Interesting article about the Greens in Stuff. James Shaw very much a loner now in the party. Definitely wouldn't surprise me if he was forced out (or leaves) in this term as he does seem to be the only member concerned about environmental issues.
"Shaw is not the co-leader of the Green Party because you cannot lead if others will not follow. His party is no longer interested in environmental issues."
Yes I agree Damien is well right leaning. He ran those debates with Bradbury prior to the election with different candidates. I think a big part of the Greens vote increase came from people not voting Labour.
The current Green Party "team" of MP's is far and above the most powerful the party has ever had and given how excellent past Green MPs have been, that's really something to celebrate!
I think now CC is such a massive issue that there are quite a few new Green voters from across the political spectrum. It is not just a simple matter of how the Left vote is split up.
It's obvious Damien Grant is bitter over the relative poll numbers of Green and ACT, which indicate which one is of the future.
And in his own way he notes the utility of one of the co-leaders, the environment spokesperson, being at COP 28. And the other one in parliament as part of the resistance to the anti-Maori direction of the hydra headed landlord class war government.
The rest is just racist, the white man away the coloured children who should be seen and not heard. He is just parroting John Howard on One Voice. The same meanness at coloured folk is in fashion at the Platform, as per Sean Plunkett.
The attempt to distinguishing being a white man and support for the Palestinian just shows that a western colonial settler overlord class sticks together against indigenous peoples.
The more intelligent Jew would find his support in that light dangerously offensive.
Otherwise the narrative that Shaw could prove he was a leader, if there was no policy on anything but the environment (Starmer Blairlite harmless to the neo-liberal right), that the right finds confronting – domestic and foreign.
They mention past leaders like Fitzsimmons, Donald and Norman because they were so white …
This is the same tired old trope about the Greens. It collapses the moment it is tested.
Critic: "The Greens are too woke, they should do environment!"
Greens: "Ok, here's a policy on climate change, are you on board?"
Critic: "No, not that one"
Greens: "How about this policy instead? Very environmental."
Critic: "No, not that one."
And so on.
Note that Damien Grant does not name a single Green policy on climate change that he supports. Or on the environment in general. Because he's not interested.
And of course he resorts to another tired tactic: fake praise for previous leaders, who of course the Right totally approved of (Donald, Fitzsimons, Norman). That's sarcasm, sorry … the Right attacked and derided those leaders constantly.
Of course, the new government could adopt any of those nice sensible woke-free Green policies on the environment any time they want. They don't need those wacko Greens to get serious about climate change. They could even do something as modest and easy as continuing the previous government's small steps forward. Nobody could stop them.
It would have been an interesting move by Luxon to offer Shaw the Climate Change minister role, and with the budget that Labour suddenly pulled from Shaw without telling him, restored.
If Shaw declined, then the Greens would get questions about how much they were really about the environment, and would find it hard to get any credibility when complaining that the new government wasn't doing enough for CC.
If he accepted, then it's all on the Greens if things don't improve in that area.
Same for offering TPM one of the Maori related ministerships.
It would be refused of course, and with the maximum huffing and puffing, but then TPM couldn't credibly complain later, if enough wasn't done for their causes.
Shaw will probably be made to apply for his job again, even though he's the only one in that party sufficiently qualified to advocate for the environment, as that's how the Greens seem to do things. I hope he gets reelected as a leader, as if not, this will definitely be his last term and we'll all be worse off as a result.
Luxon didn't even need to offer Shaw the job. He could simply have phoned Shaw for a chat, and told the media that he had. Would have sent a message to Winston to behave.
There was only one thing stopping Luxon … namely, everything National stand for.
Fantasies are free, but putting this on the Greens or TPM when it would have cost Luxon his job is laughable.
He knows jack about the Green party.I can assure you that environmental issues are crucial to the Greens .That they are also concerned about social justice is a bonus
I'm glad that Greens prioritises both social justice and the environment.
I would not be a voter of Greens otherwise.
The other Green Parties of the world usually is less attractive a proposal to vote for, than what we have in NZ, and the one in UK is the closest in equivalence to our Greens yet there's still something missing from it.
In my worldview, progressive social movements are interlaced with our common wealth and resources & our relationship to these aspects which is intertwined with class and with nature. This is ecological wisdom and our Greens has really embodied most of this well. There's definitely room for improvement imo.
I think our ecological & social & class-based movements are some of the vehicles that we will use to steer ourselves through the 21st century and beyond. It'll be a rough century this century.
If I have a critique to make of the Greens, it's that we are yet to fully embrace a globally & locally minded eco-socialism with intersectionalist aspects.
However, we'll try to get there even if there'll be mistakes on the way. The cost otherwise really is intolerably too high.
Most western media parrot the 'China bad' narrative but Rnaud brings a different perspective in this thread, which is generally economic news but sprinkled with society and politics in China, and geopolitics in general.
In other parts of the world the Green Party is spending a lot of time promoting "luxury beliefs" and performative ideology.
"The Victorian Greens now define transphobia as the vilification of trans people; intentionally misgendering people individually or as a group; denying that non-binary genders exist; or “promoting the unnecessary prioritisation of sex characteristics above gender”.
The party’s new rules also state that “advocating for unnecessary restrictions on transition care” and “asking leading questions that cover for doing one of the above” can constitute transphobia."
As we have seen with the push back against gender identity ideology within the UK Greens, GII isn't inherent to Green politics. There are other ways of understanding sex and gender that fit with Green politics.
A chunk of the UK Greens are pretty mindblowingly bonkers. Haven't seen any of the genderists defend Aimee Channellor lately 😉 But they do hold the balance of power, which is a shame, because the UK pol desperately needs a strong GP.
