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Open Mike 16/07/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 16th, 2017 - 45 comments
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45 comments on “Open Mike 16/07/2017 ”

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  1. Ant 1
    16 July 2017 at 6:58 am

    Stephen Hawking (and others) postulate that humanity’s future may depend on colonizing elsewhere in the galaxy. Conversations come alive around the difficulties of voyage duration, susceptibility to alien pathogens and a host of imaginative, invariably unpleasant extra-terrestrial challenges.

    But what if we found ‘planet perfect’ where the usual array of dangers and horrors associated with alien worlds was replaced by their polar opposites?

    In this simulation the commander of a team of 1000 who landed on planet X with a view to colonizing it summoned the group after they had been there a year comfortably housed in a system of well-ventilated limestone caves.

    “Good day. Here are the results of our 12 month’s research. Geologically its a remarkably stable planet. There are none of the violent plate wrenches that generate quakes and tsunamis. Fossil pollen confirms a temperate climate with regular periods of cooling and warming over the past 89 000 years. Rainfall is consistent with no evidence of drought or flooding. We are currently in a gently warming cycle likely to peak in around 2000 year’s time. Ecologically there is the full range of biota one would expect in such a supportive environment. Curiously there are no hominids, only a timid species of anthropoid ape. Cycling of nutrients and the richness of the oceans follows the pattern typical of widely interrelated food chains. In the absence of cold winters terrestrial productivity is sustained year round. The fruits, nuts, roots we gathered month after month can be taken as normal. There is no ‘lean season!’ In every sense this is a pristine planet. I await your feedback in a month’s time.”

    Scenario 1. 96 % of the colonists said “Bingo.” Mindful of past human folly on earth they settled down and lived happily ever after.

    Scenario 2. After processing the considered responses the commander read this summary to the listening crew.

    “You have asked ‘how will we conduct ourselves here’? “Our ancestors, centuries ago on earth felt compelled to ‘tame the land.’ What land would we set about ‘taming?’

    “The system of comfortable and well ventilated limestone caves we’ve been living in look out onto green slopes, flowing rivers and the radiant ocean. They suit us admirably. We could cut down trees and build conventional homes but no one seems inclined to.”

    “We could collect seeds and developed vegetable gardens, but what for? The entire planet is a garden. And with the rivers and sea teeming with fish there seems little point in keeping animals.”

    “As for owning land we asked ourselves: ‘what’s there to own?’ The idea of sectioning off parts of the landscape and calling it ’mine’ seems peculiarly distasteful, – like an act of thieving one part of the environment from another.”

    “How will we occupy ourselves? There are none of earth’s conventional motivators such as earning a living, returning a profit, vanquishing an enemy, surviving hard times.”

    It is apparent that as a race our point in consciousness does not allow a vision of the future here ; that our technology-oriented brains which empowered the space journey have outpaced the qualities of what it means to be creatively human; that we have a karmic debt to another planet far, far away. I guess the best summary of your responses came from someone who submitted the one-liner ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’”

    “I have given the orders to prepare the space ship; we return to earth within the next few weeks.”

    • Bill 1.1
      16 July 2017 at 12:17 pm

      Dunno so much about the ‘karmic debt’ bit. (That suggests a level of awareness we patently lack.)

      Maybe more a hankering to feed that addiction to pointless ways and habits would be the motivation to return?

    • joe90 1.2
      16 July 2017 at 12:28 pm

      A little attention to the passenger manifests and we should be all good.

      http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Golgafrinchan_Ark_Fleet_Ship_B

    • Incognito 1.3
      16 July 2017 at 1:07 pm

      “outpaced” or “forgotten”?

      This “space expedition” was flawed from the outset IMO given the orthodox power structure and decision making that is described in this simulation.

      Still, these sorts of thought experiments can be illuminating and stimulate the imagination; SF is an immensely popular genre for obvious reasons and often crosses over into philosophical realms.

  2. Ed 2
    16 July 2017 at 9:46 am

    The New Zealand Herald running a free promotional for Israel Dagg’s new commercial venture.
    Kind of them…….

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11891061

  3. Molly 3
    16 July 2017 at 9:50 am

    Not on the same theme with last week’s chirping frog, but uplifting anyway.

    Phat Bollard buskers from the UK:

  4. BLiP 4
    16 July 2017 at 9:50 am

    This is part of a transcript which records the words uttered by the President of the United States on the evening of Wednesday 12 July 2017 . . .

