Open mike 11/04/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 11th, 2021 - 114 comments
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114 comments on “Open mike 11/04/2021 ”

  1. Sanctuary 1

    Ideology is like your favourite music – all the notes you need are there and everything seems perfect when you hear it. You never need notice the notes that are missing.

    If you want a perfect example of this, consider the brouhaha that greeted the opening of the 1km of rainbow cycleway on Karangahape road built for the bougie gay and gay adjacent crew of inner city Auckland. It cost well over five million dollars (an eye watering $5,400 per metre), value for money we are told. Then jump in your car and take a look at the muddly, rutted, sorry state of affairs that is the car park at the Avondale markets (frequented by thousands and thousands of less fashionable types working class types) on a rainy morning.

    So many perfect notes making so much beautiful music up on K road though.

    PS – the toal cost of the K rd upgrade in north of 18 million dollars, or $18,000+ per freaking metre. Anywhere else in the world there would be calls for an inquiry at what looks like a case of price gouging by contractors but not here. After all, NZ has no corruption.

    • Forget now 1.1

      Bigotry is like a fart of thrash metal blaring through the early hours. There may be some music in there, but mostly it's ugly noise to those in the blast radius.

      Define "gay adjacent" for us Sanctuary. You may have a point about the price of the K road cycleway – maybe you can make it without the homophobia?

      • Sanctuary 1.1.1

        I have to confess my original post was designed as a little experiment to see if the propositions about liberal identity politics and class put forward by Ash Sarkar in her Double Down News segment are valid (see I think open mike yesterday). I am not that interested if your identity feels threatened to the point of vulgar tortured analogy, Because I think that is just boring. But as you post seems to show, Sarkar's proposition we can't escape identity politics because that is largely where politics are at right now is true.

        The problem, as Sarkar eloquently pointed out, is the bourgeois outrage of your liberal identity politics puts recognition by the state and it's actors above self organisation, and your priority is more the distractions of political conflict on the terrain of identity than you are about asking about the underpinning ideology as to who and why those contracts were let to redevelop K road. And that's was kinda the entire point of my post, so thanks for playing.

        PS – The PM self-described herself as "youth adjacent", are we to presume she was consumed with a dislike of those who consort with young people? Perhaps you could enlighten me on the PM's view of young people?

        • Forget now 1.1.1.1

          Sanctuary, I am mainly onsite to find interesting links that I might otherwise been exposed to in other fora. I haven't read every word on OM daily for many years now. A link to Sarkar's post would be nice – in fact any links to substantiate any of your points wouldn't hurt.

          So; you were writing to provoke a response, and now claim that; someone questioning your bizarre claims, is proof that they would have responded that way even if the original assertion had not been made?

          I am starting to remember why I don't much bother commenting on NZpolitics blogs anymore. People here are just too desperately clever about how they say things, to bother much about what they are saying.

      • Ad 1.1.2

        Conflict in Auckland's gay activists is intense and has been for over two years. Too many foolish splits and outrages

    • Sacha 1.2

      The projects labelled as 'cycling' ones end up bundling huge underground services upgrades etc. K Rd is no different in that sense. You may be conflating the rainbow pedestrian crossing with its perpendicular cycleway.

      • woodart 1.2.1

        good point sacha. too many people look at a $$$ figure and dont think about the services below ground that are included in costs. in many parts of the country, services like water, sewerage etc are over 100 yrs old and either way too small or in case of pipeing, completely knackered, earthquakes,ground settlement etc. and now with extra internet demanded as well as other undergrounding, cycleways are far easier to dig up than heavily trafficked streets.

  2. Adrian Thornton 2

    Western world media collectively expose their deep rooted ties to the political status quo by shamefully remaining silent while Julian Assange is made an example of, for all the world to witness, of what will happen to anyone brave enough to expose their lies, corruption and murderous wars .

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICDEQ2fnUNs

    • Morrissey 2.1

      Some—not all—of the exalted intellects on RNZ National did not "shamefully remain silent" during Assange's torture by the state; they joined in the persecution. Those who laughed at his plight, and mocked him, include: Jim Mora, Denise L'Estrange-Corbet, Graham Bell, Chris Trotter, Lisa Scott, Susan Baldacci, Caitlin Cherry, Zara Potts. Here are some of those witty commentators "yukking it up" in June 2013….

      SUSAN BALDACCI: Julian Assange is a little bit paranoid.
      MORA: Oh yes? Hur, hur, hur, hur!
      SUSAN BALDACCI: Yeah, he claims that being holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy, he is deprived of his human right of getting enough sun.
      MORA: Is it a human right to get enough sun?
      SUSAN BALDACCI: That’s what he claims! He claims that being not allowed to leave London is violating his “human rights”.
      MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
      LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
      CHRIS TROTTER: Haw haw haw haw haw!
      SUSAN BALDACCI: He thinks he should be allowed out of his Ecuador embassy hideout to sunbathe.
      MORA: He can get out on the balcony, where he gave that speech!
      LISA SCOTT: Yeah! Ha ha ha ha ha!
      CHRIS TROTTER: Yeah! Ha ha ha ha ha! Or get him a sun lamp! THAT’s what he needs!
      LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha!
      SUSAN BALDACCI: He he he he he!
      TROTTER: I suspect the ambassador’s just sick of the sight of him! “Are you ever going to LEEEEAAAVE?”
      MORA: Sun lamp! Get him a sun lamp!!!
      LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha!
      MORA: Back after the news!

      https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-14062013/#comment-648511

      One New Zealand journalist who did remain shamefully silent at his plight was Tova O'Brien. She was chosen to sit quietly on the panel during a farcical "World Press Freedom Day" run by the scofflaw U.K. regime just days after it had dragged Assange out of the Ecuadorian embassy…..

      https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19-05-2019/#comment-1618504

      • Morrissey 2.1.1

        I forgot to cite one of the most brutal denouncers of them all: Noelle McCarthy.

        https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2017/12/possibly-most-repellent-panel-pre-show.html

        "Abstaining from the witchhunt would have classed the dissenter as an enemy. Stalin was supported by fanatics, cynics, sadists and moral cowards."