"Journalists were once again celebrated in 2023 by remaining near the bottom in the global Ipsos Trustworthiness Index. We’re down there with politicians, successful politicians (Cabinet ministers etc), advertising execs and bankers.
Meanwhile, scientists and doctors top the Index, which, on recent evidence, shows the true perversity of a species that listens the least to the people it trusts the most."
And the converse? Do we listen more to the reckons of politicians, sales pitches of advertisers, and the opinions offered by journalists even though we trust them less?
Peters' advert. Reading it made me think, someone to cover his blurts with a Willis, "What Winston meant to say". Perhaps Damian Grant or someone of that ilk
1.Separation allowed loans to be raised (external Maori participation enabled separation and was also WT compliant)
2.Councils have debt caps and so cannot raise the finance, thus have to raise water charges to finance the raise the infrastructure investment.
Read the Auckland report about their problems.
There is a lot of irony in this. The three headed hydra plans to finance a lot of infrastructure via offshore investment, but they have snookered this option in water, because they played politics.
There was also a website for the general public with explanations and calculators that did a great job of making the case, but that seems to have disappeared.
Have you read how it was purposed to work Pat, because your comments show you have not.
Simple summary to follow:
Firstly it was designed to get around council borrowing limits. Secondly it was to make sure those in dire need were to get said loans first. Third and here the real kicker, it was dedicated to fix water infrastructure over and above all else. Fourth, Māori were to be part of the governance.
Super stripped down summary.
I get for some folk the fourth point made them see red, turn off their brain and act like right c&*^%. Ask yourself, were you one of those people?
Labour really did fuck up the handling and messaging on this. I came in late and it was impossible to understand the whole thing. Your summary is probably the most useful thing I've read on it.
Centralisation of power and decision making was an additional issue.
It got around WT issues with moving control from public bodies (councils) and enabled the separation to ensure the access to lower cost finance in one.
“Da Bloody Maaaaaaaris is stealing da water”! is the battle cry of these slack jowled redneck crackers. They never acknowledge that it was John Key selling 49% of the Hydro Assets that triggered Māori going to the Waitangi Tribunal and the Waitangi Tribunal agreed with Māori that they do have an interest in water and that it was the State’s responsibility to negotiate that interest with Māori. 3 Waters is the culmination of that interpretation of the Tribunals legal ruling, trying to concoct a Qanon conspiracy that the Māori elite are taking over is as stupid as it is stupid.
It was stated it was going to get around council borrowing limits but the money markets determined that would be treated as part of the councils assets regardless….and the government was avoiding being the funder at a further reduced finance rate.
Secondly it provided no such guarantee that those in the greatedt need would recieve attention first, indeed it was conceivable (likely) that the fact there were more units administered by a reduced number of entities that priorities would be focused on the biggest gains in the earliest stages….to the detriment of smaller population areas.
Third it required the delivery of infrastructure that met the required standard…and heres the kicker, within its ability to fund it…..that means how much they can charge you and me (well not me , because I am not provided with said infrastructure)…so it is as politically limited as council entities are/were, unless you advocate an entity that achieves its target of delivery irrespective of whether it provides a service to all or only those who can pay?
And fourth there was no argued advantage to increasing the bureaucracy/cost of the co governance model.
And one you missed, it didnt address the issue of ground water contamination (esp nitrates) which is already impacting the urban water supplies and has the potential to make water treatment prohibitively difficult/expensive to achieve.
It was a poor policy, poorly promoted and ultimately forced upon communities without addressing those community's concerns….and no that dosnt mean that the current Gov will do any better…..they face all the same problems and no one is prepared/able to face the changes/costs that will be needed to solve them….so we will continue to do what we usually do, muddle through.
Muddling through with higher rates than otherwise, with less improvement in water infrastructure. A second rate decision with a second world outcome.
Largely a consequence of ECAN, nitrates are a problem in areas with contaminated aquifer water for pregnant mothers and they would need to use bottled water for drinking.
Possibly though not necessarily….the sad fact is that (as stated numerous times) we are not prepared/able to make the changes required to enable the environmental outcomes we all claim to desire….and 3 Waters didnt change that.
Ecan are not the only entity responsible for nitrate levels and it is not only aquifers as rivers are impacted as well….and as noted 3Waters never addressed this issue (deliberately?).
It was stated it was going to get around council borrowing limits but the money markets determined that would be treated as part of the councils assets regardless….and the government was avoiding being the funder at a further reduced finance rate.
What does the money markets determined that (borrowing) would be treated as part of council assets regardless even mean? And what are you citing as per (presumably) debt levels of councils and at arms length entity borrowing costs?
Yes the alternative to borrowing at lower cost by water bodies is government borrowing, or guarantee of council borrowing etc. The thing is this impacts on government debt costs and its own debt to asset standing. It might then simply nationalise water bodies and claim the assets.
"What does the money markets determined that (borrowing) would be treated as part of council assets regardless even mean"
It means you can place the assets and debt at arms length from the owners of an asset (in this instance the councils) but the lenders will still consider it part of the owners debt and treat it accordingly….that means increased financing cost if the risk is deemed to warrant it.
The cheapest borrowing is gov debt as they have more ability to collect revenue/seize assets..and they make the law. They could indeed seize the assets and 'nationalise' them, but they chose not to….why?
Rates will rise irrespective of the ownership structure of the water infrastructure and Id venture to suggest that under 3 waters the combined rates/watercharges would have been higher than rates alone if the water infrastructure remained on the council books.
