Open mike 09/08/2020

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 9th, 2020 - 200 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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

Step up to the mike …

200 comments on “Open mike 09/08/2020 ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. francesca 1
    9 August 2020 at 8:15 am

    Dennis!!??

    Where are you?

    • Sacha 1.1
      9 August 2020 at 8:56 am

      a fair question

      • lprent 1.1.1
        9 August 2020 at 9:08 am

        People can sleep in on Sundays. There is no requirement to be here. This is a voluntary participation.

        Quite why I am here is a question. I have code for work that isn't coming out and a partially written post.

        But my partner is about to do a international zoom next to me – and one sided conversations about writing are so tedious.

        I'm replaying Dungeon Siege 1 on steam on Ubuntu 20.04 when I have a spare half-hour. I think I might take a half hour with headphones and do some small group tactics rather than working.

        • Sacha 1.1.1.1
          9 August 2020 at 9:14 am

          Rust never sleeps 🙂

          • lprent 1.1.1.1.1
            9 August 2020 at 11:54 am

            Or just old age. I find I like some old games on newer machines. DS1 came out in 2002. Running it on wine in on a 16 core linux server with 64GB RAM and a AMD RX480 video may seem like overkill. Especially in 2560×1200 video mode (the original only went up to 1280px). But it is a pleasant change.

            Also way more stable on linux than playing it on windows XP.

    • millsy 1.2
      9 August 2020 at 11:29 am

      Having a life beyond this blog.

  2. The Chairman 2
    9 August 2020 at 8:29 am

    There seems to be a lot of talk about the use of face masks of late, hence I thought (being a Sunday an all) some here may want to have a look at this clip below.

    https://youtu.be/XFnUGSr3fw0

    [lprent: You have provided no explanation about why you think it is worth anyone expending time to watch this.

    If you can’t be bothered to expend time to write a few sentences or paragraphs explaining why you think that others should give up their time, then you’re not expressing your opinion – you’re merely astro-turfing without putting your own skin in the game.

    Most people who read on this site won’t watch link spam without a explanation. All you will get are barbed comments about how much of a dickhead you are being. I don’t consider that fosters ‘robust debate’ – perhaps you’d like to disagree? To do so, you’re going to have to carefully explain your opinion and the reasons why you think we should put up with this kind of gutless crap behaviour.

    But in the meantime I’d strongly suggest that you don’t waste moderator this way ever again. Weka gave you a pretty clear direction about it yesterday. Your choice and I going to insist that you make it immediately. ]

    • Robert Guyton 2.1
      9 August 2020 at 8:39 am

      The Chair's here instead, touting for a dodgy-looking guy in a mask.

    • Andre 2.2
      9 August 2020 at 8:50 am

      *sigh* More random blathering from random dude posted by another random dude on da webz.

      For those that prefer to get factual evidence-based information from actual experts that takes a lot less than 25 minutes to get across:

      https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-health-advice-general-public/covid-19-use-masks-community

      https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html

      • Matiri 2.2.1
        9 August 2020 at 8:59 am

        Thanks Andre – those Ministry of Health guidelines are excellent – succinct and clear.

        • Rosemary McDonald 2.2.1.1
          9 August 2020 at 9:20 am

          …those Ministry of Health guidelines are excellent – succinct and clear.

          No.

          If you've been following the MOH Guidelines since this shit kicked off, they have been anything but.

          But of course…previous versions of The Guidelines disappear from their site so it makes it difficult to call them out on their inconsistencies.

          But…if it makes y'all feel cumfy-cosy and well looked after by the Misery..all good.

          • Hanswurst 2.2.1.1.1
            9 August 2020 at 6:15 pm

            Not living in NZ, I haven't had cause to look at the MoH website with respect to that, but conflicting/changing guidelines on CoVid 19 from people in authority are certainly not restricted to ministries of health, nor to NZ.

          • McFlock 2.2.1.1.2
            9 August 2020 at 7:46 pm

            Altering guidelines according to latest best-available information is a good thing.

            • Rosemary McDonald 2.2.1.1.2.1
              10 August 2020 at 7:18 am

              Altering guidelines according to latest best-available information is a good thing.

              And I have no issue with the Misery of Health changing their guidelines. What I did, and still do have a problem with is them failing to adopt a precautionary approach from Day 1 when it came to the use of PPE for front line health workers. Despite some experts recommending this.

              What I did, and still do have a problem with is the Mystery assuming(despite no evidence) that Te Virus could only be transmitted by people with symptoms. Quite possibly a significant error considering 40% of infected people are asymptomatic. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/08/08/asymptomatic-coronavirus-covid/

              I have no problem with the asymptomatic Covid 19 infected free -ranging, such is the way of communities acquiring natural herd immunity. What I do have a problem with is the unnecessary risk that was taken with the health and lives of our most vulnerable by our Government choosing to follow the 'experts' who most supported the reality of our own dismal pandemic preparedness. https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/nz-35th-pandemic-preparedness

              What they could have, should have done early on was to be honest and transparent with us and admit stocks of kit were dangerously low. Admit that they had no idea whether asymptomatic people could pass on infection and advise all front line health workers to take all possible precautions until the science had been done. We would have made our own fucking masks. Oh, that's right. Some of us did.

              But they didn't. Did they? There have been deaths of vulnerable people and there have been cases of front line workers becoming infected. I know the precautions I took, and still take, and I know the same applied to others in the disability community. We are a resilient bunch, we've had to be, and without actually having made an OIA request for the data I suspect that many disabled people requiring care turned in number to their family bubbles. Which is why we're now being paid…somewhat ironic after a twenty year battle… to have a virus get us over the line.

              We will remember though. Again, the Ministry of Health abandoned those at the coalface with near callous disregard and again they claim to have been acting according to 'best advice.'

              They were caught short. They had failed to prepare for the inevitable. They denied. They obfuscated. They behaved exactly how those of us who have been unfortunate enough to have to have dealt with them expected.

              Pisses me off somewhat that some folks sing their praises.

              • McFlock …
                10 August 2020 at 12:20 pm

                The advice I've seen from the ministry over this period has always been couched in terms of "available evidence" or "no significant evidence", and prioritisation of resources.

                As for singing their praises, 100+ days of zero community transmission is pretty much the best result in the world so far. If the MoH were a sports team, they'd have a goddamned parade down Queen St. And deserve it.

      • The Chairman 2.2.2
        9 August 2020 at 9:01 am

        *sigh* More random blathering from random dude posted by another random dude on da webz.

        Would you prefer we discuss the video exposing Labour that is doing the rounds on youtube?

        • Muttonbird 2.2.2.1
          9 August 2020 at 9:07 am

          Go on then.

        • weka 2.2.2.2
          9 August 2020 at 10:05 am

          Would you prefer we discuss the video exposing Labour that is doing the rounds on youtube?

          We went through this yesterday. I don't want to get into bold mode, so let me spell it out. If *you want to post videos at the top of OM, you will need to explain what the video is about. If you don't I will consider it spam and remove it.

          If *you want to make claims about serious or controversial things (eg yesterday it was covid treatments, today it's exposing Labour), then you have to link to something useful to the debate. I explained what useful means yesterday.

