Open mike 15/03/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 15th, 2021 - 65 comments
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Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

65 comments on “Open mike 15/03/2021 ”

  1. Muttonbird 1

    Colin Peacock takes Melissa Lee to task here and, in his own way, doesn't hold back.

    So which outlets, programmes or individuals were showing signs of political bias or interference in our media now – or might if new funding comes on-stream?

    “I see it all over the place. It doesn’t happen all the time but you can certainly see when the stories were not fulsome,“ she said.

    Lee declined to tell Mediawatch or give examples – a shame given her Kiwiblog article challenged media to have "the strength to ask the questions."

    Clearly she is keen to raise a lot of questions about the media – though she had few clear answers this week for Mediawatch.

    He reminds us the last time NZ on Air money was used for political interference, it was Melissa Lee herself who did it.

    I have no doubt were she to get her hands on that portfolio she'd not hesitate to use it against her political opponents. Her use of the Dirty Politics outfit, Kiwiblog, to "start a conversation" points directly to this.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018787264/claims-of-cancel-culture-and-media-bias-get-political

    • gsays 1.1

      Thanks for the read.

      I followed the link to Kiwiblog, the comments were enlightening.

      Using Aotearoa causes such conniptions amongst some.

      I shall be sure to use the noun from now on.

  2. Tiger Mountain 2

    ACT’s resident gun lover MP, Nicole McKee, of COLFO (Council of Licensed Firearm Owners) says the gun laws and confiscations introduced following the Christchurch massacre had no impact on a rise in crimes involving guns.
    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/438377/rise-in-gun-crime-despite-government-clampdown-after-terror-attack

    The media treatment of this so far reminds, in the incomplete, and I would say dishonest framing, of Sue Bradfords s59 Bill–removing a defence for child assault–was widely portrayed as an anti smacking law. And similarly, after several years Family First and others were claiming that the law change had not stopped children dying…

    In the fire arms instance I would like to know the stats, what type of weapons were used, and who used them. Legal/illegal, hand gun/shot gun/rifle/semi auto. Have the cops been more diligent in recording activity involving firearms? Has “501” friction been a factor?

    ACT seems to want to disparage both the Govt. reaction to the 51 Mosque killings, and score points with the gun nuts using figures that may or may not support what they are saying–when–some investigative work is done beyond the provocative headlines.

  3. Treetop 3

    A person is required to register each car they own and not an individual gun. Both users require a licence.

  4. Grafton Gully 4

    Looks like COVID-19 could be here to stay.

    "If the rampant spread of the virus continues and more critical mutations accumulate, then we may be condemned to chasing after the evolving SARS-CoV-2 continually, as we have long done for influenza virus," Ho says. "Such considerations require that we stop virus transmission as quickly as is feasible, by redoubling our mitigation measures and by expediting vaccine rollout."

    https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210308131712.htm

    • Treetop 4.1

      Both a vaccine and treatment are required to combat Covid – 19 due to Covid being endemic.

      When I look at how promising antibiotics were as the cure all I think this is what is going to happen with Covid vaccines.

      When it came to the Spanish flu in 1918 was it fatal because people had no immunity when they had the viral form or they got a bacterial infection and there was no treatment for it?

    • weka 4.2

      there's also potential the the vaccine rollout won't happen fast enough/wide enough (and other measures) and the virus will mutate in response to that as well.

  5. Sabine 5

    This just boggles the mind,

    Urgent contact tracing is under way after NSW Health revealed the state's first positive case in 55 days was confirmed as a 47-year-old man who works as a security guard at two Covid-19 hotels for returned travellers.

    The man does shift work at the Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney's CBD and the Mantra hotel at Haymarket. He also has a fulltime job in an office.

    As a result of the NSW scare, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia have issued travel alerts in response to the new coronavirus case in NSW.

    On Sunday NSW lost its 55-day streak without any coronavirus cases after a Sydney hotel quarantine worker tested positive to Covid-19.

    NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said contact tracers had spoken to 130 colleagues. Photo / News Ltd

    The 47-year-old man, who received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine earlier this month, tested positive on Saturday night – prompting urgent contact tracing identifying six potential hot spots in the city.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-coronavirus-two-australian-states-hit-border-alerts-issued/RVSIQVQN6ZI4PHMNLIM7SPFRWY/

    Are our security guards at our plaque hotels working three jobs? Do they also each have 130 'collegues'. Seriously, it seems that both in OZ and in NZ we have been lucky so many times.

