Open mike 07/12/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, December 7th, 2015 - 134 comments
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134 comments on “Open mike 07/12/2015 ”

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  1. veutoviper 1
    7 December 2015 at 6:54 am

    Audrey Young on the Herald is predicting that Key will announce a Cabinet reshuffle today, rather than after the summer holidays. Young is usually close on such matters.

    A possibility is that Collins will take over Corrections.

    Other possibles include Groser going to Washington as Ambassador in February with Todd McLay taking over Trade; Goldsmith taking over IRD; Foss out all together; Nick Smith out of Housing and Woodhouse out of Workplace Relations and Safety. She also predicts David Seymour (ACT) and Mark Mitchell receiving promotions.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11556876

  2. Gavin 2
    7 December 2015 at 7:29 am

    iPredict, a NZ political and economic betting website, has sent out a general email to all members of the site about the gradual shutdown of the operation. No timeline available yet, but all couched in the most positive way possible.

    https://www.ipredict.co.nz/app.php?do=forum

    Until early 2015, Professor Neil Quigley was the Chair of both Viclink, the parent body attached to Vitoria University, and the board of iPredict Ltd. Neil Quigley is a member of two U.S. think tanks, one of which is openly right-wing. Prof Quigley has taken up the job of Vice-Chancellor at Waikato University, and his place on the two boards at Victoria appear to have been given to Kate McGrath.

    Whether this is part of the change of heart by Viclink, to shed this rather embarrassing site that was being openly hijacked by the Right, is open to conjecture, and will never be admitted to, if that is what has happened.

    In any case, higher net worth members are disappearing from the iPredict list as they cash up, and as no money is allowed in to replace it -they haven’t provided a status report to the media since June 2015- this is a dead duck for sure. Good news, an election tool stripped away from the National Party and their bloggers.

    Meanwhile, at open-plan Waikato University, Prof Quigley is making his mark by introducing staff and student carparking fees for the first time (since the 1970s). At a cost of either $300 or $750 per vehicle per year, it looks a lot like a pay decrease for staff, and an extra fee for students.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/69384730/students-oppose-paid-waikato-university-parking.html

    • One Anonymous Bloke 2.1
      7 December 2015 at 7:37 am

      Professor Quigley’s political beliefs are a conflict of interest; all his decisions will be pre-determined by them.

    • dv 2.2
      7 December 2015 at 8:40 am

      Wasn’t it because they were shut down because of bank regs re possible money laundering?

      • Gavin 2.2.1
        7 December 2015 at 8:13 pm

        dv, you have to read between the lines here. Victoria Link experimented with this site for seven years, with Prof Quigley at the helm for most of that time. They could have put some more money/effort in to meet the new rules. But that would have been rough on the more affluent punters or the paid bloggers, who most likely had multiple accounts, defying the site’s rules. The site rules about membership were not enforced by anyone, and then to top it all off, an extreme right-wing person got control of the reporting function. This then led to press releases at crucial times close to the elections, that immediately followed fresh and unusual trades that flattered National’s position. I have no doubt that one of the reasons for the site being made ready just before the 2008 election, and following on from there, was to generally bolster National and neoliberal policies. Maybe RW Prof Quigley was quite happy with this state of affairs, but Victoria University’s board might have been perturbed about them being mentioned in “Dirty Politics”. The new money laundering rules don’t seem to need to apply to this site, but it’s the opportunity to cut it free, that Viclink seem to be interested in. Read the press release again, dv. Someone is poking something uphill with a pointed stick.

  4. savenz 4
    7 December 2015 at 8:13 am

    Artists Fill Paris With 600 Fake Ads To Protest Corporate Sponsorship Of Climate Conference

    “Paris is grabbing the world’s attention again, but this time, it’s with environmental messages aimed at the world leaders, including Obama, that gathered for the COP21 climate conference on Monday. 600 fake posters denouncing major corporations were installed behind the glass at bus stops around the city by Brandalism, a UK-based project. 82 artists from 19 countries joined them to help fight corporate control in advertising.
    “By sponsoring the climate talks, major polluters such as Air France and GDF-Suez-Engie can promote themselves as part of the solution – when actually they are part of the problem,” Joe Elan from Brandalism said in their press release.”

    http://www.boredpanda.com/corporate-sponsorship-ads-environmentalist-cop21-brandalism-paris/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=BPFacebook

  5. Gangnam Style 5
    7 December 2015 at 8:16 am

    “You ain’t no muslim bruv” an east Londoners perfect response to a knife wielding idiot running amok in London Underground. http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/06/you-aint-no-muslim-bruv-britons-social-media

  6. Whispering Kate 6
    7 December 2015 at 8:28 am

    Have just been listening to the morning news on Channel 1, Rawden was interviewing Key, I think it’s his Monday interview he does. They came to the Christmas party held this weekend for National Party volunteers etc, which had a big protest outside of the venue. Key was questioned about this, and he was furious, said it was disgraceful that they tried to ruin the occasion. He even said angrily that “they stopped me from attending” – I couldn’t believe what the man was saying. He is scared stiff of protests and it’s either fear for his safety or embarrassment – probably fear knowing him, craven that he is. All I could think of was “own the situation mate and face up to poverty in NZ and how a great majority won’t be even able to have a Christmas meal let alone a party with all the trimmings”. I have never heard anything like it, a man afraid to face a protest – God save us all, who does he think he is, does he take his heavies with him to the bloody toilet.

    • Rosemary McDonald 6.1
      7 December 2015 at 8:39 am

      A text book case….?

      http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/paranoia-and-paranoid-disorders

      “Paranoia involves feelings of persecution and an exaggerated sense of self-importance. Paranoia occurs in many mental disorders and is rare as an isolated mental illness. Since the delusions involve only one area, a person with paranoia can usually work and function in everyday life, however, their lives may be limited and isolated. ”

      Sufferers need help, not condemnation.

      But I question the wisdom of having a sufferer in such a position.

    • repateet 6.2
      7 December 2015 at 8:44 am

      A marketing opportunity …

      “Missed out on the Christmas party because you’re scared of going there?”
      Go to the airport, hop on a plane and go to a Christmas party in Hawaii !”

