Open mike 09/11/2023

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 9th, 2023 - 102 comments
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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 …

102 comments on “Open mike 09/11/2023 ”

  1. Dennis Frank 1

    Ex-Labour hack explains why progressive activists oughtn't join Labour: https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/07-11-2023/no-the-greens-dont-have-a-labour-problem

    I’m writing this in response to Ollie Neas’s excellent piece The Greens’ Labour problem, in which he questioned whether the Green Party was the right focal point for leftwing political energy in New Zealand… it’s an intelligent and cogent contribution to the debate and honestly, I’m just relieved it wasn’t another Blue-Green take.

    Youngsters still in the keen phase, yet to go through burn-out…

    • Incognito 1.1

      And as usual, your commentary is nothing but snide remarks about the messenger(s).

      You are obviously too lazy, unable, and unwilling to come up with “an intelligent and cogent contribution to the debate” and your attempt at a Yoda impersonation causes cracks in the Force.

  2. Dennis Frank 2

    David Williams is Newsroom's environment editor & South Island correspondent. He does a thoughtful appraisal of the Green electorate victory trend extending southward.

    The Greens now have two list MPs from Christchurch – Carter and Lan Pham – as well as Otago’s Scott Willis, boosting its South Island representation. Across Banks Peninsula, Christchurch Central, Christchurch East, Ilam, and Wigram, the Greens gained almost 11,500 raw party votes on the 2020 election results. https://www.newsroom.co.nz/seeds-planted-for-a-green-win-in-christchurch

    Pham, a former Environment Canterbury councillor, got 8325 votes in Banks Peninsula… a big gain on outgoing list MP Eugenie Sage’s 2020 result of 6222. Party vote for the Greens was 19.6 percent in Banks Peninsula, and 19.4 percent in Christchurch Central, well up on 2020’s proportions of 14.3 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively.

    Dunne, the former United Future leader, says the Greens will be reviewing its overall strategy – and he suspects it’ll go "all out" for two-tick campaigns at the next election in a bid to win more electorate seats.

    Yeah that makes sense. No more being nice to Labour. Ride the wave.

    • Ad 2.1

      The natural Greens target would be Dunedin where the Greens got 11,500 Party vote and Labour 13,000. That's now very reversible in 2026.

      Brooking was 9,000 votes ahead of the Green candidate, but frankly after Mt Albert and Auckland Central that's do-able. I’m sure Greens’ Scott Willis has figured this out already.

  3. gsays 3

    In a nutshell:

    "Uncertainty about motivations, origins and influence of lobbyist groups can erode trust in democratic process."

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/501982/revolving-door-for-lobbyists-can-result-in-unfair-access-justice-ministry

    I shouldn't be surprised but disgraced former ministers pop up as a lobbyists.

    "Since then, Kiri Allan resigned as Justice Minister and has started her own consultancy and lobbying firm. Stuart Nash also quit as a Cabinet Minister and now has a role which includes lobbying for global recruitment firm Robert Walters."

    There is a lot of talk about lobbyists and MPs. This still doesn't go far enough, contact with officials, advisors or any in the public service should be bought under any reforms.

    We live in an age where trust in institutions is at an all time low, it is disheartening to hear that the Commerce Commission had to pay more $ on top of the $1.7million they pay their own comms staff.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/501838/lobbying-and-communications-firm-senate-s-wildly-inappropriate-contracts-at-commerce-commission-revealed

    Good work by Guyon Espinor and team.

    • AB 4.1

      Agreed. National's rhetoric about Labour's failure to "deliver" over-simplified a complicated reality. There were indeed failures to deliver (tax reform), and there were also cases such as this, where National hated the fact that Labour delivered stuff for the 'wrong' social class.

  4. Am I the only one with the standard showing up in a very odd format?

    • lprent 5.1

      There was a major wordpress update last night. You may have caching issues.