          You've been here long enough to get how things work here, and when I spend my Saturday taking the time to explain things and then see them ignored on Sunday it irritates me. The closer we get to the election the more likely I am to just ban people who have form.

          You're good a provoking discussion here, I'd just like to see you make it more constructive and less flamey. Links and explanations would go a long way.

        • Rapunzel 2.2.2.3
          9 August 2020 at 11:44 am

          You Tube? Are you serious? I'm sure anything verifiable & of importance &interest would make into media somewhere. I've recently had a conversation getting their "information" from Youtube & Facebook they were seriously on another planet

      • Rosemary McDonald 2.2.4
        9 August 2020 at 9:14 am

        …actual evidence-based information from actual experts…

        Dontcha actually mean today's actual evidence-based information from today's actual experts?

        Because, like, not so long ago we were told 'you don't need masks, or only if you have the symptoms of The Virus (because, like, only those with symptoms are infectious) or only if you have to get close to someone who has symptoms of the virus, and disabled people and their home based carers don't need masks..' et bleeding cetera…

        And then there was the 'wearing masks is DANGEROUS, because, like, non -scientists are too thick to don and doff them properly, and the latest…'we only said "NO MASKS!!!" because (despite claims to the contrary from the wonderfully efficient Ministry of Health) there were not enough of them in the country for everyone who needed them.

        A little white lie…no harm done. Right?

        So hard for we mere mortals to keep up.

    • Gabby 2.3
      9 August 2020 at 8:52 am

      I for one appreciate your public spiritedness and eagerness to share crucial information. Do you have views on the efficacy of prayer in the fighting of viral infection?

      • Robert Guyton 2.3.1
        9 August 2020 at 8:55 am

        Or any on the correct pronunciation of the modern-day name for Old Siam?

      • Andre 2.3.2
        9 August 2020 at 8:57 am

        Gabby, I think you're being a bit neglectful of the potential efficacy of thoughts as well as prayers.

        • Ad 2.3.2.1
          9 August 2020 at 9:11 am

          Thoughts and prayers, Andre, thoughts and prayers…

          • UncookedSelachimorpha 2.3.2.1.1
            9 August 2020 at 12:40 pm

            That is a stunningly powerful ad!!

            • AB 2.3.2.1.1.1
              9 August 2020 at 3:05 pm

              Yes. But remember the Lincoln Project are Republicans. And they know that intellectually, and in policy terms, Joe Biden is an empty vessel waiting to be filled. I imagine they will be right in the queue ready to do that filling via positions in his administration.

              • Ad …
                9 August 2020 at 4:20 pm

                Biden's team have cooperated very closely with the Sanders team and adopted a number of their positions.

                Biden has outsourced some policy formation to the Sanders' team – our own Labour party has done this even more strongly from the Greens.

                And you shouldn't expect a Biden victory to mean a cabinet full of Democrats. He will be seeking to isolate the extremes of Trump's Senate support, by including moderate Republicans.

                You get that sense easily here:

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GzdrNsSLBU

                The depth of the decay and disorder in Washington from the Trump regime will require a Biden team to focus on a few core areas for the first year. Spreading too thin is a recipe for major embarassment. Biden needs a very steady course in 2021 (should he win), in order that he sets up a smooth transition to the VP for the second term.

                • AB …
                  9 August 2020 at 7:51 pm

                  We'll see. Or at least I hope we will. It seems that Biden will be open to influence, but to an extent that is constrained by what his donors will permit.

              • UncookedSelachimorpha …
                9 August 2020 at 7:45 pm

                Absolutely – I've been following the Lincoln project crowd and Biden. I would disagree with them on many things and am no fan of either, but I agree with them on the efficacy of the orange loon.

    • Incognito 2.4
      9 August 2020 at 9:48 am

      I prefer The Mask of Zorro.

    • lprent 2.5
      9 August 2020 at 10:38 am

      Please check my note on your comment about your behaviour.

    • The Chairman 2.6
      9 August 2020 at 11:15 am

      You have provided no explanation about why you think it is worth anyone expending time to watch this.

      But I did. As I stated, there has been a lot of talk about the use of face masks of late. And the clip is about the use of face masks.

      Whether people want to watch it is up to them. It's no big deal to me if they don't.

      It seems those that don't want to watch it, yet want to come on here and make barbed comments are the problem your attention should be focused on opposed to the person that put up a relevant and interesting clip. Don't you think?

      [6 month ban. For wasting moderator time after multiple warnings and basically ignoring what we are saying, also previous bans. You’re probably lucky I haven’t gone and looked up your ban history. The big thing for me here is that despite all your years here you still think you get to dictate how the site should operate instead of taking guidance from the mods including one of the people that owns the site. – weka]

      • Incognito 2.6.1
        9 August 2020 at 11:26 am

        FFS! Your opinion is this: ‘I post this 25-min video because in my opinion some people might be interested in watching it’.

        Whether people want to watch it is up to them. It's no big deal to me if they don't.

        In other words, you have no interest in debate and/or other opinions. In my opinion, that’s describes the behaviour of a cowardly astroturfing troll.

        So, here we are again, ‘discussing’ the same old same old behaviour of you here and you have now attracted the attention of three Moderators 🙁

        I think I have a solution for this 🙂

        • Pete George 2.6.1.1
          9 August 2020 at 11:33 am

          It's quite common in social media for people to post links to things they think may be of interest to others. I do it a lot to provide a variety of information and to promote discussion on various things.

          You can obviously demand what you like here, but it seems odd to me, unless perhaps you don't like the content at the link.

          O see that others have posted links with little or no comment without reprimand.

          • weka 2.6.1.1.1
            9 August 2020 at 11:36 am

            it's been a longstanding premise here to not spam the site. Not a hard guideline to follow. If you want to post youtubes at the top of OM esp, then introduce the vid. Likewise other content. You will notice that it's the people that post spam a lot and ignore what people are saying about it that get moderator attention.

            • weka 2.6.1.1.1.1
              9 August 2020 at 11:38 am

              and you know, I have no idea what the content of the video is. Seriously, none. We went through this yesterday and with some prompting TC provided some useful links that explained things (introduce the vid, back up claims of fact). If he'd done that today he wouldn't be on a six month ban now. In other words, it's zero to do with the content.

            • Pete George 2.6.1.1.1.2
              9 August 2020 at 11:43 am

              Posts of possible interest to others and conservation starters are spam?

              "irrelevant or unsolicited messages sent over the Internet, typically to a large number of users, for the purposes of advertising, phishing, spreading malware"

              – https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/spam

              • weka …
                9 August 2020 at 11:45 am

                no, on this site, videos with no explanation of what they are about are spam when posted regularly by the same person who has been asked to provide explanations.

              • Sacha …
                9 August 2020 at 11:48 am

                Posts of possible interest to others and conservation starters are spam?

                See the comment just below yours @ 2.6.2

                That's something you could have easily put in a sentence or two if you wanted to start an informative discussion.

                Trolling is probably a better description than spam: not behaving in ways that match intent to have an actual discussion. Destructive to any conversation space. Brings out the worst in others.

          • Robert Guyton 2.6.1.1.2
            9 August 2020 at 11:46 am

            Pete flies in, like an enraged hen, feathers flying, scaly legs akimbo, to defend The Chairman!

