Open mike 06/03/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 6th, 2012 - 57 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 link to Policy in the banner).

Step right up to the mike…

57 comments on “Open mike 06/03/2012 ”

  1. tc 1

    No politics section in today’s online Herald, of course nothing of merit to report at all so replace it with fluff and other passing issues. Are their shills struggling to create content and spin around the latest blatant ‘ f you’ to the electorate by the NACT.

    • ScottGN 1.1

      Further to this did I miss the Digipoll the Herald usually runs to coincide with the start of the new parliamentary session or did they not bother this year? Also (though it’s hard to believe it’s possible) TVNZ’s political coverage seems to be even more useless than it used to be.

      • Ianupnorth 1.1.1

        This is on their web page – must relate to national’s tough stance on crime and their investment in justice?
        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10790077

        Police bosses are considering laying off staff and closing some stations in an effort to save $360 million over the next three years.
        The staff cuts would include police officers and non-sworn staff.
        Commissioner Peter Marshall is not commenting on the proposal, but says frontline policing resources will not be reduced.

        Oh good, frontline services will improve with a slashing of support! Yeah Right….

  2. Carol 2

    Meanwhile Stuff has a few significant articles today:

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6527665/26k-for-3-day-McCully-fly-by

    accompanied by a poll asking if this trip is worth the money

    A very significant artilce of asset sales:

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6527608/Law-won-t-give-Kiwis-first-rights-to-shares
    and another artcle on, what amounts to, the Maori Party major sell-out on asset sales:

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6527609/SOEs-Waitangi-lite-but-coalition-tight

    • Tigger 2.1

      What a shameful end for the Maori Party. 

    • johnm 2.2

      Hi Carol Re asset sales and the general picture worldwide:

      The decline phase of I.C. (Industrial Civilisation) sounds momentous eh!? continues to collapse to a simpler less rich for the 99% level while the 1% aided by the likes of shonkey and dunny paper shore up their nests with aquiring real assets rather than paper junk!

      More Proof the World Is Going to Hell
      Get a Proper Job, Says Michael C. Ruppert

      By Andy Capper

      money is only a symbol for what energy can do.

      Michael C. Ruppert: The only education worth taking a loan out for now is a practical trade. Do something that will help you stay alive. Industrial society is collapsing and there will be no recovery. We are past peak oil and nobody can deny that.

      There is a 96 percent correlation between GDP growth and greenhouse gas emissions, which means there can be no [economic] recovery without burning oil and coal. China is scrambling all over the world for coal because their factories are closing down because they rely on coal for energy.

      There are reports that the British police are starting to militarise. More weapons and armoured vehicles (like the Jankel Guardian pictured below) are being acquired, and officers are receiving SAS training tactics. The mainstream press says this is to protect people from a Mumbai-style terror attack, but the concern at ground level is that when the UK’s economy really hits the skids there is going to be a new form of extreme rioting that the country has never seen before.
      That is going to happen all over Europe. There is a catch-22 in progress for police departments who are being cut back globally due to budget issues, in places by as much as 50 percent, yet still have the mandate to keep order.

      Link: http://www.collapsenet.com/free-resources/collapsenet-public-access/news-alerts/item/6773-get-a-proper-job-michael-c-ruppert

  3. Arthur 4

    Doesn’t Phil O’Reilly know that workers may also be “mums and dads”.

  4. Richard Boock posts the obvious truth about the keyman

    “every time Key opts to avoid what the rest of us regard as the blindingly obvious, he becomes a little more of a hollow man; a PM without answers, a leader without a vision. A bloke who’s just realised the world he once knew doesn’t exist anymore. And that it won’t be returning.

    A complete banker, just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/blogs/an-auckland-minute/6526335/John-Key-Dishonest-or-deluded

    • rosy 5.1

      A work of beauty, that article. Thanks for linking it…

      Yes, some folk will point to Key’s comments over the Government’s “sinking lid” policy for pokie machines. They need to think more about that. If the numbers of machines are being forced to decrease nationally, yet SkyCity’s are allowed to increase, then not only is Key selling policy advantages to the casino, he’s also selling a competitive advantage. The rules will be bent in return for a favour. Not much different from the days of brown paper bags filled with money, really.