"There is doubt, though, about the official expectation that the new water entities will achieve similar issuer credit ratings to councils’ AA ratings. Yes, water entities will achieve higher leverage ratios, enabling them to borrow up to $8b more through to 2031.
But without a Crown guarantee of that debt, finance experts and rating agency S&P predict they would have credit ratings around BBB-, which is the lowest possible investment grade. S&P defines that as: “Adequate capacity to meet financial commitments, but more subject to adverse economic conditions.” And that means higher interest payments that will be passed on to customers. "
3Waters was a failed attempt at central govt-led long-term planning. Imho, public and political 'concern' about additional co-governance arrangements being bundled with the nationalisation of provision of water services was a significant contributor to its failure.
Amalgamation aspects of 3Waters might have generated economies of scale, but we'll never know – 5.2 million Kiwis, 67 water asset-owning organisations.
Six year wait for three waters reforms far too long, says Scottish expert [27 June 2022]
The Water Industry Commission of Scotland had succeeded because it had created economies of scale in areas of high-cost expertise and senior management but had recognised that the delivery of water services remained “intensely local”. He believed this was not well understood or believed by New Zealanders opposed to the reforms. “You need to have a professional responsive staff in place, like professional hydrologists, professional asset planners, professional people for dealing with procurement, professional people for dealing with finances and bond markets. To do that you need real scale. Because if you don't, you can't afford the top specialists because (they) are typically quite well-paid individuals.” Sharing their costs over a community of 50,000 to 100,000 people was very different from sharing their costs over a million people.
" But don’t just blame Labour. More than $1 billion was spent setting up Labour’s Three Waters entities that were widely accepted as having been the best opportunity to fix the country’s water woes. That’s money down the drain now with the change of Government, which made hay out of the politics of Three Waters and ditched it."
It isn't free. However Three Waters wasn't going to entangled with the credit rating of local councils. They have ceilings on debt vs assets, etc.
Separating the much higher higher risk of council bankruptcy from the lower risks of water boards means that.
The cost of borrowing can be lower. Water systems are simply too important to fail. The downstream health consequences of failure are extreme.
The level of borrowing up front for long life assets can be higher. Important bearing in mind how delapidated all of our water assets are.
The terms of repayment can be far longer, which means that it reflects the generational benefit aspect of the water assets
The problem that Three Waters was designed to fix was the structural problem of having local councils running regional assets badly and running them slowly into the ground as they failed to handle population shifts.
Weka this comment from lprent does a great job explaining the Fiscal side of three waters. And why we so desperate need it, or something like it.
Only thing I'd add is most local councils are broke, because they are attached to a ponzi scheme which on enriches developers. The developers make the new suburbs as cheaply as possible, then hand them over to council to run, as they slowly fall apart.
Always good to have a critic around who can't explain their reasoning when they say it "ain't so". It allows the trolls to look better.
I could give you some links to various reports explaining this in more depth. However I suspect that you'd be incapable of understanding the very simple and quite basic finance issues in them.
Reading David Slack this morning he has a grim message that Trump will get in as President again. Hell and descent into a grim lawless State without democracy.
Under a second Trump presidency, he contends, political persecution and attacks on opponents seem all but assured to be vengeful, lawless and widespread. The possibility of the U.S. descending into dictatorship under Trump is real and increasing. -Robert Kogan
The threat sounds so alarmist but so far Trump continues having a huge effect on MAGA. Each time he is charged his polling goes higher, and none of his opponent candidates get near him. And in spite of the economy picking up under Biden he is not seen as a credible contender for President. And if Trump does win under their jerry-mandered election rules, the effect on NZ will be damaging.
Biden should pull out of the presidential race. He may have been a good president but he comes across as very old and doddery. If he stays, then it will be all over for America because Trump will win.
And of its all over for the America then its all over for the rest of us.
Decisions, decisions. Do you want some doddery old codger who is a shop front who fills a ceremonial role, trying to operate with some notions of doing the best for the masses?
Or do you want a different old codger who's a megalomaniac who makes sure that the role of every person in a decision-making position is to massage the ego of the would-be dictator?
I can still remember the stark difference between the two in the first leaders' 'debate' in 2020.
When asked the big achievement if his first term of office, the incumbent said it was the appointment of judges. So 330 million+ population, all the life and living and exploits and achievements (and Covid) and that was it.
The other guy in response on being asked what the most important thing was that for him to achieve? Unity, to be united.
We can't hope to understand the complexities and machinations of the US political scene. Blaming Biden for standing though and that event seeing Trump being elected? No, a toss up between the two and Trump being elected means the numbers with IQs less that 70 are greater than I thought and lots of them voted.
… a toss up between the two and Trump being elected means the numbers with IQs less that 70 are greater than I thought and lots of them voted.
A vast proportion of the US population have been so dumbed down, their IQs are abysmally low. They are the ones who vote for Trump. Biden does not attract the younger vote. A more dynamic person is needed to counter the Trump dumb-bells. Perhaps he should step aside for Kamala Harris. He is 81 going on for 82 years of age.
Is it a bad sign when your campaign asks your backers and fellow travelers to stfu?
Donald Trump’s campaign asked allies on Capitol Hill in recent days to publicly counter criticism that the former president would govern like a dictator in a second term, according to people familiar with the matter.
Yet on Tuesday, Trump reignited that criticism. Pressed twice on the topic during a televised town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity, including on whether he “would never abuse power as retribution against anybody,” Trump replied: “Except for Day 1,” before going on to talk about drilling for oil and closing the border.