        —Donald Rayfield, Stalin and His Hangmen: An Authoritative Portrait of a Tyrant and Those Who Served Him (Viking, 2004)

        • Adrian Thornton 2.1.1.1

          I have sent a couple of emails to Colin Peacock and Media watch, appealing to his sense of journalist integrity to do a piece on the general lack of coverage in this moment, but the relentless coverage when Assange was being accused of rape, however sadly it was to no avail….looks like they only run their critical eye over 'soft' subjects.

          • greywarshark 2.1.1.1.1

            What I can find on Julian Assange lately.

            Mar.14/21 https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7165583/julian-assanges-father-takes-freedom-fight-to-canberra/

            Mar.15/21 https://www.arabnews.com/node/1504621/world WikiLeaks’ Assange suffering ‘psychological torture’: UN expert

            Undated by the Evening Standard but they are talking about the two year commemoration of Julian's imprisonment on April 11. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/julian-assange-belmarsh-prison-wikileaks-ecuadorian-london-b928720.html

            Undated https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/04/10/assa-j01.html (World Socialist Web) Two years since Assange was seized from the Ecuadorian Embassy

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

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

            • Adrian Thornton 2.1.1.1.1.1

              Thanks for that update greywarshark, disturbingly most MSM, and a good proportion of the commenters on this site are OK with the fact that while Assange is being prosecuted with anything but a fair trial, and essentially being tortured in full public view, for bravely exposing US war and political crimes… none of the perpetrators of those crimes have been suffered even the slightest bump in their lives, and in the case of the DNC, some have been promoted for their crimes.

              I guess the takeaway from this travesty, is that propaganda works..even on people who you would have thought were a bit smarter than they have turned out to be..or maybe they have just slowly become lazy and cynical as they drifted to the Centre-Right?

          • Morrissey 2.1.1.1.2

            In the last years of the Blair regime, Tony Bliar and his chief hangman Alistair Campbell unleashed an absurd tirade against the media, which they claimed had continually undermined and questioned the integrity of the U.K. regime.

            Shortly after, on Mediawatch, Colin Peacock failed to remind his listeners that, apart from a brief deviation by the BBC pointing out that the case for attacking Iraq had been manufactured by U.K. and U.S. propagandists and spin doctors, and poor stupid Piers Morgan falling into a trap set by Army pranksters, the major U.K. media had in fact been in lockstep with the government. Instead, Peacock pronounced in deadly serious tones that Blair and Campbell had “made many good points.”

            In 2011, Peacock defended another politician, this time one John Key, after Key had made some foolish and ignorant remarks about the mass murder in Norway carried out by Anders Breivik.

            In 2013, Peacock conducted a fawning interview with BBC journalist Lyse Doucet, which ended like this:

            LYSE DOUCET: I welcome criticism—as long as it’s not done to score a point or because someone has an agenda. … When I get negative Twitter messages, unless I think there is an agenda and I have no control over that, I respond with kindness. Some people are on a certain campaign… I always say journalism is story-telling. I listen to our competitors. I listen to Al Jazeera, and Russia Today.

            COLIN PEACOCK: [snorting] But some of those are backed by the state, aren’t they, in a way that is different to the BBC obviously….

            https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/search?q=colin+peacock

            So, based on his past performance, I would not expect Peacock to mount a serious defence of the most important dissenting journalist of our time. sad

            • Adrian Thornton 2.1.1.1.2.1

              @ Morrissey, thanks for that insight on Peacock, I missed those important little glimpse’s into his geo political positions.

        • Byd0nz 2.1.1.2

          The world of opinion is firmly split,
          On Julian Assange and Wiki leaks,
          There is that of peaceful people,
          And that of war monger freaks.
          Peace loving folk hail him as hero,
          War lovers want to fill him with lead,
          Wiki leaks though, clearly shows,
          How democrazy is dead.

    • McFlock 2.2

      Has anything new actually happened with the case?

      • Adrian Thornton 2.2.1

        Thanks McFlock, your having to ask that question makes my point quite succinctly….yes it was two years ago that Assange was seized from the Ecuadorian embassy.

        If MSM journalists were at all concerned with keeping the spotlight on this travesty of justice, outrageous attack on whistleblowers and press freedoms, they would use every opportunity to keep pressure on power, but they will of course never do any of the above, as they are nothing more than stenographers for their corporate owners.

        https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/04/10/assa-j01.html

        Two years since Assange was seized from the Ecuadorian Embassy

        " Two years ago on Sunday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was seized from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He has been incarcerated ever since, fighting extradition to the United States where he faces life imprisonment in barbaric conditions for exposing war crimes, coup plots, mass state surveillance, torture and corruption. "

        • McFlock 2.2.1.1

          So, no. Nothing new. I was thinking there’d maybe been another court argument or something.

          • Adrian Thornton 2.2.1.1.1

            And again you make my point very nicely, you would have to ask people on The Standard if there is any developments in Assange's case, because you are well aware of the lack of news coverage his plight gets on MSM..thanks.

            • McFlock 2.2.1.1.1.1

              dude, I got up, had brekky, turned on the computer, checked emails, did a quiz or two, came here, and there was an extended wank about Assange. So I thought something might have happened.

