Open mike 10/09/2023

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 10th, 2023 - 50 comments
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50 comments on “Open mike 10/09/2023 ”

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  1. PsyclingLeft.Always 1
    10 September 2023 at 7:58 am

    The true coalition..of chaos.

    ACT has floated the possibility of a new kind of governing arrangement if National refuses to cooperate during post-election negotiations.

    Party leader David Seymour has threatened to resort to a confidence-only deal, which would require the larger party to seek ACT's backing for all government spending – or "supply" – decisions on a case-by-case basis.

    Recent polls suggest National and ACT could form a government together, but National having to also rely on NZ First – who ACT has ruled out – is also a real possibility.

    As,,,

    National has also begun ruling out – or in some cases merely rejecting – ACT policies.

    And

    Such an arrangement would likely be a much less stable form of government than deals of the past, and potentially unpopular with voters.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/election-2023/497636/act-s-david-seymour-floats-confidence-only-partnership-no-supply

    And the real chaos clash looming…"if" they get there..

    Politician Watch: Seymour Tries To Take Out Winston Peters

    https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2308/S00006/politician-watch-seymour-tries-to-take-out-winston-peters.htm

    NActfrst….taking NZ to a bad place.

  2. bwaghorn 2
    10 September 2023 at 8:38 am

    Gonna be interesting to see what the lefties that think woman are always kinda than men think van valdin and willis are finished with us, with a side dish of collins

    • Barfly 2.1
      10 September 2023 at 8:47 am

      and with the after taste of Shipley and Richardson – a thoroughly bitter and nauseating meal. As to women always being kinder …yeah not so much

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 2.2
      10 September 2023 at 9:00 am

      Well, I raised a family and worked a (very) hard physical job during the "reign" of dame Jenny Shipley PM…and Ol' Ruthless Richardson.

      IMO..their eyes…. like industrial diamonds : (

      And IMO…i see some of Nic Willis there. And this notwithstanding her : let them eat icecream !…. re the Nat "taxbreaks" . (does she believe her own shit? Maybe..)

      Throw in an Act or 10…and look out you poor NZ battlers. Me included.

      • Patricia Bremner 2.2.1
        10 September 2023 at 9:57 am

        As the Aussies used to say, "Battlers deserve a fair shake of the sauce for their sav" (savaloy)

        We don't seem to have a similar saying about "battlers."

        I remember those difficult times. 1986 interest rates climbed to 18.6% on loans.

        It appears NZ has weathered the Pandemic better than most. We need skilled empathetic people to mitigate the hurdles of coming problems.

        Grant Robertson has worked at supporting and cushioning us. We will need that, The country is more than a business.

    • weka 2.3
      10 September 2023 at 10:53 am

      Gonna be interesting to see what the lefties that think woman are always kinda than men think van valdin and willis are finished with us, with a side dish of collins

      Don't know who thinks that, but let's tease this out a bit.

      Women would run things differently if they were in charge en masse. Not because all women are progressive (or kind), but because as a class we take a different approach to relationships. Women have in-built care function due to our role in reproduction: pregnancy, birth, lactation are all hardwired with deep care function. Again, this doesn't mean that all women are good mothers, I'm talking about as a class here.

      That in-built care function is distorted in our current society. We (society) both treat mothers badly, and need them. We expect them to do life changing work of keeping the human race going, and providing workers for the capitalism machine, and to do this for free.

      Women like Thatcher, Shipley, Collins, Willis, are allowed into the boys club because they play the game the boys want. They're not representative of how women would do things, they're representative of how the right uses women. Shipley in particular was a massive coup for the right because it convinced people that women can be just as bad as men.

      I will say here that I don't think men as a class are bad. I think they do badly under this system too. It's the system innit.

