Open mike 13/02/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 13th, 2011 - 64 comments
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64 comments on “Open mike 13/02/2011 ”

  1. vipers revenge 1

    I see Goof’s bedmate Winnie is the slipperist politian going around. Can see now why the sexiest polititian cut him loose.
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4651010/John-Keys-pucker-in-big-poli-kiss-off

  2. just saying 2

    http://dimpost.wordpress.com/

    I’m linking to Danyl’s latest because it deals with a myth the left deperately needs to keep on challenging to get the wider working class united and onside. Meritocracy, aka the just world myth, aka ‘you get what you deserve’.

    • Colonial Viper 2.1

      Coddington misses the point completely. We want and need NZers to succeed at the very top levels. Indeed the future of the country depends on it.

      But the rewards of that work cannot just be concentrated in the hands of a few: more needs to be accessible by a larger portion of society so that we can generate new successes and create new opportunities for many more. So that our next Sam Morgan, Sir Edmund Hillary, Rutherford does not depend on being born in a privileged family to fully realise their human potential.

      Coddington is advocating for the concentration of wealth and opportunity in fewer and fewer hands.

      This is a mad attitude for a country with so few people already, and where 1/4 of our most highly skilled and qualified graduates have fled our shores for the long term.

      • LynW 2.1.1

        Further to Deborah Coddington’s article.. a lot of us have been on or acknowledge ‘both sides of the fence’ and of course having plenty is a nicer place to be! But for some, whether it be moral, ethical, religious or political conscience or simple plain caring, wealth is just not as enjoyable when fellow human beings are so disadvantaged. The gap is widening so much in NZ that it is easier to be removed from the day to day struggle of the many or to simply choose to turn a blind eye. ‘Let them eat cake ‘ might be the attitude. A country is only as well off as it’s poorest citizen. I often wondered how the wealthy managed to live with themselves in third world countries surrounded by poverty and hardship. Watching NZ’s demise I guess it’s not so difficult after all!

    • Draco T Bastard 2.2

      Yep, capitalism itself guarantees that wealth distribution cannot be based upon merit as it’s designed to channel all the wealth created into the hands of the few with political power and/or ownership of resources.

      The actual links:
      Yes, They have more money
      On John Key
      Just linking to the top of the blog doesn’t link to the blog post that you’re talking about meaning that people actually have to guess.

  3. Colonial Viper 3

    US democracy needs to learn from Egypt

    The US is 15-20 years more entrenched in their plutocracy than we are. As a country and as a people we must not follow their example.

    The next LAB Government cannot simply be centrist because it must address directly and very strongly issues of economic and income inequality. Of the societal disenfranchisement of huge vulnerable swathes of the electorate. Simply holding off additional rot in these measures is not good enough.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/opinion/12herbert.html?src=me&ref=homepage

    While millions of ordinary Americans are struggling with unemployment and declining standards of living, the levers of real power have been all but completely commandeered by the financial and corporate elite. It doesn’t really matter what ordinary people want. The wealthy call the tune, and the politicians dance.

    So what we get in this democracy of ours are astounding and increasingly obscene tax breaks and other windfall benefits for the wealthiest, while the bought-and-paid-for politicians hack away at essential public services and the social safety net, saying we can’t afford them. One state after another is reporting that it cannot pay its bills. Public employees across the country are walking the plank by the tens of thousands. Camden, N.J., a stricken city with a serious crime problem, laid off nearly half of its police force. Medicaid, the program that provides health benefits to the poor, is under savage assault from nearly all quarters.

    The poor, who are suffering from an all-out depression, are never heard from. In terms of their clout, they might as well not exist. The Obama forces reportedly want to raise a billion dollars or more for the president’s re-election bid. Politicians in search of that kind of cash won’t be talking much about the wants and needs of the poor. They’ll be genuflecting before the very rich.

    • johnm 3.1

      Hi CV Our own kleptocratic,plutocratic financier in chief who has a nice house in Hawaii is and will continue to do the same to kiwi land.God help us if he gets in again.

  4. johnm 4

    Here is a tremendously insightful article on Egypt’s revolution being sparked by the pressures of 1. Trippling of population since 1960. 2. Oil production paid for the importation of food but same production peaked in 1996 and is heading downwards rapidly along with increasing internal demand for the same .Population increase has hit the wall of a declining resource base: What ever ISM takes over cannot change this fact.

    Egypt’s Warning: Are You Listening?
    By Chris Martenson

    Without persistent (and rising) food imports, Egypt cannot feed itself. It has managed to cover up the shortfall by having enough oil to export, but, like every country, their oil reserves are finite and eventually they’ll face a day of reckoning.
    The oil situation in Egypt has only very recently become an enormous and unavoidable issue.

    The monthly peak occurred in December 1996 (the yearly peak was also 1996), and oil production is now down some 30 percent since then.
    Of course, there are two things that typically chew on a nation’s oil exports: falling production and rising internal consumption. With both of these dynamics in play, Egypt’s exports have been getting mauled, not by one, but by two exponential functions:
    Any country that has to import both oil and food is living on borrowed time. It was only a matter of time before something gave way, and apparently that time is now.
    US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that with water shortages and oil running out, governments may be able to hold back the tide of change for a short while but not for long.

    http://www.countercurrents.org/martenson120211.htm

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1

      Italy declares migrant emergency

      Italy has called a humanitarian emergency after thousands of migrants sailed across the Mediterranean from Tunisia, overwhelming authorities on a remote island.

      “The cabinet today… has proclaimed a state of humanitarian emergency following the influx of the large number of citizens from North Africa,” the government said in a statement on Saturday.

