Open mike 14/02/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 14th, 2021 - 86 comments
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Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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Step up to the mike …

86 comments on “Open mike 14/02/2021 ”

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    • David 1.1
      14 February 2021 at 8:49 am

      Conversation around the various BBQs I went to this summer invariably had a general sentiment that we currently have the most left talking right acting government we’ve ever seen.

      • Adrian Thornton 1.1.1
        14 February 2021 at 3:27 pm

        She is really giving Helen Clarke a run for her money as being most centrist Labour PM ever…yuk.

        Though I wish they would just drop this centre-left carry on, Labour is a free market liberal party that has its own specific quite clearly defined political ideology, which as can be plainly seen NOT Left wing…so just call them Centrist or Liberal Centrist or whatever the hell , but not Centre Left that terminology is just confusing everybody and mudding the waters for people advocating for an actual Left wing project

        • Sabine 1.1.1.1
          14 February 2021 at 3:36 pm

          She worked for Helen Clark, much of the people that are around now would have been around then, just as she was.

          She never was going to be anything more then she is now. A good manager, risk averse, nice rethoric and a tight fist holding the purse. And sadly this is the issue as in our times risk averse and safely safely is not going to go to far.

          • Morrissey 1.1.1.1.1
            14 February 2021 at 3:39 pm

            She worked for Helen Clark…

            Worse, far worse than that, she worked for Tony Blair. angry sad no

            https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96123508/jacinda-ardern-i-didnt-want-to-work-for-tony-blair

            • Incognito 1.1.1.1.1.1
              14 February 2021 at 4:04 pm

              Maybe you can clarify this for me, was Ardern Blair’s LH or RH assistant?

              • Adrian Thornton …
                14 February 2021 at 4:58 pm

                Well I guess as he was a known war criminal at the time I suppose we could call Ardern one of Tony Blairs War criminal assistants…or something to that effect…there is an old saying 'lay down with dogs and you get up with fleas"

                Cost of Blair's crimes remains incalculable

                v=https://www.thetelegram.com/opinion/national-perspectives/scott-taylor-cost-of-blairs-crimes-remains-incalculable-502526/

                Tony Blair prosecution over Iraq war blocked by judges

                "The decision blocks an attempt by a former Iraqi general, Abdulwaheed al-Rabbat, to bring a private war crimes prosecution against the former Labour leader.

                The two judges recognised that a crime of aggression had recently been incorporated into international law, but said it did not apply retroactively."

                https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/31/tony-blair-prosecution-over-iraq-war-blocked-by-judges

                • Incognito …
                  14 February 2021 at 5:20 pm

                  Obfuscating, diverting, and not actually answering the question.

                  However, you decided that it gave you a segue to come up with a rather dim-witted label for Ardern. I hope you were just being cynical and don’t actually believe that nonsense, but you wouldn’t be the first one here to smoke their own dope, getting high and loving it.

                  • Adrian Thornton …
                    14 February 2021 at 6:14 pm

                    Ardern….in her own words….

                    "I was absolutely gutted. I felt this real dilemma, which was absolutely about Blair."

                    She still took the job though.

                    "It was totally pragmatic. I wanted to live overseas. I wanted to have that time and experience abroad."

                    …would you work for the organization of a known war criminal just so you can have your precious overseas experience…I know I sure as hell would not.

                    • Incognito …
                      14 February 2021 at 7:52 pm

                      Lovely, but still doesn’t answer the question, which you are fastidiously avoiding. Never mind, I found it in Morrissey’s link, of all places.

                  • Adrian Thornton …
                    15 February 2021 at 10:56 am

                    OK fair enough, well how about answering my question…would you work for the organization of a known war criminal just so you can have your precious overseas experience?

                    In my opinion this is exactly where the political pragmatism that is so much a part of the Ardern brand gets you…a straight line from knowingly working for the organization of known war criminals to not using your political capital to push through a capital gains tax or wealth tax when it is so obviously needed…personally I feel is says a lot about her character.

                    • RedLogix …
                      15 February 2021 at 11:17 am

                      One of your premises is faulty.

                      Regardless of what you think of the Iraq war (and I was one of the many who marched against it down Lambton Quay at the time) – Tony Blair is not a convicted 'war criminal'. Nor was he when Ardern worked for him.

