Open mike 15/05/2022

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 15th, 2022 - 60 comments
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60 comments on “Open mike 15/05/2022 ”

  1. So the latest Curia Poll has Nat/ACT able to govern with 61 seats. Lab/Gre/MP have 59.

    It's a bit of a worry, but a week is a long time in politics let alone 18 months and Luxon will be taken apart by Jacinda in the election campaign.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/new-political-poll-puts-national-and-act-in-position-to-govern-for-first-time-since-2020/UQIG6BDL6DYMCXNELBTLEJJHAU/

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.1

      Well…..there is that Curia, is the Taxpayers Union (Farrar). Notwithstanding, both Labour…and Greens need to STEP UP. No good "If" they are hoping the Election is way distant. Time for their "Stars?" and some of the seat warmers to show their worth. For their sakes…and OURS !

      And Jacinda….I dont know how she does it. Talk about Inner Strength ! Absolutely a Gem : ). I wish her and Family all the best. I truly hope she rests during her recovery…and gets some Family Time.

    • Jenny how to get there 1.2

      Fix the housing and cost of living crisis and Labour will win in a landslide.

      • Ed1 1.2.1

        Absolutely, Jenny. After all National have told us how they will fix it – more money in the pocket from tax cuts! Is that all you were looking for?

        • Sacha 1.2.1.1

          After all National have told us how they will fix it – more money in the pocket from tax cuts!

          Yeah we can be confident it will take more than a couple of dollars a week to do anything. Unless you are on half a million.

      • aj 1.2.2

        That only leaves the unfounded sour taste in the mouths of the homeowning class as their property values fall 20%. No landslide, as much as I'd wish it

      • Incognito 1.2.3

        If Labour ensures that every Kiwi wins big in Lotto then Labour will win easily in 2023.

        That it?

        Nothing about Climate Change, for example, or that miracle cure for inequity?

      • KJT 1.2.4

        Housing prices look like they are slowing.

        Those who reckoned decreased immigration numbers, and increased taxation of speculation/house hoarding, wouldn't slow house price rises, have become, strangely, silent.

        Though we all know house prices need to drop. For way too many people houses are now their only asset. Any Government that has the stomach to "fix housing", no matter how much it is needed, is unlikely to improve their re-election prospects.

        • RedLogix 1.2.4.1

          Those who reckoned decreased immigration numbers, and increased taxation of speculation/house hoarding, wouldn't slow house price rises, have become, strangely, silent.

          Yah – and nothing to do with increasing interest rates then? Timed exactly to match the slowing price rises you are so pleased about.

          Interest rises which will do little to improve affordability btw.

          • KJT 1.2.4.1.1

            As I've previously made clear, a conversation you appear to have missed, housing prices and "fixing them" takes more than one thing to change the expectation that they will always rise faster than general inflation. And that house hoarding is more profitable than working for your living. Interest rates are only one factor. But hardly the most significant one when they are still way below housing inflation.

            Significant interest rate rises hadn’t been on the table before prices started to slow. The other issues I've mentioned have now been around long enough to take effect.

            • RedLogix 1.2.4.1.1.1

              I fully accept – and have argued myself here many times – that there are many factors feeding into property prices. But to ignore interest rates when they are one of the most obvious factors driving affordability – just struck me as more than a bit selective.

              And a quick scan of media shows they noticed the connection.

              Housing is now the most unaffordable it has been for typical first home buyers since interest.co.nz began producing its Home Loan Affordability reports at the beginning of 2004.

              The new record in unaffordability levels was driven by a pause in the recent price declines at the bottom end of the market and ongoing increases in mortgage interest rates.

            • Poission 1.2.4.1.1.2

              Housing price growth is complex,but not complicated.

              Housing prices globally rose over covid,due to low interest rates and increased capital (due to lockdowns and the inability to travel)

              There were also limitations on build speed (completions) mitigated somewhat by immigration growth.

              Since 2017 the population demand for housing inventory has increased by 105000 units (2.76pp) and around 58000 over the covid time frame in NZ.Completion rates have slowed (net housing increase) have slowed in AK and WGN due to the increase in in city infill housing ( new stock completed less housing demolished)

              The new bank BOMAD ( mum and dad) also increased its lending becoming the sixth biggest lender (18 b$) as a mix of increased savings and leverage.

