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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    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the coalition’s awful, not good, very bad poll results
    Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 day ago

  • New HOP readers for future payment options
    Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 day ago

  • 2024 Reading Summary: April (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • At a glance – Clearing up misconceptions regarding 'hide the decline'
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Road photos
    Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
    The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago

  • NZDF is still hostile to oversight
    Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Winding Back The Hands Of History’s Clock.
    Holding On To The Present: The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Sweet Moderation? What Christopher Luxon Could Learn From The Germans.
    Stuck In The Middle With You: As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • A clear warning
    The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Poll results and Waitangi Tribunal report go unmentioned on the Beehive website – where racing tru...
    Buzz  from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example.  This shows National down ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Listening To The Traffic.
    It Takes A Train To Cry: Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Comity Be Damned! The State’s Legislative Arm Is Flexing Its Constitutional Muscles.
    Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Ending The Quest.
    Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Will political polarisation intensify to the point where ‘normal’ government becomes impossible,...
    Chris Trotter writes –  New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Tuesday, April 30
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:30am on Tuesday, May 30:Scoop: NZ 'close to the tipping point' of measles epidemic, health experts warn NZ Herald Benjamin PlummerHealth: 'Absurd and totally unacceptable': Man has to wait a year for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Worst poll result for a new Government in MMP history
    Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Pinning down climate change's role in extreme weather
    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Serving at Seymour's pleasure.
    Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Webworm LA Pop-Up
    Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • “Feel good” school is out
    Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • 6 Months in, surely our Report Card is “Ignored all warnings: recommend dismissal ASAP”?
    Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy. Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    3 days ago

  • Bread, and how it gets buttered
    Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Justice for Gaza?
    The New York Times reports that the International Criminal Court is about to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over their genocide in Gaza: Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • If there has been any fiddling with Pharmac’s funding, we can count on Paula to figure out the fis...
    Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • FastTrackWatch – The case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Monday, April 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on Iran killing its rappers, and searching for the invisible Dr. Reti
    span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Auckland Rail Electrification 10 years old
    Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Coalition's dirge of austerity and uncertainty is driving the economy into a deeper recession
    Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Disability Funding or Tax Cuts.
    You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Of the Goodness of Tolkien’s Eru
    April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    3 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Pastor Who Abused People, Blames People
    Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
    The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Winston remembers Gettysburg.
    Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • 25
    She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8.  The universe was ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Is Antarctica gaining land ice?
    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 in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Policing protests.
    Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago

  • Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
    Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: FastTrackWatch – The Case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago

  • Luxon gets out his butcher’s knife – briefly
    Peter Dunne writes –  The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • More tax for less
    Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Real News vs Fake News.
    We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Another way to roll
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Simon Clark: The climate lies you'll hear this year
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Cutting the Public Service
    It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago

  • Luxon’s demoted ministers might take comfort from the British politician who bounced back after th...
    Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:  we live in a troubled ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • This is how I roll over
    1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • The Waitangi Tribunal is not “a roving Commission”…
    …it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition   NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes –  The High Court ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Is Oranga Tamariki guilty of neglect?
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same? Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Three Strikes saw lower reoffending
    David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Luxon’s ruthless show of strength is perfect for our angry era
    Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 'Lacks attention to detail and is creating double-standards.'
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • One Night Only!
    Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • What did Melissa Lee do?
    It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2024
    Open access notables Ice acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment: In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

  • Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Wa...
    Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Who’s Going Up The Media Mountain?
    Mr Bombastic: Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • “That's how I roll”
    It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • “Comity” versus the rule of law
    In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Streamlining Building Consent Changes
    The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says.      “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago

  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
    New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
    Good evening –   Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago

  • Accelerating airport security lines
    From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago

  • Community hui to talk about kina barrens
    People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
    Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Mining resurgence a welcome sign
    There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
    The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government to boost public EV charging network
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure.  The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Residential Property Managers Bill to not progress
    The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Independent review into disability support services
    The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Justice Minister updates UN on law & order plan
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Ending emergency housing motels in Rotorua
    The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Trade Minister travels to Riyadh, OECD, and Dubai
    Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Education priorities focused on lifting achievement
    Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • NZTA App first step towards digital driver licence
    The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say.  “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Supporting whānau out of emergency housing
    Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Tribute to Dave O'Sullivan
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