                      Over the years I've either turned down or not applied for perfectly suited roles in the coal industry, but I regarded that as a personal choice I had the luxury of making. But then condemning anyone else who did work in that industry always struck me as a step too far.

                    • Adrian Thornton …
                      15 February 2021 at 12:31 pm

                      @ RedLogix

                      Come on red, she even admits herself there was a serious problem with Blair herself, and of course he is not a convicted war criminal, in what world was Blair or Bush ever going to be convicted for their crimes? not the one we live in that id for sure, hell even most of the reporters in the US who came out against that war at the time quickly ended up losing their jobs, and the ones who promoted it are still on MSM.

                      I think it now widely accepted that Blair should have been made to accept responsibility for his part in that illegal war, and you can be quite sure that were he a leader from a African or Eastern European country he would almost certainly would have been.

                      And your final argument holds no water, we are not talking about some personal acquaintance who takes on some dodgy job…we are talking about the leader of our country.

                    • Incognito …
                      15 February 2021 at 9:31 pm

                      I agree that political pragmatism can be taken too far if it is not tempered and guided.

                      For one, I don’t see a straight line where you’re seeing one; people are more complex than a simple connecting of two dots of your choosing. Do I condemn Ardern for her choices? No. Then again, Arendt wrote about the banality of evil and I do think that applies to Ardern, in this case, but possibly not in the way you might think. You’re too impulsive (by your own admission) to my liking to even try start a discussion with you on this topic.

                      Hypothetically speaking, my answer to your question is No.

              • Morrissey …
                14 February 2021 at 7:39 pm

                Good question. I'll get the Daisycutter Sports researchers onto it, pronto.

                • Incognito …
                  14 February 2021 at 7:43 pm

                  I’ll save you the time. The answer is: neither, Ardern never even met Blair whilst working in London.

                  It is in your link, which you obviously hadn’t read yourself crying

                  • Morrissey …
                    14 February 2021 at 7:56 pm

                    As the article states, she "worked for UK PM Tony Blair's Cabinet Office."

                    She didn't meet the godfather, but she still worked for that highly controversial gang.

                    • Incognito …
                      14 February 2021 at 8:03 pm

                      How many worked in that Office at the time?

                    • Siobhan …
                      15 February 2021 at 11:28 am

                      Trust Incognito to bring up the good old "everyone else was doing it" defense … working for someone considered a war criminal ..working in an organisation controlled and nurtured by said war criminal…all fine as long as there are exactly how many other brave young souls doing their OE??….not to mention the tone of regret at her lack of contact with the Big Cheese Himself..(my italics)

                      "She didn't realise till she got to London what a tiny cog she would be – "we were in a unit of 80, and we were one of many units" – and that the connection to Blair was zilch.

                      "I was working alongside small businesses, trying to make their lives easier. Once I got over myself I just got into the work."

                      or…for that matter…helping people who's lives are being made harder by the very policies of New Labour…

                    • Incognito []
                      15 February 2021 at 9:53 pm

                      Trust Incognito to bring up the good old “everyone else was doing it” defense … [sic]

                      I’m sorry to disappoint you. I could also ask you when/where I ever used that kind of stupid reasoning and to provide a link but that would be giving you rope and hang you at the same time, which is so unfair, don’t you agree?

                      Adrian and you seem adamant on making your points whilst causing as much collateral damage as you can. It is a kind of ‘pragmatic activism’ AKA the end justifies the means as practiced too by your heroes Sir John Key and Donald Trump.

                      For intelligent well-read people you really suck at (political) debate 🙁

                  • alwyn …
                    14 February 2021 at 8:59 pm

                    "Never even met him?"

                    Amazing. I wonder who told her story to her Alma Mata? The University of Waikato.PR Department wasn't it?

                    They describe it as follows. "She then moved overseas to London, where she worked as a senior policy advisor for British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the UK Cabinet Office. She was also seconded to the Home Office to assist with a review of policing in England and Wales."