          • Incognito 2.6.1.1.3
            9 August 2020 at 1:07 pm

            You can obviously demand what you like here …

            No Pete, I cannot, and you should know this. So, please stop making BS assertions about Moderation and particularly my Moderation here. FYI, Moderation is rarely about contents, rather lack of content/opinion and behaviour are the most common triggers.

      • Andre 2.6.2
        9 August 2020 at 11:29 am

        Right now, there's already around 30 comments in the thread and no-one's the wiser as to whether video dude argues for masks being a good thing or a hoax, nor any of the reasons why.

        That's something you could have easily put in a sentence or two if you wanted to start an informative discussion. And may have given people a reason to actually watch the video. Maybe.

    • JohnSelway 2.7
      9 August 2020 at 3:26 pm

      God you’re a self involved, pompous, arrogant dick LPrent. Why are you such a wanker all the time? A little self reflection might do you some good.

      [lprent: I do that all of the time. It is part of doing the work of a moderator. And I’d get hell at the back end from the other moderators if I do it in such a way that made their lives harder.

      But from your comment, I have no idea what exactly you’re getting wound up about unless it is The Chairman ignoring previous warnings.

      However I don’t really need a fool incoherently trying to advise me of my responsibilities and especially when they manage to

      1. Not tell me what they are indignant about.
      2. Not saying why they are indignant about it.
      3. Not say what course of action that they’d prefer instead.
      4. And therefore are clearly only interested in simple abuse rather than any real desire to change anything.
      5. And are clearly just too damn lazy to do the work to change anything.

      Perhaps you should reflect on the fact that you read like a complete self-entitled dimwit who couldn’t put together anything apart from a spluttering and completely meaningless indignation. Perhaps you should model yourself on Pete George. I might disagree with his indignation, but at least he is capable of framing an objection that is coherent. Clearly you’ve never been personally reflective enough to even achieve that. ]

      • JohnSelway 2.7.1
        9 August 2020 at 3:53 pm

        Heh. A cock to the end you are

        [lprent: As I implied above – you really are a stupid lazy and bumbling idiot – you somehow neglected to make the effort to deal with any of the points that I listed. I’m presuming that you’re just trying for the troll equivalent of death by cop. But so far all you’re managing to do is to look as stupid as the machines that service you. ]

        • JohnSelway 2.7.1.1
          9 August 2020 at 5:12 pm

          You’re so utterly up your own ass. Tell us again about your MBA, earth sciences degree And how great you are at coding.

          Just a pompous old git dripping with self importance.

          • Muttonbird 2.7.1.1.1
            9 August 2020 at 5:26 pm

            John, you seem desperate for a holiday, but are being left hanging.

            Can't be comfortable.

            • JohnSelway 2.7.1.1.1.1
              9 August 2020 at 5:47 pm

              I’m just amazed at what little insight LPrent into himself. And I’m fine with copping a ban. I have great insight into my failings and success. LPrent struts around with such and unearned self importance – throwing his belief into his own masterful intellect as if he were the first person in the world to get an MBA.

              its really pathetic

              • Muttonbird …
                9 August 2020 at 5:59 pm

                Ok, then. But rather than being fine with a ban you seem hell-bent on one.

                It is churlish and ignorant for you to claim LPrent has 'unearned' anything regarding this forum. As far as I can tell he funds and operates the entire show for our benefit with little or no recompense for time and hardware.

                For a long time I have thought you are a complete and utter toss-pot. You apparently agree.

              • Incognito …
                9 August 2020 at 7:04 pm

                Well, he does run this site quite successfully and has done so for years and it comes with certain bragging rights that only small troll egos cannot handle. I’ve a little more insight in what goes on behind the scenes and I’m impressed and grateful for his efforts.

                Many people read this site for free and those who like to comment or even write Guest Posts get support from Lprent and other volunteers. Yet there are a few who seem to think that because this is a free platform they have a natural right to whinge and whine about how things are done here and criticise the people who (help) run this site with indemnity. Their attitude is wrong at so many levels and it is extremely frustrating having to listen to and deal with those misguided self-entitled and ungrateful small minds.

                John, I’m sure you’re a decent kind of bloke, but if you cannot stand this site and/or its SYSOP, I’d suggest you leave and don’t come back.

                • JohnSelway …
                  9 August 2020 at 7:21 pm

                  I’m a very decent person. But I can’t stand arrogance of which LPrent is dripping it. He injects his “expertise” into nearly every post and comment. “Oh, I code”, “something something my MBA”, “earth science degree”. Well done you’ve succeeded…. like many many other people.

                  then the constant use of the term “dick heads”. Jesus man, get the fuck over yourself. I know I’m a nobody but I’ve carved a happy life for myself and wanks like Prent hey no truck from me. I can’t believe no one else sees it

                  • Andre …
                    9 August 2020 at 7:28 pm

                    I can’t believe no one else sees it

                    Perhaps it's more a case of seeing merit in not pissing on the shoes of one of the people, actually the person most responsible for providing this playground that the rest of us get to use for free.

                  • Incognito …
                    9 August 2020 at 7:43 pm

                    Of the thousands of comments and Posts, you tend to focus on Lprent’s knowing full well that it winds you up and it shows. Please get a grip and if you cannot get over it, please leave; you’re spoiling it for others and only thinking about your own feelings and even asking (for) others to ‘see it’. Please stop it now and please don’t do this ever again, thank you.

                  • lprent …
                    9 August 2020 at 7:52 pm

                    If you're concerned about language, then I am sure that I can find a few other languages to say the same thing in – octal perhaps. But frankly if you don't like the way that I express myself, then perhaps you should look at the way that you use it. A couple of your comments further up for instance.

                    Most people on the site simply don't care that much. They're interested in debate rather than paragraph punctuation.

                    I, like most people here, talk about things we have experience with, that includes family, work experience, education, dealings with WINZ, the material read, and sometimes things that we research. Most will usually state how confident they are with whatever they're saying and provide a reason for that or a link or a source.

                    I realise that you don't do that kind of typically just make bald assertions of usually challenged 'fact'. I can understand that the comparison between makes you uncomfortable. But I really don't care.

                    Personally I'm writing for the people whose opinion I actually care about – those who can tell me that I'm wrong, why they think that, and where they got that piece of shit idea from. This is robust debate – ideas get challenged. Assertions get destroyed. And long held beliefs may need a bit of quiet adjustment.

                    Robust debate is what the site was started for. It is in the first paragraph of our policy. Defending that basic principle for the site is the most common reason for moderation. If you want to have something different, then I suggest that you follow the advise in the last part of the About. Find another site or start your own

                    But you've been bitching about the same thing for most of a decade under one name or another. Perhaps you should get off the fence again and try it.

                    • Anne …
                      9 August 2020 at 8:55 pm

                      Ok, I'm going to put my spoke in too.

                      So, John Selway – the fellow who claims he's decent – has been commenting here for years under different names? That's enough to ring alarm bells for me. If you're a decent person you don't use different names. You stick with the same name and people can get to know you and choose to trust you or otherwise.

                      And I might add it is only the trolls, trouble makers and the really stupid who feel the lash of the lprent tongue. He's remarkably kind to the rest of us. 😎

                    • JohnSelway …
                      9 August 2020 at 10:18 pm

                      It's cute you think what you do is 'robust debate'.