      I’ll try resetting all of the caches. But you might need to force a reload on your browser on at least one TS page to get it fixed in the short-term. Can’t tell you what that is in your browser/OS without knowing what you are on. Common ones are in this line.

      https://filecamp.com/support/problem-solving/hard-refresh

    • bwaghorn 5.2

      On a android mobile , don't think the link covers it , but am a far better sheep shagger than tech guy

      • Red Blooded One 5.2.1

        You're not alone, my Android has the weird format as of today too. couldn't figure out a Hard Refresh being a "Dinosaur" myself, so only back to the computer to read The Standard for now.

  5. Dennis Frank 7

    Real people, real votes… https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/08/democrat-biden-poll-election-virginia-kentucky-ohio

    Perhaps the biggest pre-2024 barometer was Virginia, where the Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, who has assailed voting rights, poured tens of millions of dollars into an effort to gain full control of the statehouse and impose a 15-week abortion ban.

    Instead Democrats secured both chambers, simultaneously killing off rumours of a last-minute Youngkin presidential bid.

    Joe Scarborough, a cable news TV host and former Republican congressman, commented on Wednesday: “The overturning of Roe has got to be the most devastating single event for the Republican party since Watergate.”

    One man who understands this is Trump himself. Although he likes to remind religious conservatives that his supreme court appointments made the overturning of Roe v Wade possible, he has also used 2024 election campaign speeches to urge pragmatism and warn his base that abortion bans are a vote loser.

    Reproductive rights supporters won big in an Ohio ballot measure. The Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, was re-elected in Kentucky by campaigning on reproductive rights while his challenger, the state attorney general, Daniel Cameron, touted his endorsement by former president Donald Trump. A Democrat won an open seat on the Pennsylvania supreme court after campaigning on his pledge to uphold abortion rights.

    Chris Christie, who is challenging Trump for the nomination, cited Tuesday’s result in deep-red Kentucky. “Cameron was a rising star in the Republican party until he decided to throw his lot in with Donald Trump,” he told CNN. “Let’s face it, Donald Trump is political and electoral poison down ballot.”

    Looks like an ebb tide going out on Trump & Republicans.

  6. Chris 8

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/133257223/wait-for-lifechanging-surgery-continues-after-acc-takes-nine-months-to-refuse-her-claim

    Cases like this wouldn't be an issue if the full plan for health and accident compensation as recommended in the Woodhouse Report had been put in place instead of only half of it, which is what we have today, the other half being axed by Muldoon in 1975. Luxon says he’s gonna fix everything. Maybe the prick can fix this?

    • weka 8.1

      in addition to letting things slide like NZ has, we're now in a mess from the pandemic and ongoing staff shortages, system break downs, and general sub par performance. We really need to be shifting into transition and adaptation thinking instead of expecting someone to return us to previous normal.

  7. tsmithfield 9

    Something I find really annoying about our democratic process is the amount of money wasted when governments change. One government may have spent millions or even billions on some projects or another only for a new government to scrap said projects because they don't align with their own priorities, or they see things a different way.

    I think there needs to be some sort of cross party strategic committee that makes decisions about strategic projects. A good example would have been Three Waters. It appears that both Labour and National realise there are problems that need to be solved. It would have been good if that issue could have been put to a cross-party strategic committee so that a solution that all sides can agree on could be implimented.

    Such a process would likely result in much more sustainable and better solutions to significant problems.

    • KJT 9.1

      National don't want to solve it.

      They want it to be a fuckup so they can privatise!

      Just like their creeping privatisation of our public health system, that has, and is, causing it’s demise

      • AB 9.1.1

        From National's perspective, it makes sense to leave the problem to Councils whose only tools are to increase rates or borrow. Higher rates, along with rising insurance costs due to CC, will see a number of people who own houses but have lower incomes (e.g. the retired) having to sell up. If you simultaneously inflate asset prices through foreign buyers and re-incentivising domestic investors, then it becomes harder for first home buyers as well. Like a beautiful pincer movement, these two forces will accelerate the concentration of home ownership into the hands of mega landlords. The new feudalism beckons.

      • Drowsy M. Kram 9.1.2

        Yep, privatisation of Kiwi public services and assets facilitates the diversification and growth of unearned income streams for the wealthy – <a href="https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/74219/almost-year-after-last-official-state-asset-sale-david-hargreaves-has-look-how"rel="nofollow ugc"Nats have form.