    Any news on the source of the Valentines outbreak in South Auckland? I scan the news but it seems there is / has been no update?

    • arkie 5.1

      Are our security guards at our plaque hotels working three jobs?

      Anecdata but a temporary fill-in security officer at my workplace usually worked at the local MIQ facilities.

  6. Treetop 6

    Australian politicians know how well elimination works when it comes to a single case of community transmission and are learning how essential it is to reduce a person having multiple contact (when a higher risk) to reduce community transmission.

    Australian politicians need to stop pressuring NZ to have a travel bubble with Australia as they shut down their internal state borders because that is what they consider is necessary to do.

    When the time is right for a country to partially or fully open their border it will happen. No country has closed its border to the people who have the right to return?

  7. Jimmy 7

    David Clark actually doing something useful.

    Financial adviser law changes come into effect (msn.com)

  8. Obtrectator 8

    A recent article on this site, dealing with an issue important enough for one to have expected dozens of comments, has so far attracted just six.

    Is this because comments were restricted to women-only, and thus demonstrates how so few women feel safe in venturing to give their opinions here? If so, it's a pretty disgraceful reflection on many of our regular "clientele".

    [Ban accepted in advance …. ]

    • RedLogix 8.1

      Not really. I've thought that I might make my next post on energy issues confined to 'nuclear power advocates only'. I believe it's a crucially important aspect of the climate change discussion, but given how vociferously I get attacked on this topic here at TS, I've decided this is the only way I can feel safe.

      But realistically I don't expect many comments. devil

      • Muttonbird 8.1.1

        Nice of you to trivialise the murder of Sarah Everard there.

        Do you ever step back from your poor, put-upon engineer schtick?

        • RedLogix 8.1.1.1

          Are you saying that climate change is a trivial issue? This would surprise me.

          • Muttonbird 8.1.1.1.1

            I'm wondering why you make a dreadful tragedy, one which strikes to the very heart of women the world over, all about you.

            • RedLogix 8.1.1.1.1.1

              If authors care deeply about an issue – they are entitled to limit who comments on their posts to specific categories of people. Not only this, but even people from within that category can be expelled if the author disagrees with their views.

              These are established practices here at The Standard. I'm absolutely not quibbling with them, and intend to make more use them myself in future.

              The point is however is that it will likely reduce the number of comments – as Obtrectator was concerned about.

        • I Feel Love 8.1.1.2

          Irony lost on RL, as usual.

      • gsays 8.1.2

        As a nuclear power advocate, what/how/who needs to sort out the waste linked to Rio Tinto's commercial activities?

        • RedLogix 8.1.2.1

          I presume you're referring to the ongoing waste issue in Southland. I honestly cannot think how this is directly linked to nuclear power in any fashion – although in a much broader picture I might suggest that a society which had access to abundant, clean and cheap power might well be able to deal with such waste products.

          One of potentials of a hyper-energised society is the opportunity to close the loop on much more of our resource use. But it's not at all clear to me how this ties into your specific question.

          Unless of course I missed the point of it completely. surprise

          • gsays 8.1.2.1.1

            Both smelting and generating nuclear energy have an undesirable waste product.

            • McFlock 8.1.2.1.1.1

              [cue diversion about how nuclear tech just around the corner will be completely clean, and how nuclear waste isn't that dangerous if you spread it over thousands of square kilometres]

            • RedLogix 8.1.2.1.1.2

              Yes – but technically they're of a completely different nature.

              As it happens the nuclear waste (which isn't really waste at all, just fuel that current reactor designs can't effectively use) can be safely stored and managed far more safely than many industrial wastes.

              One of the best features of some next generation of designs being worked on, is their ability to take existing stockpiles of nuclear 'waste' and consume it for fuel leaving much smaller volumes of radio-toxic material that becomes completely safe within about 300 years, rather than 100,000's. (Nor are we talking extreme levels of radiation, you can actually walk around such a storage depot for some hours with zero impact. The most intense radiation decays away within a few decades.)

              Or just park it next to your power plant as the current fleet of reactors have done for decades now with very few meaningful problems.

              And quite the opposite of McFlock's assertion about "if you spread it over thousands of square kilometres" – no-one proposes such a nonsense. It's far easier to put it into an underground repository like a deep disused mine shaft in a geologically stable location. There are literally thousands of places this can be done with very high reliability.