                    Senior Advisor. Seconded to the Home Office. That sounds a great deal more impressive than what you say, doesn't it?

                    https://www.waikato.ac.nz/study/success-stories/jacinda-ardern

                    • Incognito …
                      14 February 2021 at 9:17 pm

                      Morrissey said so and he’ll know, it is in his link. Take it up with him, if you must. It is not my job to make somebody else’s CV sound more “impressive” but feel free to knock yourself out; you sound bored.

        • Stuart Munro 1.1.1.2
          14 February 2021 at 7:48 pm

          She is really giving Helen Clarke a run for her money as being most centrist Labour PM ever…yuk.

          Not really, no. I don't think we'll see an Ardern version of the Nathaniel Brandon Institute, for example. The Labour party was more in the throes of neoliberalism under Clark. Though no more inclined to make waves – and lacking a strong economic voice to contest the arrant nonsense coming out of Treasury, the Ardern government is coming to recognize that the fastest growing inequality in the OECD, a high suicide rate, and declining home ownership are not a ringing endorsement of neoliberal policies. And, though it has moved very slowly on it, it is gradually realizing how pervasive immigration rorts had become under the lackadaisical oversight of MBIE.

          As long as one is happy to die of old age before economic justice issues are addressed, one can be somewhat satisfied with the government – just don't expect to make up any ground lost to civil service corruption or inertia. The government has decreed NZers are to be wretchedly poor.

    • Incognito 1.2
      14 February 2021 at 11:35 am

      The OP is a sobering read and I could not fault it. Let’s Keep Moving Steady as she goes …

    • Ad 1.3
      14 February 2021 at 4:41 pm

      Go on. Put your courage where your mouth is and put it up as an actual post for debate. See if this stacks up once it comes into actual daylight.

      These days being condemned by the militant left is like being finger-wagged by the Mormons.

      S'cuse me I'll just pop down to New World; I've run out of actual fucks to give.

      • arkie 1.3.1
        14 February 2021 at 7:04 pm

        Well, here it is on OM, where there is daylight aplenty. If you have any actual rebuttal now is your chance to state it.

        Personally I find the aggressive patronising commenting 'style' to be unpleasant, unnecessary and frankly unhelpful.

        • Adrian Thornton 1.3.1.1
          15 February 2021 at 12:38 pm

          @Ad, "aggressive patronising commenting 'style' to be unpleasant, unnecessary and frankly unhelpful" that is all he ever really offers, because he has nothing else..I guess he finds defending his centrist liberal positions becoming a very hard lesson in futility, so he lashes out.

          • Incognito 1.3.1.1.1
            15 February 2021 at 9:37 pm

            In my opinion, that is a bad mischaracterisation and feels like an ad hom, partly or mainly (?) because you strongly disagree with his views. He has written many various Posts here that show that he is not shallow and can be a deep thinker. That said, you’re not the first and most likely not the last one who’s lashed out at him with cheap body shots.

      • Treetop 1.3.2
        14 February 2021 at 8:13 pm

        Is there a full moon tonight?

  2. Ad 2
    14 February 2021 at 8:26 am

    First one to molten salt reactors wins.

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

  3. RedLogix 3
    14 February 2021 at 8:29 am

    Tulsi Gabbard on Snowden and Assange. Direct and to the point:

    • Anne 3.1
      14 February 2021 at 9:32 am

      Direct and to the point. Agreed. But the charges will never be dropped.

      In America they prosecute whistleblowers and deny them the ability to answer the charges.

      In NZ they don't bother with prosecutions except in exceptional cases (eg Dr Bill Sutch), they simply destroy whistleblowers' careers /reputations and no-one is any the wiser what is going on behind their backs.

      • RedLogix 3.1.1
        14 February 2021 at 10:17 am

        We underestimate just how offended the national security grouping was at Snowden and Assange. From their perspective they felt deeply betrayed and aggrieved. These are people to whom loyalty is everything, so it's not surprising they want the rules applied to the letter of the law.

        But the natsec types aren't the dominant influence in Washington at the moment, and the USA is a complex mix of political forces. The stars may yet align to see the charges dropped.

        • Morrissey 3.1.1.1
          14 February 2021 at 12:31 pm

          They were also "offended" by Daniel Ellsberg. They continue to be outraged by truth-tellers/journalists/defectors. They're not very good at actually debating them, however, as this exchange with Glenn Greenwald shows….

