Open mike 16/06/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 16th, 2010 - 64 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

Comment on whatever takes your fancy.

The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner).

Step right up to the mike…

64 comments on “Open mike 16/06/2010 ”

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  1. Dean 1
    15 June 2010 at 11:40 pm

    [lprent: Are you looking to get a ban? Read the section in the About on the topic of telling us what we should do. Authors write on what they want, you have zero say in that. If you want to raise a topic, then that is what Open Mike is for – but you don’t frame it as even remotely suggesting what the authors write about.

    Fuck it – I suspect that you are too stupid to learn from a mild reminder – have a one week ban as a less gentle reminder. ]

    You aren’t at all angry, are you LP.

    [lprent: chessplayer has been around for long enough to know that I always respond harshly to people trying to tell us what we should do on the site. I would have probably let it pass if it was in OpenMike – but in a post about something completely different. It is a self-inflicted martyrdom by chessplayer.

    See my comment below.

    This is moved to OpenMike as being off topic here – comment under discussion is here ]

  2. Jenny 2
    16 June 2010 at 8:10 am

    Foreshore and Seabed agreement set to give iwi mining veto.

    If this is true it is tremendous news,

    Of course the mining and oil companies will try to bribe Maori to get their way.

    But as Maori actually have to live with the results, and in light of recent revelations about politicians spending I think more people would trust Maori with our marine environment than parliament.

    • jcuknz 2.1
      16 June 2010 at 8:51 am

      Not this person becuase really the majority of them are squeaky clean in the recent furore and of those who stepped wrong it was a case of having two or more cards and using the wrong one for convienience rather than wrongdoing. Squaring things up later, which is fair and above board in my books. Some with the pressure of work may have had to be reminded but that is also quite understandable to me.

      • Tigger 2.1.1
        16 June 2010 at 9:57 am

        Who are these ‘Maori’ you speak of? You mean iwi elite I suspect…

        • Bill 2.1.1.1
          16 June 2010 at 10:53 am

          The Iwi Leadership Group perhaps?

          The group that says it’s not interested in leading?

          The group that says it is representative of Maori but not seeking to represent Maori?

          The group that headed by Ngai Tahu chairman Mark Solomon and includes:
          Tainui chairman Tukoroirangi Morgan,
          Ngati Porou chairman Api Mahuika,
          Whanau a Apanui chairman Rikirangi Gage and
          Ngati Toa negotiator Matiu Rei.

          Those Maori?

          The one’s who have become rather more powerful as a result of all this recent F&S b/s?

          Here’s a link (repeated)

          http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/politics/3352361/A-new-power-in-the-land

          • pollywog 2.1.1.1.1
            16 June 2010 at 11:02 am

            and just wait til post treaty settlement Nga Puhi and Tuhoe can sit at that table as equals…

            …there’ll be hell to pay

  3. sagenz 3
    16 June 2010 at 8:37 am

    lynn – well done on the free speech thing, respect! Y,know. chess player is well out of order with a pointed question, not a statement. Did your education system teach you the difference?

    [lprent: A pointed question in a post about something different is just a statement as far as I can see. If he wants to do something like that, then it can be raised in OpenMike – that is what it is for.

    See my comment below.

    Moved this into OpenMike – comment under discussion is here. ]

  4. sagenz 4
    16 June 2010 at 8:42 am

    Before/when you ban us can you point me chess and dean to the part of the policy that forbids this comment?

    [lprent: Moved this into OpenMike – comment under discussion is here. ]

    • felix 4.1
      16 June 2010 at 8:58 am

      He linked directly to the relevant part, retard.

    • lprent 4.2
      16 June 2010 at 12:13 pm

      The policy is a guideline to boundaries. If you want to act like a lawyer and treat them as a body of law, then I’ll ban you and let you appeal it 😈

      That said – there is this section in the About (which I think I pointed out)

      No you must .

      Have you read this page? We must do nothing. The posters post on the topics they want to (with a few limitations from the sysop). If you really absolutely want your ideas to be heard, then start a blog and start learning to write. You can probably find a more compatible blog on our blogroll. Or you can comment on the posts that our posters write and follow our rather lenient rules.

      And this in the policy

      A partial list of these self-martyrdom offenses include:-

      * Abusing the sysop or post writers on their own site. This is viewed as self-evident stupidity, and should be added as a category to the Darwin Awards.

      I view telling us what we should or should not write about as abusing the site and the authors. It is one of the things that I’ve always come down on the hardest.

      It is a hell of lot of work to run a blogsite and write the posts especially when all of the authors and moderators do it in their ‘spare’ time (as you are probably aware). I’m uninterested in some self-appointed dipshit (who doesn’t even write particularly interesting comments) telling us what we should or should not do here. Suggestions and corrections are fine. However in my opinion (and that is the only one that counts when moderating) chessplayer was trying to tell us what we should write about. If he wasn’t, then his framing of the statement let a lot of be desired. That is unacceptable.

      If you don’t like what our authors write or don’t write here – then start your own blog. You’ll find out how hard it is to write material that gets and retains an audience.

      • lprent 4.2.1
        16 June 2010 at 7:37 pm

        Looks like sagenz was whining about free speech at his own hole. The lack of policing on the munsters probably explains a lot about their declining viewership.

        I responded thus:-

        I suspect that sage was just short of material to write about today – the material on the about and policy has been there for a long time. There has been previous instances of pathetic whining on this site about the rules that we follow at The Standard – so it shouldn’t be a surprise that we police the site quite thoroughly. In a large part it is the reason that there are a lot more people reading the site and the numbers of comments keep rising

        Just to fill out the discussion, because it appears that sagenz hasn’t bothered to read my response at The Standard.

