Through a recent staff survey, ANZ found that “overall trust” in senior leadership at the bank has fallen to 49 per cent. And only 60 per cent of bank employees said they feel able to raise issues and concerns within ANZ “without fear of negative consequences”.
That measure fell from 86 per cent before Hisco’s departure.
Staff satisfaction also dropped to 69 per cent from 83 per cent, while 71 per cent of employees said they would recommend the bank as a place to work to friends and family, down from 87 per cent previously.
ANZ distributed the results of the “My Voice” survey to staff by email last week; a source within the bank shared them with Stuff, but requested anonymity fearing reprisal. ANZ has warned staff against speaking to the press.
We've known about the consequences of John Key's “leadership” for some time. Now it looks like the rest are catching up, especially ANZ employees.
Don't embarrass John Key or you will lose your job.
Are you seriously arguing Hisco didn't deserve to be turfed?
[I cannot for the world tell how you can read that into that comment and thus conclude that you are twisting and distorting words and effectively putting words into another commenter’s mouth. Your twin-twister was given a week off for this and I like to be fair to you. Take a week off – Incognito]
Thanks Incognito. I'm getting tired of the propensity of a few r.w. antagonists trying to up-end reasonable comments of other contributors. I conclude they are attempting to drive these commenters away from TS.
The "twin twister" was getting close to stalking me around this site in recent weeks. 🙁
As you know, I am a strong advocate of self-moderation. I tend to wait & see, letting things run their course, before I start warning. Rather than stomping around like an elephant with a toothache, I largely rely on the TS community to self-regulate and –moderate; a (fine) balance between top-down and bottom-up moderation. This could mean commenters ignoring certain other commenters rather than giving them attention (oxygen), which literally eats into TS bandwidth. Unfortunately, this does not happen enough IMHO. That said, I hear you and I may become a little more ‘assertive’ as moderator if (my) time allows it.
She's told you why: communications between parties aren't government documents. Neither party will want inter-party discussions exposed to their political opponents (which will also be why said opponents are making attempts to get them exposed). No doubt those opponents will complain to the Ombudsman, and it will be interesting to see if he finds her mistaken use of parliamentary letterhead outweighs the nature of the content.
I guess we'll find out if she "must" release it. Unless the Ombudsman forces her to release it, she'd be stupid to do so – it would mean voluntarily allowing her mistake to benefit the Greens' political opponents. That's something that should only happen involuntarily.
Julie Anne said, in the House, that she would release it, if asked to by the Ombudsman. She also made it very clear that her letter was describing the Green Party's view, not that of her Ministerial office. That distinction will be obscured as much as possible by National, despite them knowing it to be the truth. Using the wrong letterhead was a mistake made by an MP new to office and my expectation is that the Ombudsman will recognise that and rule accordingly. I reckon he/she will not require the letter to be released. But I'm just guessing
Agree Robert.
A storm in a tea-cup by the Opposition trying to create a sense of sinister machinations. Ministers are extremely busy people who don't always have the opportunity to discuss mutual portfolio concerns face to face so they put pen to paper. Of course the Nat minsters did the same thing when they were in government.
The current furore around the Labour Party staffer who appears to have misbehaved (it's yet to be established how serious it was) is another case in point. I recall a similar situation inside the National Party a few years ago where a National Party activist "misbehaved " at a function. The Nats dealt with the matter internally and no more was heard about it.
Now they're crying foul – or at least their media lackeys on their behalf.
It's time for Labour to remind voters about that previous incident and show up the profound hypocrisy of the Nats.
I don't care if she signed it Humpty-Dumpty. So she grabbed the nearest bit of paper which happened to be a piece of ministerial stationary with the official letter head at the top and her ministerial title at the bottom. So what? That doesn't mean it is either intended for… or should be made available for public consumption.
In my view it’s a damm sight more important that ministers and co-ministers are able to keep in touch any way they choose to ensure they understand one another and are on the same page.
I can't understand why inter-government deliberations, discussions and opinions should be made available to the public and the Oppos. unless government chooses. Why should Ms Genter reveal her communications with Mr Twyford? It is unreasonable to demand this.
20. Strengthen New Zealand’s democracy by increasing public participation, openness, and transparency around official information.
This from p6 also seems relevant:
It is agreed that where briefings are provided to the Green Party, or where they are involved in a consultative arrangement with regard to legislation or policy, all such discussions shall be confidential unless otherwise agreed.
Well this is a first. I have never before heard anyone argue, that the OIA is an ass of a law. From the lunatic right fringe, to pure social democrats, there is consensus that a functioning democracy should have open and transparent government.
That principle is crystallised in the OIA, and I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone who believes in democracy would be offended by that law.
We could move to a society where the public has no right to question what their government is up to, or just emigrate to China where that is already the case.
The law is a defence to the police theory of government.
Huxley's analysis on David Hume where he argues on the governed to see the way opinion is formed is as relevant today as 150 years ago.
As Hume says with profound truth in the fourth essay, On the First Principles of Government:—
"As force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is, therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and the most popular."—(III. 31.)
But if the whole fabric of social organisation rests on opinion, it may surely be fairly argued that, in the interests of self-preservation, if for no better reason, society has a right to see that the means of forming just opinions are placed within the reach of every one of its members; and, therefore, that due provision for education, at any rate, is a right and, indeed, a duty, of the state.
What a load of rubbish. Free and frank discussion between the members of government is necessary so they understand each other's positions. They may need to adjust their own, or seek to do so with others, because of reasons that they explain but don't want to provide to their enemies who will look for anything they can to make a furore about.
People coming up with simple comments to the negative would not be able to run an open and honest committee for a cake stall.
And saying 'because we live in a democracy' – so prim and proper and saying the dogma; fatuous when we see democracy decimated every day, a little or a lot. It's an empty word when not backed up with respect and practicality to make it work for and by the people. That includes discussing the problems arising, and about what can be transparent and what should be kept as private discussion.
That's an interesting view. One I respectfully disagree with.
We should be promoting and demanding the accountability of Ministers. When one Minister writes to another Minister, Parliament has a right to know what was said.
We have an Official Information Act which is one of the cornerstones of our democracy and allows the opposition and the media (or what you have describe as "enemies"), to hold the executive and government to account.
There is a clear Principle (that you appear to disagree with) that the Executive Government’s (i.e Ministers) have responsibility to Parliament.
They should not be able to hide behind a fictitious claim that their letter written on ministerial letter head, signed as a minister, and sent to another minister, was actually written from a Green party perspective.
We should be promoting and demanding the accountability of Ministers. When one Minister writes to another Minister, Parliament has a right to know what was said.
What you're positing comes within the realms of a police state. George Orwell's "Animal Farm" comes to mind. If the day arrives when a minister can't talk/write to another minister in confidence without revealing what was said to a populace who have no more right to know than the ministers have… to demand to know of the conversations of the populace then God help us.
A political discussion of this nature should always be oral. She should have simply met the relevant person and discussed her concerns.
In my view writing on Ministerial letterhead means it is ministerial. Every MP has MP letterhead, even when they are ministers. They should know when to use the appropriate letterhead. Grabbing the wrong letterhead as Anne suggests is not much of an answer. Letters have a degree of formality. The Minister in signing it will have known which letterhead it was on.
Yes Wayne… no question she should have been more careful in her choice of writing paper. Is that a crime worthy of the outrage being promulgated by Bishop and friends? No it is not.
Are ministers and associate ministers entitled to converse about portfolio concerns and expect them to remain confidential? Of course they are.
If, and when ministers are physically unable to compare notes in person (due to external pressures and hectic timetables) are they entitled to thus communicate via letter? Of course they are.
That, as far as I'm concerned, is the nuts and bolts of the case and no amount of pontification on legal minutia around how a cabinet minister – or anyone else for that matter- should or should not communicate with a colleague is going to change it.
My argument was more to do with the insinuation that JAG had committed a serious misdemeanour and that she was guilty as charged without a trial (metaphorically speaking) and all in the name of political gain for the Nats, who were 'guilty' of similar practices when they were in government.
I think the current Government, having to their own surprise been thrust into Office by Mr Peters, are adopting the attitude attributed to Prince Otto von Bismarck. One variant of it is
"To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making."
The Parties concerned, along with Winston First are adopting this approach rather than what they said before the election. Keep the Public in the Dark is their motto nowadays. Otherwise the Public is likely to take the view of a second variant of the statement.
"Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made". Respect for the Government will become what they deserve. Nil.
If we, as the OIA intends, find out what this Government has been up to the Government parties probably fear that we will follow the admonition of the Bible
"Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth"
Of course what Miss Ardern said, before the election, is readily explained by another aphorism attributed to Bismarck.
"At no time there is more lying than before the elections, during the war and after the hunt."
Because she communicated officially with Twyford on ministerial letterhead and in her capacity as the Associate Minister of Transport. Therefore she has an obligation to release the contents of this letter.
Furthermore the main content of the letter apparently relates to regional transportation plans for Wellington and the Greens position on this and so is absolutely in the public interest (especially Wellingtonians).
It sounds like Genter may have made some sensitive comments about what she and the Greens might do if her demands re the Wellington regional transportation plan were not agreed to by Twyford and Labour. (see the Dom Post this morning).
