

      edited.

      • Sacha 1.5.1

        The original comment was an utter derail in itself – like responding to a detailed economic policy post by asking what Labour would do about whale strandings or middle-east political prisoners.

        Kind of disappointed it was not moved here along with my response. However I do not see any conversation about this ending constructively in this place. So I won't.

        • Sacha 1.5.1.1

          To be clear, I do respect your reasoning and your broader understanding of the context here – and I expected other moderators might have moved my comment at the time. Not aiming to cause trouble when election season will bring plenty of that. Cheers

          • Incognito 1.5.1.1.1

            This Moderator made a judgement call yesterday to leave things as they were and see how the thread would evolve rather than to move it pre-emptively. Robust debate sometimes means hanging out the dirty laundry, having the hard conversations, be open and honest – warts and all – but above all, being respectful of others. Unfortunately, I don’t think the TS commentariat is ready for certain conversations. QED.

      • anker 1.5.2

        Great stuff Weka. Thanks

  2. Will Labour review the Defence budget in light of the economic effect of Covid?

    Namely the 20 billion to be spent over the next 11 years, which could be much better spent enhancing lives

    I'm all for the idea of armed neutrality

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/122026503/new-defence-recruits-may-be-buy-into-a-sea-of-trouble

    All joking aside, New Zealand may have to do a Switzerland and become an armed neutrality in order to distance ourselves from our Anzac partner Australia and its developing and alarming cold war machinations with China.

    • The Chairman 2.1

      With China's growing aggression and countries building up their arsenal while strengthening their international ties as a counter, one would expect there will be growing international pressure for us to spend more. Therefore, it is unlikely we will cut back our military spend and more likely we will be pressured to up it.

      • I Feel Love 2.1.1

        It's a losing game, the NY Police force has a bigger budget than the NZ military, and that's with the NYP slashing theirs by a billion dollars.

        • The Chairman 2.1.1.1

          It's largely a loss for our economy but no doubt a gain for the arms dealers.

    • Gabby 2.2

      Armed neutrality is very expensive. I propose allowing the people who own the country to defend it. That's Australia and China mostly.

    • Treetop 2.3

      I think the Defence budget is about right. The country needs to be prepared for military issues. Covid-19 has shown me how important it is to have the defence force to fall back on when it comes to quarantine.

      Some air craft needed to be decommissioned a decade ago, not sure if the orions or the hercs but I am surprised they are not dropping out of the sky.

      • The Chairman 2.3.1

        National supported the 20 billion spend. Little wasn't convinced but Labour's stance changed when Jacinda became leader.

        • Treetop 2.3.1.1

          109 trades on offer in Defence. I have seen overseas how important it is to be able to deploy the military in your own country.

          Replacing dilapidated aircraft is not cheap but necessary.

          • The Chairman 2.3.1.1.1

            Replacing dilapidated aircraft is not cheap but necessary.

            Housing the homeless and ensuring beneficiaries attain enough so they can afford to live is also not cheap. Nor is ensuring nurses, teachers and other public servants are fairly paid.

            So I guess it all depends on what you deem is more necessary?

            • Treetop 2.3.1.1.1.1

              All necessary and more.

              What sort of Defence Force would you like NZ to have?

              • The Chairman

                What sort of Defence Force would you like NZ to have?

                One that better reflects our ability to fund it.

                With all the problems we currently face in this small country, 20 billion is far too much to be spending on the military at this point in time.

                • Treetop

                  I am not sure how much of the 20 billion that the government already has.

                  I want a Defence Force which is equipped to be deployed were there a major earthquake in Wellington. A frigate which can become operational at the port, aircraft which can land in Wellington (runway may need to be patched) and personnel which can be deployed on the ground and work with the emergency services.

                  There is no relying on overseas emergency workers and being response ready which the Defence Force is trained to be is required.

                  • Sacha

                    No weapons needed then.

                    • Treetop

                      I knew that question would come up.

                      It depends on what the operation is. Aircraft need to have the capacity to carry weapons, this does not mean that they are carried when unwarranted.

                      And weapons do kill innocent people just like drunk drivers do and alcohol is still sold. Neither is right and both cause a lot of harm.

                      There would need to be a total ban on weapons and alcohol across the globe to save lives from weapon use and drinking alcohol.

                    • Sacha

                      Best answer I saw was from an ex-Hercules pilot who pointed out that if you took a supply flight into somewhere in a conflict/emergency situation without weapons, people who did have them could take your plane pretty fast. May have been drawing on experience somewhere in the Pacific..

                      Guess the same applies to boats, though NZ certainly under-armed our latest frigates to the point of uselessness in a real war zone.

                • Draco T Bastard

                  20 billion is far too much to be spending on the military at this point in time.

                  IIRC, that $20b was announced by National a while ago and was actually a budget cut over the 15 years they suggested.

                  Right now, we need to be spending $5 to $10 billion per year just to get our defence forces up to scratch. 30 years of budget cuts have done far too much damage to our defence forces.

                  • The Chairman

                    Yes, it was announced by National, hence they support it.

                    We could spend billions on our military, but as a nation, it all comes down to what we think is more a priority – ie education, health, poverty, etc.

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      We could spend billions on our military, but as a nation, it all comes down to what we think is more a priority – ie education, health, poverty, etc.

                      Incorrect. As a nation we can do all of them if we use our resources correctly which the free-market is failing to do.

            • Draco T Bastard 2.3.1.1.1.2

              Housing the homeless and ensuring beneficiaries attain enough so they can afford to live is also not cheap.

              Upping defence spending could give many of those beneficiaries a job.

              Then if we did our own R&D and made our own aircraft would produce even more jobs and help build up a local industry where we could use the aluminium that we subsidise the production of.

              • The Chairman

                Defence spending is not exclusive in creating jobs. Upping Government spending in other sectors can also create jobs.

                This spend up is largely going offshore, thus it won't be creating too many jobs here in NZ.

                • Draco T Bastard

                  Defence spending is not exclusive in creating jobs. Upping Government spending in other sectors can also create jobs.

                  True but defence is a necessary spend that needs to be adequate.

                  This spend up is largely going offshore, thus it won't be creating too many jobs here in NZ.

                  Which we actually need to change and make it so that all possible defence spending is onshore. Doing so will up the number of jobs created, help develop our economy and remove the vulnerability that comes from importing all our defence gear.

              • Sacha

                Local military plane manufacture? Dreaming.

                • Andre

                  Oh I dunno. Take a leaf out of Erik Prince's book and set to work on some of Pacific Aerospace's products in Hamilton …

                  Or not.

                • Draco T Bastard

                  Its only 'dreaming' if we don't do it.

                  We have the capability and the capacity to do it so why not?

                  It'd be cheaper than paying private contractors from other nations to do it for us as military doesn't have the economies of scale to drop profit for each item down to a reasonable level. And importation of military equipment is weakness in our supply as the sea lanes could be cut.

                  So, government R&D becomes a lowish level ongoing cost with manufacture then contracted out to a local manufacturer to produce the aircraft. The development of better manufacturing processes would also be carried out by government R&D and available to NZ businesses – just like the US has been doing for well over a century (The Entrepreneurial State by Mariana Mazzucato).

                  And if you really think about it, the Hercules that we're still flying is a 1950s design.

