Open mike 10/08/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 10th, 2016 - 205 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

openmikeOpen mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

205 comments on “Open mike 10/08/2016 ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Paul 1
    10 August 2016 at 6:40 am

    Looks like Canada has some of the same issues as us.
    Out of control house prices.
    Capital flight from China.

    https://news.vice.com/article/canada-is-seizing-more-suspect-money-from-chinese-travellers-than-ever-before

  2. DH 2
    10 August 2016 at 8:34 am

    Anyone feel like some sleuthing? I’ve been trying to figure out how rents are calculated in the CPI and hit a bit of a dead end. Reason for asking is the CPI numbers have never looked right to me and I’d like to know which is wrong – my intuition or the CPI

    Background;

    The CPI index for rents has gone from a base of 1000 in June 2006 to 1240 in June 2016. That’s an increase in rents of 24% over ten years. In inflation terms that’s annual rent inflation of about 2.2%. (That just isn’t believable to me, it’s too low.)

    The Household Economic Survey also reports rents and those figures say rents have increased by 39% in only eight years (from 2007 to 2015) That’s annual rent inflation of about 4.2%. (That’s a little more believable.)

    This link here explains rented dwellings in the CPI;

    http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/economic_indicators/CPI_inflation/rented-dwellings-in-the-cpi.aspx

    What I can’t work out is the bit about state housing. It seems to be saying they’re using income-related rents to calculate rent inflation on state houses and that surely can’t be right. Any clues?

    Source data here;

    http://www.stats.govt.nz/~/media/Statistics/Browse%20for%20stats/HouseholdEconomicSurvey/HOTPYeJun15/hesi-yejun15-tables.xls

    http://www.stats.govt.nz/~/media/Statistics/Browse%20for%20stats/ConsumersPriceIndex/HOTPJun16qtr/cpi-jun16-all-tables.xls

    • One Anonymous Bloke 2.1
      10 August 2016 at 8:45 am

      Will this help?

      Housing Restructuring (Income-Related Rents) Amendment Act 2000

      See Section 46: Calculating income-related rents, but it’s a swamp of clauses.

      • DH 2.1.1
        10 August 2016 at 9:13 am

        Thanks but not really. It’s how state housing is affecting the CPI that I’m trying to work out. I understand income related rents, I just don’t understand its context in the CPI.

        It’s kind of a paradox;

        People in state houses pay rent as a (calculated) percentage of their income. If their income doesn’t go up then their rent doesn’t go up either.

        Wages & benefits are linked to inflation. If rents don’t go up, because incomes haven’t gone up, then CPI inflation will be lower and therefore wages & benefits won’t go up much either.

        I’m idly wondering if the inclusion of state housing is dragging down the CPI figures to paint a misleading picture of rent inflation.

        • Pat 2.1.1.1
          10 August 2016 at 9:21 am

          with only around 68000 state rentals the feedback impact on CPI (which is weighted I believe) will be negligible….and thats assuming state rentals are included in the CPI.

          • DH 2.1.1.1.1
            10 August 2016 at 9:32 am

            Could be Pat, I looked for the weightings and they don’t have it there so I don’t know.

            68,000 is 10-15% of the rental stock I believe so it would make a difference even with weightings applied. The thing is, state houses should not be included in the CPI at all and I wonder why they are.

            • Pat 2.1.1.1.1.1
              10 August 2016 at 9:39 am

              around 12% (assuming 100% occupancy) but if the rents are only increasing in that stock by the rate of CPI then the impact is negligible….the movement in private rentals will be the driving stat for the following rental CPI

              • DH …
                10 August 2016 at 9:44 am

                State house rents aren’t increasing by the CPI Pat, they’re set by income not inflation. Real inflation on income related rents would be close to zero so that 12% could drag down rent CPI by up to 12%.. if they are using income related rents to calculate the CPI there.

                • Blackcap …
                  10 August 2016 at 10:44 am

                  It will not drag it down by 12% absolutely though DH. Pat is right by saying that the State Housing impact is negligible.
                  Ie state housing rent does not increase at all 0% (12% of market)
                  Other housing increases by 33% (88% of market)

                  Overall increase in rent CPI = 29.04%

                  • DH …
                    10 August 2016 at 1:21 pm

                    Yeah you’re right and it’s not enough of an anomaly to explain why the CPI is reporting half the inflation the household income survey is.

                    The HES report for 2009 says this;

                    “Results from the Household Economic Survey (Income) (HES (Income)) for the year ended June 2009 show no overall change in average weekly expenditure on housing costs from the previous year, Statistics New Zealand said today. This result was made up of an increase across all households in average weekly property and ground rent payments (up 8.1 percent), offset by decreases in average mortgage principal repayments (down 7.1 percent) and average mortgage interest payments (down 2.8 percent).

                    For those making rent payments, median (half pay more, half pay less) weekly rent payments increased from $220 in 2007/08 to $241 in 2008/09 (up 9.5 percent). ”

                    CPI for year ended June 2009 says rent inflation was 1.7%. So how does the HES get 8.1% and the CPI only 1.7% ?

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      10 August 2016 at 7:36 pm

                      SNAFU, probably. It’s still worth asking the question. An OIA request for the formula?

    • Macro 2.2
      10 August 2016 at 8:27 pm

      The CPI used to include every house sale in the country – I know because I used to have to count it up and work out the average house price to 7 significant figures ( that was in 1967). There were no adding machines or computers available either. We converted the CPI from Pounds shillings and pence to dollars and cents manually. One electric calculator to the office of 12 was all there was. All done with pencil and paper. Standard deviations worked out to 7 sig figs. And not a word spoken the whole day! Muldoon would ring up and ask what would be the effect on the CPI if he raised the price of bread by 1 penny.
      The govt decided (around 2000) to remove house prices from the CPI for the reason that people didn’t buy a house every year. (i.e. they wanted “underlying inflation”) – it also meant that the CPI increase would not be so great so incomes based on CPI increases (i.e. benefits and pensions) would not be affected so much……

      • Colonial Viper 3.1.1
        10 August 2016 at 10:12 am

        Ahhh, the hysterical, irrational left.

        If it was truly believed that Trump was inciting violence against Clinton, his own Secret Service detail would arrest him and take him down.