        //============

        sagenz
        16 June 2010 at 8:42 am

        Before/when you ban us can you point me chess and dean to the part of the policy that forbids this comment?

        [lprent: Moved this into OpenMike – comment under discussion is here. ]

        //============

        lprent
        16 June 2010 at 12:13 pm

        The policy is a guideline to boundaries. If you want to act like a lawyer and treat them as a body of law, then I’ll ban you and let you appeal it 😈

        That said there is this section in the About (which I think I pointed out)

        No you must .

        Have you read this page? We must do nothing. The posters post on the topics they want to (with a few limitations from the sysop). If you really absolutely want your ideas to be heard, then start a blog and start learning to write. You can probably find a more compatible blog on our blogroll. Or you can comment on the posts that our posters write and follow our rather lenient rules.

        And this in the policy

        A partial list of these self-martyrdom offenses include:-

        * Abusing the sysop or post writers on their own site. This is viewed as self-evident stupidity, and should be added as a category to the Darwin Awards.

        I view telling us what we should or should not write about as abusing the site and the authors. It is one of the things that I’ve always come down on the hardest.

        It is a hell of lot of work to run a blogsite and write the posts especially when all of the authors and moderators do it in their ‘spare’ time (as you are probably aware). I’m uninterested in some self-appointed dipshit (who doesn’t even write particularly interesting comments) telling us what we should or should not do here. Suggestions and corrections are fine. However in my opinion (and that is the only one that counts when moderating) chessplayer was trying to tell us what we should write about. If he wasn’t, then his framing of the statement let a lot of be desired. That is unacceptable.

        If you don’t like what our authors write or don’t write here then start your own blog. You’ll find out how hard it is to write material that gets and retains an audience.

        //=======================

        Since you have access to your own wee blog – albeit with some rather weak posts and by the look of it some quite moronic commentators. I’m sure my partner would be surprised that she is now expected to have a dick. I’m sure you know what I mean – this site isn’t exactly increasing in popularity..

        • sagenz 4.2.1.1
          16 June 2010 at 8:02 pm

          Lynn – Rolling on floor laughing. Do you ever get the feeling someone is simply taking the mickey and does not really care about the outcome?

          On the odd occasion it is fun to wind you up. I must be careful not to make a habit of it.

          • lprent 4.2.1.1.1
            16 June 2010 at 9:32 pm

            Yeah right. Explains why my comment got zapped by the whiskey snorter (aka Barnsley Bill)….. And Psycho Milt, who seems to think that 6 month old stats are meaningful in the world of blogs. You guys seem to have entered some kind of groundhog day for the last year.

            On a side issue – what is it with Tumeke stats anyway? They seem to have died. Tim Selwyn is lauding the blog awards with comments about his stats page – and it is 6 months out of date.

            • Dean 4.2.1.1.1.1
              17 June 2010 at 1:47 am

              “Yeah right. Explains why my comment got zapped by the whiskey snorter (aka Barnsley Bill) .. And Psycho Milt, who seems to think that 6 month old stats are meaningful in the world of blogs. You guys seem to have entered some kind of groundhog day for the last year.”

              See guys, he’s not angry in the slightest. He’s so not angry that he goes to other websites, riding in on his digital horse being a white knight, defending The Standard’s honour.

              PS, LP: the last time anyone used the word “sysop” to refer to themselves was back in the days on BBSes. Perhaps it’s time to revise that policy?

  5. True Blue 5
    16 June 2010 at 8:51 am

    I see cry baby Len Brown had a melt down last night, just another trougher.

    • prism 5.1
      16 June 2010 at 9:02 am

      Yah boo True Blue. You write very well for a primary school pupil. But your comment sounds like a schoolyard jibe. Are you one of those bright precocious children with Asperbergers or Tourettes? When you grow up you will be able to provide better analysis and comment after having had more experiences and maturity.

    • burt 5.2
      16 June 2010 at 11:28 am

      True Blue

      The guy is left leaning and therfore should be exempt from accountability. Remember Labour good, National Bad…. I wonder why we don’t just say the rules were confusing and others were breaking them as well so we need to move on ?

    • Lew 5.3
      16 June 2010 at 1:03 pm

      Partisan gloating aside, Brown’s done what everyone implicated in this scandal ought to have done: called in the authorities, said “do your worst, and may the good people of Auckland judge me on election day”.

      If the A-G finds substantive wrongdoing, then as far as I’m concerned he can swing in the breeze. But the only way he could have handled this better was to not have done anything wrong in the first place.

      One day, maybe it’ll be so.

      L

    • Daveosaurus 5.4
      16 June 2010 at 7:16 pm

      Speaking of troughers, is there any truth to the rumour that Bill English is trying to get the name of Wellington changed to “Dipton North”?

      • felix 5.4.1
        16 June 2010 at 7:32 pm

        Yes it’s true. And Parnell is to be changed to “Helensville East”.

      • burt 5.4.2
        16 June 2010 at 10:31 pm

        Yes, linguistics trainers have material already prepared for schools to firmly instill the Dipton dialect into all of NZ… maw ha ha ha.

  6. prism 6
    16 June 2010 at 9:07 am

    I liked this item on RADnz news this morning. A giant statue of Jesus near Cincinnati in Ohio has burned to the ground, as a result of being struck by lightning. The final line was a cliche but perfect. ‘ The insurance company considers it an Act of God.’