              Apparently not.

              I did not wake up yearning for an update on the latest Assange case regardless of whether anything substantive had actually happened, but woe, the accursed msm is suppressing all the court days where he expertly skewers the fascistic oppressors' pseudo-legal arguments, so I had to read Adrian's latest rant to get my fix.

              Just mildly curious.

              Any thoughts on whether Biden's new AG might affect Justice Dept policy on the current case? Seems to have a wider view of the first amendment, so that could be relevant.

              • Andre

                I was kinda hoping that by now they would have made a statement that it's not in the US national interest to continue pursuing Assange, because of the "New York Times problem". I'm kinda disappointed something like that hasn't happened, it could be dealt with really quickly.

                Maybe they're too busy dealing with other shitfights, like the window is closing fast on undoing a lot of Fuckface von Clownstick's damaging executive actions. So maybe it will just be quietly dropped when the next court appearance comes around and they have to do something one way or another.

                • McFlock

                  I figure there are basically two milestones where they might back off: first couple of months of the new AG (i.e. directive to re-examine their basis for action, then the opinion suggests first amendment is an issue, so they back off), or yeah the next court date or shortly before it.

                  They sort of have to appeal the finding that their prison conditions are so awful it would be unjust to extradite Assange to the US. It's like showing their awful underwear in public, and could be used to oppose extradition of other criminals and suspects.

                  But if there's another reason to drop the case entirely, it might be a welcome exit plan. If the UK supreme court upheld that finding, there's many a drug trafficker, murderer, or even Kim Dotcom who might be interested in that precedent. Even in other jurisdictions it could hold some weight.

              • Drowsy M. Kram

                an extended wank about Assange

                Nothing new – nice.

                It was recently revealed that Pope Francis sent a personal message to Assange, whose partner Stella Moris said: “After a hard night, Julian woke up this morning to a kind, personal message from Pope Francis @pontifex delivered to his cell door by the prison priest.

                The poor misguided fool!

                • McFlock

                  Can't understand why that didn't make global headlines and chirons across all channels. Truly there is a grand conspiracy to suppress all news of such importance.

                  • Incognito

                    As I said previously, Deep State buries bad news 😉 [emoticon for people who miss subtle humour]

              • Adrian Thornton

                Mate if you got up looked at TS and all you could think about was wanking, maybe you should have stayed in bed a little longer?

                • McFlock

                  I can't avoid it when you keep waving it in front of people's faces.

                  No thoughts on Garland then? He's actually an interesting pick which lends itself to a subtle and considered analysis, and could have important repercussions on this case.

              • Morrissey

                .… where he expertly skewers the fascistic oppressors' pseudo-legal arguments….

                He doesn't have to skewer anything. The scofflaw British and U.S. regimes, whose brutal power and malice you trivialize with your sarcasm, have to prove their case. They have not, of course.

                so I had to read Adrian's latest rant…

                ???? Trivializing and mischaracterizing Adrian's thoughtful contributions does your credibility no good whatsoever. But then again, who would expect anything better from you? sad

                https://thestandard.org.nz/assange-arrested/#comment-1606579

  3. Morrissey 3

    Grovel

    Saturday 10 April 2021. It's 5:45 p.m., halfway through the half hour which Prime calls "News." A portly "U.K. correspondent", standing on a London street, is wrapping up the story that has occupied the whole programme so far….

    LLOYD BURR: [sententiously] It's fair to say that this is a country in mourning.

    Back in the New Zealand studio, host Janika ter Allen accepts that hilariously wrong statement with the same straight face she employed during the time she endured as Paul Henry's cheerful sidekick on TV3's horrid, best-forgotten Paul Henry Show (mercifully euthanised in late 2014, less than a year after its inception).

    A flick of the remote control takes us to TVNZ1, where a trailer for the 6pm news ends with Melissa Stokes announcing what's on the menu: "…and the HUNDREDS of Kiwi Kids helped by the Duke of Edinburgh!"

    These New Zealand "reporters" were, as usual, merely mimicking an overseas model, in this case the British state broadcaster.

    … The BBC is reported to have heavily invested in coverage of Philip’s death for fear that otherwise they would face a barrage of criticism from rightwing newspapers for showing a lack of patriotism and revealing a supposed “leftwing bias”. That was allegedly what happened when the BBC failed to sufficiently grovel to the royal family over the Queen Mother’s death in 2002. But if that is so, doesn’t it simply underscore quite how vulnerable the supposedly “neutral” state broadcaster is to pressure from the rightwing billionaire owners of the establishment media?

    If Rupert Murdoch and company can force the BBC into alienating and antagonising its own viewers with endless homilies to a royal little loved by large sections of the population, how else is the BBC’s coverage being skewed for fear of the potential backlash from corporate media tycoons? Is the fear of such repercussions also responsible for the BBC’s complicity in the recent, evidence-free smearing of a socialist Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, or the BBC’s consistent failures in reporting honestly on countries like Syria, Libya, Iraq and Venezuela – all of them in the oil-rich regions of the Middle East and Latin America that the United States and the west demand control over? …

    https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2021-04-10/media-royal-death-propaganda/

    • Treetop 3.1

      Does there now need to be a democratic process for the time limit on a news item?

      Do people need to be told that they have an off button on the remote?

      The Royal family are going through the loss of a husband, a father, a grandfather and a great grandfather. The Royal family have always been easy picking for the media and the Duke of Edinburgh did not want fuss. Good on him for max 30 people being able to attend his funeral service.