[…]
Trump’s plans for a second term have relied in part on work being done through a coalition of right-wing groups called Project 2025, The Post and others have reported. The news reports prompted Trump campaign senior adviser Susie Wiles to complain to the project’s director, Paul Dans of the Heritage Foundation, saying that the stories were unhelpful and that the organization should stop promoting its work to reporters, according to a person familiar with the call.
So it seems apt to discover that just three days before the election, the National Party received a big $35,000 donation from HUD Studio – the tech company behind a dating app “dedicated to facilitating commitment-free relationships”.
Te Tiriti hikoi in Blenheim as we speak and my reporter, wife actually, reports lots of toots and a couple of hundred walkers. Not bad for little notice, she came upon it and joined in. Couple of hundred in the rain is pretty good for here, you won’t get that to a big footy game.
Now taking bets as to who will be the first Māori member of the National caucus to resign because they didn't sign up to be the face of racist policy sops to New Zealand First and ACT. My money is on Reti – he's showing the signs.
Probably not (ambition beats iwi) but they are certainly going to be shifting uncomfortably in their Cabinet seats. If Luxon had any feel for history, for other perspectives (he doesn't) then he would make a statesmanlike speech about land theft, issue an apology on behalf of the Crown and pledge to engage. He only understands dollars and cents so his advisers should explain that is the cheapest way to buy goodwill.
Reti is killing off the Maori-focused health authority Te Aka Whai Ora. Had evidence to back his decision. The Maori in government have zero problem with the coalition agreement.
Choosing to be a Cabinet Minister does not equate to having "zero problem". Tama Potaka is not going to publicly say "I'm OK with 70% of it but am unhappy with a chunk of it".
Maybe he is no longer the person he was before he entered Parliament. But if he's the same person, he has major problems with it.
He would hardly be the first politician to toe the party line and swallow the dead rats out of misplaced loyalty or sunk cost fallacy. Nick Smith did it all the time as Environment Minister. Chris Bishop no doubt still stings over having that cross-bench housing policy walked back. If you listen very carefully when Reti speaks, he is deliberate in his wording, and occasionally contradicts Luxon when it comes to acknowledging Māori health disparities and child poverty as an issue. Tama Potaka is likewise using very deliberate language when asked about the te reo issues.
Good ol’ Pete Dunne – wanted to be famous for drug reform, to save the kids. Doesn’t really seem to care though about the Nats happily killing around 5 thousand and losing billions in associated savings phasing out cigarettes. No, it’s that that sneering Ayesha Verrall won’t shut her traps about it. How dare she so smugly give context to a decision made after the election so not debated or explored at all and so not really given the go ahead by the public? How dare the opposition oppose!
Go on and piss off and let NewsRoom hire one of the decimated civil servants due to be laid off to write a column. Yeh I know 6.5% isn’t 10%, but it’s enough to make Wellington a city ready to party this Christmas, amirite?
That’d be fairly reasonable. You supercilious Judas cunt. Quit paying off your political slights from 30 or 40 or 50 years ago and let someone who’s directly affected by this incompetent blitzreig speak to us from what was your column space. Cunt. And poodle.
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I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel “through to 2050 and beyond”. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuel’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Next week the government will again next try to get its legislation through to deal with non-citizens who won’t cooperate with efforts to deport them. The bill, which the opposition and crossbench refused to rush ...
A long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bree Hurst, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT, Queensland University of Technology TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock A much-awaited report into Coles and Woolworths has found what many customers have long believed – Australia’s big supermarkets engage in price gouging. What started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The Albanese government wanted to avoid an inquiry into its migration amendment bill. The report, handed down yesterday by a senate committee that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Lobbying is at the heart of government. Who has access to and influence over key government officials shapes the decisions governments make – and how they make them. The ability to influence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
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Interesting article about the Greens in Stuff. James Shaw very much a loner now in the party. Definitely wouldn't surprise me if he was forced out (or leaves) in this term as he does seem to be the only member concerned about environmental issues.
"Shaw is not the co-leader of the Green Party because you cannot lead if others will not follow. His party is no longer interested in environmental issues."
Damien Grant: Green Party's more interested in performative theatre than environmental issues | Stuff.co.nz
Damian Grant leans well to the Right and is simply trying to sew discord among the Greens.
BTW the Greens' vote went up 42% in the last election, partly due to some fine campaigning by James Shaw. They got 11.6% compared with 8.6% for ACT.
Yes I agree Damien is well right leaning. He ran those debates with Bradbury prior to the election with different candidates. I think a big part of the Greens vote increase came from people not voting Labour.
The current Green Party "team" of MP's is far and above the most powerful the party has ever had and given how excellent past Green MPs have been, that's really something to celebrate!
I think now CC is such a massive issue that there are quite a few new Green voters from across the political spectrum. It is not just a simple matter of how the Left vote is split up.
Damien Grant's article is disingenuous twaddle.
He writes that James Shaw is in Dubai at COP 28, then states,
"Shaw has been curiously absent…" from the House.
Curiously absent?
Idjit.
It's obvious Damien Grant is bitter over the relative poll numbers of Green and ACT, which indicate which one is of the future.
And in his own way he notes the utility of one of the co-leaders, the environment spokesperson, being at COP 28. And the other one in parliament as part of the resistance to the anti-Maori direction of the hydra headed landlord class war government.
The rest is just racist, the white man away the coloured children who should be seen and not heard. He is just parroting John Howard on One Voice. The same meanness at coloured folk is in fashion at the Platform, as per Sean Plunkett.
The attempt to distinguishing being a white man and support for the Palestinian just shows that a western colonial settler overlord class sticks together against indigenous peoples.
The more intelligent Jew would find his support in that light dangerously offensive.