  7. prism 7
    16 June 2010 at 9:56 am

    Did anyone hear David Carter Ag Minister slag off Greens this morning? The criticisms he used were actually more applicable to himself and the NACT Party. Pity they are so blinkered they cannot assess their own behaviour.

    I have been trying to access it on the RADnz news but can’t see it referred to,
    although they have made much of Chris Carter and his demotion. Funny to hear Tau Henare so vocal about it, he is such a paragon of virtue.

  8. The Mambo Ninjas 8
    16 June 2010 at 12:39 pm

    Given it seems like like BP are going to get roasted for cutting corners, is there a danger that other oil companies will be able to dismiss criticism of the industry by labelling BP bad apples, and not representative of the industry as a whole?

    Or will they just keep their heads down?

    Will be interesting to see who first trots out this line of spin….

    Will Brownlee use it to deflect more criticism of the Petrobas issue?

    • Pascal's bookie 8.1
      16 June 2010 at 12:58 pm

      Good call…

      http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/business/16oil.html?hp

      Until now, the other major oil companies had provided technical assistance to BP and refrained from criticizing the company’s handling of the disaster. Even as they watched their offshore rigs idled and their stock values fall, they had presented a united front.

      But that unity crumbled Tuesday before the House committee, mirroring growing private frustration with being linked to BP. Some executives have been angered at BP’s efforts to paint the gulf accident as an industrywide problem that will require industry-wide reforms.

      The executives of the other companies asserted Tuesday that they believed BP was an outlier, cutting corners to save time and money in ways that they would not tolerate.

  9. freedom 9
    16 June 2010 at 2:50 pm

    to believe the others are innocent of the exact practises BP has fallen to, is naivete of the worst kind.

  10. Pascal's bookie 10
    16 June 2010 at 4:01 pm

    General debate is typically rich in wingnuttery. Don’t know who it was but some tory just gave a speech that politicised the All Whites game, seem to call for wage slashing as a response to the recession, and finished up quoting Thatcher.

    More from him please, front and centre.

    • Lew 10.1
      16 June 2010 at 4:09 pm

      That was Michael Woodhouse. Talking about health. He was the CEO of the private (but non-profit) Mercy Hospital in Dunedin.

      L

      • Pascal's bookie 10.1.1
        16 June 2010 at 4:18 pm

        God. I was reading winnie-the-pooh to master bookie so only the rhetoric filtered through. First thought was to see if santi or bruv was posting during the speech.

  11. Lazy Susan 11
    16 June 2010 at 7:06 pm

    Just caught Len Brown’s address to Manukau City Council on TV3

    Some quarters of MSM seem to be portraying this as some sort of disturbing self abuse. My impression was quite the contrary. It was a refreshing change to see an impassioned, emotional speech from someone who appears to actually believe in what he is saying.

    Contrast this to the painfully controlled delivery of Banks. He always gives me the impression he’s having to think through every word for fear of saying what he believes rather than what he thinks the electorate wants.

    Be interested in other’s thoughts

    • ianmac 11.1
      16 June 2010 at 8:25 pm

      I agree Lazy Susan. Curiously maybe that is the element of Key popularity. The fresh-faced openess and he is one of the ordinary folk. Or seems so. (I just don’t trust people who smile all the time.)
      Yes to “It was a refreshing change to see an impassioned, emotional speech from someone who appears to actually believe in what he is saying.”
      Unfortunately people like Banks seldom slip up and if he does he faces the listener down. (Wouldn’t it be interesting to have a look at the Banks Admin books. No Credit card but the costs of trips, dinners etc must appear somewhere.)

      • sagenz 11.1.1
        16 June 2010 at 9:41 pm

        Susan – EMO! That was a complete emotional meltdown from an elected politician, live on tv. Funniest thing I have seen in ages. Contrition? My arse. He was sorry he had been caught. “I should have spent more time in my office doing administration”. No, you should have paid for your own lunch while you were out in public doing your job.

    • Armchair Critic 11.2
      16 June 2010 at 9:51 pm

      John talks slowly because he has to try to break the habit of saying one thing and doing another. It’s a prerequisite for being a minister in a National government. Like here, where he broke his word and cost everyone in Auckland City $6,000,000. Thanks John.
      And as for his expenses as mayor, well, there was $8k for him to be able to park his Bentley here and the upgrade to business class travel on the very next page. I have a Toyota Corolla that he could have for used, free of charge, to save the cost of the modifications to accomodate his monstrosity of a car.

  12. Salsy 12
    16 June 2010 at 8:28 pm

    Len looks on the verge of another heart attack, why cant the left learn to roll with the punches? Carter in a similar state. The only politician able to convert right wing attacks into political gain is Jones. He should run seminars for the rest. John Key must be laughing in his sleep.

  13. NickS 13
    16 June 2010 at 10:33 pm

    http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/maori-mp-draft-bill-banning-1080-3591117
    /facepalm

    Well, looks like my idea of getting a post published here on anti-1080 stupidity keeps becoming even more topical 🙁

    Oh, and why is MP Rahui Katene sounding like a moron to me? It’s down to economics, mainly as it is far cheaper and much more easier to cover large areas via helicopter 1080 drops than it is with paying people to lay and maintain trapping lines, especially in the more remote areas, and even in the closer to home, rugged as hell terrain that our geological history has given us.

    On top of this is the ye olde “it builds up in teh soil!” canard (that’s DDT with it’s poly aromatic rings you nitwits, 1080 isn’t exactly chemically stable given the acetate it’s built from + the reactivity of fluorine/it makes a good leaving group…*) and a failure to understand that by timing pest control to mainly coincide with breeding season, any bird kill is typically mitigated by very statistically significant increases in chick hatching and survival for threaten species**.

