Open mike 13/09/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, September 13th, 2019 - 123 comments
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123 comments on “Open mike 13/09/2019 ”

  1. vaping is to ciggy-smoking – as methadone is to heroin..

    the cure is as bad as the illness..

    (in methadones' case – the cure is worse – as it is more addictive/harder to kick than smack…)

    and in the case of vaping products – all big-tobacco/the nicotine pushers have done is clean up the additives in their product – and change the delivery vehicle/mode..

    (the 'smack' is still there..!..eh..?)

    i have viewed the rise of vaping nicotine with the same dismay as i have long viewed the peddling of methadone – as some kind of cure..

    it ain't…

    • Sabine 1.1

      i agree with the vaping but

      methadone was / is a lifesaver for quite a few people i know here in NZ that would have otherwise already been found dead in a ditch somewhere due to an overdose.

      but then, nothing in life is without consequences.

      I am still waiting however for someone to write the same stuff about alcohol then they do about cigarettes/vapes/methadone/weed etc etc etc etc. But then that is not gonna happen cause beer and wine and spirits are god given or something – never mind the many many death that happen every year due to people being under influence of booze.

      also just a gentle reminder to those who forgot.

      There is no cure for life. At the end of your life you die.

      • phillip ure 1.1.1

        @ sabine..

        and those people you knowwho were 'life-saved' by methadone..

        are no doubt still addicted to methadone..?

        'that's 'cos methadone is a life-sentence – as opposed to heroin addiction – which is usually transitory – and has an age cut-off point (when people tire of the lifestyle – decide to kick – usually late 30's..)

        methadone is for life – that's 'cos it is more addictive than heroin..

        and here is the kicker (or not)..the hardest part of attempting to kick methadone is the last bit – ppl cut down – but no difference – still addicted..can't kick it..

        that explains that early morning rush of grey-haired people @ pharmacies – these are ppl who signed up to the methadone-bullshit-'cure' way back when their hair had not a glimmer of grey..

        that is what a (state-sanctioned/encouraged) life-long addiction looks like – on the hoof..

        another interesting factoid re heroin/methadone..

        is that cold-turkey withdrawals from heroin (wot i did) feel like a form of living death – but they do not kill you..

        cold-turkey withdrawals from methadone – can kill you..

        i hope i have managed to make the case the cure is worse than the illness it purports to treat..

        and this awareness of the false-message in methadone – as some sort of 'cure' – tempers my view of this fiendishly clever re-packaging/re-marketing – to the young (under the guise of a 'cure) – of their product – by big-tobacco..

        clever devils – aren't they..?

        • Sabine 1.1.1.1

          I am gonna be real polite and put it into plain english.

          IF you want to be accurate:

          They are still addicted to Heroin, Meth, Cocaine ………..

          and

          methadone is MEDICATION that keeps them of that sauce that would years ago have killed them years ago and it keeps them on that thin line that allows them to live an almost normal life.

          btw, going cold turkey on many medications can kill you. Damn, that life/Living thing is a bitch, ey, it always ends in death.

          • phillip ure 1.1.1.1.1

            @ sabine..

            well…i guess that is one way of looking at it…as medication for life..

            (i call that lifelong addiction..that is worse than the illness..)

            but i wd also note that cocaine was the easiest to kick of all things i have kicked..

            so putting someone on a life-long addiction to methadone – 'cos they are using a bit of coke..?

            that is utter fucken madness..

            same with meth – harder to kick than coke – but roughly in the same family (stimulants)

            so yr cure for that is a lifelong addiction to a narcotic..?..

            that also is fucken madness – writ large..

            which brings us to heroin – where i have already detailed – is less of an evil/less addictive..than methadone…

            so yr cure for that is a drug harder to kick…and for life..?

            more utter fucken madness..

            • OnceWasTim 1.1.1.1.1.1

              Well they don't call it liquid handcuffs for nothing – and that's all before we get into patients diverting so that they can buy a bit of that other tooth rot 'P'.

              I guess on the positive side, the trite old "harm reduction" mantra does have some value: less chemist shops being knocked over or held up and the crimes associated with it all are usually kept within (except of course those driving at break neck speeds in order to hook up with the carpark diverters)

              You're not an ex-smoker btw are you Phil? Nothing worse than the son of a preacher man trying to attract a flock of angels.

              • ex tobacco and crack-cocaine smoker – current pot smoker..

                does that discount my opinions somehow..?

                • not at all. I'm just pleased to see you handling it all – even though I only know you in passing from decades ago. I've just learned personally that it's best to leave the preaching to the likes of Ross Bell who seems to me to be nobody's fool from what I can see

                  We've had decades of fucked drug policy in this country over years and years and fucking years – as I think I've seen you describe accuratelyin the past. We've learned nothing, and we are where we are now with things at there worst.

                  We've shut down just about every rehab facility that ever did any good over the years, and those that remain either really struggle, or are for the wealthy. In the early years, we cracked down on opium. Then we cracked down on smack – so 'homebake' became a problem.

                  I'm fully aware that every clamp down that's occurred has brought about something worse till we are where we're at today – i.e. a fucking brain frier 'P' epidemic (as bad if not worse than glue or petrol sniffers) with entirely inadequate rehab facilities to cope with it.- Did you know that they're actually giving methadone to P Freaks as some sort of solution?)

                  I'm only thankful I never succumbed to the worst of it – but as you know, you can't choose your rellies – even if you have had to clean up the fucking mess afterwards (like the lawyers bills, disposing of the sawn off shotguns, and then nursing them through HepC and their liver cancer until they kark it). The depressing thing is that there's another lot on the way that I've learned to steer well away from.

                  I think it's probably just all going to have to play out – as is the problem with piss (I live next door to 3 lots of Uni students with all the Fri and Sat nite preloading, and watching them stand in the lounge window with a P pipe in their gobs as though they're invincible and no-one can see them).

                  Enuff of the rave tho' eh?

    • marty mars 1.2

      yep vaping is the biggest load of bullshit out – people have been sucked in severely and the cost will be high. But hey at least no one will have a ciggie ffs

      Auckland secondary school principals are backing the government's plan to ban most vape flavours and say vaping is reaching epidemic levels among their students.