      • Whispering Kate 6.2.1
        7 December 2015 at 9:06 am

        Made me think Repateet that the lovely new Pope and the Queen for that matter often ignore security advice and go out and about with the crowds knowing full well the risks they take. That takes courage. Key is seriously full of his own importance, has feelings of the grandiose way out of proportion to his position. I just cannot believe that he is such a such a coward, but then bullies (like his yelling insults and throwing the dead cat regularly in the House etc) are always cowards. He is pathetic.

        • Jenny Kirk 6.2.1.1
          7 December 2015 at 9:12 am

          There’s a fascinating discussion about ShonKey’s personality type – narcisstic or “anti-social” on the post about that creepy Malaysian diplomat and Tania Billingsgate – about halfway down the comments. The discussion is between Emergency Mike, Pat and Anne.

      • RedBaronCV 6.2.2
        7 December 2015 at 10:32 am

        Or is he trying to beat up the “danger” so that they can pass laws forcing protestors to register with the police like Cameron has tried in the UK.

    • RedBaronCV 6.3
      7 December 2015 at 9:35 am

      Pathetic little bloke
      Well no old style politician would have been that precious. Look what sound bites, brand image and Tv ads have done.
      Once upon a time to get elected you had to go out and actualy interact with the electorate making speechs to crowds etc who gave a lot of immediate feedback some of it thrown. It must have bred a certain resilience and certainly a greater response to the needs of the voters. Couldn’t have imagined any of them minding a few protesters.

      • Draco T Bastard 6.3.1
        7 December 2015 at 10:06 am

        +1

        Of there’s two aspects to this:

        * Politicians have become disconnected from what happens in the lives of the majority of people
        * The people themselves have become disconnected from what happens in real life due to the protective cocoon that we’ve wound around ourselves that disconnects us from each other and the Earth

        • RedBaronCV 6.3.1.1
          7 December 2015 at 10:30 am

          Yep politics these days seem to be a brand marketing exercise where people shop for the shiny looks of the goods not their utility, usefulness or longevity.
          Key also seems to be subscribing to this if he is afraid of his own electorate,
          can’t be that he sees them very often.

          • Whispering Kate 6.3.1.1.1
            7 December 2015 at 10:42 am

            No, RedBaronCV, Key is just a wimp good and proper, always has to be seen with a bunch of security compete with the shades on surrounding him, which satisfies his sense of importance and gives him the security blanket he needs. You are right, once upon a time, politicians spoke in open spaces, on stages etc and just got on with the job. They were “men” in the nicest sense and had guts. He sounded so petulant on the news this morning I couldn’t believe it, like a grizzly kid who needs a belt around the backside, but even that is outlawed these days. He is seriously flawed and if the males of NZ who routinely keep voting him in haven’t seen through this useless heap of a PM, then they are as useless as he is.

            • RedBaronCV 6.3.1.1.1.1
              7 December 2015 at 1:18 pm

              Could you imagine say Mabel Howard the first woman MP gojng on like Key has.

              • Whispering Kate …
                7 December 2015 at 1:30 pm

                Grown up men who are truly secure and comfortable in their own person will own up to their mistakes or at least admit there is room for improvement – especially when they are the supposedly leader and are there to set an example. Key’s automatic response when he is asked awkward questions is to fudge or get nasty and throw a dead cat, even worse just deny it and keep on denying it even when its obvious to an idiot there has been a misjudgment or mistake made. People like him are truly not well and shouldn’t be in positions of power. I agree, some of the questions “Does the Minister stand by…” just ask for his type of response, they could may be just ask “Can the Minister please explain why ……” and persist and make sure he does reply. The sooner Carter leaves his role as Speaker the better for democracy. The both of them just put Government into bad repute for the rest of the world to see.

    • Hami Shearlie 6.4
      7 December 2015 at 10:31 am

      We all saw what a craven little creep he was on the day Parliament was sitting, and a man threatened to jump from the Public Gallery – other MPs were looking up in horror, hoping security would get to the man in time – what did Key do? Looked up and then ran away with his guards. So very embarrassing to have a PM that cowardly!

    • adam 6.5
      7 December 2015 at 10:46 am

      21 give or take protesters, and Key freaks out.

      Man of the people.

    • North 6.6
      7 December 2015 at 2:21 pm

      Pretty rich of the simpering little prick Key to mutter on about thugs and bullies…….

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11557095

      He who repeatedly harrassed and assaulted a young woman in her place of work…….while his oh so macho goon squad looked on.

      You’d never bring your kids up to behave like this entitled little prat.

    • Amanda Atkinson 6.7
      7 December 2015 at 4:40 pm

      stop exaggerating … “a great majority won’t be even able to have a Christmas meal” .. is a ridiculous statement. Ridiculous exaggerations like this are really unhelpful. It leads to middle NZ raising their eye brows, and not taking this serious issue, seriously. If you want. Kiwis to believe we have poverty, and yes, we do, then stop fucken exaggerating how bad it is, and turning people off from it.

    • infused 6.8
      7 December 2015 at 5:09 pm

      Did you see the rabid rent a mob crowd? I wouldn’t go there either.

    • Paul 6.9
      7 December 2015 at 5:48 pm

      And fanboy Rawden no doubt sympathised with the poor dear.

  7. Skinny 7
    7 December 2015 at 8:31 am

    Just wondering if Bill English and David Carter are the owners of the company that brings in the 1080?

    I see it being a topic on various FB feeds.

    • millsy 7.1
      7 December 2015 at 8:46 am

      As far as I know, 1080 is distributed by Animal Control Products, a small SOE carved out of the old MAF in 1991.

    • Cricklewood 7.2
      7 December 2015 at 9:40 am

      No they are not, it’s an SOE and they are the shareholding ministers. The story seems to crop up at least once a year and runs wild amongst those that don’t understand the concept of a shareholding minister.

    • infused 7.3
      7 December 2015 at 5:13 pm

      various FB feeds being the I HATE JOHN KEY pages. Yes.

  9. Morrissey 9
    7 December 2015 at 9:16 am

    A morning with Hosking, then Leighton Smith, with Danny Watson to follow.
    Other stations have their problems, but without a doubt NewstalkZB is THE worst.
    NewstalkZB, Monday 7 December 2015, 7:40a.m.