        • Sabine 3.1.1.1
          10 August 2016 at 10:17 am

          yes the hysterically irrational left indeed

          https://twitter.com/jpodhoretz/status/763098548271546368

          https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/763102524584792064

          https://twitter.com/LEBassett/status/763110016152928258

          https://twitter.com/ChrisVannini/status/763096598238883840

          frankly i think it is time that you go into your time out corner and start thinking about what you are actually standing for.

          • Colonial Viper 3.1.1.1.1
            10 August 2016 at 10:23 am

            OK I’ll wait for the Secret Service to arrest Trump for threatening a confirmed Presidential Candidate. When do you think it will happen, today or tomorrow?

            Yes Mummy, whatever you say.

            • Lanthanide 3.1.1.1.1.1
              10 August 2016 at 11:29 am

              Haven’t we already established that the elites aren’t treated the same way as the peasants, eg Hillary got away with her email system without charge?

              If it’s good enough for HIllary to avoid a charge, then surely it’s good enough for Trump.

              • adam …
                10 August 2016 at 1:32 pm

                Good point Lanthanide.

              • Colonial Viper …
                10 August 2016 at 6:22 pm

                Lanth, Hillary was actually guilty of committing multiple National Security felonies over a long period of time. You equating that to what Trump may or may not have meant in an offhand quip is ludicrous.

                And Adam, you’re smarter than that.

                • McFlock …
                  10 August 2016 at 6:26 pm

                  sooooo – as a billionaire committing a more minor offence, wouldn’t trump be less likely to be arrested than Clinton?

                • marty mars …
                  10 August 2016 at 6:30 pm

                  “Hillary was actually guilty of committing multiple National Security felonies over a long period of time”

                  when does she get out of jail – oh that’s right…

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    10 August 2016 at 6:36 pm

                    And then there’s Hillary taking vast $$$$$ from Russians and Saudis when she was Sec State signing off on Russian and Saudi business deals.

                    Pretty sure there are national security implications all through that.

                    • McFlock …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:39 pm

                      yep. Incitement to kill a candidate seems trivial compared to all that. Not a chance the secret service will arrest him.

                    • marty mars …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:54 pm

                      “Pretty sure there are national security implications all through that.”

                      yeahnah

                      your ‘pretty sure’ ain’t sure or even near sure – just a guess from an outsider reading the net.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 7:08 pm

                      hey marty mars, turn your brain back on: if the Sec State is receiving massive monetary sums from foreign donors she is totally compromised.

                    • marty mars …
                      10 August 2016 at 7:48 pm

                      is that what the websites you follow are saying – I’m surprised you can regurgitate it with a straight face and pretend it is some original thought or insight from you.

                      You’re just a modern-day TV watcher – “look it is on the news it must be true” – so gullible – your thinking is in freefall and breaking the laws of physics bubby

            • Macro 3.1.1.1.1.2
              10 August 2016 at 8:32 pm

              Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA and National Security Agency, said on the same channel:

              “Well, let me say, if someone had have said that outside the hall he’d be in the back of a police wagon now with the secret service questioning him.”

              So it seems that it was where he said it is what prevents the police from arresting him. Even so – such dog whistling is highly irresponsible – and can you imagine how he and Rodrigo Duterte would get along?

        • North 3.1.1.2
          10 August 2016 at 11:51 am

          The finest, truest, leftiest CV still trumpeting away for his finest, truest, leftiest Donald Trump I note. Sounds like there’s something wickedly wrong with your wiring CV. And as to your ‘if this’ and ‘if that’ the Secret Service ‘would do such’…….what master of the universe blow arse is that ? Excuse me for paralleling you with BM and Fisiani.

          • Colonial Viper 3.1.1.2.1
            10 August 2016 at 11:52 am

            Not interested in having your approval North. Sneer away.

            • adam 3.1.1.2.1.1
              10 August 2016 at 1:49 pm

              The problem with you supporting trump Colonial Viper and his oblique use of violence as a political tool is that you would be one of his victims. How long do you have to wait – till you turn around, and there is no one to support you? Think leftist, disabled, gypsies, gays, nonconformists, free thinkers, artist, poets, pacifist, pasifika, and asian. It’s a list because that is what facists do, they go down lists. Till there is no one left to oppose them.

              How long will it be before trump comes for the Chinese, especially if he is elected and not doing well at home. How long before internment camps, so american chinese can be protected? How much pressure would it take for the same to happen here?

              A fascist is a fascist. And I’m not seeing many left or right disagreeing trump is a fascist.

              Yes h.r.c is a bloody awful alternative.

              Guess what – you have a choice, Vote Green, and organise.

              But supporting a fascist, come on, take a step back and do self interest for one bloody minute. Think of your family and friends who are leftist, disabled, gypsies, gays, nonconformists, free thinkers, artist, poets, pacifist, pasifika, and asian – and ask how long before they go under the economic bus which is fascism.

              Because you are showing a serious lack of understanding how fascist economics works.

              • Colonial Viper …
                10 August 2016 at 4:02 pm

                Go away Adam. Under both Bush’s and continuing under Obama, universities throughout the USA have been rapidly closing down liberal arts, humanities and fine arts programmes, as well as destroying the free press and investigative journalism; don’t presume to lecture me about how far the high finance corporate-government meld has progressed in the USA.

                As for Trump coming after the Chinese and after other races, go ahead and buy into the Clinton establishment propaganda. Trump is very clear that he employs and supports LEGAL immigrants in the USA.

      • marty mars 3.1.2
        10 August 2016 at 10:12 am

        Pretty clear statement from the Donny. No doubt he’ll run like a coward from it when he is cornered.

        • Colonial Viper 3.1.2.1
          10 August 2016 at 10:17 am

          How come Trump hasn’t been arrested by Clinton’s secret service detail then?

          • marty mars 3.1.2.1.1
            10 August 2016 at 10:38 am

            So he didn’t say it – shit this is fucken big – hope the MiB are onto it.

          • joe90 3.1.2.1.2
            10 August 2016 at 10:43 am

            The Secret Service is aware of the comments made earlier this afternoon.— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) August 9, 2016

            edit:

            Katrina Pierson's long-awaited explanation: Trump was saying an assassination "could" happen, not that it "should" happen.— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) August 9, 2016

            @eelcobvr Spox Trump vanaf 1:45 "he was talking about what COULD happen. He doesn't want that to happen" https://t.co/lKeJPHFmwz— De Alcoholist (@DeAlcoholist) August 9, 2016

          • weka 3.1.2.1.3
            10 August 2016 at 11:01 am

            “How come Trump hasn’t been arrested by Clinton’s secret service detail then?”