  4. Andre 4

    Since my comment under the "Sustainability and learning from forest gardening" post has disappeared, I'll go to the trouble of rewriting it here:

    The final sentence of that post concludes: " … no reason this cannot be done at scale. "

    There's productivity to consider. Reportedly, the Guyton's two acres supplies 60 to 70% of their vegetarian diet. Make allowance for land area lost to house, driveway, etc, and for surplus food going off the property to others, it nets out to this food forest producing roughly the food for one person eating a vegetarian diet from one acre of land.

    How does this compare to other agricultural methods? Worldwide there's about 4.8 billion hectares of land used for feeding 8 billion humans. That averages out to 0.6 hectares, or 1.5 acres per person. But that's an average of roughly a 12x variation from roughly 0.25 acres per person in predominantly vegetarian places such as India, Malawi, to over 3 acres per person needed to feed high beef consumers such as NZ, US, Brazil, Argentina.

    Consider a middle of the pack nation such as Austria (large pdf, see p19). Their current consumption of animal products is higher than considered optimal for good health, at least by some authorities (cue Psycho Milt disputing this). In their case, merely reducing their consumption of animal products down to healthier levels would shift their food production land footprint down to significantly under one acre per person, of which half is still due to animal products and is still well above the quarter acre or so per person for predominantly vegetarian diets.

    So all in all, the Guyton's food forest looks like it's very low productivity when considered as food-production land. It seems that the Guyton's sustainability improvements come from their adoption of a vegetarian diet much more than their food production practices. Indeed, the ability to devote 2 acres to partially feeding a vegetarian diet to two people is as much a manifestation of wealth and privilege as my trying to care for an acre of bush for local ecosystem health without producing any food.

    This low productivity of the food forest means that there is indeed reason it can't be done at the kind of scale needed for it to be a pointer for feeding the masses in the future. At best, there's aspects of it that could be adapted to further improve higher productivity agricultural methods.

    • Foreign waka 4.1

      An interesting article indeed. Just wondering, people living in rural or semi rural areas are able to maintain their vege garden if they are so inclined and fruit trees which is better still. Some keep chickens for eggs and meat. How many people live like that vs urban areas where one has to fight for a parking spot or even a save bike stand. I believe urban populations are in the majority and they have no land at all.

      There are simply too many people on this planet. The situation will not improve at all, no matter how many platitudes are being presented and how many 3rd world produced sneakers are worn out on protest marches by those who go afterwards straight to McDonalds.

      • Andre 4.1.1

        As usual, Our World in Data has plenty of good info collated together about urbanisation. Yes, worldwide more than half the population is urban, and in wealthy countries the urban share is often in the 90% range.

        https://ourworldindata.org/urbanization

        As population continues to grow, feeding everyone will require some mix of reducing the the per capita footprint of everyone ( which runs against the trend of when people get wealthier they want to eat more meat), and improving the productivity of the resources we use to produce food. I really can't see a pathway forward for methods that increase labour intensiveness and decrease land productivity.

        To be sure, there's plenty of good individual ideas and elements that can transfer over from regenag, organic etc to more conventional higher productivity methods. Ideas such as the value of having diverse healthy microbial, invertebrate and larger ecosystems doing some of the work now being done by massive applications of emissions-intensive chemicals.

        But it's going to be very difficult to move away from a lot of the things that make modern agriculture so productive. Personally, I'm guessing there's places for things such as micro-robots doing targeted chemical applications and pest control, as well as splashier tech such as vat-grown substitutes for animal products, GMOs that can tolerate much more stressful environments etc.

        • Foreign waka 4.1.1.1

          But all that will not do away with the population explosion.

          In order to to achieve any transformation in all countries, especially those with large populations would take decades. Far too long to combat the already increasing impact on the environment. Looking at the scale and scope of changing methods etc., there is the danger of a trade off – creating political systems that are oppressive. Greens are not immune to imposing believes, knowledge (proven or not) and self interest.

          Then there is the task of moving a generation brought up on fast food away from that in the "first world" that actually no longer exists. Especially if it is the cheaper version vs groceries and cooking. The later is a skill increasingly lost in an average household. The focus has be at home level working outwards not the other way around. Income levels have to improve a lot if we want to have birth rate sustainability too. There are many issues feeding into this but suffice to say it will take longer to address than seeing the consequences unfold. I hope I am wrong.

          • greywarshark 4.1.1.1.1

            When I was young…. we had cooking classes and I still have a cookbook with recipes that the young can manage or are just basic. It would be a must if the education people had any idea of what the modern individual needs to know to provide them with a toolbag of useful knowledge, if primary and intermediate kids had meal planning and fun with vegs, and how to cook with fruit so you only need a pinch of sugar and lemon peel to bring out flavours etc.

            And also how to put up a shelf, how to repair something, useful things to do with cartons, so recycling them and saving yourself $15 for shelves in a 'cubby'. Just being practical and not expecting the world to look after you, and needing it all the time. That is the trend we are being encouraged to accept, doors that open for you, voice activated blah.

            Let's get capable. How to repair a tyre, oil a chain, a squeaky door, change a fuse etc. That houses and rooms need some ventilation, how to instal a window guard slide so it can be left open a bit but safely.

            • Treetop 4.1.1.1.1.1

              Some people need to be shown what a rubbish bin is for and how to use it.

              Have some people become so apathetic that they can no longer perform a simple task?

              • greywarshark

                Simply put Treetop, the answer is Yes. So we must accept this is so and see how we can make tasks exciting enough to carry out. There was a system where putting an aluminium can in a container would give a receipt that could be used somewhere. That is the sort of thing that would produce a positive response. It's a case of thinking creatively to deal with new realities.