      The statement said that the decision to call an official emergency would enable civil protection officers “to take immediate action needed to control this phenomenon and assist citizens who have fled from North Africa”.

      The other side of the revolutions sweeping across the Middle East. As the article you link to points out:

      Editorially, it’s not at all clear to me how the poorly defined concept of ‘democratic change’ will really change the equation much, as limits are immune to which ‘ism’ you happen to be running, but I am sure there are some in Washington DC who think ideology can trump reality.

      I’m sure that there are some here as well especially in the NACT camp and probably quite a few in the Labour camp as well. Our world is limited and no amount of ideology will change that and yet we still do everything we can to grow the economy.

      We will be seeing more resource refugees and more political instability over the coming years and decades.

    • anarcho 5.1

      Yeah it’s just the same old shit over and over. Her hatred of the poor seems fed by an absolute unwillingness to forgo any aspect of her privilages. This impossible neo-lib dream of ‘milionaire-equality’ in turn feeds dispair, hopelessness and selfish individualism amonst my peers – a drunk mate bled my ears last night with “I don’t want a Ferrrari or anything, I just want to be rich.”

      That ordinary Kiwi’s buy this paper is depressing in itself.

      • Tigger 5.1.1

        It’s that same argument that anyone seeking equality is envious. What a great way to slam down justice, by calling it vile and jealous. This one is wrapped up on some bizarre logic.

        The most jealous people I know are the richest for whom enough is never enough.

        • Colonial Viper 5.1.1.1

          Its the basis of the whole “Keeping Up With the Joneses” mentality.

          You buy a new BMW X5, you don’t keep it in your garage for the first day or two. Park it out on the driveway for all your neighbours to check out first.

      • prism 5.1.2

        This is the vile politics of envy,
        There goes Deborah Coddington again. Too much uncontrolled energy sparking off her, so that no new neuron activity can penetrate. Someone should chase her around Auckland or where important, successful people like her live.

        And these successful people who need so much money to live, what are the attributes and activities that they do for it? Are they top scientists discovering new things to help the planet and mankind, do they run engineering firms making new designs that are energy saving, do they run future building training courses for the human resources of the country, do they study how our activities can nurture our environment etc? No, likely they are managers of other people’s businesses, or owners manipulating the existing environment looking for the easiest way to puff their salaries and please shareholders. Their excess of money does not fund new innovations and useful entrepreneurial activity it fuels trips to Oz to see the latest shows, takes them to fine dinners and wine tastings or makes them so tired they need time out in Hawaii or… the world is their oyster.

        To have a successful, happy life doesn’t require huge excesses of money. So if some ask that the top strata cut down a bit so that others with a lack of opportunity can rise, that is not envy. It is down-to-earth practical economics, something that Coddington doesn’t mix with – like oil and water.

        • Colonial Viper 5.1.2.1

          Damn man, how do you expect the privileged to continue feeling they so special if society allows the masses to start doing better for themselves?

        • M 5.1.2.2

          Prism, this is inspired.

          I particularly liked the part where you said that having a successful, happy doesn’t require a huge excess of money but many people seem to blindly believe this.

          All the crap about the people who give a damn about the poor wanting to drag the rich down to their level needs to be refuted emphatically at every turn, no matter how much derision the speaker of the truth receives – Phil Goff are you ready to step up to the plate?

          I tend to be suspicious of people with loads of money because they tend to be disconnected from the reality of most people’s lives, y’know the sort that would ask a person on minimum wage where they went away to for the Christmas break.

          • prism 5.1.2.2.1

            Thanks M. The bit about being asked about where Christmas breaks were enjoyed I can understand. Have been fairly hard up, and known of people even worse off, it limits your ability to have friendships with others who are better off even to take part in family gatherings. You can’t afford to travel there, you can’t afford the right clothes even to hire them, you can’t afford a present for a wedding couple.

            On and on, and if you can only get minimum wage work, and perhaps that on a casual basis, life becomes a drag. If you are bringing up children, trying to be upbeat, assist them with schoolwork and ensure that they can have the equipment to undertake optional interests, sport music, computers, photography so they can learn and develop their interests and talent in ways that are productive and creative and not have them sinking to self destructive activity is not recognised and honoured. When one teenager’s Japanese class decided to visit Japan I made the decision not to try and raise the thousands needed to go. Cinderella going to the ball thing. At midnight she had to return and in the same situation. Foreign travel was where I drew the line on my effort to give a wide education. Fair enough one might say. But I don’t think anyone else in the class was prevented from going by poverty. To me it wasn’t important, but just another thing that I and my children couldn’t hope to share in.

            PS – Both my children are really great people, warm, friendly, responsible, working at demanding jobs, capable, knowledgable good citizens and a credit to themselves – I only helped with the groundwork and tried to direct them along the right paths, and then supported them in their choices. Which turned out successfully. It would have been less stressful for us all if there had been more family assistance though, willing help when occasionally needed not distaste for someone struggling.

  5. Colonial Viper 6

    Hospitals and courts on hit list for semi-privatisation to foreign multinationals.

    Police next, no doubt. A private corporate police force, how charming. Reminds me of Robocop.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4651480/Hospitals-courts-on-partnerships-list

    And who did he mention this to?

    At a breakfast meeting of high-powered Maori leaders and National Party MPs and officials on Waitangi Day, Key said it “made sense” to release capital to spend on other things by using PPPs.

    “It does make sense, in my view, to fund some assets either by releasing capital from assets we currently own, or alternatively through other aspects of a public-private relationship, whether it’s PPPs or whatever,” Key said.

