Open Mike 12/02/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 12th, 2017 - 53 comments
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53 comments on “Open Mike 12/02/2017 ”

  1. Carolyn_nth 1

    Very good article by Rob Stock on housing afforability:

    Nails shonkey

    Speaking in 2007 Key when he was bidding for power, Key told the electorate: “Housing affordability is a big deal. It used to be the Kiwi dream that every New Zealander would be able to buy the house, the quarter acre pavlova paradise and that dream is diminishing.”

    Key was “very optimistic” that National, if voted into power, could make a difference. Then the median house in Auckland was selling for just over six times the median household income.

    Ten years later progress has been “by and large, extremely muddled and slow”, says Pavletich.

    “In many ways Labour is more advanced than the government on these issues.”

    Stock provides a link and refers to the Briefing Paper on the issue. That shows the value of solid, and concise articles on issues, that will maybe only be read by a minority. But it is a source journalists are likely to read and possibly draw on occasionally.

    I think the comparison between the main parties totally ignores Green Party policies on state housing.

    • Adrian Thornton 1.1

      @Carolyn_nth, while it is a pretty good piece, it only shows the lack of long term vision from all parties to deal with the obscene specter of commodified housing, which is ripping community cohesion and the country apart.
      “Restoring the ability of young New Zealanders to buy a home is being tipped as a defining issue of the upcoming general election”. You see the obvious class war in that sentence? media commentators and politicians can only get their head around housing affordability if affects their own children/grandchildren, what about the 100,000’s of adult workers who have effectively been shut out?
      Class war is so normalized now that it not seen for what it is, even on a left wing forum.

      No mention that Labours housing plans have no plan built into them to protect the whole strata of workers in jobs like , cleaners, elderly care workers, factory workers etc, where the average wage is around 32-35,000 P/A, so can’t afford to buy into Labours affordable housing scheme, there by consigned to life of renting, with no long term security…no it seem that Labour really are what they profess they wanted to be, the party of the centre (exclusively)…….what about a real living wage for these workers now (and not some fantasy future) and higher interest rates for the little money these workers can save?
      Where is Labour on that conversation?

      • Molly 1.1.1

        ” You see the obvious class war in that sentence? media commentators and politicians can only get their head around housing affordability if affects their own children/grandchildren, what about the 100,000’s of adult workers who have effectively been shut out?”
        Agree with you there Adrian.

        The “affordability” – approach to housing misses the most important aspect to providing everyone with secure, healthy, really affordable homes (owned or rented) in non-transient connected communities.

        The value of that approach to housing impacts on many aspects of our lives: health, education, work-life balance, community etc.

        All the issues you relate in your last paragraph are pertinent to a long-term solution.

        • AB 1.1.1.1

          “really affordable homes (owned or rented) in non-transient connected communities.”
          A good friend of mine with multiple rentals (not in Auckland) likes to argue that we don’t need a culture of home ownership, that lifelong renting is fine provided there is some security of tenancy
          It’s fine in theory – but in low-wage NZ, with few alternative investment vehicles that are not scams, lifelong renting is a recipe (in most cases) for lifelong poverty and a desperate old age. Whereas owning houses is a recipe for wealth and a comfortable retirement because the tax situation so favours this form of unearned income from capital.
          Before we can have lifelong renting in NZ there are some fundamentals to be fixed.

          • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1.1.1

            A good friend of mine with multiple rentals (not in Auckland) likes to argue that we don’t need a culture of home ownership, that lifelong renting is fine provided there is some security of tenancy

            Yep, people like that love the idea of long term rentals as they get to bludge off of other people securely.

            Whereas owning houses is a recipe for wealth and a comfortable retirement because the tax situation so favours this form of unearned income from capital.

            For a few people. I think you’ll find that the majority still end up in poverty. In fact, that seems to be a major issue with old people not being able to afford power for heating, not being able to afford food, etcetera.

            Private home ownership is a recipe for poverty as the few who own the homes bludge off of the rest of the population.

            • McFlock 1.1.1.1.1.1

              I think you’ll find that the majority still end up in poverty. In fact, that seems to be a major issue with old people not being able to afford power for heating, not being able to afford food, etcetera.

              Actually, the majority of people age 65+ are not below the poverty line, although there is some veriation by type of housing tenure Table G.7b.