That's too bad. She is better off to come clean. By continuing to refuse to release the letter, the issue is getting legs it wouldn't normally warrant, and Genter is beginning to squirm very uncomfortably.
And lets not even get started on the hypocrasy of Genter's stance verses the narrative promoted by Labour and the Greens on being transparent and open, especially with the public. Genter is treating us, the public, with arrogant contempt by continuing to not release the letter.
The pressure is building – maybe she'll release it today before question time in the house; where she'll likely be subject to further embaressment and loss of credibility.
the main content of the letter apparently relates to regional transportation plans for Wellington and the Greens position on this and so is absolutely in the public interest
Okeydoke Grantoc thanks it seems that everyone watches gummint like a hawk these days. The good have to be perfect and the bad.. have their errors float off on the tide.
No wonder a lot of things are not written down.
On the other hand it is interesting to see how the Greens stance is being maintained when reality confronts them, how are their promises and intentions standing up. It's hard however to progress NZ with traps laid by people in the Opposition more interested in tripping up government than serving the country.
You're likely right about the choice of paper she wrote it on. If that's the difference then Ms Genter and those she works with are very naive.
While you can't go into such jobs with an over-riding, underlying, all encompassing, pervasive 'fortress' mentality, when missionary zeal should be the driver, that is what is needed. Think and expect the worst of people needs to be the starting point. Throwing away notions of 'everyone wants what's the best for the country' out the window is critical. For god's sake, it's like they've run out on the field expecting a good game, a clean game and there and won't be eye-gouging.
That said, if the Prime Minister phones, texts or writes to someone on political business should those be public communications able to be accessed by the public? Or does it depend on the particular phone or piece of paper she uses? Or can she say, "It isn't public business, I didn't communicate as the Prime Minister but as an ordinary citizen." (The sort of situation that could arise in dealing with some third rate 'journalist' from some suspect media organisation.)
No doubt the Ombudsman will deal with the matter taking into account the nuances of the rules and their intent. I look forward to the reaction of a ruling which determines in a scholarly sagacious judge type way that parts of the communication be redacted because while there might be a certain letterhead the clear intent and context of the remarks should see them set aside.
Then Chris Bishop could have a flurry of fits from here to eternity interrupted by him, in his turn as a Minister, accusing people of playing silly games when they act as he does. Either that or he might get a life and spend his time (and our money) on something meaningful past his ego.
I am being trivial but I think Chris Bishop looks like a basset hound. And that is not right because I like basset hounds, he should impersonate something like a ferret.
That is not being trivial, it is just being plain nasty. Argue the politics or facts, keep your prurient fantasies about the physical appeal or otherwise of politicians to yourself.
Hey Peter, and lets make it retroactive. There are quite a lot of paperwork and foot maneuvering around the actual extent that National and Act parties were involved in dirty politics during their term in office. Including things like the real story behind the drive to produce the super-shitty.
Yes, there was a sort of sanctity around the Auckland convention centre dealings too because St. Steven was involved. Then again he and his boss never ever ever used the sacred words 'open' or 'transparent' so things had to be different.
Then Chris Bishop could have a flurry of fits from here to eternity interrupted by him, in his turn as a Minister, accusing people of playing silly games when they act as he does.
Earlier this week,‘Te Koiroa o te Koiora’, a Discussion Document for the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy (NZBS) was launched setting out proposals for inclusion in a new Biodiversity Strategy.
The Department of Conservation made a video promoting it (see link below), and highlighting many of the unique species that need looking after. One of them is the tuna tuwharewhare (longfin eel).
It just so happens that these tuna are exported live overseas, for about $10 or $12 an eel, often ending up in Asian restaurants where they are skinned and cooked alive.
Tuna tuwharewhare are in very serious trouble and likely to reach a stage of functional extinction within the next few years. The first thing that needs to happen is for all commercial fishing of them to end immediately
Yes I have never understood that either, I have kept eels as pets a couple of times, and keeping in mind I have kept almost every predator fish available in NZ cold and warm water, I can say that the eel is with out doubt the most intelligent fish I have had anything to do with.
Watching a big eels in their natural environment is really something, especially at night when they are out hunting.
My aunt had perhaps a dozen tame eels in the farm creeks. As kids we would follow the chooks around looking for any eggs laid outside the coop to feed the eels. Rotten was best and they were also rather keen on any blood, offal, fat, scraps etc from the killing shed.
Then we'd call the eels and they'd turn up and follow us along the bank eyeballing us, looking for a feed and a belly rub. They all had names and I'm sure some were more interested in belly rubs than food.
The National finance spokesman on RNZ this morning, great interview for talking points, little else. On the Reserve Bank's interest rate call yesterday, like a typical conservative, he would prefer the bank to only grab the wheel after the shit hits the fan. "Wait and see", repeated several times.
It's worth listening to this Q & A report from a month ago. Cameron Bagrie discussed business confidence early in this 9 min clip."Look, thow it in the bin. I ignore it as an economic indicator" and "It is politically biased"
"he would prefer the bank to only grab the wheel after the shit hits the fan."
I think everyone agrees that a feature of a capitalist economy is there are cycles and there will be recessions or a reasonably regular basis. That is undeniable.
So yes I would agree that the Reserve Bank should be keeping some powder dry for when the shit hits the fan – as it inevitably will.
We are a hostage to the global economy. If the the trade war results in a global recession, it would be very nice if the Reserve Bank had some options to help us through. Those options are now running out, at a time when the government is telling us that the domestic economy is ticking along very nicely.
Exactly right, and I would like to remind some folk, that as it is we can't even protect our own native fresh water fish today, NZ policy not only allows but encourages an apex predator, namely the rainbow and brown trout to hunt the rivers, steams and lakes of New Zealand, with the obvious catastrophic results on every single species of native fresh water animal..from Kouro through to the beautiful and majestic Banded and Giant Kokopu..why the fuck we would allow and encourage this fierce and super fast growing predator in our water ways is a complete mystery to me.
From the Fish & Game web site..
'The brown trout is an introduced northern hemisphere sports fish and can be found in most New Zealand waters excepting the very north of the North Island.'
So next time you see anyone pointing fingers at the Japanese about their appalling fishing practices, maybe remind them that we really need to be getting our own back yard in order first.
I an no an expert in removing introduced predators from native environments, but I am sure if there is a will there is a way.
I will also say that I once interviewed Rod McDonald who was by far and away New Zealand's most knowledgeable expert on our fresh water fish, at the time he told me off the record (he was working for NIWA) that large scale extinction faced our native fish by way of habitat loss, and degradation along with loss through whitebaiting and introduced predator fish.
I was friends with Bob McDowell's fishing-friend, Ian Mathieson (now deceased) and learned a lot from him about native fishes and their habitats. Ian lauded Bob as the main man when it came to native fish. Ian encouraged me to pursue the idea of purchasing a 6-hectare wetland that was about to be "dairyfied" and I did. With the help of various people, some from Fish & Game, we commissioned the creation of ponds in wetland, to encourage native fish; tuna and kokopu especially. There are fern birds and bitterns there also. Marsh crakes too, sometimes. Mostly though, harakeke and mikimiki. Thanks Ian!
Adrian T. is ever the optimist, and as much as I would love to be proved wrong I fear that Introduced fish species will never be eliminated, there are simply too many lobby groups with large financial backing. Its claimed to be atleast a 400 million dollar industry..so yet again The Economy writes the rules.
However, despite our best efforts there is no reason to claim that 'eels are largely gone', and its certainly not something we should embrace as a foregone conclusion, unless we are happy to wave goodbye to our entire ecosystem.
These two articles cover a number of relevant studies, including the feasability of making some waterways free of introduced predators and, interestingly, point to the presence of eels being required to achieve a healthy Brown Trout population…"predation by eels can facilitate a trout fishery of greater value by suppressing juvenile trout abundance and indirectly enhancing growth of larger adult trout,"
I've visited a processing plant for eels where Giant kokopu were a regular feature of the catches unloaded. Those fish, many of the huge, were released/dumped into the nearby stream, where they no doubt died. Deeply shameful, imo.
It might not be a good idea to take away a fairly cheap form of recreation from a large number of pretty ordinary NZers. Leisure is also a part of the material conditions of life that we should be looking to improve for those without a lot of money – along with liveable incomes, housing, healthcare etc. The trout fishers I know are also champions of freshwater quality.
Besides that, it's impractical – how do you selectively eliminate only salmonids from waterways where they are self-sustaining (not reliant on stocking)? Absolutely we need to protect the kokopu – reductions in the whitebait take, protection of lowland water quality, especially small coastal streams and wetlands that are too small or short to hold self-sustaining trout populations. The extinction of the NZ grayling was a tragedy that we can't allow to happen with the kokopu.
You realize that you are using the same argument and justification that the Japanese use to hunt whales..
" The extinction of the NZ grayling was a tragedy that we can't allow to happen with the kokopu."…well it is happening, today, now as we speak.
In a stream about 40 minutes out of Hasting, I have walked though the shallows one night, the water was so thick with juvenile trout that they were beaching themselves just jumping away from my feet, there were thousands of them…I have been observing rivers,streams and waterways around NZ on and off for over 20 years and I can tell I you that native fish in NZ are under extremely serious threat.
