On a serious note, I want to know WTF Luxon/Seymour/Peters were doing in the three weeks after the election when they knew the probable outcome given the way specials usually go. They should have had a deal just about sewed up before the final result was announced.
I'm suspicious that that they are dragging this out on purpose to blame the specials and so change voting eligibility to favour the Right. That is, to dump same day registration, and perhaps other measures like needing to bring ID when voting.
The obvious change would be count the party vote portion of the specials in the booth they are cast and include them in the provisional results on the night. Sure there might be some disqualified etc but unless it was a really close election we would have a much better idea of where things sit before the final result is issued.
There would be a bit of double handling. Counting special votes, for the party element – before they were reallocated to the batch going to a specific electorate – but it shouldn't be too challenging to manage.
Given that there are usually tens of thousands of votes separating even the closest of results – and that the same margin is required to flip seats at the party level – even a small minority of uncounted informal votes would be unlikely to affect the result. They would, of course, be properly counted and accounted for in the 'final' result (although, given the current performance of the EC, perhaps not).
I guess if they started obviously behaving like they had won already they might have incurred some negative pushback, something like what happened to National in 2005. But the real reason is more like what you suggest, Luxon really had no idea of whether he could cobble together a working government with the desperados surrounding him. He still doesn't, despite all the smiles and obligatory mutterings about "good working relationships" and "having a common goal".
They have nothing of the sort, this will be a government with its only common factors being hatred of the outgoing government, plus greed and arrogance. If Luxon can make a government that lasts the full term then he is a better man than I think he is.
But it is so typical of the right to blame others for their own failings. The system delivered the result, not without some errors and problems, but compared with overseas elections they were pretty minor. Its up to these bods to form a stable government. If it is beyond them, then they should advise the GG that they are unable to form a government and it will be back to the ballot boxes again. Only this time the public will have judged them on their inabilities.
Even if they manage to form a government, there will be no honeymoon period. Already the electorate is sick and tired of the manipulations and perambulations and the parties playing games with each other.
+100 Mike…..I am getting really tired of hearing Luxon say "strong and stable"….couldn't he say "robust and solid" or one of many other options available, just so that I can have some confidence he has a working brain.
As mentioned before, "strong and stable" became a running joke in UK politics. Given the number of NZ voters who have spent time in the UK or even just follow the news from a distance, he'd be well advised to drop it. (But judging by many of his utterances, he doesn't like taking advice).
Greens and Te Pāti Māori are likely to be the main opposition force in this Parliamentary term unless NZ Labour finally retire Rogernomics…(some of us live in hope I guess…) but yes Greens and TPM certainly need to get moving as do the NZCTU and other NGOs.
The hiatus effectively lets the Natzos determine the narrative yet again as they are prone to.
If we want Labour to move away from the neo liberal paradigm, get involved.
Join your local LEC, start drafting remits to submit to yoir local conference.Not everything in Labour is top down. If the flax roots overwhelmingly want to nationalise infrastructure, (for example) the Policy Council must listen.
The MSM response to the cone of silence from Luxon though hasn't been to report on TPM or the Greens or even remark on the apparent insouciance of corporate guy Luxon to democratic accountability – it's been to lazily carry on it's jihad against Labour's now largely irrelevant ex-ministers.
This fits with the wider MSM media pattern in NZ – a rump, decimated and intellectually uncurious press corps with a lazy ambient acceptance of right wing rule combined with a bullying policing of the opposition fueled by press releases from from right wing propaganda fronts like the TPU.
I never thought for one minute people could find more hilarious clips but they are all better than mine…
2. Sandra L-C comment is true, but to us peasants it's all about who wone how many seats. In a more formal way, it's about who took what oath. The coalition of chaos are no more the government than the left 3 parties are the opposition. This is because Luxon (as leader of the biggest-polling party) needs to go to the Governor-General with a coalition agreement, upon which the GG then "…makes it so…". So, in a formal sense, Labour is the nearest thing to a government we have at the moment, although they can't go making decisions that would bind the incoming government, to a great extent.