      I was having a real rant about this to my partner. Great to see it articulated so clearly.

  5. Can anyone tell me why Statistics NZ’s series on work stoppages stops in December 2010.  There is no 2011 data.  Have they stopped collecting or posting the data?  Or am I missing something?
     
    This year’s spike will make fascinating reading.

    • andy (the other one) 6.1

      May be quake related. Stats NZ building was stuffed quite early on and seem to remember that loads of info and data were trapped in red zone and not backed up off site.

  6. gareth 7

    We don’t know how lucky we are as workers in NZ and it’s easy to forget gains hard one by our forebears through unions and sacrifice. Without them we would no doubt be in a similar situations to the people outlined below…

    My wife is from eastern Europe and her family still live there so often I here first hand how bad things are getting employment wise.
    Her father who is relatively high up the chain as a head engineer at a heating plant was told if he takes a holiday this year not to come back because he won’t have a job to come back to, It seems that the company owner is insisting that all workers give up their paid holidays for the foreseeable future.
    Her Mother works for a company doing work related to EU funds she is a project manager on @ 500nzd per month working 60 hour weeks, Her boss recently awarded himself a $100,000 euro bonus on winning a multi million dollar contract
    The other common theme is that people just aren’t getting paid at all or only a fraction of what they should be.
    Unfortunately with no protection, no help and desperation people are to scared of losing what little income they have they put with this shit. I get the impression tensions are rising and the shit may really hit the fan over the next few years with corruption endemic and poverty ever increasing.

    Also of interest French banks are moving there labour force over to her country as someone will do for $250 nz per week that someone in France was doing for $1500 nz and thanks to the wonders of the internet and call centre tech to the average customer you would assume you were dealing with someone in France.

  7. freedom 8

    Whilst everyone looks over their neighbour’s fence and belatedly wakes up to the Asset Sales debacle, we miss the dissembled denial of everyones’ right to a safe and just society. There are thousands of books that have been written which speak most plainly how freedom of the press is all that stands between society and slavery.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6526793/Surveillance-bill-to-target-privilege

    • Uturn 8.1

      Freedom of the press: perpetrate creation and maintenance of stereotype; support free market ideology; embark on trial-by-media circumventions of justice; publish distract and delay, designed to be addictive, badly researched, unprofessional, opinion as fact, racist delusions on a daily basis.

      Yeah, don’t really think our media needs any more “freedom”. They seem to be complaining that one of them might have to find some courage, stand up for what a real fourth estate might be and risk going to prison.

      I can see it now, the office-bound hero abandoned by shameful doe-eyed collegues and editors- in-chief, betraying them and shrugging their shoulders; all of them more interested in selling the story of the persecuted journalist than the story the journalist was chasing. Bunch of jackles and weasels the lot.

      With our imaginary fourth estate gone, finally, and good riddance, something new can take it’s place, most likely beginning in the blogosphere; but if laws change to stop that, then maybe a return to printing presses and community meetings.

      • freedom 8.1.1

        I completely agree what we currently consume is the editorial equivalent of fast food. I sincerely wish people would walk away from the neon lit queues of factless fodder and head home to a table laden with the real food our forebearers had so earnestly fought for. Even if most of the ideas they were fighting and fighting for, were themselves myths and lies.

        That does not alter the stark reality that this shift is designed to silence those who may speak out. It is not about the Journalist. They gave up any right to be respected long ago. It is absolutely about the whistleblower. The single voice that has the strength to speak truth to power.

        The threat of exposure and the ensuing melee inevitably extinguish the career the health, at times the family and even the very life of the whistleblower. This course of events has regularly been shown to be a very effective muzzle in despotic regimes and free democracies alike. The idea that secrecy is only for Governments has been and continues to be a core poison to the consumers of real and true democracy.

        Truth is now a minuscule smattering of seeds left on a vast banquet table of frozen TV dinners.
        Seeds that every corporate owned government on this planet work so diligently against propogating. Simple seeds that they never again want to see planted in the rich soil of freedom.