          • Adrian Thornton 3.1.1.1.1
            14 February 2021 at 4:02 pm

            Classic clip, well there is good reason why Greenwald, Mate', Taibbi have never been invited on to ANY MSM Liberal new show in the past four years, (with maybe a couple of extremely rare exceptions) to offer a counter narrative to Russiagate….because people like Maddow and Kim Hill do not have the strength of their convictions just like the various Russiagaters on this site.

            When confronted with a request of offering up actual evidence all they ever do dodge, bluster and boil…take this simple question, why has there never been allowed any counter narrative to Russsiagate on liberal MSM?…keeping in mind that probably the most powerful intelligence organization in the history of human existence spent four long years on this issue, surely they with all that massive, incredible endless human resource at their disposal, they could put together the evidence that would allow Kim Hill and Maddow to blow a few leftie journalists counter narratives out of the water? so why never a counter narrative?… no it seems they are not confident in their position, so therefore obviously unwilling to test their conspiracy theories out in public view, no, just like all the Russiagaters around here, all just so much hot air and never any substance.

            • McFlock 3.1.1.1.1.1
              14 February 2021 at 4:32 pm

              So with "rare exceptions", every mainstream media interviewer in the world is part of the coverup. Sounds legit /sarc

              • Adrian Thornton …
                14 February 2021 at 4:47 pm

                As I just said..as usual obfuscating and not answering the actual question.

                • McFlock …
                  14 February 2021 at 5:10 pm

                  That was "obfuscating" for you?

                  On the one hand, maybe every interviewer, editor, and producer is intent on concealing the truth.

                  On the other hand, maybe the mainstream assessment of "Russiagate" pretty much matches the actual facts, which would make "counter narratives" actively misleading. And maybe some interviewers and producers also think Greenwald and one or two others are jerks.

                  "With very few exceptions", lol

                  • Adrian Thornton …
                    14 February 2021 at 5:59 pm

                    OK McFlock, then we can all take it from your answer, that when Liberal MSM deem any subject not ever worthy of debating or not ever having even one counter narrative (and let’s remember that even climate change was allowed to be debated vigorously until only recently) then you are quite happy with that arrangement?

                    …you know, sort of like there was little to no debate (in the US) on the illegal war in Iraq from MSM liberal press? I guess you were happy with that then as well?

                    Or no debate in the US media today on whether a non US citizen such as Assange can or even should be extradited to the US…no, but of course you are happy with that, and do you know how I know that you are OK with all of this..because I have watched your comments on this forum over time, and it has become as clear as day that if liberal MSM say jump…NcFlock will answer immediately and with all the enthusiasm he can muster “how high sir”

                    Btw, who gives a fuck if someone is a jerk? …by using your always flawed logic, if a person is a “jerk” but happens to have the information needed to make a piece of information whole and legible you wouldn’t communicate with them, and so carry on your life disseminating half-truths (at best) …yep, that is you all over pal.

                    • McFlock …
                      14 February 2021 at 8:09 pm

                      Dude, your first paragraph is bunk.

                      This is a simple "which is more likely" situation.

                      On the one hand, everyone from Kim Hill to Rachel Maddow ("with very few exceptions") is working to suppress the idea that Russia did not attempt to influence the 2016 US elections.

                      On the other hand, everyone from Kim Hill to Rachel Maddow ("with very few exceptions") thinks that Greenwald's comments are not newsworthy (or accurate) enough to put on air. Or they think he is newsworthy, they just don't like him.

                      I tend to towards the idea that they just don't think his "counter-narrative" has much basis in reality.

                      Skimming the rest of your comment, you seem to get carried away with your own flecks of spit, as usual. Although the take that a country cannot request the extradition of a non-citizen of that country is particularly odd.

                  • mauī …
                    14 February 2021 at 9:36 pm

                    On the other hand, maybe the mainstream assessment of "Russiagate" pretty much matches the actual facts, …

                    Considering the Steele report was a key supporting document for Russiagate, and was hyped in the media for months, possibly years, and would later be investigated and described by the Inspector General as "Internet rumour". I would be calling into question whether the mainstream has really any idea on actual facts.