            For obvious reasons the threshhold for legal action against someone inciting violence is relatively high. I’m pretty sure Trump and his team know how to pitch dog whistles just below that.

            Interesting that you would defend Trump on this, although I guess the elite are legit targets.

            • Colonial Viper 3.1.2.1.3.1
              10 August 2016 at 11:19 am

              I’m not so much defending Trump as much as I am not falling for his year long tactic of trolling the liberal media with an ongoing stream of outrageous bullshit, everything from Megyn Kelly’s periods to this.

              I am however totally mystified as to why Trump’s campaign has not changed gears into a serious fullbore general election campaign. As far as I can tell, he is still acting and speaking as if he is still running for the Republican Primaries in Texas and South Dakota.

              • Lanthanide …
                10 August 2016 at 11:31 am

                “I am however totally mystified as to why Trump’s campaign has not changed gears into a serious fullbore general election campaign. As far as I can tell, he is still acting and speaking as if he is still running for the Republican Primaries in Texas and South Dakota.”

                He has. This is what his ‘fullbore general election campaign’ looks like.

                Just now realising that you’re backing a dud?

                • Colonial Viper …
                  10 August 2016 at 11:47 am

                  Hi Lanth, I’m not afraid to back candidates that others see as political losers. And, I still see a clear Trump win come November despite the latest polls having Trump 10 pts behind Hillary 🙂

              • marty mars …
                10 August 2016 at 11:39 am

                The outrageous bullshit comes from trump – he keeps saying stuff – he wont stop either cos he is terrific at listening to his own viice.

              • weka …
                10 August 2016 at 12:26 pm

                “I’m not so much defending Trump as much as I am not falling for his year long tactic of trolling the liberal media with an ongoing stream of outrageous bullshit, everything from Megyn Kelly’s periods to this.”

                Yeah, nah, I don’t think he is so stupid as to think that some of his constituents won’t hear the ralling cry to fight back. Or maybe he is and truly doesn’t see the potential for people to act on the call. That would make for a great Prez. You can call it trolling if you want, but it’s clear he has no regard for civil order and will undermine it to achieve his aims.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  10 August 2016 at 12:32 pm

                  Obama has just approved the sale of $1.5B in armaments to misogynist Islamic extremist terror exporting dictatorial Saudi Arabia.

                  Thats the real way you keep law and order in the world.

                  • Ad …
                    10 August 2016 at 12:36 pm

                    God that’s just sick. I just managed to get through the re-showing of Fahrenheit 9-11 on tv last night.

                    Even if only one thing about it is true in the film, backing the Saudis in anything let alone armaments is just sick no matter who is doing it as US President.

                    • grumpy …
                      10 August 2016 at 3:49 pm

                      Come on now, they gave the Clintons $US100m. They only gotb what they paid for!

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 3:56 pm

                      Saudis have been either the biggest or second biggest donors to the Clinton Foundation over the years.

                    • Ad …
                      10 August 2016 at 3:57 pm

                      Neither main US party comes out clean in their dealings with the Saudis, over many decades.

                  • McFlock …
                    10 August 2016 at 1:03 pm

                    nice deflection from Trump’s latest offence. Nobody noticed. Fuck you’re awesome.

                    • Sabine …
                      10 August 2016 at 1:29 pm

                      0oh but you know that Trump will save the world and of course not do anything like it.

                      and here, have a pony

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 3:55 pm

                      I support Trump ahead of Clinton because Trump won’t be seeking military confrontation with Russia and China in the Pacific, and because Trump will be shit canning the TPP asap.

                      You support Clinton because – who the fuck knows. Because she raised way more money from the financial sector and from Saudi ruling interests I guess.

                    • Lanthanide …
                      10 August 2016 at 4:06 pm

                      “You support Clinton because – who the fuck knows. ”

                      Because the next POTUS is likely to appoint 2-3 supreme court justices, and if Trump gets in, he will appoint conservative ones that set back social progress in the US for decades to come.

                    • grumpy …
                      10 August 2016 at 4:20 pm

                      “Because the next POTUS is likely to appoint 2-3 supreme court justices, and if Trump gets in, he will appoint conservative ones that set back social progress in the US for decades to come.”
                      So you are prepared to sacrifice the future of the world for…..identity politics?
                      Must be an amazingly large dead rat.

                    • McFlock …
                      10 August 2016 at 4:20 pm

                      Because she doesn’t see nuclear proliferation as a substitute for US military expenditure.

                      Because she knows the difference between bombing a city and nuking it.

                      Because she doesn’t think “I’ve been very successful” is a “sacrifice” comparable to having a child die in military service.

                      Because she can see the problem with government databases of everyone who is of a particular religion.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:19 pm

                      Everyone just take a look at who has donated millions to the Clinton Foundation in the last 10 years, and who is donating millions to her campaign every day now.

                    • McFlock …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:24 pm

                      Everyone just take a look at who has donated millions to the Clinton Foundation in the last 10 years.

                      Just as a quick summary, which of those donors have demanded that South Korea and Japan build their own nuclear weapons?

                      Even someone who wishes to preserve the status quo (not that Clinton necessarily does) is better than someone whose impulsive idiocy would result in more fingers on nuclear triggers in potential global flashpoints.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:40 pm

                      Get real. Both Japan and South Korea already have nuclear break out times measured in single digit months.

                    • McFlock …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:50 pm

                      Both Japan and South Korea already have nuclear break out times measured in single digit months.

                      Well, assuming their fuel refining equipment can be easily recalibrated to producing sufficient quantities of weapons-grade materials in that timeframe (and that you’re not just parroting important-sounding jargon that you’ve read on RT), it’s still a fuckload more stable than having a launch time measured in moments.

                      That’s assuming that NK won’t pre-emptively launch within that timeframe, of course. Because even the mention of nuclear proliferation in that region gives a narrow timeframe before the penalty for diplomatic failure dramatically increases. Trump is the sort of dickhead who goes on a jaunt through downtown Sarajevo in an open-top car. 10 million dead later…

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:54 pm

                      NATO and the US wanted Yugoslavia dismembered and ‘balkanized’ in their determination to move western military bases eastwards. They got their wish.