Otherwise the narrative that Shaw could prove he was a leader, if there was no policy on anything but the environment (Starmer Blairlite harmless to the neo-liberal right), that the right finds confronting – domestic and foreign.
They mention past leaders like Fitzsimmons, Donald and Norman because they were so white …
WOOHOO three years of trolling the G.
lol
This is the same tired old trope about the Greens. It collapses the moment it is tested.
Critic: "The Greens are too woke, they should do environment!"
Greens: "Ok, here's a policy on climate change, are you on board?"
Critic: "No, not that one"
Greens: "How about this policy instead? Very environmental."
Critic: "No, not that one."
And so on.
Note that Damien Grant does not name a single Green policy on climate change that he supports. Or on the environment in general. Because he's not interested.
And of course he resorts to another tired tactic: fake praise for previous leaders, who of course the Right totally approved of (Donald, Fitzsimons, Norman). That's sarcasm, sorry … the Right attacked and derided those leaders constantly.
Of course, the new government could adopt any of those nice sensible woke-free Green policies on the environment any time they want. They don't need those wacko Greens to get serious about climate change. They could even do something as modest and easy as continuing the previous government's small steps forward. Nobody could stop them.
Spoiler alert: They won't.
It would have been an interesting move by Luxon to offer Shaw the Climate Change minister role, and with the budget that Labour suddenly pulled from Shaw without telling him, restored.
If Shaw declined, then the Greens would get questions about how much they were really about the environment, and would find it hard to get any credibility when complaining that the new government wasn't doing enough for CC.
If he accepted, then it's all on the Greens if things don't improve in that area.
Same for offering TPM one of the Maori related ministerships.
It would be refused of course, and with the maximum huffing and puffing, but then TPM couldn't credibly complain later, if enough wasn't done for their causes.
Shaw will probably be made to apply for his job again, even though he's the only one in that party sufficiently qualified to advocate for the environment, as that's how the Greens seem to do things. I hope he gets reelected as a leader, as if not, this will definitely be his last term and we'll all be worse off as a result.
Luxon didn't even need to offer Shaw the job. He could simply have phoned Shaw for a chat, and told the media that he had. Would have sent a message to Winston to behave.
There was only one thing stopping Luxon … namely, everything National stand for.
Fantasies are free, but putting this on the Greens or TPM when it would have cost Luxon his job is laughable.
"He could simply have phoned Shaw for a chat, and told the media that he had…"
Shaw. But the media might, just might, ask Sure, what he thought about that chat.
I wouldn't take too much notice of Damien Grant .
He knows jack about the Green party.I can assure you that environmental issues are crucial to the Greens .That they are also concerned about social justice is a bonus
Just Damien being performative
I'm glad that Greens prioritises both social justice and the environment.
I would not be a voter of Greens otherwise.
The other Green Parties of the world usually is less attractive a proposal to vote for, than what we have in NZ, and the one in UK is the closest in equivalence to our Greens yet there's still something missing from it.
In my worldview, progressive social movements are interlaced with our common wealth and resources & our relationship to these aspects which is intertwined with class and with nature. This is ecological wisdom and our Greens has really embodied most of this well. There's definitely room for improvement imo.
I think our ecological & social & class-based movements are some of the vehicles that we will use to steer ourselves through the 21st century and beyond. It'll be a rough century this century.
If I have a critique to make of the Greens, it's that we are yet to fully embrace a globally & locally minded eco-socialism with intersectionalist aspects.
However, we'll try to get there even if there'll be mistakes on the way. The cost otherwise really is intolerably too high.
Damian knows Jack!! Statement of truth.
Where are the best places to go for reliable news out of China?
Most western media parrot the 'China bad' narrative but Rnaud brings a different perspective in this thread, which is generally economic news but sprinkled with society and politics in China, and geopolitics in general.
https://twitter.com/RnaudBertrand
Isn't he the dude whose continued business successes in China depends on him saying nice things about Xi and the CCP?
I think I will credit Stephen D with being able to work things out for himself.
Yes, I'm sure he'll work out that Bertrand's a cheerleader for Xi and his ghastly authoritarian regime.
/
I did check out his website.
Mmmmmm.
Think I’ll stick with Al Jazeera for now.
In other parts of the world the Green Party is spending a lot of time promoting "luxury beliefs" and performative ideology.
"The Victorian Greens now define transphobia as the vilification of trans people; intentionally misgendering people individually or as a group; denying that non-binary genders exist; or “promoting the unnecessary prioritisation of sex characteristics above gender”.
The party’s new rules also state that “advocating for unnecessary restrictions on transition care” and “asking leading questions that cover for doing one of the above” can constitute transphobia."
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/this-will-split-us-victorian-greens-expand-party-s-definition-of-transphobia-20230423-p5d2ku.html
"In other parts of the world the Green Party…"
In other parts of the world, parties using the lable "Green" …
Fify
Isn't that the same in NZ with our Green party other than Shaw?
Push that barrow up that hill (apologies to Kate Bush).
I think you will find that Kate Bush was actually "Running up that hill"
Really, actually?
I thought she was singing and dancing.
Technically yes. Singing (and dancing) about running up that hill!
Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill – Official Music Video – YouTube
It was a cloudbuster
🥱
And is there some sort of "purity test" on what is or is not a "Green Party"? Who holds the franchise?
"a" Green Party" is different from "the" Green Party and is different from "a green party" and "The Green Party".