    And then there’s the massive damage possums cause to the canopy, which I saw quite starkly last year east of Hokitika, in which the DoC admined reserve had few skeletons in the canopy, compared to the other ones we saw with abundant dead trees. Plus deer and pigs significantly alter the under-story structure, removing habitat for natives and altering future forest structure by eating seedlings. And it doesn’t take a massive population density to do this either.

    Oh, and I’ll have a nice crop of references for the full post, also, as it’s 10:26pm, and I still haven’t used Mendeley to organise my pdf library, complaining about “lack of refences” for the above will get you snarked to death.

    Also, if anyone has a copy of “Poisoning Paradise” they can loan me (I can pick it up if you’re in Christchurch) I’d like to know, as I’m slowly gearing up to get into this properly, and by properly I mean 3 windows of firefox + multiple tabs + pdfs + word docs and Whittaker’s dark chocolate as I go into OCD research mode.

    *I did organic chem for two years /shudder

    **And yes, I know about the issues with Kea, but that is why science is so “fun” at times, due to things coming up and biting you on the arse and making you realise your bait design needs some further work…

    • lprent 13.1
      17 June 2010 at 12:06 am

      I have exactly one glitch to get around between me and multisite. I went to WordPress 3.0 RC3 after the wee server glitch on the weekend.

      There is one plugin that is pretty crucial – it is the one that informs google/yahoo/ etc about updated posts and also maintains the (virtual) robots.txt to keep the spiders and crawlers at bay. It doesn’t run on 3.0 multisite. Chasing the author at present (for the last 3 weeks) and reading the code as a backup.

      • NickS 13.1.1
        17 June 2010 at 12:20 am

        Here’s hoping the author gets back to you, hunting through Cthulhu knows how many lines of code for bug does not sound particularly enjoyable…

        • lprent 13.1.1.1
          17 June 2010 at 1:11 am

          It isn’t a bug. It just hasn’t been built for a multi-site configuration. It doesn’t look too hard to do, but it would suck up a weekend – which I have in short supply.

  14. Croc 14
    17 June 2010 at 12:12 am

    Why won’t the Standard publish articles on 1080? Did this even happen?

    • Marty G 14.1
      17 June 2010 at 12:19 am

      If you want to see a post on 1080 write it yourself in the contribute form and it may well get published unless it’s nuts.

      There’s no editorial policy on 1080.

      The topics that get covered are the topics that writers or contributors decide they personally want to write about.

      • Croc 14.1.1
        17 June 2010 at 1:58 pm

        Apologies that wasn’t meant to be a dig at the Standard I was just wondering if Nick S claims of censorship held any water. Looks like they don’t.

        • NickS 14.1.1.1
          17 June 2010 at 2:03 pm

          Lolwat?

          I made no claims of censorship, I don’t even know how the hell you pulled that out of what I wrote, and my brain’s working rather well at present.

          • Croc 14.1.1.1.1
            17 June 2010 at 3:05 pm

            Jeepers looks like a bad case of wrong end of the stick on my part.

            Apologies. Carry on.

            Well, looks like my idea of getting a post published here on anti-1080 stupidity keeps becoming even more topical

            Took that to mean topical with the standard, not in general.

            complaining about “lack of refences’ for the above will get you snarked to death.

            Thought you were referring to the standard.

            • NickS 14.1.1.1.1.1
              17 June 2010 at 3:42 pm

              Thought you were referring to the standard.

              There’s about 6 different areas in that post to research, which some I already have the resources for, but would still need to look for updated ones and others more easy to understand and try and find the not-stuck behind paywalls version of any peer-reviewed ecology articles I referenced.

              And that’s about 2 hrs of hunting, thinking and writing, and editing.

              The stuff I don’t presently have (economics of aerial drops, 1080’s chemical properties + environmental chemistry) will likely take me a day or more to do, mostly as I need more solid evidence for the economic argument. While for the chemistry side of things, I need to hunt down some old 2nd year organic chem stuff on reactions and leaving groups. And then I need to break it down and produce a fairly straight forward explanation that makes sense to someone with no background in organic chemistry, let alone anything past year 11 / 5 form science. Which isn’t nice and easy to do.

              Hence the “snarked to death” statement, since that post was more of a quick-fire comment late at night.

              Thinking before posting is generally a good thing to do 😛

        • lprent 14.1.1.2
          17 June 2010 at 3:08 pm

          Where exactly did Nick purportedly make these claims?

          He was complaining that there wasn’t enough written on 1080 and saying he’d write a post, probably on the scitech blog after I get the last tech glitches out of the way or on this site if he dumbed it down a bit for political folk.

          We were encouraging him to write such a post because none of the authors or guest posts had done one previously. Either we have no interest or have no knowledge. There was barely a page of comments in the search (which surprised me – thought it would have been more topical)

          • NickS 14.1.1.2.1
            17 June 2010 at 3:54 pm

            …if he dumbed it down a bit for political folk.

            It sort of needs to be dumbed down given the lack of background in chemistry and ecology most people have 😛

            And the fact I’ll probably chuck this at my tramping club as much more stripped down version, so I sort of need to simplify it.

            Not that actually having a background in those entirely stops people from making dumb arguments, as two of the darlings/scientific authorities of the anti-1080 movement, those names escape me at present, have nicely shown.

