Open mike 07/12/2022
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- Aotearoa New Zealand as a “little experiment”. The rights, wrongs & other wrongs of ...
At first blush, Christopher Luxon’s comment at the parliamentary powhiri at Waitangi this year sounded tone deaf. The Leader of the Opposition in talking about the Treaty of Waitangi described New Zealand as “a little experiment”. It seemed to diminish the treaty and the very idea of our nation. Yet ...1 hour ago - Industrial marvel, bought with blood
by Don Franks While on holiday,I stayed a few days in Scotland with a friend who showed me one of the country’s great working-class achievements. It was a few miles out of central Edinburgh, a huge cantilever bridge across the river Forth. The Forth Bridge was the first major structure ...24 hours ago - 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #5
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 29, 2023 thru Sat, Feb 4, 2023. Story of the Week Social change more important than physical tipping points 1.5-degree Goal not plausible Photo: CLICCS / Universität Hamburg Limiting global warming ...1 day ago - Making It Look Easy.
So Long - And Thanks For All The Fish: In the two-and-a-bit years since Jacinda Ardern’s electoral triumph of 2020, virtually every decision she made had gone politically awry. In the minds of many thousands of voters a chilling metamorphosis had taken place. The Faerie Queen had become the Wicked ...1 day ago - Misleading Headlines
The Herald’s headline writers are at it again! A sensible and balanced piece by Liam Dann on the battle against inflation carries a headline that suggests that NZ is doing worse than the rest of the world. Check it out and see for yourself if I am right. Is this ...1 day ago - The people behind Workers Now
Workers Now is a new slate of candidates contesting this year’s general election. James Robb and Don Franks are the people behind this initiative and they are hoping to put the spotlight on working people’s interests. Both are seasoned activists who have campaigned for workers’ rights over many decades. Here is ...2 days ago - Cranky Uncle could use your help to learn more languages!Our Cranky Uncle Game can already be played in eight languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. About 15 more languages are in the works at various stages of completion or have been offered to be done. To kick off the new year, we checked with how ...2 days ago
- Co-governance
The (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding.Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It refers to ‘government’ on ...3 days ago - Climate Change: The emissions deficit
In March last year, in a panic over rising petrol prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government made a poor decision, "temporarily" cutting fuel excise tax by 25 cents a litre. Of course, it turned out not to be temporary at all, having been extended in May, July, ...3 days ago - Political Roundup: 3 February 2023
CO-GOVERNANCE, WAITANGI, THREE WATERS Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Blowing Off The Froth: Why Chris Hipkins Must Ditch Three Waters Audrey Young (Herald): What iwi leaders will tell Chris Hipkins about co-governance(paywalled) Michael Neilson (Herald): Waitangi 2023: PM Chris Hipkins and National’s Christopher Luxon to be tested by Māori leaders in ...3 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #5 2023Open access notables Via PNAS, Ceylan, Anderson & Wood present a paper squarely in the center of the Skeptical Science wheelhouse: Sharing of misinformation is habitual, not just lazy or biased. The signficance statement is obvious catnip: Misinformation is a worldwide concern carrying socioeconomic and political consequences. What drives ...3 days ago
- Blowing Off The Froth: Why Chris Hipkins Must Ditch Three Waters.Time To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Minister’s direction of travel – already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta – must be confirmed by an emphatic ...3 days ago
- Universities that punish reading – even of books from their own librariesMark White from the Left free speech organisation Plebity looks at the disturbing trend of ‘book burning’ on US campuses In the abstract, people mostly agree that book banning is a bad thing. The Nazis did us the favor of being very clear about it and literally burning books, but ...4 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on extending the fuel/public transport subsidies
As PM Chris Hipkins says, it’s a “no brainer” to extend the fuel tax cut, half price public subsidy and the cut to the road user levy until mid-year. A no braoner if the prime purpose is to ease the burden on people struggling to cope with the cost of ...4 days ago - The escalator rises againOne of the most effective, and successful, graphics developed by Skeptical Science is the escalator. The escalator shows how global surface temperature anomalies vary with time, and illustrates how "contrarians" tend to cherry-pick short time intervals so as to argue that there has been no recent warming, while "realists" recognise ...4 days ago
- Mike’s Cracked RecordPoor Mike Hosking. He has revealed himself in his most recent diatribe to be one of those public figures who is defined, not by who he is, but by who he isn’t, or at least not by what he is for, but by what he is against. Jacinda’s departure has ...4 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Chris Hipkins hires a lobbyist to run the BeehiveNew Zealand is the second least corrupt country on earth according to the latest Corruption Perception Index published yesterday by Transparency International. But how much does this reflect reality? The problem with being continually feted for world-leading political integrity – which the Beehive and government departments love to boast about ...4 days ago
- “With great power comes great responsibility”: we’ve all heard that, but stepping up to it is ...