              And orders of magnitude safer than the uncountable number of waste heaps from coal burning power plants that are dotted all over the planet.

              • McFlock

                you propose it every time you minimise a nuclear accident that released radioactive material.

                • RedLogix

                  Only one accident released any significant quantity of radiation – Chernobyl. The TMI and Fukushima releases were by comparison tiny and there is no evidence anyone was ever harmed. Over the entire history of nuclear power generation the absolute worst case number of people who have died as a result of radiation might be as high as 10,000. And that's being generous.

                  Yet at the same time air pollution from coal burning power is now understood to kill around that many people per day. Yet you demonstrate exactly zero concern over this.

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

                  • McFlock

                    Yup, ssdd.

                    • RedLogix

                      The death toll from Chernobyl falls into roughly four categories.

                      Firstly there were a several plant operators killed outright and a group of firemen who were stupidly allowed to run directly into the reactor hall and full view of the open core. About 30 men died almost immediately from acute radiation syndrome in the minutes to months afterwards.

                      Also there is a group of 'liquidators' who heroically exposed themselves to moderately high (but well short of lethal) levels of radiation in order to help clean up the site. There is some evidence of a mild increase in excess deaths in this group, but the numbers are low.

                      Then there is the group of young people who contracted thyroid cancer because the authorities failed to evacuate them or treat with iodine in time. These number several thousand in total, but because it's a highly treatable cancer relatively few died or were seriously harmed.

                      The above three groups we can realistically allocate to radiation harm, and they total to under a few 100 people. At most.

                      All others are projections based on maps of fallout density (invariably at very low levels) across the whole of Europe. They're all based on the now discredited LNT (Linear No Threshold) model that proposes that any level of radiation (even less than background) causes harm. Naturally it produces absurdly high death rates that opponents of nuclear power seized upon and refused to let go of, even when multiple UN reports determined that at the very most maybe 4,000 excess deaths could be accounted theoretically for in this manner. No actual evidence – just modelling based on a contentious and unknowable theory.

                      Yet every single day coal power kills 10,000 people and you still have nothing to say. Every single fucking day. Far from being harmful, by substituting for coal, nuclear power has actually saved many millions of lives – the exact opposite of your fears.

                      This febrile fearmongering has caused us to not implement the one single technology that could have stopped climate change in it's tracks decades ago – and you own it.

                      ssdd for sure

    • Treetop 8.2

      The question I asked @4 on the topic you are commenting about I was not excluding anyone.

      Why do you feel as though you could get a ban?

      Yesterday I made a comment on Open Mike Treetop@7. and I knew it could recieve a negative view. I made it because I felt strongly about how the issue was not being taken as seriously as it needs to be taken.

      • weka 8.2.1

        The post is restricted to women commenting only.

        Open Mike is open to all (within the site rules).

        • Tiger Mountain 8.2.1.1

          Great post weka “Women and male violence”. Even the dimmest among us might register the UK Police tacit support for “Football Lads” vs. “nasty macho enforcement copper” for the women. It was not “someone” that in error let the ‘filth’ out of their restraints, it was patriarchal revenge, one of their own pinged for extreme violence on a woman. UK like USA Police recruit the worst of the worst.

          Various women that identified as such, have left The Standard as posters and authors over the years, so no corner of society, or online forum seems exempt from the stunningly obvious position of women still. Trawl the archives for evidence if you like. A woman did bring us all into existence, and resentment of that level of power is totally part of misogyny.

          And lastly, if you as a white male are genuinely trying to be an ally to one group or another of exploited and oppressed people–try doing some useful work in the background certainly at first, and earn your place there rather than assume it.

          • weka 8.2.1.1.1

            The issue of women at TS is a really good example of how invisible the problem can be when the status quo supports men at the expense of women.

        • Treetop 8.2.1.2

          I did not see your bold mod. I realised this when you responded to the above.

      • Obtrectator 8.2.2

        "Why do you feel as though you could get a ban?"

        For trying to sneak a comment through the back door, as it were, on a topic where men have specifically been asked to keep away. I've been threatened with a ban in the past (and called an abusive name by one of people meant to be upholding standards here) for much less.

        • Treetop 8.2.2.1

          When it comes to being called an abusive name, when it occurs call it out, regardless of who says it.

          • Obtrectator 8.2.2.1.1

            I did. And much to my surprise got no blowback.