3. Tiger Mountain, you're absolutely right, because in 2026, Labour hopes to be where National is at the moment. Luxon's put many feet in his mouth by promising everything to everybody and I think his "Get out of jail free card" will be that he had to make some compromises to get the coalition over the line. Normally, that would work, but Luxon's talked up his negotiating skills so much that I think many National voters expect a National govrernment, with a few crumbs thrown to NZF and ACT in order to get their support for a coalition.
So, going back to your point, Tiger Mountain, the last thing Labour wants to be guilty of is making important promises that it then has to reneg on (which I think is where Luxon has put National).
4. Maybe or maybe not the media is right-wing friendly, but primarily it is still the media. If it can't create stories about good news, it will slowly start to write about whatever Luxon is doing. Think of it like a merry-go-round. The media writes stories that it things will sell papers (for example). In other words, it writes what it thinks people think because people will fork out money to read news that supports their own point of view. If/as people become dissatisfied with the incoming coalition, the medial will shift and write those stories, instead.
5. If I was Hipkins/Labour, today I would be publicly offering to lead a delegation to APEC, and take along someone from the incoming government. By virtue of his oath, Hipkins can sign off on things (I think) but would need to discuss such decisions with someone from the incoming government.
If I was Luxon, I would prefer no-one goes to APEC than to send a representative from the caretaking government. If no-one goes, APEC delegates would soon forget about little old NZ, but if Hipkins goes, the delegates will be constantly reminded that the results came out a while back and Luxon hasn't reached a consensus yet.
However, for the sake of New Zealand (politics aside) I think it's important that someone represents NZ at such an important occasion. I don't agree that "…hey, there'll be other APECs". An offer from Labour today would leave National between a rock and hard place. Send Labour or send nobody, neither of which is a good outcome.
Call me a right wing optimist looking at things through rose coloured glasses if you like.
But I think it is a good think for negotiations in any setting to be hard fought rather than easy. I think negotiations that are hard fought tend to be more sustainable in the long run. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, if negotiations are easy, then either party may feel they could have done better. Whereas in hard fought negotiations, parties may believe they have wrung as much out of the process as they can.
And, secondly, if negotiations are easy, then there has been a lot less commitment by either party to the negotiations. On the other hand, where both sides have invested a lot of time and effort in the negotiation process, they are less likely to walk away because their commitment has been a lot higher through the process.
I think we saw this in the result after Labour's first term in that the relationship lasted the full term. Likewise, when my wife was selling real estate, the deals we worried about most were the easy ones, because they were more likely to collapse whereas the hard fought deals tended to settle.
So, in the case of the current negotiations, from a right wing perspecitive it is probably a good thing if the negotiations are hard fought. Because then all parties will think they got the best deal they could, and they will be a lot more committed to the relationship going forward.
From a left wing perspective the best outcome would likely be a quick and easy deal because those deals may fall apart just as easily.
The Better Public Media has been ruled a Charity by the Court.
Some of the things that they advocate for resonate for me.
It believes well-funded public media – be it news, drama or documentary – not reliant on ratings or clicks, would lead to greater social cohesion.
“For example, people often think the wider world beyond their suburb is unsafe because of exaggerated crime coverage in the news,” Thomas said.
“If the only news media we have is shallow and ignores policies to focus on 'the horse race', then politicians who want to be elected will tailor their messages accordingly.
“There are examples of this from the election such as National’s bootcamp policy and Labour’s GST on food policy. Both policies are proven to be ineffective but in a 30-second soundbite they resonate. I really think that is a terrible way for decisions to be made.”