      They warn that without firm action New Zealand will have a new generation of people addicted to nicotine.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/115765872/vaping-a-serious-problem-in-some-auckland-schools–principals

      • The Al1en 1.2.1

        So the answer for existing smokers isn't the safer nicotine delivery vaping offers and the high success rates of people quitting altogether through using it, but to stick with the fags?

        • phillip ure 1.2.1.1

          so you have a source for yr claim of this 'high success rate in quitting altogether' using vaping..?

          or is that just an orifice-pluck from you..?

          or you just parroting the spin/bullshit big-tobacco has used – to much/such success/effect..?

          which of those three..?

          ('im picking three linking to two..eh..?..)

          • The Al1en 1.2.1.1.1

            Come on Phil, orifice plucks are so last time before you were banned, so let's stick to less cliche and more big boy words. You know me by now. I wouldn't state it if I couldn't back it up.

            What has big tobacco got to do with the growth of our local vape market? From a stuff report I read dated August 2018, the big players hadn't yet entered the scene here.

            Im at work, on a tablet, so no links. You can, of course, google it if you're able.

            • phillip ure 1.2.1.1.1.1

              i must bend the knee to the extensive research you do to back up yr case –

              a stuff report (heh..!..in itself..!..) from over a year ago..?

              right – ho..!

              carry-on..!

              heh..!

              • The Al1en

                Highlighting how big tobacco weren't big players in the kiwi vape market 1year ago, totally destroying your argument. wink

                • Alice Tectonite

                  Things have changed since then, Philip Morris is well involved in vape pushing now (particularly targeting those living in poverty).

                  See for example RNZ's recent smoke and mirrors series of articles.

                  • The Al1en

                    Indeed, and targeting the poor with expensive alternatives to smoking ciggies is wrong, especially when for $35 someone can get a starter kit, usb charger cord and a free liquid.

                • oh..!..it's 'destroyed'..

                  best you email the minister telling her no need for this legislation..eh..?

                  just..'cos'…eh..?

                  • The Al1en

                    Your argument how big tobacco just cleaned up their product and changed the delivery method, even though it was being done locally without their input, before they entered the market, yeah, totally destroyed. Lol

                    Im okay with more regulation, though not sure flavours should be banned in an adult product because kids could use them illegally. What next? No black current in my cider? Lime in my lager? Coke with my vodka?

                    • i understand auckland is one of the most expensive cities in the world to buy coke..

                      it does go well with vodka tho'..

                      [lprent: Please enter your handle your handle again – it appears you have lost at least part of your cookies (I enjoyed writing that – pleasant and without any sarcasm). ]

        • marty mars 1.2.1.2

          might be your answer I spose

          follow the money and that will tell you all you need to know

          • The Al1en 1.2.1.2.1

            For the benefit of good faith debate, you could respond to the point, and state why smokers shouldn't choose the safer option.

            • marty mars 1.2.1.2.1.1

              most vapers I know still smoke ciggies

              big smoke have just introduced a more socially acceptable nicotine delivery device – not sure why the ugly decaying pictures on ciggie packets aren't on vape stuff.

              personally I don't really care if adults smoke themselves silly apart from the addiction to a toxic substance issue which I would support recovery from 110%n including using my tax dollars to do it – adults are adults. But kids I do care about and the marketing of this to them is big time off – non smokers are vaping now, young non smokers are chucking nicotine in and getting addicted cos that is the plan.
              Hopefully that is good faith enough for you lol

              • The Al1en

                Most vapers I know don't smoke fags anymore, a lot of them don't even have nicotine in their juice anymore, so weaned of the drug, just not the habit. The only person I know who still smokes despite having a vape supplied by the dub, has lung cancer and just won't stop.

                I don't doubt that the tobacco companies are now getting involved and going after their share of the market, but it's incorrect to say they have been the driving force behind the uptake of vaping in NZ til this point. The local merchants have been doing that for themselves for a few years without funding, support or influence of big tobacco.

                The advice given by the medics is if you didn't smoke, don't start vaping, and I agree. I certainly don't want to see kids do it, like I don't like them drinking or doing other drugs like weed. It's r18 in the shops for a reason so the onus is on the retailer to observe the rules. It's regulated like booze, and as kids still drink illegally, Some will vape.

                And yeah, much better, ta.

                • marty mars

                  sure vape away with no nicotine I believe you lol – up there with tobacco companies aren't involved with the rise of vaping – fantasy my naive friend

                  like I said vape away – hope you aren't involved in pushing the products though cos that would be sad

                  • The Al1en

                    Not me, I suck that nicotine down at 12mg a go, but people do go with just the juice. Inclined ex smokers like to wean themselves off, reducing the content as they go. I guess the vendors wouldn't sell it if no one bought it.

                    Again, I didn’t say tobacco companies aren’t pushing it, I stated their involvement, exactly that above. My point of difference is they didn’t lead the market here, locals did, before nicotine was even allowed to be sold.

                    I push it to every smoker I meet.

                    • oh..!..so we are talking to an active addict..

                      (one defending his/her 'precious'..)

                      i now understand yr (illogical but clearly deeply-felt) defence of yr 'precious'..

                      and if i cd just do a fact-check for you here..

                      you could be sticking it up yr arse in a suppository –

                      you are still an addict..

                      all you have changed is yr method of delivery of yr 'precious'..eh..?

                      hope you manage to kick it sometime..

                      and if it helps at all/f.w.i.w. – i used weak marijuana as my 'vape'/crutch to kick tobacco..

                      each time an urge to smoke – i wd take a puff on a weak joint – and the smoke urge wd pass..

                      yes..there was some willpower involved – but compared to my other experiences in that area – like with heroin – nowhere near as bad (tobacco 2/10 – heroin 9/10)..and relatively easy to handle/manage..

                      the secret is no lapsing – once you stop -that is it…

                      good luck..!

                    • The Al1en

                      No secret I vape, no doubting I'm addicted to nicotine, so what? Doesn't disqualify anything I've said in reply to you here today.