        Creeping Privatisation [19 Sept 2023]
        Its findings reinforce the WHO’s message: invest in the workforce or risk a public health system meltdown.

        Water pricing and affordability in the US: public vs. private ownership
        [2022]

        • Privately owned water systems have higher water prices and are less affordable.
        • Water prices are higher in states with regulation that favors private investors.
        • Water affordability is lower in communities with higher poverty and aging infrastructure, regardless of ownership type.
        • Water policy needs to address issues of regulatory control and mechanisms to enhance affordability.
        • Drowsy M. Kram 9.1.2.1

          Mucked up formatting the link to David Hargreaves analysis of the electricity company asset sales – this one works.

          Almost a year after the last (official) state asset sale, David Hargreaves has a look at how the investors – and the taxpayers – have fared [Feb 2015]

          It is still much too early to judge the success or failure of the asset sales programme – but worth having a look at where we are right now anyway in terms of dollars and cents.

          The early signs are that the investors are doing okay, thanks very much, while the taxpayer – maybe not so much.

          In the end the number of people investing in the asset sales was only in the low hundreds of thousands (hard to come up with exact figures because there will undoubtedly be double-ups).

          https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/74219/almost-year-after-last-official-state-asset-sale-david-hargreaves-has-look-how

          In 1991 the Nats introduced the Energy Sector Reform Bill (later split to become five separate acts, including the Energy Companies Act 1992 and the Electricity Act 1992), containing provisions facilitating the corporatisation of electricity supply authorities and a wide range of regulatory measures.

          It's just the way Nat pollies and there backers think and plan (long term) – how can the wealthy maximise their extraction of unearned income from publicly-funded services and infrastructure. It has little-to-nothing to do with the wider public good – NZ is just a cash cow being milked dry by already wealthy Kiwis, imho.

    • gsays 9.2

      If politicians are half as tribal and partisan as most commenters here, unfortunately you have no show.

      I agree with yr sentiment though.

      • Drowsy M. Kram 9.2.1

        Imho, many Kiwi politicians are more tribal and partisan than most commentators here, and most "bottom feeders", so yes, "no show" as the effects of inequality and overshoot play out. Aotearoa NZ could do with a bit more of "He Waka Eke Noa", but Mammon demands absolute loyality.

        Christopher Luxon calls New Zealand 'very negative, wet, whiney, inward-looking' [12 June 2023]
        "We have become a very negative, wet, whiney, inward-looking country and we have lost the plot and we have got to get our mojo back," Luxon said to one farmer.

        For National, that means getting farmers back onside, so they're kicking the emissions can down the paddock by five years.

        The Government's aiming for an agricultural emissions scheme by 2025 but that's looking unlikely given the stalemate on He Waka Eke Noa, a plan it designed with 14 sector groups.

        "There was a plan produced a year ago by the sector. The Government blew it up, shot it to bits and killed it," Luxon said.

    • National and Labour had a joint agreement about housing and land use. National scrapped it unilaterally during the Election campaign.

    • observer 9.4

      A good first step would be the independent costings unit, as proposed previously, and as practised in other democracies. Test policies against financial reality, and tell the public before they vote.

      Who vetoed it? National.

      Parties' 'Fiscal Holes' Highlight the Need for Independent Costings Watchdog | Newsroom

    • Tiger Mountain 11.1

      A mainstream media channel window on IDF butchers going about their work. I just hope that international solidarity keeps building to the point where Israel has to stop the slaughter and destruction, and that somehow a negotiated settlement will begin.

      Cultural and economic boycotts bought South Africa’s apartheid state to account, and BDS can do that now, and provide a way from this distance to help the Palestinian cause. Check that Tahini jar label, and don’t buy a new Sodastream or Puma shoes.

      https://bdsmovement.net

      • Adrian Thornton 11.1.1

        "I just hope that international solidarity keeps building to the point where Israel has to stop the slaughter and destruction, and that somehow a negotiated settlement will begin"

        Israeli Zionists have never wanted to negotiate, and they won't stop their slaughter because they are doing what they have always wanted to do, and have the full protection of the USA to carry out their ethnic cleansing….