They say a week is a long time in politics. For Mayor Wayne Brown, turns out 24 hours was long enough for many of us to see, quite obviously, “something isn’t right here…”. That in fact, a lot was going wrong. Very wrong indeed. Mainly because it turns ...5 days ago - E-bike incentives workCurrently the government's strategy for reducing transport emissions hinges on boosting vehicle fuel-efficiency, via the clean car standard and clean car discount, and some improvements to public transport. The former has been hugely successful, and has clearly set us on the right path, but its also not enough, and will ...5 days ago
- 24,000 employed under LabourThe quarterly labour market statistics were released this morning, showing that unemployment has risen slightly to 3.4%. There are now 99,000 people unemployed - 24,000 fewer than when Labour took office. So, I guess the Reserve Bank's plan to throw people out of work to stop wage rises "inflation", and ...5 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Hipkins’ bread and butter reshufflePrime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular reforms in water and DHB centralisation ...5 days ago
- 2023 More Reading: January (+ Old Phuul Update)
Completed reads for January Lilith, by George MacDonald The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Christabel (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, by Anonymous The Lay of Kraka (poem), by Anonymous 1066 and All That, by W.C. Sellar and R.J. ...6 days ago - After The Deluge.On that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth.Genesis 6:11-12THE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS that dumped a record-breaking amount of rain on Auckland this anniversary weekend will reoccur with ever-increasing frequency. The planet’s atmosphere is ...6 days ago
- The other ‘big one’: How a megaflood could swamp California’s Central ValleyThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters When early settlers came to the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers before the California Gold Rush, Indigenous people warned them that the Sacramento Valley could become an inland sea when great winter rains came. The storytellers described water filling the ...6 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: The Gamechanger PM and pollsLast night’s opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins has changed everything, and Labour is back ...6 days ago
- Ani O’Brien: Luxon can’t afford to continue ‘small target’ politicsA ‘small target’ strategy is not going to cut it anymore if National want to win the upcoming election. The game has changed and the game plan needs to change as well. Jacinda Ardern’s abrupt departure from the 9th floor has the potential to derail what looked to be an ...6 days ago
- More bad faith from the spiesIn November last year, the SIS agreed to pay journalist Nicky Hager $66,000 for illegally spying on him. As part of the settlement, they agreed to publish an agreed statement about the settlement on their website. But two weeks later, it was gone. The New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties ...1 week ago
- Gordon Campbell on counting the ways Auckland was failed by its mayorI n some alternative universe, Auckland mayor Efeso Collins readily grasped the scale of Friday’s deluge, and quickly made the emergency declaration that enabled central government to immediately throw its resources behind the rescue and remediation effort. As Friday evening became night, Mayor Collins seemed to be everywhere: talking with ...1 week ago
- When it rains it pours…and pours.
I know, that is a pretty corny title but given the circumstances here in the Auckland region, I just had to say it. The more oblique reference embedded in the […] ...1 week ago - Bryce Edwards: How authorities failed Aucklanders in an emergencyHow much confidence should the public have in authorities managing natural disasters? Not much, judging by the farcical way in which the civil defence emergence in Auckland has played out. The way authorities dealt with Auckland’s extreme weather on Friday illustrated how hit-and-miss our civil defence emergency system is. In ...1 week ago
- The Bewildering World of Christopher Luxon – Leadership, Labour vs National
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The recent leadership change in the governing Labour party resulted in a very strange response from National’s (current) leader, Christopher Luxon. Mr Luxon berated Labour for it’s change of leader, citing no actual change.As ...1 week ago - 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #4A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 22, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 28, 2023. Story of the Week New Study Reveals Arctic Ice, Tracked Both Above and Below, Is Freezing Later Climate change is affecting the timing of both ...1 week ago
- A calm look at public housing
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.It was another ‘SHOCK! HORROR!’ headline from a media increasingly venturing into tabloid-style journalism:Andrea Vance’s article seemed to focus on the "million dollar sums from the Government as the country grapples with a housing ...1 week ago - Christmas Briefing Papers
What Was the Prime Minister Reading in the Runup to Election Year?It’s the summer break. Everyone settles down with family, books, the sun and some fishing. But the Prime Minister has a pile of briefing papers prepared just before Christmas, which have to be worked through. I haven’t seen them. ...1 week ago - A significant loopholeIn case you hadn't noticed, FYI, the public OIA request site, has been used to conduct a significant excavation into New Zealand's intelligence agencies, with requests made for assorted policies and procedures. Yesterday in response to one of these requests the GCSB released its policy on New Zealand Purpose and ...1 week ago
- Let the farmers pay for their own poor decisionsSouth Islands farmers are whining about another drought, the third in three years. If only we knew what was causing this! If only someone had warned them that they faced a drying climate! But we do know what is causing it: climate change. And they have been warned, repeatedly, for ...1 week ago
- Gordon Campbell on the bad outlook for fuel and transport costsOk, there’s good news and bad news in this week’s inflation figures, but bad > good. Our inflation rate held steady but hey, at a level below the inflation rate in Australia. The main reason for the so/so result here? A fall in petrol prices of 7.2% offset the really ...1 week ago
- Bryce Edwards: Time for a sober discussion about toxicity and personality in politicsSince her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet there have been dozens of columns ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #4 2023Open access notables Some of our more esoteric discussions with geophysics rejectionists (aka "climate science deniers") involve warming of the upper troposphere. Resolving the 21st century temperature trends of the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere with satellite observations by Ladstädter, Steiner & Gleisner via Nature Scientific Reports brings in new orbital instrumentation and makes some important progress in quantifying ...1 week ago