  8. rosy 9

    Good to see Rush Limbaugh getting his comeuppance for his word vomit at Sandra Fluke, after she testifying in Congress to support access to contraceptives under medical insurance.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/mar/05/rush-limbaugh-sincerely-sorry-aol

    Advertisers began pulling their support immediately after the comments. Limbaugh apologised over the weekend for the attack, but immediately ran into more trouble as critics charged that his apology was insincere.

    “I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress,” he wrote on his website. “My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologise to Ms Fluke for the insulting word choices.”

    Fluke told ABC’s The View that Limbaugh had been trying to silence her. She rejected the apology: “I don’t think that a statement like this, issued saying that his choice of words was not the best, changes anything. Especially when that statement is issued when he’s under significant pressure from his sponsors, who have begun to pull support from his show.”

    Hopefully he’ll be taken off air, given his track record.

  9. http://whoar.co.nz/2012/spying-on-the-koch-brothers/

    “…Inside the discreet retreat where the elite meet to plot Barack Obama’s defeat…”

    phil-at-whoar.

    • Uturn 10.1

      … however they have yet to come up against Stan the man with the tan van who has the golden an…

  10. Morrissey 11

    http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/22682-affco-workers-air-safety-concerns.html

    Affco workers air safety concerns
    Posted at 11:45am Tuesday 06th Mar, 2012

    Meat workers at the latest Affco plant to be locked out are concerned new workers’ safety is being put at risk to undermine the union.

    Talley’s locked out 200 workers at the Rangiuru freezing works near Te Puke at 5am, taking the total number of locked out meat workers nationwide to 1000.

    There are 150 workers striking in solidarity with the workers outside the plant with over 750 striking at the company’s seven other North Island plants. The company locked out 750 workers last Wednesday and previously said it wouldn’t lock out any more workers.

    The Rangiuru site president for the Meat Workers Union is Kaipara McGarvey, 47, from Tuhoe, and he is a lamb cutter. “This dispute isn’t about pay or anything like that, it’s about getting rid of the union,” he says. “Talley’s is a well-known anti-union company and we all feel it’s pretty low that they’d stoop to putting new workers’ safety at risk just to undermine us.”

    Rakai Tamihana, 39, from Nga Tamanuihiri, is a boner in his third season. He joined the union when he started in 2010 and was quickly approached by the company. “The company pressured me out of the union and put my safety at risk to undermine union workers,” he says. “They took me into a room and offered me $1000 and three per cent pay rise to pull out; then they put me on the slaughterfloor without any training where I got an electric shock from the railing.

    “I felt like a guinea pig – they only put me there to create division with the skilled workers who were all in the union.”

    Rariri Potaka, 48, from Ngati Waitaha, has worked at the plant for 18 years. He is a supervisor (leader hand) on mutton slaughter.

    “I was threatened with disciplinary action for refusing to put a new starter who had only been at the plant four hours on the chain,” he says. “Mutton slaughter is a dangerous job and we don’t wear protective clothing or mesh gloves because of contamination issues. I was willing to put my job on the line so I wouldn’t risk the workers’ safety.”

    Potaka says new staff are labourers and usually work up to skilled jobs through years of training.

    http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/22682-affco-workers-air-safety-concerns.html

    • Vicky32 11.1

      Potaka says new staff are labourers and usually work up to skilled jobs through years of training.

      Good on him! But the whole thing is evil…

  11. For those that can get past the fact this is about something on Kiwiblog and involves Judith Collins this is well worth noting.

    It also involves Charles Chauvel:

    It is clear that this is a much better bill. There are significant modifications to the proposed surveillance device regime, better regulation of the more intrusive forms of surveillance that were originally proposed, a reduction in the warrantless surveillance period, better rules over the retention of data, stronger reporting requirements for surveillance device warrants, and better controls over examination and production orders.

    So it is absolutely the case that Parliament did what it is expected to do via the select committee process on this measure. It did look at the detail. The parties worked together and they did produce a better bill.

    High praise for the side of parliament we don’t hear much about – where much of the actual work is done.

    Charles also says:

    The Minister and I met yesterday. She wrote to me today, and I accept her good-faith attempt to try to resolve these problems, and in passing I should say that, in respect of at least two other measures I can think of, I appreciate the approach she has already shown in this portfolio.