      • Sacha 1.1.2

        “the lack of long term vision from all parties to deal with the obscene specter of commodified housing”

        Not ‘all’ parties. Didn’t the Greens get slagged for promising exactly that? – to act to reduce house prices over a decade, to fix the tax/finance incentives that make houses an investment rather than a place to live, and to strongly regulate rentals to provide an option for people who will never afford to buy.

        • Antoine 1.1.2.1

          Yep. Is not very popular with the electorate. Homeowners vote, and don’t want the market value of their house reduced

          A.

      • Carolyn_nth 1.1.3

        Agree with what you say about the approach to housing not focused primarily on the needs of low income people, whether in paid work or not. It is all about the desires of the better off, and better off wannabes.

        I read the article fairly quickly before going out this morning.

  2. Janice 2

    I would like to say how much I admire the people who have put their lives on hold to attempt to save some of the whales stranded on Farewell Spit. They are truly awesome, thank you for your efforts.

    • Cinny 2.1

      +infinity

      • greywarshark 2.1.1

        Next thing I would like to know – what can we do to prevent this happening? It was about 300 pilot whales I think. There must be something that scientists have developed or would like to trial. Some sort of pulse which the whales will recognise as indicating land or shallow water. Apparently sound waves travel well through water. We can send complicated machines into outer space just because we want to, not because it is of true service to the planet. NASA could stand for Necessary Action to Sort our Attitudes.

        Can we apply science and money where it is most needed? Can we please…can
        we plese…cn w plse…shrinking but still shrieking.

        • Cinny 2.1.1.1

          We were talking about that last night. Some sort of frequency sonar, on a buoy.

          R&D we need so much more of that.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1.2

          Perhaps we should stop doing what’s causing it?

          The impact of sonar on whales has become an increasingly fraught issue in recent years, with submarine exercises being linked to several high-profile mass strandings. The US Navy has admitted concerns over sonar’s effects on marine mammals, although actual evidence for harm has been in short supply.

          But military-sponsored tests now suggest that low levels of sonar, which do not cause direct damage to whales, could still cause harm by triggering behavioural changes.

          And it’s not just the military that carry sonar.

          • greywarshark 2.1.1.2.1

            It’s heartbreaking when so many go off beam. If we could do something as civilians here now, we could help with this. Trying to find, blame and clear up the
            original cause would take too long. Just another one of those unintended consequences we are running into more and more as our planet gets too crowded with us – we’re everywhere.

            Commercial and military sonar may be affecting tuna as well.

            • Macro 2.1.1.2.1.1

              From The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species media release:

              The oceans and seas in which marine mammals like whales and dolphins live may be getting noisier. Increased levels of shipping, seismic sounds from activities such as oil and gas exploration may be to blame. Ocean noise can travel over long distances and affect waters outside the control of individual nations. Given the fact that such noise is transboundary – and that some marine species relying on sound for orientation, communication and feeding migrate across hundreds of miles – this is an issue that calls for international regulation. High noise
              levels can cause disorientation, exclude cetaceans from habitats and even directly cause physical injury and death. Propeller-driven ships have become the most dominant human-induced low frequency noise
              . A new concern are rising concentrations of C02 which may be making sounds waves travel further and faster, as a recent study suggests,
              demonstrating the link between climate change and this conservation issue. The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) and some of its agreements have identified ocean noise as a potential threat to migratory species and support action to reduce its impact.

              Noise pollution in the oceans has been estimated to be increasing at a rate of around 6db per year mainly due to the increasing number of super cargo ships and expanding world trade. Sorry can’t find the link for this – read it in the Science section of the Guardian a couple of years go.

              • Cinny

                Ocean noise pollution, that would be horrid.

                And again the planet suffers because of humanity

                Thanks for the info Draco and Macro, really interesting

  3. Penny Bright 3

    POLITICAL SATIRE!

    Pullya Bennefitt is now famous
    😉

    (One way of getting around the effective mainstream media ‘censorship’?)

    https://www.google.co.nz/search?site=&source=hp&ei=MG6fWJ2yC4v_8QWK3abQDA&q=Anti-prison+march+heads+to+Mt+Eden+prison&oq=Anti-prison+march+heads+to+Mt+Eden+prison&gs_l=mobile-gws-hp.3..30i10k1.2360.28209.0.29049.50.49.1.0.0.0.348.10386.3j3j41j2.49.0….0…1.1.64.mobile-gws-hp..0.47.9768.0..0j0j0i131k1j0i10k1j0i30k1j0i22i30k1j33i160k1j33i21k1.YQHwJ8pV-os#imgrc=nLfkk-1H5QdxZM:

    (Authorised by 2017 Independent candidate Mt Albert by-election, 86A School Rd, Kingsland, Auckland 1021.)