            There was barely a page of comments in the search (which surprised me thought it would have been more topical)

            Yeah, I was quite surprised to see only that little, though that might be due to them not venturing out of their usual spots + the locals seeing it as a fringe issue, that pops up from time to time with people threatening to idiotic things.

    • NickS 14.2
      17 June 2010 at 12:33 am

      Uh what? No one else here has felt like writing about it, and a search for “1080” brings up only one page of results.

      And lprent has been working on adding a scitech.thestandard part to this site for bits and pieces which don’t quite fit with politics…

      Meh, it’s 12:32am, I need sleep.

      • lprent 14.2.1
        17 June 2010 at 1:10 am

        Its mainly a political site. If you look at the posts you’ll find that even the science posts are usually ‘political’.

        Thats why I want a scitech blog. Where I can do a rave about my new iPad and how I’m using it (and why iTunes sucks for handling music). Why I love the boost libraries and what is painful about them. The interesting things about touch screen variants. The interesting things about last seasons ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland. The mating strategies of some fish. etc.

        Then I can come back refreshed with some straight political posts.

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    A delay in reappointing a top civil servant may indicate a growing nervousness within the National Party about the potential consequences of David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill. Dave Samuels is waiting for reappointment as the Chief Executive of Te Puni Kokiri, but POLITIK understands that what should have been a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #36

    A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 1, 2024 thru Sat, September 7, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is about how peopele are not born stupid but can be fooled ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Time for a Change

    You act as thoughYou are a blind manWho's crying, crying 'boutAll the virgins that are dyingIn your habitual dreams, you knowSeems you need more sleepBut like a parrot in a flaming treeI know it's pretty hard to seeI'm beginning to wonderIf it's time for a changeSong: Phil JuddThe next line ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Six.

    The “double shocks” in post Cold War international affairs. The end of the Cold War fundamentally altered the global geostrategic context. In particular, the end of the nuclear “balance of terror” between the USA and USSR, coupled with the relaxation … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    2 days ago
  • Buried deep

    Here's a bike on Manchester St, Feilding. I took this photo on Friday night after a very nice dinner at the very nice Vietnamese restaurant, Saigon, on Manchester Street.I thought to myself, Manchester Street? Bicycle? This could be the very spot.To recap from an earlier edition: on a February night ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies, Excerpt Five.

    Military politics as a distinct “partial regime.” Notwithstanding their peripheral status, national defense offers the raison d’être of the combat function, which their relative vulnerability makes apparent, so military forces in small peripheral democracies must be very conscious of events … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    3 days ago
  • Leadership for Dummies

    If you’re going somewhere, do you maybe take a bit of an interest in the place? Read up a bit on the history, current events, places to see - that sort of thing? Presumably, if you’re taking a trip somewhere, it’s for a reason. But what if you’re going somewhere ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Home again

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Dead even tie for hottest August ever

    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:The month of August was 1.49˚C warmer than pre-industrial levels, tying with 2023 for the warmest August ever, according ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 7

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the debate about how to responde to climate disinformation; and special guest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Have We an Infrastructure Deficit?

    An Infrastructure New Zealand report says we are keeping up with infrastructure better than we might have thought from the grumbling. But the challenge of providing for the future remains.I was astonished to learn that the quantity of our infrastructure has been keeping up with economic growth. Your paper almost ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Councils reject racism

    Last month, National passed a racist law requiring local councils to remove their Māori wards, or hold a referendum on them at the 2025 local body election. The final councils voted today, and the verdict is in: an overwhelming rejection. Only two councils out of 45 supported National's racist agenda ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Homage to Simeon Brown

    Open to all - happy weekend ahead, friends.Today I just want to be petty. It’s the way I imagine this chap is -Not only as a political persona. But his real-deal inner personality, in all its glory - appears to be pure pettiness & populist driven.Sometimes I wonder if Simeon ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Government of deceit

    When National cut health spending and imposed a commissioner on Te Whatu Ora, they claimed that it was necessary because the organisation was bloated and inefficient, with "14 layers of management between the CEO and the patient". But it turns out they were simply lying: Health Minister Shane Reti’s ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • The professionals actually think and act like our Government has no fiscal crisis at all

    Treasury staff at work: The demand for a new 12-year Government bond was so strong, Treasury decided to double the amount of bonds it sold. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 6-September-2024

    Welcome to another Friday and another roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. As always, this and every post is brought to you by the Greater Auckland crew. If you like our work and you’d like to see more of it, we invite you to join our regular ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies; Excerpt Four.

    Internal versus external security. Regardless of who rules, large countries can afford to separate external and internal security functions (even if internal control functions predominate under authoritarian regimes). In fact, given the logic of power concentration and institutional centralization of … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • A Hole In The River

    There's a hole in the river where her memory liesFrom the land of the living to the air and skyShe was coming to see him, but something changed her mindDrove her down to the riverThere is no returnSongwriters: Neil Finn/Eddie RaynerThe king is dead; long live the queen!Yesterday was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Bright Blue His Jacket Ain’t But I Love This Fellow: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power E...

    My conclusion last week was that The Rings of Power season two represented a major improvement in the series. The writing’s just so much better, and honestly, its major problems are less the result of the current episodes and more creatures arising from season one plot-holes. I found episode three ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago
  • Who should we thank for the defeat of the Nazis

    As a child in the 1950s, I thought the British had won the Second World War because that’s what all our comics said. Later on, the films and comics told me that the Americans won the war. In my late teens, I found out that the Soviet Union ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #36 2024

    Open access notables Diurnal Temperature Range Trends Differ Below and Above the Melting Point, Pithan & Schatt, Geophysical Research Letters: The globally averaged diurnal temperature range (DTR) has shrunk since the mid-20th century, and climate models project further shrinking. Observations indicate a slowdown or reversal of this trend in recent decades. ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago
  • Media Link: Discussing the NZSIS Security Threat Report.