And it is also worth keeping in mind that the extinction of a fish species wether it be fresh or salt water, doesn't happen when the last couple of fish die, it happens a long long time before that sad event occurs, when a unsustainable tipping point in numbers is reached and natural recovery cannot be achieved.
Yeah love them too, I have seen them crawling up shear rock faces at night,,sneaky little guys.
I always had a couple in my big Native fish tanks, they have heaps of character but pretty hard on the plants though, and watching them eat a worm is like something out of a horror show.
Giant Kokopu like habitats that trout dislike; swampy, turgid, muddy slow-moving. Preserving those places and creating new ones would go a long way toward keeping the population of Giant Kokopu up, imo. They can survive/thrive in conditions trout cannot.
OCR cut to 1% and we are told that this is good news. For whom ??
Those in debt and with mortgages ?
How about those renters, will we see rents reduce as the landlord will have less costs (Think of Andrew King next time he is in the media standing up for landlords) ?? Yet these same renting families/individuals will be paying more for imported goods (Petrol), not a winner for them 😢
Then we have rent to buy from the Greens that will help the same subset that can afford Kiwibuild. Student fees Great policy (But benefits same subset as Kiwibuild)
Why do we pander to this subset and give lip service to the rest ???
"Then we have rent to buy from the Greens that will help the same subset that can afford Kiwibuild."
Afaik, the Greens' rent to own scheme will be for people that aren't even close to home owning, so not the same subset of people that can afford Kiwibuild.
How will these families be able to service a mortgage maintain the property, insurance, rates etc As currently it is HNZ I understand that cover these (Except Rates which I also understand HNZ do not pay) And if these families do purchase the property there will be no Accomodation Rental Supplement ? – reducing their disposable income even more ??
But I digress, low interest rates do not help many NZers. The lower down the wealth list I could imagine that they suffer not benefit 😤
I haven't looked at the detail, but what I got so far was that the govt and/or an NGO would build the house, a low income family would rent it, part of the rent would go towards a deposit, once that had accrued they could take out a mortgage to buy the house. I assume the mortgage would be in the same range as the rent, and that people receiving accommodation supplement would still get it (as TA points out, AS is available to all low income people for rent or mortgage).
I was referring to wekas comment "I assume the mortgage would be in the same range as the rent", as I cannot see any details other than below regarding the Greens announcement.
As we have seen with Kiwibuild the details are very important for a successful implementation of a policy.
AS is available to any NZer who meets the criteria (asset and income tests). It covers part of the mortgage/rent but also rates, insurance, maintenance and repairs. Repayable grants (no interest loans) are available from WINZ if people need a chunk of cash up front for maintenance or repairs.
The main issues I see with the policy are how to keep the rent and then mortgage payments low, whether houses can be owned collectively, and whether they then become part of the property market eg someone is allowed to on sell like normal. Lots of things to be worked out, but I trust the Greens have thought about this long and hard (it's not a new thing for them).
I understand the next step is to negotiate with Labour and NZF, so I see the policy announcement as a start of that process that involves the public as well.
If we allow pop. growth and that our expectations of the level of delivery in health, education, infrastructure etc are at least status quo then IMO we either need growth or technology advancements to enable these expectations to be met, or "we" need to temper our expectations, unless there is something you can add to my understanding.
And no I don't agree growth is a net good. Look at the destruction of our environment that has occurred to allow short term growth.
I wouldnt say I can offer you "understanding", that comes from the self but would suggest if your system requires growth to continue then the maintenance of growth would be considered 'good'……especially if you consider there is no possible alternative as those running things do.
If we allow immigration at 1.5% of our population (plus natural pop growth )how then do we maintain our current living standards and for govts to satisfy our expectations (refer current health and the availability of cancer treatments) unless growth or advancements in tech that allow us to do tomorrow cheaper than today ?
sure agreed growth has to be tempered with cost/damage to environment, not growth at any and all costs
'cheaper' has nothing to do with it (though the BAU crowd will cite productivity)….it is simply a question of resources and distribution…we havnt got enough (and its diminishing) and what we do have aint distributed to max benefit…all the finagling in world does not alter that
No doubt he was angry at the deliberate attempt to undermine the regular process and got emotionally charged – to him it was analogous to a hack. I imagine he dropped his precision and control of a Treasury official for a moment and let the good bloke pissed-off have a word.
Both the English Tory Party and English Labour realise the Union is finished and are strategising for a chess table that does not include Scotland and Ireland as well as the EU.
Johnson's people can count and know that the vast majority of the 59 Scottish seats at WM will aways be anti Tory. The simple solution is to let Scotland go. Loosing 45-59 anti tory seats makes them less needy for 10 DUP "friends". The DUP is only "popular" with Tory members when there is no alternative.
Labour has no seats from NI and could well have none in Scotland. They have to strategise for a future as an England/Wales party.
The best Labour can do after the forthcoming WM GE is get support from the possible 59 SNP MPs to form a government and stop the Tory madness. Then get SNP and Lib Dem support to introduce Proportional Representation, That will be the best way of making sure the Tories never have an absolute majority in the English/Wales parliament.
A hard border within the Britain instead of in Ireland – and a little England with MMP PR so the days of Tory goverment end forever. Nice.
Even better – win the election and form an alliance to stay in the customs union and single market. Then install MMP PR to prevent the Tories from being in position to try a no deal Brexit in future.
A no deal Brexit and a subsequent Tory election win would turn the UK/England into a rival to Puerto Rico as Area 51, a self governing colony taking its orders from Capitol Hill.
Politics has now moved to a post UK phase. The seat on the UN Security Council will go. The flag will be meaningless. Remainers will correctly be angry with the Leavers. The Leaver will blame everyone else but themselves. They will have their beloved Blue Passports while they join the "Third Country" lines at the airports.
After its been bad for a while it will then get worse.
Then the Queen will pass on to the Great Palace in the Sky. King Charles and Boris Johnson leading the Exceptional Ones.
It might not just be taking the St Andrews blue out of the Union Jack, but consideration given to nationalisation of the royal property in Scotland, or confiscation for the award to a Scottish throne claimant who was not English.
Here’s a couple of interesting articles from news.com. The first one is a large number of Chinese businesses and companies are using IOU’s to pay bills. Which is not a good look either way for the short term or the longer term as someone will end asking for real money and the whole thing would collapse under the weight of debt etc.
This one is also interesting over the blame game of currency manipulation in the resulting trade war and like above, it can only lead to another GFC in the medium to longer term unless someone calls a truce.
Talking about projected massive rate hikes for Wellington causes pause. Andy Foster states 'I chair the Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee' and looks at the unavoidable costs arising from leaky buildings which exist, and the likely ones still being built, according to knowledgable builders around. Central government action is needed he states and I think that something has been recently announced on that. But I haven't got time to look it up.
The rates for the regional council are up 15.7%. He starts off backgrounding the situation with his Wellington city rates after recent revaluations.
I’ll use ours as a ‘modest’ example – city rates up 4.6% and regional rates up a staggering 15.7%. Overall that’s 6.2%. Other people, undoubtedly with greater proportionate rises in Capital Value in the revaluation, have even higher numbers. …
The bad news is that there is a lot more proposed. The Wellington City Council Chief Executive’s Pre-election Report shows that over the 10 years of our Long Term Plan (LTP) rates are expected to rise by 48.2%. …
It gets worse. That does not include remotely enough money for Let’s Get Wellington Moving or for Civic Square.
Based on the information to date, LGWM will cost the city and region in the order of $1.2billion in today’s money, while the Council’s placeholder in the LTP is just $120million. The annual cost seems to be (the LGWM numbers are a bit inconsistent) around $90million of which 62% appears to be expected to be paid through rates.
Signalling that people need to try to shift from cars to public transport or use their car more efficiently (have a car full of regular fellow travellers).
The Government appears to have ruled out congestion pricing, and has certainly ruled out fuel taxes. None of these things are popular but if the alternative is a massive – permanent – rise in rates then they need to be explored. Long stay parking levies and congestion pricing in particular also incentivize transport behaviour change and were built into the original LGWM transport models. Without them, and much of the roading originally proposed, of course the model needs changing.
Thinking for the future with a clear head – needed urgently around NZ.
We can only hope we get rid of the crazy Mayor and many of the Councillors we have at the moment.
One can only weep at the insane items that the Council is spending hundreds of millions on. I suppose Mayor Lester intends to be like his equally hopeless predecessor. She fled town and moved up to the Wairarapa, out of the reach of Wellington City, and Wellington Regional Council rates. There she lets scrub grow and claims an income from selling carbon credits.
Meanwhile we residents of the city have to pay for Lester's brain-farts. One was, of course, $40,000 for a few painted stripes in Cuba Street. Supplying a reserve water supply for the Hospital so that it can keep operating after an Earthquake is not on his urgent list. It would be useful and Lester doesn't do useful.