      • Kay 2.3.1
        10 September 2023 at 11:20 am

        You left out Paula Bennett…

      • Blazer 2.3.2
        10 September 2023 at 8:19 pm

        'Women like Thatcher, Shipley, Collins, Willis, are allowed into the boys club because they play the game the boys want'

        Can you enlighten me as to the female politicians that don't play the game that the…boys ..want?

  3. Blazer 3
    10 September 2023 at 9:04 am

    Nicola Willis has no credibility as a Minister of Finance after her 4 tax plan was revealed to be b/s.

    As for Seymour….no credentials at all.

    Robertson is needed for what NZ is facing….in coming years.You ain't seen nothing…yet.

  4. Blazer 4
    10 September 2023 at 9:21 am

    'There are 388​ more mega landlords in the country than there were in September 2021, and this group now owns more than 26,000 properties – about the equivalent of Rotorua.'We have 388 more mega landlords but first-home buyers the big winners | The Post

    The only game in town…set to get another…boost.

  5. Barfly 5
    10 September 2023 at 9:27 am

    The last 6 years of government have been kind to me

    Winter warmth payment

    Benefit increases of such a number that I have lost count

    Had two molars out earlier this year $800 I didn't have to pay thanks to the new MSD Dental policy

    I have more jeans, socks, underwear and jackets than I have ever had before.

    2 pairs of Timberlands, 1 Doc Martens, 1 pair Steelcap Workboots and 3 other pairs of boots all near new/great condition.

    My Doctors visits cost $30 less than what it used to.

    Prescriptions are generally free now and my bus travel is discounted.

    All of this 'minor wealth' is thanks to to the last 6 years of Labour led government – had National been in power I would have only recieved threats, hoops to jump through and vilification.

    I have voted left for nearly the last 40 years and I encourage others to do so. I am concerned for the future of people and the nation under a NACT government. The right wing parties believe that punching down on those who need state assistance is politically advantageous – Can we please have NACT's desire to punish the weakest and least able to defend themselves highlighted made widely known to the electorate. Will someone please ask New Zealanders in a very loud and clear manner

    "Do YOU support cruelty? Do YOU support the the harming of the weakest in our society? NACT do! Their policies will take money from the pockets of superannuatants, veterans, the disabled and job seekers

    Reject cruelty vote Labour

    • Tony Veitch 5.1
      10 September 2023 at 9:32 am

      Punching down is what the NAct do best!

      Expect more of the same if, God forbid, they win in '23.

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 5.2
      10 September 2023 at 9:40 am

      I am concerned for the future of people and the nation under a NACT government. The right wing parties believe that punching down on those who need state assistance is politically advantageous – Can we please have NACT's desire to punish the weakest and least able to defend themselves highlighted made widely known to the electorate. Will someone please ask New Zealanders in a very loud and clear manner

      "Do YOU support cruelty? Do YOU support the the harming of the weakest in our society? NACT do! Their policies will take money from the pockets of superannuatants, veterans, the disabled and job seekers

      Solid ! And Solidarity from the Left. We can beat them. .

      Esp for those who dont know/cant fight back.

      • mary_a 5.2.1
        10 September 2023 at 11:14 am

        Barfly, I fully concur with your sentiments in both your posts. Very well said comrade.

        In the unfortunate event should NACTNZF become government, it will be a very dark time in NZ's history for those at the lower end of the social/economic scale. At the same time, the one percenters will do extremely well, as more public services are sold off and privatised (health, education etc), making access to these services virtually impossible for lower waged and vulnerable Kiwis.

        Support Labouryes

        • PsyclingLeft.Always 5.2.1.1
          12 September 2023 at 8:33 am

          Good on you mary-a. Barfly speaks true. Their "punch down" a palpable worry. There will be some awful carnage on low waged and vulnerable and all on the lower end.

          Also…I like the comrade. Not seen that..for a long time.

    • Patricia Bremner 5.3
      10 September 2023 at 10:24 am

      Barfly, thank you for your honest heartfelt testimony.