- Jung At Heart.The Clinical Magus: Of particular relevance to New Zealanders struggling to come to terms with the sudden departure of their prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is Jung’s concept of the anima. Much more than what others have called “the feminine principle”, the anima is what the human male has made out of ...1 week ago
- Left and Right Alike: Undermining Democracy in New Zealand
Such are the 2020s, the age when no-one, it seems, actually respects the basic underpinnings of democracy. Even in New Zealand. This week, I stumbled across a pair of lengthy and genuinely serious articles, that basically argue that Something is Rotten in the state of New Zealand democracy. One ...2 weeks ago - After Ratana.2 weeks ago
- Ominous Similarities.Extremism Consumes Itself: The plot of “Act of Oblivion” concerns the relentless pursuit of the “regicides” Edward Whalley and William Goffe – two of the fifty-nine signatories to King Charles I’s death warrant. As with his many other works of historical fiction, Robert Harris’s novel brings to life a period ...2 weeks ago
- Checklist: How to take advantage of brand-new clean energy tax creditsThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Samantha Harrington Imagine it’s a cold February night and your furnace breaks. You want to replace it with an electric heat pump because you’ve heard that tax credits will help pay for the switch. And you know that heat pumps can reduce ...2 weeks ago
- Political Roundup: 26 January 2023RĀTANA, CO-GOVERNANCE, THREE WATERS Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): After Ratana Thomas Manch (Stuff): Could Three Waters be on the chopping block? Here’s what Prime Minister Chris Hipkins could do Ted Greensmith-West (Stuff): Co-governance is less controversial than Christopher Luxon makes out John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Luxon’s done Rātana. Is Rātana ...2 weeks ago
- Getting the full story about Ukraine
A very informative video discussion: Are we getting the whole story about Ukraine? | Robert Wright & Ivan Katchanovski Getting objective information on the situation in Ukraine and the cause of this current war is not easy. There is the current censorship and blatant mainstream media bias – which ...2 weeks ago - National goes back to BrashIn 2005, then-National Party leader based his entire election campaign on racism, with his infamous racist Orewa speech and racist iwi/kiwi billboards. Now, Christopher Luxon seems to want to do it all again: Fresh off using his platform at this week's Rātana celebrations to criticise the government's approach to ...2 weeks ago
- Introducing Chippy, the new bloke
It’s a big day for New Zealand; our 41st Prime Minister has taken office and the new, “Chippy” era of politics is underway. Or, on the other hand, the Labour Party continues to govern with an overall majority and much the same leadership team in place. Life goes on and ...2 weeks ago - The U.S. had 18 different billion-dollar weather disasters in 2022This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson The contiguous United States suffered 18 billion-dollar weather disasters in 2022, according to NOAA, tied for the third-highest number in inflation-adjusted data going back to 1980. Only 2020, with 22 billion-dollar weather disasters, and 2021, with 20, had more. NOAA ...2 weeks ago
- Political Roundup: 25 January 2023Items of interest and importance today RĀTANA AND CO-GOVERNANCE Luke Malpass (Stuff): Rātana mission complete for Christopher Luxon, but outshone by Chris Hipkins Felix Desmarais (1News): Analysis: Co-governance casts shadow over PM’s exit at Rātana Thomas Cranmer: Luxon talks co-governance at Rātana Pā Tova O’Brien (Today FM): All political parties ...2 weeks ago
- Wage rises, not tax cutsNewsHub has a poll on the cost-of-living crisis, which has an interesting finding: the vast majority of kiwis prefer wage rises to tax cuts: When asked whether income has kept up with the cost of living, 54.8 percent of people surveyed said no and according to 58.6 percent of ...2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Shrinking Of Labour’s VisionLabour has begun 2023 with the centre-left bloc behind in the polls and losing ground. That being so, did his colleagues choose Chris Hipkins as the replacement for Jacinda Ardern because they think he has a realistic shot at leading them to victory this year, or because he‘s the best ...2 weeks ago
- Input to USDA about how to allocate IRA climate-smart agriculture fundsThis is a re-post from the Citizens' Climate Lobby blog In last year’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congress included about $20 billion earmarked for natural climate solutions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for deciding how those funds should be allocated to meet the climate ...2 weeks ago
- Political Roundup: 24 January 2023Items of interest and importance today GOVERNMENT, PARLIAMENT Simon Wilson (Herald): Chippy vs the donors de Luxe (paywalled) Rachel Smalley (Today FM): The power of vulnerability – Can Chris Hipkins heal our country? Henry Cooke: Nine thoughts on Prime Minister Chippy Branko Marcetic (Jacobin): Jacinda Ardern’s Leadership Was a Cautionary Tale ...2 weeks ago
- What Is Co-Governance?Two Flags, Two Masters? Just as it required a full-scale military effort to destroy the first attempt at Māori self-government in the 1850s and 60s (an effort that divided Maoridom itself into supporters and opponents of the Crown) any second attempt to establish tino rangatiratanga, based on the confiscatory policies ...2 weeks ago
- The real reason Jacinda Ardern resigned
You’ve really got to wonder at the introspection, or lack thereof, from much of the mainstream media post Jacinda Ardern stepping down. Some so-called journalists haven’t even taken a breath before once again putting the boot in, which clearly shows their inherent bias and lack of any misgivings about fueling ...2 weeks ago - On the darkness behind the PM’s departure.Over the weekend I was interviewed by a media outlet about the threats that Jacinda Ardern and her family have received while she has been PM and what can be […] ...2 weeks ago
- Does Chris Hipkins Have The Spinal Steel To Force A Change In Labour’s Course?A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is able to steer ...2 weeks ago
- Mutterings about Musk
Going to try to get into the blogging thing again (ha!) what with anew PM, an election coming up and all that.So today I thought I'd start small and simple, by merely tackling the world's (second) richest man.I am not suggesting Elon Musk literally light this fire. But he is ...2 weeks ago - The Revenge of the Managerialists: Hipkins It Is
Well, that was a disappointment. As of today, the New Zealand Labour Caucus opted for Chris Hipkins as our new Prime Minister, and I cannot help but let loose a cynical cackle. ... 2 weeks ago - 2023: a crucial year for Aotearoa already, fair thinking voters need to step up right now