  5. Andre 5

    I'm kinda curious about how and why my comment under the "Sustainability and learning from forest gardening" post disappeared without trace or moderator comment, and just now my approximate rewrite of that comment in Open Mike has gone into moderation.

    edit: … and now they are visible …

    • Incognito 5.1

      There are reasons but none are directly related to you comment(s) and patience is a virtue; Moderators are not and cannot be around all the time and see and deal with everything straight away. Apologies for the inconvenience.

    • Sacha 5.2

      Including three or more links in your comment triggers moderation, as far as I recall.

      • Andre 5.2.1

        I don't think it was that. I'm well aware of the need to strip out extraneous links from the likes of wikipedia quotes.

        My first comment posted OK, then I edited a typo, and it seemed to go back up OK. Then I went and did an errand, and when I came back an hour later, it was gone.

      • Incognito 5.2.2

        No, it’s more than three links to trigger Auto-Mod. In Andre’s case it was something different and even less suspect. It all happened without any human intervention. A Mod has to review pending comments and figure out why they triggered Auto-Mod. I can tell you that sometimes it is a bit like ‘where’s Wally’ without knowing what Wally looks like 😉

      • Drowsy M. Kram 5.2.3

        Seven links seems OK, though no guarantees. Could/should 'link density' be a factor?

  6. greywarshark 6

    Thought from Man Ray RIP who was an artist in many ways.

    Ever since our love for machines replaced the love we used to have for our fellow man, catastrophes proceed to increase.

    and

    It has never been my object to record my dreams, just the determination to realize them.”

    “I do not photograph nature. I photograph my visions.”

    “I paint what cannot be photographed, that which comes from the imagination or from dreams, or from an unconscious drive.”

    I think that is maybe what we try and do here with words; and often achieve.

    https://www.sothebysinstitute.com/news-and-events/news/may-ray-what-we-can-learn

    • David 6.1

      Man Ray was a true genius. A bit of a trope, but one of my favourite works here:

      https://nga.gov.au/international/catalogue/detail.cfm?IRN=43741

      • greywarshark 6.1.1

        I don't understand that interesting trend – but it makes you think perhaps along these lines:

        The idealist philosopher George Berkeley argued that physical objects do not exist independently of the mind that perceives them. An item truly exists only as long as it is observed; otherwise, it is not only meaningless but simply nonexistent.
        Solipsism – Wikipedia

        What's under the cover? It's perhaps more interesting to ponder than confirm. Also reminds me of Christo's work wrapping iconic buildings in lots of plastic? That is very decadent and of course now not environmentally sound.

  7. Andre 7

    Vaccine politics ….

    https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/04/russia-cries-sabotage-after-slovakia-questions-quality-of-sputnik-vaccine/

    edit: one of the comments kinda sums up my view of the idea of getting vaccines from Russia:

    But Russian damage control did a really good job here. All media mention their claim that Slovakia has breached the contract, while very few mention Slovakian allegations. If those are really true, no one sane would approve this vaccine.
    From the article:
    Quote:
    “The comparability and consistency of different batches produced at different locations has not been demonstrated,” the Slovak regulator said, according to the New York Times. “In several cases, they appear to be vaccines with different properties (lyophilisate versus solution, single-dose ampoules versus multi-dose vials, different storage conditions, composition and method of manufacture).”

    When there were news about this vaccine, my comment was that I believe Russian scientists but I doubt their manufacturing. Unfortunately, I was proved to be right.

    [changed format as last part of text did not appear to belong in the quoted text – Incognito]

    • Andre 7.1

      Thanks, Incognito, but that bit of text actually was part of the quote, not me. Even though it looks like what I would say, and actually did say back awhile ago about russian manufacturing vs their scientists. I can usually fight off the annoying urge to say I wuz right. I just ran out of time in the edit window trying to figure out how to get the format clear.

  8. India 152,000 recorded Covid cases today. With the low level of testing in India at present you could probably double this number-another right-wing government Covid epic fail to go with Trump, Macron, Boris, Bolsonaro, Duda, etc

    That two week NZ ban on people flying from India is going to end up as several months.

    https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR3gp6yv7rvSWynvpdFjNL5Qb6j-hlSQcitFh7Chy5M02JuD6TiJpMq6Oq4

    • greywarshark 8.1

      Have special hazard suits become available to enclose passengers flying? It wouldn't be pleasant but if one had a pre-test for health, and then wore that could that enable some people who have had to travel to dodgy places for family or personal reasons, to get home? And then automatic quarantine. Not sure if it should apply to business travellers.

      India shot itself in the foot by going for flaming nationalist and fundamentalist leader. Now they need to think again but hey why worry – it's gone out of fashion in so many countries. Edict by wishful thinking and command is in instead.

      • Ed1 8.1.1

        I am not clear what you are suggesting, greywarshark – If people are being automatically quarantined, all that the hazard suits are doing is giving a little more confidence that they may not have been infected in flight (whether in their seat or when breaching the suit for toilet purposes). There have been suggestions that some pre-flight tests are not very reliable. But if a precaution is reasonable, who should it not apply to business travellers? If there are a lot of New Zealand citizens in India, it may become necessary to have a special flight just for them . . .

        • greywarshark 8.1.1.1

          I am suggesting returning family matters first, then business Ed1. To prevent distress and hardship. But case by case I guess.

      • Foreign waka 8.1.2

        I think it would be the Air condition system that needs to be cleaned, filters exchanged etc. Hazard suits would not help really. Maintenance of the Air condition system like this is expensive and I am not sure whether Airlines will just take this as a insurance risk proposal and run with it. If anybody makes a claim they have to proof a fault – and how would this be possible? Even if people test negative of the virus before boarding, as soon as they are on the plain, that's it.