    MIKE “KING OF CONTRA” HOSKING: Later on I’ll be talking to a professor who says that if kids don’t read over the summer holidays, then they come back to school for the new year knowing LESS than they did before. I’ve always thought our schools need SHORTER summer holidays….. [drones on pompously and sententiously for several minutes]….

    Like anyone with an IQ above room temperature, I switched Hosking off before he had worked up those observations into another of his foaming anti-teacher tirades. By chance, however, I happened on NewstalkZB an hour later. Incredibly, the intellectual level had sunk even lower….

    LEIGHTON SMITH: Ahhhhhmmm, errrrrrr, I see the government has just given two hundred million dollars to South Pacific nations [snort] to “help them cope with climate change.” [guffaw] That fictitious, fraudulent thing. Two hundred million dollars, a WASTE OF MONEY. Ummmmm, errrrrrr, ahhhhhhmmmmm…..

    POINT TO PONDER: One of NewstalkZB’s promotional tags used to be: “Tune Your Mind.”

    More wit and wisdom from Hosking, Smith, and their colleagues….
    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-20012015/#comment-953987

    • Northsider 9.1
      7 December 2015 at 9:44 am

      Morrissey
      Thanks you for performing such a critical role. Like the Lavatory Attendant you perform a role which we all know is necessary but which we would not volunteer to do ourselves.

      I occasionally tune-in to these arseholes for a few difficult minutes in order to maintain my right to slag them legitimately.

  10. Northsider 10
    7 December 2015 at 9:16 am

    Claire Trevett’s opinion piece “Coded messages go back and forth in reshuffle” contains a terrible allegation about Andrew Little which he needs to clear up.

    It is effectively saying the Cunliffe’s shafting was Annette King’s price to give up her Rongotai seat for Andrew Little.

    What other Faustian pacts get made in our Labour Party Caucus? No wonder they fought so hard to deny the membership a say in the selection of leader.

    Can we drop talented people, promote unsuitable people, and expect to win the respect of the public?

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11554882

    • Colonial Viper 10.1
      7 December 2015 at 1:29 pm

      Labour is not just no longer fit for purpose; it has utterly forgotten what that purpose even is.

  11. ianmac 11
    7 December 2015 at 9:35 am

    I know NBI has come up before but I still find it interesting. The adult population of Finland is about the same as NZ. The fish-hooks are considered in this article as well. eg A woman with 3 kids versus a woman with no kids?
    Every person or every adult?
    The Finnish government is currently drawing up plans to introduce a national basic income. A final proposal won’t be presented until November 2016, but if all goes to schedule, Finland will scrap all existing benefits and instead hand out €800 ($870) per month—to everyone.

    It sounds far-fetched, but it’s looking likely that Finland will carry through with the idea. Whereas several Dutch cities will introduce basic income next year and Switzerland is holding a referendum on the subject, there is strongest political and public support for the idea in Finland.”
    http://qz.com/566702/finland-plans-to-give-every-citizen-a-basic-income-of-800-euros-a-month/

  12. Draco T Bastard 12
    7 December 2015 at 9:38 am

    Good news: Bananas aren’t going extinct. Bad news: They are in trouble

    While it has not yet reached Latin America, experts say that it’s not a question of if, but when. The spores live in the soil and are able to travel in the wooden pallets used to load containers. Peter said, “You can be pretty sure that given the globalized economy, it’s just a matter of time.” And even after the spores have been treated with compounds as aggressive as methyl bromide (which essentially sterilizes the soil), they still come back. The lack of curative and preventative means has inspired a mass fear of banana extinction.

    Globalisation: Just so fucking things up as what used to pass as a localised phenomenon gets passed around due to commercial imperatives.

    • Gosman 12.1
      7 December 2015 at 11:17 am

      Without Globalisation you would neither know about nor care what happened to Bananas in Latin America.

      • Draco T Bastard 12.1.1
        7 December 2015 at 12:04 pm

        The big concern with the Avian flu was that it could transmute into a global pandemic because of the ease with which people span the globe every day. The same applies to our food source.

        You, as per normal with RWNJs, focussed solely upon the object mentioned and failed to understand that the concern extends beyond that one thing.

        • Tc 12.1.1.1
          7 December 2015 at 3:06 pm

          That would require cognitive ability. Gossie blows a mean dog whistle and parrots along with the best which is the RWNJ mandatory minimum.

        • Tc 12.1.1.2
          7 December 2015 at 3:06 pm

          That would require cognitive ability. Gossie blows a mean dog whistle and parrots along with the best which is the RWNJ mandatory minimum.

      • millsy 12.1.2
        7 December 2015 at 5:18 pm

        It depends what globalisation you want to happen.

        If it is a globalisation of ideas, and information then we are all for it, but unfortunately, we look to be seeing the globalisation of Indonesian level labour law and environmental regulations.

      • Paul 12.1.3
        7 December 2015 at 6:19 pm

        Contributions like that only reinforce stats that NZ is the most ignorant nation.

      • Puddleglum 12.1.4
        7 December 2015 at 10:12 pm

        Hi Gosman,

        Along similar lines: ‘Without slavery you would neither know about nor care what happened to the modern global capitalist market economy (so stop criticising slavery).”

        If you’re interested in the historical basis of that statement try these links:

        Here, here, here and here.

  13. savenz 13
    7 December 2015 at 9:45 am

    Stop TPP, TTIP, TiSA
    REGISTER 4 CALL: http://bit.ly/1NB7M8J
    Sun Dec 6, 4:30pm Pacific/7:30 pm Eastern

    “As COP21 continues in Paris, ostensibly to prevent the largest crisis of our time, the Obama administration is embarking on a spin campaign in an attempt to sell the benefits of the TPP both to Congress and the people. Yet, the TPP fails, in its 5,600 pages, to reference the words climate change even once. And the newly Wiki-leaked Trade in Services Agreement or TiSA, Environmental Chapter, proves that multinationals have no intention of working to prevent the looming climate disaster.”
    — National TPP Team

    GUEST SPEAKERS:
    ~ William Waren, Trade Policy Analyst, Friends of the Earth
    ~ Dr. Frank Ackerman, principal economist at Synapse Energy Economics

    The call will begin with legislative and strategy updates from the TPP Team.