    • prism 6.1

      There was an item on Chris Laidlaw Radionz this morning on free market economics, Keynesian, PPPs and how they just spread the payment of government assets over a longer period – just putting the exchange of cash in a different part of the balance sheet I think. And no doubt paying extra embedded costs along the way.

      Radionz news announced academic criticism of cuts to back office government functions.

    • Zaphod Beeblebrox 6.2

      Sounds like the Russian model. Hand over control of state assets to a few oligarch’s. who knows one day we coul have NZers owning Premier League Football franchises just like the Russians. Sounds like a few iwi would not mind being involved too.

      • millsy 6.2.1

        No doubt Boris Yelstin’s supporters got a tractor factory or two for supporting him in the 1991 coup.

        Now the Iwi elite are going to walk away with hydro dams and national parks.

    • Draco T Bastard 6.3

      Easy, much more affordable way to “release capital” for government spending – increase taxes especially on those who already have more than enough.

  6. Colonial Viper 7

    Glenn Beck / Fox News expects Mubarak’s Fall to Mean Chinese Take Over of Australia/NZ

    Yeah I do not get it either.

  7. ianmac 8

    This morning on Sunday Morning: An interesting discussion (if Chris would only stop interrupting) especially regarding whether it is wise or not to cut Government spending during a recession.
    “David Hall is the Director of the Public Services International Research Unit at the University of Greenwich in London. In the week that Prime Minister John Key said there was more to be done to make “government bureaucracy smaller and better” David Hall discusses the value of public services and the economic investment they need.”
    Damn. Doesn’t seem to be a podcast for this?

  8. logie97 9

    What do you think the reasoning behind the Herald reporting that SBW has now embraced Islam?
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10705928
    Isn’t SBW just becoming a distracting side-show?
    As for his religious beliefs – who cares?

    • Vicky32 9.1

      Okay, I am going to follow that link, but what I am asking myself as I looked at the newspaper headlines up at the dairy this morning was who the hell is SBW????
      Oh, is he some kind of sports person?
      Vicky

    • millsy 9.2

      I can just imagine the talkback when the all blacks get beaten..

      “too many bloody pansy muslims in the side, we need more King Country farmers..”

  9. Pascal's bookie 10

    Some Funsunday reading for yall:

    It’s the best round up I’ve seen of one* of the more interesting non-Egypt related stories of the week.

    Skinny is: Security company guy is aiming to get a contract with either, or both, of Bank of America. Reckons he has found out the meatspace identity of the leaders of ‘anonymous’ and that he is going to:

    sell this info to people, and

    show what a clever clogs he is, and

    win fame, glory and possibly riches through his awesome social media skillz based security work.

    Unfortunately, anonymous ate this chump and spat out his innards all over teh internets.

    I’m not a huge anonymous booster. It is what is and it’s fascinating, but this guy really doesn’t understand what that ‘it’ is. Nor does he understand Glenn Greenwald.

    Nor is he secure.

    ‘Internet security ‘pro’ pisses off “anonymous”, lets them get STUXNET code”

    = #PR.FAIL.All.Time.Champs

    So that’s the skinny, these links contain the phat, including links to all the delicious innards that got spewed of someone who thinks he’s playing in the big leagues, but got chewed out by ‘anonymous’, who actively pretend to play in those leagues whilst throwing batteries from the stands for the lulz.

    It’s, fascinating.

    Part 1

    Part 2

    Part 3

    *(the other best story is about some weird shit in Pakistan, involving death in the streets and a USian with multiple id’s being arrested and diplomatic blowout and who the fuck is this guy and why is he shooting people in the street and why are the USians so anxious about getting him home stateside pronto bloody quick; it’s a goody, but trust me this other shit is even better)

    • joe90 10.1

      Wow!, Mr smarty and corporation gets rolled by kids. And the weirdness in Pakistan, one of their own, perhaps?.

      Also, another wtf is going on, Luis Posada Carriles aka Latin America’s OBL.

    • Deadly_NZ 10.2

      And the moral of the story is… Do Not piss of Anonymous… But thats a given now if only Labour were half as good at politics as Anonymous are at showing their displeasure..

  10. Lanthanide 11

    Interesting story on stuff:
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4651477/Intrigue-mounts-in-Epsom

    It’s talking about a potential new centre-right party to stand in Epsom against National and Act, with John Banks saying he’s heard talk of the new party (but denies being involved).

  11. M 12

    Hang on to your hats folks!

    ‘…In the aftermath of that event, the U.S. industrial economy nearly reached its end several times between mid-September 2008 and mid-March 2009. If we assume a similar series of events in the wake of $140 oil between late May and late October, then western civilization could commit suicide between late July 2011 (two months after late May 2011…’

    http://guymcpherson.com/2011/01/third-times-a-charm/

    • Colonial Viper 12.1

      If you are able to, taking steps with home water tank systems, vegetable patches, solar water heating, etc. are all going to come in very very handy over the next few years. And make sure you have a reliable easy to maintain bicycle…

      • M 12.1.1

        CV, can’t afford solar and would like to get a water tank but would have to settle for one for watering the garden. The vegetable garden will be expanded from the small patch it is now and have a bike but would love to own a Mamachari. A woman at the local supermarket had a really good imported second hand one and I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

  12. Tigger 13

    John Key at Big Gay Out:

    “He reminded the crowd that National had promised not to roll back any gay-rights policies and the Government had stuck to that promise. He also asked the crowd to consider voting for National this election. ”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4651710/Goff-Key-speak-at-Big-Gay-Out

    Vote for me and I won’t recriminalise homosexuality! Ambitious for gays clearly… This is the least friendly we’ve heard Key, not more ‘I’d let Brad Pitt pork me’ now…a definite run to the right in effect here.