        This is The Western Rules Based Order in all it's glory is on display for the entire world to witness… impotently doing nothing..it is a fucking disgrace.

        It is like watching a twisted version of the Warsaw uprising being played out right in front of us in 2023.

        Notice how all the Ra RA Never Negotiate Ukraine war crowd on this site have been almost silent on this Ethnic Cleansing… I doubt if many of those idiots have had an original thought pass through their lazy brains for decades…not told to be outraged and support the people of Gaza…so they aren’t…it is as simple as that.

      • Gabby 11.1.2

        I imagine the slaughter may stop when hamas no longer exists.

        • Tiger Mountain 11.1.2.1

          I do not think so Gabby. The IDF will pull its head in as the international BDS takes stronger effect, and pressure on the US ruling class is too much for them. Southern hemisphere countries in the main do not like Israel one little bit.

        • Adrian Thornton 11.1.2.2

          @Gabby
          "I imagine the slaughter may stop when hamas no longer exists"……..Israel and the USA has ensured that Hamas will become bigger and more extreme and dangerous than we can possibly imagine….how many Muslim men and woman around the world do you imagine have become prepared to Martyr themselves for this cause now?

          I would imagine the slaughter would stop a lot quicker if the Terrorist IDF would stop doing the slaughtering.

  8. ianmac 12

    Hipkins was confirmed as the Party’s leader this Tuesday and said he would fight on to the 2023 election. However the party has shown signs of instability in the days that followed the vote.

    by Thomas Coughlan

    So writes a miserable rat who can't stop with the slurs and innuendoes. This in his column about a complaint about Ginny Anderson who yelled at a helper. Go back to sleep Coughlin!

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/labour-investigates-bullying-complaint-against-ginny-andersen/FK43HD2U4BHKBNY4YYSUE32M54/

    • alwyn 12.1

      That sounds a great deal more than "innuendo".

      When the Party General Secretary confirms that a complaint has been made and that it is being investigated his story certainly isn't what you are saying. It certainly isn't innuendo is it?

      Should he have simply ignored the story? Are we not to be allowed to know about the behaviour of the people who want the right to rule us?

      • Drowsy M. Kram 12.1.1

        Are we not to be allowed to know about the behaviour of the people who want the right to rule us?

        Imho, the primary role of all MP's should be to serve (all) Kiwis, rather than "rule us".

        • alwyn 12.1.1.1

          "Imho, the primary role of all MP's should be to serve (all) Kiwis, rather than "rule us"."

          On that point I am totally in agreement with you. I'm not sure that most of the MPs would agree with us though. Particularly the ones who make it into the leadership jobs in a party or the front benches in the House.

      • Mac1 12.1.2

        The Thomas Coughlan article is about allegations of verbal abuse of two teenagers.

        At the end, there are these unrelated comments which are not enlarged upon or substantiated.

        "Hipkins was confirmed as the Party’s leader this Tuesday and said he would fight on to the 2023 election. However the party has shown signs of instability in the days that followed the vote."

        What connection is Coughlan making between Hipkins as leader for the 2023 election (does he mean 2026?) and signs of instability? The two sentences are in the same paragraph and therefore must be linked.

        Perhaps it is in the same well constructed and researched vein as his 2023 error…….

      • ianmac 12.1.3

        How about the last sentence from Coughlin? Innuendo?

        However the party has shown signs of instability in the days that followed the vote.

        Wonder how often hints from unsubstantiated complaints should be aired? Slurs perhaps?

  9. Muttonbird 13

    Yay. This year has been pretty brutal for the industry:

    Hollywood actors’ strike: Strike is over as Sag-Aftra union reaches tentative deal with studios

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/hollywood-actors-strike-strike-is-over-as-sag-aftra-union-reaches-tentative-deal-with-studios/3G3NVUIE4JFKBMGBJCPVVPOQBM/

  10. ianmac 14

    Recently I read of an Israeli spokesman who originated the idea of "river to the sea." He did so in a speech about 10 years+ ago. So not new and could be interpreted as a call for Israel to take over the whole region.