Oh piss off Winston, we all know this is a non too subtle play for conservative votes and its far too late for that
If I could choose only one thing to happen at the next election (apart from Jude being proclaimed Queen of NZ) I'd choose the utter annihilation of NZFirst
If he shows some back bone and rules out Winston he'll go up in the polls then Act can campaign on keeping National honest and take the protest votes off NZfirst (might even get an extra seat or two out of it) and everyone will be happy because the undead corpse that is NZFirst/Winston will finally be vanquished for good
… and the bells will ring out throughout the land as unicorns prance through the woods while farting rainbows and shitting gold, everyone will find their true love(s) and live happily ever after except the evil wizard who will spend eternity in a dungeon covered in leprechaun turds.
Yes. It was a very intelligent speech. We all know exactly what happened, the who the when and the why….without her having to state explicitly that at their caucus meetings she's surrounded by dinosaurs. Me? Not so subtle. Bunch of misogynist old pricks. Unless you have a womb, be guided by your female colleagues.
I really feel for her, she didn't deserve this. Appallingly misogynistic and reinforces that NZF is an old boys club. I cannot wait until Peters is out of parliament, but it's not like he is the only one.
Interesting to note Monday's police presence increase was due to a 'miscommunication between police and protestors', which brings into question the claims that kaitiaki had *actually* occupied land they had been evicted from instead of just continuing to maintain a presence on the Quarry Road. Jill Rogers getting nothing from Haumaha there.
Well, the front line that was cut off by the influx of police on Monday is on the Ihumatao Quarry Road – which is the public access road to the Otuataha Stonefields site. Some kaitiaki have camped on the adjacent field which is part of Fletchers land, but the police did not attempt to break up that campsite on Monday.
Monday was a mess for sure. I just had no idea that the camp was on the road and not on the land. Kind of mind blowing that I didn't know that, and I'm wondering if I just missed that important point of if many people don't realise this.
That time again where it's play the 'what party the local candidates support' game.
I won't vote for a non labour or green aligned candidate, but as they don't usually declare a party affiliation, and often they don't door knock these days, it's all a bit hit or miss.
Does anyone know the left leaning candidates for council and mayor in Hamilton west?
Did he pay his parents board while he was living with them? The article doesn't say does it. We can only guess that he didn't. Therefore he didn't 'do it all on his own'
The other thing of course is that all the people in the country who want their own home cannot go and work on fishing boats.
Noticed that a book of Trump's tweets had been published. Could be good Christmas present for someone who knows how to read. By Christmas it could be redundant if someone files for impeachment or something, or apricot perhaps.
The Abbotsford disaster in Dunedin is old history. And probably forgotten by most. But I see that RadioNZ has brought it forward and I just pop it in here so you can see the problems from shifting soil,. landslides can do. The problem here was that Dunedin had information about the soil instability but lost it in the files, and when they bulldozed the 'toe' away from a hill with houses on and around it, they started movement that was very frightening and destructive.
Seven years ago the impressionist Rory Bremner complained that politicians had become so boring that few of them were worth mimicking: “They’re quite homogenous and dull these days … It’s as if character is seen as a liability.” Today his profession has the opposite problem: however extreme satire becomes, it struggles to keep pace with reality. The political sphere, so dull and grey a few years ago, is now populated by preposterous exhibitionists.
This trend is not confined to the UK – everywhere the killer clowns are taking over
This trend is not confined to the UK – everywhere the killer clowns are taking over. Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, Donald Trump, Narendra Modi, Jair Bolsonaro, Scott Morrison, Rodrigo Duterte, Matteo Salvini, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Viktor Orbán and a host of other ludicrous strongmen – or weakmen, as they so often turn out to be – dominate nations that would once have laughed them off stage. The question is why? Why are the technocrats who held sway almost everywhere a few years ago giving way to extravagant buffoons?
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Social media, an incubator of absurdity, is certainly part of the story. But while there has been plenty of good work investigating the means, there has been surprisingly little thinking about the ends. Why are the ultra-rich, who until recently used their money and newspapers to promote charisma-free politicians, now funding this circus? Why would capital wish to be represented by middle managers one moment and jesters the next?
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The reason, I believe, is that the nature of capitalism has changed. The dominant force of the 1990s and early 2000s – corporate power – demanded technocratic government. It wanted people who could simultaneously run a competent, secure state and protect profits from democratic change. In 2012, when Bremner made his complaint, power was already shifting to a different place, but politics had not caught up.
The policies that were supposed to promote enterprise – slashing taxes for the rich, ripping down public protections, destroying trade unions – instead stimulated a powerful spiral of patrimonial wealth accumulation. The largest fortunes are now made not through entrepreneurial brilliance but through inheritance, monopoly and rent-seeking: securing exclusive control of crucial assets such as land and buildings privatised utilities and intellectual property, and assembling service monopolies such as trading hubs, software and social media platforms, then charging user fees far higher than the costs of production and delivery. In Russia, people who enrich themselves this way are called oligarchs. But this is a global phenomenon. Today corporate power is overlain by – and mutating into – o
The French railway network, as administered by SNCFRéseau, as of June 2007, is a network of commercially usable lines of 29,213 kilometres (18,152 mi), of which 15,141 km (9,408 mi) is electrified
As of 2015, Germany had a railway network of 33,331 km of which 19,983 km were electrified and 18,201 km were double track
The New Zealand rail network has around 4,128 kilometres (2,565 miles) of line, of which about 506 kilometres (314 miles) is electrified.
You're right New Zealand is not as populated as Europe but neither do we have the infrastructure to support such a population.
We don't even have the infrastructure to support the population we've got.
I ran across a recent essay from The Brothers Krynn, which attempts to map common horror monsters onto the Seven Deadly Sins: https://canadianculturecorner.substack.com/p/horror-monsters-and-vice My interest, however, is not in the meat of the piece, but rather the opening paragraph: It is an interesting fact that in recent decades, Vampires have ...
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
We've known about the consequences of John Key's “leadership” for some time. Now it looks like the rest are catching up, especially ANZ employees.
Don't embarrass John Key or you will lose your job.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/114825579/anz-nz-employees-trust-in-senior-leadership-tested-after-hisco-scandal
Are you seriously arguing Hisco didn't deserve to be turfed?
[I cannot for the world tell how you can read that into that comment and thus conclude that you are twisting and distorting words and effectively putting words into another commenter’s mouth. Your twin-twister was given a week off for this and I like to be fair to you. Take a week off – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 7:52 AM.
No one's going to seriously argue that Chris T didn't deserve to be turfed.
Thanks Incognito. I'm getting tired of the propensity of a few r.w. antagonists trying to up-end reasonable comments of other contributors. I conclude they are attempting to drive these commenters away from TS.
The "twin twister" was getting close to stalking me around this site in recent weeks. 🙁
As you know, I am a strong advocate of self-moderation. I tend to wait & see, letting things run their course, before I start warning. Rather than stomping around like an elephant with a toothache, I largely rely on the TS community to self-regulate and –moderate; a (fine) balance between top-down and bottom-up moderation. This could mean commenters ignoring certain other commenters rather than giving them attention (oxygen), which literally eats into TS bandwidth. Unfortunately, this does not happen enough IMHO. That said, I hear you and I may become a little more ‘assertive’ as moderator if (my) time allows it.
Read the bolded bit, TMAB.
Why is Genter refusing to release the letter to Minister Twyford on Get Wellington Moving?
The Ombudsman will drag it out of her and she'll just look like more of a dick.
She's told you why: communications between parties aren't government documents. Neither party will want inter-party discussions exposed to their political opponents (which will also be why said opponents are making attempts to get them exposed). No doubt those opponents will complain to the Ombudsman, and it will be interesting to see if he finds her mistaken use of parliamentary letterhead outweighs the nature of the content.
She admitted yesterday she signed it as Minister.
She has no leg to stand in and must release.
I guess we'll find out if she "must" release it. Unless the Ombudsman forces her to release it, she'd be stupid to do so – it would mean voluntarily allowing her mistake to benefit the Greens' political opponents. That's something that should only happen involuntarily.
Julie Anne said, in the House, that she would release it, if asked to by the Ombudsman. She also made it very clear that her letter was describing the Green Party's view, not that of her Ministerial office. That distinction will be obscured as much as possible by National, despite them knowing it to be the truth. Using the wrong letterhead was a mistake made by an MP new to office and my expectation is that the Ombudsman will recognise that and rule accordingly. I reckon he/she will not require the letter to be released. But I'm just guessing
Agree Robert.
A storm in a tea-cup by the Opposition trying to create a sense of sinister machinations. Ministers are extremely busy people who don't always have the opportunity to discuss mutual portfolio concerns face to face so they put pen to paper. Of course the Nat minsters did the same thing when they were in government.
The current furore around the Labour Party staffer who appears to have misbehaved (it's yet to be established how serious it was) is another case in point. I recall a similar situation inside the National Party a few years ago where a National Party activist "misbehaved " at a function. The Nats dealt with the matter internally and no more was heard about it.
Now they're crying foul – or at least their media lackeys on their behalf.
It's time for Labour to remind voters about that previous incident and show up the profound hypocrisy of the Nats.
she signed as associate minister of transport,hence she is the author of her own misfortune.
I don't care if she signed it Humpty-Dumpty. So she grabbed the nearest bit of paper which happened to be a piece of ministerial stationary with the official letter head at the top and her ministerial title at the bottom. So what? That doesn't mean it is either intended for… or should be made available for public consumption.