    . . . There is a chance that we can do a solar wall. We have major companies looking at that. Look, there’s no better place for solar than the Mexico border — the southern border. And there is a very good chance we can do a solar wall, which would actually look good. But there is a very good chance we could do a solar wall.

    One of the things with the wall is you need transparency. You have to be able to see through it. In other words, if you can’t see through that wall — so it could be a steel wall with openings, but you have to have openings because you have to see what’s on the other side of the wall.

    And I’ll give you an example. As horrible as it sounds, when they throw the large sacks of drugs over, and if you have people on the other side of the wall, you don’t see them — they hit you on the head with 60 pounds of stuff? It’s over. As crazy as that sounds, you need transparency through that wall. But we have some incredible designs.

    But we are seriously looking at a solar wall. And remember this, it’s a 2,000 mile border, but you don’t need 2,000 miles of wall because you have a lot of natural barriers. You have mountains. You have some rivers that are violent and vicious. You have some areas that are so far away that you don’t really have people crossing. So you don’t need that. But you’ll need anywhere from 700 to 900 miles.

    Plus we have some wall that’s already up that we’re already fixing. You know, we’ve already started the wall because we’re fixing large portions of wall right now. We’re taking wall that was good but it’s in very bad shape, and we’re making it new. We’re fixing it. It’s already started. So we’ve actually, in the true sense — you know, there’s no reason to take it down or ***. So in a true sense, we’ve already started the wall . . .

    . . . I know, I know. You should see the rest of it.

    http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/13/politics/trump-transcript-air-force-one/index.html

    • The decrypter 4.1
      16 July 2017 at 9:58 am

      Sounds like Nick Smith.

      • Bill 4.1.1
        16 July 2017 at 12:22 pm

        Nah. Nick Smith could never express that almost endearing level of madness. It kinda reads like some young stoner on a roll 🙂

      • Peroxide Blonde 4.1.2
        16 July 2017 at 2:15 pm

        Nick Smith would presents the wall as part of National’s “Blue/Green” policy.
        Jenny Shipley would be competing with Judith Collins to get Chinese construction companies involved.
        Wellington law firms would be providing expensive advice to the government, the Chinese and anyone with a cheque book.

    • Andrea 4.2
      16 July 2017 at 7:36 pm

      Just imagine HAVING to be there listening to this drivel. The guys in the military, security, the cleaners. Anyone who has to take it on the eardrums because there’s no walking away.

      Wonders: was that why they had that round table love-in at the White House? So it was simply nauseating instead of listening to the jaffas run?

  5. Carolyn_nth 5
    16 July 2017 at 10:08 am

    This is what NOT pulling up the ladder after you, looks like:

    Metiria Turei on her new social security policy, shaped by her childhood experiences of poverty, struggle and discrimination.

    “Dad was a labourer, he left school at 15. He went to Hato Paora but spent a lot of time working on the farm there, rather than studying.

    “My Mum was living independent at 14 as well.” Turei said.

    “We were broke, so my parents had periods where they were living in a car, where they were living in caravans, where they were living in people’s houses. So we spent a lot of time kind of moving around a bit too – both for work and housing.”
    …
    The experiences of Turei’s family pushed her into politics and Sunday’s policy announcement is promised to be “bold” and perhaps even controversial.

    “It will be families focused, and it will be about treating people with dignity,” Turei said.

    Punishing people “for being poor” was something she said still happened today, and would be in her sights.
    …
    Some form of universal child payment could also form part of the Green policy.
    …
    Turei said her own policy, will set some clear stakes in the ground, while laying out a timeline for further reform down the track.

    “It seems to me, totally irresponsible to not do what we can to make people’s lives better.”

    • weka 5.1
      16 July 2017 at 3:44 pm

      Thanks for that. You probably saw I used it in the post, it was great to have that bit pulled out and quoted.

  6. Sanctuary 6
    16 July 2017 at 10:56 am

    Chris Meale, director of the ultra vital CRL in Auckland, comes across in this article as a flippant moron with no idea about PT.

    https://thespinoff.co.nz/auckland/15-07-2017/the-big-dig-promises-and-problems-with-aucklands-city-rail-link/

  7. weka 7
    16 July 2017 at 11:38 am

    Bit of Sunday fun,

    http://www.pushtrumpoffacliffagain.com

    The fourth one was my favourite.

  8. AsleepWhileWalking 8
    16 July 2017 at 12:52 pm

    Family living in bus making doco about people living in cars

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/94603040/families-in-cars-shock-travelling-bus-family

  9. North 9
    16 July 2017 at 12:56 pm

    Interesting re TPP at about 8.15 or so.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueKx3_CCPdQ20.