Things have gone sideways… and it’s only the third week of January? It was political earthquake time. For some the Prime Minister made a truly significant announcement. For others – did you have this on your bingo card? – a body double did so (sit tight, you’ll understand later, ...2 weeks ago - Bullshit Work
People complain about their jobs being meaningless. Does it matter?David Graeber, author of Bullshit Jobs: The Rise of Pointless Work and What We Can Do About It, would have smiled at Elon Musk’s sacking half the Twitter workforce. Musk seems to be confirming the main thesis of the book, that ...2 weeks ago - The west vs the rest – the world is changingI warned about the trap of virtue signaling in my article Virtue signaling over Ukraine. This video is still relevant – but have we moved on since then? The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was universally condemned at the time. Or was it? Certainly, the political atmosphere ...2 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #3 2023Open access notables Bad news delivered by an all-star cast of familiar researchers: Another Year of Record Heat for the Oceans. From the abstract: In 2022, the world’s oceans, as given by OHC, were again the hottest in the historical record and exceeded the previous 2021 record maximum. According to IAP/CAS data, ...2 weeks ago
- Into the Valley of Something Unexpected: The Resignation of Jacinda Ardern
One of my earliest political memories is the resignation of Prime Minister David Lange in August 1989. I remember this because of a brown felt-tipped pen drawing I did of the Beehive, the building that houses the Executive of the New Zealand Government. More than thirty years later, we ...3 weeks ago - JacindaShe gave it her all. No New Zealand Prime Minister has ever dominated the political scene at home as she has done, or has established an international profile to match hers. No New Zealand Prime Minister has had to confront such a sequence of domestic and international catastrophes – from ...3 weeks ago
- An amazing disappointmentJacinda Ardern's shock resignation announcement today has left a lot of us with a lot of complicated feelings. In my case, while I've been highly critical of Ardern's government, I'm still sorry to see her go. We've had far too many terrible things happen during her term as Prime Minister ...3 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on Ardern, business confidence, and the worth of sanctionsThe decision by Jacinda Ardern to end her term as Prime Minister on February 7 has come as a stunning surprise. It turns the task of a centre-left government winning re-election this year from difficult to nigh on impossible. No-one else among the Labour caucus has Ardern’s ability to explain ...3 weeks ago
- Jacinda Ardern: “For me, it's time”. So how will she be remembered?
Jacinda Ardern’s first press conference as Labour leader in August 2017 was a defining moment in the past decade of New Zealand politics. A young woman (by the standards of politics) who had long been tipped for higher office, she had underperformed as a shadow minister and Andrew Little’s noble ...3 weeks ago - Jacinda Resigns.An Astonishing Rapport: Jacinda Ardern's "Politics of Kindness" raised so many progressive possibilities. Her own tragedy, and New Zealand's, is that so few of them were realised.MUCH WILL BE WRITTEN in the coming days about "The Ardern Years", some of it sympathetic and insightful, most of it spiteful and wrong.For ...3 weeks ago
- Are the police following the law on DNA?Back in November, Newsroom reported that the police were racist in their collection of DNA samples from young people. The report came on the back of widespread police racism, illegality, and abuse of privacy in their policy of photographing and fingerprinting Māori youth. When I blogged about this, I highlighted ...3 weeks ago
- The rich are trying to buy the electionThe Herald this morning reports on the rich's efforts to buy this year's election. And you'll never guess who their chosen vehicle is: The National Party may start election year with a $2.3 million war chest raised from 24 big donors in 2022, while Labour has declared just $150,000 ...3 weeks ago
- Can induction stoves convince home cooks to give up gas?This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler You walk into your kitchen to make pasta. After filling a pot with water, you place a small silicone mat in the middle of your counter, then set the pot above it and open a stovetop app on your phone. ...3 weeks ago
- Tolkien-Related Stress II: Scanning the Oath of Fëanor I have just taken a stab at scanning Tolkien’s famous Ring Verse: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/01/17/tolkien-related-stress-scanning-the-ring-verse/ I noted that the problem with the Verse is that it is too loose in its accentual nature: it is sometimes unclear where the four stresses are supposed to fall on a given line. I ...3 weeks ago
- Tolkien-Related Stress: Scanning the Ring VerseYou know it as well as I, the famous Ring Verse from The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien: Three Rings for the Elven Kings under the sky Seven for the Dwarf Lords in their halls of stone Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die One ...3 weeks ago
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- Waitangi Day – a time to reflect and learn
Kia ora e te whānau. Today, we mark the anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi - and our commitment to working in partnership with Māori to deliver better outcomes and tackle the big issues, together. ...10 hours ago - Thousands more homes under LabourWe’ve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, we’re making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...3 days ago
- Time for Labour to deliver on No New Mines
The Green Party is today welcoming reports of Government progress towards having no new mines on conservation land. ...3 days ago - Greens join call for immediate rent freeze after floodsThe Green Party is joining more than 20 community organisations to call for an immediate rent freeze in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, after reports of landlords intending to hike rents after flooding. ...3 days ago
- Extra cost of living support for New ZealandersWhen Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Government’s top priority – and this week, we’ve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...4 days ago
- Greens not on board with fossil fuel subsidyThe Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...5 days ago
- Urgent action needed to support familiesThe tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party writes to new Prime MinisterThe Green Party has written to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins outlining a plan for a fairer Aotearoa. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party looks forward to working with Chris HipkinsThe Green Party welcomes Chris Hipkins as the sole nominee for leader of the Labour Party, and the next Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens recognise Prime Minister Ardern’s serviceThe Green Party is today acknowledging Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s service to Aotearoa. ...3 weeks ago