    Would be useful to be quoted exactly esp in defence of Chloe. Anyone?

    • Belladonna 14.1

      Given that the slogan has been around since at least the 1960s -this source doesn't seem at all likely

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_river_to_the_sea

      • ianmac 14.1.1

        Thanks Belladonna. Tried that.

      • SPC 14.1.2

        Political groups have employed the slogan since the 1960s to advocate for Palestinian liberation, with origins in the Palestinian National Council's initial charters, which demanded a Palestinian state geographically encompassing the historic boundaries of Mandatory Palestine, and a removal of a majority of its Jewish population

        From 1964 in accord with the original Arab position of a unitary state (many of the Jewish population left Arab nations in the late 1940's).

        Likud did their 1977 statement after that.

        Then the Hamas Charter in support of the 1964 position in 1988.

        The PNC position changed with the Oslo Accords and founding of the PA – when the PLO moved to justice of Arabs in Israel, right of return for refugees and a Palestine state on 67 borders.

        Hamas under pressure from Egypt in 2017 agreed with this as an interim step before a later move to a unitary state (thus without any recognition of an Israeli state).

    • Barfly 14.2

      Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, which describes itself as conservative and nationalist, has been a staunch promoter of the concept of “Eretz Israel”, or the Bible-given right of the Jewish people to the land of Israel.

      According to the Jewish Virtual Library, the party’s original party manifesto in 1977 stated that “between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty”. It also argued that the establishment of a Palestinian state “jeopardises the security of the Jewish population” and “endangers the existence of the state of Israel”.

      from

      https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/2/from-the-river-to-the-sea-what-does-the-palestinian-slogan-really-mean

      • ianmac 14.2.1

        Thanks Barfly. That is a bit nearer."“between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty”

        The Israeli flag shows two blue lines with the star in the middle, which reflects the idea of river to sea. Wish I had noted the speech.

        • Belladonna 14.2.1.1

          You do realize that this is at least 10 years after it had been widely used as an anti-Zionist pro-Palestianian slogan.

          It rather looks as though Likud were re-purposing, and reversing, this already-existing phrase, for their own benefit, in their ’77 manifesto.

          There is zero evidence that it was 'originated' by an Israeli politician/spokesman. And certainly not 10+ years ago.

        • SPC 14.2.1.2

          Hamas and Likud (and Religious Zionist Party) have the same policy.

          • Belladonna 14.2.1.2.1

            I agree. However, that was not the question posed.

            There seems to be no doubt at all, that it was originated as a Palestinian slogan – and later adopted/reversed by Likud.

            • Barfly 14.2.1.2.1.1

              I suggest you read this (I added the bold)

              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Israel

              "Early Revisionist Zionist groups such as Betar and Irgun Zvai-Leumi regarded the territory of the Mandate for Palestine, including Transjordan, as Greater Israel.[1]

              In 1937, the Peel Commission recommended partition of Mandatory Palestine. In a letter to his son later that year, David Ben-Gurion stated that partition would be acceptable but as a first step. Ben-Gurion wrote that

              This is because this increase in possession is of consequence not only in itself, but because through it we increase our strength, and every increase in strength helps in the possession of the land as a whole. The establishment of a state, even if only on a portion of the land, is the maximal reinforcement of our strength at the present time and a powerful boost to our historical endeavors to liberate the entire country.[2][3][4]

              The same sentiment was recorded by Ben-Gurion on other occasions, such as at a meeting of the Jewish Agency executive in June 1938,[5] as well as by Chaim Weizmann.[4][6] Ben Gurion said:

              We shall smash these frontiers which are being forced upon us, and not necessarily by war…."

              That was in the 1930s Israel's intention to 'acquire land' was well stated decades before it's multiple wars of conquest in 1967

              • Belladonna

                I suggest you read the original question, which was about the origin of the phrase "river to the sea"

                There is no question that extremists on both sides want sole occupation of Israel/Palestine – and have done since the 19th century.

                However, Israel has citizenship and democratic participation by Palestinian Arabs in the Knesset. Care to take up the challenge to name a Middle Eastern country which extends the same privilege to Jews?