                  • Sacha

                    We have the capability and the capacity to do it so why not?

                    For one, the whole thing is only the price of the club, as Key acknowledged.

                    Second, interoperability with other forces is a big part of that scam.

                    And finally, wouldn't we be withdrawing from the world economy anyway from what you've said before? Military cooperation would go down the toilet just like trade, so why waste any energy building war toys?

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      And finally, wouldn't we be withdrawing from the world economy anyway from what you've said before?

                      Minimising trade isn't the same as withdrawing from the world.

                    • Sacha

                      What would we pay for imports with if we no longer take part in the world finance scam?

          • Treetop 2.3.1.2.1

            I supported National on that issue (enough defence resources) providing it was not going to remove money from social spending.

            Shortage in housing was 20 years in the making in not investing enough. The tax breaks under Key could have helped fix housing providing the money was redirected.

            Investment is needed in defence and it appears that NZ First was the influence.

            • Chris T 2.3.1.2.1.1

              Yeah I think it was warranted.

              There are only so many layers of gaffer tape you can add to bodge fix planes before they start falling out of the sky.

              Lol

              • Treetop

                There is so much wastage of money going into repairs of the aircraft.

                Mind you a lot of wastage of money having gone into leaky hospital buildings and poor earthquake design of buildings.

                Some other infrastructure has had a high blowout.

    • Scud formerly Exkiwiforces 2.4

      That may led to a doubling of the current Defence budget and the doubling of the current DCP? So I’m wondering if Jane is prepared for that, which mean raising taxes? As our distance from such trouble spots and our ever reliance of SLOC from imports & exports is far greater now than WW2 since NZ’s domestic manufacturing has almost gone the way of the Dodo. NZ’s MN has gone the same way as it’s domestic manufacturing and it’s railways system is on about a quarter of what it was during WW2 so it’s going to be interesting on how fuel rationing goes once NZ loses access or degraded access to oil refineries in Singers and or MEAO?

      This would also mean re-establishment of lost Defence capabilities such as the RNZAF’s Air Strike Wing, MCM Vessels, increase the Air Maritime Patrol Wing, the Frigate Force up to 6 Vessels, 2-3 Ice Capable Southern Ocean Patrol Ships and the tripling of the OPV size fleet armed with at least 76mm/ 3in gun the ability to fight Subs, Surface to Surface and short/ Close Range Air to Air. Also introducing new capabilities such as Unarmed & Armed UAV’s, Air to Air Tankers etc and that’s before we even to start to look at the Defence Estate around the Country including the Chatham Is. As Airport & ports would have to upgrade to allow a dispersal of Defence Assets when the brown stuff hits the fan

      While all this is happening the NZDF still has to carry out it day to day mandated tasks as outlined by the NZG which it struggles to do even in today’s NZ political climate as result of 30+ yrs of cuts to capability, Manning, base closures and reduction in equipment since 91when Ruth the Bitch from the “No Mates Party” cut the MoD/ NZDF by 26% in 90’s. While at the same time saw the 5 major UN Peacekeeping including INTERFET/ Timor-Leste which was biggest Deployment of the NZDF since WW2 and it also included an over the beach landing since WW2 which turn into a bit of a Fuck Fight btw and lucky for the NZDF it wasn’t an opposed landing as it could made Gallipoli look like an Sunday picnic beside the seaside

      To make this all happen all of our Political Party’s, including the NZ Greens will have to compromise on their Policies with Trade, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Aid Development. A lot of dead rats have to be swallowed if this does happen or else NZ would have to chose between China or its other major Asian Trading Parters within the Indo/ Asian Pacific Region if and when Conflict breaks out within the Region.

      Armed Neutrality is the only option if NZ wants to keep out of the pending Conflict in Asia as most Asian countries see the word “Neutrality” as a form of weakness unless you are armed to the hilt and are prepared to Defend, Deny, Delay, “Attack” to Defend, Ambush, any potential aggressor who is dumb or stupid a enough to have a crack at NZ. It also requires ever Man, Woman, Child to do their bit be it active or passive (CD, Red Cross etc) Defence of NZ’s Neutrality and willing to die for it?

      • Treetop 2.4.1

        The country cannot afford the cost of armed neutrality. The NZ Defence Force is always playing catch up when it comes to having a partial functioning defence force. If the defence force is operational ready were a major disaster to occur in NZ, then it would have served it's purpose in saving lives.

        Staying out of other people's wars other than for giving humanitarian support to civilians probably reduces the duration of the conflict.

        NZ is not likely to be attacked unless they become involved in a major incident. Our open shoreline is not going to be able to be protected.

        • Scud 2.4.1.1

          NZ could afford “Armed Neutrality” but that would required total commitment NZG and the population, but that won’t happen as all the political parties and their various mouth pieces having to swallow a number of dead rats IRT to Defence, Trade, Foreign Affairs Aid Development etc. Also the fact that we have one political party screams tax cut, runs every Government Dept into ground, builds roads and other mob trying to rebuild everything back up due to mismanagement of the other mob, means “Armed Neutrality is a mere pip dream.

          Unfortunately NZ will get sucked into the next major conflict in the Indo- Asian- Pacific Region weather it wants to or try’s to avoid it. My assumptions are theses,

          1. We are a Trading Nation which means we rely on Freedom of Navigation of the Seas, because it allow us to export our goods overseas and import stuff that we use to make here NZ before the NeoCon Lib’s with their economic theory vandalised NZ’s domestic economy. Just have a look at the Fuck Fight that Covid19 has to both Australia’s and NZ’s import reliance on goods that used to be made within those respective countries before the NeoCon Lib’s vandalised the domestic economies.

          2. Where are Australia’s Left Flank and the key to the Sth Pacific, which allows it to maintain its supply and military support from the US. Just asmuch as Australia is our right flank as it guarantees our supply line to SEA via the Singapore hub and our supplies of petroleum oil and lubricants (POL) via the Middle East & Singaporean oil refineries. If NZ loses some of its Asian exports, Australia is still one of our major export economy and Vice versa.

          So if China wants to take on Australia its got to surround Australia by cutting its supply & support line to its left and right flanks and force those convoy’s into Lat 40& 50deg’s which would make the Russian Convoys look like Cook Strait crossing look quite Pleasant on a rough crossing. This was the long term strategic goal of the Japs in WW2, but they came short with the Battle of the Coral Sea only by a bees dick.

          3. We are regarded as the gateway to the Antarctic and the Antarctic Treaty is up for renewal in 2044, if the Antarctic Treaty collapses then we’ll see the last great land grab since western colonisation.

          4. NZ has been attack before in the last two World Wars via the indirect route of attacking NZ’s Shipping on the Surface from Surface Raiders and below the surface by the laying of sea mines off NZ Ports and Coastal Sea Lanes. Also NZ in WW2 had two over flights by the Japs from their I Boats ( Submarines) looking for the invasion fleet for Solly’s which they just miss by a number of days and we had also DKM U Boats conduct a couple sorties in NZ waters. Then we have the Frogs in 87 with the Rainbow Warrior as well.

          • Treetop 2.4.1.1.1

            Several strategically placed long range non radioactive missiles and it is all over for NZ.