                      You can say thank you to Bill Clinton.

                      Here is a link to RT’s youtube page. RT is youtube’s most popular news channel by far.

                      https://www.youtube.com/user/RussiaToday

                    • TheExtremist …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:58 pm

                      RT is as trustworthy as Fox

                    • McFlock …
                      10 August 2016 at 7:11 pm

                      All very interesting CV, but completely irrelevant to South Korea or Japan’s potential nuclear capabilities, the destabilising effects of development of those potential capabilities, and whether you are simply parroting important-sounding words with no real understanding of what they mean.

                      When you calculated the “nuclear break out times” for Japan and South Korea, were you factoring current stockpiles of various grades of enriched uranium as well as current enrichment capacity?

                  • GregJ …
                    10 August 2016 at 7:12 pm

                    Obama has just approved the sale of $1.5B in armaments to misogynist Islamic extremist terror exporting dictatorial Saudi Arabia.

                    Just in time for the new air offensive in Yemen.

                    France has also just signed a deal for €1 billion with Kuwait for 30 Airbus Caracal Helicopters.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 7:15 pm

                      Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia with the most advanced, most expensive military technology on the planet.

                      Yet, notice how the Sauds have failed to lock Yemen down…those Yemeni tribesmen are like the Fremen from Arrakis.

                    • GregJ …
                      10 August 2016 at 7:19 pm

                      @CV

                      Yes – some of the Gulf States are withdrawing forces from the Coalition. It doesn’t get a lot of attention in the West but it is a nasty little war.

                      I should also add the UK is up to it’s neck supplying weapons to the Saudis – £3.3 billion last year and £500 million in Q1 so far this year.

                      http://oneworld.org/2016/07/27/uk-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia-top-33bn-in-year-of-yemen-bombing/

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 7:24 pm

                      Blair was (is) a big champion of UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

                      This is doubly interesting as Saudi Arabia is the very well funded base of wahhabi extremism.

      • Rodel 3.1.3
        10 August 2016 at 10:33 am

        Tony Schwartz, the guy who wrote [Trump’s book] The Art of the Deal, says Trump never jokes.
        “I fear that an unbalanced person hears that in this inflamed environment and, God forbid, thinks that was a threat. I certainly take it as a threat, I really do, and Trump needs to apologise.”

        • rhinocrates 3.1.3.1
          10 August 2016 at 11:05 am

          Trump’s perfectly aware that he’s shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theatre.

          • seeker 3.1.3.1.1
            10 August 2016 at 5:35 pm

            Exactly rhinocrates@11.05am, because Trump is nothing more than a showman. Heaven save us from such nitwits.
            And I thought choosing a B grade movie actor was bizarre in times past.

  4. save nz 4
    10 August 2016 at 9:41 am

    Why we say TPPA No Way

    Court rules for Chevron against Ecuadorians in $9bn rainforest damage case

    https://www.rt.com/usa/355161-court-chevron-ecudorians-rainforest/

    Also on that link a video with

    Gulf of Mexico suffers third oil spill in two weeks

  5. save nz 5
    10 August 2016 at 9:52 am

    Lucky this poor tourist did not get his wallet stollen in Australia… no one would care in Nauru…

    Chinese tourist who lost wallet in Germany ends up in refugee shelter
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/08/chinese-tourist-who-lost-wallet-in-germany-ends-up-in-refugee-shelter

    • Sabine 5.1
      10 August 2016 at 10:01 am

      oh my goodness the poor man. When it comes to bureaucracy only France is better then Germany.

  6. Colonial Viper 6
    10 August 2016 at 10:01 am

    Keiser Report: USA reduced to a one party state of the elites with corporates; bankers and billionaires lining up behind Hillary Clinton

    Max Keiser and his partner Stacey Herbert do one of the best political economic shows anywhere, and its available on RT’s youtube channel.

    Their latest show is a knock out.
    – Warnings in 2007/2008 that opposing banker bailouts for the rich would lead to economic collapse, is now causing political collapse.
    – Massive funds have been transferred from savers and pension funds to billionaire speculators.
    – The Washington elite from billionaires to military industrial complex and neocon Republicans are all lining up to support Clinton.
    – Corporate media a tool of the Washington elite to mock ‘ignorant’, ‘lazy’, ‘red neck’, ‘racists’.
    – 16% of the 43M Americans with student debt are in long term default: ignoring letters, phone calls and debt collectors. This is one basis of political revolution.
    – Clinton campaign recently raised US$120M from the financial sector. Trump campaign received $19,000.
    – Putin now widely blamed for the political, economic and refugee woes of the west similar to Cold War days.

    • Sabine 6.1
      10 August 2016 at 10:03 am

      nothing to do with the republicans turning into a party of fuckwits, forced birthers, anti science and religious nuts.

      ey, nothing to do at all…..never saw that one coming ey?

      • Colonial Viper 6.1.1
        10 August 2016 at 10:15 am

        Hi Sabine, thanks for expressing the hatefulness and disdain of the elite well educated intellectual classes.

        • weka 6.1.1.1
          10 August 2016 at 10:47 am

          thanks for stereotyping criticising of Republicans, and so patronisingly too! ;-p

          She forgot racists. I read an analysis a while back about during the Civil Rights era, the racists left the Democratic Party and joined the Republicans, which consolidated active racism there and changed the culture of the party. That some parts of the non-elite vote for the Republicans for a range of reasons doesn’t mean that the GOP doesn’t have serious bigotry issues.

          • Colonial Viper 6.1.1.1.1
            10 August 2016 at 10:50 am

            I doubt they are any more serious than the bigotry issues of the Democrats and their billionaire hedgefund backers.

            • weka 6.1.1.1.1.1
              10 August 2016 at 10:51 am

              They’re different bigotry issues though, and we should look at them in the respective parties, not try and pretend they don’t exist or aren’t important.

              • Colonial Viper …
                10 August 2016 at 11:06 am

                That’s exactly right. US politics is incredibly polarised. The constant is that the bottom 50% or more of people socioeconomically are totally disenfranchised by the establishment machine, whether that machine is wearing an elephant sticker or a donkey sticker.

                And this is of course where Trump gets leverage.

                There is a long time to go until November and I am still picking a clear win by Trump.