      Wellbeing. The most important thing is caring. For the ill disabled young old and the environment, the strong should offer support nurture and a share of confidence in the future. Labour Greens and Te Maori Parti look to wellbeing National Act to wealth.

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 5.3.1
        10 September 2023 at 10:42 am

        And as you've also said….Empathy. For the Greater Good.The Left have it.

        IMO…NAct …have very little. Well…apart from for their type…and thats def not for any Greater Good.

    • Anne 5.4
      10 September 2023 at 10:35 am

      Luxon said this morning on Q&A :

      "National will build state houses for those that deserve them"

      Don't know the follow up conversation because I switched off in disgust.

      So, who decides who is 'deserving' and who is not? Granted there are some tenants who are socially repulsive but the vast majority are law abiding citizens. They just also happen to be poor – and many are brown?

    • Ad 5.5
      10 September 2023 at 10:39 am

      +100 great stuff Barfly

    • Blazer 5.6
      10 September 2023 at 11:35 am

      7 pairs of boots!You're as bad as…Luxon.laugh

    • Bearded Git 5.7
      10 September 2023 at 3:28 pm

      Nicely explained Barfly.

      This shows some of the important basic differences to be taken into account when making a choice as to who to vote for at the upcoming election-perish the people who keep saying on the TS that there is no difference between Left and Right.

    • Lebleaux 5.8
      10 September 2023 at 5:41 pm

      Do you ever consider who pays for these things you are given because someone does – it surely is not the government.

  6. Mac1 6
    10 September 2023 at 10:13 am

    Sunday roast suggestions!

    Nactwurst is a form of bloated political sausage proposed in a recent cook book "More Recipes for National Disaster". It combines a potpourri of wishbones, leftovers, coarsely-chopped tripe, stale breadcrumbs, and broken promises.

    Sour cabbage salad, dressed with trickle-down sauce, known for its piquant asparagus overtones, is a preferred accompaniment.

    Nactwurst is known in some culinary circles as 'turd down a rabbit hole', served on a mishmash of southern swedes and sprinkled with King Country hayseeds or with raisin d'etre-free, climate-denied wild turkey. It is often grilled on a fire fuelled by banned books and forest trash.

    However, it is never ever accompanied with a side-dish such as boiled greens, grated red beetroot salad, or indeed vegetables of any colour.

    This meal can be finished with just desserts, such as bitter batter pudding, stirred with a bed leg, or that other nationally-promoted but nutritionally bereft burnt offering, squeezed middle lemon mousse.

    Nactwurst has a shelf life of less than three years. Should Nactwurst still be on offer post election, GST will apply,

    • Patricia Bremner 6.2
      10 September 2023 at 10:46 am

      Brilliant Mac1

        if I may…

      • The Head chef is known for his Mercede arrival, his austerity approach to ingredients, but also for his flamboyant gestures when producing the provided meal.

      His grace is so long any sustenance has long gone from the proffered cold offering, and the kitchen helper willis rushes to explain what the chef really meant was on your self provided plate.

      Thanks Mac1 you made me see him as a chef of shortcomings propped up by gestures and slogans and caricatures of caring. sad

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 6.3
      10 September 2023 at 10:49 am

      Very descriptive : ) If "ever" dining on that dish (I'd sooner eat stinging nettle) …The culinary requirement : a very long spoon.

  7. AB 7
    10 September 2023 at 11:28 am

    Watched Luxon on Q&A this morning with Jack Tame – delayed by one hour so someone else could watch it live and see if it posed a health risk to me. Tame did a good job of not letting Luxon run free and babble his way through his bullshit scripted lines. Something that other people in the same negligent profession should have been doing for the last 18 months.