Couldnt agree more Ian, in the 70s my old old man used to complain about all the murders of which in reality there were less than previous decades . My reasoning to him was that in the 50s he got the 2Minute Silence also known as the Marlborough Express which didn't even have a front page, that was all ads, but the murders were a week old in a small column on maybe the 3rd page, whereas even in the 70s they were first item on the 6)Çlock News delivered to his own lounge so it just looked as though there were. Now, videographers do more kilometres than RamRaiders tearing around Auckland following them to record it all.
According to Simon Wilson in the (paywalled) Herald today, Luxon "..should establish a high-powered Fix Auckland Group, with direct access to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet…"
Ah yes, FAG. Groundswell might find the name appropriate. In any event, obviously their first move would be to restore car parks on K road.
But but but the supercity was supposed to fix all Auckland's problems……….
Anyway look forward to Groundswell's FonTerror banners as they protest their green policies.
Fonterra says its milk will be 30% greener in seven years – by encouraging farmers to plant trees, treat cow pats and introduce methane-cutting tools.
The announcement is the first time the co-op, the country’s biggest emitter, has asked its farmers to take steps to reduce emissions.
The company is under pressure to reduce the greenhouse footprint of its dairy, because its biggest customers, including Nestlé and Danone, have introduced science-led climate goals.
Mr Merger and Aquisitions' insistence on telling us about his need for a strong and stable government's going to provide some wonderful responses after the coalition's up and running. Even if it doesn't collapse midway through, anything involving Winston Peters and David Seymour's never going to be strong and stable. Whoever came up with Luxon's meme surely didn't envisage the precise outcome of the election, but you'd at least think he'd stop trotting it out at every opportunity.
Luxon has no one to blame but himself reaching out to NZ first increased their popularity and reduced Nationals popularity.Now by signaling he wants to be at Apec Luxon set himself up to be made a fool of twice.Now he is saying low and middle income earners will get tax cuts that's signaling that Nationals tax cuts are being re-written. More dead rats to swallow while Winston willows in Luxon's back tracking ,oh I'm the best negotiator (Trump like)our bottom line will not be compromised a lot of walking back for Luxon and still no govt.This is 1996 all over again Peter's is making Luxon squirm .Luxon has only one other choice go to the electorate again and that will not be popular as all the time wasted.
One has years of experience in politics and forming government and yet the man who would bring his managerial competence to government did not know him.
And the man who did, but who has never formed a coalition government in all his years as an MP, thought that he could instruct another party’s leader to meet his terms for coalition or require consent to every government action (this before his party polling numbers halved and enabled the ultimate triumph of the one who plays his hand after the votes are all counted).
So it has come to this.
Tick tock.
Bird of the century results are coming.
US slang. flipping the bird : to make an offensive gesture at (someone) by pointing the middle finger upward while keeping the other fingers folded down.
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Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
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Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
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The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Behind the scenes coalition negotiations 😜
https://youtu.be/hlb-lXypMyI?si=SPVubYtzqLWq-yaN
I prefer this one:
https://twitter.com/watershitdown/status/1721238198322598158
Haha.
On a serious note, I want to know WTF Luxon/Seymour/Peters were doing in the three weeks after the election when they knew the probable outcome given the way specials usually go. They should have had a deal just about sewed up before the final result was announced.
I'm suspicious that that they are dragging this out on purpose to blame the specials and so change voting eligibility to favour the Right. That is, to dump same day registration, and perhaps other measures like needing to bring ID when voting.
Luxon and seymour were praying they wouldn't need Winston instead of being grown ups.
The obvious change would be count the party vote portion of the specials in the booth they are cast and include them in the provisional results on the night. Sure there might be some disqualified etc but unless it was a really close election we would have a much better idea of where things sit before the final result is issued.
That sounds like a really practical suggestion.
There would be a bit of double handling. Counting special votes, for the party element – before they were reallocated to the batch going to a specific electorate – but it shouldn't be too challenging to manage.