              Housing cost inflation is the largest increase in the CPI,and also has the largest weighting (around a third of index) as a mix of excess demand,high building costs and delays.

              Excess demand has been curbed by the RBNZ by changes in the LV ratio,QE and higher interest rates.Inflation expectations need to be constrained to sustainable levels,and higher population demand (immigration without limits) will mean higher costs for housing and goods and services.

  2. PsyclingLeft.Always 2

    Ballance said the "old soldier" considered the media "paid lackeys as a result of payments made to them". "He doesn't want to talk to the political wing of the Labour Party."

    https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/old-soldier-celebrated-protesters-never-served

    Not only a Fake but an insult to those who served.
    For the anti vaxxers…he was the fuckwits…fuckwit.
    despicable.

    • Jenny how to get there 2.1

      Has anyone else noticed how many of the anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorists are also supporters of Putin's invasion of Ukraine?

      What's with that?

      • Blazer 2.1.1

        Haven't noticed that .

        How did you come to that…conclusion?

      • Robert Guyton 2.1.2

        That's correct, Jenny. Support and admiration of Putin has been on the antivaxxers "menu" for a long time now, well before the invasion of the Ukraine – it was inserted there by the same agencies that had them believe in the nanotechnology-in-vax nonsense. I noticed this many months ago. Those same people are also expecting a revival of Trump.

        • weston 2.1.2.1

          Your comment robert imo reads like a giant generalization wrapped in a conspiracy theory liberally garnished with pure speculation !!

          Illogicality of some anti vax crowds aside id be surprised if within their ranks there was any more awareness of what was actually happening in ukraine than the average joe blogs in the street given the degree of propaganda around the topic .

          Even if it were true that these " same people " were expecting a revival of trump they're by no means alone !! In the badly broken two party system of the usa trump has a very good chance of winning in 24 perish the thought .

          • mikesh 2.1.2.1.1

            I guess Putin has a spy network operating in Ukraine. He probably knows more than us about what was happening there prior to the invasion.

            However, I'm only speculating.

            [Please check and correct your user name in the next comment, thanks]

        • RedLogix 2.1.2.2

          It is my sense of there may be a correlation but it is not a direct one – what both groups have in common is a loss of trust in social institutions:

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5laM89Qxykc

          • Stuart Munro 2.1.2.2.1

            I think the connection is quite direct – and there are a couple of fairly straightforward examples. The first is the Russification of Wikileaks. Wikileaks formed to critique the more dubious actions, especially of the US military in Afghanistan. It had the same kind of legitimacy that whistleblowers have – they perform a vital and difficult role improving the health of the body politic by exposing things like Afghan civilian casualties. As Wikileaks increasingly became the channel of choice for Russian disinformation however, its legitimacy diminished.

            The next and related item is 'the buttery males' attack on Hillary Clinton – direct political interference by what had in fact been for some time a hostile state. Various versions of email contents were filtered through multiple Clinton opponents with the object of compromising the integrity of the US electoral system. These opponent groups circulated the material, or conclusions derived from it on social media. It was a successful action, and remnants of it can still be found on some social media.

            Political advocacy or ginger groups can cope with the natural differences of opinion and interpretation, even to some degree productively, but they are not well equipped to handle organized deception conducted by a well-resourced hostile foreign power.

            • RedLogix 2.1.2.2.1.1

              I cannot rule out intentional deception as you suggest – but if you took a few moments to watch the very good and concise Vexler clip I linked to above – there are a number of other good explanations available that are equally if not more applicable in my experience.

              If nothing else while you could claim that anti-vax ideas were all the work of a few nefarious individuals deliberately creating misinformation – it does not explain why so many millions were willing to engage with some of the more obvious crackpot ideas like 5G chips.

              Nor does it explain the bulk of vaccine hesitant people who were sufficiently distrustful of the official narrative that they invested considerable time and effort into researching for what seemed to them a better explanation.

              • Stuart Munro

                It is a good clip – but it doesn't cover all the bases.

                These folk – the Macedonian fake news rings – were not interested hostiles, but click farmers. And there are a lot of comparable enterprises that are interested only in farming readers – something made easier if one embraces polarizing or sensational content so dodgy it would make Tova blush.

      • Anne 2.1.3

        Yes. Some of them have been publicly defending Russia and Putin for some time now. I concluded they were the pro-Trump forces within the anti-vaxxer and anti-mandate brigade.