    • Carol 13.1

      I’ve been reading the updates on gaynz, and have been wondering about the right-leaning bias of whoever is doing the reports.

      Even Stuff put more focus on Goff and the strong Labour contingent:

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4651710/Goff-Key-speak-at-Big-Gay-Out

      Phil Goff was the first leader to take to the stage and address the crowd, supported by a delegation of about half a dozen Labour MPs, all of whom received a warm welcome from the crowd.

      Goff said despite what had been achieved in terms of gay rights there was still much work to do.

      “There is still discrimination in the community.”

      Goff said Labour had long been the champion of gay rights, unlike some politicians, who he said would also speak today, who just “smiled and waved”.

      The Prime Minister John Key arrived about an hour later, with three National MPs, and spoke only for a brief time.

      He reminded the crowd that National had promised not to roll back any gay-rights policies and the Government had stuck to that promise.

      He also asked the crowd to consider voting for National this election.

      Key spent about an hour walking around the many stalls and meeting people.

      If you scroll down the gaynz updates, you can see Goff and other Labour MPs were out early. Then for a time there was this headline:
      http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/2/article_9924.php

      3.25: PM MOBBED ON PROGRESS THROUGH PARK

      And it seems that a lot of the “mob” were mostly the media asking about non-GLBT issues:

      Prime Minister John Key has arrived at the Get It On Big Gay Out and has been slowed down in his progress through Coyle Park by a large group of well-wishers and the occasional protester.

      The PM’s progress has been further slowed by a large general media contingent of reporters and camera people who seem more interested in governmental matters than his presence at the Big Gay Out.

      As far as I can see NZ Herald isn’t interested. TV3 is going to do an item on the BGO, and has attached to it the condom poll which voted Key the sexiest polly. Who the frak did they poll for this?

      • Tigger 13.1.1

        That condom survey was done last year at the same time by memory. Not sure about the right bias of GayNZ. I know some of the people behind the scenes and they can be prickly to say the least. Would love them to come here and explain the whole ‘mobbed’ bs. And who the feck was wishing Key well? Their gay cards should be revoked and they should have to sit in the corner with the Maori Party.

        • Carol 13.1.1.1

          I didn’t say that gaynz generally has a right wing bias. I haven’t noticed that. I was just talking about the writer of the updates. I said:
          have been wondering about the right-leaning bias of whoever is doing the reports.

      • kriswgtn 13.1.2

        Alot of the new breed of young gay men that report for Gaynz.com are tories 🙂

        we rark em up @ the forums

        No idea no fucking idea @ all before law reform

        Maybe they need to learn esp if Key and his idiots get back in cos sooner or later theyll run out of minorities to blame

    • millsy 13.2

      On the topic of homosexuality, an openly gay man intends to run for the GOP presidential nomination.

      http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/13/republicans-gay-rights-presidential-race

      He probably wont succeed of course, and he is going to cop a lot of crap, but good luck to him.

  13. Draco T Bastard 14

    Nats use EPA to de-protect Horokiri Stream

    So to recap, the Govt is using the Environmental Protection Agency to remove protection from endangered New Zealand fish habitat so that we can build a motorway on it, with the resulting increase in greenhouse emissions.

    George Orwell eat your heart out.

    So, who else realised when it was announced that the Environmental Protection Agency was, as a matter of fact, actually the Business as Usual Protection Agency?

    • prism 14.1

      EPA – Environmental Production Agency?

    • orange whip? 14.2

      I did, Draco.

      It was vigourously promoted by Rodney Hide so it was obvious that it wasn’t about protecting the environment.

      As far as I can tell the ultimate goal of it is to be an overarching body which supersedes any other agency with an interest in conservation, so when Rodney’s mates need to get around any pesky environmental protections they can go straight to the one-stop-shop and not have to mess around with Iwi, DoC, local bodies, the RMA or anyone else.

      • millsy 14.2.1

        The irony is, that the Resource Management Act 1991 was devised by the Fourth Labour government (approved by a cabinet that included the likes of Roger Douglas, Richard Prebble and Ken Shirley, later to become ACT MP’s), and passed by the Fourth National government, approved by a caucus that included the likes of Upton, Luxton, Bradford, and Nick Smith.

        From concept, to drafting to final enactment the whole thing was conceived, carried and delivered with the involvement of just about every single neo-liberal luminary who was in office during that period, from Bassett to Richardson.

        It is a collective amnesia among the right that they are attacking a law that was passed under the watch of the neo-liberal right. By their heroes, no less

        • Draco T Bastard 14.2.1.1

          Oh, it wasn’t amnesia but their increasing understanding that the RMA was getting in the way of their rich mates to exploit our environment for their own benefit.

  14. joe90 16

    sigh…

    In other words, THC in plant form or as an extract, will still be illegal. What won’t be illegal is if a pharmaceutical company buys THC from a government-licensed provider, puts it in a pill, receives the DEA’s stamp of approval, and sells it a price that will likely be far higher than the price of marijuana.

    • kriswgtn 16.1

      Sativirex has been made **avail here** but is not subsidised $300 approx a month and you gotta walk over mine field blindfolded to get it

  15. kriswgtn 17

    http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=126336&fm=psp,tst

    This has really fucked me off

    The line*John Key got up on stage and told the crowd National under his leadership has a strong record of standing up for gay rights.”