            • Scud 2.4.1.1.1.1

              I was thinking more of the line of 5 Direct Action Teams, Cyber Attack on the NZSX, over spin the turbines at Sth Is Power Stations, a couple of mad professors run about with a couple of virals of foot & mouth, PSA Mbiovs etc and a doz + Submarines with orders if it’s floats sink it and lay a few mines near Major Shipping ports.

              Probable all up man power inside NZ’s land borders between 100& 120 pers within a population of 5m. Using prearranged dead drops, single use code pads, snail mail, other single use codes listening watch etc.

              • Treetop

                I usually do not contribute to a thread on the military.

                Not sure why, other than the thought of being placed on a list for expressing my thoughts.

                • Scud

                  I hope haven't put you off from discussing this tropic? As I feel that this needs to be discuss at weather NZ adopts "Armed Neutrality" or the other option is which side it picks when jaw jaw stops and becomes war war. Having that discussion then is not a good option, if NZ wants to a adopt "Armed Neutrality" it has to start now.

                  As it well take time to re-orient the MFAT, Defence, Foreign Aid, NZ's economy including a Carbon Neutral Economy, build up the NZDF in particularly the Airforce and Navy, and finally infrastructure both public and private.

          • RedLogix 2.4.1.1.2

            Solid comment Scud. I only wish these issues got more airtime here than all the 'ism wrangling.

            All of those points are make a lot of sense, but the one I suspect will bite us in the arse much sooner than we expect is what happens when the Middle East, and the Persian Gulf in particular blows up … as it inevitably will when the US finally goes home altogether.

            A couple of missed supertankers and Aus/NZ suddenly look very sick indeed.

            • Scud 2.4.1.1.2.1

              The real issue Red is not so much the ME but the economic effect if and when conflict breaks out in Asia. Even just a simple reduction of 25% of POL supplies to the following counties Taiwan, Sth Korea & Japan would cause economic distress to both Oz & NZ before we even consider the economic fallout with China.

              My gut feeling is that we are likely first to see conflict in the Indo -Asian -Pacific Region before the Jews, Arabs (Yanks) and the Persians settle a few old scores.

              But the flip side to this as you pointed out that, the ME might go first which is likely to dilute the US Naval strength in the Asian- Pacific Region which could just give Chinese parity in the SCS and Taiwan. The question has to be asked, what would the Nth Koreans and Putin's Pacific Military Forces intent? Any offensive action by them would farther dilute the US PACCOM Forces. Which could cause issues in the low half of the Asian- Pacific Region, this would include NZ an the Sth Pacific?

              So the next question would be who's side is NZ going to pick or does NZ starts serious looking at Armed Neutrality which means the discussion has to start now and not when Conflict starts.

              New Zealand atm reminds of Norway just prior to WW2 where the Norwegian Government (which was a Labour btw) was at odds and reality with its Military not only with its lack of preparedness if and when Hitler makes his move on the West, but also the Military was getting very concern of the activities of both Germany & GB IRT its Neutrality.

              If New Zealand want to avoid another oil shock as result of conflict, it has to adopt a Carbon Neutral Economy and rebuild its domestic manufacturing capacity which also in the Government input from the likes of the DSIR & MoW both as we know went the way of the Dodo in the 90's.

              • RedLogix

                Pretty much agree with all of that. Two minor things to add in:

                But the flip side to this as you pointed out that, the ME might go first which is likely to dilute the US Naval strength in the Asian- Pacific Region which could just give Chinese parity in the SCS and Taiwan.

                It's my belief the US wouldn't commit much resource at all; they're pretty much energy independent now, and highly decoupled from ME oil. And regardless of who wins in November, neither President is likely to put American lives in harm's way to stabilise oil supplies for Europe or Asia. They just don’t care enough anymore.

                So the next question would be who's side is NZ going to pick or does NZ starts serious looking at Armed Neutrality.

                I can see the appeal of 'Armed Neutrality" but honestly when it came down to it, unless we had nuclear weapons and capable delivery systems, we could never mount an adequate deterrence. While the Pacific gives us a nice defensive space, it also makes it very hard for us to strike back with conventional weapons once the enemy’s navy was blockading our harbours … and that is the only basis on which this strategy might work.

                In my view we have two realistic security options; the traditional ANZUS alliance that depending on events in the US may or may not be open to us, or a wholly new configuration of SE Asian nations, consisting of Japan/Korea/Philippines/Indonesia/Malaysia/India/Australia in a new alliance. It's not as unlikely as it seems, after all the Japanese arguably have the second most capable blue-water navy after the US, and if the politics were managed competently the whole alliance would be formidable indeed.

                • Scud

                  Sorry for my late reply to this,

                  First of all thanks for jointing my memory IRT the US Shale Oil industry, as forgot that the US is almost totally free from the ME Oil dependency these days.

                  I've roughly crack the numbers on Nuke wpns vs Submarine both D/E and nuclear power vs more bang for your buck. I believe that a Submarine fleet would be practical and cheaper to run long term than if NZ wanted to adopt some form of Nuclear Wpn capability.

                  The main issue would be what type of Submarine would suit NZ's needs if NZ adopted "Armed Neutrally". Having a Nuclear Powered Attack Sub a has number of benefits on the plus side, but there are number of minuses. Apart from setting a Submarine Fleet would be huge as we have no corporate background in the use of Sub's, also of note that NZ DWP from 1982 or 83 did discuss and crunch the numbers of NZ obtaining Subs. The issue with a Nuke Sub we would still beholding tries to that country we purchase the a fleet of 6-9 Subs for technical support especially for refuelling the reactor and other deep level maintenance that would be require to do at the same time.

                  A D/E Sub on the other hand well have less risk, it would a lot easily to setup our maintenance in house, the other is being able to tap into the STEM and other technical trades. The other big factors is we won't be beholding to tires any country a part from very minor technical support during refits and the other more options in terms of variety of manufactures of D/E from Sweden with the their "Son of Collins Class", the German UBoats which to some are the Bee's Knees and the Jap S Boats which has combine the best of German and Swedish know how to produce a very capable boat, then we have the French, Russia D/E Subs and of cause the Brits with their U Boats, but like the Yanks haven't built D/E in donkeys years.

                  A Submarine Force with a Combine Surface and Air Force would give the NZG a number of options in Defence of its "Armed Neutrally". For example NZ would able to conduct Defence in Depth which cause all sort of problems anyone who is stupid a enough to close in on NZ, as they would a long way from support and it would leave them very open for the NZ Submarine Force to attack its Fleet train. Which would less ships up front as more would be need to defence its Fleet train and its support base along the way. Which was something that the Japs forgot to do in WW2, but the Germans did against the Brits and almost pulled it off. If it wasn't for some management issues within the German Sub Fleet command, the SKL (Naval Command) and finally Hitler's melding within the OKW.

                  There is a lot to think about NZ's direction on weather it adopts "Armed Neutrally" or it attempts to shore up it traditional Alliance aka ANZUS or the FPDA or looks at something similar to what you have mention (I prefer the last two options if NZ decides not to adopt Armed Neutrally") and, or its sides with China which doesn't have any of NZ traditional values.

                  Above all it would require cross party support and us punters need know the options for & against. Once NZ decided what the option they want and doing nothing is not an option btw, as it would require 100% commitment from everybody from the top end of town to the bottom end of town and in between.