    I was interviewed by Mike Hosking at NewstalkZB and a few other media outlets about the NZSIS Security Threat Report released recently. I have long advocated for more transparency, accountability and oversight of the NZ Intelligence Community, and although the … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • How do I make this better for people who drive Ford Rangers?

    Home, home again to a long warm embrace. Plenty of reasons to be glad to be back.But also, reasons for dejection.You, yes you, Simeon Brown, you odious little oik, you bible thumping petrol-pandering ratfucker weasel. You would be Reason Number One. Well, maybe first among equals with Seymour and Of-Seymour ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • A missed opportunity

    The government introduced a pretty big piece of constitutional legislation today: the Parliament Bill. But rather than the contentious constitutional change (four year terms) pushed by Labour, this merely consolidates the existing legislation covering Parliament - currently scattered across four different Acts - into one piece of legislation. While I ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Nicola Willis Seeks New Sidekick To Help Fix NZ’s Economy

    Synopsis:Nicola Willis is seeking a new Treasury Boss after Dr Caralee McLiesh’s tenure ends this month. She didn’t listen to McLiesh. Will she listen to the new one?And why is Atlas Network’s Taxpayers Union chiming in?Please consider subscribing or supporting my work. Thanks, Tui.About CaraleeAt the beginning of July, Newsroom ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Inflation alive and kicking in our land of the long white monopolies

    The golden days of profit continue for the the Foodstuffs (Pak’n’Save and New World) and Woolworths supermarket duopoly. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 5:The Groceries Commissioner has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The thermodynamics of electric vs. internal combustion cars

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler I love thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is like your mom: it may not tell you what you can do, but it damn well tells you what you can’t do. I’ve written a few previous posts that include thermodynamics, like one on air capture of ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Three.

    The notion of geopolitical  “periphery.” The concept of periphery used here refers strictly to what can be called the geopolitical periphery. Being on the geopolitical periphery is an analytic virtue because it makes for more visible policy reform in response … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Venus Hum

    Fill me up with soundThe world sings with me a million smiles an hourI can see me dancing on my radioI can hear you singing in the blades of grassYellow dandelions on my way to schoolBig Beautiful Sky!Song: Venus Hum.Good morning, all you lovely people, and welcome to the 700th ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • I Went to a Creed Concert

    Note: The audio attached to this Webworm compliments today’s newsletter. I collected it as I met people attending a Creed concert. Their opinions may differ to mine. Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Government migration policy backfires; thousands of unemployed nurses

    The country has imported literally thousands of nurses over the past few months yet whether they are being employed as nurses is another matter. Just what is going on with HealthNZ and it nurses is, at best, opaque, in that it will not release anything but broad general statistics and ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • A Time For Unity.

    Emotional Response: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addresses mourners at the tangi of King Tuheitia on Turangawaewae Marae on Saturday, 31 August 2024.THE DEATH OF KING TUHEITIA could hardly have come at a worse time for Maoridom. The power of the Kingitanga to unify te iwi Māori was demonstrated powerfully at January’s ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again

    National's tax cut policies relied on stealing revenue from the ETS (previously used to fund emissions reduction) to fund tax cuts to landlords. So how's that going? Badly. Today's auction failed again, with zero units (of a possible 7.6 million) sold. Which means they have a $456 million hole in ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Two.

    A question of size. Small size generally means large vulnerability. The perception of threat is broader and often more immediate for small countries. The feeling of comparative weakness, of exposure to risk, and of potential intimidation by larger powers often … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago
  • Nicola Willis’s Very Unserious Bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander Cancellation

    Open to all with kind thanks to all subscribers and supporters.Today, RNZ revealed that despite MFAT advice to Nicola Willis to be very “careful and deliberate” in her communications with the South Korean government, prior to any public announcement on cancelling Kiwirail’s i-Rex, Willis instead told South Korea 26 minutes ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • Satisfying the Minister’s Speed Obsession

    The Minister of Transport’s speed obsession has this week resulted in two new consultations for 110km/h speed limits, one in Auckland and one in Christchurch. There has also been final approval of the Kapiti Expressway to move to 110km/h following an earlier consultation. While the changes will almost certainly see ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago
  • What if we freed up our streets, again?

    This guest post is by Tommy de Silva, a local rangatahi and freelance writer who is passionate about making the urban fabric of Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland more people-focused and sustainable. New Zealand’s March-April 2020 Level 4 Covid response (aka “lockdown”) was somehow both the best and worst six weeks of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    6 days ago
  • No Alarms And No Surprises

    A heart that's full up like a landfillA job that slowly kills youBruises that won't healYou look so tired, unhappyBring down the governmentThey don't, they don't speak for usI'll take a quiet lifeA handshake of carbon monoxideAnd no alarms and no surprisesThe fabulous English comedian Stewart Lee once wrote a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Five ingenious ways people could beat the heat without cranking the AC

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons Every summer brings a new spate of headlines about record-breaking heat – for good reason: 2023 was the hottest year on record, in keeping with the upward trend scientists have been clocking for decades. With climate forecasts suggesting that heat waves ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • No new funding for cycling & walking

    Studies show each $1 of spending on walking and cycling infrastructure produces $13 to $35 of economic benefits from higher productivity, lower healthcare costs, less congestion, lower emissions and lower fossil fuel import costs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • 99

    Dad turned 99 today.Hell of a lot of candles, eh?He won't be alone for his birthday. He will have the warm attention of my brother, and my sister, and everyone at the rest home, the most thoughtful attentive and considerate people you could ever know. On Saturday there will be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • Open Government: National reneges on beneficial ownership

    One of the achievements of the New Zealand’s Open Government Partnership Fourth National Action Plan was a formal commitment from the government to establish a public beneficial ownership register. Such a register would allow the ultimate owners of companies to be identified - a vital measure in preventing corruption, money ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt One.

