Open mike 12/03/2024

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 12th, 2024 - 56 comments
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Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

56 comments on “Open mike 12/03/2024 ”

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  1. satty 1
    12 March 2024 at 8:00 am

    All the big talk about the "cost-of-living" crises before the election and so far not much happening to resolve the crises… even Tova O'Brien starts asking questions after so much "action" under urgency:

    Ultimately, to date, no one (or very few) appears to actually be better off under this government. Some may be worse off.

    Stuff – The new Government and cost of living

    As the climate crises is interlinked with the cost-of-living crises, through insurance premiums increasing, additional budget for flood damage / sea walls, high food prices caused by floods / drought etc., the damage done by the Coalition of Destruction so far is probably making things worse in the future…

    • Nic the NZer 1.1
      12 March 2024 at 8:12 am

      National didn't really acknowledge a cost of living crisis before the election. This would have undermined their preferred narrative that NZ wages were increasing too rapidly and supposedly driving inflation up.

      • AB 1.1.1
        12 March 2024 at 9:42 am

        My recollection is that they did talk about the cost of living crisis a lot before the election. What they didn't acknowledge was the flat contradiction between this faux concern and their desire to lower wages (as you note) and increase house prices.

        • Nic the NZer 1.1.1.1
          12 March 2024 at 11:30 am

          Logically speaking you can't argue both a) NZ wages are too low causing a cost of living crisis and b) NZ wages have risen too rapidly from an acceptable cost-of-living state causing inflation and a cost of living crisis (due to a wage price spiral). To do so would be a contradiction, so National can't have been saying a) when they say b). Logically speaking your argument can't be based on both a) and not-a) being true at the same time.

          • AB 1.1.1.1.1
            12 March 2024 at 12:55 pm

            National definitely weren't saying a.), and they weren't openly saying b.) despite clearly believing it, because no politician can openly say that wages are too high. Instead they claimed that inflation and the ensuing cost of living crisis was caused by "wasteful spending" by the government.

            Meanwhile in other policy areas they were calling for things that would lower wages (more/faster immigration, ending FPAs, 90-day fire at will) and increase house prices (foreign buyers, mortgage interest deductibility, reining in KO's building programme). Both those things will deepen the cost of living crisis despite National's dubious assertion that they wish to do the opposite.

            • Nic the NZer 1.1.1.1.1.1
              12 March 2024 at 1:50 pm

              I think we both agree that the National governments economic management has been both terrible and predictably terrible. In fact regardless of the election outcome the countries monetary policy has already been very bad for the country causing one period of negative GDP, driving prices against those facing the strongest cost of living pressures and in an effort to reduce wages, squeezing most peoples spending, while being capable to have little impact on inflation in any case. Inflation has actually resolved itself with no visible impact attributable to monetary policy, NZ could have had similar inflation outcomes without the negative impacts due to OCR hikes. The govt is responsible for the RBNZ policy regardless of if they front it, the governor and bank is directly responsible to the treasurer of course.

              But moving on to fiscal austerity is among the most dumb forms of economic policy possible when faced with a weak economy. It should be borne in mind that even wasteful government spending becomes New Zealand's income (it directly adds to nominal GDP) so even this rhetoric is just another way of phrasing the same fantasy story that NZ wages are too high.

              The only surprising thing here seems to be that Tova apparently didn't understand what was National's economic policy position before the election, you only ever needed to listen to what they were saying, it was quite open.

      • bwaghorn 1.1.2
        12 March 2024 at 11:49 am

        Boss gave me a pay ruse the other day , he was a but taken aback when instead of being extremely grateful I pointed out it might nearly cover inflation for the 15 months since my last one ,

        It doesn't come close by the way ,

        • weka 1.1.2.1
          12 March 2024 at 12:06 pm

          good for you. Hope he thinks on that a bit.

        • Nic the NZer 1.1.2.2
          12 March 2024 at 12:15 pm

          Assume you offered to help with all the other economic issues he has been struggling with.

          • bwaghorn 1.1.2.2.1
            12 March 2024 at 5:23 pm

            He told me more than once they havnt achieved the lamb weights I did in my first year , tells me frequently my cattle weights are excellent, did 6 weeks single handed on a 2 man job ,

            I'm holding my end up there Nicky old boy.

            They recently bought more land , and won’t pink batt my ice box bathroom because of cost, but just run a heater at my expense os a ok.

            • Nic the NZer 1.1.2.2.1.1
              13 March 2024 at 12:16 am

              No, I got that. He just didn't seem to anticipate you would understand he was offering a pay cut. Since we wouldn't want to assume he offered you that intentionally he must not have understood what he was doing, and this no doubt applies to other areas as well.