- Advancing our relationship in India
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for India tomorrow as she continues to reconnect Aotearoa New Zealand to the world. The visit will begin in New Delhi where the Foreign Minister will meet with the Vice President Hon Jagdeep Dhankar and her Indian Government counterparts, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and ...1 day ago - Government Northland housing investment to spark transformational changeOver $10 million infrastructure funding to unlock housing in Whangārei The purchase of a 3.279 hectare site in Kerikeri to enable 56 new homes Northland becomes eligible for $100 million scheme for affordable rentals Multiple Northland communities will benefit from multiple Government housing investments, delivering thousands of new homes for ...3 days ago
- Battle of Ohaeawai rememberedA memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between Māori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...4 days ago
- More Police deployed to the frontlineMore Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 54 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. The graduation ceremony for Recruit Wing 362 at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was the first official event for Stuart Nash since his reappointment as Police ...4 days ago
- Further support for upper North Island regions hit by significant weatherThe Government is unlocking an additional $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by the recent flooding and storm damage in the upper North Island. “We’re supporting the response and recovery of Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland, and Bay of Plenty regions, through activating Enhanced Taskforce Green to ...4 days ago
- The Princess Royal to visit New ZealandPrime Minister Chris Hipkins has welcomed the announcement that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand this month. “Princess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to ...4 days ago
- Government and horticulture sector target $12b in exports by 2035A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said. “Our food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealand’s economic security. We’re focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...5 days ago
- Cost of living support extended for families and businesses25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 – reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...5 days ago
- More Kiwis in work as rising wages match inflationThe strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. “The Government’s economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,” ...5 days ago
- Government boosts fund for Auckland floodingThe Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Cabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...6 days ago
- New Cabinet focused on bread and butter issuesThe new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “We need a greater focus on what’s in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...6 days ago
- Prime Minister to meet with PM AlbanesePrime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins ...6 days ago
- Government makes first payment to Auckland Flooding fundThe Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “We moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,” Kieran McAnulty ...1 week ago
- Government steps up to assist Auckland during floodingAs the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...1 week ago
- Poroporoaki: Titewhai Te Huia Hinewhare HarawiraKa papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...2 weeks ago
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- Garrick Tremain’s view…
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If you are a bottom-feeder (or even swimming slightly below mid-current) then Natz and Act are not your friends!
This point needs to be shouted loudly all over this country, and repeated ad nauseam until it becomes, like all lies repeated and repeated, accepted truth.
One of the myths (lies) that Luxon is perpetuating, is that Natz are better managers of the economy.
They are not: Key’s so-called ‘rock star’ economy was based on a house price boom, almost unlimited immigration and little expenditure on infrastructure.
Labour (I’d like to think, hampered by the dead anchor of NZ First in their first term), had much to do to remedy the harm caused by Natz.
Under Luxon, the Natz will just be ‘managers’ not in any way innovators.
Management will centre around cutting spending, ‘to balance the books.’
This approach will, inevitably, play right into the hands of their coalition partners – the ultimate, failed neo-liberal, small government party – Act.
Under Key the Natz did very little to ‘improve’ NZ as a place to live – our rivers became ‘wadeable,’ our education system was downgraded to ‘national standards’ and charter schools, our hospitals were underfunded, our public housing stock was sold off, or ‘methed’ out of use and police stations were closed.
Key sold off our assets to so-called ‘mum and dad’ investors (read large overseas hedge funds) and even tried to set NZ up as a tax haven for the ultra-wealthy.
Luxon hasn’t Key’s ‘vision,’ though he’s still to the moral right of Genghis Khan.
The real agenda will be Acts, and their agenda is frankly frightening.
Their cuts to public services include:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/466730/act-s-alternative-budget-cuts-to-taxes-and-public-services
And make no mistake about this – Act would ‘privatise’ water – in the form of that failed model – private-public partnerships.
This country (as with the rest of the world) will face increasing and escalating crises in the coming years. The absolute last thing we can afford is a ‘hands-off’ ‘small government’ sort of administration.
Natz and Act would/will be a total disaster (as they would have been had they been in power during the covid pandemic!)
We must do all we can to make certain there is no change of government next year!
Good work Tony. Thanks.
Ta da!!!!
And the 'upside' for the demolition of all the agencies, the great trickle up (sorry I mean flooded river up) of $$$$ to those who need this the most, according to ACT.
Clue: it ain't life's battlers.
When you can't defend your own record, attack the opposition.
Great strategy that I'm sure will resonate…
MickeyBoyle Is that why Luxon always attacks Labour, even when asked what will National do?
That's his job. He doesn't have to defend a record. He just needs to shit on the governments record and offer an alternative that he believes kiwis will buy into.
25.5%… wake up to reality. The status quo, "we know best NACT will suck" isn't working.
That's my point though, Luxon, (who has been a leader for a year), and National don't have an alternative, there's nothing for kiwis to buy into, hence the deflection.