                      Despite your attempt to ridicule and patronise the messenger, I'm well above that. The reality is that Vaping instead of smoking has been hugely beneficial to my health. The elimination of toxic tars and chemicals like arsenic is worth the admission price alone. As the doctors state, anything going into your lungs is a bad thing, and for smokers, making the change to vaping is beneficial. It's why you claim to vape instead of smoke isn't it? Lol

                      Also I can go longer without a hit using a vape than I ever could with a fag, so that's a bonus, too. Could be the ingestion method or it could be a break in the old habit, who knows? But it's okay.

                      I wont, for obvious reasons, take your advice, but that's all moot. I'm quite happy with my smok stik x8 and vanilla butterscotch ice cream, ta.

                    • 'Despite your attempt to ridicule and patronise the messenger, I'm well above that. '

                      now that is funny – as yr record of communicating with me here – shows built-in personal insults as a common factor..

                      heh..!

                      and..

                      'Also I can go longer without a hit using a vape than I ever could with a fag, so that's a bonus, too. Could be the ingestion method'..

                      f.f.s..!..are you that fucken unself-aware..

                      you don't want a smoke – 'cos you have already had yr hit of yr 'precious'..

                      nothing else..!

                      and..

                      it is so heartening – to hear how much you love yr precious..

                      betcha you don't luv it as muh as i luvved the syringe full of heroin and cocaine..(ice-cream optional)

                      that i used to use to start my day..eh..?

                    • The Al1en

                      This whole thread is full of you reacting badly to an opposing view and then attempting to play the man with immature rhetoric. I have, for pretty much the whole exchange, kept that out of play.

                      Don't get me wrong, I still find it amusing and enjoy watching you revert to type, but I gain more from not joining in and setting a low bar.

                      Anything in the thread you want to discuss, I'm open to it smiley

    • The Al1en 1.3

      Bit hypocritical to slam vaping nicotine when you do it with weed, no?

      • phillip ure 1.3.1

        to answer this i feel i need to explain to you the differences between tobacco and cannabis..to re-litigate that especially for you..

        and really – i can't be fucked..eh..?..do yr own bloody research..or continue with yer ignorances – yr call…

        and no..i have no problem with ciggy-smokers using vaping to be consuming a slightly cleaner product..but that's about it..it ain't no cure..eh..?..they are still addicted to nicotine..do you really think they are not..?

        and i take it you have no issues with big-tobacco re-packing their addictive product – flavouring it – and marketing it to a new generation – that they are hoping to (and succeeding in)..getting them addicted too..?

        are you listening to yrslf..?

        • marty mars 1.3.1.1

          why bother? – some people just refuse to think sometimes

        • phillip ure 1.3.1.2

          and as an aside to all this..

          for those keeping score – this is two in trumps' favour – (as opposed to the mountain against the orange ball of pus..)

          namely – (unlike his predecessor – the nobel peace prize winner) – he hasn't invaded anyone (yet)..

          and now he has cut big-tobacco off at the pass…

          credit where credit is due..eh..?

            • phillip ure 1.3.1.2.1.1

              my understanding is that melania has been behind this one…(she stood next to big ball of pus in oval office when he announced this – unusual in itself..)

              she is (understandably) concerned about young barron – and his friends..

              getting hooked on this latest iteration of big-tobacco..

              (and i hafta say – goodonher..!..

              once again – credit where credit is due..)

          • bwaghorn 1.3.1.2.2

            Its probably his mates in big tobacco getting him to ban the opposition!!!

            20 000 plus gun deaths a year in the states and you think the cunt cares about a few vapers.

            • greywarshark 1.3.1.2.2.1

              Edit
              He's been out in the sun too long i think. Forgets things. Thinks he is married to someone called Melanoma.

              And he follows the theme of smoke and mirrors. Today it might be vaping smoke, tomorrow it may be heading off into the west toting a gun and following a trail – of blood spots. It’s all a giant action movie with him at the centre, like Arnie without the acumen. He won’t know what ‘acumen’ means but will assume it’s short for Action Men. Anyway doesn’t matter, he has some handy flunky to tell him what he wants to know, and only that.

              He’s living out the yank version of Downton Abbey. It’s very enjoyable for light watching with the mind in neutral and enjoying the scenery and story.

            • The Al1en 1.3.1.2.2.2

              That would be my guess, but let's remember those vaping deaths in the states, apparently 5 out of 6 were using weed to vape in home made solutions. Another cause was vitamin e, an oil, which shouldn't ever go in the lungs.

              Nothing to do with nicotine or flavours.

            • phillip ure 1.3.1.2.2.3

              @ waghorn…

              'Its probably his mates in big tobacco getting him to ban the opposition!!!'

              you seem to be missing the point here – in rather a large way/by a country-mile..

              ..it is big-tobacco that is the trojan-horse in this gig..

              they are the ones pushing the 'cure' of vaping – as their new tool of/for delivery – of their addictive product..

              kinda counter-intuitive of/for them to want it banned..

              ..donchathink…?

              • The Al1en

                Considering profit on tobacco is higher than vape liquids, falling numbers of smokers, a lot of people use vaping as a quit tool as recommended by the medical profession, and if vapes are banned or severely restricted it could easily push some back to cigarettes, it's quite plausible to think the companies, while trying to up their bottom line despite falling sales in the old market, would push to kill the new one at the same time.

                • marty mars

                  that's it – it is all about profit – if people die from the product and therefore cannot generate profit the companies create new markets for existing products and new ones – the video I posted earlier describes it – their inroads to impoverished nations and suffering people to get them addicted so they can make more profit – 101 marketing really

              • bwaghorn

                A quick google told me that the usa grows over 500 million pounds of baccy a year . That's a huge industry gone if everyone turned to factory made syrup for their vape.

                Follow the money .

                I do agree though that vaping is not much better than smoking if the vape still has addictive substances in it .