In my view it’s a damm sight more important that ministers and co-ministers are able to keep in touch any way they choose to ensure they understand one another and are on the same page.
She has been a Green MP a lot longer than she has been a Minister. Surely she has some of those old letter heads laying around somewhere.
If she does not understand the OIA and her obligations as a Minister, then she is in the wrong job.
I can't understand why inter-government deliberations, discussions and opinions should be made available to the public and the Oppos. unless government chooses. Why should Ms Genter reveal her communications with Mr Twyford? It is unreasonable to demand this.
OMG you can't remember the PM saying we were going to have a revolution in government openness? Not awake in the election?
All political discourse between Ministers should be open. The OIA "party" exclusion is mere convention. She never not a sworn Minister.
JulieAnn should put on her ministerial pants and get it out.
Please link us to the PM saying that. I can only recall seeing rapidly-fired Minister Clare Curran saying it, once.
Better than that you moron it's in the Green-Labour Confidence and Supply agreement.
Genter has nothing to hide behind.
it's in the Green-Labour Confidence and Supply agreement
Really? Do point out where.
The closest I can see from p5 of the agreement (https://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/NZLP%20%26%20GP%20C%26S%20Agreement%20FINAL.PDF) is:
This from p6 also seems relevant:
All political discourse between Ministers should be open.
In a democracy such as ours, they have the same rights as the rest of us to 'discourse' in confidence when necessary.
You don't know the law do you?
If a law is an ass then 'eff' the law.
Well this is a first. I have never before heard anyone argue, that the OIA is an ass of a law. From the lunatic right fringe, to pure social democrats, there is consensus that a functioning democracy should have open and transparent government.
That principle is crystallised in the OIA, and I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone who believes in democracy would be offended by that law.
We could move to a society where the public has no right to question what their government is up to, or just emigrate to China where that is already the case.
The law is a defence to the police theory of government.
Huxley's analysis on David Hume where he argues on the governed to see the way opinion is formed is as relevant today as 150 years ago.
As Hume says with profound truth in the fourth essay, On the First Principles of Government:—
But if the whole fabric of social organisation rests on opinion, it may surely be fairly argued that, in the interests of self-preservation, if for no better reason, society has a right to see that the means of forming just opinions are placed within the reach of every one of its members; and, therefore, that due provision for education, at any rate, is a right and, indeed, a duty, of the state.
Because we live in a democracy
That word does not mean what you want it to (though the current expression of it is not the best we can do).
What a load of rubbish. Free and frank discussion between the members of government is necessary so they understand each other's positions. They may need to adjust their own, or seek to do so with others, because of reasons that they explain but don't want to provide to their enemies who will look for anything they can to make a furore about.
People coming up with simple comments to the negative would not be able to run an open and honest committee for a cake stall.
And saying 'because we live in a democracy' – so prim and proper and saying the dogma; fatuous when we see democracy decimated every day, a little or a lot. It's an empty word when not backed up with respect and practicality to make it work for and by the people. That includes discussing the problems arising, and about what can be transparent and what should be kept as private discussion.
That's an interesting view. One I respectfully disagree with.
We should be promoting and demanding the accountability of Ministers. When one Minister writes to another Minister, Parliament has a right to know what was said.
We have an Official Information Act which is one of the cornerstones of our democracy and allows the opposition and the media (or what you have describe as "enemies"), to hold the executive and government to account.
There is a clear Principle (that you appear to disagree with) that the Executive Government’s (i.e Ministers) have responsibility to Parliament.
They should not be able to hide behind a fictitious claim that their letter written on ministerial letter head, signed as a minister, and sent to another minister, was actually written from a Green party perspective.
What you're positing comes within the realms of a police state. George Orwell's "Animal Farm" comes to mind. If the day arrives when a minister can't talk/write to another minister in confidence without revealing what was said to a populace who have no more right to know than the ministers have… to demand to know of the conversations of the populace then God help us.
No – What I am "positing" comes within the realms of the Official Information Act 1982.
Its kind of been the law for a while. Some of what I stated was in fact direct quotes from that Act.
So I suppose God better help us then right?
In the sense that it is being interpreted by some then yes… God help us.
A political discussion of this nature should always be oral. She should have simply met the relevant person and discussed her concerns.
In my view writing on Ministerial letterhead means it is ministerial. Every MP has MP letterhead, even when they are ministers. They should know when to use the appropriate letterhead. Grabbing the wrong letterhead as Anne suggests is not much of an answer. Letters have a degree of formality. The Minister in signing it will have known which letterhead it was on.
We will see what the Ombudsman says.
Yes Wayne… no question she should have been more careful in her choice of writing paper. Is that a crime worthy of the outrage being promulgated by Bishop and friends? No it is not.
Are ministers and associate ministers entitled to converse about portfolio concerns and expect them to remain confidential? Of course they are.
If, and when ministers are physically unable to compare notes in person (due to external pressures and hectic timetables) are they entitled to thus communicate via letter? Of course they are.
That, as far as I'm concerned, is the nuts and bolts of the case and no amount of pontification on legal minutia around how a cabinet minister – or anyone else for that matter- should or should not communicate with a colleague is going to change it.
The OIA carefully specifies which grounds are acceptable for redacting or refusing release of information.
Let's see what the Ombudsman rules about this example.
Sensible response. Thank-you Sacha.
My argument was more to do with the insinuation that JAG had committed a serious misdemeanour and that she was guilty as charged without a trial (metaphorically speaking) and all in the name of political gain for the Nats, who were 'guilty' of similar practices when they were in government.
Ahhh…but it's OK when the Nats do it. 😈
All they need is a couple of SirPonyboy's hats nuffynuffy.
I think the current Government, having to their own surprise been thrust into Office by Mr Peters, are adopting the attitude attributed to Prince Otto von Bismarck. One variant of it is
"To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making."
The Parties concerned, along with Winston First are adopting this approach rather than what they said before the election. Keep the Public in the Dark is their motto nowadays. Otherwise the Public is likely to take the view of a second variant of the statement.
"Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made". Respect for the Government will become what they deserve. Nil.
If we, as the OIA intends, find out what this Government has been up to the Government parties probably fear that we will follow the admonition of the Bible
"Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth"
Of course what Miss Ardern said, before the election, is readily explained by another aphorism attributed to Bismarck.
"At no time there is more lying than before the elections, during the war and after the hunt."
sausages, bismark, and God laws, oh and more sausages – thank you alwyn
Greywarshark
Because she communicated officially with Twyford on ministerial letterhead and in her capacity as the Associate Minister of Transport. Therefore she has an obligation to release the contents of this letter.
Furthermore the main content of the letter apparently relates to regional transportation plans for Wellington and the Greens position on this and so is absolutely in the public interest (especially Wellingtonians).
It sounds like Genter may have made some sensitive comments about what she and the Greens might do if her demands re the Wellington regional transportation plan were not agreed to by Twyford and Labour. (see the Dom Post this morning).
That's too bad. She is better off to come clean. By continuing to refuse to release the letter, the issue is getting legs it wouldn't normally warrant, and Genter is beginning to squirm very uncomfortably.
And lets not even get started on the hypocrasy of Genter's stance verses the narrative promoted by Labour and the Greens on being transparent and open, especially with the public. Genter is treating us, the public, with arrogant contempt by continuing to not release the letter.
The pressure is building – maybe she'll release it today before question time in the house; where she'll likely be subject to further embaressment and loss of credibility.
Totally agree on that.
Okeydoke Grantoc thanks it seems that everyone watches gummint like a hawk these days. The good have to be perfect and the bad.. have their errors float off on the tide.
No wonder a lot of things are not written down.
On the other hand it is interesting to see how the Greens stance is being maintained when reality confronts them, how are their promises and intentions standing up. It's hard however to progress NZ with traps laid by people in the Opposition more interested in tripping up government than serving the country.
But c'est la vie.
You're likely right about the choice of paper she wrote it on. If that's the difference then Ms Genter and those she works with are very naive.
While you can't go into such jobs with an over-riding, underlying, all encompassing, pervasive 'fortress' mentality, when missionary zeal should be the driver, that is what is needed. Think and expect the worst of people needs to be the starting point. Throwing away notions of 'everyone wants what's the best for the country' out the window is critical. For god's sake, it's like they've run out on the field expecting a good game, a clean game and there and won't be eye-gouging.
That said, if the Prime Minister phones, texts or writes to someone on political business should those be public communications able to be accessed by the public? Or does it depend on the particular phone or piece of paper she uses? Or can she say, "It isn't public business, I didn't communicate as the Prime Minister but as an ordinary citizen." (The sort of situation that could arise in dealing with some third rate 'journalist' from some suspect media organisation.)
No doubt the Ombudsman will deal with the matter taking into account the nuances of the rules and their intent. I look forward to the reaction of a ruling which determines in a scholarly sagacious judge type way that parts of the communication be redacted because while there might be a certain letterhead the clear intent and context of the remarks should see them set aside.
Then Chris Bishop could have a flurry of fits from here to eternity interrupted by him, in his turn as a Minister, accusing people of playing silly games when they act as he does. Either that or he might get a life and spend his time (and our money) on something meaningful past his ego.