  14. savenz 14
    7 December 2015 at 9:47 am

    Breaking: Our boats have caught up with the BBC Shanghai aka “rust-bucket” carrying nuclear waste back to Australia. http://act.gp/1lDkYU6

    Seeing as the government won’t tell us what’s going on, Greenpeace activists are documenting the waste’s arrival – from out at sea all the way to Lucas Heights.

    Follow ‪#‎dodgyWaste‬ on Twitter @greenpeaceaustp

  15. Rosie 15
    7 December 2015 at 9:52 am

    Huge massive big ups to SAFE and Farmwatch on their work in exposing cruelty in the dairy industry and taking it global.

    Some time ago, I don’t know when as I no sense of timing, John Darroch of Farmwatch put up a guest post on TS about footage he obtained of the inhumane conditions on pig farms, which, like the recent dairying video also include workers abusing the animals.

    He had meetings with MPI to discuss the matter but was dissatisfied with their lack of follow through.

    It is hardly surprising then, that SAFE felt compelled to take their campaign to the next level and take out ads in The Guardian to expose cruel farm practices to UK consumers of our products. It was the only way they could get our government and industry to listen and act.

    But what do they do instead? They defend the dairy industry and shoot the messenger. Andrew Hoggard from Federated Farmers seems to think it’s a vegan conspiracy:

    http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/safe-ad-nz-dairy-contaminated-with-cruelty-2015120616#axzz3tZgSMAQf

    While Nathan Guy brushes the issue off and says it’s just a minority of farmers behaving badly, as if that makes it ok, and that he was disappointed with SAFE, as if they are the ones committing violent and cruel abuses. (RNZ this a.m) Both the industry have been blatant in their single minded concern for protecting farmers economic prospects while absolutely failing to address the issue.

    It’s only because of the hard work of activists over the decades that NZer’s have any awareness of the cruelty of battery farming and can buy free range chicken, eggs and pig at the supermarket.
    Exposing the cruelty within the dairy industry was inevitable and a natural progression from the battery farming issues. The industry and government are talking like this whole thing is going to blow over.

    Lets hope it doesn’t. Lets hope this is only the beginning.

    Kia Kaha SAFE and Farmwatch.

    • Draco T Bastard 15.1
      7 December 2015 at 12:07 pm

      +1

    • Chooky 15.2
      7 December 2015 at 1:29 pm

      +100 Rosie…it was sickening…and it deserves international coverage…this is far worse than the milk botulism scare

    • b waghorn 15.3
      7 December 2015 at 3:26 pm

      http://farmersweekly.co.nz/article/pulpit-money-root-of-industrial-cruelty?p=6
      Here’s an interesting take on some of the causes of animal abuse.

      I personally think its good that the bad eggs are weeded out of the farming industry ,but think dragging the whole industry through the muck in an international attack is counter productive.
      I also wonder how many lefties would be happy to have spy cameras set up to trap them in some sort of wrong doing?

      • Draco T Bastard 15.3.1
        7 December 2015 at 6:03 pm

        I personally think its good that the bad eggs are weeded out of the farming industry ,but think dragging the whole industry through the muck in an international attack is counter productive.

        Farming has been self-regulated for awhile now and so we actually do have to drag the whole lot of them through the muck so as to incentivise the good ones to do something about the bad ones. Unfortunately, most of them don’t believe that they have any responsibility for the bad ones and so nothing will continue to happen.

        Much better just to drop the delusion that industries will self-regulate and put in some decent regulation and over-watch.

      • Ergo Robertina 15.3.2
        7 December 2015 at 8:05 pm

        That’s a nice thought provoking piece by Chris Perley, although family farms could be rough and cruel as well. It sounds like his father was a good man.
        Family farms are superior to the corporate model. The money that’s flooded the rural sector, increasing the number of multi-farms in the past decade, has in my view exacerbated the existing lack of professionalism and lack of feeling for the land and animals among a large portion of NZ rural people. This is about more than a few bad eggs.
        Globalisation and modern media methods are highlighting it. Expect more exposes of this type. Loss of export markets is the only thing many of these guys understand, so I support it. And if lefties are abusing animals I’d expect them to be held to account as well.

        The Australian writer Don Watson calls farming ”measured violence”; which is a good description for what even with best practice is a cruel business.

    • ianmac 15.4
      7 December 2015 at 3:39 pm

      In this morning interview the calf defenders kept saying that SAFE should have handed the info over at the first chance instead of going public. Well they did hand over months ago, and MPI (?) did nothing. In the TV slot on”Sunday”, the MPI chap kept on refusing to say what if any action they had taken when they were given the info a long time ago. They had done nothing. Even the farmer featured had not been approached by anyone from MPI.
      Key taught them well to deny, avoid, bluster.

  16. Gangnam Style 16
    7 December 2015 at 11:01 am

    “Frankie Boyle summed up my misgivings when he tweeted about Wednesday’s Commons debate: “Kind of disturbed by the palpable excitement in parliament. The truth is our politicians like wars because they make them feel important.”” – Who can forget Keys agitated puffed up “Get some guts” moment,

    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/06/words-of-war-can-seduce-david-mitchell-hilary-benn-speech?CMP=share_btn_fb

    • joe90 16.1
      7 December 2015 at 12:44 pm

      Palestinian and expelled UAE resident Iyad El-Baghdadi –

      Iyad El-Baghdadi
      ‏@iyad_elbaghdadi

      If the local population switches from seeing ISIS as occupiers to seeing them as protectors, we have a huge, huge problem. @comomx32010

      Iyad El-Baghdadi ‏@iyad_elbaghdadi 22h22 hours ago Ulu Langat, Selangor

      And I believe that ISIS wants to be bombed precisely because of this. It plans on it. And the world obliges. @comomx32010

      https://twitter.com/iyad_elbaghdadi/status/673540901151510528

  17. Gosman 17
    7 December 2015 at 11:23 am

    http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/11752

    Interesting take on the situation in Venezuela where the ruling Socialists could lose their majority in the Congressional elections held yesterday/today.