        Perhaps the cruise ships should be repurposed. It takes longer to reach the destination but it could double up as quarantine time. I am sure a deal can be reached.

        • greywarshark 8.1.2.1

          The cruise ship idea would be an intelligent approach with them doubling as possible hospital ships for those who seemed clean but had the lingering lurgy – would have to be one of the smaller ones.

          Sea transport will have to come around again like I used in the 1970s on my OE. It was all part of the experience, so it would keep the industry going for the present to use them for Covid 19 travel, and as a side issue might give us cheaper transport for mail and packages than the horrific prices we pay now for international stuff over letter size and width.

        • McFlock 8.1.2.2

          There's something about cruise ships that seems to make them petrie dishes for infectious disease – covid, gastro, you name it.

          Dunno if it's a design thing or the passengers or shitty conditions for crew. But the worry is one person with an infection gets on the ship, and by the time it reaches port 1000 people have caught it and 300 are still sick. So rather than an automatically-quarantined arrival, the damned thing swamps our quarantine and ICU facilities overnight.

          • Foreign waka 8.1.2.2.1

            Firstly, having up to some 400 passengers on a flight, being infected by air conditioning recycling cabin air is far more certain to be contagious. Secondly, using Cruise ships that hold some 3000 passengers is clearly better in terms of transporting more people. It doesn't mean that this is to become an entertainers dream. But you have the time on your side if corona is to be found amongst passengers and a quarantine location without using hotels and infected security guards do not even enter the scenario.

            Far more efficient and secure as far as I can see. People will appreciate that they have some time to settle down after being through major anxiety too.

            Also, getting less planes in the air also means less pollution. https://davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/air-travel-climate-change/

            • McFlock 8.1.2.2.1.1

              3000 passengers can end up being 3000 patients. Worse than batches of 400.

              Yes. more efficient energy-wise. And maybe operating a "liner" model rather than a "cruise" model (transatlantic vs caribbean fun park) would result in outbreaks onboard being easier to control.

              But it's not a public health tendril to be jumping for when we're already on a reasonably safe ledge.

            • greywarshark 8.1.2.2.1.2

              Less passengers, more isolation of cabins, decks etc.?

              • McFlock

                Some thoughts that come to mind:

                • Figuring out airflow so cabins are negative-pressure (makes balconies and windows an issue).
                • Figuring out deck bubbles, including crew.
                • Giving crew the same billet density as passengers.
                • Figuring out the move away from buffet into cabin service.
                • Monitoring water quality.
                • Regular "deep cleans" even during trips.
                • Keeping laundry workers safe, and keeping laundry bags in their own deck bubbles.
                • Graeme

                  All of the above will become the basis of multiple law suits once the cruise fleet has to come into port and the writs can be served.

                  The issues are intrinsic to the design of the ships and the business model so not a lot that can be done to change things without the economics going all to pot.

          • woodart 8.1.2.2.2

            air conditioning and buffet food are mostly to blame for cruise ships being petrie dishes. breathing badly scrubed air and coughing over the food bain marie. yuk.

            • McFlock 8.1.2.2.2.1

              Yeah. One might be able to adapt away from buffet style, but making the aircon quarantine-safe could well be an impractical refit for many vessels.

              Don't forget the living conditions for the crew, either. And the laundry setup. And the water system.

              It's a bit like hotels as quarantine facilities – if they're not designed with that function in mind from the start, there could be some fundamental flaws in a facility.

    • Treetop 8.3

      I'd like to know what the level of Covid – 19 is in the water and if people are being infected or picking up another strain from the water in India and Brazil?

    • Sabine 8.4

      And also check Dubai as a transit port. I understand that people fly there to book on a Emirates to NZ.

      Brazil had something like 4000 dead on the 9th. The whole world is in a fourth wave it seems, and worse even it is now the young that get it and transmit it. France is exploding with them. Germany is not doing well. Neither is Italy or Spain for that matter. US, went from 200 death a few days ago to back up 900 odd on the ninth.

      I don't care which vaccine, i want the fauci ouchi.

  9. greywarshark 9

    edit
    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/440229/historic-christchurch-swimming-club-fights-closure
    The 111-year-old Wharenui Pool has produced scores of Olympic and Commonwealth Games medalists.
    But with the impending opening of the Metrosports Centre, it's been decided it's not needed.
    Club president Chris Averill said ongoing maintenance costs were being blamed, but the council wouldn't say what they were.

    The local swimming pool used by locals and serving their needs and wishes must go in favour of having a stadium that matches or betters what other cities have, so there! It will hold elite events that the incontinently wealthy are happy to drop their money on. Also it gives bragging rights to the city's leaders and top bureaucrats and makes them feel they are doing important work and worth their salaries, erecting iconic edifices that can gild their CVs.

    The glittering prize is unveiled:

    Dec.9/2019 https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/117978037/christchurchs-470m-stadium-plan-revealed-25000-seats-clear-roof-finished-in-5-years
    The report says a 25,000 seat mostly clear-roofed facility is the best fit for the city, and could be built within the budgeted $473 million, including running costs. Temporary seating was not included but could be added later…

    The case found the stadium would cost more to build and run than it would return in economic benefits, but notes the city faces problems without a stadium and some benefits cannot be measured.

    https://newsline.ccc.govt.nz/news/story/kotui-consortium-confirmed-for-canterbury-multi-use-arena-design-and-build
    The consortium, called Kōtui, will bring together local and international expertise to design the $473 million state-of-the-art arena that will re-establish Canterbury as a premier sporting and events destination in New Zealand.