Those differences are meaningful, if clear communication is your thing.
probably would have read better if you'd said "in other parts of the world, some Green Parties are…"
They're not a hive mind, but Green Parties do have a core belief set.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_party
As we have seen with the push back against gender identity ideology within the UK Greens, GII isn't inherent to Green politics. There are other ways of understanding sex and gender that fit with Green politics.
A chunk of the UK Greens are pretty mindblowingly bonkers. Haven't seen any of the genderists defend Aimee Channellor lately 😉 But they do hold the balance of power, which is a shame, because the UK pol desperately needs a strong GP.
"Goh!" said with Basil Fawlty roll of the eyes and toss of the head. "People!"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/301021714/mad-bad-or-sad-its-not-surprising-that-mori-are-reluctant-to-speak-to-media
"Journalists were once again celebrated in 2023 by remaining near the bottom in the global Ipsos Trustworthiness Index. We’re down there with politicians, successful politicians (Cabinet ministers etc), advertising execs and bankers.
Meanwhile, scientists and doctors top the Index, which, on recent evidence, shows the true perversity of a species that listens the least to the people it trusts the most."
And the converse? Do we listen more to the reckons of politicians, sales pitches of advertisers, and the opinions offered by journalists even though we trust them less?
Good article-worth a read.
SO that is the reason Peters is hiring a Press Agent.
HAH
Peters' advert. Reading it made me think, someone to cover his blurts with a Willis, "What Winston meant to say". Perhaps Damian Grant or someone of that ilk
Damien Grant works in receivership, chaos (destruction and renewal) capitalism, his future is looking bright where he is.
The problem will be getting the assets going with those fleeing off to Oz.
The token white person not racist on the Platform, notes the mess the hydra headed confabulation has got themselves into on water infrastructure
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2023/12/10/bhahaha-water-prices-to-triple-hows-your-racist-3-waters-hate-going-now-chumps/#comment-802005
Did you think water infrastructure upgrades were going to be (magically) free under 3Waters?
Did you not realise that (and why) water charges would go up quicker and faster, if it did not go ahead?
No I didnt… the case was never made.
Strangely the proposal was unable to demonstrate how it was going to reduce the cost of the required infrastructure.
1.Separation allowed loans to be raised (external Maori participation enabled separation and was also WT compliant)
2.Councils have debt caps and so cannot raise the finance, thus have to raise water charges to finance the raise the infrastructure investment.
Read the Auckland report about their problems.
There is a lot of irony in this. The three headed hydra plans to finance a lot of infrastructure via offshore investment, but they have snookered this option in water, because they played politics.
The case was made, but it was made in the negative (prices will go up less than if left to Councils).
https://www.dia.govt.nz/Water-services-reform-archived-information has stacks of information including the presentations to various Councils.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/major-shakeup-will-see-affordable-water-reforms-led-and-delivered-regionally is a summary of the updated information after shifting from 4 entities to 10.
There was also a website for the general public with explanations and calculators that did a great job of making the case, but that seems to have disappeared.
It was more about Funding. Most Councils can not borrow enough, so home owners will pay more quickly and painfully via their rates.
"Free" wasn't the selling point.
"Achievable" was.
'Achievable' was never demonstrated either Robert, merely the observation we were failing to maintain/upgrade that which was required.
And the reasons why we have failed to date are the same reasons we will continue to fail into the future…and 3Waters didnt address that.
Didn't get the chance, did it. Shot down by reactionary racists and anti-centralisation ideologues who seek the privatisation of services, imo.
Have you read how it was purposed to work Pat, because your comments show you have not.
Simple summary to follow:
Firstly it was designed to get around council borrowing limits. Secondly it was to make sure those in dire need were to get said loans first. Third and here the real kicker, it was dedicated to fix water infrastructure over and above all else. Fourth, Māori were to be part of the governance.
Super stripped down summary.
I get for some folk the fourth point made them see red, turn off their brain and act like right c&*^%. Ask yourself, were you one of those people?
Useful summary, thanks.
Labour really did fuck up the handling and messaging on this. I came in late and it was impossible to understand the whole thing. Your summary is probably the most useful thing I've read on it.
Centralisation of power and decision making was an additional issue.
I recall one commentator liked it all, until someone mentioned co-governance as part of the separation model.
Can someone explain please, what the value add would have been by having dedicated governance positions for Māori?
Was the belief that this would improve the quality of the result, and if so, how?
It got around WT issues with moving control from public bodies (councils) and enabled the separation to ensure the access to lower cost finance in one.
I enjoyed Bomber's summary
Bhahaha – Water prices to triple – how’s your racist 3 waters hate going now chumps? | The Daily Blog
Unfortunately I did read the proposal adam.
Simple summary
It was stated it was going to get around council borrowing limits but the money markets determined that would be treated as part of the councils assets regardless….and the government was avoiding being the funder at a further reduced finance rate.
Secondly it provided no such guarantee that those in the greatedt need would recieve attention first, indeed it was conceivable (likely) that the fact there were more units administered by a reduced number of entities that priorities would be focused on the biggest gains in the earliest stages….to the detriment of smaller population areas.
Third it required the delivery of infrastructure that met the required standard…and heres the kicker, within its ability to fund it…..that means how much they can charge you and me (well not me , because I am not provided with said infrastructure)…so it is as politically limited as council entities are/were, unless you advocate an entity that achieves its target of delivery irrespective of whether it provides a service to all or only those who can pay?
And fourth there was no argued advantage to increasing the bureaucracy/cost of the co governance model.
And one you missed, it didnt address the issue of ground water contamination (esp nitrates) which is already impacting the urban water supplies and has the potential to make water treatment prohibitively difficult/expensive to achieve.