                • weka …
                  10 August 2016 at 11:10 am

                  And in the meantime the lefties you despise will keep naming bigotry because it’s the right thing to do.

                  • adam …
                    10 August 2016 at 11:26 am

                    Of course we should pull up bigotry weka.

                    Does that mean we should not criticise h.r.c? I know some commentators here have fallen for the juvenile rhetoric that a criticism of of h.r.c. – is to support trump.

                    The politics of fear, is the politics of fear, both trump and h.r.c are engaged in it. If anything both help each other in that game.

                    We should not play, especially in NZ.

                    national are going to pull out the fear card at some stage, my guess over the green/labour memorandum, then terrorism of some sort, or some other schmuck lies and finally b.s. — all to put fear into the voting population.

                    I say vote morally, then fear won’t cloud your vision.

                    • weka …
                      10 August 2016 at 12:28 pm

                      I guess the problem that you have there adam is that CV would actually vote for Trump.

                      I wouldn’t see myself or Sabine (who responded in this thread) as saying that Clinton is above criticism. That’s would just be weird.

                    • adam …
                      10 August 2016 at 1:08 pm

                      I did not mean you or Sabine by my comment, not my intent.

                      I agree on C.V though he needs to get his head around what a fascist is. Which trump is.

                      He also needs to realise any totalitarian be they left or right is somthing to be opposed, not voted for.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 2:32 pm

                      Obama has overseen the largest expansion of the security surveillance state and has just approved another US$1.5B of big corporate made military arms to be sold to the world’s leading misogynist, terrorist exporting, 9/11 facilitating dictatorial state, Saudi Arabia.

                      Clinton would continue the same track just on neocon steroids.

                      So keep preaching about fascism, you guys have no idea what it is.

                    • adam …
                      10 August 2016 at 4:10 pm

                      Pull your head in CV I know very well what fascism is, I can list off my family members who died fighting it if you like. Or how about the German and Polish part of my family that was wiped out by the fascists. Or family and friends who lived and died through Franco’s fascist state.

                      It’s you who has no bloody idea, by supporting a fascist – because trump is one.I know a lot of liberals put proto in front because they can’t bear to think about it. But all my American friends left and right agree trump is a fascist. He want to suspend habeas corpus, and look at his last economic speech – that is handing power to the corporations. He may oppose the TPP but he will push through somthing worse.

                      Fascism has only one way to make an economy work – war external or internal – and he’s two damn steps away from that. Bombing ISIS to the stone age. Attacking Mexicans.

                      He is not an isolationist, you’re kidding yourself if you think he is.

                      And again there is an alternative – organise with americans and encourage them to vote Green and keep building a movement. Which by the way will be crushed if trump gets to power.

                    • weka …
                      10 August 2016 at 4:52 pm

                      tautoko that adam, thanks for the context.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 5:27 pm

                      Fucking hell Adam, with the US plea bargaining system as it has been misused for over a decade now habeas corpus has been nothing more effective than theatre.

                      As for war, Killary Clinton is your neocon war master. She destroyed Libya, and cackled about it on TV, and then helped funnel arms to Islamists in Syria to take down Assad. She is in with the regime changing Russia/China sabre rattling neocon crowd up to her eye balls.

                      Forget it mate, I hope you get your dream, go organise for the US Greens and gift Killary, whom you seem to see as the lesser of two evils, the Oval Office.

                    • adam …
                      10 August 2016 at 8:29 pm

                      Come on CV you know I’m no fan of h.r.c. but must see trump is not an option either.

                      h.r.c is evil and terrible, trump is evil and terrible for the love of God man. It’s two evils and I won’t support either.

                      I’m worried you seem to think it is OK to support one of them.

                      to quote Jeff Davies “well, civilisation it’s had a good run…”

                • TheExtremist …
                  10 August 2016 at 1:54 pm

                  Wait, Viper is actually a Trump supporter? Really? Wow. I thought s/he was a leftie.

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    10 August 2016 at 2:33 pm

                    I’m definitely not a warmongering bankster paid for neocon Clinton supporter like you appear to be.

                    • TheExtremist …
                      10 August 2016 at 2:37 pm

                      Wow. Really?
                      Not liking Trump =/= supporting Clinton.

                      I have never made a supporting comment about Clinton anywhere. What do you base my “support” of Clinton on?

                      Are you so thin-skinned regarding your support of Trump that you sneer “Boo! Clinton Shill!” to anyone who questions it?

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 3:53 pm

                      Just returning your snide BS with the same mate, don’t take it personally.

                    • TheExtremist …
                      10 August 2016 at 3:59 pm

                      Errr I’m pretty sure I didn’t say anything snide or otherwise. Nor did I say anything that could be considered “BS” as I was asking a question, not making a statement.

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    10 August 2016 at 5:19 pm

                    You weren’t asking a question. You were being a smartarse.

                    • TheExtremist …
                      10 August 2016 at 5:49 pm

                      Ahhh no, I was asking a question because as I am a new commentator I had assumed you were, like most of us, a left winger. Then I saw you stumping for Trump so wanted to know if I had got my initial impression wrong and perhaps you were in fact in the same league as Pukish Rouge or Srylands.

                      Jesus man, you are thin-skinned.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:16 pm

                      Yeah, a snide shit, as I thought.

                    • TheExtremist …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:23 pm

                      Unbelievable

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:29 pm

                      Further, if you had a sincere bone in your body you would have directed your original question towards me and I would have answered you matter of factly.

                      The establishment left is utterly obsolete and irrelevant now. Only a radical departure from status quo economics will provide us with any genuine hope.

                    • TheExtremist …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:35 pm

                      So Trump is the answer? You seriously think Trump will deviate from the current status quo? Please…have you seen his ‘economic’ plan which gives billions of tax breaks to the top earners?

                      You’re no left winger (or right winger). At least both left and right wingers have principles. Stumping for a misoginistic, racist, pig thick con-man because you hate Clinton with such a passion makes you all things trump is.

                      Begone stupid fellow. You’re wasting everyone’s time.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:38 pm

                      Insincere and snide. With a foul mouthed mind as well. Read you right up front.

                    • TheExtremist …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:43 pm

                      From now on I can only assume you’re as racist nd misoginistic as Trump.

                      Poor form.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:45 pm

                      Ahhh, a Thorndon Bubble type.