                • Barfly

                  I suggest you learn the geographical area covering Ben-Gurions statement – it is the area the river to the sea – If you consider that Zionist leadrers clearly stating they planned to 'ACQUIRE' it all in the 1930's Is of no importance then that says an awful about your motivations. If you want simply to be pissy about a phrase well it's interesting that in english it rhymes but it doesn't in Arabic – perhaps suggesting it was coind by english speaking individual.

              • SPC

                All parties are constrained by

                1. the decision of the UN to partition the area into two states

                2. from 1949 acquisition of territory war is no longer recognised by the UN (so the relative share is stuck at the 1949-1967 border).

                Thus only two states, via a peace settlement, can change the 1949-1967 international status quo.

                Israeli negotiators might want to retain some WB settlements (usually those near Jerusalem) within Israel – Palestinian negotiators might want a transport corridor (road and rail) between WB and Gaza etc.

  11. Ad 16

    Props to the person in Forest & Bird who came up with Bird of the Year, and then Bird of the Century.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/07/john-oliver-backs-weird-puking-puteketeke-as-he-takes-new-zealands-bird-of-century-poll-global

    It's going full global.

    If you pop down to StarkWhite Queenstown you can get yourself a Fiona Pardington photo of a kiwi for $25k.

    Or just support Forest & Bird for $25 and keep alive the real thing.

  12. Ffloyd 17

    I see Newshub is still operating from the Septic Tank. A teenage girl got yelled at supposedly. Why does that warrant an allegation of bullying? And headline in the news? Because it was a Labour MP. If it had been Nat member it wouldn’t rate a mention. Just the same as they wouldn’t have followed up on the Uffindull saga which was outright assault on a teenager. Potential police charge but daddy got him off. Now they’re going full on into Chris H doing an U turn on taxes. Which he can do if he so wishes. John Key was the king of Uturns.He set the precedent. ‘ No,we will never raise GST, golly gosh’… nek minnit GST 15%! 3% raise! Chris Hipkins should get a small department dedicated to dealing with these allegations the minute they are published. Hit them back immediately with their side the story. This smacks of what seems to be going to be a three year long onslaught by Newshub.

    • ianmac 17.1

      Exactly Ffloyd.
      Note my post at 12. This time from Coughlin

    • Belladonna 17.2

      So it's OK for a Labour politician to yell at teenage volunteers, and blame them because she lost her seat.

      Really?

      Andersen is the person with the position of power here. It's outright bullying.

      And before you get into the "whaddabout". Uffindell was absolutely wrong. I don't think there is any debate about this. He admits it, and has apologized. However, he was also a teenager at the time (16) – and certainly not in Parliament.

      The two cases are not at all comparable.

      The closest parallel is Meka Whaitiri (who was stood down as a Minister by Ardern, for bullying a staffer). You could also list Mallard, who made allegations in Parliament about a staffer committing 'rape' which were completely unfounded – an abuse of his power/authority as Speaker. But received no consequences from the Labour party or PM for his error of judgement.

      The most recent National MP accused of bullying was Tim van de Molen – accused of stand-over tactics and bullying towards Shanan Halbert.

      It was widely covered in the media – and Van de Molen was stood down from his portfolios by Luxon, and apologised both to the House and to Halbert.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/496507/national-mp-tim-van-de-molen-stood-down-from-all-portfolios

      • Peter 17.2.1

        "So it's OK for a Labour politician to yell at teenage volunteers, and blame them because she lost her seat?"

        Probably not. I'm looking for somewhere I can find that's an accepted and supported attitude.

      • Sanctuary 17.2.2

        Ah, the media doing what it does best – policing the opposition once National is back in government. We are going to get three years of a TPU-fed forensic focus on Labour while Luxon (like Key) gets a free ride.

        • Belladonna 17.2.2.1

          Tim van de Molen…. well covered in the media.
          The media holds all politicians to account for less-than-acceptable behaviour.

          I'm expecting that they will be heavily scrutinizing the new Government.

        • Anne 17.2.2.2

          How true Sanctuary.

          Mark Mitchell the ex mercenary soldier is not liked by a lot of people. I have no doubt National members included. Do we hear a peep out of the media about that? Nah.