  4. repateet 4

    Farrar on his blog is really into election mode.

    It must be tough work searching each day for the stories to feature – a labour MP sneezes in UK without putting his hand over his mouth becomes an implicit condemnation of left politicians in NZ.

    A company in Temuka taking on an employee in Temuka is an utter triumph for the government’s employment strategies. Someone arrested for jay-walking is massive credit to their law and order policy. Some Nat backbencher helps a constituent get their cat out of a tree is some sort of Nobel prize candidate.
    A green MP puts out rubbish in a plastic bag and they’re all the biggest hypocrites since hypocrisy was invented.

    Fortunately the polls are unlikely to show National at risk, imagine him then.
    Look forward however to anti Ardern stuff even though they are not standing. That’s the way it is.

    • tc 4.1

      National went into election mode once Blinglish replaced shonky.

      They know it’s an uphill battle but the war chest is deep with the shills well placed and briefed. DPF will be a lot busier with Cammy making himself hotter than usual to handle.

      So along with all the usual dirty tricks that are stock in trade national party standard operating procedure and a date announced its game on.

  5. greywarshark 5

    Reading group – E F Schumacher Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered.
    Sorry, sorry, I didn’t make the deadline though got most of it together with some that Weka needed to tidy up and insert. So will be all ready to present to next Sunday.

    But in the meantime I have looked up availability of book, I suggest you check your library on line and if available, put a hold on it for yourself, or ask them if they will obtain it on inter-loan for you (has a cost), as a number of NZ libraries have copies. (I think not every library is in inter-loan.) It can be bought to go on Kindle from Amazon about $10 don’t know whether that’s USA or NZ$, the site didn’t provide that information.

    It can be bought new as hard copy on Trademe but look for one that says available in NZ, Hamilton based, and should get delivery in week if pay immediately. Otherwise you may be waiting three weeks from overseas. There are pdfs available so you can start reading directly on your computer – presented clearly but without much formatting.
    http://www.colinalexander.info/files/pdfs/Schumacher.pdf
    http://www.ditext.com/schumacher/small/small.html

    The more I have read about E F Schumacher, the more sure I am that he is going to be a great and valuable read.

    • Olwyn 5.1

      I have a copy of the book from the local library, and will start reading it this week.

      • greywarshark 5.1.1

        Me too Olwyn. What a great guy, reviews from newbies to him say it is dry. Perhaps they suffer from Trump syndrome!

    • Tony Veitch (not the partner-bashing 3rd rate broadcaster 5.2

      I too have a library copy, and also downloaded the .pdf above so I can make notes, and am reading it. Most impressed so far – lots of food for thought!

  6. The Chairman 6

    Capuchin monkeys reject unequal pay

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKhAd0Tyny0

  7. joe90 7

    Tracking bullshit more recycled speculative bullshit put out by……
    /

    https://medium.com/@DFRLab/spread-it-on-reddit-3170a463e787#.qvkc7xfqu

  8. greywarshark 8

    How to do something good from your computer chair. Donate to Riverton environment centre. They need to buy the building to give them a secure home so they can invite us in to have some green tea and fairy cakes! Seriously folks, 11 days to go to raise $20,000 and they are almost to $10,000 so see if we can get them up there by tonight. All those rounded 0’s are so sexy and smooth Mmmmm.

    Pledge Me
    https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/5022-help-secure-the-future-of-the-riverton-environment-centre

  9. The Chairman 9

    Is Labour planning on entering this election with the same radical changes to KiwiSaver it had last election?

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/10014015/Labour-defends-KiwiSaver-plan

    • Bearded Git 9.1

      Firstly the proposals were not all that radical-take a look at the contributions they make over in Oz-and secondly there has to be a party that takes the retirement funding crisis seriously rather than the Nats “head in the sand” approach.

      • The Chairman 9.1.1

        In context, the changes are radical to what we currently have.

        Moreover, it planned to go far beyond retirement funding, substituting interest rates with Kiwisaver as a means to control inflation.

        Hence, there are concerns with the uncapped scope of the variable savings rate potentially pushing those already struggling into further hardship.

        Thus a number were hopeful the policy would be dropped.

  10. Tamati Tautuhi 10

    Labour, Greens and NZF have to go into this Election with a concise plan that they can govern constructively as a coalition Government anything whacky and most New Zealanders will stick with what we have got.