Given that there are usually tens of thousands of votes separating even the closest of results – and that the same margin is required to flip seats at the party level – even a small minority of uncounted informal votes would be unlikely to affect the result. They would, of course, be properly counted and accounted for in the 'final' result (although, given the current performance of the EC, perhaps not).
Good idea Crickle.
I guess if they started obviously behaving like they had won already they might have incurred some negative pushback, something like what happened to National in 2005. But the real reason is more like what you suggest, Luxon really had no idea of whether he could cobble together a working government with the desperados surrounding him. He still doesn't, despite all the smiles and obligatory mutterings about "good working relationships" and "having a common goal".
They have nothing of the sort, this will be a government with its only common factors being hatred of the outgoing government, plus greed and arrogance. If Luxon can make a government that lasts the full term then he is a better man than I think he is.
But it is so typical of the right to blame others for their own failings. The system delivered the result, not without some errors and problems, but compared with overseas elections they were pretty minor. Its up to these bods to form a stable government. If it is beyond them, then they should advise the GG that they are unable to form a government and it will be back to the ballot boxes again. Only this time the public will have judged them on their inabilities.
Even if they manage to form a government, there will be no honeymoon period. Already the electorate is sick and tired of the manipulations and perambulations and the parties playing games with each other.
+100 Mike…..I am getting really tired of hearing Luxon say "strong and stable"….couldn't he say "robust and solid" or one of many other options available, just so that I can have some confidence he has a working brain.
As mentioned before, "strong and stable" became a running joke in UK politics. Given the number of NZ voters who have spent time in the UK or even just follow the news from a distance, he'd be well advised to drop it. (But judging by many of his utterances, he doesn't like taking advice).
Strong and stable – Wikipedia
A couple of alternatives:
Rigid and resistant
Rigid and reluctant
Tony "Priceless".
OMG. Thanks for this Tony. Can't stop laughing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YCrvSJaZQg
King Christopher the Great. (His view anyway.)
At some point the Opposition will have to wake up and be an Opposition.
While we're waiting for Labour to finally move off the throne, maybe the Greens and Maori Party could do the job they were just voted to do.
Greens and Te Pāti Māori are likely to be the main opposition force in this Parliamentary term unless NZ Labour finally retire Rogernomics…(some of us live in hope I guess…) but yes Greens and TPM certainly need to get moving as do the NZCTU and other NGOs.
The hiatus effectively lets the Natzos determine the narrative yet again as they are prone to.
If we want Labour to move away from the neo liberal paradigm, get involved.
Join your local LEC, start drafting remits to submit to yoir local conference.Not everything in Labour is top down. If the flax roots overwhelmingly want to nationalise infrastructure, (for example) the Policy Council must listen.
The Opposition cannot be in Opposition until they are in Opposition!.
That is true of Labour.
Anyone else it's a free hit.
The MSM response to the cone of silence from Luxon though hasn't been to report on TPM or the Greens or even remark on the apparent insouciance of corporate guy Luxon to democratic accountability – it's been to lazily carry on it's jihad against Labour's now largely irrelevant ex-ministers.
This fits with the wider MSM media pattern in NZ – a rump, decimated and intellectually uncurious press corps with a lazy ambient acceptance of right wing rule combined with a bullying policing of the opposition fueled by press releases from from right wing propaganda fronts like the TPU.
2. Sandra L-C comment is true, but to us peasants it's all about who wone how many seats. In a more formal way, it's about who took what oath. The coalition of chaos are no more the government than the left 3 parties are the opposition. This is because Luxon (as leader of the biggest-polling party) needs to go to the Governor-General with a coalition agreement, upon which the GG then "…makes it so…". So, in a formal sense, Labour is the nearest thing to a government we have at the moment, although they can't go making decisions that would bind the incoming government, to a great extent.