I am being trivial but I think Chris Bishop looks like a basset hound. And that is not right because I like basset hounds, he should impersonate something like a ferret.
That is not being trivial, it is just being plain nasty. Argue the politics or facts, keep your prurient fantasies about the physical appeal or otherwise of politicians to yourself.
Ooh dear how delicate. I live in the real world Ed1 and you are a preachy sort, who will always find me unsatisfactory and low. Too bad.
Hey Peter, and lets make it retroactive. There are quite a lot of paperwork and foot maneuvering around the actual extent that National and Act parties were involved in dirty politics during their term in office. Including things like the real story behind the drive to produce the super-shitty.
Yes, there was a sort of sanctity around the Auckland convention centre dealings too because St. Steven was involved. Then again he and his boss never ever ever used the sacred words 'open' or 'transparent' so things had to be different.
I'm still curious to see how those came to be attached to this government. Got any links to share?
…he and his boss never ever ever used the sacred words 'open' or 'transparent'…
Bill English, 2014: "Mr English said Mr Key ran the most transparent Government New Zealand has ever had."
Bill English, also 2014: "Hon BILL ENGLISH : The Prime Minister is the most open and transparent Prime Minister we have ever had…"
I imagine some of the Gnat donor concealing contortions would make interesting reading – JLR certainly seemed to think so.
Thanks for the image Peter. 🙂
Some answers from the sidebar: http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.com/2019/08/green-partys-tranparency-questioned.html
Earlier this week,‘Te Koiroa o te Koiora’, a Discussion Document for the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy (NZBS) was launched setting out proposals for inclusion in a new Biodiversity Strategy.
The Department of Conservation made a video promoting it (see link below), and highlighting many of the unique species that need looking after. One of them is the tuna tuwharewhare (longfin eel).
It just so happens that these tuna are exported live overseas, for about $10 or $12 an eel, often ending up in Asian restaurants where they are skinned and cooked alive.
Tuna tuwharewhare are in very serious trouble and likely to reach a stage of functional extinction within the next few years. The first thing that needs to happen is for all commercial fishing of them to end immediately
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=y07_O5fynGc
Do you know why are eels not protected? I've never understood this.
Yes I have never understood that either, I have kept eels as pets a couple of times, and keeping in mind I have kept almost every predator fish available in NZ cold and warm water, I can say that the eel is with out doubt the most intelligent fish I have had anything to do with.
Watching a big eels in their natural environment is really something, especially at night when they are out hunting.
I love eels, have spent a bit of time watching them in nature. How do you keep them as pets?
My aunt had perhaps a dozen tame eels in the farm creeks. As kids we would follow the chooks around looking for any eggs laid outside the coop to feed the eels. Rotten was best and they were also rather keen on any blood, offal, fat, scraps etc from the killing shed.
Then we'd call the eels and they'd turn up and follow us along the bank eyeballing us, looking for a feed and a belly rub. They all had names and I'm sure some were more interested in belly rubs than food.
That's very cool. I've done a bit of tickling, but am wary of them because of the stories of them biting people and not letting go.
The National finance spokesman on RNZ this morning, great interview for talking points, little else. On the Reserve Bank's interest rate call yesterday, like a typical conservative, he would prefer the bank to only grab the wheel after the shit hits the fan. "Wait and see", repeated several times.
It's worth listening to this Q & A report from a month ago. Cameron Bagrie discussed business confidence early in this 9 min clip."Look, thow it in the bin. I ignore it as an economic indicator" and "It is politically biased"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj-PWX7n098
"he would prefer the bank to only grab the wheel after the shit hits the fan."
I think everyone agrees that a feature of a capitalist economy is there are cycles and there will be recessions or a reasonably regular basis. That is undeniable.
So yes I would agree that the Reserve Bank should be keeping some powder dry for when the shit hits the fan – as it inevitably will.
We are a hostage to the global economy. If the the trade war results in a global recession, it would be very nice if the Reserve Bank had some options to help us through. Those options are now running out, at a time when the government is telling us that the domestic economy is ticking along very nicely.
Listen to this and try understand the need to try to control the wheels at all times.
Exactly right, and I would like to remind some folk, that as it is we can't even protect our own native fresh water fish today, NZ policy not only allows but encourages an apex predator, namely the rainbow and brown trout to hunt the rivers, steams and lakes of New Zealand, with the obvious catastrophic results on every single species of native fresh water animal..from Kouro through to the beautiful and majestic Banded and Giant Kokopu..why the fuck we would allow and encourage this fierce and super fast growing predator in our water ways is a complete mystery to me.
From the Fish & Game web site..
'The brown trout is an introduced northern hemisphere sports fish and can be found in most New Zealand waters excepting the very north of the North Island.'
So next time you see anyone pointing fingers at the Japanese about their appalling fishing practices, maybe remind them that we really need to be getting our own back yard in order first.
How do you propose we rid our rivers of introduced fish?
And are you certain their absence would help the native fish?
With eels largely gone, where's the apex predator, needed in every robust ecosystem?
I have several plump Giant Kokopu living in the spring in my forest garden. They're fascinating fish.
I an no an expert in removing introduced predators from native environments, but I am sure if there is a will there is a way.
I will also say that I once interviewed Rod McDonald who was by far and away New Zealand's most knowledgeable expert on our fresh water fish, at the time he told me off the record (he was working for NIWA) that large scale extinction faced our native fish by way of habitat loss, and degradation along with loss through whitebaiting and introduced predator fish.
Dr R. M. (Bob) McDowall
Yes that's right is was McDowall,…it was quite a few years ago.
I was friends with Bob McDowell's fishing-friend, Ian Mathieson (now deceased) and learned a lot from him about native fishes and their habitats. Ian lauded Bob as the main man when it came to native fish. Ian encouraged me to pursue the idea of purchasing a 6-hectare wetland that was about to be "dairyfied" and I did. With the help of various people, some from Fish & Game, we commissioned the creation of ponds in wetland, to encourage native fish; tuna and kokopu especially. There are fern birds and bitterns there also. Marsh crakes too, sometimes. Mostly though, harakeke and mikimiki. Thanks Ian!
Adrian T. is ever the optimist, and as much as I would love to be proved wrong I fear that Introduced fish species will never be eliminated, there are simply too many lobby groups with large financial backing. Its claimed to be atleast a 400 million dollar industry..so yet again The Economy writes the rules.
However, despite our best efforts there is no reason to claim that 'eels are largely gone', and its certainly not something we should embrace as a foregone conclusion, unless we are happy to wave goodbye to our entire ecosystem.
These two articles cover a number of relevant studies, including the feasability of making some waterways free of introduced predators and, interestingly, point to the presence of eels being required to achieve a healthy Brown Trout population…"predation by eels can facilitate a trout fishery of greater value by suppressing juvenile trout abundance and indirectly enhancing growth of larger adult trout,"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/100983463/beloved-brown-trout-damage-native-fish-insects-and-waterways
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/8480123/Trout-harming-native-fish
…despite our best efforts there is no reason to claim that 'eels are largely gone',
In fact, and insanely, the Higher Ups consider there to be sufficient eels to support a commercial industry.
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/growing-and-harvesting/fisheries/fisheries-management/commercial-eel-fishing/
I've visited a processing plant for eels where Giant kokopu were a regular feature of the catches unloaded. Those fish, many of the huge, were released/dumped into the nearby stream, where they no doubt died. Deeply shameful, imo.
It might not be a good idea to take away a fairly cheap form of recreation from a large number of pretty ordinary NZers. Leisure is also a part of the material conditions of life that we should be looking to improve for those without a lot of money – along with liveable incomes, housing, healthcare etc. The trout fishers I know are also champions of freshwater quality.
Besides that, it's impractical – how do you selectively eliminate only salmonids from waterways where they are self-sustaining (not reliant on stocking)? Absolutely we need to protect the kokopu – reductions in the whitebait take, protection of lowland water quality, especially small coastal streams and wetlands that are too small or short to hold self-sustaining trout populations. The extinction of the NZ grayling was a tragedy that we can't allow to happen with the kokopu.
You realize that you are using the same argument and justification that the Japanese use to hunt whales..
" The extinction of the NZ grayling was a tragedy that we can't allow to happen with the kokopu."…well it is happening, today, now as we speak.
In a stream about 40 minutes out of Hasting, I have walked though the shallows one night, the water was so thick with juvenile trout that they were beaching themselves just jumping away from my feet, there were thousands of them…I have been observing rivers,streams and waterways around NZ on and off for over 20 years and I can tell I you that native fish in NZ are under extremely serious threat.
And it is also worth keeping in mind that the extinction of a fish species wether it be fresh or salt water, doesn't happen when the last couple of fish die, it happens a long long time before that sad event occurs, when a unsustainable tipping point in numbers is reached and natural recovery cannot be achieved.
Sounds like defenders of urban golf courses claiming it's an everyman's sport.
Oh dear – 'pretty' ordinary NZers. Pretty has acquired a miasma since John Key began to use it.
Kouro
Got to love those glow-in-the-dark crays 🙂
Yeah love them too, I have seen them crawling up shear rock faces at night,,sneaky little guys.