    WTF

    WHEN!?? WHAT?

    And thousands DIDNT rush to meet him I assure you.MY mates told me so and they were there

    Lying piece of shit

  16. joe90 18

    Iranian authorities are blocking web searches, apparently to prevent the spread of a call to protest on the 25th day of Bahman or Monday the 14th of February.

  17. Draco T Bastard 19

    Bomer’s War on News

    Bloody good this week.

    • Colonial Viper 19.1

      Loved the bit where Bomber basically says – Hey Cameron Slater, remember you work for the people of Auckland, not the National Party in Wellington!

      ROFLMAO

      Yeah that was a good one DTB

    • M 19.2

      Draco, didn’t know this existed – thank you. This will be a weekly staple from now on.

      Anti-spam: marks, as in full

      • kriswgtn 19.2.1

        Being able to watch Stratos and bomber is reason we had tio get freeview- how he dont end up bitch slappin slater is beyond me

        he is very witty is the bomber and he is revered in this house

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    The gang patch legislation finally passed in the House after a long period of fanfare from National. Gangs won’t be allowed to publicly display gang insignia on the body or in vehicles, and if they’re very naughty i.e. caught thrice, police will be able to enter private homes to search.How ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    22 hours ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 20

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-host talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including media coverage of extreme events and how big tech is gobbling up so much renewable power growth; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • A very healthy distrust of how this Government is handling health across the board is needed…

    And alongside that, is the ultimate question for the public, and indeed Opposition Parties trying to appeal for enough of the public to support a change from this heinous direction of travel being imposed on us: how much of the damage here can even be stopped in time? Let us ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    1 day ago
  • Hang up on him David, just stop

    There is a story I want to tell, but I'm not going to begin with it because it would be too abrupt. I'll start by telling you that I'm a big fan of the way Nicola Toki conveys her message. And Nicola Toki is a big fan of the way Jane ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Tax the rich!

    We already know that the rich people aren't paying their fair share. But it turns out its worse than that: we're a tax-haven! Our rich people pay lower taxes here than in any comparable country: Well-off New Zealanders are paying less tax than their peers in nine similar OECD ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Worse and worse

    Cancer Minister Casey Costello is in trouble again over her secret, magically appearing tobacco policy document. The Ombudsman has already found that she acted contrary to law in refusing requests for it; now she has been referred to the Chief Archivist over a possible breach of the Public Records Act ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • NZ’s lack of a capital gains tax means the richest here pay vastly less than elsewhere

    The lack of a capital gains tax means the richest Kiwis are sitting pretty compared to taxpayers overseas. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 19:New Zealand’s richest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Verrall to Levy: “Health NZ NDAs are North Korean – Get rid of it.”

    Open article. Note the video of the Health Select Committee excerpts starts at 1:22 In watching the Health Select Committee yesterday, it became clear to me why Margie Apa remains Health NZ CEO.During Levy’s testimony, Apa sat like a rock next to her boss. She nodded supportively, scribbled notes to ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • The Show Must Go On

    Empty spaces, what are we living for?Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and onDoes anybody know what we are looking for?Another hero, another mindless crimeBehind the curtain, in the pantomimeHold the lineDoes anybody want to take it anymore?The show must go onSongwriters: Brian May / Freddie Mercury ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Managing on-street parking for local benefit

    This guest post by Malcolm McCracken originally appeared on his blog Better Things Are Possible, and is republished here by kind permission. The case for Parking Benefit Districts: managing on-street parking for local benefit Parking is often the centre of debate in our cities; particularly on-street car parks, who gets ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • Doubling down?

    This is a re-post from And Then There's Physics I wrote a post a little while ago commenting on a Sabine Hossenfelder video suggesting that she was now worried about climate change because the Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) could be much higher than most estimates have suggested. I wasn’t too taken with Sabine’s arguments, and there were others ...
    2 days ago
  • Too much haste & waste in Simeon Brown’s need for speed

    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong story short, the Government’s myopia of only choosing transport policies that reduce travel times means we’re missing out on the health benefits of more cycling and walking, along with the health cost savings from fewer accidents, less pollution and mentally healthier ways of getting ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • What seemed so simple is now so complex

    The Health NZ rescue that seemed so simple back in July was presented to a Select Committee yesterday as a complex challenge that could take some years to sort out. In July, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Health NZ was on track to record a deficit of $1.4 billion for ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • The utterances of Shane Jones

    Let us consider the utterances of Shane Jones.Let us consider the derogatory terms of abuseNow is not the time for Green Wombles, it's black and white decision making.We will stand with the energy industry and ensure they are not monstered by Green Termites nibbling away at our economic capital.The Green ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Ukrainian militia receives defective shipment of pagers that just send and receive messages

    There’s been a major setback for one Ukrainian-backed militia on the Russian border, after the group ordered a large shipment of pagers to use as improvised explosive devices. The plan was to litter the pagers throughout abandoned homes and buildings in hopes of wounding Russian soldiers. But upon arrival of ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • A constitutional shitshow

    Last month, we learned that the government was half-arsing its anti-gang legislation, adding a significant, pre-planned, BORA-abusing amendment at the committee stage, avoiding all the usual scrutiny processes. But it gets worse. Because having done it once, they're now planning to recall the bill in order to add another such ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Political Round Up

    Note: An earlier version of this article noted Levy was a “party time Health NZ commissioner” - this has been updated - forgive my Freudian slip.Dr Lester Levy is charging $320,000 a year to be a part time Health NZ commissioner. Rachel Thomas reports that Levy is still teaching 2 ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Postcard from Sydney: Southwest and City Metro extension