  10. garibaldi 10
    16 July 2017 at 1:56 pm

    Congratulations to the Greens for their Welfare policy. This is an excellent example of social justice, which is core Green territory.
    Hopefully it will shut the trolls up about their bullshit dream of a Green/ Nat accommodation. I suggest their next wet dream could be a Nat/Labour coalition!

  11. rhinocrates 11
    16 July 2017 at 1:59 pm

    From the Grauniad Long Read. Signs of hope if mainstream economists are turning away from globalisation.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/14/globalisation-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-idea-that-swept-the-world

    It’s not just a populist backlash – many economists who once swore by free trade have changed their minds, too. How had they got it so wrong?…

    “The issue is that the people are rightly not trusting the centrists who are now promising compensation,” Rodrik said. “One reason that Hillary Clinton didn’t get any traction with those people is that she didn’t have any credibility.”

    Note for Labour: credibility. Credibility comes not from claims, but from record.

  12. Peroxide Blonde 12
    16 July 2017 at 2:04 pm

    Casual racism.

    I’ve had two interactions this week with English people living in NZ who support Brexit because of all the migrants that were “let into our country”.
    (I can’t help asking people about UK’s Brexit: FU of the century and I lived there for best part of a decade.)
    When I point out they themselves are migrants in NZ one looked confused/bewildered and, in the other instance, they responded that English people in NZ are not on the dole whereas migrants in the UK are and are not assimilating into English society.
    Brexit is widely seen as an impending economic disaster. The possibility of it being reversed is being talked up. I hope for the sake of many that is is reversed.

    However reversing Brexit will not undue to racist malaise that led so many to vote Leave. Leaving aside the lies and incompetent campaigning from both sides, leave aside that anti-austerity and urban decay issues, there is still a deeply rooted mindset that rejects foreigners living in their country. The mind numbing aspect of this is that English people who are migrants themselves don’t have empathy with other migrants.

    I don’t get it.

    • McFlock 13.1
      16 July 2017 at 7:47 pm

      A brief glimpse suggests that it’s suggesting that global warming might not be a thing.

  14. Anne 14
    16 July 2017 at 6:08 pm

    Fustercluck of pseudo science from the 3% of the world’s pseudo scientists who live in an ideological and/or religious dream world and feel threatened by reality. That’s the problem with all deniers… they fear reality because it upsets their little cocoon of beliefs.

    Note there’s not one woman on that list and I’ll bet they’re all white and aging and on the cusp of senility.

  15. Andrea 15
    16 July 2017 at 7:43 pm

    If we cut immigration then our happy little economy will chug to a halt. We just don’t have the trained people to take up the fabulous jobs on offer.

    So they say.

    We’ve been listening to this for longer than I’ve been alive (according to the oldies).

    Yet we’re flogging education to overseas buyers?

    Now. Who has their hands up to resolve this issue once and forever? In a polite and altruistic way, for preference.

    • Draco T Bastard 15.1
      16 July 2017 at 8:09 pm

      We just don’t have the trained people to take up the fabulous jobs on offer.
      We have the trained people. What we don’t have is businesses willing to hire them.

      • Loop 15.1.1
        19 July 2017 at 2:36 pm

        “What we don’t have is businesses willing to hire them.’
        In my little microcosm it appears the employers are willing to hire our highly trained people, just not for a fair wage/salary. I did wonder once the free trade agreement was signed how long it would take before EnZed employers started to pay rates more in line with the 3rd world countries we are trading with and our rights as employees are reduced. Here we are.
        Example: Son in law out of uni was offered 54K after initial interview in Orkland. I thought “wow”. After 2 subsequent interviews he took up a position for 42K. Then I thought WTF?
        After a year and a lot of long hours and a few reviews he took his family to Oz. Starting on 74K. After a year he interviewed for a new position. The salary was 93-104K. As it transpired the latter was what he was starting on. The sharing of wealth in Oz is less of an issue there than here.

  16. marty mars 16
    16 July 2017 at 8:53 pm

    good one andrew

    “Listen, Winston is a very colourful character in New Zealand politics and he’s got some principles too.

    “But he is a blowhard and this is blowhard politics.

    “In the end this election isn’t going to be fought on the basis of swinging dicks it is going to be fought on the basis of what party has demonstrated that they are listening to the real concerns of New Zealanders.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11891404

    apart from the unfortunate blowhard being mashed with swinging dicks not a bad retort to winnie. He won’t like it – “You are notta respecting me!”.