                      You don't debate, you use this forum as your fiefdom to show how much better than everyone you think you are.

                      People with different opinions or politics to you are dick heads (jesus man, get a better insult – it's always dick heads), you like to feel better and more important than other people and have no problem making sure everyone knows what an amazingly smart and well educated person you are compared to everyone else.

                      Fuck sake man, get some perspective.

            • Incognito 2.7.1.1.1.2
              9 August 2020 at 5:53 pm

              I think John needs self-isolation more than anything.

              • McFlock …
                9 August 2020 at 7:59 pm

                Or has had a bit much, and wants to receive a virtual spanking just for the variation in sensation.

          • xanthe 2.7.1.1.2
            9 August 2020 at 8:01 pm

            sad

  3. ScottGN 3
    9 August 2020 at 8:37 am

    Not for the first time a politic journo assumes that what they want is what we all want.

    “At some point we could all use a little less triangulation and bit more of an ideological clash.“

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300077606/election-2020-labour-launch-an-extremely-centrist-campaign

    • Patricia Bremner 3.1
      10 August 2020 at 2:54 am

      Cooke has an agenda. He asked a loaded question during the stand up. Jacinda said she knew where that was going and answered briefly. He was plainly miffed.

  4. Pat 4
    9 August 2020 at 9:13 am

    “There is only one logical conclusion given where we are now: we have no alternative but to commit to more radical political action. To get as many people as possible involved in campaigning activities just as often as possible. To bring such pressure to bear on our political systems, while we still have time, to shift from today’s wholly inadequate incrementalism to full-on emergency response. The case for civil disobedience is now overwhelming.”

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/oram-how-we-can-confront-the-climate-crisis

    Is anyone listening?…..it appears that perhaps 5 or 6% of kiwis may have half an ear attuned.

    • Robert Guyton 4.1
      9 August 2020 at 9:54 am

      This local body politician is and I've emailed the article to my fellow regional councillors. Yesterday, I did a video-interview on the topic of climate change that will be broadcast somewhere later this year. Some of the questions were around the issue of conservative thinking and the response from the agricultural sector.

      • Pat 4.1.1
        9 August 2020 at 10:38 am

        It astounds me that although there is quite some amount of coverage via media, public speaking events, academic research/statements the apparent impact on public opinion when it comes time for political action is just not there. Labour (or any broadly supported political party) will not move on meaningful action on CC policy until such time as they see their support disappearing to the likes of the Greens.

        Homo Sapiens my arse.

        • Incognito 4.1.1.1
          9 August 2020 at 10:49 am

          Agreed. They will cherry-pick suitable policies and massage and water them down to make them more palatable for the not-so-radical middle. In doing this, they will remove the vital oxygen and lifeline from other minor parties. Labour is just window dressing CC because of: Covid now, something else next. In the near future, we’re likely to experience more natural disasters and pandemics and they’re going to become more and more costly to our society and economy. Short-termism kills in the long-term, just look at smoking, poor diet, or alcohol and other substance abuse: a slow wearing and grinding down of one’s health and immune system till the body (and mind) can no longer cope and shit hits the fan, literally.

          • Sacha 4.1.1.1.1
            9 August 2020 at 11:41 am

            The real shame is seeing way too many politicians and party officials across the spectrum prepared to squander decades of future funding right now propping up yesterdays' priorities in the face of increasing threats (the 2022 global financial crash, 2023 foot and mouth outbreak, 2024 drought, Covid-25, the 2027 algal bloom..) – rather than on the fundamental changes to reduce the harm of climate change and severe economic and social dislocation.

            Representing cowardly voters and lobbyists can't be a satisfying career. Yet here we are.

        • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.2
          9 August 2020 at 11:58 am

          It astounds me that although there is quite some amount of coverage via media, public speaking events, academic research/statements the apparent impact on public opinion when it comes time for political action is just not there.

          “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

          Upton Sinclair

          Why do you think that politicians, from both National and Labour, are always going on about jobs?

          People don't have the time or energy to get riled up about the damage the present system is causing and they're dependent upon the system continuing to 'work'.

          Even when politicians do go on about transformation they're not talking about changing the system. They're there to keep the same failed system in place for the rich.

  5. dv 5
    9 August 2020 at 9:26 am

    Oops NZF

    Jones on 15%!!!

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12354862

    A 1 News Colmar Brunton poll has Jones on just 15 per cent support, with National's Matt King, the incumbent, on 46 per cent and Labour candidate Willow Jean-Prime on 31 per cent.

    And Peters wants the elderly to get out and work
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300077570/your-country-needs-you–winston-peters-pitch-to-baby-boomers-and-older-kiwis

    That sounds like a winner!!!

    • Muttonbird 5.1
      9 August 2020 at 9:30 am

      Massive vote splitting:

      King 46% National 35%

      Prime 31% Labour 41%

      You could assume this will be repeated in safe blue seats all over the country.

    • Treetop 5.2
      9 August 2020 at 11:24 am

      I thought I heard the figure on Q&A that approx 400 people were called on a landline.

  6. Peter 6
    9 August 2020 at 9:34 am

    So a Stuff political journalist thinks voters deserve a contest of ideas.

    Well, a Stuff journalist thinks the people deserve something substantial to challenge their minds and promote considered discussion?

    Excuse me? This is 2020, this is New Zealand. They've moved us on to other ways of operating. We don't do that any more. They want to turn on the 'serious' tap when they took out all the plumbing for it years ago.

    • Muttonbird 6.1
      9 August 2020 at 9:40 am

      Nice analogy. The media made politics about personality over policy. Bit late for them to be crying foul now.

    • McFlock 7.1
      9 August 2020 at 8:07 pm

      What I love is that the repugs are acting like the shitgibbon habitually uses Australian-English pronunciations, rather than Jersey Thuggese.

    • Draco T Bastard 8.1
      9 August 2020 at 12:07 pm

      Considering the reports of their abuse of others we should probably be jailing them.

    • RedBaronCV 8.2
      9 August 2020 at 1:11 pm

      That's pretty scary. I assume this is a civil case and to issue a no notice warrant ( instead of discovery?) or in the case of reputation concerns – external evidence – I would have though the potential financial losses would have to be pretty high and pretty certain because reputation damage loss relies on external spread so can be otherwise proved.

      To go further and run it over a dwelling which may contain other people who may be absolutely unrelated to the issue in question is appalling. I see the court appointed a lawyer so at some level they were not happy but still – at that level it's treating it more like a criminal offence. Would be interesting to hear from a few lawyers on this.

      I mean could you see say whaleoil or kiwi blog or here being issued with a no notice warrant.

      • lprent 8.2.1
        9 August 2020 at 2:41 pm

        I mean could you see say whaleoil or kiwi blog or here being issued with a no notice warrant.

        It has been requested for here at least once (by Dermot aka Dimwit Nottingham in 2015) on what was technically a criminal charge. He’d run a private prosecution against APN NZ, ODT, Pete George and me. His claim was that ODT had reprinted, and that PG and myself had quoted from a court report article by the NZ Herald. He claimed that the original NZH article had caused contempt of court by violating the court orders on identity suppression (they hadn’t in my view).