3. Tiger Mountain, you're absolutely right, because in 2026, Labour hopes to be where National is at the moment. Luxon's put many feet in his mouth by promising everything to everybody and I think his "Get out of jail free card" will be that he had to make some compromises to get the coalition over the line. Normally, that would work, but Luxon's talked up his negotiating skills so much that I think many National voters expect a National govrernment, with a few crumbs thrown to NZF and ACT in order to get their support for a coalition.
So, going back to your point, Tiger Mountain, the last thing Labour wants to be guilty of is making important promises that it then has to reneg on (which I think is where Luxon has put National).
4. Maybe or maybe not the media is right-wing friendly, but primarily it is still the media. If it can't create stories about good news, it will slowly start to write about whatever Luxon is doing. Think of it like a merry-go-round. The media writes stories that it things will sell papers (for example). In other words, it writes what it thinks people think because people will fork out money to read news that supports their own point of view. If/as people become dissatisfied with the incoming coalition, the medial will shift and write those stories, instead.
5. If I was Hipkins/Labour, today I would be publicly offering to lead a delegation to APEC, and take along someone from the incoming government. By virtue of his oath, Hipkins can sign off on things (I think) but would need to discuss such decisions with someone from the incoming government.
If I was Luxon, I would prefer no-one goes to APEC than to send a representative from the caretaking government. If no-one goes, APEC delegates would soon forget about little old NZ, but if Hipkins goes, the delegates will be constantly reminded that the results came out a while back and Luxon hasn't reached a consensus yet.
However, for the sake of New Zealand (politics aside) I think it's important that someone represents NZ at such an important occasion. I don't agree that "…hey, there'll be other APECs". An offer from Labour today would leave National between a rock and hard place. Send Labour or send nobody, neither of which is a good outcome.
Sorry, "…neither of which may be a good outcome for the incoming coalition, but it is the best thing for NZ as a whole, IMHO…"
(Not feeling well today).
Get well soon.
Call me a right wing optimist looking at things through rose coloured glasses if you like.
But I think it is a good think for negotiations in any setting to be hard fought rather than easy. I think negotiations that are hard fought tend to be more sustainable in the long run. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, if negotiations are easy, then either party may feel they could have done better. Whereas in hard fought negotiations, parties may believe they have wrung as much out of the process as they can.
And, secondly, if negotiations are easy, then there has been a lot less commitment by either party to the negotiations. On the other hand, where both sides have invested a lot of time and effort in the negotiation process, they are less likely to walk away because their commitment has been a lot higher through the process.
I think we saw this in the result after Labour's first term in that the relationship lasted the full term. Likewise, when my wife was selling real estate, the deals we worried about most were the easy ones, because they were more likely to collapse whereas the hard fought deals tended to settle.
So, in the case of the current negotiations, from a right wing perspecitive it is probably a good thing if the negotiations are hard fought. Because then all parties will think they got the best deal they could, and they will be a lot more committed to the relationship going forward.
From a left wing perspective the best outcome would likely be a quick and easy deal because those deals may fall apart just as easily.
The Better Public Media has been ruled a Charity by the Court.
Some of the things that they advocate for resonate for me.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/advocating-for-stronger-public-media-a-charitable-cause-court-rules?utm_source=Newsroom&utm_campaign=507cd68e07-Daily_Briefing+14.11.2023&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-507cd68e07-95522477&mc_cid=507cd68e07&mc_eid=88a3081e75
Couldnt agree more Ian, in the 70s my old old man used to complain about all the murders of which in reality there were less than previous decades . My reasoning to him was that in the 50s he got the 2Minute Silence also known as the Marlborough Express which didn't even have a front page, that was all ads, but the murders were a week old in a small column on maybe the 3rd page, whereas even in the 70s they were first item on the 6)Çlock News delivered to his own lounge so it just looked as though there were. Now, videographers do more kilometres than RamRaiders tearing around Auckland following them to record it all.
According to Simon Wilson in the (paywalled) Herald today, Luxon "..should establish a high-powered Fix Auckland Group, with direct access to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet…"
Ah yes, FAG. Groundswell might find the name appropriate. In any event, obviously their first move would be to restore car parks on K road.