                • marty mars

                  look at the video I put up earlier – they make profit by selling to new markets and getting those people addicted – this compensates them for the people dying from their products and not buying the products anymore cos they are dead

            • WeTheBleeple 1.3.1.2.2.4

              Exactly bwaghorn. Trump's 'concern' is merely posturing. He cares not one jot for the American public as can be deduced from the myriad of decisions he makes. I need no references for this as anyone can find what an inhuman cretin he is on a daily basis. Big tobacco will be in his ear. Once the vape industry slip him some millions he'll fold.

              Vaping isn't ideal but it is better than smoking: Financially, physically, socially… It rankles me big tobacco has leapt on board but they were always going to after earlier moves to keep vaping illegal failed.

              What a spokesperson the tobacco giants have aye. Trump, most untrustworthy human on the planet today.

              • what don't you understand about this – bleepie -?

                your fevered imaginings to one side..it is big-tobacco who has been targeted here..

                what are you finding so difficult to comprehend about that..?

                • The Al1en

                  Because if vaping is totally banned the big companies can still sell tobacco and their competitors in the vape market can't.

                  • who has even mentioned in passing 'totally banning vaping'..

                    you are tilting at imaginary windmills..

                    you are bordering on hysterical..

                    [lprent: Please enter your handle again – it appears you have lost at least part of your cookies (I enjoyed repeating that yet again). ]

                    • The Al1en

                      If "lost at least part of your cookies" is a euphemism, I can only applaud your creativity lol

                    • lprent []

                      When you’re entering the name, ’email-address’ and ‘website’ for a non-logged in comment on this site – it stores the details in a cookie on your computer. I only store that on the server against any comment you leave along with originating IP, and browser details.

                      When you pick up a page from the server and it arrives on your browser, it will automatically fill in the details using magic from javascript if it has them from whatever cookies you made on your last comment. This means you don’t have to fill them in. I could tell you about the joys of dealing with users who can’t manage to type in their own handle 100 times during the day. Indeed! I could describe that at length.

                      However suffice it to say that humans are monkeys and couldn’t be systematic if you paid them to be – ask any employer. They will always innovate and when you’re running a carefully planned systems, then innovation is the system (and site) killer.

                      But sometimes the cookies on the client machine get corrupted. Most often this is from the commentator being a little enthusiastic or on a slower or busy computer. So they manage to type in the first part of a comment before the cookie gets written into the field and the focus jumps to the comment field.

                      The computer, being about as stupid than the common cold virus and having the instincts of a sloth hunting (and not a innovative monkey), ignores this and send the comment to the server whatever garbage it got. The server will package it into a cookie and send it back to the client computer with the updated page. It does this all automatically because being a monkey I like the odd grooming and I hate helping you with everything.

                      Your client computer will then reproduce it over and over again like a bad counterfeiting operation producing identical bills until you notice that your handle is now something like “Well you obnoxious dickhmy handle”. Which is why computers are really good at generating computer viruses by the trillions and humans always innovate the human viruses to death in a very short time (geological time == 1 century is a very short time).

                      Mods can clean it up on this side if we notice and can be bothered. As the new user “Well you obnoxious dickhmy handle” you will be sent to auto-moderation as a first time user, and a moderator has to set your comment free. Which a lot of work

                      So that is what gives “…lost at least part of your cookies”. It wasn’t a euphemism. More of a sarcastic joke that is self-evident to any one who deals with websites – because of the other meaning of losing your cookies (the origin of which I must look up some time).

                      Now if this was incognito, they’d probably remind you nicely. Personally, after seeing this for a decade I prefer to make it a memorable educational experience (ie slightly sadistic). Others just add you to the rather large trash pile of comments that either the users or mods can’t be bothered dealing with. You can see how large it is getting :-

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                      Here is something about cookies

                    • Incognito []

                      That was very educational and I also learned that I am more of a fudge than a cookie 😉

                    • The Al1en

                      you are bordering on hysterical..

                      Not something that's ever been laid at my front door before, or something I feel a need to wilfully ignore answering in order to save face, unlike some

                      https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-13-09-2019/#comment-1654615

                      So with safety of young people being your driver de jour, you'll no doubt be voting no in 2020 in case kids start smoking weed. Or don't you care about their fragile, developing brains?

                    • The Al1en

                      I appreciate your detailed explanation for my sarcy witticism.

                    • lprent

                      I also learned that I am more of a fudge than a cookie

                      Anything apart from kludge is usually ok. Those things always come around and eventually bite you in the arse.

                • WeTheBleeple

                  I don't lack comprehension, it is you on a bandwagon. We're all aware big tobacco now has it's hand in, and they are marketing to whomever they possibly can. Facts are thin on the ground you keep calling out Alien for being an addict rather than acknowledging the vast difference between the dangers of a cigarette vs vape addiction. 'My precious' – get a grip – you come across as a child.

                  And you aint my friend so don't assume you can distort my name to a nickname. If you need to abbreviate fair enough, that'd be WTB.

                  • what is the 'bandwagon' i am on..?

                    and you do lack basic comprehension – 'cos you think big-tobacco wants to ban vaping..(!)..that just ain't true..

                    'we're all aware'…(best you tell the allen)..and dooes that at all contradict yr claims (in yr last breath) that big tobac want it banned..?

                    you are making absolutely no sense..

                    and yeah..me as ex-heroin etc addict..is giving allen a hard time for being addicted to tobacco..?

                    once again – you make absolutely no sense (but at least you demonstrate a certain consistancy – i s'pose..)

                    and re yr name-thing..?

                    aren't you being a bit 'precious'..?

                    [lprent: Please enter your handle again – it appears you have lost at least part of your cookies (I getting tired of having to repeat that yet again). ]

        • The Al1en 1.3.1.3

          For someone telling me to research you don't half come out with some guff.

          Slightly cleaner product: really? You have compared the chemicals in tobacco and fags to what's in an e juice? Love to see that data sheet.

          But as you say, you don't have a problem with vapers doing their thing, so just a bit of a morning pontificate to get you going?

          Again the big tobacco thing. Adults like flavours too, and we're using them here way before nicotine was permitted. Nothing to do with the major industry players back then. Vapers aren't responsible for the big companies targeting kids, though an argument could be made how illegal pot smokers, for example, have a role to play in gang crime and other criminality.