        • Hanswurst 1.1.2.3
          12 March 2024 at 10:01 pm

          A pay ruse sounds about right…

  2. Sanctuary 2
    12 March 2024 at 9:44 am

    I happened to have a very good friend on this flight, a Boeing 787-9.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nz-passenger-on-latam-flight-saw-man-with-blood-streaming-down-his-face/EXGL5PBCD5E2NBIUDFQZ76MYSQ/

    "…In the aftermath of the mid-air scare, a pilot inspecting the cabin told passengers his instrument panel went blank briefly, before it all came back…"

    WTF?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

    • dv 2.1
      12 March 2024 at 10:02 am

      What does this switch do?

      OOOh bugger.

    • weka 2.2
      12 March 2024 at 11:51 am

      Ellwood, who was flying home from a large family reunion, was wearing his seatbelt and didn’t suffer any injuries.

      “It’s validated my belief in seatbelts,” he said.

      Ellwood described the response by the crew as “adequate”, but he said there was an “extended period of time with no communications or first aid response other than ice”.

      “We were all praying for the pilots,” Ellwood said.

      Christ, one would hope the pilots wear their seatbelts when seated. Looking forward to MSM explanations of airline safety protocols.

    • SPC 2.3
      12 March 2024 at 4:09 pm

      It took 20 years but the decline in production standards at Boeing after the merger to McDonnell Douglas have formally been noted.

      https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/03/12/boeing-needs-to-cooperate-with-investigations-us-agency-says/

      • randal mcmurphy 2.3.1
        12 March 2024 at 7:30 pm

        It always happens in any industry when the bean counters get the brass ring. just like laxol and air new zealand!

  3. dv 3
    12 March 2024 at 10:01 am

    See the cops are pissed about the pay offer and are considering work to rule. OOPs

    Police officers are considering whether to push for industrial action, after the Government delivered an “insulting” pay offer which many believe is worse than an offer they rejected in September.

    Stuff has heard plans for “work to rule”, where officers will refuse to work overtime and ensure they take all mandated breaks, which could cause havoc in under and low staffed area

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350208286/police-considering-protests-work-rule-over-insulting-pay-offer

    • Mike the Lefty 3.1
      12 March 2024 at 10:16 am

      Does that mean you won't be able to get police person when you need them?

      Doesn't sound much different from the normal situation.

    • Descendant Of Smith 3.2
      12 March 2024 at 10:34 am

      It is a worse pay offer than last time – presumably to help make national's required cost savings.

      The policemen I know all vote National and hate Labour. Even when pressed with evidence that National cut more and that the pay increases were better under Labour they keep thinking – next time National will look after us.

      • Mike the Lefty 3.2.1
        12 March 2024 at 11:39 am

        Seems like any bod in a uniform votes National by default. Perhaps they should ask themselves why.

        • AB 3.2.1.1
          12 March 2024 at 1:04 pm

          I suspect we already have some idea why – they are comfortable with order and hierarchy – and to some extent that's why they joined.

          • Peter 3.2.1.1.1
            12 March 2024 at 3:30 pm

            I would think the police situation quite funny except it's so serious.

            Mark Mitchell, God's gift, is the Minister. All the the problems, all the fuss about not enough cops, all the stuff about NZ police staff leaving for Australia, all the to-do about not enough recruits. Okay Mark, away you go, a short while ago you had the answers, you were going to be the answer.

            • observer 3.2.1.1.1.1
              12 March 2024 at 3:50 pm

              Yes. A classic case of "reap what you sow".

              Mitchell and Luxon have the same fool's confidence, believing that swagger and bluster wins the day. In elections, maybe it does. In pay negotiations it certainly doesn't.

    • observer 3.3
      12 March 2024 at 3:45 pm

      Politically this is a real risk to the coalition.

      It is similar to nurses and others in the health workforce protesting against a Labour-led government. That was very damaging because they were not the predictable opponents, the usual suspects. When your natural supporters are angry, you're in trouble.

      If Luxon has any political nous he'll shut this down fast, make a quick concession. But he hasn't so he won't.

  4. bwaghorn 4
    12 March 2024 at 11:59 am

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350207521/immoral-awful-seaside-village-upset-social-housing-plan

    Pearls are being clutched tight in omokora,

    They do have point though, ridiculous to build 4000 homes in a rural area with no public transport and an already jammed rd

    • joe90 4.1
      12 March 2024 at 1:27 pm

      Councillor Margaret Murray Benge said the plan was immoral and the sections were too small.