    I note how the writer blames the fact that the Chavista regime has being to accomodating towards opponents and that is why it is in the mess that it is in. This is why hard left wing political thought is a threat to democracy. The hard left wants to destroy and supporess anything that it perceives to be a threat.

    • Lanthanide 17.1
      7 December 2015 at 1:11 pm

      “This is why extremist political thought is a threat to democracy. Political idealogues want to destroy and suppress anything that they perceive to be a threat.”

      FTFY

      Reminds me of how this National government shut down TVNZ 7 and have a deliberate funding freeze on RNZ.

    • Morrissey 17.2
      7 December 2015 at 6:02 pm

      Gosman, you are utterly ignorant. Why do you not do some reading?

      And for pity’s sake, stop believing everything you hear on Fox News.

  18. Bill Drees 18
    7 December 2015 at 11:26 am

    News just out.

    Key replaces Lotu-liga with Collins.
    Little replaces Cosgrove with Cunliffe

    • Chooky 18.1
      7 December 2015 at 1:35 pm

      so what does that mean for Cunliffe?…he is still pretty low down on the list ( not good management for Labour’s best and brightest…most able and popular…Little is running scared)

      …i would still like to see Cunliffe jump ship and Manaia Mahuta with the Maori seats

      …and I would still like to see a real Labour Mana Party…instead of the tepid thing we have

    • Colonial Viper 18.2
      7 December 2015 at 5:06 pm

      Little replaces Cosgrove with Cunliffe

      This is a joke, right?

      • Bill Drees 18.2.1
        7 December 2015 at 5:41 pm

        Sadly yes. Seemly Key us his own man and is comfortable with having complex and interesting people working in his team. Sadly Little had his team dictated to him by the ABCs according to TRP.

        • te reo putake 18.2.1.1
          7 December 2015 at 5:58 pm

          “Sadly Little had his team dictated to him by the ABCs according to TRP.”

          If the TRP you are referring to is me, you’re barking up the wrong tree, because I’ve never said that. And the reason I’ve never said it is because it’s not true. Little is his own man and he’s done a great job of getting a dysfunctional, back biting caucus back on track. Something Goff, Shearer and Cunliffe never managed.

          I appreciate there will always be some people who will always prefer to see Labour failing, but do try and keep up. Like Cunliffe, the ABCers are yesterday’s news.

          • Chooky 18.2.1.1.1
            7 December 2015 at 6:03 pm

            “Like Cunliffe, the ABCers are yesterday’s news”…really ?

            maybe it is little Labour that is yesterday’s news? ( Little just shows himself to be, at very least, a poor manager)

            …Cunliffe and Mahuta bringing in the Maori seats were Labour’s hope

            Didnt Boag support Little as Leader?

            • Hami Shearlie 18.2.1.1.1.1
              7 December 2015 at 10:15 pm

              A caucus who tries to get rid of someone as talented and gifted as David Cunliffe is liable to be looked upon with some derision – I mean, how much real talent and political ability does this Labour Party Caucus possess at the moment? The wishes of members of the Labour Party seem to be ignored. And the caucus wonder why there is no money in the kitty?

          • Bill Drees 18.2.1.1.2
            7 December 2015 at 6:05 pm

            24 November 2014 at 9:05 am
            Cheers, weka and karol. I think the problem with some of the comments around the deputy’s position is the ignorance about the process. Little can certainly nominate someone, but it’s a caucus decision, not his. And the numbers in caucus have not significantly changed; the ‘ABCers’ are still the biggest camp. They showed that by dumping Cunliffe’s chosen whips at the first opportunity.

            Thus Spoke TRP.

            Reply

            • te reo putake 18.2.1.1.2.1
              7 December 2015 at 6:23 pm

              Yep, that’s the deputy’s position. Now for the evidence that I said Little had his team dictated to him by the ABCers. Nah, you’re not going to be able do that, eh?

              The fact is that Little chose his shadow cabinet.

              • Bill Drees …
                7 December 2015 at 6:46 pm

                1. You stated that the ABCers are the biggest camp.
                2. You stated that they can choose the Deputy, no matter who Little wants.
                3. If they can dictate the Deputy and are the biggest camp ergo they can dictate the other positions.

                • Chooky …
                  7 December 2015 at 7:08 pm

                  TRP still waiting for your answer to Bill Drees…looks like he has you snookered

                  in the meantime …here is how the vote went

                  http://www.nbr.co.nz/opinion/little-wins-labour-leadership

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    7 December 2015 at 8:06 pm

                    Little has one shot at being Labour Leader. If Little loses the election in 2017, Grant Robertson will be leader within weeks

                    • Chooky …
                      7 December 2015 at 8:18 pm

                      …and if Grant Robertson becomes leader …bye bye Labour Party grassroots voter appeal …maybe this is the end game ?

                      he cant even win his own seat , nor can jacinda Adern and nor can Andrew Little

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      7 December 2015 at 8:22 pm

                      If I pick it right, “Labour grassroots appeal” is already mostly over.

                    • Chooky …
                      7 December 2015 at 9:40 pm

                      Time for a new grassroots real Labour Party

                  • te reo putake …
                    7 December 2015 at 10:40 pm

                    Chooky, I have a life. I’ve been out, as it happens, and even if I wasn’t, I answer if and when when I fucken well feel like it, not according to your agenda. Bill’s comments are full of shit. The shadow cabinet was chosen by Little as is his right.

                    I never said what Bill claimed I did, and what he claimed about caucus selecting the shadow cabinet was wrong in fact anyway and the that’s the end of that story.

                    Bill fucked up out of ignorance. What’s your excuse?

                • te reo putake …
                  7 December 2015 at 10:35 pm

                  Bill, if you want to talk shit, you really need to do some research first. I’d say you really should start by looking up the rules of the Labour party. The deputies position is voted on by caucus, but you’ll note they voted to endorse the person Little preferred. Secondly, the shadow positions are Little’s choice, as I said. You’ll note that there hasn’t been a skerrick of dissent about it, even from DC, who has taken the demotion with considerable good grace.

          • Northsider 18.2.1.1.3
            7 December 2015 at 7:11 pm

            As I said earlier….
            7 December 2015 at 9:16 am
            Claire Trevett’s opinion piece “Coded messages go back and forth in reshuffle” contains a terrible allegation about Andrew Little which he needs to clear up.