          • phillip ure 1.3.1.3.1

            see the addict twist – see the addict turn..

            see the addict writhe..

            all in protection of their 'precious'…

            • The Al1en 1.3.1.3.1.1

              And that's the level of debate you've acheived?

              Not that you could, but don't ever change lol

              • i think i'll take mms' advice – and stop bothering..

                yr usefulness as a foil is done..

                you may stand down..

                • The Al1en

                  The last bastion of the out argued. Good stuff lol

                • gsays

                  I was under the impression that it was the ingesting of burning vegetable matter (and additives in the case of tailor made) that caused the myriad cancers. As opposed to the nicotine, which is the hook that keeps you going back to the durries.

                  Therefore, yes they are still addicted to nicotine, but consume it in a 'healthier' form.

                  Sure tobacco companies keep making a profit, but hey, so are arms makers, oil companies and booze companies.

                  • marty mars

                    "Sure tobacco companies keep making a profit, but hey, so are arms makers, oil companies and booze companies"

                    lol – it isn't a good thing you know, for most people

                  • what a refreshing air of insousciance you have towards young ppl getting hooked on nicotine – using liquid/flavoured vaping products..

                    (which is what is being targeted – nobody is coming to rip allens' vape from his fevered/clutching/addicted fingers..

                    his 'precious' is safe..

                    this banning is all about helping prevent another generation being in the thrall of big-tobacco..

                    • The Al1en

                      So with safety of young people being your driver de jour, you'll no doubt be voting no in 2020 in case kids start smoking weed. Or don't you care about their fragile, developing brains?

                    • gsays

                      C'mon Phil, as we both know, there hasn't been a drug deal where both parties weren't willing participants. Be it nicotine, alcohol, pot, smack….

                      As you also know, prohibition doesn't work.

                      Don't quite know how I got here, but my reckon is that vaping is a less harmful way of getting yr nicotine fix.

                  • WeTheBleeple

                    It's some derivative of vitamin E that's caused the (vaping) issues to my understanding.

                    • that's good news – that you have found the source of the ''ssues' to yr 'understanding'..

                      so best you lay off the vitamin e..eh..?

                      [lprent: Please enter your handle again – it appears you have lost at least part of your cookies (and I’m starting to mean that in a grimmer tone.). ]

  2. weka 2

    So the council think the building is safe and construction can carry on, and Worksafe have closed the site until it is made safe?

    https://twitter.com/nzherald/status/1171564021230817281

    • Andre 2.1

      Not sure how you got that conclusion from the article. Seems pretty clear both the council and Worksafe have grounds and responsibility to shut the site down until it's made safe. It appears both did act to shut it, and both will have to be satisfied before work restarts.

      Worksafe and council have different, but overlapping, priorities and responsibilities.

      Worksafe's central responsibility is ensuring people doing a job are safe – in this case there was a serious risk of the house collapsing onto those working underneath it. That the whole lot could collapse onto the neighbours is kinda peripheral to their core responsibility, but still within Worksafe's authority.

      Council's central responsibility is ensuring the resulting building meets standards required for the users, and doesn't unacceptably affect anyone else. That no consent was sought, no info filed with council, there was a genuine risk of the whole lot collapsing onto the neighbours etc falls within council's core responsibilities. That the workers underneath were at serious risk of getting splattered is kinda peripheral to council's core responsibility, but still within their authority.

      • weka 2.1.1

        Like Lynn I thought the article confusing. Specifically the timelines eg earlier the council response that seemed to be saying it was ok so long as the engineer was supervising, but Worksafe said no and shut it down. I get the different areas of responsibility, just couldn't see how why the overlaps weren't kicking in.

        • Graeme 2.1.1.1

          The article is certainly confusing, but in the situation not surprising. Council say they are investigating

          Auckland Council manager of regulatory compliance Steve Pearce said it had also received two complaints.

          "We inspected the site on Monday and Tuesday [last week] and found building work under way without building and resource consent. We sought advice from structural engineers, who inspected the site and advised that it wasn't safe," he said.

          "As a result, we have issued a dangerous building notice requiring the site be fenced off and to undertake work to make the building safe."

          So there will be various versions of what went on and everyone will be rather careful what they say, or they are saying nothing. Whole thing looks very cavalier with little regard to Building Act and RMA.

          I can understand WorkSafe getting in first if the initial complaint was from a safety angle, Councils get a bit inundated with complaints on this angle as lprent says below as there's alway going to be someone pissed off, but WorkSafe tend to be pretty on to it if there's danger to life and limb.

          Is consent information, Building Act and RMA, publicly available in Auckland? In QLDC land we have all this public and pretty much real time, so it's all out there down to internal email within council. This has a moderating effect all around and we see very little illegal work, and what does occur gets shutdown very quickly. Anyone can look up a building or resource consent and see what is going on, or should be going on.

          • weka 2.1.1.1.1

            First contact with council was 27 August. While I appreciate what Lynn is saying re noise and the number of complaints, it would take council 2 mins to look up and see there are no consents on the books for the property.

          • weka 2.1.1.1.2

            Interesting about QLDC and transparency. I wonder how many other councils do that.

    • lprent 2.2

      I read that the other day. The article appeared to be pretty confused.

      As far as I can see the council has granted a consent (??) but possibly not for the scale of work being undertaken. Most of the article is about neighbours trying to get someone to look at noise and a next door neighbour to look at a possible danger to her house.

      What you have to remember is that almost all construction projects in housing or mixed areas in Auckland have complaints from neighbours. We had more than 6 months as the Ministry of Post had a large upstairs area added to the commercial building next door. Bloody noisy and irritating – especially when editing sound.

      So you have different groups you can call.

      1. Noise control – but they’d look at the times and levels under the consent.
      2. Council – but you’d have to refer it directly to the conditions of the consent and if they’re exceeding it.
      3. Finally worksafe – which just looks at safety – which does look like an issue based on those pictures. They usually have a pretty immediate presence if you point to a danger.

      I’m pretty sure that the building inspectors will be around as well one way or another.

      • weka 2.2.1

        Might be the noise, but if I were the neighbours I'd be nervous too esp if they knew there were no consents in play.