    This project analyzes security politics in three peripheral democracies (Chile, New Zealand, Portugal) during the 30 years after the end of the Cold War. It argues that changes in the geopolitical landscape and geo-strategic context are interpreted differently by small … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • Tea and Toast

    When the skies are looking bad my dearAnd your heart's lost all its hopeAfter dawn there will be sunshineAnd all the dust will goThe skies will clear my darlingNow it's time for you to let goOur girl will wake you up in the mornin'With some tea and toastLyrics: Lucy Spraggan.Good ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • NLTP 2024 released – destroying pipeline of shovel ready local projects

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Waka Kotahi yesterday released the latest National Land Transport Plan (NLTP) for 2024-27. The NLTP sets out what transport projects will be funded for the next three years, including both central and local government projects. As expected given the government’s extremely ideological transport policy, it’s ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 week ago
  • Can Brown deliver his roads

    The Government’s unveiling of its road-building programme yesterday was ambitious and, many would say, long overdue. But the question will be whether it is too ambitious, whether it is affordable, and, if not, what might be dropped. The big ticket items will be the 17 so-called Roads of National Significance. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • New paper about detecting climate misinformation on Twitter/X

    Together with Cristian Rojas, Frank Algra-Maschio, Mark Andrejevic, Travis Coan, and Yuan-Fang Li, I just published a paper in Nature Communications Earth & Environment where we use the Computer Assisted Recognition of Denial and Skepticism (CARDS) machine learning model to detect climate misinformation in 5 million climate tweets. We find over half ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • Excerpting “Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies.”

    In the late 2000s-early 2010s I was researching and writing a book titled “Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Chile, New Zealand and Portugal.” The book was a cross-regional Small-N qualitative comparison of the security strategies and postures of three small … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • Hating for the Wrong Reasons: Of Rings of Power, Orcs and Evil

    A few months ago, my fellow countryman, HelloFutureMe, put out a giant YouTube video, dissecting what went wrong with the first season of Rings of Power (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ6FRUO0ui0&t=8376s). It’s an exceptionally good video, and though it spans some two and a half hours, it is well worth your time. But ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: “Least cost” to who?

    On Friday the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released their submission on National's second Emissions Reduction Plan, ripping the shit out of it as a massive gamble based on wishful thinking. One of the specific issues he focused on was National's idea of "least cost" emissions reduction, pointing out that ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Israeli Lives Matter

    There is no monopoly on common senseOn either side of the political fenceWe share the same biology, regardless of ideologyBelieve me when I say to youI hope the Russians love their children tooLyrics: Sting. Read more ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Luxon Cries

    Over the weekend, I found myself rather irritably reading up about the Treaty of Waitangi. “Do I need to do this?” It’s not my jurisdiction. In any other world, would this be something I choose to do?My answer - no.The Waitangi Tribunal, headed by some of our best legal minds, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Just one Wellington home being consented for every 10 in Auckland

    A decade of under-building is coming home to roost in Wellington. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday September 2:Wellington’s leaders are wringing their hands over an exodus of skilled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Container trucks on local streets: why take the risk?

    This is a guest post by Charmaine Vaughan, who came to transport advocacy via her local Residents Association and a comms role at Bike Auckland. Her enthusiasm to make local streets safer for all is shared by her son Dylan Vaughan, a budding “urban nerd” who provided much of the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    1 week ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #35

    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, August 25, 2024 thru Sat, August 31, 2024. Story of the week After another crammed week of climate news including updates on climate tipping points, increasing threats from rising ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • An Uncanny Valley of Improvement: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power, Episodes 1-3 (Season ...

    And thus we come to the second instalment of Amazon’s Rings of Power. The first season, in 2022, was underwhelming, even for someone like myself, who is by nature inclined to approach Tolkien adaptations with charity. The writing was poor, the plot made no sense on its own terms, and ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • Alcohol debris and Crocodile Tears

    I write to you this morning from scenes of carnage. Around the floor lie young men who only hours earlier were full of life, and cocktails, and now lie silent. Read more ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • When Do We Look Away?

    Hi,The first time I saw something that made me recoil on the internet was a visit to Rotten.com. The clue was in the name — but the internet was a new thing to me in the 90s, and no-one really knew what the hell was going on. But somehow I ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago
  • The decades just fly by

    You turn your back for a moment and a city can completely transform itself. It was, oh, just the other day I was tripping up to Kuala Lumpur every few months to teach workshops and luxuriate in the tropical warmth and fill my face with Char Kway Teow.It has to ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • 2024 Reading Summary: August

    Completed reads for August: Aesop’s Fables (collection), by Aesop Berserk: Volume XXV (manga), by Kentaro Miura Benighted, by J.B. Priestly Berserk: Volume XXVI (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVIII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXIX (manga), by Kentaro Miura ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • Is recent global warming part of a natural cycle?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is recent global warming part ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • White Noise

    Now here we standWith our hearts in our handsSqueezing out the liesAll that I hearIs a message, unclearWhat else is there to decide?All that I'm hearing from youIs White NoiseLyrics: Christopher John CheneyIs the tide turning?Have we reached the high point of the racist hate and lies from Hobson’s Pledge, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The Death Of “Big Norm” – Exactly 50 Years Ago Today.