It was a poor policy, poorly promoted and ultimately forced upon communities without addressing those community's concerns….and no that dosnt mean that the current Gov will do any better…..they face all the same problems and no one is prepared/able to face the changes/costs that will be needed to solve them….so we will continue to do what we usually do, muddle through.
Muddling through with higher rates than otherwise, with less improvement in water infrastructure. A second rate decision with a second world outcome.
Largely a consequence of ECAN, nitrates are a problem in areas with contaminated aquifer water for pregnant mothers and they would need to use bottled water for drinking.
Possibly though not necessarily….the sad fact is that (as stated numerous times) we are not prepared/able to make the changes required to enable the environmental outcomes we all claim to desire….and 3 Waters didnt change that.
Ecan are not the only entity responsible for nitrate levels and it is not only aquifers as rivers are impacted as well….and as noted 3Waters never addressed this issue (deliberately?).
What does the money markets determined that (borrowing) would be treated as part of council assets regardless even mean? And what are you citing as per (presumably) debt levels of councils and at arms length entity borrowing costs?
Yes the alternative to borrowing at lower cost by water bodies is government borrowing, or guarantee of council borrowing etc. The thing is this impacts on government debt costs and its own debt to asset standing. It might then simply nationalise water bodies and claim the assets.
"What does the money markets determined that (borrowing) would be treated as part of council assets regardless even mean"
It means you can place the assets and debt at arms length from the owners of an asset (in this instance the councils) but the lenders will still consider it part of the owners debt and treat it accordingly….that means increased financing cost if the risk is deemed to warrant it.
The cheapest borrowing is gov debt as they have more ability to collect revenue/seize assets..and they make the law. They could indeed seize the assets and 'nationalise' them, but they chose not to….why?
Rates will rise irrespective of the ownership structure of the water infrastructure and Id venture to suggest that under 3 waters the combined rates/watercharges would have been higher than rates alone if the water infrastructure remained on the council books.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2022/12/04/qa-who-should-pay-for-desperately-needed-three-waters-work/
"There is doubt, though, about the official expectation that the new water entities will achieve similar issuer credit ratings to councils’ AA ratings. Yes, water entities will achieve higher leverage ratios, enabling them to borrow up to $8b more through to 2031.
But without a Crown guarantee of that debt, finance experts and rating agency S&P predict they would have credit ratings around BBB-, which is the lowest possible investment grade. S&P defines that as: “Adequate capacity to meet financial commitments, but more subject to adverse economic conditions.” And that means higher interest payments that will be passed on to customers. "
3Waters was a failed attempt at central govt-led long-term planning. Imho, public and political 'concern' about additional co-governance arrangements being bundled with the nationalisation of provision of water services was a significant contributor to its failure.
Amalgamation aspects of 3Waters might have generated economies of scale, but we'll never know – 5.2 million Kiwis, 67 water asset-owning organisations.
" But don’t just blame Labour. More than $1 billion was spent setting up Labour’s Three Waters entities that were widely accepted as having been the best opportunity to fix the country’s water woes. That’s money down the drain now with the change of Government, which made hay out of the politics of Three Waters and ditched it."
https://www.thepost.co.nz/a/politics/350128491/taking-politics-out-infrastructure
It isn't free. However Three Waters wasn't going to entangled with the credit rating of local councils. They have ceilings on debt vs assets, etc.
Separating the much higher higher risk of council bankruptcy from the lower risks of water boards means that.
The problem that Three Waters was designed to fix was the structural problem of having local councils running regional assets badly and running them slowly into the ground as they failed to handle population shifts.
Weka this comment from lprent does a great job explaining the Fiscal side of three waters. And why we so desperate need it, or something like it.
Only thing I'd add is most local councils are broke, because they are attached to a ponzi scheme which on enriches developers. The developers make the new suburbs as cheaply as possible, then hand them over to council to run, as they slowly fall apart.
Except (as related to adam above) it did none of those things
Always good to have a critic around who can't explain their reasoning when they say it "ain't so". It allows the trolls to look better.
I could give you some links to various reports explaining this in more depth. However I suspect that you'd be incapable of understanding the very simple and quite basic finance issues in them.
As long as farmers and vinyarders get theirs cheap, it'll be fine..
Reading David Slack this morning he has a grim message that Trump will get in as President again. Hell and descent into a grim lawless State without democracy.
https://open.substack.com/pub/subslack/p/surely-it-wont-happen?r=25honw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
With Putin's Russia and Trump’s America, the future is looking dire – and that is an understatement.
The threat sounds so alarmist but so far Trump continues having a huge effect on MAGA. Each time he is charged his polling goes higher, and none of his opponent candidates get near him. And in spite of the economy picking up under Biden he is not seen as a credible contender for President. And if Trump does win under their jerry-mandered election rules, the effect on NZ will be damaging.
Biden should pull out of the presidential race. He may have been a good president but he comes across as very old and doddery. If he stays, then it will be all over for America because Trump will win.
And of its all over for the America then its all over for the rest of us.
Decisions, decisions. Do you want some doddery old codger who is a shop front who fills a ceremonial role, trying to operate with some notions of doing the best for the masses?
Or do you want a different old codger who's a megalomaniac who makes sure that the role of every person in a decision-making position is to massage the ego of the would-be dictator?
I can still remember the stark difference between the two in the first leaders' 'debate' in 2020.
When asked the big achievement if his first term of office, the incumbent said it was the appointment of judges. So 330 million+ population, all the life and living and exploits and achievements (and Covid) and that was it.
The other guy in response on being asked what the most important thing was that for him to achieve? Unity, to be united.