                  • RedLogix

                    Excellent. I really appreciate your input around a potential submarine fleet to provide a 'defense in depth' capability. Although they aren't cheap or easy, as the Aussies are finding that out with their French subs. I wonder if NZ shouldn't piggy back on that program, just from a support perspective alone.

                    Incidentally one of the guys I work with most days is ex-Collin Class submariner. They really are a breed apart, and as you say NZ has no corporate experience in this arena; it would be a hell of a commitment to go down this path.

                    But you are right, whether we went down the 'armed neutrality' or 'SE Asia Alliance' path, submarines would be by far the most useful capability we could have. And given the sheer size of the Pacific, Tasman and Southern Oceans we would have to operate in, maybe there is a case for nuclear, however extreme that might feel at the moment.

                    • Pat

                      am pretty sure nz cant afford 20 billion per (over rated and under performing) submarine…not to mention the additional maintenance and training costs

    • Draco T Bastard 2.5

      Namely the 20 billion to be spent over the next 11 years, which could be much better spent enhancing lives

      Yes, because making ourselves even more vulnerable in a world gone haywire is such a Good Idea.

      /sarc

      BTW, think of how many thousands of people employed by the defence forces that would be out of a job and thus increasing poverty if we didn't spend that money.

  3. Dennis Frank 3

    Partisans vs democracy. Joshua Ferrer examines their track record of success:

    I have spent the past year at the University of Otago studying every reform to New Zealand’s democratic rules of the game since 1970. I have also interviewed over two-dozen politicians, election officials and academic experts on New Zealand election law.

    My research has revealed partisan election reforms to be common practice. Politicians have enacted 66 election reforms over the past 50 years. Of these, 19 were passed with only government support. Twenty-nine election reforms involved significant amounts of contention, while only 12 substantive changes to the rules of the game were free of partisan intrigue.

    Election reforms can affect voter turnout and alter electoral outcomes. Partisan manipulation of election laws has been shown to erode public faith in the democratic process, faith that is required for the system to have legitimacy in the first place.

    All too often, Labour governments have been the propagators of highly partisan election reforms. Over half of Labour’s election reforms have been partisan, compared with only 11% of National’s. Labour governments have passed 15 election reforms with high levels of partisanship, compared with only five reforms passed by National. The current government has now passed more electoral reforms with government-only support than with broader support.

    National governments are not completely free of blame. They are responsible for passing 13 election changes that engendered moderate or significant partisan disagreement. More worrisome are the five laws National has passed that have increased barriers to the ballot box or otherwise diminished electoral participation (Labour has passed two).

    https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/04-07-2020/consensus-based-nz-electoral-reform-is-a-lovely-idea-and-its-mostly-a-myth/

    Joshua concludes by advocating use of "citizens’ assemblies on election reform" to provide "a valuable new form of direct democracy". Seems a worthwhile initiative. To make it happen, we need a citizens' advocacy group with organising skills. However it does create an opportunity for any political party with a tradition of calling itself progressive. They could validate their claim by leading the implementation process!

    • RedBaronCV 3.1

      Without reading the whole article – is this actually looking through the correct lens?

      Should the criteria for measuring the reforms be "is this going to expand the democratic franchise and enable more participation with an electoral outcome that reflects those votes"- not which party did it?

      The party is a secondary consideration – so is this research with a major flaw or bias?
      To call them partisan reforms not partisan outcomes is very poor framing.

      • Dennis Frank 3.1.1

        To call them partisan reforms not partisan outcomes is very poor framing.

        I see where you're coming from, but I suspect he is simply recycling the framing used at the time: touting an act of parliament as a reform is trad pr for both major parties.

        I agree that such acts which don't improve democratic participation look more like outcomes than reforms, since reforms are usually interpreted as progress. Technically, a didact could point out that the term originally meant just a change of form though. So no, I see no good reason to assume he's compromised by perceptual flaw or bias.

        • greywarshark 3.1.1.1

          We need more participation, from informed people. This old business of thinking we are in charge because we voted some bods in, and that they know what they are doing because they convinced us to vote them in, a bit circular what! And they rely on a supposedly effective, efficient and knowledgable group that are either lifetimers in administration (old idea) or interchangeable between private and government (new idea) or university trained in the latest methods of efficiency in any sort of management (neo lib idea).

          And all this going on over the heads of unthinking and uncaring (till it hits them on the head like seagull's droppings) citizens stolidly going on their dim-witted way stamping out bushfires preferably before ideas actually start smouldering.

          That's democracy at present folks. Getting that changed would be a herculean task to do it right. Of course it could be done a la Roger et Al, who just upended the table and the board game or jigsaw or whatever was being played fell to the floor and never got put together again. If we lived in Holland the dykes would never have been put together sweetly and strongly, we would all be boat people being turned away as undesirable.

  4. Gabby 4

    Probably due to the natsys fighting tooth and nail to resist any reform that enhanced democracy in praxis eh.

  5. Dennis Frank 5

    Richard Harman assesses the PM's conference speech:

    “Poverty, inequality, persistent unemployment. It does not have to be this way, and under Labour, it won’t. We are the Party that puts people first. It is in our DNA.”

    That got thunderous and prolonged applause. If it was designed to provoke the “Ruth Richardson” inside National, it didn’t quite hit the mark. The response from Leader, Todd Muller, was hesitant. “Nothing Labour promises you this election will be delivered – except more tax for you to pay,” he said. But National is vulnerable with its “no new taxes” promise; Labour can legitimately ask how, with debt repayments and the social welfare bill likely to increase, what Government services National might cut if it won’t raise any more taxation.

    https://www.politik.co.nz/2020/07/06/labours-red-glow/ | Politik

    • ScottGN 5.1

      He also claimed that Labour is going it alone this election, that it wants to govern on its own. Another centre right pundit trying to put the last nails in the Green’s coffin.

  6. Sabine 6

    So is the Government finally going to do something for people that can't pay their commercial leases because their business is dead?

    Cause this is what you can 'have' – nothing, zilch, nada, fuck all as per the CAB

    https://www.cab.org.nz/article/KB00039675

    Or does that fall under Deborah Russels protfolio of 'how can they – small businesses – not survive in a pandemic with no income i have no idea……i am an academic, a beige suit on the government tit, so how the fuck would i know anything about free enterprise and working for ones wages."

    Cause as of today, the Government has done fuck all to help people who are stuck owing tens of thousands of dollars to landlords who will NOT negotiate unless they are forced to by Government. Or does that fall in the too fucking hard basket?

    And for those that get upset at a little critic thrown at the current government and their leader, suck it up.

    This failure to reign in property holders/speculators/landbankers/leeches on society has been a spectacular bipartisan failure of the National Party and the Labour Party. So dear Labour Party and parties of the coalition, go do something. You can not just let people go all the way to bankruptcy just because you don't want to finally tackle the abuse of Landlords that literally everyone, residential or commercial tenants is suffering from.

    And for those that want to simply not give a shit about the people of NZ that have businesses please remember that these are the guys generating tax revenue, paying wages, GST, and Rates. Also they are New Zealanders just in case people forgot.

    Also remember that the wage subsidy only pays for one thing, Rent at home plus food, or a commercial rent. It does not take care of both.