            It is effectively saying the Cunliffe’s shafting was Annette King’s price to give up her Rongotai seat for Andrew Little.

            What other Faustian pacts get made in our Labour Party Caucus? No wonder they fought so hard to deny the membership a say in the selection of leader.

            Can we drop talented people, promote unsuitable people, and expect to win the respect of the public?

            http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11554882

            Claire Trevett effectively is saying Little is not his own man, that Auntie Annette has him by the short and curlies.

            IMHO when the time is right Auntie will kill off Little and finally. oh finally, have her dear Grant installed in his rightful possie.

            • Chooky 18.2.1.1.3.1
              7 December 2015 at 8:15 pm

              +100…interesting article …and this is the crux imo …”What other Faustian pacts get made in our Labour Party Caucus? No wonder they fought so hard to deny the membership a say in the selection of leader.

              Can we drop talented people, promote unsuitable people, and expect to win the respect of the public?”

              Good questions…This Labour Party seems to defy all common sense….and it looks corrupt, taken over by hostile forces, or at very least expedient and ruthless….

              It would be very interesting if someone broke ranks and spilt the beans…or better still jumped ship …or forced the ABCs to walk the plank

              ( Cunliffe as Hamlet?: “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right.”)

              • Northsider …
                7 December 2015 at 9:56 pm

                “…or forced the ABCs to walk the plank.”
                To quote the great Orace himself, the well informed TRP, ” the ABCers are yesterday’s news.”
                That suggests that, with Cunliffe shafted, the ABCers ARE the Labour Party. Grant and Annette own the shop.
                Using TRPs analysis, factionalism is gone and he Labour Party is unified. The erstwhile Right, Cosgrove, Shearer, Nash, O’Connor, have accepted (bought off) the new status quo. The Neo-liberals have won. Time to break bread with Roger Douglas.

                All this assumes the membership will be pliant.

                My thoughts keep going back the sights of Little and Hipkins screaming at the membership during the Ellersli Conference. That was the day unions and the members voted for 40: 40: 20.

                • Olwyn …
                  7 December 2015 at 10:28 pm

                  I am not an uncritical ‘my party right or wrong” commentator, but I want to suggest a possible, more positive scenario. For one thing, Labour cannot continue with the kind of centrism that they tried to sell us under Shearer. That approach is exhausted, if it had legs to begin with. Secondly, you cannot intrigue and dissemble your way through an infinite number of elections – if Labour doesn’t reverse the downward trend then getting to be the next leader will hardly be a prize.

                  This means that the dominant factions are now in the position where they must show their mettle, or get out of the way if they lack it. And if the sidelined Cunliffeites can manage to bite the bullet and put their weight behind winning, then we will at least end up with a larger Labour caucus, possibly even a Labour government. Either result would dilute factional pressures and hold people to task. I am far from happy about the insult to David Cunliffe – I am just suggesting that Little may yet make a virtue of necessity. If he doesn’t, it will mean another nail in Labour’s coffin rather than an opportunity for some eager beaver.

  19. Gosman 19
    7 December 2015 at 11:29 am

    Another revealing insight in to the mind of the hard left.

    http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/11747

    ‘“Right now we’re in an economic war. Private companies hide food, or don’t produce food. To try to change the minds of us Chavistas, revolutionaries. They want to change our ideology. But us, we want to continue with the revolution,” Acosta concluded.’

    The idea that Private companies have decided to lose money by deliberately stopping food getting to market just so that they can influence people’s political viewpoint. It highlights a degree of paranoia and disconect from reality which is astounding.

  20. Morrissey 20
    7 December 2015 at 11:56 am

    Pity poor Matthew Hooton: this morning he suffered nightmarish flashbacks to
    being shown up and put down by Matthew Campbell and Laila Harré.
    Politics from the Left and from the Right, RNZ National, Monday 7 December 2015
    Kathryn Ryan, Matthew Hooton, Stephen Mills

    What a welcome replacement Stephen Mills is for that zombie Mike Williams! He did not once guffaw sycophantically at one of Hooton’s remarks, nor did he say: “I agree with Matthew”. Even better, he countered and refuted every single thing Hooton said, to Hooton’s evident discomfit.

    Right near the end, after Hooton had claimed that New Zealand had set the agenda at the Paris climate talks, Mills said: “So John Key has saved the planet, has he?” Hooton, taken aback, was silent for a considerable time before scrambling with a platitudinous response.

    Mills’ refusal to be cowered by Hooton’s antics even rubbed off on Kathryn Ryan, who actually found the courage to challenge Hooton’s statements herself, and to point out that his views represented no one but himself.

    At the end, instead of Hooton finishing with a five-minute lecture, as he usually does when Williams is on the program, he had to listen to Stephen Mills delivering the last word—-Mills said the National Party’s climate “policy” was “dismal and cynical”.

    Hooton. demoralised, didn’t have the heart or the wherewithal to shout anything incendiary, as he would have to Mike Williams.

    ANOTHER NIGHTMARE FLASHBACK: An unpleasant experience for Hooton came on Bastille Day this year, when he had to endure the no-nonsense Lynn Freeman as host of the program…..
    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-14072015/#comment-1043304

  21. Draco T Bastard 21
    7 December 2015 at 12:20 pm

    River stance

    Referencing monitoring reports and studies that normally lie beyond the public gaze in scholarly journals and the archives of regional councils, Niwa and other crown research institutes (CRIs), the essay is effectively a Mike Joy “state of the environment” report – one that paints a far bleaker picture than the official version published a month ago by the Ministry for the Environment.

    Of 112 monitored lakes, a 2010 Niwa study found 44% are eutrophic – so burdened by excess agricultural nutrients that they have become murky, smelly and inhospitable to many fish, reports Joy. Almost all (90%) our lowland wetlands – the “kidneys of our waterways” – have been destroyed. Three-quarters of our native freshwater fish are threatened with extinction (up from 20% in the early 1990s), yet only one – the grayling, which has been extinct for decades – has legal protection.