    Overall impression was of Luxon asserting that he was going to deliver desirable things by sheer willpower and mojo – even though the actual content of National's policies seems to run in a direction counter to the declared intention. Such as: being supposedly deeply committed to carbon net zero but looting the Climate Emergency Fund, scrapping the clean car discount, delaying agriculture’s entry to the ETS, removing half-price public transport and building roads; or wanting to solve the housing crisis by doing things that would reinflate the housing bubble and make houses even more unaffordable (reduced bright-line, mortgage interest deductibility); or just making the tax on foreign buyers work even though it appears dubious that it is legal or would produce enough revenue; or make New Zealanders feel safer by evicting problem tenants from Kainga Ora housing but having no plan on where they would go.

    Most likely the approach would be simply to command someone else (Councils, Kainga Ora, etc.) to fix the problem and thereby square the circle – then castigate them later for the inevitable delivery failure, i.e. the classic behaviour of 3rd-rate CEOs in relatively simple business environments that do not have a sliver of the complexity of an actual society where the imperial power conferred on CEOs doesn’t exist.

    • Blazer 7.1
      10 September 2023 at 12:29 pm

      Tame did a great job ,but Luxon,just ducked and dived and regurgitated his implausible arguments.

      Credibility of the Natz financial acumen =zero.

      Tame should be the obvious choice to run the debates.

      He serves it up to all politicians ,no matter their affiliations.

      Rawiti danced a similar step to Luxon when cornered.

      • Anne 7.1.1
        10 September 2023 at 1:13 pm

        Rawiti at least said it according to a certain Maori perspective. He didn't obfuscate on their fundamental principles.

  8. AB 8
    10 September 2023 at 2:02 pm

    National announces reintroduction of health targets.

    This is how the Tory playbook goes:

    • introduce health targets
    • make it difficult to achieve those targets in three different ways: insufficient funding; rapid population growth through permanently high immigration; increasing social pathologies through poverty and insecure housing so that poor and working people suffer a greater burden of illness than they should when they hit the health system
    • castigate the public service for not meeting targets and darkly imply that publicly-owned services are inherently inefficient
    • initiate privatisation of potentially profitable parts of the public health system
    • declare mission accomplished, because even though health care is now worse for most people and unaffordable for many, National has enriched their own social class who now own profitable parts of the formerly public health system, which was always the real intention.
    • Barfly 8.1
      10 September 2023 at 2:56 pm

      That link is for the John Pilger documentary on how the ringtwing in the UK is destroying their NHS

  9. Patricia Bremner 9
    10 September 2023 at 2:26 pm

    Tame Luxon interview.

    Wow, what a lot of ducking and diving.
    Him indoors "Snake oil salesman".

    Personally, I think Jack showed he has, like Baldrick "A cunning plan"….. full of holes?

    Let us see that plan, plus costings and modelling.

  10. georgecom 10
    10 September 2023 at 2:39 pm

    late last week saw some blokes waving nat party signs on a street corner. being a fair minded chap I wandered over and offered them $20, out of my own pocket mind, toward closing the $1 billion hole in their tax cut policy. Nicola Willis would only then need to find $999,999,980. They refused to take it. I then congratulated them for closing the gap from the last election of $4 billion down to $1 billion, they had clearly tightened their belts. One of them accused me of causing mischief which I found highly insulting so I carefully explained to him that I wasn't causing mischief, I was taking the piss.

    Last election I met Paul Goldsmith and only offered him $5 toward his $4 billion fiscal hole, so I thought I was being generous this time round. Though, I did offer Goldsmith every luck becoming the next party leader after collins lost the election

  11. joe90 11
    10 September 2023 at 3:32 pm

    Because waterborne disease and blue baby syndrome will only affect bottom feeders.

    /

    Water: What are National and Act doing in the shadows?

    National and Act’s policies on drinking water would reduce protections and ignore the recommendations of the inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacter outbreak

    Opinion: During the heady weeks of election campaigning, fundamental public health needs can be overshadowed by more scandalous or dramatic political stories.