    • Graeme 6.1

      There's some mongrels out there

      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12337502

      The owner of a travel agency facing shop closure due to Covid-19, claims she has to pay more than $50,000 if she wants to be released from her lease – with no money back if a new tenant is found.

      Part of the small subset of commercial landlords who see a distressed tenant as an opportunity to create a debt, and obtain a judgement to take the tenants assets. One of the risks you take when you go into business

      • McFlock 6.1.1

        not naming any names, but apparently a local retail landlord wanted to sell their business so got an earthquake structural report pre-covid. They then refused to let any of their commercial tenants off paying rent during lockdown.

        Post covid, two of their major tenants aren't renewing their lease, and one is refusing to reopen because of the earthquake report highlighting "health and safety" risks (which suggests to me they're arguing the landlord is failing to provide suitable retail space, so they won't be paying rent until the lease runs out).

        Nice to see the occasional bastard get their comeuppance.

      • Treetop 6.1.2

        Is there some way that a form of pandemic bankruptcy can be declared without losing your home and car?

        • Graeme 6.1.2.1

          Easiest way is to not own anything, why people who own businesses have trusts. Companies don't protect you that much now because everything requires personal guarantees now, especially leases.

          • McFlock 6.1.2.1.1

            yeah, I was a bit surprised at that requirement for a personal guarantee when a group I was involved with was leasing a space. Seems a bit bloody weird to me.

            I think Treetop's idea would be reasonable, for some tight criteria. It would be DamienGrant-dodgy to pay the rent with the covid loan and then wind the company up at the end of the lease.

            • Graeme 6.1.2.1.1.1

              It will probably require a purpose built entity to take the leases off the distressed tenants and deal with the contractual issues with the lease.

              This is where Little's bluff fell over, it sort of dealt with the lockdown period, but trying to deal with distressed leases using the ADLS 27.5 and 27.6 clauses was really going cause problems.

              Getting a fair deal for the likes of the Travel Agent, but not allowing the wide boys to demand a lease renegotiation will be tricky. Everything will be subjective and nothing meaningfully objective.

              From where I'm sitting a Crown agency that takes over leases of genuinely distressed tenants and then manages the reletting could be the way to deal with it. It will probably only do a couple of hundred leases where relationships have broken down completely already and they have got themselves into a corner they can't get out of, and then the message will get through and both sides of the letting relationship will settle down.

              Generally Queenstown isn't to bad in this regard. There's a couple of wanker landlords, but also a couple of really good ones which has kept things under control. But I know of a couple of situations that have become disfunctional. But the market's still fluid, someone moves out, then there's someone moving in straight away.

              There's also a review of the ADLS lease underway, it gets reviewed every 10 years with updates between. Our beagle is saying this aspect of the lease is in for a major overhaul.

    • Sacha 6.2

      Sabine, your anger is better directed at Winston. He's the prick who has proudly thwarted govt help on commercial leases/rent.

    • The Chairman 6.3

      Speaking of commercial leases, this is how Harvey Norman dealt with their landlords.

      The Australian-owned company sent the letter to a number of landlords around New Zealand on March 25 telling them that it would not pay rent while its stores were closed.

      The letter, provided to Stuff, tells landlords that they had 24 hours to respond otherwise Harvey Norman would consider the matter settled.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/120728348/harvey-norman-tells-landlords-it-wont-pay-rent

  7. Dennis Frank 7

    Into cultural analysis? Check this out: https://unherd.com/2020/07/the-emptiness-of-the-intellectual-dark-web/

    Underlying much of this, Brooks argues, is an acceptance of prevailing inequalities — economic, gender, and racial — as natural. The IDW’s leading lights uncritically defend capitalism while drawing on biology and the dreary science of ‘IQ’ to bolster the status quo. They aim to “naturalize or mythologize historically contingent power relations”, as Brooks puts it.

    Behind every one of Peterson’s self-help homilies is an unbending fealty to the status quo. Hierarchies are hard-wired because lobsters follow them. Gender differences are real because women gravitate towards people and men towards things. Envy and resentment at the success of others will rot your soul.

    Naturalism is littered with conceptual pitfalls, true. But Greens did derive their belief system from nature, and it remains valid, so the lesson to learn is `do it right'.

    Meritocracy, as the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu once put it, is an imaginary world in which “every prize can be attained, instantaneously, by everyone, so that at each moment anyone can become anything”.

    Crap. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy

    Meritocracy is a political system in which economic goods and/or political power are vested in individual people on the basis of talent, effort, and achievement, rather than wealth or social class.

    • Just Is 7.1

      Dennis, when I lived in Australia the Govt there argued "Meritocracy" was the reason there was only 1 woman on the front bench in Parliament.

      The Liberal Party of Australia, many punters I met said they no longer vote for them as they no longer represent Liberal values, they're actually Right Wing Christian Conservatives.

      • Dennis Frank 7.1.1

        Yeah men have traditionally struggled to get their heads around the notion that women have complementary skills that are just as valid in politics & governance. I see emotional intelligence, for instance, as a competitive advantage in group psychodynamics. Conservative culture prevents such learning so sexism persists. And I agree that the Oz liberal tag is a misnomer. Justin Trudeau puts them to shame! I read a biography of him from the library a while back. He's authentic.

        • Morrissey 7.1.1.1

          Justin Trudeau puts them to shame! I read a biography of him from the library a while back. He's authentic.

          ???????

          Funny, but to anyone with eyes he looks like a racist and a moral coward.

          https://www.cbc.ca/kidsnews/post/teens-react-to-images-of-justin-trudeau-in-blackface

          https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/850364412397531138?lang=en

          • Just Is 7.1.1.1.1

            But he was comparing him to the current Liberal Govt in Australia, and by that comparison, Trudeau ptobably is more Liberal.

          • Dennis Frank 7.1.1.1.2

            Liberals in the classic sense seem a different kind of animal. They are as likely to adopt a conservative stance as a progressive stance, for instance. Often centrist.

            Not sure why you would want to interpret his call for an evidence-based approach to the issue of war crime responsibility as moral cowardice. Temporary short-circuit in the brain??

            As regards wearing a black face, I've never done it – but depends what year he did it eh? Weren't they still broadcasting re-runs of the Black & White Minstrel Show here in the '80s?

            • Draco T Bastard 7.1.1.1.2.1

              Weren't they still broadcasting re-runs of the Black & White Minstrel Show here in the '80s?

              I recall them from the 1970s but not the 80s.

            • Morrissey 7.1.1.1.2.2

              What is shown in the Twitter feed I linked to is that Trudeau swiftly abandoned his call for an evidence-based approach, and supported the Trump regime's highly contentious and unproven allegations. He also, infamously, supported the Trump/Pompeo propaganda line against the elected government of Venezuela.

              His black-face shenanigans would not, in themselves, count for very much if taken in isolation. However, considering everything else he has done, they point to someone who is anything but "authentic."

              • Dennis Frank

                No way would I view Assad favourably so I share your feeling there. But we don't know what intelligence-sharing happened to change his mind, do we? Re Venezuela, that's a typical binary with a path thro the middle for those who prefer a balanced view. I see the idiocies of both sides clearly.