  3. greywarshark 3

    Edit
    Radionz site opens up with Closed Until Further Notice – relating to Christchurch matters.

    News item – New visas to help Christchurch mosque attack widows rejected by Cabinet.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/2018712489/closed-until-further-notice-a-life-on-hold-after-the-mosque-attacks

    About 25 women, made widows by the Christchurch mosque attacks, have been left with no other family to support them permanently in New Zealand. They have leaned heavily on parents and siblings, who have dropped everything to relocate to New Zealand. Now many want to stay here to help long term, but they fall outside special visa categories. Conan Young has been speaking to those trying to rebuild their lives.

    This is the end of me speaking up for support for Labour. They are munted. In life, it seems to me, a person who wants to have a good life in a good society has to find balance between idealism and pragmatism. The labour movement seems to have lost that balance, and has slid to pragmatism and materialism; ideals and principles are to be flexible.

    The high sounding comments after the debacle and tragedy in Christchurch were just an emotional tide. Now the tide has flowed out, and the compassion and principles of Labour have dried up as the 10second sound bite has stretched thin and band-aids have been applied, and now the spotlight has shifted.

    Labour has stayed at a distance from Communism as practised rather than theorised. But democratic socialistic it isn't and Marx and Engels would classify it as bourgeois.*

    bourgeois – adjective: bourgeois
    1. belonging to or characteristic of the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes.

    "a rich, bored, bourgeois family"
    synonyms:middle-class, property-owning, propertied,

    .
    This from The Communist Manifesto by K Marx and F Engels.

    "Constant revolutionising of production,
    uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions,
    everlasting uncertainty and agitation,
    distinguish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones.

    All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air".

    • greywarshark 3.1

      Interesting and thoughtful and unhappy Chris Trotter at Bowalley Road.

      https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-movement-that-no-longer-moves.html

      • JohnP 3.1.1

        Yikes, the comment about 'the native working poor' underneath that post is, well, interesting.

        • greywarshark 3.1.1.1

          I think you are in reaction mode; the native working poor seems to refer to the people who were poor but aspirational before the wage-cutting immigrant and working student group came in their large numbers. The writer seems reactive too, having a go at anything that might seem to advance social aspirations and any Party that has such airy-fairy ideas.

    • Treetop 3.2

      Lees Galloway is going to be faced with having to make a decision with each person who does not have permanent support. I would like to see some common sense and allow up to two support people be given permanent residence.

      It might be the Kiwi way to paint a mural or hold a candle vigil, but for the people directly affected they require ongoing support from close family to gradually heal (as much as they can) having had their life shattered. It is the one thing that no one other than family can do.

  4. Agora 4

    Johnson’s advice to Queen was unlawful, Scottish judges rule

    "Parliament will be recalled if the UK’s top court upholds a Scottish court’s explosive ruling that Boris Johnson gave the Queen unlawful advice, the government has promised.

    Downing Street was forced to make the pledge after outrage among Conservatives when a senior minister and an official at No 10 cast doubt on the impartiality of Scottish judges.

    A constitutional crisis provoked by the prorogation of parliament will come to a head in the Supreme Court on Tuesday after diametrically opposed rulings from judges in England and Scotland."

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/scottish-court-rules-parliament-suspension-unlawful-xdzj2c6kkJohnson’s advice to Queen was unlawful, Scottish judges rule

  5. greywarshark 5

    Are Christchurch mosque attack widows being left to grapple with the stone-cold policies bereft of humanity that the NZ superior moneyed class bestows on mothers and poor families?

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/2018711947/solo-mums-on-benefits-having-to-decide-between-food-and-fuel

  6. Agora 6

    A summary of the judgement said: 'The Inner House of the Court of Session has ruled that the Prime Minister's advice to HM the Queen that the United Kingdom Parliament should be prorogued from a day between 9 and 12 September until 14 October was unlawful because it had the purpose of stymying Parliament.

    'All three first division judges have decided that the PM's advice to the HM the Queen is justiciable, that it was motivated by the improper purpose of stymying parliament and that it, and what has followed from it, is unlawful.

    'The court will accordingly make an order declaring that the prime minister's advice to HM the Queen and the prorogation which followed thereon was unlawful and is thus null and of no effect.'

    At the hearing, Judge Lord Carloway told the court: 'We are of the opinion that the advice given by the Government to her majesty the Queen to prorogue parliament was unlawful and that the prorogation itself was unlawful.'

    A UK Government spokesman said: 'We are disappointed by today's decision, and will appeal to the UK Supreme Court.

    'The UK Government needs to bring forward a strong domestic legislative agenda. Proroguing Parliament is the legal and necessary way of delivering this.'

    The case is now set for the Supreme Court in London where it is expected to be heard alongside a similar case brought by campaigner Gina Miller.'All three first division judges have decided that the PM's advice to the HM the Queen is justiciable, that it was motivated by the improper purpose of stymying parliament and that it, and what has followed from it, is unlawful.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7452433/No10-accused-questioning-impartiality-judges-prorogation-case.html

  7. greywarshark 7

    The pot is simmering. But what is being cooked? Will the Supreme Court judges find that some technically manufactured faux-fare has been cooked-up?

    • Treetop 7.1

      Could this end up in the Privy Council?

      Who could have invisioned Brexit being so complicated and time consuming because of individual political parties wanting to have the power and control of the House of Commons.

      It is not a given either that a second referendum will not vote to stay in the EU.

      I am finding it hard to pick who the contenders for PM are and which political party might be able to actually function without imploding to resolve Brexit issues.

  8. cleangreen 8

    Some very good news yesterday though? Our NGO CEAC has fought for recognition in our region for Community wellbeing and Government is enshrining it in law now finally.