    But, overlooked, public health concerns such as drinking water can become dramatic in the worst of ways, as the campylobacter outbreak in Havelock North in 2016 demonstrated. And for this reason, public health policies must be brought into the light for debate.

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ideasroom/what-are-national-and-act-doing-in-the-shadows

  12. dv 12
    10 September 2023 at 4:35 pm

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300967812/act-proposes-to-allow-builders-to-opt-out-of-council-building-consents

    Party leader David Seymour announced the housing policy on Sunday, which would also include scrapping the reformed Resource Management Act and using building insurance as an alternative to building consent authorities.

    GEEZ

    • Shanreagh 12.1
      10 September 2023 at 4:59 pm

      Self policing is always a good thing and worth its weight in gold to the wide boys who are able to scarper to the hills with their ill-gotten gains, never to be found 'legally' again. Sarc:/

      Meanwhile when the poor home owners find yet again they have the equivalent of a leaky home updated to this century by having actually no-one to hold accountable. We know who insurance companies work for, if they work for anyone but themselves and it ain't the home owner.

      This kind of stuff was around when the neo-lib madness was in full flight 1980/90s. Those PS working in policy areas in the Health sector found ourselves earnestly giving views on whether registration and professional bodies such as for the Engineers, Doctors and Dentists were needed or were they an impediment to market forces that would weed out the wrong 'uns. Looking back it is surreal and lacking in commonsense just as the notion that all we need is insurance to make sure our homes are built in safe areas to strong safety standards.

      If you don’t belive that ACT is the Neo-lib bad fairy come to life then look at this extract:

      “Housing is still in crisis and Labour and National are equally responsible, it’s time to stop demand-side policies that aren’t working and set a target for supply,” he said.
      Reads like a neo lib play book with refs to ‘supply-side’ & ‘demand-side’. Perhaps a dog whistle to those ‘dry’ economists of the Chicago school that ‘we’re here and we’re going to do it again and play like it is the late 1980s and 1990s all over again’.

  13. Anne 13
    10 September 2023 at 7:02 pm

    Some background on ACT.

    In the early days of ACT (1996) a Maori section was set up in their spacious and luxurious head office in Auckland. Maori people, mostly from the East Coast of the North Island, were hired to map out policy for the purpose of attracting Maori voters. I met some of them. A certain Alan Gibbs, who was largely responsible for financing ACT into existence, discovered their presence and he demanded that the staff be immediately sacked and the section disbanded. Within 24 hours they were gone. I felt sorry for them. They had agreed to work for the new party in good faith and then made to feel like they were scum.

    Nothing has changed. Seymour and company are dancing to the tune of their major financiers – those Kiwi tycoons whose only motivation is to make money off the rest of us and retain power over the political landscape.

    Having turned ACT into their submissive little lamb, they have turned their attention to Christopher Luxon and National. Hence the 8 million dollar treasure chest to fight the election and the rest of us are ultimately destined to be the sacrificial lambs.

    • Anne 13.1
      10 September 2023 at 7:15 pm

      Supposed to be a reply to Shanreagh.@12.1. Sorry. 🙁

      • Shanreagh 13.1.1
        10 September 2023 at 11:57 pm

        Yes Anne, I remember hearing about something happening like that. I remember meeting Gibb, as part of my work, and was amazed at the wee squeaky voice he had.

  14. observer 14
    10 September 2023 at 7:05 pm

    Luxon's interview was so bad he even lost Claire Trevett at the Herald:

    Election 2023: Claire Trevett – National leader Christopher Luxon’s dire interview of no answers – NZ Herald

    (Link is paywalled, but provided for authentication)

    National's strategy was always obvious, and so far it's working. Rely on voter dissatisfaction with the government so people decide before the campaign that they will vote against, not for. Rely on Luxon saying nothing meaningful at all. Vote "other", but don't ask about the "other".