I always had a couple in my big Native fish tanks, they have heaps of character but pretty hard on the plants though, and watching them eat a worm is like something out of a horror show.
Giant Kokopu like habitats that trout dislike; swampy, turgid, muddy slow-moving. Preserving those places and creating new ones would go a long way toward keeping the population of Giant Kokopu up, imo. They can survive/thrive in conditions trout cannot.
Fluoro koura?
Hot-pink crawdads?
Neon-yellow yabbies?
Nice little interview with Aaron Maté on Iran, Mueller a dysfunctioning and broken liberal media…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GZFI0GR018
OCR cut to 1% and we are told that this is good news. For whom ??
Those in debt and with mortgages ?
How about those renters, will we see rents reduce as the landlord will have less costs (Think of Andrew King next time he is in the media standing up for landlords) ?? Yet these same renting families/individuals will be paying more for imported goods (Petrol), not a winner for them 😢
Then we have rent to buy from the Greens that will help the same subset that can afford Kiwibuild. Student fees Great policy (But benefits same subset as Kiwibuild)
Why do we pander to this subset and give lip service to the rest ???
They vote.
"Then we have rent to buy from the Greens that will help the same subset that can afford Kiwibuild."
Afaik, the Greens' rent to own scheme will be for people that aren't even close to home owning, so not the same subset of people that can afford Kiwibuild.
How will these families be able to service a mortgage maintain the property, insurance, rates etc As currently it is HNZ I understand that cover these (Except Rates which I also understand HNZ do not pay) And if these families do purchase the property there will be no Accomodation Rental Supplement ? – reducing their disposable income even more ??
But I digress, low interest rates do not help many NZers. The lower down the wealth list I could imagine that they suffer not benefit 😤
Accommodation supplement is still available if you have a mortgage. It's not just for renters.
I haven't looked at the detail, but what I got so far was that the govt and/or an NGO would build the house, a low income family would rent it, part of the rent would go towards a deposit, once that had accrued they could take out a mortgage to buy the house. I assume the mortgage would be in the same range as the rent, and that people receiving accommodation supplement would still get it (as TA points out, AS is available to all low income people for rent or mortgage).
If what you say is the case, there still is other out of pocket costs that a tenant doesn't face e.g rates If rent=mortgage
I did not not know that an A.S was available to cover mortgages, thought it was only for rent, (That is my learning for the day ticked off 🧐)
Still nice to hear Andrew King come out and say that due to reduced costs he expects rents to drop 😱
You seriously think rates are not factored into rent prices? We all pay them one way or another.
I was referring to wekas comment "I assume the mortgage would be in the same range as the rent", as I cannot see any details other than below regarding the Greens announcement.
As we have seen with Kiwibuild the details are very important for a successful implementation of a policy.
https://www.greens.org.nz/home-for-life
A.S is also available to cover insurance, rates and repairs and maintenance, as part of total accommodation cost calculation.
AS is available to any NZer who meets the criteria (asset and income tests). It covers part of the mortgage/rent but also rates, insurance, maintenance and repairs. Repayable grants (no interest loans) are available from WINZ if people need a chunk of cash up front for maintenance or repairs.
The main issues I see with the policy are how to keep the rent and then mortgage payments low, whether houses can be owned collectively, and whether they then become part of the property market eg someone is allowed to on sell like normal. Lots of things to be worked out, but I trust the Greens have thought about this long and hard (it's not a new thing for them).
I understand the next step is to negotiate with Labour and NZF, so I see the policy announcement as a start of that process that involves the public as well.
snap, what Augustus said.
We are told lots of things ….many times the statement needs to be taken in the broadest possible sense as does this one.
It is good in that it (hopefully) delays the impact of recession…..and that assumes you believe growth is a 'net good'
If we allow pop. growth and that our expectations of the level of delivery in health, education, infrastructure etc are at least status quo then IMO we either need growth or technology advancements to enable these expectations to be met, or "we" need to temper our expectations, unless there is something you can add to my understanding.
And no I don't agree growth is a net good. Look at the destruction of our environment that has occurred to allow short term growth.
I wouldnt say I can offer you "understanding", that comes from the self but would suggest if your system requires growth to continue then the maintenance of growth would be considered 'good'……especially if you consider there is no possible alternative as those running things do.
If we allow immigration at 1.5% of our population (plus natural pop growth )how then do we maintain our current living standards and for govts to satisfy our expectations (refer current health and the availability of cancer treatments) unless growth or advancements in tech that allow us to do tomorrow cheaper than today ?
sure agreed growth has to be tempered with cost/damage to environment, not growth at any and all costs
'cheaper' has nothing to do with it (though the BAU crowd will cite productivity)….it is simply a question of resources and distribution…we havnt got enough (and its diminishing) and what we do have aint distributed to max benefit…all the finagling in world does not alter that
We don't want house prices to fall do we.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/396218/gabriel-makhlouf-admits-he-could-have-handled-budget-leak-better
No doubt he was angry at the deliberate attempt to undermine the regular process and got emotionally charged – to him it was analogous to a hack. I imagine he dropped his precision and control of a Treasury official for a moment and let the good bloke pissed-off have a word.
Both the English Tory Party and English Labour realise the Union is finished and are strategising for a chess table that does not include Scotland and Ireland as well as the EU.
Johnson's people can count and know that the vast majority of the 59 Scottish seats at WM will aways be anti Tory. The simple solution is to let Scotland go. Loosing 45-59 anti tory seats makes them less needy for 10 DUP "friends". The DUP is only "popular" with Tory members when there is no alternative.
Labour has no seats from NI and could well have none in Scotland. They have to strategise for a future as an England/Wales party.
The best Labour can do after the forthcoming WM GE is get support from the possible 59 SNP MPs to form a government and stop the Tory madness. Then get SNP and Lib Dem support to introduce Proportional Representation, That will be the best way of making sure the Tories never have an absolute majority in the English/Wales parliament.
All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
A hard border within the Britain instead of in Ireland – and a little England with MMP PR so the days of Tory goverment end forever. Nice.
Even better – win the election and form an alliance to stay in the customs union and single market. Then install MMP PR to prevent the Tories from being in position to try a no deal Brexit in future.
A no deal Brexit and a subsequent Tory election win would turn the UK/England into a rival to Puerto Rico as Area 51, a self governing colony taking its orders from Capitol Hill.
Politics has now moved to a post UK phase. The seat on the UN Security Council will go. The flag will be meaningless. Remainers will correctly be angry with the Leavers. The Leaver will blame everyone else but themselves. They will have their beloved Blue Passports while they join the "Third Country" lines at the airports.
After its been bad for a while it will then get worse.
Then the Queen will pass on to the Great Palace in the Sky. King Charles and Boris Johnson leading the Exceptional Ones.
It might not just be taking the St Andrews blue out of the Union Jack, but consideration given to nationalisation of the royal property in Scotland, or confiscation for the award to a Scottish throne claimant who was not English.
For those who value a free press and protection for journalists and publishers, the alarm bells are ringing
And for the Assange haters on this site , whose numbers are disappointingly high…
You're just about there guys, he's all but destroyed
You must be feeling great
https://consortiumnews.com/2019/08/07/new-fears-for-julian-assange/
Here’s a couple of interesting articles from news.com. The first one is a large number of Chinese businesses and companies are using IOU’s to pay bills. Which is not a good look either way for the short term or the longer term as someone will end asking for real money and the whole thing would collapse under the weight of debt etc.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/world-economy/chinese-businesses-issue-ious-instead-of-cash-amid-trade-war-slowdown/news-story/f1d13df87e52c1ec7ce19f1713d50bea
This one is also interesting over the blame game of currency manipulation in the resulting trade war and like above, it can only lead to another GFC in the medium to longer term unless someone calls a truce.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/world-economy/trump-accuses-china-of-manipulating-world-into-new-gfc/news-story/129cabaa05f1e30fb9afb8be51a72a19
From SCOOP – Rates Increases – coming to a letterbox near you 5/8/2019 http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=121046
Talking about projected massive rate hikes for Wellington causes pause. Andy Foster states 'I chair the Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee' and looks at the unavoidable costs arising from leaky buildings which exist, and the likely ones still being built, according to knowledgable builders around. Central government action is needed he states and I think that something has been recently announced on that. But I haven't got time to look it up.
The rates for the regional council are up 15.7%. He starts off backgrounding the situation with his Wellington city rates after recent revaluations.
I’ll use ours as a ‘modest’ example – city rates up 4.6% and regional rates up a staggering 15.7%. Overall that’s 6.2%. Other people, undoubtedly with greater proportionate rises in Capital Value in the revaluation, have even higher numbers. …
The bad news is that there is a lot more proposed. The Wellington City Council Chief Executive’s Pre-election Report shows that over the 10 years of our Long Term Plan (LTP) rates are expected to rise by 48.2%. …
It gets worse. That does not include remotely enough money for Let’s Get Wellington Moving or for Civic Square.
Based on the information to date, LGWM will cost the city and region in the order of $1.2billion in today’s money, while the Council’s placeholder in the LTP is just $120million. The annual cost seems to be (the LGWM numbers are a bit inconsistent) around $90million of which 62% appears to be expected to be paid through rates.