        To paraphrase Pl.A above… the ultimate fuckwits of the fuckwits.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 2.2

      Amusing Stuff headline – is there a caption competition in the accompanying photo?

      Protesters block National leader Christopher Luxon inside Palmerston North Bridge Club [14 May]


      3 clubs, 4 hearts…

      • Brigitte 2.2.1

        Blocked by the sheeple???

      • Mike the Lefty 2.2.2

        Another example of Stuff using a stock photo, and not choosing a very good one for the occasion.

        When I read the article I actually had some sympathy for Mr Luxon as the self-styled "head" of this protest happens to be a well-known serial nutter in the Manawatu.

        Perhaps you will rule this out of order on this blog ad. but I assure you many others in the Manawatu would agree with me.

      • Incognito 2.2.3

        I tried that photo for a Caption Contest but the quality is too poor, IMHO. Better next time wink

        • Stuart Munro 2.2.3.1

          It's a natural for the Arabic proverb:

          A sheep spends her whole life fearing the wolves, and gets eaten in the end by the shepherd.

          • RedLogix 2.2.3.1.1

            There was also a famous Minhinnick cartoon which had Muldoon sitting in an airport lounge with a newspaper in his lap that had a headline saying 'Rowling addresses crowd of faithful at Wiri Woolshed'.

            Muldoon looks up at a passing Bill Rowling and tartly says 'Romney or Perendale?'

      • mikesh 2.2.4

        Were the protesters not impressed with his system card?

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 2.2.5

        "Sean" Luxon and party faithful…..

  3. Jenny how to get there 3

    Today is Nakba Day,

    Make sure to attend your local event.

    In the wake of the cruel murder Al Jazeera Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and the desecration of her funeral. Let Israel know that New Zealanders will no longer tolerate a racist apartheid state in the 21st Century.
    Auckland Aotea Square 2pm for a rally and speeches.

    From Auckland Peace Action:

    Sunday May 15 is Nakba Day – this is the day marking the ethnic cleansing of over 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and off their land by Israeli militias in 1948….

    ….The Nakba has continued every day since 1948 as Israel seizes more Palestinian land and creates more Palestinian refugees every day.

    Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa are holding Nakba Day rallys around the country.
    We welcome you to join us at the Auckland gathering, Aotea Square at 2pm, to hear speeches, show solidarity, and stand with community.
    Please remember to wear a mask, or kaffiyeh!

    Check out PSNA Facebook events page for events throughout New Zealand here.

    • DukeEll 3.1

      Yesterday you were claiming it was a million Palestinians in 1948, now it’s 3/4 of that?

      And there only around 650,000 Jews to do this pushing in 1948?

      and there are now 1.7million arabs/ Palestinians living in Israel, so they’ve done an atypically bad job of “cleaning”

      • Subliminal 3.1.1

        I guess back in the day you were also a supporter of the racist apartheid state of South Africa given that the black population was still on the up?? Amnesty, HRW and Btselem all agree. Israel operates as an apartheid state

      • Bearded Git 3.1.2

        Duke…the Gaza strip is effectively a concentration camp with 2 million Arab prisoners trapped in it. If drive from Wanaka to Cromwell the valley floor along the way roughly represents its size.

        Rather than murdering respected journalists and illegally occupying Palestinian land the Israelis need to begin the process towards a one nation solution where Gaza and the West Bank become part of Israel with equal rights for all citizens.

      • Barfly 3.1.3

        Yawn – a throwaway troll attack – you care nothing about truth, history or the plight of Palestinians. Guess you will be happy that you irritated a couple of people into biting you sad pathetic little troll frown

      • joe90 3.1.4

        After years of land confiscations and apartheid planning policies, there are now a majority of the 1.7million arabs/ Palestinians living are ghettoised in areas assigned to them in by Israel.

        fify

        /

        • SPC 3.1.4.1

          The estimated number of Palestinians at the end of 2021 was about 14 million:

          5.3 million in the State of Palestine (3.2 million in the West Bank and 2.1 million in the Gaza Strip),

          – land confiscations occur in East Jerusalem and the West Bank

          1.7 million in the 1948 territories

          – most of these in the same areas they occupied in 1948

          – there are no widely reported accounts of land confiscations within 1948 Israel in recent decades

          7 million in the diaspora (6.3 million live in Arab countries and 750,000 in foreign countries).