                    • McFlock …
                      14 February 2021 at 11:53 pm

                      So a third possibility: with very few exceptions, everyone in the non-Russian and non-Chinese media has been hoodwinked into not knowing fiction from the facts that Greenwald and similar can prove beyond doubt.

                      I guess that goes for all the official investigations and court cases relating to the ouevre of the "counter-narratives" .

  4. Ad 4
    14 February 2021 at 8:49 am

    It'll be interesting to see Te Aupouri pull off this massive solar farm in the way far north:

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/124224899/new-zealands-largest-solar-farm-proposed-for-top-of-country

    Not sure I've seen a head-to-head choice between a solar farm and the alternative choice to heavy horticulture before.

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

    • RedLogix 4.1
      14 February 2021 at 9:03 am

      SWB (Solar/Wind/Battery) tech will be an essential component of the transition off fossil fuels. I'm generally scrupulous not to throw rocks at the people pushing it and I think a great deal of useful tech will evolve from the effort.

      But it has fundamental physical limitations and environmental trade offs all of its own. Ignoring them is another kind of folly.

  5. RedLogix 5
    14 February 2021 at 8:58 am

    It’s only if we assume a substantial reduction in energy usage that the project becomes feasible. But that requires us to question human behavior and expectations about economic growth.

    We cannot decry poverty on one hand – and demand a reduction in economic activity at the same time. Yes some small fraction of humanity consume excessively and can be scaled back – the vast majority of us do not.

    Low-carbon technology is good. But by itself it will not resolve humanity’s ecological dilemma.

    The Kaya Identity conclusively shows that zero-carbon tech is the only possible solution.

    Ecological economists understand that aiming for perpetual growth on a finite planet is a ticket to tragedy.

    The weasel word here is 'perpetual growth' with the implication that we will simply keep expanding on exactly the same population and technological trajectory. This is a nonsense – population growth rates peaked in 1968 and most developed nations of the world are already fasting ageing into decline.

    The only place left that is growing is Africa – precisely because it arrived so late at economic development. Overall we will reach peak population mid-century.

    What may well be true is that we're reaching not so much 'peak oil', but we're running into the limits of what can be efficiently done with fossil fuels – regardless of their impact on climate.

    The point totally missed by the OP is that unless we not only get to zero carbon and closed loop resource economies – no matter how much we 'slow down' or 'change direction' – we will eventually exhaust the various mineral extraction and environmental sinks anyway. Whether it takes us 50 years or 500 really doesn't matter in the long run.

    Atmospheric carbon is just one balance we need to restore; but the limitations of fossil fuels and renewables means that we can never attain sufficient energy intensity and efficiency to de-couple from our total dependence on exploiting the natural world.

    Building machines to suck CO2 out of the air is a reflex response for people hooked on technofixes,

    And doing nothing to get CO2 back below 350ppm – while demanding we crash the human economies at the same time – is literally choosing the worst of both worlds at the same time.

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

  6. KSaysHi 6
    14 February 2021 at 9:53 am

    I found this hard to believe until I realised it is a migrant woman. Maybe more protections are needed? The couple she moved in with wouldn't give her a key, meaning if they left the house she had to leave too.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/woman-desperate-for-housing-banned-from-showering-more-than-once-every-three-days/G7PJYBIAN7DWRQXNLEEQPWITBI/

    • RedLogix 6.1
      14 February 2021 at 10:45 am

      Absolutely weird. This is clearly not a standard rental situation – it reads much more like a flatmate or boarding arrangement and the couple who own the place are clearly not landlords in the usual sense.

      Boarding/flatting can go badly wrong like this – especially when diverse people who're essentially strangers have to share a living space. Not sure how 'more protections' can be made to work in these non-rental scenarios.

  7. Anne 7
    14 February 2021 at 10:39 am

    As expected, Trump has been acquitted on charges of insurrection:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-us-canada-56054136

    A majority of senators voted to indict him but didn’t meet the 2/3rds majority required. What a bunch of self-centred, lily-livered arseholes those Republicans are. Little better than Trump in fact.

    • Macro 7.1
      14 February 2021 at 1:55 pm

      Little better than Trump in fact.