    She is willing to stand back and take a look at whether a measure is really necessary and whether or not it really commands stakeholder support, and if it does not she is willing to give it another look, and that is something that ought to be said for the record.

    And David Parker:

    I repeat the thanks that have been expressed by my colleague Charles Chauvel for the way in which the National Party conducted itself at the Justice and Electoral Committee. The committee was chaired by Chester Borrows.

    The Search and Surveillance Bill is one of the most complex and difficult pieces of legislation that I have considered in any select committee since I have been in Parliament. It is one in which the select committee took very seriously the proper balance between the protection of civil liberties and the necessary powers to be afforded to State agencies to investigate criminal conduct.

    Sounds like it’s well done by all involved, on a very tricky and contentious bit of legislation.

    DPF calls it Rare Praise. I hope we can get to see this approach as normal.

    • Pascal's bookie 12.1

      In response to the concerns of some groups, the 7-year threshold means that examination orders are not available to investigate such crimes as protesting, trespass, disorderly behaviour or unlawful assembly. -Judith Collins

      such crimes as protestingThat’s a hell of a freudian slip.

  12. Professor Longhair 13

    http://www.medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=668:iran-next-in-line-for-western-intervention&catid=25:alerts-2012&Itemid=69

    Iran – Next In Line For Western ‘Intervention’?
    Media Lens, March 01, 2012

    What would it take for journalists to seriously challenge government propaganda? A war with over one million dead, four million refugees, a country’s infrastructure shattered, and the increased threat of retail ‘terror’ in response to the West’s wholesale ‘terror’? How horrifying do even very recent experiences have to be, how great the war crimes, before media professionals begin to exhibit scepticism towards Western governments’ hyping of yet another ‘threat’. Why is warmongering the default mode for the corporate media?

    [deleted]

    [lprent: We’re not a cut’n’paste site. We’re interested in what you have to say and you appear to be somewhat laconic. It’d pay not to be in the future. We boot people who are incapable of expressing themselves.

    If you are going to quote something, then use blockquote or italics to make it clear what is yours and what is someone elses. Only quote small relevant section(s) and as you did, put a link in. Then people can go to the link if you have interested them enough. And read the policy. ]

  13. vto 14

    The question has been quietly asked in Chch about the efforts of rescuers following Feb 22 and whether mistakes had been made that resulted in deaths. It is hoped the Royal Commission is considering this (which is not an attack on the rescuers, merely a legitimate questioning of the methods, policies etc which guided them).

    This article http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6530540/Inept-rescue-effort-blamed-for-deaths appears today which clearly indicates the question is real and serious.

    • vto 15.1

      Excellent.

      The needs of the people come before the desires of the money-lenders.

      It is this concept which is strangely alien to Key and corps.

  14. Peter 16

    NACT Budget Blow Out

    “Treasury says the government’s corporate tax take may miss forecasts for the rest of the financial year, leaving the Crown vulnerable to a bigger-than-expected annual deficit. : Todays NZ Herald

    Hang on, Key and Co have done all they can to shrink Government and lay the conditions they believe support the business sector. When are the corporates going to contribute their fair share?

    • Ianupnorth 16.1

      Never whilst key is in charge

    • Herodotus 16.2

      And from this http://nz.finance.yahoo.com/news/nz-corporate-tax-dwindle-2012-214756006.html
      “…and the Debt Management Office has slipped behind the run-rate needed to meet this year’s bond programme to raise $13.5 billion”. We ae having sporting slang now being applied to the govts finances. Next there will be the required run rate graph, when we are well behind the required rate worry as then it will be obvious that no one will want to loan to us and our only option will be asset sales …… mmmmm
      I gather this deficit is whythere is such a slash and burn attitude towards govt departments- refer to the rumoured cutting of the police budget and the resulting loss of front line staff- Cannot wait for SST outbusrts to follow 😉

  15. Ianupnorth 17

    Here’s another National mistruth blown out of the water
     
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10790179
     

    Unpaid interns are among the 800 extra doctors the Government says it has hired since taking office, with a union calling the figure “misleading”.
    The Resident Doctors Association says Health Minister Tony Ryall’s figure for the number of doctors hired since National took office in 2008 includes house surgeons, house officers, probationers and interns.
    The union’s national president Curtis Walker said it was wrong for the figure to include interns, who were in their last year of training at university and were not registered doctors.
    “To include interns as new doctors is incorrect and misleading to the public,” he said.