Signalling that people need to try to shift from cars to public transport or use their car more efficiently (have a car full of regular fellow travellers).
The Government appears to have ruled out congestion pricing, and has certainly ruled out fuel taxes. None of these things are popular but if the alternative is a massive – permanent – rise in rates then they need to be explored. Long stay parking levies and congestion pricing in particular also incentivize transport behaviour change and were built into the original LGWM transport models. Without them, and much of the roading originally proposed, of course the model needs changing.
Thinking for the future with a clear head – needed urgently around NZ.
That'll chip a few more poor folk out of their houses.
We can only hope we get rid of the crazy Mayor and many of the Councillors we have at the moment.
One can only weep at the insane items that the Council is spending hundreds of millions on. I suppose Mayor Lester intends to be like his equally hopeless predecessor. She fled town and moved up to the Wairarapa, out of the reach of Wellington City, and Wellington Regional Council rates. There she lets scrub grow and claims an income from selling carbon credits.
Meanwhile we residents of the city have to pay for Lester's brain-farts. One was, of course, $40,000 for a few painted stripes in Cuba Street. Supplying a reserve water supply for the Hospital so that it can keep operating after an Earthquake is not on his urgent list. It would be useful and Lester doesn't do useful.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/114840916/winston-peters-suggests-labour-acted-in-bad-faith-over-abortion-law
Oh piss off Winston, we all know this is a non too subtle play for conservative votes and its far too late for that
If I could choose only one thing to happen at the next election (apart from Jude being proclaimed Queen of NZ) I'd choose the utter annihilation of NZFirst
I very rarely agree with you, but on this I concur 100%.
The day that NZ First leaves the better
Hopefully Simon Bridges will rule out working with NZF, and there must be a good chance that Labour / Greens would have the numbers without NZF.
If he shows some back bone and rules out Winston he'll go up in the polls then Act can campaign on keeping National honest and take the protest votes off NZfirst (might even get an extra seat or two out of it) and everyone will be happy because the undead corpse that is NZFirst/Winston will finally be vanquished for good
… and the bells will ring out throughout the land as unicorns prance through the woods while farting rainbows and shitting gold, everyone will find their true love(s) and live happily ever after except the evil wizard who will spend eternity in a dungeon covered in leprechaun turds.
Cool story, bro
You really should put that in quotation marks and give a reference shouldn't you?
That looks as if you have lifted it holus bolus from the Election Manifesto of the junior party in the CoL
Words like "equity" and "integrity" might be beyond your understanding, but that doesn't make them as imaginary as unicorns.
Yeah thanks I didn't think it was so bad either
I'm not a fan, but this was subtly done by Martin.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=208232
She was awesome in what she said, what she didn't say, and how she did. Master class speech.
Yes. It was a very intelligent speech. We all know exactly what happened, the who the when and the why….without her having to state explicitly that at their caucus meetings she's surrounded by dinosaurs. Me? Not so subtle. Bunch of misogynist old pricks. Unless you have a womb, be guided by your female colleagues.
I really feel for her, she didn't deserve this. Appallingly misogynistic and reinforces that NZF is an old boys club. I cannot wait until Peters is out of parliament, but it's not like he is the only one.
Have to say too, being a bit subtle myself, it's all depressingly familiar.
Just to be clear I don't mind if NZFirst survives as long as Winston is removed from parliament
Pretty brave of her, unfortunately shes probably put a big target on her back, Winston doesn’t seem the forgiving type…shame really
How Winston (might) a run his caucus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYZoxY3sawE
Good news from the whenua, Wally Haumaha has announced the police presence will be reduced.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/396236/police-will-reduce-presence-at-ihumatao-protest-wally-haumaha
Interesting to note Monday's police presence increase was due to a 'miscommunication between police and protestors', which brings into question the claims that kaitiaki had *actually* occupied land they had been evicted from instead of just continuing to maintain a presence on the Quarry Road. Jill Rogers getting nothing from Haumaha there.
I didn't realise that. The camp is on the road and not on the Fletchers' land?
Well, the front line that was cut off by the influx of police on Monday is on the Ihumatao Quarry Road – which is the public access road to the Otuataha Stonefields site. Some kaitiaki have camped on the adjacent field which is part of Fletchers land, but the police did not attempt to break up that campsite on Monday.
Some interesting info here from the Kaitiaki Police Liaison, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/08/09/742193/soul-searching-fireside-following-ihumtao-gaslight about the discussion that took place on Monday afternoon.
I think the cops have miscommunicated the discussions with the camp, which has led to someone in seniority making a really really bad call.
Monday was a mess for sure. I just had no idea that the camp was on the road and not on the land. Kind of mind blowing that I didn't know that, and I'm wondering if I just missed that important point of if many people don't realise this.
That time again where it's play the 'what party the local candidates support' game.
I won't vote for a non labour or green aligned candidate, but as they don't usually declare a party affiliation, and often they don't door knock these days, it's all a bit hit or miss.
Does anyone know the left leaning candidates for council and mayor in Hamilton west?
Well done to this young man, at his age was more worried about buying piss and cigs then buying a house. https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/latest/114704069/on-the-ladder-teenager-working-two-jobs-signed-up-for-first-home-at-18
Did he pay his parents board while he was living with them? The article doesn't say does it. We can only guess that he didn't. Therefore he didn't 'do it all on his own'
The other thing of course is that all the people in the country who want their own home cannot go and work on fishing boats.
Typical msm garbage propaganda.
Noticed that a book of Trump's tweets had been published. Could be good Christmas present for someone who knows how to read. By Christmas it could be redundant if someone files for impeachment or something, or apricot perhaps.
The Abbotsford disaster in Dunedin is old history. And probably forgotten by most. But I see that RadioNZ has brought it forward and I just pop it in here so you can see the problems from shifting soil,. landslides can do. The problem here was that Dunedin had information about the soil instability but lost it in the files, and when they bulldozed the 'toe' away from a hill with houses on and around it, they started movement that was very frightening and destructive.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018707619/nga-taonga-sound-archives-the-abbotsford-disaster
For something a little bit different and if you have a spare 6 and a half hours, definately themes that will/should resonate with old school Labour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXbw9qMXsz0
the only solution is grow more acorns.
Seven years ago the impressionist Rory Bremner complained that politicians had become so boring that few of them were worth mimicking: “They’re quite homogenous and dull these days … It’s as if character is seen as a liability.” Today his profession has the opposite problem: however extreme satire becomes, it struggles to keep pace with reality. The political sphere, so dull and grey a few years ago, is now populated by preposterous exhibitionists.
This trend is not confined to the UK – everywhere the killer clowns are taking over
This trend is not confined to the UK – everywhere the killer clowns are taking over. Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, Donald Trump, Narendra Modi, Jair Bolsonaro, Scott Morrison, Rodrigo Duterte, Matteo Salvini, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Viktor Orbán and a host of other ludicrous strongmen – or weakmen, as they so often turn out to be – dominate nations that would once have laughed them off stage. The question is why? Why are the technocrats who held sway almost everywhere a few years ago giving way to extravagant buffoons?
Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate – sent direct to you
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Social media, an incubator of absurdity, is certainly part of the story. But while there has been plenty of good work investigating the means, there has been surprisingly little thinking about the ends. Why are the ultra-rich, who until recently used their money and newspapers to promote charisma-free politicians, now funding this circus? Why would capital wish to be represented by middle managers one moment and jesters the next?
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The reason, I believe, is that the nature of capitalism has changed. The dominant force of the 1990s and early 2000s – corporate power – demanded technocratic government. It wanted people who could simultaneously run a competent, secure state and protect profits from democratic change. In 2012, when Bremner made his complaint, power was already shifting to a different place, but politics had not caught up.
The policies that were supposed to promote enterprise – slashing taxes for the rich, ripping down public protections, destroying trade unions – instead stimulated a powerful spiral of patrimonial wealth accumulation. The largest fortunes are now made not through entrepreneurial brilliance but through inheritance, monopoly and rent-seeking: securing exclusive control of crucial assets such as land and buildings privatised utilities and intellectual property, and assembling service monopolies such as trading hubs, software and social media platforms, then charging user fees far higher than the costs of production and delivery. In Russia, people who enrich themselves this way are called oligarchs. But this is a global phenomenon. Today corporate power is overlain by – and mutating into – o
What matters. Climate change. Democracy a long way second. The pricks around us , pleasant but irrelevant.
Great letter column here.
Anti immigrant bigots often claim New Zealand is 'over populated'
Yeah right
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12256098
You're right New Zealand is not as populated as Europe but neither do we have the infrastructure to support such a population.
We don't even have the infrastructure to support the population we've got.
The land isn't empty either. Filling it with people impacts on many things.
A chicken and egg problem.
It's worth seeing (and reading) the new style http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/
Broken link? Lynn has a post up about it now.
The redirects were only done a little time ago apparently. The net is still catching up.
Yes it's been a bit temperamental, but you post covers it well.
https://thestandard.org.nz/getting-rid-of-the-trash-whaleoil-site-sold-to-blomfield
Good thing I'm on holiday this week.