        The judge turned down the search warrant request and I only found that it’d be requested with a published judicial decision made against Dimwit complaining about the judge turning it down amongst other matters.

        Needless to say, Dimwit lost the case because he managed a number of days in court as a private prosecution without establishing that APN NZ owned the NZ Herald (they didn’t directly – it is directly owned by NZME). He also managed to somehow not establish that I had anything to do with this site. I subsequently helped bankrupt him for unpaid court ordered costs from both the original trial and the appeal.

        However since 2009, this site has always encrypted the entirety of the site including its logs and backups. While I could eventually be forced to divulge access in a criminal trial, I’d really need to establish in a court that I’d actually need to as well – since it’d also open up access to other confidential information.

        • RedBaronCV 8.2.1.1
          9 August 2020 at 8:36 pm

          Not good for you.

          I'd have thought judges would be pretty careful about issuing warrants without notice when it may be no more than civilian vigilantism. It also is likely to involve the party being ambushed having to pay legal fees which can multiply at the rate of … without any opportunity to answer in a less expensive situation or to get their costs and damages. It would be really interesting to see the judicial reasoning- otherwise they are facilitating some pretty extreme bullying

  9. joe90 9
    9 August 2020 at 10:47 am

    Mask V No Mask.

    The 15 counties where masks are mandatory have had new infections drop by 40%; the 90 counties where masks are optional had no fall.

    https://www.ottawaherald.com/news/20200805/norman-kansas-has-become-natural-experiment-in-mask-mandate-battle

    • dv 9.1
      9 August 2020 at 10:54 am

      That is a telling graph.

    • Incognito 9.2
      9 August 2020 at 11:12 am

      Deceiving graph. Mask-wearing counties (n=15) have cases drop from ca. 20 to 16 cases per 100,000 and in non-mask-wearing counties (n=90) cases stay around 9 per 100,000.

      “The no mask counties are flat,” Norman said. “There’s no activities that are going on — masks or otherwise — that account for or causing any improvement.”

      • Andre 9.2.1
        9 August 2020 at 11:20 am

        Incognito, any chance you could edit the image ref so that the second y-axis scale on the right for the blue line shows up?

        It's also worth noting the mask-mandate counties are the high-population counties, so the higher population density could well account for the higher initial infection rate:

        “The 15 counties that have mask mandates represent two-thirds of the population of the state of Kansas,” he said. “So yes, there’s 90 counties that account for the no mask mandate that reflect the other one-third.”

        • Incognito 9.2.1.1
          9 August 2020 at 11:39 am

          I’ve adjusted the image size; it did show up fine in the back-end, you see, and I rarely visit the front-end.

          I think the graph is tantalising but without knowing anything about confounding factors, I would not take it at face value. It reminds me of early comparisons between lock-down and non-lock-down regions/states/countries. The non-lock-down places looked they were doing quite well but this was largely because people were self-isolating at home. Mask-wearing may be an easy metric but it is likely to be a surrogate of a whole raft of behavioural differences and changes. That said, Dr Norman might genuinely believe that data.

          • Andre 9.2.1.1.1
            9 August 2020 at 11:45 am

            Thank you.

            Yeah, taken alone that data is just a whisper of a hint. But it is still something that's useful to help fill in a bigger picture.

      • joe90 9.2.2
        9 August 2020 at 11:24 am

        Urban V rural; the denser the population, the higher the transmission rate.

        “The 15 counties that have mask mandates represent two-thirds of the population of the state of Kansas,” he said. “So yes, there’s 90 counties that account for the no mask mandate that reflect the other one-third.”

        It shouldn’t take much convincing that the slope of the red line represents an improvement of the per capita COVID-19 cases over a four-week period, Norman said.

        “The no mask counties are flat,” Norman said. “There’s no activities that are going on — masks or otherwise — that account for or causing any improvement.”

        The 90 counties representing the blue line could see a dramatic downward slope in their case numbers if they required masks, Norman said.

  10. Cinny 10
    9 August 2020 at 11:26 am

    yes An excellent episode of The Listening Post last night. enlightened

    Murdoch's misinformation: COVID-19, China and climate change

    Manipulation via murdoch's media outlets in Aussie (Sky News etc) and the USA (FOX etc).

    But what's really interesting is Richard Gizbert's interview with Malcolm Turnball. The ex Aussie PM is now condemning the Murdoch's, even though malcolm was happy to rise to power on the coat tails of murdochs narratives. True to form turnball attempts to turn it around at the end and blame the murdochs control on Labour

    Opinions drive media sales far more than facts. Murdoch's so called news outlets should be labeled as opinion outlets.

  11. ScottGN 11
    9 August 2020 at 11:35 am

    Victoria’s Chief Medical Officer has reported today that the state’s Reproduction Rate of the virus has dropped below 1 for the first time since June, signs that the lockdown and mask wearing is working.

  12. Byd0nz 12
    9 August 2020 at 11:47 am

    I have been wonderin', especially after seeing plum in the mouth Bolger on Q +A, just when are they going to dig up the bones of (another plum in the mouth) Holyoake, wire them together and put him on TV to lend a hand to the National cause.

  13. Patricia Bremner 13
    9 August 2020 at 1:29 pm

    Burying themselves in plums?
    At least Bolger wasn’t insisting on opening the borders. He seemed to disagree with Key and co.

  14. Sacha 14
    9 August 2020 at 1:40 pm

    Louisa Wall profiled by Andrea Vance: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/122339382/why-labour-mp-louisa-wall-refuses-to-know-her-place

    “I'm definitely aware that people don't like me. But I don't care about being liked. I just want to be respected.

    “Life is all about priorities… a lot of the areas that I choose to involve myself in I'm a disrupter. And at the end of the day, are people going to find me hard or not like what I say? Are they going to be oppositional to what I think?

    “Well, I'm very clear about the things I believe in, I'm principled. I'm not very political, to be honest.”

    • Goodgrief 14.1
      9 August 2020 at 2:02 pm

      None of Louisa Wall's beliefs match any of mine so I won't be voting for her or, I suspect, any Party that has her in their fold.

    • Dennis Frank 14.2
      9 August 2020 at 3:39 pm

      I wonder why you chose not to quote her abuse story? Inasmuch as it reflects negatively on Labour's credibility, it is more relevant to the election campaign.

      He burst into my room… he'd heard me on the radio, talking about marriage, equality, my role, and the fact that the party had endorsed it. For me, who the f… do you think you are, said I haven't got any authority, don't know my place. It’s quite layered, a senior male MP, and that is what he chose to do.

      As the chair of Labour's rainbow caucus… that was my responsibility. We'd said this was a priority for us. It was my actual job.”

      She took her complaint straight to the top. “My reaction was that I formally went to the leadership. I said that was unacceptable, I don't have to put up with us. I want it noted.

      “Nothing happened.” She now believes Parliament should appoint an independent commissioner to investigate bullying and harassment complaints against MPs, going against the grain of many of her colleagues.

      “There needs to be some accountability. We have to have something that protects those who don't have the power over those who do. Let’s put it to the vote, like we do legislation.”

      Goff would have been the leader when it happened. Perhaps the Labour patriarchs were in a post-Helen resurgent phase? Anyway, the moral of the story is that senior Labour male parliamentarians swearing at junior Labour female parliamentarians was okay nine years ago.