                    • TheExtremist …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:51 pm

                      Sorry, you’ve lost me, racist

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 6:59 pm

                      Use your Thorndon Bubble Labourite sneers all you want.

                      [Adding Thorndon Bubble to the spam filter. Abusive language is not welcome here. Lift your game CV. TRP]

                    • TheExtremist …
                      10 August 2016 at 7:04 pm

                      I’m sorry, I’m not sure as to what you’re referring to. Thorndon? Labour? Huh?

                      I’m guessing you also think woman should be punished for having abortions and that the US should build a huge wall to keep the Mexicans out. Is that right, racist?

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      10 August 2016 at 7:12 pm

                      *Shrug* Keep it up. I figured you out from your very first comment.

                    • TheExtremist …
                      10 August 2016 at 7:32 pm

                      Completely lost me I’m afraid. Racist.

                    • rhinocrates …
                      11 August 2016 at 1:29 pm

                      Wow! I’m really glad that I’ve stopped drinking and take my fluoxetine these days!

                  • srylands …
                    10 August 2016 at 7:27 pm

                    “Then I saw you stumping for Trump so wanted to know if I had got my initial impression wrong and perhaps you were in fact in the same league as Pukish Rouge or Srylands.”
                    _________

                    What? I have never made any comment on Trump. For the record, Trump is a maniac.

                    I ask that you withdraw and apologise.

          • Sabine 6.1.1.1.2
            10 August 2016 at 11:40 am

            i am not talking about the 60’s, i am talking about the current lot of republicans of the year 2016.

            Am i that off?
            Is Rubio not a forced birther by saying that he would not allow for an abortion should a women carry a baby with microcephaly and not letting a women take this decision with her husband/partner and her doctor?

            Is Pence who introduces himself as a ‘Christian’ not anti-science and a religious nut when refusing to do the simplest thing in order to prevent a health crisis in the State that he runs?
            http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/under-pences-leadership-response-to-heroin-epidemic-criticized-as-ineffective-226759

            https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/07/marco-rubio-zika-virus-abortions-florida

            is kasich not someone who fits the description of a bit of a sexits?

            http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/22/politics/john-kasich-women-kitchen/

            or cruz? Not a bit of a wanker here with this statement?

            http://www.washingtonblade.com/2016/04/25/cruz-indicates-trans-women-should-only-use-bathroom-at-home/

            i don’t think i am out of order when saying that the republican party has only itself to blame for the issues it currently has.

    • Lanthanide 6.2
      10 August 2016 at 11:34 am

      Sabine is completely correct.

      It’s only a 1 party state, because the Republicans have, over the last 3 decades, deliberately lied to their supporters and kept them like mushrooms. This has culminated in the flawed candidate that their base rabidly support, while the party leaders themselves are aghast.

      They’re reaping their own whirlwind.

    • Chooky 6.3
      10 August 2016 at 8:48 pm

      thanx CV…must watch!

    • BM 7.1
      10 August 2016 at 10:39 am

      Comrade Little says NO to any right wing fraternization.

    • adam 7.2
      10 August 2016 at 10:47 am

      There is a whole post on that, http://thestandard.org.nz/leggett-in-parkins-pocket/

      and it’s called party discipline somthing both you and BM have criticised labour for not having.

      • Puckish Rogue 7.2.1
        10 August 2016 at 11:12 am

        Apart from Shearer attending that is 😉

        • adam 7.2.1.1
          10 August 2016 at 11:27 am

          Which puts a bit of a kibosh on you first argument 🙂

        • Muttonbird 7.2.1.2
          10 August 2016 at 11:40 am

          No surprise there. Shearer has ‘crossed the floor’ once already this year.

          • Puckish Rogue 7.2.1.2.1
            10 August 2016 at 11:45 am

            Labours a broad church remember…or is it! 🙂

            • Sabine 7.2.1.2.1.1
              10 August 2016 at 11:49 am

              that is a really stupid comment.

              if someone changes their political views over the years, and that can happen, it would behoove that person to leave the party that no longer represents them.

              in Shearers case it seems that he is only at the Labour Party in order to pay his bills, this should not be good enough for anyone.
              Leave, join National or Act, and get elected again on this platform. IF he can’t do that, I think it is fair of the Leader of the Party to ask to a. tow the line or b. get the heck outta dodge.

              Labour is a big tent, and this past Saturday it was nice to see just how big a tent it is during our local little 100 year celebration. A nice cross section of the part of the country we live in. But we don’t need to keep people in that only stay to shit the bed but then refuse to wash the linnen.

        • Sabine 7.2.1.3
          10 August 2016 at 11:41 am

          he could leave the Labour Party and join National or Act. No biggie. Free choice and shit.

  9. Muttonbird 9
    10 August 2016 at 12:08 pm

    Jesus! This, a day after a Reid poll showed that 60% of people think too many are coming in.

    More than 200,000 people were issued temporary work visas in the year ending June, almost 30,000 more than the year before.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/310591/nz-visa-numbers-reach-'staggering'-record-high

    • Colonial Viper 9.1
      10 August 2016 at 2:35 pm

      Immigrants aren’t the problem so the lefties keep saying on this site.

      I’m with Winston, time to chop back immigration numbers by at least 90%.

        • Colonial Viper 9.1.1.1
          10 August 2016 at 3:47 pm

          That’s what I’m saying. We need to severely cut back immigration, as well as banning foreign ownership of NZ property. Including existing ownership.

          • GregJ 9.1.1.1.1
            10 August 2016 at 7:32 pm

            It must be the heat here – but I sort of agree with CV.

            According to a Westpac study many of the new migrants are international students who are looking to stay after completing their studies.

            ” The student boom began in late 2013, shortly after visa rules were relaxed to make it easier for foreign students to work. And study has historically been a popular first step on the path to settlement for Indian migrants, most of whom first arrive in New Zealand as international students.”

            You have to wonder how many are genuine students and how many are using the “student” status to come in under the wire.

            90% cut sounds about right – for a net of about 6-10,000 (with about 2000 of those places for refugees). Harsh but necessary.

            • Muttonbird 9.1.1.1.1.1
              10 August 2016 at 8:43 pm

              This. Yet Blinglish today continues his line that student return home after studying.

              It’s now well known that foreign ‘students’ are using our lax laws as a back door into the country for their families so why won’t the opposition call him on this bullshit?