            • weka 8.2.2.1.1.1

              OM is open for a reason. It's where people can talk about whatever they want (within the general rules of the site). The boundaries were around a single post, not site wide.

    • weka 8.3

      It's partly to do with Mondays on TS often being quiet, and TS commenting being quieter than in the past generally. But yes, the problems for women commenting (and writing) on TS generally are an ongoing issue. Thanks for pointing this out.

    • Anne 8.4

      Obrectator@ 8.
      Quite a few people have been put off commenting here, and it includes men and women. Some of the responses I have seen to what seem to me quite reasonable and valid opinions will often receive such rabid replies that it does not surprise me TS has lost a number of authors and commentators. I question my own participation from time to time.

      The problem seems to me there is a lack of tolerance on the part of a number of regular commentators. Well, there were always a few nutjobs around (rwnj mostly) but most of them have now gone.

      In the past most commenters knew how to voice their disagreements without indulging in language bordering on abusive and/or humiliating for some unsuspecting contributor. Perhaps a little more respect would go some way to making people feel "safe" to return to this site.

  9. Lucy 9

    sheesh for gods sake we are talking about people being oppressed and you hijack it to an anti-Trans thing.

    [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.]

    • weka 9.1

      I’d rather that particular fight didn’t kick off under that particular post, thanks.

  10. Chris 10

    Ardern is completely wrong here.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300252628/christchurch-terror-attack-jacinda-ardern-says-government-cant-expand-acc-cover-for-traumatised-victims

    Regardless of the question of whether it should happen or not, the government could easily extend cover for mental injury for those affected by the 15 March event without widening the net to everyone. All it would mean is passing specific legislation. The social welfare system has whole instruments approved for specific groups or those affected by a specific event. Heck, there's even whole Acts passed that relate to one group of person to the exclusion of everyone else.

    If there was the will to do it it would happen. A further, and often convenient, influence is ACC itself. While it shouldn't, ACC holds a lot of sway when it comes to government policy. The legal boffins at ACC would be feeding all this bullshit into the government's ear about how ACC is a unique scheme with its very special set of characteristics, which is of course true. But this does not mean the government cannot introduce legislation (and it would need legislation) to provide cover for mental injury for victims of what happened on 15 March 2019. This has got nothing to do with the nature of the scheme. They can simply pass legislation that says that. There's nothing unusual about this – it's happened often in the past.

    It's surprising Ardern's fallen for this line. She's saying it can't be done without widening the net. This is simply incorrect. She either doesn't want to extend cover for this particular group, has been beaten down by ACC officials, there are darker forces at play, or all three.

    • McFlock 10.1

      Dunno about darker forces, but she's already seen the effect of exceptions for the "deserving" being answered with "isn't everyone deserving?": the covid work subsidy at a higher rate than the dole.

      I don't know the math, but if it was opened up to non-physical injuries, for a start there will be questions about the relative trauma of Mar15 survivors vs Whakaari survivors vs survivors of a bus crash with multiple injuries or deaths. And there's no good and obvious reason to discriminate between different incidents that cause PTSD.

      My impulse would be to say "well, give it to everyone, then". But I don't have to balance the books.

      • Sabine 10.1.1

        how much would 'giving it to everyone' reduce the cost longterm?

        but i agree, anyone looking to J.A. to increase any benefits to all is looking at the wrong person. She ain't gonna do nothing much in that regards until next election time, if by that time she still can be bothered.

        • McFlock 10.1.1.1

          Dunno about bothered. I suspect the current government have an agenda, and are concerned about it being derailed or interfered with by the budgetary repercussions of decisions like this (i.e. outside of their primary agenda).

          • Sabine 10.1.1.1.1

            well its a well hidden agenda then, and a year in they should maybe come public with it? Or are we not worthy knowing the agenda of dear Jacinda and her handmaids?

            • Drowsy M. Kram 10.1.1.1.1.1

              the agenda of dear Jacinda and her handmaids

              On the one hand there's a post about male violence towards women, and then there's this belittling comment about our PM (and her handmaids?)

              And "a year in" to/from what? Genuine question.

              • Sabine

                at the moment handmaid is about the best way of putting it. I would call them 'butler' or 'man' what is the male equivalent for someone who is at the beckon of someone? And i see the set up of the current Labour government the same way as J.Key had his. Him at the helm and all the others at the quick n ready to run and fetch papers. Take this as you like. And if you want to compare this to the killing of a young women – whose body was destroyed to the point of using dental records for identification by a cop no less- to me calling the underlings handmaids. Sure why not. At the end of it its all the same. Right?