    Norman KirkPrime Minister of New Zealand 1972-1974Born: 6 January 1923 - Died: 31 August 1974Of the working-class, by the working-class, for the working-class.Video courtesy of YouTubeThese elements were posted on Bowalley Road on Saturday, 31 August 2024. ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • Claims and Counter-Claims.

    Whose Foreshore? Whose Seabed? When the Marine and Coastal Area Act was originally passed back in 2011, fears about the coastline becoming off-limits to Pakeha were routinely allayed by National Party politicians pointing out that the tests imposed were so stringent  that only a modest percentage of claims (the then treaty ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • Interim fix to GST adjustment rules to support businesses

    Inland Revenue can begin processing GST returns for businesses affected by a historic legislative drafting error, Revenue Minister Simon Watts says. “Inland Revenue has become aware of a legislative drafting error in the GST adjustment rules after changes were made in 2023 which were meant to simplify the process. This ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Strong uptake for cervical screening self-test

    More than 80 per cent of New Zealand women being tested have opted for a world-leading self-test for cervical screening since it became available a year ago. Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti and Associate Minister Casey Costello, in her responsibility for Women’s Health, say it’s fantastic to have such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Ministry for Regulation’s first Strategic Intentions document sets ambitious direction

    Regulation Minister David Seymour welcomes the Ministry for Regulation’s first Strategic Intentions document, which sets out how the Ministry will carry out its work and deliver on its purpose. “I have set up the Ministry for Regulation with three tasks. One, to cut existing red tape with sector reviews. Two, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Māori Education Advisory Group established

    The Education Minister has established a Māori Education Ministerial Advisory Group made up of experienced practitioners to help improve outcomes for Māori learners. “This group will provide independent advice on all matters related to Māori education in both English medium and Māori medium settings. It will focus on the most impactful ways we can lift ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • First of five new Hercules aircraft takes flight

    Defence Minister Judith Collins today welcomed the first of five new C-130J-30 Hercules to arrive in New Zealand at a ceremony at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base Auckland, Whenuapai. “This is an historic day for our New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and our nation. The new Hercules fleet ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Have your say on suicide prevention

    Today, September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, a time to reflect on New Zealand’s confronting suicide statistics, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “Every death by suicide is a tragedy – a tragedy that affects far too many of our families and communities in New Zealand. We must do ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Action to grow the rural health workforce

    Scholarships awarded to 27 health care students is another positive step forward to boost the future rural health workforce, Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “All New Zealanders deserve timely access to quality health care and this Government is committed to improving health outcomes, particularly for the one in five ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Pharmac delivering more for Kiwis following major funding boost

    Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour has welcomed the increased availability of medicines for Kiwis resulting from the Government’s increased investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the Government,” says Mr Seymour. “When our Government assumed office, New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Sport Minister congratulates NZ’s Paralympians

    Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop has congratulated New Zealand's Paralympic Team at the conclusion of the Paralympic Games in Paris.  “The NZ Paralympic Team's success in Paris included fantastic performances, personal best times, New Zealand records and Oceania records all being smashed - and of course, many Kiwis on ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government progresses response to Abuse in Care recommendations

    A Crown Response Office is being established within the Public Service Commission to drive the Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care. “The creation of an Office within a central Government agency was a key recommendation by the Royal Commission’s final report.  “It will have the mandate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Passport wait times back on-track

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says passport processing has returned to normal, and the Department of Internal Affairs [Department] is now advising customers to allow up to two weeks to receive their passport. “I am pleased that passport processing is back at target service levels and the Department ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New appointments to the FMA board

    Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister has today announced three new appointments and one reappointment to the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) board. Tracey Berry, Nicholas Hegan and Mariette van Ryn have been appointed for a five-year term ending in August 2029, while Chris Swasbrook, who has served as a board member ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • District Court judges appointed

    Attorney-General Hon Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new District Court judges. The appointees, who will take up their roles at the Manukau Court and the Auckland Court in the Accident Compensation Appeal Jurisdiction, are: Jacqui Clark Judge Clark was admitted to the bar in 1988 after graduating ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government makes it faster and easier to invest in New Zealand

    Associate Minister of Finance David Seymour is encouraged by significant improvements to overseas investment decision timeframes, and the enhanced interest from investors as the Government continues to reform overseas investment. “There were about as many foreign direct investment applications in July and August as there was across the six months ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New Zealand to join Operation Olympic Defender

    New Zealand has accepted an invitation to join US-led multi-national space initiative Operation Olympic Defender, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. Operation Olympic Defender is designed to coordinate the space capabilities of member nations, enhance the resilience of space-based systems, deter hostile actions in space and reduce the spread of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government commits to ‘stamping out’ foot and mouth disease

    Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says that a new economic impact analysis report reinforces this government’s commitment to ‘stamp out’ any New Zealand foot and mouth disease incursion. “The new analysis, produced by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, shows an incursion of the disease in New Zealand would have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Improving access to finance for Kiwis

    5 September 2024  The Government is progressing further reforms to financial services to make it easier for Kiwis to access finance when they need it, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.  “Financial services are foundational for economic success and are woven throughout our lives. Without access to finance our ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Prime Minister pays tribute to Kiingi Tuheitia

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