    Short-term (one month to election day) it may well succeed. Medium-term (everything after the election) it will be a disaster. Luxon will be a terrible PM, a daily embarrassment, but National can dump him after the election. Too late for the rest of us.

    2024: "We didn't vote for this", say the people who – sadly – just did.

    • Anne 14.1
      10 September 2023 at 7:23 pm

      "2024: "We didn't vote for this", say the people who – sadly – just did."

      I despair at the persistent political stupidity of so many voters. Mark my words, when the disaster sets in… you won't find anyone who voted for them. Its happened before.

  15. joe90 15
    10 September 2023 at 7:27 pm

    Craig Renny/CTU put the needle in. Luxo flounces.

    Craig Renney

    @CLRenney

    National has identified nearly $2.5bn in cuts to public spending. It calls this "Savings from Back Office Bureaucracy". However an analysis from the CTU has identified many areas that Kiwis would consider front-line and essential. A thread…

    […]

    Nationals numbers come from Budget 23 data https://budget.govt.nz/budget/2023/estimates/data.htm This breaks the departmental spending down so we can see the areas in which government spending is taking place. This also allows us to see what National has in its scope for the cuts programme.

    […]

    Details of just some of the areas that are in scope of cut are included here:

    https://union.org.nz/national-party-cuts-front-line-services-in-the-firing-line/

    https://twitter.com/CLRenney/status/1700755158047862787

    Election 2023: National leader Christopher Luxon walks off amid questions about National's tax plan

    National is still refusing to say which parts of what it calls the back office bureaucracy of government it would cut to fund its tax cuts.

    But the Council of Trade Unions has done an analysis and found the pool of money they are proposing to cut from includes the courts system, passport processing, national emergency management and search and rescue funding.

    National leader Christopher Luxon refused to answer our questions on what was off the table.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/09/election-2023-national-leader-christopher-luxon-walks-off-amid-questions-about-national-s-tax-plan.html

    • observer 15.1
      10 September 2023 at 7:58 pm

      He flounces because he can. He's done it before, it's the freedom of being in opposition. He doesn't even have to face OIA requests (hence the fake numbers on tax).

      If he's PM he has to face far more scrutiny, such as the weekly post-Cabinet press conference, which lasts at least half an hour. Unlike Key, whose jokey uncle act worked well as an avoidance tactic, Luxon is not able to pull that off. He can't walk out after 5 minutes of non-answers every time.

      Of course I don't want him to get the job, but if he does, at least the sh*tshow will provide some gallows humour.

  16. SPC 16
    10 September 2023 at 8:44 pm

    Launching his house Maori/a Maori in the house campaign, Winston Peters said Maori were not indigenous because they came from another place – Cooks and before that from (a part of – Taiwan) China.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/election-2023-winston-peters-claims-maori-are-not-indigenous-during-nelson-meeting-with-nz-first-supporters/ZCEBFEUDZJGHXA2SY4KGOFETIQ/

    Could someone please tell Mr Peters that there was a migration out of Africa 50,000 years ago. And that those who settled an area first and maintained a cultural presence there, are the ones seen as indigenous. This applied in Polynesia/South Pacific at a later stage than other areas, for some reason.

    Because if he tries this argument on the UN, to withdraw us from UNDRIP, our education system is going to be called into question internationally.

    • Incognito 16.1
      10 September 2023 at 9:00 pm

      That’s classical Peters: Orwellian populist demagogue practicing semantic sophistry. It could be sufficient to get him (not NZF) over the 5%.

  17. newsense 17
    11 September 2023 at 1:38 am

    Remember this is now, under Labour with all the market correction and the impact of policy measures:

    if you are a middle class family you can have grandparents or a pet, but not both.

    The family in this example were lucky in that they scrambled and got into a house before the election.

    https://www.thepost.co.nz/a/business/350069109/mega-landlord-numbers-swell-third-first-home-buyers-real-winners

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    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
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

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

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

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 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
    20 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
    22 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
    24 hours 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

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