            • Colonial Viper 9.1.1.1.1.2
              10 August 2016 at 9:15 pm

              I have no issues with increasing refugee numbers by 1000 to 2000 for every 10,000 standard immigrant numbers slashed.

              • marty mars …
                10 August 2016 at 9:30 pm

                Fuck you is what I say. I am a leftie and I am against cutting immigration numbers – although I would drastically change the criteria to be able to immigrate AND I think that refugee numbers should double and double again.

                And guess what colonic biter I KNOW a lot of lefties and most nzers disagree with me on all or some of those points.

                YOU have no issues – what a laugh – you are a nobody who gleans his massive insight via videos – clap. clap. clap.

                You are a bullshit artist and not even very good at that

                [Marty, I think the phrase ‘do not feed the troll’ is appropriate here. CV is a sad, bitter person with obvious anger issues towards pretty much the entire human race. However, ‘Fuck you’ isn’t the best response and comes pretty close to pointless abuse, which is not acceptable. The rest of your comment is spot on. TRP]

                • Colonial Viper …
                  10 August 2016 at 9:50 pm

                  I would be happy with your tightening up immigration criteria, as long as the end result is a massive slashing of immigration numbers.

                  YOU have no issues – what a laugh – you are a nobody who gleans his massive insight via videos – clap. clap. clap.

                  ???

                • Colonial Viper …
                  10 August 2016 at 9:52 pm

                  Oh look, TRP’s moderation of personal abuse itself includes personal abuse. So classy.

                  [Challenging moderation. Take a week off. TRP]

      • weka 9.1.2
        10 August 2016 at 8:03 pm

        “Immigrants aren’t the problem so the lefties keep saying on this site.”

        Enough with the lies CV, you’re way past what is ok here.

        • Colonial Viper 9.1.2.1
          10 August 2016 at 8:33 pm

          Really? In that case, feel free to tell me straight up your view on this weka.

          Are too many immigrants part of the problem that Auckland is facing?

          IMO the answer is yes – and I think Winston’s proposals to reduce immigration numbers by 90% plus are one way to sort this out.

          So what say you?

          • Chooky 9.1.2.1.1
            10 August 2016 at 9:18 pm

            I agree with you and Winston CV…but not weka

          • weka 9.1.2.1.2
            11 August 2016 at 2:10 pm

            Really? In that case, feel free to tell me straight up your view on this weka.

            Are too many immigrants part of the problem that Auckland is facing?

            IMO the answer is yes – and I think Winston’s proposals to reduce immigration numbers by 90% plus are one way to sort this out.

            So what say you?

            I can’t comment on Auckland because I don’t know enough about it, but I’d guess yes that immigration is an issue. I know it certainly is in the South Island (worker visas being the main problem, but also permanent immigration from the UK and the US on good exchange rates and higher wages having bumped up land prices).

            No idea what the reduction in numbers should be (90% seems over the top, and it depends on what kind of immigration we are talking about). I’d like to see big changes to the immigration criteria.

            So in general, I’d say I’m a leftie who says immigrants aren’t the problem, but our immigration policy most definitely is. The only regular commenters I’ve seen who argue for open borders are marty and Bill. I would say that many commenters here are concerned about the impacts of the current immigration policy. Both Labour and the Greens have talked this year about reducing numbers.

            That btw is not a new position from me, and I’ve said similar on ts in the past.

    • joe90 10.1
      10 August 2016 at 12:38 pm

      Surprise surprise, Hamas have their very own sayanim.
      /

    • Ad 10.2
      10 August 2016 at 12:41 pm

      I was a little surprised to see the Australian government suspend aid so fast after this matter was announced. Reminds me of the effective blacklisting of CORSO internationally for their work in the Philippines during the leftist uprisings of the late 1970s when they were accused of supporting insurrection. Cheap unsubstantiated shots that continue to enable the status quo of suffering.

      I am a strong Israel supporter, but I cannot for the life of me see what the point is of shutting out the last remaining dogged aid organizations who are still in there making a positive difference to suffering people.

      • joe90 10.2.1
        10 August 2016 at 12:54 pm

        Moshe Feiglin, former Likud MKN –

        Subsequent to the elimination of terror from Gaza, it will become part of sovereign Israel and will be populated by Jews. This will also serve to ease the housing crisis in Israel.

        http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15326

      • Puckish Rogue 10.2.2
        10 August 2016 at 1:12 pm

        I’m going to go with embarrassment causing the Aussies to suspend aid so quickly

        https://donaldelley.wordpress.com/2016/08/05/the-jewish-press-world-vision-rejected-our-warnings-about-funding-hamas-terrorism/

        “For the past four years, Tel Aviv based civil rights center Shurat HaDin has been warning that funds provided to Gaza by the world’s largest evangelical charity World Vision were being utilized for terrorism, the organization said in a statement Thursday, following the indictment by Israel of Mohammed El Halabi, a Hamas terrorist and senior WV employee who is accused of transferring as much as $50 million in charity funds to support Hamas terrorist activities.”

        “In 2012, Shurat HaDin notified the Australian government that its aid money administrated by World Vision was being transferred to front charities of Palestinian terror groups in Gaza. Both the Australian government and WV rejected Shurat HaDin’s warning.”

        “In 2015, Shurat HaDin again cautioned the Australian government that WV was operating as an active arm of the PFLP and other terror groups. WV chief executive Tim Costello vehemently denied the charges and claimed that WV had “no interest in supporting terrorism.”

      • Sabine 10.2.3
        10 August 2016 at 1:17 pm

        history, repeating itself my be the answer

      • Colonial Viper 10.2.4
        10 August 2016 at 3:51 pm

        I was a little surprised to see the Australian government suspend aid so fast after this matter was announced.

        Australian authorities were no doubt already well briefed before the allegations were made public.

    • Sabine 10.3
      10 August 2016 at 1:11 pm

      hmmmmmmm,
      Quote” World Vision’s cumulative operating budget in Gaza for the past ten years was approximately US$22.5 million, which makes the alleged amount of up to US$50 million being diverted hard to reconcile. Mohammad El Halabi was the manager of our Gaza operations only since October 2014; before that time he managed only portions of the Gaza budget. World Vision’s accountability processes cap the amount individuals in management positions at his level to a signing authority of US$15,000.
      ” Quote end.

      oh well

      • Puckish Rogue 10.3.1
        10 August 2016 at 1:18 pm

        Well World Visions donations are about to dry up to a trickle I’d suggest

        • Sabine 10.3.1.1
          10 August 2016 at 1:20 pm

          nothing else to add?

          hmm, i might just have to donate.