                Being stuck in bias is bad for one's mental health often. If you have an open mind, read Justin's autobiography. The only reason I did so was due to the negative views of him expressed by you & one or two others in the past. That got me intrigued and sceptical of his character. I was impressed somewhat against my will as a result. In my local library – probably in yours…

        • Dennis Frank 7.1.1.2

          Correction: I read his autobiography, not a biography. You get a better sense of where a person is coming from (in terms of values, motivations,ideals) when you read them telling their own story. For instance, he spent many years determined not to be a politician. What he did during those years is instructive.

  8. I find it interesting that TV3 has not provided their poll yet. Is Toll Mudler's attack method not moving the numbers in the desired direction?

    Perhaps we have seen it all before?

    • ScottGN 8.1

      Maybe they’re too skint to conduct one?

    • Just Is 8.2

      Maybe the numbers are so bad that they're doing what Simon Bridges did with his polling numbers, not tell anyone

  9. Adrian Thornton 9

    More unsubstantiated news, often referred to as fake news, being disseminated by international MSM and mindlessly parroted by our own beloved RNZ….

    In ‘Russian Bounty’ Story, Evidence-Free Claims From Nameless Spies Became Fact Overnight

    https://fair.org/home/in-russian-bounty-story-evidence-free-claims-from-nameless-spies-became-fact-overnight/

    • francesca 9.1

      Yep , dogs running after phantom sticks again, just when theres talk of withdrawing all the troops

      How people still unquestionably believe all the BS emanating from anonymous officials is beyond me .I suspect it's wishful thinking and confirmation bias at work

      • Adrian Thornton 9.1.1

        "I suspect it's wishful thinking and confirmation bias at work" Yeah true that..unfortunately.

    • Andre 9.2

      A clue for the clueless: what makes the russian bounties thing a story is the Great White Shart's reaction to the possibility of russia paying bounties on dead US soldiers, or to be more precise, his utter lack of interest. Much more than whether or not the allegations are accurate.

    • Morrissey 9.3

      RNZ National is full of people who have uncritically gulped down this nonsense, hook, line, and sinker. The problem is that they then use their platform to regurgitate the propaganda. Chief among the Russiagate true believers are Dame Kim Hill, Bernard Hickey, and Jim Mora, the long-time host of the light chat show The Panel.

      Back in November 2015, regular Panel guest Ella Henry treated Nat. Radio listeners to the fruits of her extensive knowledge and wide reading on the subject of Russian leader Vladimir Putin:

      "Hur hur! I just see an ex-KGB agent, y’know what I’m sayin’?"

      https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/i-just-see-ex-kgb-agent-yknow-what-im.html

      In October 2016 poor, bewildered Jesse Mulligan—Mora's replacement as Panel host— tried his hardest to seriously address the m-m-m-m-menace from Moscow….

      JESSE MULLIGAN: [speaking very slowly, to convey thoughtfulness] Sometimes when I read this stuff I get the sense that Russia are L-L-L-LOOKIN’ for trouble, are L-L-L-LOOKIN’ to create tension with the U.S. Is that fair?

      ….Long pause….

      PROFESSOR AL GILLESPIE: [slowly, deliberately, to convey deep thinking] Ahhhhhmmm, partly, partly not. I mean, Russia’s there by a treaty it had with Syria from the early 1970s, a legitimate treaty for a defensive alliance, and Assad is still to a degree in power, so Russia’s doing what it was bound to do by treaty. The problem is, that at some point, as long as you’re propping up these sides the war will continue and you may have to, everyone just back out and see what the actual outcome is.

      ….Long pause…

      JESSE MULLIGAN: Meanwhile, there’s this OTHER story around today, that Russia have walked away from the protocol on weapons-grade plutonium control. Can you give us a bit of background to that, Al?

      https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/jesse-mulligan-sometimes-when-i-read.html

      et cetera, ad absurdum, ad nauseam…

    • gsays 9.4

      While I think my star sign is Cynical, the MSM has become a slither of it's former selves. Helped, no doubt, by the decades of market reforms, the race to the bottom is picking up speed.

      Before clickbait was a thing… I had a pub in a small country town. We had a big Friday night and 3 brothers came in, I knew 2 of them were under age so I asked them to leave. On their way out, they came across the kitchen hand, assumed he had narked on them and proceeded to give him a hiding.

      The Monday issue of the local paper has a story headlined "Teens Fight in Local Bar". They go on to quote the local Senior Sergeant who knew nothing about it, about 'youngsters these days….'

      Took a few calls to the editor to get a retraction printed, buried deep in the paper. I stopped advertising with them and got creative with other marketing ideas.

      The Guardian, oft cited as the font of all wisdom, has sullied or confirmed (depending on your view of it) it's reputation with it's treatment of Jeremy Corbyn.

  10. joe90 10

    Boom!

    The opposition said they have a moral obligation to win. No. Winning an election is not a moral obligation.

    We are morally obligated to look after New Zealanders, our most vulnerable, our families and our children; to represent our diverse nation, to have people from all walks of life of every colour race and creed sit at the decision-making table.

    To do what is best for New Zealand, to govern in the best interests of New Zealanders; to be honest, to be fair.

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/kelvin-davis-our-moral-obligation

  11. KJT 11

    Graeme's comment at 5.1.

    I understand that addressing commercial leaseholders difficulties has been on the table.

    Held up by some snags.

    Including NZ first and the banks, but also how do you help out genuinely distressed leases without allowing some big arsehole ones to wriggle out of their obligations.

    • RedBaronCV 11.1

      Good to hear. You don't want the unscrupulous renters voiding leases they can well afford to pay while needing to offer some solution to prevent the unscrupulous landlords bankrupting smaller business owners who have a no or a much reduced business meaning they bear the whole financial outcome of the "covid disruption lottery " and recognising that no rent would also bankrupt some smaller landlords.

    • Sacha 11.2

      Snags 'including' NZ First?

      All about them wagging the dog.

  12. RedBaronCV 12

    Today's bunch of useless under performing employers who can't plan for more than 5 minutes into the future and now want the government to bail them out.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300050195/bosses-scramble-to-fill-jobs-as-visas-set-to-expire-en-masse

    You've had six months to get yourselves organised – why didn't you use it! Be proactive. Why have you rolled some visa's for years instead of training. Bear in mind that it appears only about 10,000 have been here for 5+ years.

    Why do these visa holders who have been here so little time apparently have skills that can't be taught in the short term to locals. Many of these visa's would not have been renewed anyway- tourist, student and under 30 work permits so you would have needed to replace them anyway.

    I'd like to give a special mention to the Hospo association. Not only is this an industry that will shrink but:

    why have you not designed a few basic courses,

    found or used a current provider for those courses,

    invited employers when they are interviewing to recommend individuals to undertake those courses because they will hire them at the end

    Then if you asked for a small government subsidy I'm sure it would have been granted or employers could pay for it. Then you could also promote some existing workers. It's not rocket science.

    Lastly why does the news media just accept the employer whinging without any further inquiry or hard facts. A lot of those dairy jobs are short term to cover the start of the season.

    • Adrian 12.1

      And the hospo industry is claiming to be a 40 billion dollar industry, talk about "don't you know who I am-ism ". What a load of bullshit, that would make a city of 50,000 have a hospo industry of 400 million. I have had a gutsful of this inflating of value every time some entity is trying to extract something from the government.