     
    So those frontline staff are actually unpaid students, thanks Tony Pink Tie!

    • Ianupnorth 17.1

      And another – 2000 more nurses!! Another lie
      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10789874
       

      • McFlock 17.1.1

        And pretty outright lies, too – doctors and I believe nurses need not only to have completed specific qualifications, but to be registered as well.
                  
        That’s just desperate. If he repeats the claim in the House, it would be contempt or whatever MPs get done for.

        • tc 17.1.1.1

          Under Lockwood they get a stern look at a see me after sitting note whe they probably get told off for making his job tougher.

          And the MSM sit by and do jack along with the opposition who are paid to front up and call him out of these lies…..a sense of futility grows.

    • Vicky32 17.2

      The Resident Doctors Association says Health Minister Tony Ryall’s figure for the number of doctors hired since National took office in 2008 includes house surgeons, house officers, probationers and interns.

      I was reading Ryall’s excuses in the Herald last night.. Disgusting!

  16. burt 18

    Stuff: Wharfies ordered to unload ship

    OMG – Told to do their job…. where will it end !

    But seriously, what has happened in the past when a ship has arrived from a port that didn’t have union workers affiliated to the NZ Labour party ? Has it been unloaded or do these guys really have the mafia style control they think they have ?

    • KJT 18.1

      Once upon a time workers had a legal right to withdraw their labour. A right which still exists in the rest of the “free” world.
       
      In NZ even the industrial action taken by Sam Purnell in Wellington for a 40 hour week would be illegal today.
       
      Why should they work a ship loaded by scabs?
       
      A ship which is itself manned by scab labour. Undercutting NZ rates of pay and taking NZ jobs. Without even getting into the safety issues and risks attached to Flag of Convenience shipping.

      • burt 18.1.1

        Once upon a time workers had a legal right to withdraw their labour.

        Nothing stopping them withdrawing their labour – they can resign !

        Why should they work a ship loaded by scabs?

        I though their job was unloading ships not playing Labour party politics…..

      • burt 18.1.2

        KJT

        May I suggest the best course of action would seem to be for the unions and their associates to setup their own port. Purchase their own port infrastructure and staff it. They would then have full control over which ships come and go via that port.

        • rosy 18.1.2.1

          Isn’t work a transaction between the owners of financial capital and the owners of work capital, based on an agreement? If that agreement is changed don’t both parties have the right to withdraw from the transaction? – Owners of financial capital can sack bad workers, or if they can’t pay for work agree on terms to cancel the contract (redundancy). If the owners of work capital find the agreement is being broken by the owners of financial capital they have the right to withdraw their work in the same way. It’s not a subordinate relationship – it’s an agreement.

          As for a setting up their own port, why don’t the owners of financial capital do their own work then they wouldn’t have to worry about agreements with the owners of work capital? Better still why not both sides come to an agreement to set up a cooperative?

          • burt 18.1.2.1.1

            rosy

            Yes there is an agreement between the owners of capital (the port) and the owners of labour (the workers). It’s called an employment contract. It’s the thing the employment court has ruled on.

            Now if the employment contract explicitly said the workers were withing their rights to pick and choose which vessels they work on based on the work place associations of the people that loaded them – then I suspect the employment court would have ruled in their favour.

            If the owners of labour (the workers) don’t like the work they are required to do under their contract then they can certainly withdraw their labour. But to do that, they need to actually withdraw their labour – resign. They can’t simply tell the owners of capital (the port) that they have made up a new employment condition and expect it to stand. This is evidenced by the employment court ruling that they must get back to work… or I guess resign.

            • rosy 18.1.2.1.1.1

              Resign? It’s just as easy to say that if Employers can’t manage a dispute they could sell up to more competent providers of capital or the management could resign – It depends on whether the workers and businesses would prefer that to renegotiating the agreement. Generally I’d expect both employers and workers would work on the principle that they would prefer an agreement with the current workers/businesses Often it suits no-one for any other outcome.