      • Sacha 14.2.1
        9 August 2020 at 3:43 pm

        I found her comment about not being 'political' more revealing about why she may have run into trouble with her career choice. Someone else was bound to find allegations of abuse more appealing and here we are.

        • Dennis Frank 14.2.1.1
          9 August 2020 at 3:54 pm

          Fair enough. Must be a generational perspective – it would never have occurred to me to use political in the narrow sense she apparently used it.

          I see her stance as admirable, moral and political in the wider sense. Someone who acts politically on the basis of principle is actually the ideal politician!

    • Red 16.1
      9 August 2020 at 4:35 pm

      This Jacinda worship is getting a bit childish, scary and ridiculous. I doubt whoever was in charge would really have responded differently, likewise who ever wins I doubt Covid strategy will be much different going forward, hence an election on Covid only does nz a disservice

      • Andre 16.1.1
        9 August 2020 at 4:41 pm

        Soimun was going to cut taxes and have a bonfire of regulations as the response. Don't you remember that?

        Since then we've had all kinds of stories about opening the border sooner and quicker for students and other various and sundries. So yeah, nah, National have persuaded me their Covid strategy would be quite different to the current strategy.

        • Red 16.1.1.1
          9 August 2020 at 4:54 pm

          What one does and says in opposition and what one does in power are 2 different things. Labour are surly an example of that over the last 3 years Ignoring who would have done Covid better, I hope this election is not just a contest and swinging purses at 20 paces on Covid

          • Andre 16.1.1.1.1
            9 August 2020 at 7:19 pm

            What one does and says in opposition and what one does in power are 2 different things.

            Well, yeah, but the usual pattern of that is to promise really difficult stuff that most people want, and then actually do at best half-assed renditions of something not quite what was promised that hardly anyone is happy with.

            The Nats went straight into promising half-assed renditions of obvious fuckups that hardly anyone wants right from the get-go.

          • Patricia Bremner 16.1.1.1.2
            9 August 2020 at 9:09 pm

            surly is right!! Surely!!

      • Grafton Gully 16.1.2
        9 August 2020 at 6:57 pm

        Jacinda worship gives power to Jacinda and if Labour wins the election her power will continue until something in the media that worshipers believe undermines it. As for what she will do with the power apart from controlling caucus and drugging the populace with kindness and compassion who knows ? I hope I live to see the corruption her power is leading to, as in the days of Muldoon and Lange. And the sequel.

      • Fireblade 16.1.3
        9 August 2020 at 8:20 pm

        The National Party would have implemented limited restrictions instead of a full lockdown. They would have put business and wealth creation above everything else. Yes those things are important, but not at the expense of sickness and death. If National had power when Covid-19 hit, NZ would now be like Melbourne or worse. National were pushing for travel bubbles and the return of international students months ago and that would have been a total disaster. Looking to the future, I simply don't trust the National Party to manage the borders and keep NZ safe from Covid-19.

        The Labour-led government has worked through the complex issues of managed isolation and reacted quickly to address problems. Now is not the time to give that crucial responsibility to an inexperienced National/ACT government. The majority of voters understand this.

        The MOH and WHO give advice and recommendations, but the government makes the decisions and implements the heath response. Our PM and government made the correct decisions, protected people from Covid-19 and saved lives. They continue to do so. I trust Jacinda Ardern to keep us safe.

      • McFlock 16.1.4
        9 August 2020 at 8:26 pm

        I mean, the proportion of world leadership that went hard at it from the get-go is close to fuckall, so good on you for assuming that NZ had not one but two main political parties prepared to do the hard yards early on and go for elimination.

        We need more optimists in the world.

        • observer 16.1.4.1
          9 August 2020 at 8:33 pm

          It was stated National policy to bring in international students and open a bubble to Australia, months ago. National called for level 4 to be less strict, to move to level 3 earlier, and level 2 earlier. All well documented. It was even – crazy, but it's true – the view of National's current front bench that we should be out panic buying (see David Bennett). So … if we’re going to pretend they would have done the same, let's not rewrite history so soon, give it a year or two before we play that game.

          • McFlock 16.1.4.1.1
            9 August 2020 at 9:29 pm

            Yup. But I like Red's optimism that they was only politicking, and that if the nats had been in government the NZ covid response would have been as good as what we actually did. No shortcuts on lockdown, no loosening of the borders, none of that.

            lol the world needs naive dreamers sometimes 🙂

      • Patricia Bremner 16.1.5
        9 August 2020 at 9:07 pm

        Try Trump's USA. Bridges?
        You don’t mention Bloomfield’s admiration group?

    • mauī 16.2
      9 August 2020 at 8:40 pm

      The wonderful, wonderful Elizabeth Ardern.

  17. Muttonbird 17
    9 August 2020 at 3:08 pm

    Blimey, might have to vote Green this time. There's some great stuff in here targeting what I believe is the most fixable part of the intergenerational inequality spiral. It will reduce crime and increase NZ’s productivity.

    • deliver enough affordable rental homes to clear the social housing waiting list within five years
    • stimulate a sustainable non-profit rental sector by offering Crown financial guarantees for community providers to build new rental properties
    • remove funding and regulatory barriers to encourage community housing projects
    • expand the current Progressive Home Ownership and Warmer Kiwi Homes programmes
    • make renting fairer through regulating property managers, and introducing a rental Warrant of Fitness
    • overhaul the building code.

    You'd never see Twyford doing this sort of work for low-income and vulnerable communities.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/08/nz-election-2020-green-party-reveals-homes-for-all-plan.html

    • Sacha 17.1
      9 August 2020 at 3:16 pm

      Impressive stuff. Well thought out and totally achievable.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/423110/green-party-plans-to-clear-record-high-social-housing-list-in-five-years

      The goal is to clear the social housing list – currently about 18,000 – within five years.

      The party wants to create a non-profit rental sector by offering Crown guarantees for Community Housing Providers, including iwi, to build new properties which can be rented out long-term.

      That would include $250 million in seed funding for "newly built community non-profit rental homes".

      …

      The waiting list for social housing is at a record high, and in response, the Greens want government agencies to gear up and for Kāinga Ora's borrowing limit to be increased from $7.1 billion to $12b over the next five years "to allow it to scale up the Crown build programme to 5000 new homes a year".

      "This funding will be available to support Kāinga Ora to build homes directly, and to contract building to community housing providers."

      • Muttonbird 17.1.1
        9 August 2020 at 3:20 pm

        Do you think Labour are deliberately allowing the Greens to fill this policy space?

        Both for the benefit of the Greens vote, and because any housing policy by Labour runs the risk of being laughed at?

        • Sacha 17.1.1.1
          9 August 2020 at 3:21 pm

          Don't know but that does make sense. Also keeps Lab focused on middle-class priorities for their new Nat voters; easier to communicate in campaign.

          • weka 17.1.1.1.1
            9 August 2020 at 3:41 pm

            it's certainly a more attractive theory than Labour deciding to run centrist policy of its own sake.

            • Sacha 17.1.1.1.1.1
              9 August 2020 at 3:50 pm

              Oh I'd say that's going on as well, along with careful positioning statements by the PM so as not to scare off the Nat voters who have come across seeking stability and continuity.