    Digging through the data on more than 300 monitored river sites, he reports that more than two-thirds of those surrounded by farmland exceed Australasian guidelines for nitrogen levels in water, beyond which aquatic life starts to be affected. That’s up from 40% in 1990. Phosphorous – the other key agricultural pollutant, carried into rivers by soil erosion – exceeds guidelines in most intensively farmed areas (although levels have been slowly falling since the late 1990s).

    And then there are the tiny creatures whose presence signals the well-being of rivers – invertebrates such as mayflies and stoneflies, which are measured by the Macro­invertebrate Community Index (MCI). Niwa has mapped MCI scores around the country, painting in red where low insect life denotes serious pollution: the map burns bright red throughout the intensively farmed regions of Canterbury, Southland, Auckland, ­Waikato and Taranaki.

    Clean and Green? Not bloody likely.

  22. adam 22
    7 December 2015 at 1:08 pm

    The housing crisis Auckland is under supplied by 31, 000 odd houses. Joy, no wonder people are living in garages.

    Good bless our middle class and their complete disconnect from reality on this issue.

    http://www.horizonpoll.co.nz/page/421/the-big-home?gtid=8529406816627DJJ

    • savenz 22.1
      7 December 2015 at 2:55 pm

      Since migration is running at over 60,000 per year currently with no abatement, not quite sure what the middle class are supposed to do about it?

      It is government policy that is putting the strain on housing and rentals!!!

      And the government is selling off the state houses???

      And the undemocratic SHA’s are being used to speculate with and profit from with only a fraction of houses being built so far and not aimed at Kiwis on local wages, more like over $800,000…

      Yep, that is the governments idea of affordable housing…

      The government wants you to blame the middle class, poor or who ever, not deliberate government policy to increase house prices by creating demand with immigration or cracking down on monopolies within building (it costs more per square meter to build here than Australia, USA even though we make a lot of the raw materials).

  24. reason 24
    7 December 2015 at 1:39 pm

    http://johnpilger.com/videos/the-war-on-democracy

    The u.s.a has previously help sponsor and support a military overthrow of the democratically elected government of Venezuela ……… as they have done before in Chile and many other countries ……. like Iran https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d'%C3%A9tat

    The U.s.a has been waging a economic war against Venezuela ever since it elected a socialist Government which brought in things like free health care for the poor ……………. just like it did with Cuba.

    The propaganda then becomes it’s the Venezuelan Governments fault for the pain that the u.s.a and its proxies are inflicting.

    http://johnpilger.com/videos/the-war-on-democracy …….. watch the film and then clearly see Gosmans posts for what they are………. he only has one eye and its an evil one

  25. Draco T Bastard 25
    7 December 2015 at 3:20 pm

    Rejection of scientific studies in online discusions

    Sometimes the on-line discussion of scientific issues looks like a citation battle. People take sides, battle lines are drawn and struggle commences. Each side fires barrages of citations “proving” their own argument.

    The battle progresses in real-time – the proferred citations are immediately rejected and alternatives offered. One would think the other side would take time out to actually read the offered citations – but no they are usually quickly rejected as unreliable. I also get the impression that in many cases the side offering the citation has also not bothered to read it – usually relying on its use by an ally or its coverage in a friendly on-line magazine.

    OK, it natural to be lazy but wouldn’t we all learn a lot more by actually reading the citations being thrown around. And doesn’t it discredit one’s position to reject a citation out of hand for unjustified reasons?

    The Logic of Science recently posted an analysis of the bad reasons people use for rejecting citations – 12 bad reasons for rejecting scientific studies. It is well worth a read – we will recognise these 12 reasons and hopefully learn not to use them ourselves in future.

    Here are the 12 bad reasons:

    Worth a a read. I’ve seen all 12 on this site used by both the Left and the Right-wing.

  26. The lost sheep 26
    7 December 2015 at 3:58 pm

    Looks like the people of Venezuela are tired of waiting for the dream..

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-election-idUSKBN0TP03Y20151207#Ftb9UapLgBj8pPio.97

  27. Puckish Rogue 27
    7 December 2015 at 4:21 pm

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11557000

    The Perils of Perception survey shows New Zealand is the most ignorant developed country, with most people misunderstanding the facts that make up our country’s society.

    Kiwis hugely overestimated the proportion of wealth owned by the wealthiest 1 per cent in the country.

    The average response on the percentage of wealth controlled by the wealthiest 1 per cent in New Zealand was 50 per cent. In reality, the wealthiest New Zealanders hold 18 per cent of the country’s wealth.

    Well done to the left in NZ they’ve managed to alter the perception of the public which is no easy thing to do and the top 1% only owning 18% of the wealth…that’s pretty good

  28. Halfcrown 28
    7 December 2015 at 4:21 pm

    “Looks like the people of Venezuela are tired of waiting for the dream..”

    That is sad as this was the darling cot case the right loved to quote. I enjoyed reading the mythical myopic views Gosman and others from the right took over Venezuela. The standard will never be the same again
    I wonder what Gosman will do now? I suppose he can start giving us a blow by blow tirade of that other cot case, the right wing cot case called the Ukraine.

    • Gosman 28.1
      7 December 2015 at 4:26 pm

      The Chavista regime is still in power in Venezuela. The Opposition has now gained an extra weapon to fight back against the policies that are ruining that once prosperous nation.

      • Colonial Viper 28.1.1
        7 December 2015 at 4:35 pm

        In other words, the 1% are shifting the balance back in their favour against the rest of the nation.

        • The lost sheep 28.1.1.1
          7 December 2015 at 5:21 pm

          If the shift is anything like the current suggestions CV, it would require quite a significant % of The People to be voting against the Govt. Far more than 1%.

  29. Gosman 29
    7 December 2015 at 4:23 pm

    To add to TLS comments above :

    Looks like another failed socialist experiment has started to be consigned to the dustbin of history with the opposition MUD coalition winning the election to the National assempbly by a decisive margin.

    http://caracaschronicles.com/2015/12/06/49466/

    If they get over 2/3rds majority (which some are predicting) they can make life very difficult for the Chavista regime.