  4. Muttonbird 4

    Yet another white supremacist mass murder attack. Why is the white far right becoming increasingly murderous? We have always know hey are racist and intolerant but now they are actioning their hatred in big numbers.

    Gone are the days when it was asked if the shooter was yelling Allahu Akbar.

    The shooter claims (the Australian) did the most to radicalize him. this is very much a Christchurch copycat attack.

    https://twitter.com/IwriteOK/status/1525572912836554752

    • joe90 4.1

      Veteran campaigner explains why the GOP is pushing anti abortion laws.

      https://twitter.com/ALT_uscis/status/1522657929991700480

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF0B-DJCDzE

      A 106-page online manifesto, believed to have been uploaded by the shooter, explained that he was motivated by a conspiracy theory that white people are being replaced by other races. In the document, he says he is 18 years old and a self-described white supremacist and anti-semite.

      “If there’s one thing I want you to get from these writings, it’s that White birth rates must change. Everyday the White population becomes fewer in number,” the document says. “To maintain a population the people must achieve a birth rate that reaches replacement fertility levels, in the western world that is about 2.06 births per woman.”

      https://bnonews.com/index.php/2022/05/mass-shooting-supermarket-buffalo-10-dead/

      • ianmac 4.1.1

        Perhaps the real reason for the Anti-abortion issue is "forced" by the "need" to increase white births.

        “If there’s one thing I want you to get from these writings, it’s that White birth rates must change. Everyday the White population becomes fewer in number,” the document says. “To maintain a population the people must achieve a birth rate that reaches replacement fertility levels, in the western world that is about 2.06 births per woman.”

        • RedLogix 4.1.1.1

          FFS is there nothing the left cannot try and blame white people for? Taken a look at the situation in China recently?

          The fact is that birth rates across the entire developed world are below replacement and this has nothing to do with race and everything to do with women choosing to have fewer children.

          That some idiot extremists will wrongly and selectively apply this reality to their own race is hardly a surprise, especially when the radical left has been loudly insisting that white people – and white males in particular – are the source of all evil for a decade or so now. Or that if we loudly (and very inconsistently) argue that human overpopulation is a bad thing – that this lowers the barrier to sociopaths taking matters directly into their own hands.

          Central to the Judeo-Christian narrative was the historically remarkable idea of the sanctity of individual human life. It has of course proven to be a very challenging idea to even define or observe consistently. We have stumbled with it repeatedly and grievously But giving up on the idea and casting it aside is much worse.

          Hence the rather odd scenario of the left being able to get away with performative outrage over a tiny handful of unarmed black men in the US being killed by police – while 73 million abortions annually cannot be challenged in even the most anodyne, moderate fashion.

          • Sabine 4.1.1.1.1

            Legal abortion will cause no more no less abortions then illegal abortion, the only difference is the amount of birthing bodies found dead on a table/floor bleeding out or dying birthing bodies being wheeled into a septic ward for scraping out and some blood transfusions.

            Challenge that. And the assumption that children don't cost money, need appropriate housing, enough food, shoes for winter and summer, plus education. That assumption too could be challenged and look at how we did in NZ, Motels full of Mums and Dads with their kids, homeless in emergency housing hoping that at some stage maybe next year they find a place to call home that is not a run down motel in a dying town away from education and jobs.

            Abortion will continue to happen. Legal or not. The question is how much do we value the birthing bodies that need abortions to grant them safe ones.

            • RedLogix 4.1.1.1.1.1

              Abortion will continue to happen. Legal or not.

              Why?

              I have rarely commented on this very fraught topic but I will confine myself to this thought. For all the reasons you outline it is not reasonable to restrict access to abortion. But at the same time I was never comfortable with the idea that this came with zero moral consequences, and thus we might want to pay a lot more attention to reducing the necessity for abortions in the first place.

              • Sabine

                because birthing bodies get pregnant no matter if they want it or not if they can't prevent sexual intercourse with a penis ejaculating into their vagina.

                My grandmother had 9 kids that lived and several that were scraped out., the last child she had at 46 years.

                My mother had 5 kids that lived, on ectopic pregnancy – abortion, one kid up for adoption, and then finally came the ruling that women can have the pill without permission from their husbands in Germany and all the birthing bodies in my family suddenly stopped birthing.