    • Ian 12.2

      Absolute crap regarding dairy farmers. The truth is we have received no wage subsidies,Jacinda is sending key workers back to poverty and disease and There is no way NZ unemployed will fill the gap.The treatment of our workers by a so called Kind government is disgusting.

      • RedBaronCV 12.2.1

        Er I think these statements may prove my point. But hey why didn't the dairy industry not try to make itself more resilient? The rewards have been high enough – maybe profit sharing like say 'sharemilkers'?

  13. Just Is 13

    The Merriam Webster's definition of "SHAMBOLIC"

    "Obviously disorganised or confused"

    First used in 1970, evidently.

    Nationals new go to word.

    In reality it eloquently describes John Keys reign of destruction.

  14. Adrian 14

    What is it about having to do "courses " to do anything from carrying a cup of coffee from a kitchen to a table or wash a floor or clean a bench. If a person can't do any of most things required to hold down a simple job then they must have been on 24 hour life support since birth. You don't need training just get on and fucking do it.

    • RedBaronCV 14.1

      I don't really think they need courses for a lot of this stuff either. Maybe an hour or two to make sure the bed making is up to standard. But the onus should be pushed back onto these industry groups to come up with concrete plans for how to manage (beyond "we need work visas") so then the government pen can be put through 2 week bed making courses.

      The hospo industry should also have been asked for how many of these employees needed are at or close to the minimum wage. Which suggests jobs that don't need huge skills.

      and FWIW 56000 extra people have registered for the unemployment plus those who don't need to but could work. Trademe and seek – who will overlap- show around 13000 to 14000 listings for the last 4 weeks

      News media seem to accept this employer whinging uncritically without any challenge or filter.

      • Sacha 14.1.1

        Companies have done a great job over recent decades shifting responsibility for staff training onto everybody else to pay for.

        We really need to get NZ out of the low-wage economy trap where employers fear to set their prices high enough to cover such costs unless they are only serving the luxury market. And more profits need to come back to workers, not owners.

        • RedBaronCV 14.1.1.1

          Yep and step one would be for the media to expand their horizons and stop printing employer whinging without question or pushback, They seem to have lost that skill and stuff being now locally owned needs to find it in spades.

    • gsays 14.2

      After a life in kitchens, I learnt a good tip during my 'Chemicals training': Spray your cleaning cloth with the fluid (sanitiser/window cleaner), not the surface. You use less and get a better finish.

    • Draco T Bastard 14.3

      Private business can charge to train people which will either be paid for by the person or by government and is thus a profitable business.

      Actually training people takes time and money which the business doesn't want to spend.

      Put these two together and we have the perfect profit making excuse to bring people in from offshore and thus lower wages here.

    • mac1 14.4

      On the other hand, and no doubt with support from the Labour government, I am having post earthquake remediation finally, using a firm who employs three female apprentices. Today, on learning that one apprentice was receiving her first visit from her industry supervisor/ trainer/ inspector person, I congratulated him on his willingness to train apprentices. Lots of 'doing', but with supervision and advice ongoing.

      • Adrian 14.4.1

        Great news. Are they dragging it up from the river and nailing to the bank at last?

        Couldn't help myself.

    • anker 14.5

      Adrian agree 100%. Worked in hospo in my 20's . No training, just figuring it out.

      Also thinking about all those unemployed flight attendants. Surely their skills generalize? Good customer service, serving people coffee etc. It's just bollock that we have to have migrants to fill these jobs.

  15. ScottGN 15

    NSW is to close the border with Victoria midnight tomorrow. First time it’s been closed in a hundred years. 53 cases – 16 new today – at the Melbourne public housing towers. 127 new cases in Victoria overall today.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/coronavirus-australia-updates-live-global-covid-19-cases-surpass-11-3-million-australia-death-toll-at-104-20200706-p559a2.html

    • Muttonbird 15.1

      But Australia are doing better than us!

      • ScottGN 15.1.1

        Certainly played into the PM’s hands and shut the Tasman bubble-pushers right up.

    • Sacha 15.2

      Would that be the places put into 'hard lockdown'? https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/122045148/nine-melbourne-tower-blocks-put-into-hard-lockdown–what-does-it-mean-and-will-it-work

      When can we get that here? Muller knows plenty of tradies could be employed to be hard!

    • Fireblade 15.3

      Today Victoria also reported 645 active cases, 31 in hospital, 5 in ICU and 1 new death.

      https://mobile.twitter.com/covidliveau/status/1279941831812235265

    • Treetop 15.4

      No doubt the military will be required to police the check points.

      I need to look up and see what support the Aboriginal communities are getting.

      • greywarshark 15.4.1

        This Melbourne case should be kept in mind when public housing is built here again. Do not use this type of tower block housing, it is bad for human mental and physical health to be WAREHOUSED. Under one picture of someone looking out from a window: &#039
        The units have no balconies and windows that only open a small amount.'. No wonder some complain there is no fresh air, and also they say there is no sunlight. When you see how closely the huge blocks stand together, it is plain that there would never be sunlight in some of them. There isn't any room for it to angle into any of the rooms.

        https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-06/why-melbourne-locked-down-public-towers-are-a-coronavirus-worry/12423934

        This is an unpleasant note from officialdom's view of the public housing lockdown, that they are places where viruses may be "incubating":

        "This is not just a matter of 23- to 30-odd people, this is a matter of many hundreds who have already been exposed and who may already be incubating," Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen said on Saturday.

        Some of them may be nearly starving soon.

        …It was only when Tekeste Hailu tried to leave his building that he realised he was one of 3,000 people in mandatory lockdown.
        Mr Hailu, 27, lives with his grandmother in public housing on Racecourse Rd, one of nine Melbourne buildings that was placed into sudden "hard lockdown" on Saturday afternoon.
        But the first Mr Hailu was told was when he tried to leave to buy groceries, only to be greeted by "the whole building surrounded by police".

        …Hulya Selin, who lives with her young son in a two-bedroom apartment on the 12th floor of a tower on Racecourse Road, said losing her freedom removed was "scary"….
        Ms Selin said by 10:000am Sunday, 18 hours after the lockdown began, no-one had come to the door to provide her with any information or food.
        She first heard about the lockdown from a post on Facebook.
        "I went downstairs just to check if this was all true and there were so many police officers there at that point," she said.
        "I actually spoke to one of the officers and he said the only information they had was that no-one is allowed out."
        She said she was told by an officer later that having food delivered was OK, but when the delivery worker arrived, they were not allowed near the building…

        Other comment: There have also been concerns raised about the lack of information in languages other than English.
        By late on Saturday night, Mr Hailu said he was yet to see any professional health workers, social workers or interpreters to support the hundreds of residents in his building….

        Residents from three separate towers said it was common for lifts in the high-rise buildings to be out of order on a regular basis, meaning there was one way up and down the buildings [the stairs] for hundreds of residents.
        Jenny said she took the stairs because she was "fit and young", but that was impossible for many others.

        Is this high-rise nightmare what Auckland will try to come up with, having mismanaged its residential requirements for so long, and letting developers play housie with what are commodities to them, but expensive essential services to the peeps?