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1909/S00163/ceac-support-wellbeing-to-be-enshrined-in-law.htm

    CEAC support “Wellbeing to be enshrined in law”
    Thursday, 12 September 2019, 9:15 am
    Press Release: Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre
    11/9/19
    Yesterday Hon Grant Robertson Minister of Finance issued a welcome ‘clear directive’ in the press to ensure every Government considers the wellbeing of New Zealanders when creating future budgets.
    QUOTE; Government’ to ensure every Government considers the wellbeing of New Zealanders when creating future budgets.
    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1909/S00080/wellbeing-to-be-enshrined-in-law.htm
    QUOTE:
    Legislation has been introduced in Parliament today to ensure every Government considers the wellbeing of New Zealanders when creating future budgets.
    Finance Minister Grant Robertson says the successful delivery of the Wellbeing Budget this year placed wellbeing at the heart of the Government’s policy-making.

  9. Pat 9

    "The thing that has been troubling me is that there's been a lot of conversation by government MPs as to keeping quiet to respect the privacy of the victim but it's like the victim was pushed away by the Labour Party when they approached the Labour Party with their complaints and it's like had the National Party not actually been willing to take this on then I don't think that it would be in the news right now," he said.

    "That's a pretty hard thing that the justice has come from almost the National Party."

    WTF?

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/398684/labour-youth-wing-member-heartbroken-over-handling-of-allegations

    • cleangreen 9.1

      Best now that labour concentrate on the new “community well being Act instead, now that they slaved over almost two years to bring us in NZ in future to fully promote this worthy policy;

      quote; ‘policy, where we want to consider the well being of our environment, people and communities’.?

      http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1909/S00080/wellbeing-to-be-enshrined-in-law.htm

      That new ‘enshrined Act’ will ensure we all are treated with dignity and respect?

      • greywarshark 9.1.1

        The old vehicle may still get us where we want to go, as long as its patched up and the engine serviced with oil, water and whatever fuel it needs. But it must have constant watching, servicing and checking of all parts including steering, and ensuring that no political t.rrors put a virtual b.m. under it!

  10. Agora 10

    A 400 year old Greenland shark was described as the oldest vertebrate animal but as "the best candidate for the longest living vertebrate animal” does not have a cultural concept of war.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/11/400-year-old-greenland-shark-is-the-oldest-vertebrate-animal

    [lprent: Fixed the link so that I could read it. ]

    • lprent 10.1

      Personally I'd say that culture in a large part depends on co-existence. From your link..

      Grey, plump and growing to lengths of around five metres, the Greenland shark is one of the world’s largest carnivores. With a reported growth rate of less than one centimetre a year, they were already thought to be long-lived creatures, but just how long they lived for was something of a mystery.

      From wikipedia

      The Greenland shark is an apex predator and mostly eats dolphins. It has never been observed hunting.[10] Recorded fish prey have included smaller sharks, skates, eels, herring, capelin, Arctic char, cod, rosefish, sculpins, lumpfish, wolffish, and flounder.[7]

      They do cluster – for warmth. Apparently they don't prefer it

      During the winter, the sharks congregate in the shallows (up to 80° north) for warmth but migrate separately in summer to the deeps or even farther south.

      And of course there is procreation and family..

      As recently as 1957, females were found not to deposit eggs in the bottom mud, but retain the developing embryos within their bodies so they are born alive after an undetermined gestation period (a process known as ovoviviparity). About 10 pups per litter are normal, each initially measuring some 38–42 cm (15–17 in) in length.[26][28]

      Elsewhere I found that they are just as social about that. While they don't do the alien host thing, baby sharks just leave home early. The attrition rate amongst baby sharks is high – hence the high per birthrate and the biannual birthings. But being around mom is going to be a short life experience. Fortunately she can’t swim fast after birthing.

      I'm not even going to describe the sexual practices of male sharks that they use to get leverage for the act of producing more baby sharks. You can look it up yourself.

      Umm. No war huh?. Just a carnivorous apex predator with little or no social life and an appetite. It may be your totem animal. But to me it sounds like the worst kind of sociopathic child soldier with a AK47. Conditioned, antisocial, limited cortex and reflexively dangerous – something to avoid.

      sotto voice: really – where do we get these people from?

  11. marty mars 11

    the ruddy rodent

    The Trump administration is finalizing plans to allow oil and gas drilling in a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that has been protected for decades.

    The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will offer leases on essentially the entire 1.6m-acre coastal plain, which includes places where threatened polar bears have dens and porcupine caribou visit for calving. Drilling operations are expected to be problematic for Indigenous populations, many of which rely on subsistence hunting and fishing.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/12/trump-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-oil-gas-drilling

  12. marty mars 12

    RIP Wade Doak – you will be missed

    • greywarshark 12.2

      Wade Doak – a full, busy, fruitful and worthy for his love and care for the marine creatures – an inspiring life. Aged 79, after a short illness. Way to go.

      One of his books – have a memory of him. Here are some starting at the highest price but the Trademe page has lower prices. Better still, visit your most conveniently sited bookstore and browse. Christmas coming!

      Wade and Jan Doak – Bringing back the Birdsong
      Trademe Listing #: 2313441210

      The Elingamite and its Treasure Wade Doak
      Listing #: 2312854418

      A Photographic Guide to Sea Fishes of New Zealand Wade Doak Listing #: 2306330835

      Gaia Calls Wade Doak Listing #: 2308613238

      WADE DOAK. ENCOUNTERS WITH WHALES AND DOLPHINS.
      Listing #: 2308075753

      SHARKS AND OTHER ANCESTORS – WADE DOAK – SIGNED
      Listing #: 2304795018

      Cheapest is Buy Now $5.50 for Deep Blue – a South Pacific Odyssey
      Listing #: 2305795124 Closes Sat 2.30

  13. mosa 13

    Canadians head too the polls on October 21st in what is going too be a close contest.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/grenier-polltracker-sept11-1.5278147

    • ScottGN 13.1

      Liberals are in a much better position than they were a few months ago as the SNC Lavalin scandal fades plus they have the advantage of better vote efficiency across the 2 most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec that have a lot of seats. They’re getting help in Quebec as the NDP tank there and antipathy to Ford is weighing down the Cons in Ontario.