                A year into her second term. Well almost a year. At some stage really it would be nice to see what else there is to this labour government, when it comes to poverty reduction, managing homelessness – rather then just dumping them in rubbish motels, increasing benefit levels to the point of livable and so on and so forth. Covid is one thing. But her blunt refusal to do anything more on the 'welfare' then the little she trickled down on the deserving few, be it benefit increases, be it mental health for people who were unlucky enough to be part of a mass shooting but lucky enough to not get shot dead is neither kind, nor gentle, nor polite, nor helpful.

                • Drowsy M. Kram

                  And if you want to compare this to the killing of a young women – whose body was destroyed to the point of using dental records for identification by a cop no less- to me calling the underlings handmaids. Sure why not. At the end of it its all the same. Right?

                  Both actions seemed (to me) to be on the same side of the ledger (as it were), but of course not comparable in magnitude, just in direction.

                  I think I must be a bit over-sensitive to comments on The Standard that belittle successful women. There was one commenter here, Shadrach, who really didn't like the idea that in just a few years Greta Thunberg had achieved a higher profile with more positive influence than he was likely to achieve in a lifetime. I found his PoV discouraging.

                  Of course I'm hypocritical, since I can't abide Collins and that sometimes comes out in my comments. Forgive.

                  A year into her second term. Well almost a year.

                  Thanks Sabine; current Government was formed on 31 October 2020, so we’re four and a half months in. Hope you forgive my confusion, again.

      • greywarshark 10.1.2

        Good reasoning McFlock. All the same how often do we have massacres in NZ, and of people belonging to a large world religion that feels vulnerable. We would need to do some fast and thoughtful actions if there was an attack on Jewish synagogues in the same dastardly way. We should shift ourselves to be 'kinder and practical' in our sorrowful reaction; pass special legislation to meet the situation and any further ones of similar infamy. Words and actions joined.

      • Chris 10.1.3

        Cover for mental injury is already available if caused by physical injury and without the need for physical injury for accidents at work or as a result of sexual abuse. Sure, these are for specific groups of person rather than a specific event like 15 March, but there's nothing to prevent an approach that's based on extending cover in this way. There are provisions under the Social Security Act that are related to specific events, for example, that have been introduced as events arise.

        Such as approach is vastly cheaper, too, because it's invariably limited to a specific number of people. Sure, it involves a decision on what's 'deserving' and what's not, but so does any 'policy' decision. It's a matter of the government snapping itself out of its black and white way of looking at things, at least when it comes to ACC.

        It's not in fact such a new or novel approach at all. There plenty examples. Every policy decision involves judgement, and extending cover in this way would not be expensive because it's highly likely to be limited to a specific number of people. If they wanted to do it they could. I just don't but Ardern's reasoning.

        • McFlock 10.1.3.1

          There might also be an issue around how one defines pstd related to Mar15. I suspect there will always be someone mediaworks can dig up who would be a deserving case but who misses out on ACC coverage. But if they get included then the bill for therapy rapidly inflates.

    • RosieLee 10.2

      People whose family members have been killed or who have suffered physical injuries can easily be compensated. People who have suffered mental trauma can be provided with support and counselling and they should be.

      Trying to put a figure on financial compensation for mental distress is a minefield and open to exploitation on all levels. We need to be very wary.

      • Treetop 10.2.1

        Have you ever looked into the guidelines for cover under ACC for a mental injury?

        The way a person is assessed for compensation has so many snags to it. A person could have been sexually assaulted and have PTSD but were they an alcoholic or a drug addict their addiction could be stated as the reason for the PTSD.

        ACC are the ones who exploit the system when it comes to cover for a mental injury. Since the inception of ACC the most severe changes have been for a mental injury. It is time to reclaim what has been taken.

        Do you think that when the government are not acknowleding the person’s PTSD because of not being physically injured that this causes further harm and is a barrier to overcoming the PTSD?

        • Chris 10.2.1.1

          "The way a person is assessed for compensation has so many snags to it. A person could have been sexually assaulted and have PTSD but were they an alcoholic or a drug addict their addiction could be stated as the reason for the PTSD."