    This is a guest post from Sydney reader Nik Clement After 2 years in Auckland I moved back to Sydney just over a year ago. While in Auckland, I went to the opening of Puhinui station and used it a fair bit, living in Manukau Central and being able ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago
  • Tolling revolt brewing in National heartland

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 18:Locals gathered in Woodville last night to protest at the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s decision to toll the new road linking the Manawatu and Hawkes Bay, saying ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • The doom spiral

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In his last post, Zeke discussed incredible warmth of 2023 and 2024 and its implications for future warming. A few readers looked at it and freaked out: This is terrifying and This update really put me in a ...
    3 days ago
  • Government directs Te Puni Kōkiri to conduct Māori Language Week in English

    The coalition government has issued a directive to Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development, instructing them that – in the interests of clear communication – they are to conduct this year’s Māori Language Week primarily or exclusively in English. The directive is in line with the Government’s policy ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Government celebrates fact that New Zealand’s healthcare is so good people are queuing up for it a...

    At yesterday’s post-cabinet press conference, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, flanked by his Health Minister Shane Reti and someone we can’t independently verify was a real sign language interpreter, announced that he had some positive news for the country. “Alright team, I’m just going to hand over to uh, Dr. Shane, ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Heartwarming: Thoughtful driver uses indicator to tell you what they’ve just done

    It’s 4:10pm in the morning, and you’re in the middle lane heading north on the great southern motorway of our nation’s capital, Auckland. There are no cars directly in front of you, but quite a few in the lane to your left. Suddenly, without warning, a black ute enters your ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • NPC teams will now be allowed to actually use the Ranfurly Shield in play

    Following decades of controversy, the governing body of New Zealand rugby, New Zealand Rugby, has ruled that the team currently holding the Ranfurly Shield may once again use it in play during the National Provincial Championship (NPC). The ruling restores the utility of a prize that for many years was ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Climbing out of the hamster wheel

    I arrived home with a head full of fresh ideas about mindfulness and curbing impulsive aspects in my character.On the second night home I grabbed a piece of ginger and began swiftly slicing it on our industrial strength mandolin, the one I have learned through painful experience to treat with ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • More Notes From Stinky Town

    Good morning, folks. Another wee note from a chilly Rotorua morning that looks much clearer than yesterday. As I write, the pink glow in the east is slowly growing, and soon, the palest of blue skies should become a bit more royal.A couple of people mentioned yesterday that I should ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Make it make sense: why axe valuable local projects?

    Last week, Matt looked at how the government wants to pour a huge chunk of civic infrastructure funding for a generation  into one mega-road up North, at huge cost and huge opportunity cost. A smaller but no less important feature of the National Land Transport Plan devised by Minister of Transport ...
    4 days ago
  • Driving blind at higher speeds

    An open letter by experts about plans to raise speed limits warns the “tragic consequence will be more New Zealanders losing their lives or suffering severe injury, along with a substantial burden on the nation's healthcare and rehabilitation services”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • 2024’s unusually persistent warmth

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink My inaugural post on The Climate Brink 18 months ago looked at the year 2024, and found that it was likely to be the warmest year on record on the back of a (than forecast) El Nino event. I suggested “there is a real chance ...
    4 days ago
  • National plan for 2000 more Kiwis a year in prison

    Open for allYesterday, Luxon congratulated his government on a job well done with emergency housing numbers, but advocates have been saying it‘s likely many are on the streets and sleeping in cars.Q&A featured some of the folks this weekend - homeless and in cars. Yes.The government’s also confirmed they stopped ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • I Found a Note in a Tree

    Hi,On most days I try to go on a walk through nature to clear my head from the horrors of life. Because as much as I like people, I also think it’s incredibly important to get very far away from them. To be reminded that there are also birds, lizards, ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Politicians need to lift their game

    Declining trust in New Zealand politicians should be a warning to them to lift their game. Results from the New Zealand Election Study for the 2023 election show that the level of trust in politicians has once again declined. Perhaps it is not surprising that the results, shared as part ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Police say they won’t respond to bomb threats anymore as ‘it’s never anything’

    Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says that New Zealand’s police force will no longer respond to bomb threats, in an attempt to cut costs and redirect police resources to less boring activities. Coster said that threat response and bomb disposal was a “fairly obvious” area for downsizing, as bomb threats are ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • A dysfunctional watchdog

    The reality of any right depends on how well it is enforced. But as The Post points out this morning, our right to official information isn't being enforced very well at all: More than a quarter of complaints about access to official information languish for more than a year, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: The threat of a good example

    Since taking office, the climate-denier National government has gutted agricultural emissions pricing, ended the clean car discount, repealed water quality standards which would have reduced agricultural emissions, gutted the clean car standard, killed the GIDI scheme, and reversed efforts to reduce pollution subsidies in the ETS - basically every significant ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vegas Baby

    Good morning, lovely people. Don’t worry. This isn’t really a newsletter, just a quick note. I’m sitting in our lounge, looking out over a gloomy sky. Although being Rotorua, the view is periodically interrupted by steam bursting from pipes and dispersing—like an Eastern European industrial hellscape during the Cold War.Drinking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Why Entrust Needs New Leadership

    I am part of a new team running in the Entrust election in October. Entrust is a community electricity trust representing a significant part of Auckland, set up to serve the community. It is governed by five trustees are elected every three years in an election the trust itself oversees. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • London Bridge is falling down