  30. Morrissey 30
    7 December 2015 at 5:33 pm

    “Safeguarded eavesdropping by the state is a price we might have to pay for our safety.”—was Max Ritchie’s speech the dumbest in radio history?
    The Panel, RNZ National, Monday 7 December 2015
    Jim Mora, Ali Jones, Max Ritchie

    Just before the 4:30 news, host Jim Mora called for opinions about the SAFE advertisement that appeared in the Guardian yesterday. [1] Predictably, both Ali Jones and Max Ritchie reiterated the Federated Farmers/Fonterra corporate line and upbraided Hans Kriek for not talking enough to farmers and for (according to Ritchie) pushing his vegetarian lifestyle on everyone else. Ritchie should have left his comments at that, but, foolishly, he then went on to quote one of the less respected, crazier people to have appeared on the Panel….

    MAX RITCHIE: I heard on the radio earlier that professor of agriculture that frequently comes on your program, I forget what her name is.

    JIM MORA: Jacqueline Rowarth.

    MAX RITCHIE: That’s the one. Well, she said that our animal welfare standards are the best in the world.

    Ritchie should have carried out due diligence. If he had, he would have quoted someone better than Jacqueline Rowarth, who has established herself alongside such notorious characters as Dov Bing, Ron Smith and Willem de Lange as one of the loopier academics to periodically slither out from under the rock of Waikato University. Jacqueline Rowarth blundered into our line of sight last year, when she came on to assure the Panel that there is no such thing as poverty in New Zealand, that it’s all in the minds of the poor, who actually don’t exist anyway, and that media reports of children without shoes were rubbish: it was nothing more than kids who just didn’t want to wear shoes. [2]

    Endorsing a loopy provincial academic was bad enough, but there was worse to come from Max Ritchie. He announced grandly that his Soapbox piece after the news would be about “freedom”. In fact it turned out to be nothing more than a windy homily about how he is perfectly happy to prostrate himself to the state, which he trusts absolutely to do the right thing: “Safeguarded eavesdropping by the state is a price we might have to pay for our safety,” he intoned. He then went on, speaking as solemnly and as slowly as he could, to state that New Zealand doesn’t have a culture of heavy-handed persecution by the state, and that we could be perfectly confident if we did as he suggested, and surrendered all our rights to politicians and bureaucrats.

    After he finished speaking, there was a pause. Jim Mora does have a tendency to make a glib wisecrack after one of his guests makes such a portentous statement, but this time he was obviously flabbergasted, and said nothing at all in response. Neither did Ali Jones. It was like they were hoping that what had just been said—in essence, “I am happy to be a slave, and so should all of us be happy to be slaves”—was a horrible phantasm, and would vanish into the ether if they just stayed silent.

    Interestingly, five minutes after expressing his confidence in the benevolence of the state, Ritchie indulged in a lengthy whinge about being stopped by the police for speeding on Orakei Road on January 4th this year. “Utterly RIDICULOUS,” he growled, “I am not at ALL convinced that this is an appropriate way of policing!”

    Perhaps Max Ritchie would not enjoy his voluntary enslavement as much as he thinks he would.

    [1] http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/74783076/new-zealand-dairy-cruelty-claims-target-uk-consumer-in-guardian-ad-campaign
    [2] http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-23092014/#comment-895173

    • Macro 30.1
      7 December 2015 at 9:36 pm

      Yep! Whenever I hear Jacqueline Rowarth on air – I switch off – Why is she always the go to gal whenever they want some input on rural matters? Ok that’s her job – but surely there are others less loopy? She posts on Pundit too from time to time 🙄
      You do a great job for us M, I don’t know how you do it! 🙂

    • Chooky 30.2
      7 December 2015 at 10:02 pm

      +100 Morrissey…for stripping down what they say and critically examining it

      I also think Prof Rowarth is loopy…and a mouth piece for interests which are not necessarily farmers’

      ….”Waikato University agribusiness professor Jacqueline Rowarth questioned whether New Zealand should be doing business with Russia.

      “We need to be looking carefully at the reasons others have stopped trading with Russia,” she said.

      “We stood up against the Springboks in 1981 because we didn’t like the way people were being treated.”

      Rowarth said New Zealand could experience “short-term gain, long-term pain” from continuing to send dairy products and other food to Russia.

      “There could be repercussions for other trade if we just say we’ll keep selling you our products,” she said..”..

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/10363174/Russia-wants-our-cheese-but-at-what-cost

  31. Morrissey 31
    7 December 2015 at 7:07 pm

    Dutch citizens condemn the brutality and stupidity of the Bible

    Some Dutch people were approached and asked to listen to some passages from the Koran. After being read out some particularly violent and bloodthirsty passages, they expressed some contemptuous opinions about the simpletons who believe in such a vile religion….

    If you’ve been raised with this book and these kinds of thoughts it’s going to influence the way you think.”

    The world is changing and I think they should have to adapt to it.”

    How could anyone believe in this?! That’s unbelievable to me.”

    Trouble is, the passage actually came not from the Koran but from the Bible….

    http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/what-happens-when-you-read-people-the-bible-and-tell-them-its-the-koran-exactly-what-you-expect–WkbZzP1Jv9e

    • Psycho Milt 31.1
      7 December 2015 at 9:15 pm

      Was there some point to the exercise, or was it shits and giggles? I guess one conclusion we could draw is, you’d be completely fucking nuts to have your schools devote large amounts of their teaching time to having kids memorise passages from said book. Good job the Dutch, at least, don’t go in for that…

    • Macro 31.2
      7 December 2015 at 9:27 pm

      Yep! The bible contains some pretty graphic and sordid passages…
      Which is why a literal reading of it is not recommended.

      • ropata 31.2.1
        7 December 2015 at 11:22 pm

        +1 totally.

        Matthew Flanagan at mandm.org.nz has done some excellent work on this topic, to show that these violent passages were probably employing hyperbole common in ANE rhetoric/literature of the time, not to be taken literally.

        A big problem with naive readings of these ancient documents is that we bring our 21st century scientific brains to the table and make some basic errors of interpretation. A lot of the narratives are figurative or mythical, conveying moral and spiritual truth, not cold empirical statements like the laws of physics.

        I look at it this way:
        Q: is Led Zep’s “Stairway to Heaven” true or false?
        A: the question is poorly formulated as a song is open to interpretation. It’s art not science.
        So it is with the text of the Bible.

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    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

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