              The only reason the employers are trying this on is because of high unemployment, in a tight labour market I doubt you’d see the same thing happening. And before you say it… yes workers should maintain the principle of negotiating a fair agreement in a tight labour market, and in the past there have been some occasions when they haven’t. This is not a case of holding port management to ransom – it’s fighting to maintain conditions from a base of proven productivity.

              And in terms of the Wellington port workers & the Employment Court (a different, albeit related issue), I don’t see that workers are being unreasonable.

              This morning, Maritime Union Wellington secretary Mike Clark said workers would comply with any court ruling. “You can’t disobey a court order.”

              • burt

                rosy

                You can’t call their tactics fair and honourable when they are overturned by a court as being illegal. The union have lawyers – they must have know they were acting illegally.

                How would we be talking about the port if their actions were thrown out in a court – we would call them scum…

                • rosy

                  I didn’t call the actions fair or honourable, I said not unreasonable…and who’s ‘we’? I don’t think I’ve read you using the word ‘scum’ in the context of poor employers. And It’s not a word I use.

                  The situation with the Auckland port management actions is completely different, btw.

                  • burt

                    Yes the situation with Auckland is entirely different. So WTF did the Wellington workers think they were doing ?

        • KJT 18.1.2.2

          They did.
           
          Once upon a time. It was called State ownership.
           
          Like the power companies, our roads, NZ rail etc etc. the Unions and their associates, the former Labour party, paid for and set up.
           
          Unfortunately, we did too good a job and made them too attractive to RWNJ thieves.

          Those who are too incompetent and gutless to start a real business for themselves want to steal ours!

          • burt 18.1.2.2.1

            Once upon a time. It was called State ownership.

            Yes in a fairy tale the state was the union….. And they all lived happily ever after….

            The state isn’t one-in-the-same as the trade unions. The trade unions may be the funding arm of one political party – but they are not the state.

            Those who are too incompetent and gutless to start a real business for themselves want to control someone else’s….

            • rosy 18.1.2.2.1.1

              Those who are too incompetent and gutless to start a real business for themselves want to control someone else’s….
              Jeez, I’d Love to hear you say that to the next engineer or doctor you meet.

              • burt

                Sure, if I meet a Doctor that decides that they won’t treat me because I’m not a union member or an engineer who refuses his services because I’m not a union member then I’ll certainly tell them they have crossed the line. I’ll find another doctor or another engineer. In the case of the doctor I’d also lay a complaint.

                Doctors take an oath to preserve life – they put that ahead of all else. Engineers are required to act within established standards and guidelines…

                I’m not sure what your point is – the port workers have in this case decided that their employment contract terms can be varied based on something the port has no control over – how is that even comparable to an engineer or a doctor ?

                • Colonial Viper

                  Doctors are smart and have their own unions you moron, very effective unions they are too.

                  • burt

                    So when did the doctors union insist that doctors classify patients according to their union affiliations…. of that’s right – DR’s are smart and don’t make up the rules as they go along…. The patient comes first – their disputes second. Shame you couldn’t find a better way to make yourself look like a tool.

                    Bringing the doctors union into this really isn’t helping the port workers…..

                    • Colonial Viper

                      True. Smashing the Board and POAL management is the only thing left at this point.

  17. Jim Nald 19

    Has Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia sold their souls? To John Key? How much? And for what end?

    http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/iwi-leader-calls-maori-party-leave-coalition-4761842

    Gee, Pita, can you really hear yourself these days? And actually even believe in what you say?

    http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20120306-0812-harawira_urges_maori_party_to_quit_government_over_asset_sales-048.mp3

  18. logie97 20

    Power sharing.

    Apparently we are being offered something we already own and given that the government is responsible for getting a best possible return on its revenue for its citizens, ummm now, if the assets are really such a good buy and investment, can one assume that the government will be first in line to buy them when they offer them for sale … duh

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    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    8 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
    11 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
    22 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    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
    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
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 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
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days 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
    4 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
    6 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
    7 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
    20 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
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