          Maggie Barry had a reputation for being a bully. The media treated her pretty kindly even after staff attested to the fact.

          Top Nat Party figures were in the spotlight from time to time but none of them subjected to the kind of 'forensic analysis' applied to Labour miscreants. Unless they commit offences of a serious nature, the spotlight does not shine anything like as fiercely on the Nats.

    • Obtrectator 17.3

      12% to 15% is a 25% increase in the rate of GST.

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    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    21 hours ago
  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    21 hours ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    23 hours ago
  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    1 day ago
  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    1 day ago
  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago
  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago
  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    2 days ago
  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    3 days ago
  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    3 days ago
  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    3 days ago
  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    3 days ago
  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    4 days ago
  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • The stupidest of stupid reasons
    One of the threats in the National - ACT - NZ First coalition agreements was to extend the term of Parliament to four years, reducing our opportunities to throw a bad government out. The justification? Apparently, the government thinks "elections are expensive". This is the stupidest of stupid reasons for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • A website bereft of buzz
    Buzz from the Beehive The new government was being  sworn in, at time of writing , and when Point of Order checked the Beehive website for the latest ministerial statements and re-visit some of the old ones we drew a blank. We found ….  Nowt. Nothing. Zilch. Not a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • MICHAEL BASSETT: A new Ministry – at last
    Michael Bassett writes – Like most people, I was getting heartily sick of all the time being wasted over the coalition negotiations. During the first three weeks Winston grinned like a Cheshire cat, certain he’d be needed; Chris Luxon wasted time in lifting the phone to Winston ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Luxon's Breakfast.
    The Prime Minister elect had his silver fern badge on. He wore it to remind viewers he was supporting New Zealand, that was his team. Despite the fact it made him look like a concierge, or a welcomer in a Koru lounge. Anna Burns-Francis, the Breakfast presenter, asked if he ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL:  Oranga Tamariki faces major upheaval under coalition agreement
     Lindsay Mitchell writes – A hugely significant gain for ACT is somewhat camouflaged by legislative jargon. Under the heading ‘Oranga Tamariki’ ACT’s coalition agreement contains the following item:   Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 According to Oranga Tamariki:     “Section ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record. Brian Easton writes – 1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Cathrine Dyer's guide to watching COP 28 from the bottom of a warming planet
    Is COP28 largely smoke and mirrors and a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel? Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: COP28 kicks off on November 30 and up for negotiation are issues like the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition, contributions to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Monday, Nov 27
    PM Elect Christopher Luxon was challenged this morning on whether he would sack Adrian Orr and Andrew Coster.TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am on Monday November 27, including:Signs councils are putting planning and capital spending on hold, given a lack of clear guidance ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the new government’s policies of yesteryear
    This column expands on a Werewolf column published by Scoop on Friday Routinely, Winston Peters is described as the kingmaker who gets to decide when the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded but equally important role as the ...
    4 days ago
  • The New Government’s Agreements
    Last Friday, almost six weeks after election day, National finally came to an agreement with ACT and NZ First to form a government. They also released the agreements between each party and looking through them, here are the things I thought were the most interesting (and often concerning) from the. ...
    4 days ago
  • How many smokers will die to fund the tax cuts?
    Maori and Pasifika smoking rates are already over twice the ‘all adult’ rate. Now the revenue that generates will be used to fund National’s tax cuts. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The devil is always in the detail and it emerged over the weekend from the guts of the policy agreements National ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How the culture will change in the Beehive
    Perhaps the biggest change that will come to the Beehive as the new government settles in will be a fundamental culture change. The era of endless consultation will be over. This looks like a government that knows what it wants to do, and that means it knows what outcomes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • No More Winnie Blues.
    So what do you think of the coalition’s decision to cancel Smokefree measures intended to stop young people, including an over representation of Māori, from taking up smoking? Enabling them to use the tax revenue to give other people a tax cut?David Cormack summed it up well:It seems not only ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 19, 2023 thru Sat, Nov 25, 2023.  Story of the Week World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chief  Exclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must ‘stop ...