          • Puckish Rogue 10.3.1.1.1
            10 August 2016 at 1:27 pm

            If you want to donate and you specifically want to donate to World Vision then maybe wait and see what happens with the allegations

            Or donate to another charity instead

        • Psycho Milt 10.3.1.2
          10 August 2016 at 9:25 pm

          Well World Visions donations are about to dry up to a trickle I’d suggest

          Oh, please – like the people likely to give a shit about this would have been happy to give money for aid to Gaza anyway. If anything will dry up World Vision’s donations from right-wingers, it’s the news that they’ve been helping people in Gaza.

    • Lanthanide 11.1
      10 August 2016 at 12:53 pm

      The woman writing that claims to be in possession of the source code. If so, she should release it.

      Since she has failed to do so, I can’t take her claims seriously.

      • One Two 11.1.1
        10 August 2016 at 4:19 pm

        The default assumption SHOULD be that it IS happening with onus on the developers/controllers/auditors of the electronic vote systems to prove that it is impossible

        Far as I can tell there is years worth of experts breaking into and manipulating these systems, and little evidence from the companies or federal agencies to prove its not

  12. Repateet 12
    10 August 2016 at 2:46 pm

    The Minister of Education in the House today used the expression “best and brightest” when talking about those she wants to get into teaching.

    The Minister of Education in the House today in talking about choices teachers made in doing what they do in schools said they (teachers) were professionals. The implication was that they would know best what needed to be done, and when and how..

    The “best and brightest” have initiative and intelligence. She actually wants brainless cretins who will do the cretinous things she comes up with without question. Doing that automatically means they are not the “best and brightest.”

    If they were professionals she would give them some credit, real credit, and trust, instead of another feigned fit of “teachers I love you, look NZ community, I love teachers and have faith in them.”

    The Minister of Education shows the characteristics of a lying weasel.

    • Reddelusion 12.1
      10 August 2016 at 3:32 pm

      Since when did teachers not have their say or their voice heard, this does not mean you need to agree with their every utterance

      • ianmac 12.1.1
        10 August 2016 at 3:59 pm

        ACT David Seymour position is that teachers are only concerned for themselves and not the children. Weird. My experience is that teachers are very non- militant. And have to be pretty riled to act. So to hold stop work meetings is a danger sign.

      • Repateet 12.1.2
        10 August 2016 at 4:12 pm

        I agree.
        The thing is Hekia Parata can determine that 3+4= 8, ask the teachers what 3+4 is, they say 7, she says they’re wrong but she says consulted them.

        Then people say (like you), “They had their say, she listened to them, but she didn’t agree with their utterance, so she;s carrying on.”

        Teachers have their their say but their voices are only heard to a very small point after the “real stuff” is heard. The important voices are those that pollsters report on. Her boss’ voice is important. The important voices to him are those of people like David Farrar. What teachers say about teaching and learning and education is pretty irrelevant.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 12.1.3
        10 August 2016 at 4:55 pm

        Agree? You have difficulty understanding them.

    • Lanthanide 12.2
      10 August 2016 at 4:17 pm

      if she wants the best and brightest, she has to pay them what they’re worth, and treat them like the rockstars they are.

      Being a teacher should be limited to the cream of the crop of students; all too often people go into teaching because there’s nothing else they can productively do.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 12.2.1
        10 August 2016 at 4:57 pm

        What’s the point of hiring the cream of the crop to implement notional standards and high-stakes testing?

      • Gangnam Style 12.2.2
        10 August 2016 at 6:04 pm

        “all too often people go into teaching because there’s nothing else they can productively do.” – utter bullshit, there are a million other easier ways to earn a living than to teach children, it really is a calling not something you can phone in.

      • Repateet 12.2.3
        10 August 2016 at 10:27 pm

        Treating them like the rockstars they are shouldn’t just be a demand of Parata and her political cobbers. It should apply to posters on here and other places who treat teachers with utter contempt, have no respect for them their experience or their willingness to do the crappy job that they have no interest in taking on*. A job which is vital to society.

        *Not interested in taking it on but they want to do it from the sidelines with their remote controls beamed at the unfortunate ones who do take it up.

  13. Sabine 13
    10 August 2016 at 4:08 pm

    nothing to see here, really,

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/sheep/70904289/government-withholds-letter-from-saudi-sheikh

    “The Government is refusing to make public a letter to Prime Minister John Key from the Saudi sheikh at the centre of a controversial farm deal.

    The missive is mentioned in a May 2010 dispatch from diplomats in Riyadh. It was among hundreds of pages of official documents released by Foreign Minister Murray McCully earlier this week.

    Fairfax Media asked Key’s office to release a copy of the letter. But a spokesman for McCully said it was withheld, citing various provisions of the Official Information Act.

    These were “to avoid prejudicing the international relations of the New Zealand Government…to protect individuals’ privacy…[and] to protect the supply of confidential information by a third party.”

    The Government has been under pressure for months to explain why it spent more than $11 million setting up a farm in the Saudi Arabian desert in a deal with Hamood Al Ali Al Khalaf.”

  14. Kevin 14
    10 August 2016 at 4:12 pm

    With the hopelessly out-of-date electronic vote capturing equipment used in the USA for elections, this mans services will come in handy for the biggest wallet.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-how-to-hack-an-election/

  15. Rodel 15
    10 August 2016 at 9:13 pm

    John Noonan, a former nuclear launch officer and adviser to former GOP candidate Jeb Bush, painted a frightening picture of what might to happen if Trump were handed the nuclear codes; the president alone has final say over a nuclear launch.

    “These duties are simply too grave to entrust to a man who has exhibited sociopathic and chronically narcissistic behavior throughout his checkered career,” he wrote in a Los Angeles Times op-ed published Tuesday.

    When a former nuclear launch officer (whatever that is) describes someone using words like, ‘sociopathic’ & ‘chronically narcissistic’, words straight out of DSM-5 you know he’s inferring that the person is mentally ill.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-07-27T00:27:40+00:00