    In the UK, London is the latest of council groups to signal potential bankruptcy.That’s after Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, went bankrupt in June, resulting in reduced sanitation services, libraries cut, and dimmed streetlights.Some in the city described things as “Dickens” like.Please, Sir, Can I have some more?For families with ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Govt may kick elderly out of hospitals

    The Government is considering how to shunt elderly people out of hospitals, and also how to cut their access to other support. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Getting the nephs off the couch

    The so-called “Prince of the Provinces”, Shane Jones, went home last Friday. Perhaps not quite literally home, more like 20 kilometres down the road from his house on the outskirts of Kerikeri. With its airport, its rapidly growing (mostly retired) population, and a commercial centre with all the big retail ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • De moralibus orcorum: Sargon of Akkad, Rings of Power, Evil, and George R.R. Martin

    I have noted before that The Rings of Power has attracted its unfortunate share of culture war obsessives. Essentially, for a certain type of individual, railing on about the Wokery of Modern Media is a means of making themselves a online livelihood. Clicks and views and advertising revenue, and all ...
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37

    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 8, 2024 thru Sat, September 14, 2024. Story of the week From time to time we like to make our Story of the Week all about us— and ...
    5 days ago
  • Salvation For Us All

    Yesterday, I ruminated about the effects of being a political follower.And, within politics, David Seymour was smart enough on Friday to divert attention from “race blind” policies [what about gender blind I thought - thinking of maternity wards] and cutting school lunches by throwing meat to the media. Teachers were ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A warm embrace

    Far, far away from here lives our King. Some of his subjects can be quite the forelock tuggers, but plenty of us are not like that, and why don't I wheel out my favourite old story once more about Kiwi soldiers in the North African desert?Field Marshal Montgomery takes offence ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Literal clowns are running the place, we must put a timeout on this stupidity… right Aotearoa?

    These people are inept on every level. They’re inept to the detriment of our internal politics, cohesion and increasingly our international reputation. And they are reveling in the fact they are getting away with it. We cannot even have “respectful debate” with a government that clearly rejects the very ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    6 days ago
  • Fact brief – Does manmade CO2 have any detectable fingerprint?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does manmade CO2 have any ...
    6 days ago
  • Judge Not.

    Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY men and women professing the Christian faith would appear to have imperilled their immortal souls. ...
    7 days ago
  • Managed Democracy: Letting The People Decide, But Only When They Can Be Relied Upon To Give the Righ...

    Uh-uh! Not So Fast, Citizens! The power to initiate systemic change remains where it has always been in New Zealand’s representative democracy – in Parliament. To order a binding referendum, the House of Representatives must first to be persuaded that, on the question proposed, sharing its decision-making power with the people ...
    7 days ago
  • Looking For Labour’s Vital Signs.

    Flatlining: With no evidence of a genuine policy disruptor at work in Labour’s ranks, New Zealand’s wealthiest citizens can sleep easy.PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN has walked a picket-line. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has threatened “price-gauging” grocery retailers with price control. The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform situates it well to the left of Sir ...
    7 days ago
  • Forty Years Of Remembering To Forget.

    The Beginning of the End: Rogernomics became the short-hand descriptor for all the radical changes that swept away New Zealand’s social-democratic economy and society between 1984 and 1990. In the bitterest of ironies, those changes were introduced by the very same party which had entrenched New Zealand social-democracy 50 years earlier. ...
    7 days ago
  • Kōrero Mai – Speak to Me.

    Good morning all you lovely people. 🙂I woke up this morning, and it felt a bit like the last day of school. You might recall from earlier in the week that I’m heading home to Rotorua to see an old friend who doesn’t have much time. A sad journey, but ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • Winning ways

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Street architecture adjustment, KolkataShare Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • 48 seconds on a plan that would reverberate for a million years

    Despite fears that Trump presidency would be disastrous for progress on climate change, the topic barely rated a mention in the Presidential debate. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Using blunt instruments and magical thinking to ignore evidence of harm

    The abrupt cancellations and suspensions of Government spending also caused private sector hiring, spending, and investment to freeze up for the first six months of the year. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThis week we learned:The new National/ACT/NZ First Coalition Government ignored advice from Treasury that it didn’t have to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power Episode 5 (Seaso...

    Another week of The Rings of Power, season two, and another confirmation that things are definitely coming together for the show. The fifth Episode of season one represented the nadir of the series. Now? Amid the firmer footing of 2024, Episode Five represents further a further step towards excellent Tolkien ...
    1 week ago
  • In Open Seas; A Book

    The background to In Open Seas: How the New Zealand Labour Government Went Wrong:2017-2023Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand, published in 2020, proved more successful than either I or the publisher (VUP, now Te Herenga Waka University Press) expected. I had expected that it would ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 13

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the climate implications of the US Presidential elections; and special guests Janet ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Do or do not. There is no try

    1. Upon receiving evidence that school lunches were doing a marvellous job of improving outcomes for students, David Seymour did what?a. Declared we need much more of this sort of good news and poured extra resources and funding into them b. Emailed Atlas network to ask what to do next c. Cut ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Dangerous ground

    The Waitangi Tribunal has reported back on National's proposed changes to gut the Marine and Coastal Area Act and steal the foreshore and seabed for its greedy fishing-industry donors, and declared it to be another huge violation of ti Tiriti: The Waitangi Tribunal has found government changes to the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: National wants to cheat on Paris

    In 2016, the then-National government signed the Paris Agreement, committing Aotearoa to a 30 (later 50) percent reduction in emissions by 2030. When questioned about how they intended to meet that target with their complete absence of effective climate policy, they made a lot of noise about how it was ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Treasury warned Govt lower debt limits meant less ‘productivity-enhancing investment’

    Treasury’s advice to Cabinet was that the new Government could actually prudently carry net core Crown debt of up to 50% of GDP. But Luxon and Willis instead chose to portray the Government’s finances as in such a mess they had no choice but to carve 6.5% to 7.5% off ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Is the Media Complicit?