    Led by Australian-based stadium construction experts, BESIX Watpac, Kōtui includes Christchurch-based construction companies Southbase Construction and Fulton Hogan, local seismic engineering specialists Lewis Bradford, Christchurch architects Warren and Mahoney, and global stadium design experts Populous and Mott MacDonald.
    Watch a video about Kōtui.

    Christchurch Council has imported a Ceo from UK especially to push through budget cuts on anything and nearly, everything. That's why overseas people are so good, they don't care about anything here, and can overlook the local yokels – we are just a sojourn on their way to wealth and a house in the stockbroker belt in UK or Australia or even here.

    Springfield know all about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDOI0cq6GZM

  10. greywarshark 11

    How do we fit this in with our so-called principled political system? Not just based on instant stimulus to satisfy profit or other targets.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/440244/indian-travel-ban-leaves-kiwis-stateless

    • Anne 11.1

      It's bullshit stuff!

      Shame on the author who is playing racism in reverse. Nearly 80% of the positive Covid cases coming into NZ are from India. If this trend continues – and it will given the horrendous numbers of cases in India which are likely only a fraction of the true numbers – then they pose a real threat of community Covid clusters re-surfacing in NZ. It's untenable at the moment.

      The government had no choice but to temporarily halt the returnees from India until such a time as the situation stabilises in that country. To suggest that it is a racially biased move is not only garbage but its offensive, and those peddling it should be 'hung, drawn and quartered' in my humble opinion.angel

      • greywarshark 11.1.1

        But there is the Kiwi citizens point. That is problematic.

        • Anne 11.1.1.1

          Sorry, but you can't play around with the current Covid variants. Can you imagine the uproar if the whole country had to go back into Lockdown 4 because of a return of community clusters directly related to returnees from a particular country and the government didn't do anything about it? It would be enormous and rightly so.

          The fact it is India is not surprising, but if it had been another country [eg UK] where the bulk of the cases were coming from, then it would be the UK returnees who would have to be temporarily halted.

          Some people need to use their brains. This pandemic is unprecedented in modern history. There are always going to have to be exceptions to what is normal protocol.

          • Treetop 11.1.1.1.1

            Our community cases are coming from MIQ. Now a case C linked to case B, tonight on stuff. Two weeks of breath holding.

        • RedBaronCV 11.1.1.2

          He's talking about people on temporary working visa's not citizens or permanent residents. So to me an overblown sense of entitlement and fake presentation.

          These are not visa's ( some probably "the buy some study that sells a work visa too") that would not have led to automatic residency. Some of these old work study visa's must be due to expire soon. Worldwide there must be plenty of people who had/ have a visa that they cannot now use including a lot of younger NZer's. That's the breaks.

          Be very interesting to know how many incomers from India are using either a second passport or a residency visa who had not been ordinarily resident for quite some time before covid hit. But we won't be told that.

          • Treetop 11.1.1.2.1

            That is what needs to be sorted out, the condition of the visa when a pandemic.

          • greywarshark 11.1.1.2.2

            RedBaronCV The title was misleading apparently – talking up spurious cases. Written by Sandeep Singh who is giving a biased viewpoint it seems.

            • RedBaronCV 11.1.1.2.2.1

              The title is definitely misleading but so is the story. Work visas are not enough to get onto the plane. My understanding is that it has to be a passport or permanent residency to get through.

              I can understand the government not trying to do too much to sort this because they can't really see the future – imagine the uproar if they simply cancelled most of them because we won't have borders open rather than letting them expire. Under the rules now many of these visas would not be issued -particularly the low grade study while you work ones. We have also been letting people stay here far too long on a mishmash of various temporary visas and no immigration system should raise "false or exaggerated hopes". Frankly for the size of the population the immigration queue seems to be utterly excessive. As to financial loss – the government has been utterly clear that this is not a factor- and plenty of people have been pushed into all sorts of situations that they would rather not be in and that has been life for a lot of us.

    • Stuart Munro 11.2

      Sorry, I didn't see you'd beaten me to the punch on this.

  11. greywarshark 12

    Nitwits turning to expensive fu..wits.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/440245/taxpayers-union-oias-to-hamilton-council-cost-60k-in-staff-time

    Hamilton City Councillor Dave Macpherson said an Official Information Act request to his own council showed it had 58 requests from the lobby group since the start of 2018, costing an estimated $61,364 in staff time.

    The sheer number and complexity of requests had meant extra staff had to be employed, he said.

    "When you realise there are nearly 70 councils getting these requests on what are usually inane or irrelevant subjects, I'd say they are costing us all over a million dollars a year," Councillor Macpherson said.

    It was hypocritical of the Taxpayers’ Union, which frequently criticised councils for wasting public money, to be costing ratepayers so much, he said.
    .

    Jordan inspires some people with positive and spiritual feelings.
    (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRtqPxvWSKw

    But to others the name Jordan produces stress and anxiety.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U29xdvLBUIs

  12. Stuart Munro 13

    Indian travel ban leaves Kiwis stateless | RNZ News

    Is it just me, or does the writer reek of entitlement?

    The use of the term stateless is the kind of inaccuracy that characterizes yellow journalism – from our state broadcaster no less.

    One hopes that Tracy Martin's review will not reduce RNZ to peddling breathless rubbish like this – the writer should be with Newshub or one of the other clickbait sewers.

    • Jester 13.1

      I was just about to post this too. Over 80% of the cases coming in seem to be from India, the guy that wrote this article needs to get a grip and see sense.

  13. Muttonbird 14

    What is the protocol with Harry returning for the funeral? In NZ he'd have to quarantine for 14 days before being allow to attend, but Phil's do is just 6 days away.