              • weka …
                9 August 2020 at 4:04 pm

                they seem contradictory, Labour wanting a centrist position because they value it, Labour wanting the Greens to pull NZ left.

                • lprent …
                  9 August 2020 at 4:06 pm

                  It is a low risk strategy for Labour.

                • Muttonbird …
                  9 August 2020 at 5:34 pm

                  It doesn't seem accidental to me.

                  If co-ordinated, Labour and the Greens are together wanting to span the space between full left and the dreaded centre or swing vote. A truely broad church of appeal.

                  If deliberate this marks a very sophisticated and powerful collaboration and use of the MMP environment.

                  • Anne …
                    9 August 2020 at 9:17 pm

                    Don't forget James Shaw and Jacinda Ardern have a personal friendship that goes back a long way. They will be talking privately.

          • lprent 17.1.1.1.2
            9 August 2020 at 4:05 pm

            I'd say that you're right overall.

            The core of getting a persistent re-electable vote in NZ is to occupy the centre. Centre-left or centre-right. It means that you have in a MMP environment, enough mass in the house to push policies through. It is hard to do that if you're (say) the Alliance or Act. All that happens is that the people voting against you.

            But National is pretty clearly moving further right and away from the centre and was all the way through the Key years. That was why they allowed social issues with low investment like housing and immigration related issues of infrastructure to pile up using the GFC as an excuse.

            However it has become more explicit now with Bridges, Collins, and shortly Luxton. More of a property owners party as the actual number of property owners diminish and housing becomes more affordable. The number of economic 'liberals' identifiable in the party are diminishing as their MPs resign and the conservative side are steadily gaining influence.

            But Labour get creamed when they start trying to do anything that is too different or too experimental. More radical change has to come from the coalition parties who can cop the blame if it all turns to custard. The Centre party will concentrate on pushing through policy that deals with extant problems like finishing the CRL, fixing the court system, shifting immigration policies, fixing hospitals, and paying for super.

            I suspect that if we lose NZF (populist and centrist) then that will become the pattern.

          • I Feel Love 17.1.1.1.3
            9 August 2020 at 8:06 pm

            Yes yes yes yes, that is exactly what is happening, Labour = "extreme centrist" (according to the media, ha!!) & Greens get to be "left", ironically it's only the anti Greens who so far have seen this, everyone else is hassling Labour for being 'meh', the RW are voting Labour to oust Greens, & Green supporters (Like me!) are quite happy with it all. I've never seen Labour as Left, I've said before, they are the only 'centrist' party.

    • Red 17.2
      9 August 2020 at 4:46 pm

      I actually want the Green Party to stay in parliament, albeit without any real influence. My reasoning more so for democracy, just as the rwnj need some where to go and deserve representation as do the lwnj to keep them off the streets. One day however I would like to see a new real Green Party ( not watermelons) unhindered by square dancing and SJWs go into coalition with a national government as mused by county Jim is his latest book

      • weka 17.2.1
        9 August 2020 at 4:57 pm

        how insulting, it was Morris Dancing no Square Dancing.

      • Muttonbird 17.2.2
        9 August 2020 at 5:46 pm

        Quite what value single issue parties are to government I will never understand. You and the other blue-greens seem to want a green party having absolutely no position on anything other than the environment.

        • Red 17.2.2.1
          9 August 2020 at 6:34 pm

          Not at all, our beef is the high jacking of the green label to mean you must be a socialist and overly woke This does more harm than good as it keeps the green agenda at the margins

          • Muttonbird 17.2.2.1.1
            9 August 2020 at 7:12 pm

            Not that I've been that close to the Green party since the start but I can't remember them without a social conscience alongside their environmental conscience. They say the two are not separable.

            Also, you said 'woke' which immediately raises alarm bells with me as to your agenda.

            • Red 17.2.2.1.1.1
              9 August 2020 at 7:33 pm

              That’s the issue the argument that to have social conscience you must be a socialist and similarly to be green you must be socialist as though it is some self evident truth or axiom

              • I Feel Love …
                9 August 2020 at 8:13 pm

                Greens will never hook up with the Nats, forget about it. Labour are more likely to. For the Greens to hook up with Nats, they'd have to get their supporters support, & basically be a patsy party like what happened to MP & ACT. Nats still don't get MMP, & long may that continue. (Look at Bergen, their Green Party leader became PM, with the equivelants of Labour & National (the 2 biggest parties) negotiating portfolios (the RW take finance, the LW social stuff, & all co operate). Hard work of course! But maybe we will mature in time. & fuck your 'woke' bullshit, look where it's got Shane Jones, hyuck!!!

            • xanthe 17.2.2.1.1.2
              9 August 2020 at 8:15 pm

              "Not that I've been that close to the Green party since the start"

              Well I have and red is correct IMHO. What the greens attempt to ram thru as social justice is along way away from just and is not founded on environmental wisdom. They have poisoned the brand and we all are paying the price of not having a coherent voice for the environment.

              I do not see a way forward for the Greens at this time

              • Muttonbird …
                9 August 2020 at 8:31 pm

                That's fine xanthe, social issues are not a priority for you, but they are for the Green Party and have been for some time.

                They are a stronger voice in parliament because of this.

                You view social issues as "poison". I have to say that is a real shame and it makes me wonder what this forum offers you if that is truely the case.

                • xanthe …
                  9 August 2020 at 8:55 pm

                  dont be a wanker mutts

                  No where do i say or imply that social issues are not a priority to me!

                  Social issues are in fact very important to me. I am deeply offended when i see them leveraged in ignorance in a polarizing manner for political gain.

                  Anyone who goes into this area needs to do so in a careful, informed manner.

                  Your bullying response to me founded on misrepresentation fairly sums up where the greens went off the rails.

          • observer 17.2.2.1.2
            9 August 2020 at 7:37 pm

            There is a non-left "green" party to vote for. They got a whole heap of publicity when they were launched. Their leader was all over the media. Remember?

            The only problem is that absolutely nobody wants to vote for them. They register zero in the polls. Not 1%. Absolute zero.

            So where are these mystery "green" voters?

            • Red 17.2.2.1.2.1
              9 August 2020 at 8:05 pm

              They are in the centre , National and Labour, but can’t say they are green The Green Party should be ashamed of itself they have appropriated the word green with a hard left agenda, a big no no in this day and age. As a result green issue are pushed to the margin

              [Fixed another typo in your e-mail address. Please be more careful next time, thanks]

              • Incognito …
                9 August 2020 at 8:09 pm

                [Fixed another typo in your e-mail address. Please be more careful next time, thanks]

                • I Feel Love …
                  9 August 2020 at 8:16 pm

                  "Hard Left", ha!!! Extreme Centre, eye roll. The RW may have a social conscience, they just don't wanna pay for it. Whereas the LW (hard or soft), want to socialise the cost, because we all pay in the long run. Nothing wrong with a bit of Morris Dancing or photos with unicorns, BFD.