  14. marty mars 14

    Very poor indeed, disgusting in fact – haven't you put people through enough bullshit? and now you are running them into a testcase – rubbish – just about $$$ – the liability is there because of the way they treated people

    The Minister in charge of Southern Response Grant Robertson tells Lisa Owen the decision to appeal the Dodds' High Court judgement is the government's decision, and maintains it's the right decision, but he says it was a tough one to make.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018713015/southern-response-court-appeal-a-tough-decision-robertson

  15. newsense 16

    Man- why I haven't subscribed to the Herald's new offering- Hawkesby, Soper, Hooten, Young, and etc. all pop up desparate to stick a headline into Ardern.

    Reminds you of their dirty politics on Cunliffe. Apologies briefly years later.

    RNZ reminding us about National's culture review that isn't and isn't public.

  16. bwaghorn 17

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/southland-top-stories/115780173/farmers-call-for-extension-to-sixweek-consultation-period-on-freshwater-rules

    Not really they way to take people with you is it .!!!

    Just try ram new shit through while farmers are to busy to digest and be involved with the process.

  17. Reality 18

    From Amsterdam on talking to an American couple from North Carolina – they just love our Prime Minister and are totally in despair at the ghastly current occupier of the White House. They think we are so fortunate to have Jacinda (they called her just by her Christian name). What a shame we have our arrogant, self-opionated, nasty, shock jocks on the radio waves ranting their bile. I hope the country gets behind our PM and gives her support at this time. Yet again, bury National scandals quick smart but no Labour troubles.

  18. Eco maori 19

    Kia Ora Newshub.

    Felicity kia kaha be strong down let the corupt system up set your wairua your are a good mama that's all that counts 14 days and it's over.

    Wishful thinking paula you strung this government staffing issues and played it to try and damage Jacinda but no effect on Jacinda Mana wairua.

    The blue penguin are thriving in Wellington Harbour awesome they are roaming in the city looking for nesting sights. Doc does great mahi looking after our wildlife but I say more money and efforts need to be invested in protecting our native wildlife on the Raukurama ranges.

    Ka kite Ano

  19. Eco maori 20

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    Ngāti Kahu Ka pai for highlighting the problems with waste water treatment in their whenua Awa Tangaroa. I think that we have to change the way we live to minimise the Wai we use and waste water we produce. We only use 5 litres of water a day per person and we are proud of that fact. We have to go back to how we lived in the past to save our futures decendints environment become minimalist with every thing we use

    Kia Ora to Trevor Maxwell for being honoured for his contribution to Kapa Haka ka pai E hoa.

    Six60 singing in Te reo is cool everyone no they are one off Eco Maori taonga waiata ropu.

    Ka kite Ano

  20. patricia bremner 21

    Thank you Eco Maori.

  21. Eco maori 22

    Edit 8 liters a day water use we wash our clothes elsewhere at the minute ma Te wa we will have a washing machine in good time so our use will climb to 10 litres a day.

  22. Eco maori 23

    This Waka on combating climate change is now a big issue to most tangata around the Papatuanuku. We all. Must join together to convince the Politicians of the Papatuanuku that it is now the biggest challenge humanity has ever seen. If we all make small changes now our future generations will have much better chances of a Good Life.

    Covering Climate Now: The climate crisis is a mainstream concern

    OPINION: If you're concerned about climate change, you're not alone. Whether vocally or quietly, most New Zealanders are.

    A recent poll found 79 per cent of Kiwis considered climate change important to them personally. As scientists issue ever-more-urgent warnings, and school students march to demand swifter and stronger government action, this can't be dismissed as a fringe issue that doesn't trouble everyday New Zealanders.

    The climate crisis is a mainstream concern.

    We've witnessed that in the reader reaction to Stuff's Quick! Save the Planet project, which aims to make the realities of climate change feel urgent, tangible and unignorable

    Today, we've joined Covering Climate Now – an ambitious, week-long global initiative emphasising the paramount importance of the climate story.

    Covering Climate Now's roster features more than 240 news outlets, including the Guardian, CBS, the Times of India, and Asahi Shimbun. You'll see some of their stories on Stuff this week, alongside our original reporting.

    A broad selection of New Zealand's mainstream media is on board: 1 News, RNZ, Newshub, the NZ Herald, Newsroom and the Spinoff, as well as Stuff.

    More than 110 businesses have joined the Climate Leaders Coalition, pledging to take voluntary action to measure and reduce emissions. That includes some of the country's biggest emitters – such as Fonterra and Z Energy – and many other household names. (Stuff Ltd is a member). Climate Change Minister James Shaw says the group represents around 60 per cent of gross greenhouse gas emissions – a level of buy-in from major polluters unmatched in other countries

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/115669338/covering-climate-now-the-climate-crisis-is-a-mainstream-concern

  23. Eco maori 24

    Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute.

    https://youtu.be/GKSRyLdjsPA

  24. Eco maori 25

    Kia Ora Newshub.

    Its great to see the Allblack are receiving a warm welcome in Japan.

    The Tongan Prime Minister tangi will be very important to the Tonga tangata just like it is to Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa.

    Autism affects quite a lot of people having children with autism will be hard mahi. It's good that the tarakihi are diagnosed so process can be put in place to help tamariki reach there full educated potential.

    Let's hope that not too many people were losted to the atrocious flooding in Spain. This type of extreme weather is going to be the new norm with Global warming it will only get worse unless we do things to slow human cause global warming. I can see why some people can be fooled into believing that human cause climate change is not true because we live such a short life. Humans have changed the environment all Around the Papatuanuku.

    Ka kite Ano

  25. Eco maori 26

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    Sherl Matinga Mana Wahine that is the way run for Waikato Council in Huntly Eco Maori advice don't give up were there's a will there's a way Kia Kaha.

    Its great to see people are making a big effort to keep our Wai clean.

    Ka pai to planting native trees in houner of the tangata lost in the Christchurch desaster.

    I agree setting the records straight on the Maori Wars and all Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa true history. is needed.

    Ka pai to the teachers teaching the hearing impaired tangata to sign language in Maori.

    That pepi knows Te whakapapa cool.

    Ka kite Ano

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    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    15 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    17 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours 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
    11 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
    13 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
    14 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
    1 day 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 ...
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    5 days ago
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