    This is a long read. Open to all.SYNOPSIS: Traditional media is at a cross roads. There is a need for those in the media landscape, as it stands, to earn enough to stay afloat, but also come across as balanced and neutral to keep its audiences.In America, NYT’s liberal leaning ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Black Friday

    It's Black Friday, the end of the weekYou take my hand and hold it gently up against your cheekIt's all in my head, it's all in my mindI see the darkness where you see the lightSong by Tom OdellFriday the 13th, don’t be afraid.No, really, don’t. Everything has felt a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 13-September-2024

    Ooh, Friday the thirteenth. Spooky! Is that why certain zombie ideas have been stalking the landscape this week, like the Mayor’s brainwave for a motorway bridge from Kauri Point to Point Chev? Read on and find out. This roundup, like all our coverage, is brought to you by the Greater ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago

  • Tourism on the table for Pacific Ministers’ meet-up

    Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey will meet with Trade and Tourism Minister of Australia Don Farrell and Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica in Rotorua this weekend for a trilateral tourism discussion. “Like in New Zealand, tourism plays a significant role in Australia and Fiji’s economy, contributing massively to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Young people report on family and sexual violence

    The Te Puna Aonui Expert Advisory Group for Children and Young People has presented its report today on improving family and sexual violence outcomes for young people, to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour.  The presentation at the Auckland event was an opportunity for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • $18 million being invested in the victims of crime

    The Government is putting more than $18 million towards improving the experience of the criminal justice system for victims, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Minister for Children Karen Chhour say. “No one should experience crime, but for those who through no fault of their own become victims, they need to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Landmark phonics check in te reo Māori

    For the first time, schools can use a purpose-built tool to check how a child is progressing in reading through te reo Māori. “Around 45 schools are trialling a New Zealand first te reo Māori phonics check, known as Hihira Weteoro. It will help kaiako (teachers) focus on what ākonga ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • New sea walls safeguard Ōpōtiki’s transformation

    Two new breakwater walls at Pākihikura (Ōpōtiki) Harbour will provide boats with safe harbour access to support the continued growth of aquaculture in Bay of Plenty, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones say. The Ministers and leaders from Tē Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea and other ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Kitmap to improve access to science infrastructure

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced an online platform to optimise the use of New Zealand’s science and technology research infrastructure and to link the public and private sector. “This country is home to world-class science, technology, and engineering expertise. Kitmap is set to empower Kiwi innovators, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Driving the uptake of low emission heavy vehicles

    The Government has launched the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund (LEHVF) to promote innovation and offset the cost of hundreds of heavy vehicles powered by clean technologies, Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts say. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Speech on replacing the Resource Management Act

    Replacing the RMA Hon Chris Bishop: Good morning, it is great to be with you. Can I first acknowledge the Resource Management Law Association for hosting us here today. Can I also acknowledge my Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Simon Court, who is on stage with me. He has assisted me in establishing the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Replacement for the Resource Management Act takes shape

    Two new laws will be developed to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), with the enjoyment of property rights as their guiding principle, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say. “The RMA was passed with good intentions in 1991 but has proved a failure in practice. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • Tough laws pass to make gang life uncomfortable

    Legislation passed through Parliament today will provide police and the courts with additional tools to crack down on gangs that peddle misery and intimidation throughout New Zealand, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “From November 21, gang insignia will be banned in all public places, courts will be able to issue non-consorting orders, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New levy rates set to ensure continued funding of FENZ

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the rates for the redesigned levy that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) from July 2026.  “Earlier this year FENZ consulted publicly on a 5.2 percent increase to the levy. I was not convinced that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Police allocate Officers to Beat and Gang Units

    The Coalition Government welcomes Police’s announcement today to deploy more police on the beat and staff to Gang Disruption Units.  An additional 70 officers will be allocated to Community Beat Teams across towns and regional centres.  This builds on the deployment of beat officers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch CBDs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Consultation begins on significant updates to the biosecurity system

    Proposals to strengthen the country’s vital biosecurity system, including higher fines for passengers bringing in undeclared high-risk goods, greater flexibility around importing requirements, and fairer cost sharing for biosecurity responses have been released today for public consultation. Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says “The future is about resilience and the 30-year-old ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Wānaka community to benefit from new overnight health service

    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says an Overnight Acute Care Service opening in October will provide people in Wānaka and the surrounding area with the assurance of quality overnight care closer to home.  “When I was in Wānaka earlier this year, I announced funding for an overnight health service – ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Preventing potholes with data-driven technology

    The Government is rolling out data collection vans across the country to better understand the condition of our road network to prevent potholes from forming in the first place, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is a key priority for the Government and increasing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • GDP data shows effect of high interest rates

    Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the quarter to June 2024 reinforces how an extended period of high interest rates has meant tough times for families, businesses, and communities, but recent indications show the economy is starting to bounce back, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ data released today ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • NZ to host first Fiji, Australia trilateral trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua

    Trade Minister Todd McClay will host Fijian Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica and Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for trilateral trade talks in Rotorua this weekend. “Fiji is one of the largest economies in the Pacific and is a respected partner for Australia and New Zealand,” Mr McClay says. Australia and New Zealand ...
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