              • observer …
                9 August 2020 at 8:16 pm

                That is completely false. National MPs have been rushing to call themselves "Blue-Green", and they signed up to the zero carbon bill. Now, they are nowhere near green enough for me personally, but that's beside the point: they claim to be green.

                https://www.politik.co.nz/2019/11/11/how-bridges-letthe-blue-greens-redefine-national/

              • Stuart Munro …
                9 August 2020 at 10:04 pm

                I don't think I'd describe the Greens as hard anything, except perhaps hardworking – certainly not hard Left – perhaps Te Papa must run a sample gulag exhibit so that the ignorant may learn to distinguish truth from rhetorical excess.

          • solkta 17.2.2.1.3
            9 August 2020 at 8:50 pm

            People are part of the environment. It is your idiotic reductionist thinking that is the problem here.

            • Incognito 17.2.2.1.3.1
              9 August 2020 at 10:01 pm

              Nah, Red is just angling for another long/permanent ban; it didn’t take long at all.

      • Draco T Bastard 17.2.3
        9 August 2020 at 9:49 pm

        I actually want the Green Party to stay in parliament, albeit without any real influence.

        While I want the Greens in parliament with power hence being a member.

        My reasoning more so for democracy

        No, its a denial of democracy. Having people without power is, ipso facto, preventing those people being able to engage in the democratic process.

        One day however I would like to see a new real Green Party

        No you don't. You want a Green Party that does as its told.

        We have a real green Party – one that's willing to stand on its principles. And a party that stands on its principles will never go into coalition with National because they have none.

      • Sacha 17.2.4
        10 August 2020 at 8:46 am

        I look forward to a party of the right that is worthy of a coalition with the Greens. Maybe liberal remnants of the Nats after they shed the rural rump.

    • mikesh 17.3
      9 August 2020 at 4:56 pm

      With solar panels, perhaps?

  18. kester macfarlane 18
    9 August 2020 at 3:58 pm

    To

    Leighton Baker, New Conservative Leader

    © New Conservative, Authorised by Kevin Stitt, 35 Lenore Rd, Mangere

    During the early morning of Saturday 8th August 2020, two political billboards for your political party, New Conservative were illegally attached on our properties roadside fence.

    The fence is more than two metres inside our surveyed boundary.

    Landowner permission to display your election signage was not requested.

    You or your agents not only erected your party’s billboards illegally on our private property, you/they interfered with and then actually relocated existing signage on our fence to maximise your party billboards visibility and field of vision.

    We are taking legal action against the New Conservative Party on the following counts:

    New Conservative Party trespassed onto our property.

    New Conservative Party illegally attached two political billboards onto our fence.

    New Conservative Party by illegally attaching two political billboards onto our fence have insinuated by association that we are supportive of your Party’s philosophy.

    New Conservative Party by illegally attaching two political billboards onto our fence have embarrassed, tarnished and diminished our reputation and standing in our community.

    Your promotional material states that the New Conservative Party believes in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional family values and a strong national identity.

    By trespassing, erecting obnoxious political billboards, interfering and rearranging existing signage, insinuating our beliefs are similar to your party’s and embarrassing and blemishing our standing and reputation in our community hardly adheres to your claimed beliefs.

    In the last 24 hour period since the New Conservative Party illegally attached the two political billboards onto our fence, we have had numerous people who have aggressively enquired about our political and moral beliefs.

    We have a full range of photographic evidence which we will be supplying our legal council.

    We are taking legal action and will be suing New Conservative accordingly.

    170-174 Stafford Drive

    Ruby Bay, Mapua

    Nelson 7005

    [lprent: I’m letting this comment through despite our usual policy on open contact via the page. At least it doesn’t have any email addresses of phone numbers in it. If someone knows the the New Conservatives, I’d suggest letting them know this ASAP because the Electoral Commission will appreciate this about as much as the fence owners do. ]

    • Red 18.1
      9 August 2020 at 4:50 pm

      I am on the fence on this one

      • Muttonbird 18.1.1
        9 August 2020 at 5:49 pm

        The NCs billboards ask a question, then answer, "No Thanks". I'm looking for a way to easily change it to read:

        New Conservative?

        No Thanks!

      • bwaghorn 18.1.2
        9 August 2020 at 8:08 pm

        New conservative, ain't that an oxymoron

    • Draco T Bastard 18.2
      9 August 2020 at 9:58 pm

      Your promotional material states that the New Conservative Party believes in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional family values and a strong national identity.

      And the reason why conservatives like those things is because what they really don't like are rules that hold them to account, rules that prevent them doing whatever they like no matter how much damage it does to anything or anyone else.

      And the proof of that lies in their illegal and immoral actions as stated above.

  20. ScottGN 20
    9 August 2020 at 5:24 pm

    Newshub is reporting that Brownlee claims the Nats are on ‘about’ 40%. Nothing to back the claim up of course. He also says he doesn’t trust polls anymore and then goes on to say that TVNZ’s poll in Northland is really bad news for NZFirst. You couldn’t make it up!

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/08/nz-election-2020-gerry-brownlee-claims-national-is-on-about-40-percent.html

    • Robert Guyton 20.1
      9 August 2020 at 5:41 pm

      Gerry spreads himself like lard across the bread political.

    • McFlock 20.2
      9 August 2020 at 8:32 pm

      He started using "about" with that level of error as a teenage boy because he thought the six inch ruler was way too long.

    • Pingao 21.1
      9 August 2020 at 7:24 pm

      … well if the unthinkable happened and the Nats got back in I guess it wouldn't be long before we'd need those masks …

    • lprent 21.2
      9 August 2020 at 7:25 pm

      Evidently Gerry only looks at the local news and ignores the news from the outside of NZ. How else could you explain this…

      As New Zealand marks 100 days without community transmission of Covid-19, National Party deputy leader Gerry Brownlee says the Government’s warning of an approaching second wave is “very puzzling”.

      There are about 3 other statements he made just in that one article (several of which appeared to be repeats) that tend to indicate that he knows nothing about Auckland politics and has a possible symptoms of a disease of age.

      • ScottGN 21.2.1
        9 August 2020 at 7:38 pm

        He certainly repeated Judith’s assertion that Ngaro will beat Twyford in Te Atatu. But along with that came a tacit admission that they are unlikely to get enough of a party vote to get their 30th ranked candidate into parliament?

  22. Stuart Munro 22
    9 August 2020 at 8:42 pm

    From time to time the Atlantic has rather good long form articles – this one's on policing in America – though the observation on incremental change is not without merit. Where change is needed, it is often urgent for somebody.

  23. I Feel Love 23
    9 August 2020 at 8:45 pm

    I been seeing little bits of this story popping up, protests in Labanon, call for early elections, pissed off people sick of inept leadership, a developing story I'd imagine

    http://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2020/08/hundreds-protesters-injured-anger-simmers-beirut-live-200808234355971.html

  24. roblogic 24
    10 August 2020 at 5:54 pm

    Public and shared transport is the future. So glad this money isn’t going to More Lanes™️

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12355143

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 27

    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 mins ago
  • Ticket To Anywhere

    You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 hour ago
  • Stories of varying weight

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 hours ago
  • Balancing External Security and the Economy

    New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    18 hours ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: The unravelling of the offsets

    The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • What makes us tick

    This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 day ago
  • Foreshore and seabed 2.0

    In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

    The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway

    The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

    New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 'Pacific Futures'

    President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests.    Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone.    Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-07-27T00:49:56+00:00