    5 days ago
  • Some of it is mad, some of it is bad and some of it is clearly the work of people who are dangerous ...
    On announcement morning my mate texted:Typical of this cut-price, fake-deal government to announce itself on Black Friday.What a deal. We lose Kim Hill, we gain an empty, jargonising prime minister, a belligerent conspiracist, and a heartless Ayn Rand fanboy. One door closes, another gets slammed repeatedly in your face.It seems pretty ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • “Revolution” is the threat as the Māori Party smarts at coalition government’s Treaty directi...
    Buzz from the Beehive Having found no fresh announcements on the government’s official website, Point of Order turned today to Scoop’s Latest Parliament Headlines  for its buzz. This provided us with evidence that the Māori Party has been soured by the the coalition agreement announced yesterday by the new PM. “Soured” ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • The Good, the Bad, and the even Worse.
    Yesterday the trio that will lead our country unveiled their vision for New Zealand.Seymour looking surprisingly statesmanlike, refusing to rise to barbs about his previous comments on Winston Peters. Almost as if they had just been slapstick for the crowd.Winston was mostly focussed on settling scores with the media, making ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • When it Comes to Palestine – Free Speech is Under Threat
    Hi,Thanks for getting amongst Mister Organ on digital — thanks to you, we hit the #1 doc spot on iTunes this week. This response goes a long way to helping us break even.I feel good about that. Other things — not so much.New Zealand finally has a new government, and ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Thank you Captain Luxon. Was that a landing, or were we shot down?
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Also in More Than A FeildingFriday The unboxing And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Cans of Worms.
    “And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”LAURIE AND LES were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
    6 days ago
  • Disinformation campaigns are undermining democracy. Here’s how we can fight back
    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not ...
    6 days ago
  • Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record.1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is not even an entry in Wikipedia. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago
  • The New Government: 2023 Edition
    So New Zealand has a brand-spanking new right-wing government. Not just any new government either. A formal majority coalition, of the sort last seen in 1996-1998 (our governmental arrangements for the past quarter of a century have been varying flavours of minority coalition or single-party minority, with great emphasis ...
    7 days ago
  • The unboxing
    And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the tree with its gold ribbon but can turn out to be nothing more than a big box holding a voucher for socks, so it ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • A cruel, vicious, nasty government
    So, after weeks of negotiations, we finally have a government, with a three-party cabinet and a time-sharing deputy PM arrangement. Newsroom's Marc Daalder has put the various coalition documents online, and I've been reading through them. A few things stand out: Luxon doesn't want to do any work, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • Hurrah – we have a new government (National, ACT and New Zealand First commit “to deliver for al...
    Buzz from the Beehive Sorry, there has been  no fresh news on the government’s official website since the caretaker trade minister’s press statement about the European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement. But the capital is abuzz with news – and media comment is quickly flowing – after ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • Christopher Luxon – NZ PM #42.
    Nothing says strong and stable like having your government announcement delayed by a day because one of your deputies wants to remind everyone, but mostly you, who wears the trousers. It was all a bit embarrassing yesterday with the parties descending on Wellington before pulling out of proceedings. There are ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Coalition Government details policies & ministers
    Winston Peters will be Deputy PM for the first half of the Coalition Government’s three-year term, with David Seymour being Deputy PM for the second half. Photo montage by Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: PM-Elect Christopher Luxon has announced the formation of a joint National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government with a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • “Old Coat” by Peter, Paul & Mary.
     THERE ARE SOME SONGS that seem to come from a place that is at once in and out of the world. Written by men and women who, for a brief moment, are granted access to that strange, collective compendium of human experience that comes from, and belongs to, all the ...
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 23-November-2023
    It’s Friday again! Maybe today we’ll finally have a government again. Roll into the weekend with some of the articles that caught our attention this week. And as always, feel free to add your links and observations in the comments. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s strategy for COP28 in Dubai
    The COP28 countdown is on. Over 100 world leaders are expected to attend this year’s UN Climate Change Conference in in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which starts next Thursday. Among the VIPs confirmed for the Dubai summit are the UK’s Rishi Sunak and Brazil’s Lula da Silva – along ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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