          Classic tactic. It's so easy for ACC to get a lackey specialist to give an opinion that says the injury wasn't caused by the accident so no cover. This happens in an environment that's about finding ways of refusing claimant cover. Then it's up to the claimant to find a specialist to say it was. A claimant has to know how to do this or get independent help. Most don't bother. Even when a claimant does manage to find a specialist it becomes a battle of expert opinion. This is how the process works, and from start to finish ACC is concentrating denying the claimant. Sure, the legislation requires ACC to 'investigate the claim' and claimants have rights of review and appeal, but the way this is done isn't about getting to the truth of a matter. The whole system's a mess and this government's got its head in the sand.

          • Treetop 10.2.1.1.1

            If I really need to do a link I attempt it. I looked up Mental Injury Assessments for ACC 27 pages long.

            A person is really in the shit if they do not have a good lawyer. The mental injury assessment is ambiguous.

            When it comes to a settlement for those in state and faith based care is the government not going to acknowledge significant trauma when there was no physical force?

            The government need to apologise for not having cover for a mental injury where there was no physical force. Mental injuries usually linger long after physical injuries, this is what infuriates me the most.

      • RedBaronCV 10.2.2

        Why does it have to be ACC that is being targeted for reparations for this harm? Mental harm can vary vastly between people involved in the same instance and must be difficult to put a figure on. Is there more of a case for enhanced welfare benefits and intervention to deal with the on going stress? But having said that isn't the object to get people functioning as well as possible not leave them brooding on any form of compensation or benefit for lengthy periods? The alternative is presumably a "sue everything in sight" regime.

        And FWIW years ago I dealt with some cases under the old workers compo Act. Basically no treatment or rehabilitation was provided and people where left to rot on a weekly payment until death happened when the surviving spouse received a payout based on the shortened life expectancy. Anything that replicates this even with bigger weekly payments doesn't have a lot to offer long term.

        • Treetop 10.2.2.1

          The alternative is for ACC to keep doing what has always been done knowing it does not work for some people.

          Partly this is why people become stuck and are left to their own devices which can be counter productive.

          The legislation for a mental injury has not been updated when it comes to what is known that PTSD does physically and on a physiological level.

  11. greywarshark 11

    What do the business minded think about this? Is it a good move? Concentrate on keeping NZ resources under NZ ownership and control – that seems to be what is happening. Or am I mistaken?

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/438395/windfarm-operator-tilt-renewables-to-be-sold-for-nearly-3-billion

    The deal will see the Australian companies – collectively called PowAR – take control of Tilt's four Australian windfarms, while Mercury will buy the four New Zealand farms for $770m.

    • RedBaronCV 11.1

      Well I'm always very happy to see monopoly or oligopoly assets remain in NZ's hands. We have a better chance of regulating them without TPP type interference for the benefit of the country and ultimately to make ourselves richer by removing the monopoly rent and therefore allowing welfare benefits to purchase more for the same amount of taxpayer money. Not that Meridian is signing up for the second half of the deal.

  12. Enough is Enough 12

    55

    24

    9

    8

    2

    2

    1

  13. greywarshark 13

    Stats from 2010 for homicides around the world. :Looking at stats per 100,000, NZ came in at 21st. But we are one of five who have some more women killed than men.

    According to the data given by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, worldwide, 78.7% of homicide victims are men, and in 193 of the 202 listed countries or regions, men were more likely to be killed than women. In two, the ratio was 50:50 (Switzerland and British Virgin Islands), and in the remaining seven –

    Tonga, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Latvia, and Hong Kong – women were slightly more likely to be victims of homicides compared to males.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homicide_statistics_by_gender

    We are similar to the Netherlands in ratio per 100,000 but differ in percentage of numbers; (65% men to 35% women for Netherlands, NZ 48.8% men to 51.2% women).

    Luxembourg stands out among the developed nations with no female murdersl Greece is low with 6.5% to 93.4% males Honduras has the highest world rate at 90.4 but mostly males, similar numbers to Greece.

    Perhaps we could ask social anthropologists from the low number nations to look at our stats and comment in what way our culture is different to the countries with low female murder stats . An outside opinion on our results and how to change them downwards could be a good move and better than the constant blame game, which is started when a NZ women is killed anywhere it seems.

  14. greywarshark 14

    How can this be a good move? Costs are going up everywhere.

    Waitomo district to have zero rates increase next financial year

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/438416/waitomo-district-to-have-zero-rates-increase-next-financial-year

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  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    3 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    4 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    10 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    11 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
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