    Pretty high risk to the Queen having Harry fly in from California for hugs and kisses.

  14. Muttonbird 15

    Another fascinating example of added value and productivity being stripped from New Zealand's economy by neoliberals. There is a race to the bottom, the end goal seemingly to have New Zealand produce the most raw and undeveloped primary products in the world.

    (New Zealand) wheat farmers are some of most productive in the world but the vast majority of it is sold for animal feed while the bread we eat is made using imported Australian flour.

    This runs counter to all economists' pleadings for New Zealand to up its game on productivity. We also seem to have primary industries competing with each other. Dairy, promoted so heavily under the last national government grabbing all the land for itself, whether suitable or not, then taking all the local grain that was left to feed cows.

    I'm reminded of the often used turn of phrase, "work smarter, not harder". It seems since Rogernomics we have been going in the opposite direction.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/124700980/local-farmers-grow-quality-wheat-but-most-of-us-arent-eating-it-heres-why

    • Andre 15.1

      Historically the quality of flour in New Zealand was very variable and often quite crap, as a result of poorly designed regulations. So when deregulation happened, a lot of users happily switched to overseas flour and got better results from their baked goods. Since then, supply chain inertia may be a large part of the difficulty NZ growers are having with selling their goods. Or maybe there's still quality issues, I vaguely remember some mutterings about significant differences in the composition of NZ wheat compared to overseas, possibly as a consequence of it not getting the extreme dry heat here that other growing areas get, or differences in trace elements.

      Here's a piece talking about the regulatory environment:

      https://nzier.org.nz/static/media/filer_public/62/f1/62f18e59-82d8-4301-9961-5e29e2ed9665/nztcwp4.pdf – yes it's NZIER, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're completely wrong.

      Here's a piece hinting that there may still be differences between NZ wheat and overseas:

      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/gluten-intolerant-kiwis-can-eat-bread-overseas-but-not-in-new-zealand/NZBVIMMBI2IDJV4HD2TUA3V7JU/

      • Muttonbird 15.1.1

        So nothing to do with New Zealand conditions but perhaps the type of wheats used and probably the processing (they don't really have an answer in that article).

        I'm not surprised an artisan baguette causes less trouble than a bag of Tip-Top. are you?

        I feel like the Canterbury plains are an ideal wheat growing area. But it's all irrigated Dairy conversions now.

        • Pat 15.1.1.1

          not quite…theres still a good amount of cropping, but my understanding is that conditions do dictate the type and quality of wheat we can produce…and as much as it may grate the Oz wheat is superior for bread making…such is life.

          • Muttonbird 15.1.1.1.1

            Oz wheat is superior for bread making

            For terrible bread making? That seems true.

            I don't have an issue with Australian wheat. In the original article it says it's cheaper because it's grown on lower value land and for some reason it's cheaper to transport it from Australia than from the South Island.

            Part of the beauty of New Zealand is we have a variety of different conditions all within our borders. Can't see France having Australian conditions (it's more like NZ) yet their bread making is supposedly amazing.

            Australia are great a producing two things. Shiraz and racists.

            • Pat 15.1.1.1.1.1

              Then buy NZ wheat and bake your own….or talk to a baker.

              And France like Australia has a continental climate…unlike NZ

              • Muttonbird

                frown It's not about how I like my bread.

                The point of my comment is about how free market capitalism does not produce the elusive productivity holy grail New Zealand is looking for.

                It appears free market capitalism renders us in particular more and more dependent on low value primary industry.

                • Pat

                  Capitalism (free market or otherwise) rewards competitive advantage…Australia has a competitive advantage in wheat production…but our apples are better.

                  We can produce suitable quality wheat BUT we cant do it at the required volume or the required consistency…our climate is too variable which increases the base costs…its hard to be competitive when you only have one good producing year in every 3 or 4 seasons …that drives the end users to import.

                  NZ has never been self sufficient in milling wheat and to be so would require a pretty large redundancy that would impact the price significantly….id suggest the public may object to bread products at significantly higher prices than current regardless of their quality

                  • Muttonbird

                    Historically the country produced its own grain for baked products and not that long ago there were 30 or 40 mills across the country. Going back further there were hundreds of mills, according to the book, Flour Milling in New Zealand.

                    The country was self-sufficient in wheat production until government control of the industry under the Wheat Board ended in 1987, and led to imports by the mid-1990s.

        • Баба яга 15.1.1.2

          Theres still a few growing wheat in Canterbury ,especially around where I live,I buy wheat for chicken feed from a local farmer a few k's down the road from me,when I asked him why he sells it for animal feed he says it's too expensive to get the protein content high enough for human consumption.

          [That user name is immediately attracting the attention of the Moderators – Incognito]

  15. McFlock 17

    So that report that said there was no institutional racism in the uk a week or two back? Some of the authors reckon what they handed to Downing St doesn't match what Downing St published.

    Spoilers: apparently they said that racism did, in fact, exist in the UK.

  16. TheNZJerster 18

    Look like rater than savining taxpayers money like the so called Taxpayers' Union claim they are infact costing the country a lot of money daily.

    OIAs to Hamilton council cost $60k in staff time

    And as the article mentions that is just one of the many councils in NZ they are bombarding on a regular basis with OIA requests.

    "They make an art-form of spraying Official Information Act information demands to pretty much every council in the country, trawling for information that will bolster their own political viewpoint," he said.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/440245/taxpayers-union-oias-to-hamilton-council-cost-60k-in-staff-time

    They are politial leaches sucking up much needed taxpayer funds to sasify thier egos.

    [fixed typo in user name]

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    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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