But but but the supercity was supposed to fix all Auckland's problems……….
Anyway look forward to Groundswell's FonTerror banners as they protest their green policies.
Fonterra says its milk will be 30% greener in seven years – by encouraging farmers to plant trees, treat cow pats and introduce methane-cutting tools.
The announcement is the first time the co-op, the country’s biggest emitter, has asked its farmers to take steps to reduce emissions.
The company is under pressure to reduce the greenhouse footprint of its dairy, because its biggest customers, including Nestlé and Danone, have introduced science-led climate goals.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/133258547/fonterra-pledges-to-make-milk-production-30-greener-by-2030
In respect to treating cow pats, an obvious solution is dung beetles.
Here's a few minutes of a local effort (Sth Wairarapa).
Across the ditch ANZ CEO Shayne Shayne Elliott says the Australian dream of home ownership “has become the preserve of the rich" in The Australian.
Here ANZ just increased profit by 10% with an incoming govt that has policies that will make home ownership less affordable than it is now.
Interesting times for the banks who see a market in decline that they've plundered for all it's worth.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/301007984/tova-obrien-christopher-luxons-inexperience-costs-him-international-power-play
Mr Merger and Aquisitions' insistence on telling us about his need for a strong and stable government's going to provide some wonderful responses after the coalition's up and running. Even if it doesn't collapse midway through, anything involving Winston Peters and David Seymour's never going to be strong and stable. Whoever came up with Luxon's meme surely didn't envisage the precise outcome of the election, but you'd at least think he'd stop trotting it out at every opportunity.
I wonder if luxon has ever beaten a hostile take over by 2 smaller companies off !
bwaghorn, ‘ Hostile takeover by two smaller companies" lol
Luxon thought he was in control "till he wasn't. Back to the Market?
I don't think luxons clever enough to manage Winston, it'll either be a disaster 3 years or Winston will get alot of nzf policy done.
There's at least 3 more years of scripted slogans unless he gets rolled by his more ambitious colleagues.
He’s a tad loose off the cuff with comments like bottom feeders so he'll likely stick to the safety rails a script offers.
I hear that spud head is not going to Apec. Lucky Apec. The absence of a grinning gargoyle would be a plus
Crikey Tova
Luxon has no one to blame but himself reaching out to NZ first increased their popularity and reduced Nationals popularity.Now by signaling he wants to be at Apec Luxon set himself up to be made a fool of twice.Now he is saying low and middle income earners will get tax cuts that's signaling that Nationals tax cuts are being re-written. More dead rats to swallow while Winston willows in Luxon's back tracking ,oh I'm the best negotiator (Trump like)our bottom line will not be compromised a lot of walking back for Luxon and still no govt.This is 1996 all over again Peter's is making Luxon squirm .Luxon has only one other choice go to the electorate again and that will not be popular as all the time wasted.
Elders of Tik Tok
Three blind mice
Too many to
make the clock
run on time
One has years of experience in politics and forming government and yet the man who would bring his managerial competence to government did not know him.
And the man who did, but who has never formed a coalition government in all his years as an MP, thought that he could instruct another party’s leader to meet his terms for coalition or require consent to every government action (this before his party polling numbers halved and enabled the ultimate triumph of the one who plays his hand after the votes are all counted).
So it has come to this.
Tick tock.
Bird of the century results are coming.
US slang. flipping the bird : to make an offensive gesture at (someone) by pointing the middle finger upward while keeping the other fingers folded down.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/133291298/pteketeke-wins-bird-of-the-century-with-a-record-number-of-votes-placed-in-2023
Hippy tutai
https://youtu.be/an_4rfU8y8k?si=UpyDIZ0XoQi5j932
All IO gifts are special to me ie
https://youtu.be/jZHcuKeau8M?si=X8IIQyAEFNZIAK4d