      No better and in many cases worse. They have been his enablers for the past 4 years. The subsequent comments by McConnell after voting to aquit the Chump show him to be completely two faced.

      https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1360697978151919622

    • Foreign waka 7.2
      14 February 2021 at 2:06 pm

      Seems that Southerners who long for days past and hope that their patsy Mr. Trump should pave the way. It is amazing that insurrection has not been condemned and brought to justice. Is there an expectation that the USA will split in two in the years to come, with the southern states ruled like a fiefdom?

    • Treetop 7.3
      14 February 2021 at 3:22 pm

      Would 10 more Republicans have voted for impeachment were Trump still the President?

      See what Trump's next move is.

      • mac1 7.3.1
        14 February 2021 at 6:40 pm

        Are you saying that Biden should concede retrospectively to Trump? Swear him in in one second and the next serve him with a bi-cameral impeachment?

        My hope is that Trump will face justice as McConnell allowed within two years, be convicted and then see the Republicans face their biennial doom when the next round of elections begins. Even better if Trump has his own party, or the Republicans have to form a no to Trump party, to divide the Right even more.

        The NoT Party.

        • Treetop 7.3.1.1
          14 February 2021 at 7:01 pm

          Biden won the election. It just so happened that the impeachment hearing was held after Trump's term ended.

          • mac1 7.3.1.1.1
            14 February 2021 at 7:24 pm

            I understand. It's a pity they can't do a retrospective action based on the time Congress first set impeachment proceedings to begin ie before January 20 and be able to retrospectively fire him, stop his salary and stop the perks while awaiting further civil and/or criminal legal action.

            • Treetop 7.3.1.1.1.1
              14 February 2021 at 7:34 pm

              Not knowing if the magic 17 number would have been reached. I feel cheated.

              • mac1 …
                14 February 2021 at 7:43 pm

                We believe the 43 who said it was a constitutional issue only, don't we, rather than running scared at the reaction of a part of the 74 million? That's why I want them to suffer badly in two year's time at those elections and in 2024 so they will understand that the right thing to do is also the best politics to play.

                • Treetop …
                  14 February 2021 at 8:28 pm

                  It will be interesting to see how well the 7 Republican senators do when it comes to re election for the senate.

                  Can the Republican Party stop a current senator from being a candidate?

                  • mac1 …
                    14 February 2021 at 9:24 pm

                    Don't know. Could happen in NZ- and needs to, in the National party. John Key got the Helensville nomination over a sitting MP, after all, not that I'm saying the Nats need more John Keys……. But, the US media commentators on CNN were saying that the 43 were running scared of Trump and being dumped.

                    Money talks. The GOP have put $325,000 into a campaign to oust the new California governor, using a recall system with seemingly an analogous scheme to the recall system in NZ on Maori wards which Labour is repealing.

                  • Macro …
                    14 February 2021 at 9:24 pm

                    Only one, Murkowski, is up for re-election in 2022. Romney is up for reelection in 2024. The reset have either just been reelected or are departing at the end of their term.

                    https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1360695527671693314

                    Can the Republican Party stop a current senator from being a candidate?

                    Essentially they have to win their respective primaries – and Congresswoman Cheney who is the daughter of VP Dick Cheney and 3rd ranking Republican in the House is facing severe criticism from some in her state of Wyoming.

                    • Treetop …
                      14 February 2021 at 10:20 pm

                      Can Trump stand in the senate primaries?

                      You always give good explanations.

                    • Macro []
                      15 February 2021 at 7:27 am

                      Yes. Having survived the impeachment vote again, Trump could stand for Senate. There is however the possibility that an Amendment 14 action could be taken and he is debarred from taking further office. Am on phone now so can't give links easily here. Will post them later. But there is discussion online should you Google trump amendment 14

                    • Treetop []
                      15 February 2021 at 8:51 am

                      Thanks.

            • Macro 7.3.1.1.1.2
              14 February 2021 at 9:39 pm

              Essentially that is the crux of the decision by McConnell to delay the trial until after the inauguration on the 20th Jan. The House were willing to run with an immediate impeachment before the finish of Trumps presidency but McConnell would not have anything to do with it. The hypocrisy of the man is unbelievable. More here:

              https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/13/mitch-mcconnell-trump-republicans

              House majority leader Nancy Pelosi criticized McConnell’s remarks in a press conference on Saturday and said the issue of timing “was not the reason that he voted the way he did; it was the excuse that he used.”