      Donnie Brash's anti-Māori squeeze.

    • Visubversa 4.2
      12 March 2024 at 1:31 pm

      4000 homes will generate the need for a PT system and a big demand for services. All these things will generate employment.

      • Belladonna 4.2.1
        12 March 2024 at 2:35 pm

        Because that's working so well in the rest of the country….. /sarc/

        The current operating model for new subdivisions is to 'assume' that the council will provide PT services, and therefore not build the roading/parking infrastructure.

        What actually happens is that the Council doesn't supply adequate PT (becasue they can't afford it – with all of the other calls on the public purse) – and the people living in the new subdivisions buy cars – because they have no other alternative.

        Several recent large infrastructure projects in a close-by suburb in Auckland have followed this model. No need any longer (say the developers) – to provide parking in these apartment complexes – everyone will take the bus. [thus saving themselves tens of thousands in costs]. Bus services are slow, infrequent, and don't take people where they want to go, when they need to be there (unless where you need to be is the CBD during rush-hour – and, for an amazing number of people this is not the case). Apartment-dwellers arrive with cars (or buy them once they've fathomed the bus 'service') and fill all of the surrounding streets with parked cars on weekends and evenings. Surrounding streets are even more full of traffic. Communities blame the apartment-dwellers for causing the problems – and are even more against infill housing.

        • Visubversa 4.2.1.1
          12 March 2024 at 3:11 pm

          The developer pays for the installation of services to the boundaries, and also pays development contributions in order to contribute to the costs of roading, and services connections.

          The apartment blocks around us have some parking for residents, but a lot of the people who move to apartments do so because they don't want to run a car. One block up the road has no parking at all except for 2 short term visitor spaces. These are well policed!

          The main parking problem we had was for commuters coming in from far suburbs, parking in the residential streets around the bus stops and getting the bus into the CBD. A P120 restriction fixed that – with a (paid) residential parking exemption for those who can prove they live here. That does not give you any right to a particular street park – just hunting rights to the area covered by the parking restrictions.

          That has worked very well. We have some sites in the street with on site parking, but others have none ,as it is a 1905 subdivision with good PT and good walking/cycling options.

          Between the two households on my property, there are 7 people, but only 4 cars. We have 3 off street car parks and the other has a parking exemption. The other 3 adults use PT or cycle. Two of them work from home most of the time.

          People's lifestyles are changing and more dwelling options are available for those who cannot drive or do not want to drive.

          • Belladonna 4.2.1.1.1
            12 March 2024 at 3:44 pm

            4 cars across 2 households – this is contributing to the problem……

            If the PT is so 'good' – why do you need so many cars?

            Also, why should there be a residential right to park on the street? Also contributing to the problem. I bet the payment is nominal – nothing like the cost of providing a carpark. If there needs to be a parking time restriction – and it sounds as though there does – why provide exemptions? Wealthy inner-suburb dwellers can surely afford to provide warehousing for their vehicles at their own expense – if they don't want to provide the off-street parking on their own land.

            I do not think that the apartments in most suburbs are being built are intended for those who "cannot or do not want to drive". People buying or renting these apartments aren't doing so because they don't want to drive. They are doing so, because this is what they can afford, or are lucky enough to get.

      • bwaghorn 4.2.2
        12 March 2024 at 5:28 pm

        The railway must pass close by but right wing governments hate rail

    • Bryan Dods 4.3
      12 March 2024 at 2:01 pm

      Big developments by the seashore such as Omokoroa cannot be very sustainable with the predicted rise in sea levels.

      Perhaps building 3 storey houses will enable dwellers to abandon the ground level and move upstairs.

      Then, no need for a bigger, better road. Just take your boat to get to the new shoreline.

  5. Joe90 5
    12 March 2024 at 2:42 pm

    'Murica's going to go through some things.

    .

    The Terrifying Legal Election Scenario That Keeps Me Up at Night

    If you thought our antiquated election system has damaged the country before, just wait.

    […]

    It’s chilling to think about what might be happening in this country if this election, like the last two, comes down to a few thousand votes in three or four states. Trump and his MAGAs will break any law they think they need to break to reverse the outcome.

    I worry a lot about that. But here’s the scenario that freaks me out the most. Because in this scenario, Trump could lose the popular vote and still pull out a win, and it will all be perfectly constitutional and legal.

    […]

    But the real moral is that we are stuck with an antidemocratic system that turns losers into winners. Democrats have won the popular vote in seven of the last eight elections.

    https://newrepublic.com/article/179714/scenario-trump-biden-electoral-college

  6. observer 6
    12 March 2024 at 3:56 pm

    Mark Mitchell accidentally tells the truth, and it reveals so much.