We can't hope to understand the complexities and machinations of the US political scene. Blaming Biden for standing though and that event seeing Trump being elected? No, a toss up between the two and Trump being elected means the numbers with IQs less that 70 are greater than I thought and lots of them voted.
A vast proportion of the US population have been so dumbed down, their IQs are abysmally low. They are the ones who vote for Trump. Biden does not attract the younger vote. A more dynamic person is needed to counter the Trump dumb-bells. Perhaps he should step aside for Kamala Harris. He is 81 going on for 82 years of age.
Is it a bad sign when your campaign asks your backers and fellow travelers to stfu?
Donald Trump’s campaign asked allies on Capitol Hill in recent days to publicly counter criticism that the former president would govern like a dictator in a second term, according to people familiar with the matter.
Yet on Tuesday, Trump reignited that criticism. Pressed twice on the topic during a televised town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity, including on whether he “would never abuse power as retribution against anybody,” Trump replied: “Except for Day 1,” before going on to talk about drilling for oil and closing the border.
[…]
Trump’s plans for a second term have relied in part on work being done through a coalition of right-wing groups called Project 2025, The Post and others have reported. The news reports prompted Trump campaign senior adviser Susie Wiles to complain to the project’s director, Paul Dans of the Heritage Foundation, saying that the stories were unhelpful and that the organization should stop promoting its work to reporters, according to a person familiar with the call.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2023/12/06/trump-comments-dictator-campaign-president-2024/
https://archive.li/AAxpW
https://newsroom.co.nz/2023/12/08/nats-get-in-bed-with-commitment-free-dating-app/
So thats how Nats Winston and David hooked up.
One more example that Luxton is not a Christian. What Christian leader worth their salt would accept money from such a source.
Jo Luxton?
Yo, Luxon!
Te Tiriti hikoi in Blenheim as we speak and my reporter, wife actually, reports lots of toots and a couple of hundred walkers. Not bad for little notice, she came upon it and joined in. Couple of hundred in the rain is pretty good for here, you won’t get that to a big footy game.
Gosh how low can you go! It makes me wonder about humans.
Tauranga police make arrest after wallet and bank cards allegedly stolen during man’s medical event – NZ Herald
Now taking bets as to who will be the first Māori member of the National caucus to resign because they didn't sign up to be the face of racist policy sops to New Zealand First and ACT. My money is on Reti – he's showing the signs.
All the Ngāpuhi ones? After yesterday.
Probably not (ambition beats iwi) but they are certainly going to be shifting uncomfortably in their Cabinet seats. If Luxon had any feel for history, for other perspectives (he doesn't) then he would make a statesmanlike speech about land theft, issue an apology on behalf of the Crown and pledge to engage. He only understands dollars and cents so his advisers should explain that is the cheapest way to buy goodwill.
Perhaps he will surprise us yet. But I doubt it.
Reti is killing off the Maori-focused health authority Te Aka Whai Ora. Had evidence to back his decision. The Maori in government have zero problem with the coalition agreement.
Evidence … someone cooker, as per WMD …
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/07-12-2023/with-or-without-te-aka-whai-ora-the-mahi-will-continue
Evidence isn't proof – he's selected evidence that supports his/his party's ideological position.
By "The Maori", do you mean, Reti, aka Ciga-Reti, singular?
Spectacular mind-reading there.
Choosing to be a Cabinet Minister does not equate to having "zero problem". Tama Potaka is not going to publicly say "I'm OK with 70% of it but am unhappy with a chunk of it".
Maybe he is no longer the person he was before he entered Parliament. But if he's the same person, he has major problems with it.
He would hardly be the first politician to toe the party line and swallow the dead rats out of misplaced loyalty or sunk cost fallacy. Nick Smith did it all the time as Environment Minister. Chris Bishop no doubt still stings over having that cross-bench housing policy walked back. If you listen very carefully when Reti speaks, he is deliberate in his wording, and occasionally contradicts Luxon when it comes to acknowledging Māori health disparities and child poverty as an issue. Tama Potaka is likewise using very deliberate language when asked about the te reo issues.
Hipkins' inability to hold his own political performance to account only looks surprising when Luxon has to do Labour's own accountability job for it.
Labour's record on gang membership, regional gang dominance, drug use growth, and membership growth is indefensible.
Labour's record on spending will start to come out with the mini-budget, but the waste has been chronic. Let's see how fast the tax cuts come.
Looking forward to Green+TPM+Labour uniting on useful things, but little sight of it so far.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Remind me again how climate change and child poverty are working out?
Words are cheap, what matters is delivery.
Labour had the first majority since MMP started but did sweet FA – cowards.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Dunno if this was done on Friday, but-
Good ol’ Pete Dunne – wanted to be famous for drug reform, to save the kids. Doesn’t really seem to care though about the Nats happily killing around 5 thousand and losing billions in associated savings phasing out cigarettes. No, it’s that that sneering Ayesha Verrall won’t shut her traps about it. How dare she so smugly give context to a decision made after the election so not debated or explored at all and so not really given the go ahead by the public? How dare the opposition oppose!
Go on and piss off and let NewsRoom hire one of the decimated civil servants due to be laid off to write a column. Yeh I know 6.5% isn’t 10%, but it’s enough to make Wellington a city ready to party this Christmas, amirite?
That’d be fairly reasonable. You supercilious Judas cunt. Quit paying off your political slights from 30 or 40 or 50 years ago and let someone who’s directly affected by this incompetent blitzreig speak to us from what was your column space. Cunt. And poodle.
Don’t wanna link but yeck-
https://newsroom.co.nz/2023/12/07/pm-cant-just-dismantle-labour-policies/