              “For Mitch McConnell – who created the situation where it could not have been heard before the 20th, or even begun before the 20th in the Senate – to say all the things he said, oh my gosh, about Donald Trump and how horrible he was and is, and then say, ‘But that’s the time that the House chose to bring it over’ – Oh, no. We didn’t choose. You chose not to receive it,” Pelosi said.

  8. Sacha 8
    14 February 2021 at 12:27 pm

    Detail on 'build to rent' as one housing solution. https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/renting/124183905/unleashing-buildtorent-to-solve-the-rental-crisis

    “The key thing that really marks out these build to rent developments is that treatment of the tenant as the customer.”

    • RedBaronCV 8.1
      14 February 2021 at 12:42 pm

      Looks like it's all about letting in overseas "investors" to buy up the place and with the "help" of government accommodation subsidies continue to rip the taxpayer off. One of the canny locals has pointed out that NZ kiwisaver funds cold do this too but there is a lack of local building capacity. So why even bother to let overseas ownership back. And for the student and retired accommodation maybe we should try ushering it out too to reduce the drain to overseas.

      So long as there is a local building capacity shortage there are not going to be more houses to own.

      Just think what the accommodation supplements could do if they were redirected to aid home ownership ( along with other measures) to get back to the level of ownership we used to have. That should be the policy directions – and push the main centre ghost housing back into service.
      Plus how about some more free shortform building courses so that people can learn to build a home for themselves again. It’s not rocket science.

      • Foreign waka 8.1.1
        14 February 2021 at 2:11 pm

        I believe that the issues we are facing with rentals and house affordability is in part and inadvertently caused by the accommodation supplement. Every time it is increased, so are the rents sure to increase too. The taxpayer is being fleeced.

  10. georgecom 10
    14 February 2021 at 3:37 pm

    Neo-liberalism and it's use by date.

    Whether neo-liberalism was ever actually useful, and that's a moot point albeit a historical arguments, similar to whether state socialism would yield actual communism, neo-liberalism met its use by date in 2008.

    Only the most myopic typified by the like of Roger Douglas, Brash, the fragments of ACT etc failed to grasp so

  11. aj 11
    14 February 2021 at 10:04 pm

    One for a rainy day, coming to you in the North Island very shortly.

    In recent years in particular, anti–Zionism is being deliberately conflated with anti–Semitism to suppress legitimate criticisms of Israeli policies.

    This debate features Israel-Palestine with Noam Chomsky & Rudy Rochman, " a young and inspiring activist who uses his growing platform to generate innovative ways to combat anti-Semitism. Rudy is dedicated to fighting antisemitism around the world and strengthening Jews’ connection to the land of Israel. On the other side, Noam Chomsky, a world-renowned intellectual and activist for over 60 years. He has written over 150 books, has multiple arrest records, and is widely known for being a fierce critic of Israel"

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  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 27

    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    36 mins ago
  • Ticket To Anywhere

    You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
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    1 hour ago
  • Stories of varying weight

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    6 hours ago
  • Balancing External Security and the Economy

    New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
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    19 hours ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: The unravelling of the offsets

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    23 hours ago
  • What makes us tick

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    1 day ago
  • Foreshore and seabed 2.0

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    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

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    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
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  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

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    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

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    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

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    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

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  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

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    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
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  • First they came for the Māori

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    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

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    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

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    Skeptical Science
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  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

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    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

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  • Not a story

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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
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  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

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  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

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    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
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  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

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    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
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    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
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  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
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  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
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  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

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  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

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  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

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  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

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  • Reported back

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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
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  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

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    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
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  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

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    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

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    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
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  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
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  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

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  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

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    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
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  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
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  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

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  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

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    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
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  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

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    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

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    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

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    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

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    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

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    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • More young people learning about digital safety

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  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
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  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

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    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
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  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

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  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

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  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

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  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

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  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

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  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

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  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

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    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

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    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

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  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
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    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
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    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
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  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
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  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
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    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

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    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

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  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
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  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

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  • 'Pacific Futures'

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