"25.5% wake up to reality" yep, Jacindas labour party is now polling like labour did under Cunliffe and Shearer.
Labour is totally out of touch with mainstream New Zealand and has been all year and instead of listening Labour and it's supporters block their ears.
Instead of defending every dumb move Labour makes Labour members and lefty's should be self reflecting on why that is and then using their platforms to pressure the govt to be more focused.
Instead we get tribalists doubling down.
I like the standard, it used to give loads and loads of constructive criticism when labour was in opposition and polling like it is now, it should start giving the govt constructive criticism.
A lot of the parliamentary party reads this blog and they are the people who need to hear constructive criticism from the center left, not just endless defense.
It would not matter if Labour crashed below the 5% threshold, the tribalists would still fail to reconsider, still keep telling us how wonderful this govt is.
The core problem is that Labour has failed to deliver effectively on it's core mission – inequality, housing, tax reform and sustainable prosperity. Instead it has been captured by elitist woke agendas the public distrusts.
Literally 1 in 2 of the people who voted for them less than three years ago now regret that decision. That is a stunning loss of confidence.
Right now the most rational (yet I realise least likely) option, is for Labour to ditch it's woke and ethnic separatist activists, refocus on it's the core economic mission to save what they can – and then reach out to National after the election to form a centrist coalition govt that is not shackled by extremist agendas of both the left and right.
The activists and tribalists will of course hate this suggestion – even if it it might be the best option for the country.
I suspect it is all too late
The historic parallels between Ardern and Lange are stark; both came to power as charismatic and effective leaders – both undone by radical agendas in their caucus.
It would not surprise me if Ardern also resigns if the polls do not improve early in the New Year.
Not sure but she certainly sounded over it on the radio a few minutes ago.
She is undoubtably an effective leader but has been badly let down by the the policy formers and implementation…..5 years and apart from most of the covid response they can show little successful implementation and a myriad of failures…….the latest being contaminated aviation fuel.
At one point I got to meet Lange – just months before he resigned. It was in a small social setting, and not an overtly political context. Back then I was very apolitical, but I did have the chance to have a conversation with him and listen to him talking with the others. I was a bit overawed to tell the truth and I probably came across as very naive to him, but it was a memorable day all the same.
Afterward I got home and told my partner of the overwhelming feeling I had that Lange was sick of not being his own person anymore, not being able to say what he really wanted to say. It was just a gut feeling that I could not have rationalised, but suffice to say events a few months later made sense of it.
Its a bugger being human
How is contaminated fuel the fault of the govt? Looks like it was out of the govt's control.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/130690232/flight-disruption-likely-ahead-of-christmas-after-jet-fuel-contaminated
"little successful implementation and a myriad of failures?
100 things we’ve delivered this year
https://www.labour.org.nz/news-100_things_delivered_2022
Our achievements
https://www.labour.org.nz/our-record
"The Prime Minister says she has no plans to quit her job ahead of next year's election after rumours began swirling"
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/10/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-responds-to-quitting-moving-to-new-plymouth-rumours.html
Not like John Key who quit because the job wasn't fun anymore.
Jacinda Ardern is not John key, she wouldn't do a runner mid term like he did and if you really believe he ran away because the job was not "fun" anymore, then I guess you believe in Santa Clause and the tooth fairy.
"The historic parallels between Ardern and Lange are stark"..yep, and I bet both will be remembered fondly, instead of taking the full brunt of the blame for their own records…look at Lange, most lay the blame of the disaster that unfettered Free Market Liberalism has been for our communities and the country as large at the feet of Douglas, and let Lange walk away still with his reputation largely intact..apart from her initial Covid response, Ardern would have to be regarded as one of the most ineffectual political leaders in New Zealand’s modern history…more of a manager than leader really.
.
Captured by an affluent, profoundly un-democratic & (despite all the ostentatious moral posturing) ruthlessly self-interested Pakeha Woke cadre … together with an equally ruthless & authoritarian ethno-nationalist Maori caucus.
The phoney virtue-signalling isn't working anymore.
Two major parties are simply rival factions of the same self-interested Establishment.
One’s keen, as always, on making life economic hell for low & low-middle income groups in general … the other’s very excited about viciously scapegoating the Non-Maori majority within that social strata, formally transforming them into second-class citizens, seemingly with the hope that large numbers will start dying early … thus achieving the enormous moral victory of evening up the life expectancy stats.
Not however confined to just the Labour and Green parties. The same cadres have over the past two decades steadily infiltrated and entrenched themselves in all of our key institutions – education, law, media, public service and increasingly various power nodes in our commercial world.
No ordinary govt can effectively defy this. Which is why I suggested above – despite some obvious objections around why National might be motivated to co-operate – an extraordinary coalition as the alternative.
“Labour has failed to deliver effectively on it’s core mission – inequality, housing, tax reform and sustainable prosperity.”
Setting aside the meaningless word "woke" and the exaggeration of "ethnic separatists" in the rest of your post – I agree totally. Public broadcasting and 3 Waters are worthy but peripheral objectives. The pandemic was an opportunity to initiate a radical and colour-blind downward redistribution of wealth and power. Do things that are popular with the public and that National loathe. Then do more of them.
The terms woke and ethno-separatist are I accept, jargon words that are useful in that they concisely convey a complex political meaning. I can though understand your discomfort and objection to them. Yet I absolutely concur when you say:
The problem is that no-one really has a clue what the root causes of inequality is, and thus have failed to deliver convincing cures. And the more radical the proposal, the less people will trust it.