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

        …The most visible legacy of the Commission is the 47 or so high-rise apartment towers in inner Melbourne, all built using the same pre-cast concrete panel technology. ..
        Approximately 27 of these precast concrete 20 to 30 storey height buildings were constructed around Melbourne, until the type of development fell into disrepute. By 1970 nearly 4000 privately owned dwellings had been compulsory acquired and replaced by nearly 7000 high rise flats..

  16. aj 16

    Since there is so much fevered speculation that 'China done it' …

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300050250/coronavirus-pandemic-may-not-have-started-in-china-experts-say

    Either way, let's hope science keep the debate honest, rather than conspiracy theory.

    • Just Is 16.1

      aj

      I think it will be sometime before we have sufficient evidence to categorically rule, in or out, China's involvement in this global pandemic, there certainly is plenty of speculation, but I'll wait for tangible evidence before I make up my mind

  17. xanthe 17

    quote from RNZ

    "Nationally, Spain's outbreak has been essentially brought under control."

    now they only just a teensy bit pregnant

  18. ianmac 18

    As an aside I am intrigued by the use of "apace." Dr Bloomfield used it in his reports a number of times. "Development in that process is happening apace." Now I have heard "apace" being used in news reports several times recently. How cute is that?

    The Government is developing post Covid policies apace.

    • ScottGN 18.1

      Haha. Would that be a-payce or ahparchay?

    • Adrian 18.2

      Is it an old English abbreviation of "at pace ". You were a school teacher Ian, give us a lesson. Cheers.

      • ianmac 18.2.1

        I am very retiring Adrian. At pace. O'clock. (Of the clock) Must be others around. But I like the idea that a great Public Servant can insert an old word word into the consciousness and usage of others.

      • mac1 18.2.2

        Funnily, I used the word to describe the remediation work, mentioned in 14.4., in an email today as "continuing apace".

        It is the opposite in meaning to 'soon' which is, in the great Irish joke, similar in meaning to 'manãnã' but 'without the same sense of urgency'!

        • ianmac 18.2.2.1

          Thought it meant quickly:

          LITERARY

          1. swiftly; quickly.

            "work continues apace"

            Similar: quickly fast swiftly rapidly speedily

          That's what I thought it meantsmiley

          • Adrian 18.2.2.1.1

            I always thought it meant "in a measured way " ie not fast and not slow.

            Language history is fascinating, I wish I had paid more attention in school instead of just doodling and eating my lunch.

          • mac1 18.2.2.1.2

            You're right, of course, ianmac. I just wanted to get a joke in. 'Never let the truth stand in the way of a good joke', as they say. You, of course, might respond that you're still waiting…….

    • Sacha 18.3

      apace in Thorndon circles means at a recklessly normal speed for everyone else. 🙂

  19. Dennis Frank 19

    Biden's way of choosing his running mate: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/30/biden-vice-president-346149

    The selection committee, advisers say, hasn’t finished assembling a final shortlist of candidates for consideration by Biden, who has made it clear he’ll take his time and make his selection by Aug. 1 based on his personal relationship with the candidate and how “simpatico” they are.

    The foundation’s research also shows that women are generally viewed as having more empathy and being multi-taskers who are perceived as having a “virtue advantage” over men because they’re more trustworthy…

    in 2018, a record number of women were elected to Congress, and many won by emphasizing their personal life experience instead of just political experience.

    • Treetop 19.1

      I gave the running mate a thought the other day. Needs to be energetic, able to be presidential and in the early fifties or late forties of African American heritage.

      Physically I doubt Trump would last another term and Pence is not visible or able to have a different point of view than Trump.

      • Dennis Frank 19.1.1

        I mentioned the other day the likelihood of Biden dying in office. Feasibility of that scenario would be driving the advice from long-time Democrat stalwarts. So the non-white woman he selects has to be tough enough to survive & prosper in the top job. And already seen as such by those who matter (in the liberal US establishment).

        I assume Biden is open to advice from Hilary Clinton on that. Her life-long progression from ultra-conservative to democrat proves her capacity to transcend established political categories in a life-transforming way. Her selection of a short list of candidates for Biden would be extremely useful. Probably the first time I've ever written something favourable about that woman! 🙃

        • Treetop 19.1.1.1

          I am neutral on the gender for Vice President. What is important is the manifesto to address inequality and injustice.

        • Morrissey 19.1.1.2

          I assume Biden is open to advice from Hilary Clinton frown on that. Her life-long progression from ultra-conservative to democrat surpriseproves her capacity to transcend established political categories in a life-transforming way. sad

          She backed Biden's horrific Crime Bill in 1994, and denounced black teenagers as "predators." She and her husband started the racist allegation, taken up with a vengeance by Donald Trump, that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. After the horrific death of Colonel Gaddafi—U.S./U.K.-supported Islamist fanatics sodomized him with swords—she laughed her head off about it: "He came, he saw, he DID!"

          Where's the "life-transforming" part about her?

          • Dennis Frank 19.1.1.2.1

            Where's the "life-transforming" part about her?

            Going from Goldwater Girl to Democrat Senator. Obviously! I suspect you're just playing dumb, of course, but sometimes people do need to have the obvious pointed out to them. You're welcome. 😉

  20. Muttonbird 20

    Queensland's finest, Pauline Hanson: ‘Drug addict’ refugees to blame for lockdown.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12345818

    • Just Is 20.1

      Yea, it's an impediment, the same one Trump has.

      Neither have any idea what the definition of Diplomacy is.

      Both get the same reactions to their statements, you either love them or hate them, not much inbetween.

  21. Sacha 21

    Article surveying some current NZ stances on tax (includes the usual silliness) https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/122025044/tax-is-back-how-do-you-fix-a-49-billion-hole

    • Gabby 22.1

      'Close to' 10 in 18 months (ie not even 10)? Jeez Comrade Colonel, let someone else get a word in.

  22. joe90 23

    Deliberate, pervasive cruelty.

    But her emails.

    /

    https://twitter.com/D_historyMan/status/1279939327963906049

    Once sung by descendants of the 7th Cavalry, Irish air "Garrymore" will no longer cause pain for Native Americans.

    “Garryowen,” an Irish drinking song with a marching cadence, is to Native Americans what “Deutschland Uber Alles” is to Jews, a hated reminder of the evil past.

    “Garryowen” was the marching song of the 7th Cavalry and the infamous Lt Colonel George Custer when they massacred native American villages in the all-out campaign in the 1870s to rid the plains and the west of “redskins.” The tune was played quite deliberately right before attacks.

    '

    https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/ireland-song-garryowen-banned-custer

  23. Chris 25

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/122019615/the-greens-bear-responsibility-for-capitulation-to-nz-first-and-big-fish

    How does this sort of nonsensical trash get past the editors at Stuff?

    "The Greens elect their list on an internal party ballot, which means party members prefer Swarbrick over a minister with tangible results under her belt. And if party members think this way, their voters must be even more ambivalent about real policy wins."

    This idiot's whole theory is based on one totally illogical assumption, which is that the way the party determines its list means that Green voters don't care value policy wins. There's a lot of truth in the view that sees only three kinds of right winger, which are eitther stupid, nasty or both.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    2 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    5 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    6 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    7 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    8 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    11 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    14 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    16 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    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
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    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
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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 ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    4 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
    9 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
    11 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
    12 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
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T08:34:10+00:00