  11. Herodotus 11

    There are a continuation of stories regarding the record level of building permits “Auckland fell just short of the 10,000 market with 9930 consents, a 7 per cent increase on 2015. ” , this does create a huge amount of construction work – Some of which the industry is struggling to meet.
    “It’s no surprise to anyone Auckland is the worst affected, with about four to five years of backlog based on historical build rates.” & “The number of homes being built in 2016 – 29,970 nationally and 9930 in Auckland “.But what has not been talked about is the number of dwellings that have been demolished, should you travel thru Glen Innes you will see many high density houses being build on old State house sites. These new dwellings are recorded in the permit numbers below but this is a gross number, and no mention of the lower net number of dwellings that has been added to the Auckland housing stock, so the level of activity is producing a lower number of dwellings than is implied by the quoted permit data.
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11799310

  12. joe90 12

    Calamity, here we come.

    While much of the Northeast was forced to batten down the hatches this week against strong winds, heavy snow and other icy conditions, the usually frigid Arctic experienced the opposite – a period of unseasonably mild weather and high temperatures, for at least the third time this winter.

    A powerful low-pressure storm system in the northern Atlantic has helped carry warm air up to the frozen north this week, sending temperatures in the Arctic soaring. Data from the Danish Meteorological Institute suggests that, as of Thursday, temperatures in the area above 80 degrees north latitude were already more than 20 degrees warmer than the average temperature for this time of year. As a graphic from Climate Reanalyzer shows, the most unusually warm region is right over the North Pole.

    It’s at least the third such extreme winter-warming event for the Arctic this season – temperatures skyrocketed on two occasions in November and December as well. Similar incidents also occurred in December of 2015 and 2014.

    https://www.adn.com/arctic/2017/02/10/temperatures-in-the-arctic-are-skyrocketing-for-the-third-time-this-winter/

  13. Sacha 13

    Ex Police union boss Greg O’Connor confirmed as Labour candidate for Dunne’s Ohariu seat:
    http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/02/former-police-association-president-confirmed-as-labour-candidate.html

    Hopefully offended caucus members can keep their wailing and gnashing in-house this time.

    Post: https://thestandard.org.nz/greg-oconnor-selected-for-ohariu/

    • weka 13.1

      “Hopefully offended caucus members can keep their wailing and gnashing in-house this time.”

      Is that how you characterise Williams’ speaking out? Really?

  14. nzsage 14

    Yes another Trump news bite but if you have 10 mins to spare this is well worth watching.

    http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/magnitude-of-trump-adviser-flynn-s-russia-scandal-gains-clarity-874908739801

    • Anne 14.1

      My god! Thanks nzsage. I’ll bet my every possession this is true.

      • Tony Veitch (not the partner-bashing 3rd rate broadcaster 14.1.1

        It may be true, it may be fake news! Nine ‘anonymous’ informants. And the presenter kept repeating, as if it were proven fact, that Russia interfered in the US election. Lots of innuendo and assumptions.
        Or it just may have been a smart move by Putin to not retaliate – he really caught the US napping!
        On the other hand, I could easily credit any stupid thing Trump and Co. get up to.

  15. North 15

    I’d be favouring my ‘other hand’ if I were you Tony Veitch.

    Just the possibility also that Putin (not exclusive to him I grant) is a murderous KGB monster. That’s how TS ended up in measure a bugle for fucking Trump. HRC, Obama were horrendous etc etc etc……..thus (so indulgently and utterly counter-intuitively)…….”Trump can only be better…….”.

    When’s Archie ‘CV’ Bunker back ? He’s got a lot of explaining to do. Which of course he won’t do, Such is Child-Trump-Hubris.

  16. “A person who undertakes to grow a garden at home, by practices
    that will preserve rather than exploit the economy of the soil, has
    set his mind decisively against what is wrong with us. He is
    helping himself in a way that dignifies him and that is rich in
    meaning and pleasure. But he is doing something else that is
    more important: he is making vital contact with the soil and the
    weather on which his life depends. He will no longer look upon
    rain as an impediment of traffic, or upon the sun as a holiday
    decoration. And his sense of man’s dependence on the world will
    have grown precise enough, one would hope, to be politically
    clarifying and useful.”

    Wendell Berry – Think Little

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  • 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
    4 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
    4 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
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
    4 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
    6 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
    6 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
    20 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
    24 hours 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
    5 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
    7 days ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Government lowering building costs
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