                If you don't want the child, can't feed the child because you are already struggling to feed the children you have, have no access to birth control, have a man who can and will not fuck without a condom, or consider a vasectomy as a form of birth control, women will have abortion, and other women and men will provide these abortion.

                The consequences of abortion are for the women who have them, and most women who had abortions for what ever reason cope well enough.

                a bit of 'recorded' history on abortion

                The first recorded evidence of induced abortion is from the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus in 1550 BCE. Many of the methods employed in early cultures were non-surgical. Physical activities such as strenuous labor, climbing, paddling, weightlifting, or diving were a common technique

                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_abortion#:~:text=The%20first%20recorded%20evidence%20of,diving%20were%20a%20common%20technique.

                To me it is a simple thing, those that are opposed on grounds of morals or religion should themselves abstain, but should not put any obstacles in the way of those that are not opposed or want them.

                And unless we make life much easier for parents to raise their children in relative safety and comfort society must accept that some will opt out of being a birthing body.

                • RedLogix

                  I wasn't quibbling with need for reasonable access to abortion. It seems that in our current world it is a necessity.

                  Just not comfortable with making a virtue of it.

                  • Sabine

                    it is not a virtue, it is needed medical care. I have yet to meat one person who had an abortion for funsies, or because they consider it 'birth control'. I have however met birthing bodies who needed abortion because their baby died in uterus and did not miscarry, i have met birthing bodies who had abortion because three kids are enough, i have met birthing bodies who aborted because they were 15 years old and the father was of the same age.

                    The questions re access to abortion and the right to a sexual life for birthing bodies are as follows:

                    • Should birthing bodies be allowed have sex without consequences? –
                    • Should child birth be something that is the lot of birthing bodies?
                    • Should child birth be punishment for birthing bodies having sex
                    • And should abortion be safe, medically sound, and should birthing bodies have the right to decide what happens with their bodies if an unwanted pregnancy happens or a much wanted pregnancy goes wrong.

                    and last for the US at least, the issue is not only Roe vs Wade, but Griswold vs Connecticut.

                    Griswold v.

                    Connecticut (1965), the Supreme Court ruled that a state's ban on the use of contraceptives violated the right to marital privacy. The case concerned a Connecticut law that criminalized the encouragement or use of birth control

                    And of course when birthing bodies can not control the amount of pregnancies they have – be they life births or miscarriages or stillborn, it will then also affect their employability, their earning power and so on and so forth. But maybe that is the desired outcome of all these current societal changes.

                    As i read somewhere:

                    the left will lock a birthing body into a prison cell with a rapist who will rape her too, the right will force that same birthing body to have the child of that rapist and co-parent with that rapist.

                    Where is the virtue in that?

                    • RedLogix

                      You seem to be arguing with an imaginary person who thinks that access to abortion should be restricted.

                      As i read somewhere:

                      the left will lock a birthing body into a prison cell with a rapist who will rape her too, the right will force that same birthing body to have the child of that rapist and co-parent with that rapist.

                      Where is the virtue in that?

                      None whatsoever. Indeed if you scrolled down the very next reply you will see I have already made a response to this.

                      If this is how you are going to debate with people who are essentially on your side – is it any wonder your opponents don’t even begin to listen or engage?

                    • Sabine

                      I am not trying to arguing with you RL, just really stating the obvious. Legal or not it will happen. Legal however would be my preferred outcome.

                    • Molly

                      Thank you Sabine.

                      I learnt something new because you took time to write this (and other) comments out on the discussion around women's rights and abortion.

                      Others may have too. It makes a difference.

  5. SPC 5

    BA2 92%

    BA1 2%

    Delta 0%

    Only the fittest coronavirus variant survives. Aced evolution theory.

  6. Poission 6

    Tomorrow the government will detail the emissions pathway constraints,with how they will limit GHG emissions over the next 15 years,and how NZ can become 100% renewable in electricity generation by 2030.

    The latter will be expensive in capital cost (around 15b$ boe),and will see substantive islanding of existing generation assets,and will see some costs to the consumers.

    Replacement of 10 gw is around the equivalent of 5 x more wind generation,( and the potential is not always available) ,bigger then think big,and will be very capital intensive.

    https://twitter.com/SPGlobal/status/1524147366047232000?cxt=HHwWgMC9qYj97aYqAAAA

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    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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    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
    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
    2 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days 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
    4 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
    6 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
    7 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
    20 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
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
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    6 days ago
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