I have a bit of a clue as to one of the drivers of inequality.
Landlording.
If someone wants a bigger piece of the pie, someone else must have less.
Free houses.
If that can work, great. In the meantime a downward redistribution of them.
I struggle to use the term resource as, like water, homes are so much more than that.
Yes I fully understand the emotional attachment people have to their homes. Yet somehow the resources needed to provide them still need to be allocated somehow. And that means free houses is a delusion.
Meanwhile back in the real world, very few people are fortunate enough to be able to pay cash in full for their first home. They have to borrow a large fraction of the money needed; and it is all the same whether they do that directly from the bank, or indirectly via a landlord who has provided the equity and credit worthiness the tenant lacks.
In the real world, homes are way more than an emotional attachment.
They are building blocks of communities.
A tuangawaewae.
Unless you can translate that into something concrete, we are back to the free houses fantasy.
Oops.
Turangawaewae. I don't know how to do the macron over the u.
" It literally means standing place (tūranga) and feet (waewae); and is often translated as 'a place to stand'. Tūrangawaewae are places where we feel empowered and connected."
I am very familiar with what the word means – I have had it explained to me first hand. I recognise the ideal it represents.
Why have an election at all then? It is not just Labour that wouldn't form a govt with National after the election, National wouldn't hear of that either.
As long as you are going to confine the definition of an election as a contest between a left and right wing block – this is a valid question.
What happens though when the contest shifts to become one between the centre and a swirling mess of extremists?
"election as a contest between a left and right wing block" that's the way it has always been.
would you be able to write a Guest Post Corey?
Are you talking about commenters here or authors?
100% Tony (1). Cheers
Yes agree it will be worth the fight.
Quite a few of those entities mentioned would not be missed by the public if they fell off a cliff.
Most however you'd miss when a bank closed, or a SuperFund went belly up, or the grid blacked out, and the regulators are effectively only open to the very rich who can afford High Court proceedings.
If Labour manage to get back in we are well overdue to have the nationalisation+recentralisation debate that Labour forgot to have over the last two terms.
Thanks Tony for a clear call to action.
Andrew Little summed the situation up very nicely in speech 1 General Debate today!
https://ondemand.parliament.nz/parliament-tv-on-demand/
Tony I think it was
https://ondemand.parliament.nz/parliament-tv-on-demand/?itemId=230525
Brilliant post Tony….pls repost every month updated for more Luxon/Seymour lies.
A tad of clarity in an opaque pool.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/qa-who-should-pay-for-desperately-needed-three-waters-work
"And to a degree, the distinction between taxpayers or ratepayers being responsible for Three Waters debt overlooks an important feature of the reforms: the defining shift to a commercial utility model."
It is worth noting that nobody has any idea of the cost or even the functionality of this proposal as it enters its final reading in Parliament. Hardly the basis for good decision making.
Despite the cherry picked sentence from Pat the report is an interesting and informative read, especially the discussion on the type of structure that is most supported by capital markets etc
'And again, let's be blunt. The reduced influence of local politicians and civic managers is not an unfortunate effect of balance sheet separation, as far as the capital markets are concerned. It the whole idea. Given local authorities track record in under-investing in water infrastructure, they won't trust any new utility that has too much council control.'
To that extent, 50/50 iwi membership of the regional representative bodies is seen as commercially desirable, because it lessens the influence of councils, with the perverse, short-term political incentives described by Hamiora Bowkett.
It will be difficult to reassure investors and the ratings agencies, though, when the water assets are still wholly owned by councils, and when councils are expressing their intent to influence the new water entities as much as possible through representation on the regional bodies, appointing the directors and scrutinising the strategic plans.
That's why ultimately, the Government will ensure its bottom line of balance sheet separation is achieved through legislation. Councils will be prohibited from providing any financial support to the new three water entities and constrained from selling or transferring their shares. Three water entities will not be able to pay any dividends to shareholders. This makes the council ownership structure more nominal than real. In essence, councils' only input will be through the regional representative group.'’
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/qa-who-should-pay-for-desperately-needed-three-waters-work
And as an extra, we get to see that Pat's support for a govt department like the old MoW is a take from TOP policy.
'So there's something more – and this reinforces Hamiora Bowkett's point at the start of this article. These reforms are not just about who picks up the tab; fundamentally, they're about ensuring critical work is actually done. Because in many parts of the country, for many years, it hasn't been.
Amelia East says extensive overseas experience shows that the utility model enables operating and investment efficiencies, and opportunities to spread the burden of debt among customers, that are not readily achievable under a council-operated model.
So to reduce the Three Waters debate to a question of who services the debt would, she says, completely overlook the fundamental need to provide better, safer, more efficient water services.'
Well worth the read if just for the plain, not pushing a political barrow writing that has passed for discussion recently in media.
"And as an extra, we get to see that Pat's support for a govt department like the old MoW is a take from TOP policy.
"
One should never assume Shanreagh….it was a pleasant surprise to read that. I will now have to look more closely at TOP's manifesto.
A few more cherries for you (and anyone else interested)
"The status of the Three Waters Reform and its final features, in terms of the timing of the execution of the reform, asset transfers, relative impact across local government bodies and funding responsibilities, remain unclear," says John Manning, the Vice President and Senior Credit Officer for Moody’s Investors Service."