    "That was then, this is now".

    Police Minister Mark Mitchell responds to 'insulting' police pay offer | RNZ News

    • AB 6.1
      12 March 2024 at 8:24 pm

      Cabinet collective responsibility – Marky must be hating that now. More seriously, I'm wondering how long it will be before we can fairly call Mark Mitchell a failure in reducing crime – does he need a year, two, six? In any case, if crime goes down (or up), it won't be related to anything Mark Mitchell has or hasn't done. That's not how things as complex as whole societies change.

  7. SPC 7
    12 March 2024 at 4:07 pm

    Perhaps Shane Jones will reassure us this won't happen under his policy and perhaps not …

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/350209892/443-million-set-aside-decommission-tui-oil-field

  8. SPC 8
    12 March 2024 at 4:28 pm

    A good primer on the future of news media.

    I'd add – news feeds are now in decline on "social media' platforms – apart from a move towards subscription to podcasts, patreon and aggregate You Tube.

    This is because of atomisation. Individuals have formed a cartel to attack MSM (to cannabilise it) to build a place for themselves in its place. People have their "whoar" facilitators – who parse the news for them.

    This is similar to how neo-liberalism privatised the government of nation states to enable a shareholder profit model, rather than a public good service.

    MSM may have to look at You Tube as to a model for their stable of journalists.

    Maybe the path is a global co-operation on taxation of monopoly businesses (and local CGT, estate taxation – 24/36 OECD nations have both) that fund-raising for the nation state infrastructure (including public media/news media to sustain democracy and thus public good capability of government) can be sustained.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/503747/the-news-is-fading-from-sight-on-big-social-media-platforms-where-does-that-leave-journalism

    PS a useful range of links above.

    • Ad 8.1
      12 March 2024 at 5:00 pm

      If only digital news were regulated as tv news is by the FCC.

      But it isn't, and the US Congress, Senate and White House are really clear that this is the very core of their competitive advantage across the entire global digital social media industry.

      And because digital news is unregulated and tv broadcast news is, digital news is wiping broadcast news off the face of the planet.

      • SPC 8.1.1
        12 March 2024 at 5:09 pm

        The real decline was in 1987 with Ronald Reagan's 1987 revocation of the Fairness Doctrine – this allowed R.M. in. And right wing radio. Thus with the internet and social media, what was there to contain extremism?

    • roblogic 8.2
      12 March 2024 at 5:08 pm

      Labour's public interest journalism fund should have been continued and extended. But the public interest is very much not in the NAF coalition's interest.

      Josh Drummond’s latest Bad Newsletter is worth a read on this topic.

  9. Sanctuary 9
    12 March 2024 at 4:40 pm

    Any royal types around here, or is it wall to wall Fenian sympathy? What’s the story with work shy Will and wifey Kate? I mean, I was giving the whole thing the big yawn but suddenly this badly photoshopped pikkie hits the SM rounds and now I'm getting the super sized popcorn and visiting the maddest corners of interweb conspiracy theories, I am just about ready to go with Elon down the rabbit hole!

    • roblogic 9.1
      12 March 2024 at 7:37 pm

      “The Princess of Wales is missing and the spare Prince is in exile and the King is treating his cancer with herbs. If this were the 1300s France would be looking to invade.” 😂

      https://x.com/thestefansmith/status/1767191732368867811

    • SPC 9.2
      12 March 2024 at 7:47 pm

      A known known is that royal pregnancies are not announced for x weeks (lest there be a miscarriage – 80% by this time).

      A known unknown, lots of other stuff.

    • Anne 9.3
      12 March 2024 at 9:32 pm

      I take a passing interest – my late Mum and Dad being English. To be fair to "Kate" she doesn't want her medical record plastered all over the front pages and on social media. But the royal pic? That's another story. She's taking the blame but its strange she didn't pick up on the errors. Whatever… she won't be messing around with her 'pikkies' again.

  11. joe90 11
    12 March 2024 at 7:12 pm

    Irma Grese has plans.

    /

    Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden has revealed her priorities for her portfolio this term, including making changes to our Holiday Act and reform on health and safety law and regulations.

    Van Velden shared her priorities with the Auckland Business Chamber on Tuesday, saying she was "committed to cutting the red tape and regulations that are stopping both businesses and employees from realising their full potential".

    It comes after the Government's move to abolish Fair Pay Agreements and expand the availability of 90-day trials.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/03/workplace-relations-minister-brooke-van-velden-reveals-plans-to-make-changes-to-holiday-act-health-and-safety-reform.html