"These issues won’t be solved only by improving access to finance," he warns. "It’s a lack of preparedness to charge sufficiently for the cost of delivering services, and a tendency to shift the cost of infrastructure upgrades onto future generations."
"As inflation soars and interest rates rise, Cymru’s experience is again educational: Its financing costs leapt from £134m to £277m in interest payments this year, because of its inflation index-linked debt. Its auditors say increasing costs and inflation are the risks most likely to adversely affect the company’s liquidity.
This just highlights the extraordinary cost of a nation's public infrastructure."
If the good people of NZ were unwilling/unable to fund the required 3 waters infrastructure under the existing model what makes anyone think they will/can when the the costs have been increased?
Shanreagh re Amelia East :
And strangely this is what Council reps believe too. McNulty said he asked over 100 councils if they saw a need to reform Three Waters. They all said, "Yes."
I’m not entirely sure what is meant with “Council reps” given that we had a change of the guard in October. However, not everything that is going or has gone wrong can be fully pinned on Government:
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/thats-on-us-too-ardern-accepts-blame-for-info-vacuum-on-govt-reform
This interview with Ardern has attracted an uncharacteristically high number of comments of uncharacteristically low quality and reads more like the ‘discussion’ you’d expect to find on some of the NZ political blog sites with even a Mod giving a warning shot.
I suspect the councils want the government to hand over the billions of dollars without any scrutiny on what the money will actually be spent on. In other words "just give us the money and then p… off!"
If the Labour government hands over vast amounts of money to fix public services then I think it has a right to make sure the improvements stay in public ownership and not sold off as a NACT government would very likely do.
in reply to Shanreagh, last weeks announcement that the Christchurch rebuild entity, I also can’t remember what name it goes by this week either, but it has been morphed into the new role which is essentially the old MOW so as not to lose all the skills and knowledge contained there. It may well be aTOP idea, just the same as most peoples on here and elsewhere.
I can’t even remember where I saw or heard or read it but it disappeared without comment. Shit no, we can’t have any Labour good news out there.
I suspect it is going to have large roles in water infrastructure rebuilds and the construction of Lake Monroe and other big energy projects like the old MOW did.
Ōtākaro Ltd – https://www.newsroom.co.nz/earthquake-rebuild-agency-takes-over-govt-infrastructure-in-major-shake-up
That sounds very promising.
The new nationwide agency is explicitly only for government projects run by departments without enough experience or expertise in large projects. Let's see who that includes.
"There was no shock-horror, or surprise. Associate Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty could be seen smiling at the successful vote."
Even David Parker did not agree with it.
This mess will probably start showing up in the next poll.
Make no mistake, Labour knew it was passing controversial Three Waters entrenchment clause | Stuff.co.nz
McNulty is always smiling. So what.
And jimbo is aways moaning and whinging
The threat to academic freedom.
https://twitter.com/colwight/status/1599692059127865344
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/a-culture-of-fear-has-taken-over-academia-and-the-arts/
Thanks for posting SPC. The same thing is happening in NZ. Look what happened to the Listener 7 when they wrote a very respectful letter to the Listener about Maturanga Maori and Science.
And of course Gender Critical feminists having their meetings shut down and having to go to the High Court so their meetings could proceed.
And so begins the process of a litany of convictions for the favoured GOP nominee for POTUS.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/06/nyregion/trump-organization-trial-verdict
Even day there several ads on face book
'Musk launched a new project that promises to help families become wealthier.
Turn 400$ into $11,000 mthly
and other similar schemes
SOUNDS SCAMY
Not prepared to link to it.
If it is anything to do with Eion Musk you just know its dodgy.
Once upon a time in a strange land there was a referendum because of a widespread fear that parents would be criminalised. 87% of those who participated wanted government to prevent this by changing the law. The government said there was no need to, they were paranoid.
https://teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/36965/the-anti-smacking-referendum-2009
And in that same land, now an even stranger one some might say, history records that they were indeed paranoid without merit/cause.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/eight-prosecutions-for-smacking-in-six-years-of-law/OEQKBZA4EMNOHIBMOQMJA7UYAU/
Does history repeat ….
History does repeat – baseless hysteria over 'anti-smacking' in 2009 was itself a repeat of baseless hysteria over homosexual law reform in the 1980's. Rinse and repeat.
But the lesson will never be learnt. There is always baseless hysteria over even the mildest forms of progressive (i.e. humane and balanced ) change – because so much of what so many of us have internalised as 'common sense' is vicious, authoritarian bollocks.
However, Louisa Wall gave a lesson in how to build consensus across political parties, and across the country, with her Same-sex marriage bill.
It's a lesson which appears not to have been learned….
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/louisa-wall-on-quitting-politics-labours-tribalism-and-the-grief-of-leaving-parliament/RLFXSHDPWL7P4LFGKBX5FGAYRQ/
The question I have is this. Are Iwi part of the public sector or private sector? If part of the public sector (and subject to government accountability rules) does this mean the Government is using this law to assume ownership over Iwi?
If Iwi aren't part of the public sector, and should be considered private entities, isn't the result of the Three Water's Legislation as effectively privatising 50% of NZ water? What if you have an Iwi that falls into financial trouble (separate from Three Waters Co-Management).
As a result, their creditors chase them for repayment and use overt pressure for the Iwi to use their Co-management shareholding to increase financial return from the Three Waters entity to help finance their way out of trouble?
Isn't this effectively allowing rate payer/water users to pay for financial liability of private entities? Is this acceptable? I wouldn't have thought so.
No.