    • weka 16.1
      16 July 2017 at 9:13 pm

      Wow.

    • Anne 16.2
      16 July 2017 at 9:27 pm

      Now that’s the Andrew Little I want to see.

      Well I never… that poll Newshub and it’s prima political donkey, Patrick Gower were rabbiting on about was NOT commissioned by Labour. Wonder how the questions were framed and who commissioned them eh?

      And boy isn’t it interesting that the media is concentrating on a “private poll” commissioned by “nobody knows” and is ignoring a public poll which has produced a significant swing to both Labour and the Greens with NZ1st back on 8%.

  17. Ed 17
    16 July 2017 at 9:16 pm

    Sara Matthews’s comments sound like those of a National or ACT troll, rather than who she portrays herself to be.

    Is she Ian or BM or James?

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

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    RNZ has been shining their torch into corners where lobbyists lurk and asking such questions as: Do we like the look of this?and Is this as democratic as it could be?These are most certainly questions worth asking, and every bit as valid as, say:Are we shortchanged democratically by the way ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • This smells
    RNZ has continued its look at the role of lobbyists by taking a closer look at the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Andrew Kirton. He used to work for liquor companies, opposing (among other things) a container refund scheme which would have required them to take responsibility for their own ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Major issues on the table in Mahuta’s  talks in Beijing with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has left for Beijing for the first ministerial visit to China since 2019. Mahuta is  to  meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang  where she  might have to call on all the  diplomatic skills  at  her  command. Almost certainly she  will  face  questions  on what  role ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago

  • Inside TOP's Teal Card and political strategy
    TL;DR: The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and not just in his Ilam electorate where students make up more than a quarter of the voters and where Manji is confident ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Make Your Empties Go Another Round.
    When I was a kid New Zealand was actually pretty green. We didn’t really have plastic. The fruit and veges came in a cardboard box, the meat was wrapped in paper, milk came in a glass bottle, and even rubbish sacks were made of paper. Today if you sit down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how similar Vladimir Putin is to George W. Bush
    Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – Syd Holland, Richard Prebble, Juduth Collins, Chris Hipkins – or by far lesser lights like Keith Allen, Frank Gill, Ben Couch, Allen McCready, Clem Simich, ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER:  Te Pāti Māori’s uncompromising threat to the status quo
    Chris Trotter writes – The Crown is a fickle friend. Any political movement deemed to be colourful but inconsequential is generally permitted to go about its business unmolested. The Crown’s media, RNZ and TVNZ, may even “celebrate” its existence (presumably as proof of Democracy’s broad-minded acceptance of diversity). ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Shining a bright light on lobbyists in politics
    Four out of the five people who have held the top role of Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff since 2017 have been lobbyists. That’s a fact that should worry anyone who believes vested interests shouldn’t have a place at the centre of decision making. Chris Hipkins’ newly appointed Chief of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Auckland Council Draft Budget – an unnecessary backwards step
    Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. You can read the consultation document here, and provide feedback here. Auckland Council is currently consulting on what is one of its most important ever Annual Plans – the ‘budget’ of what it will spend money on between July ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Talking’ Posey Parker Blues
    by Molten Moira from Motueka If you want to be a woman let me tell you what to do Get a piece of paper and a biro tooWrite down your new identification And boom! You’re now a woman of this nationSpelled W O M A Na real trans woman that isAs opposed ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    4 days ago

  • More Māori words make it into the OED, and polytech boss (with rules on words like “students”) ...
    Buzz from the Beehive   New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti is hosting the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers for three days from today, welcoming Education Ministers and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, and from Australia. Here’s hoping they have brought translators with them – or ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Social intercourse with haters and Nazis: an etiquette guide
    Let’s say you’ve come all the way from His Majesty’s United Kingdom to share with the folk of Australia and New Zealand your antipathy towards certain other human beings. And let’s say you call yourself a women’s rights activist.And let’s say 99 out of 100 people who listen to you ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • The Greens, Labour, and coalition enforcement
    James Shaw gave the Green party's annual "state of the planet" address over the weekend, in which he expressed frustration with Labour for not doing enough on climate change. His solution is to elect more Green MPs, so they have more power within any government arrangement, and can hold Labour ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • This sounds familiar…
    RNZ this morning has the first story another investigative series by Guyon Espiner, this time into political lobbying. The first story focuses on lobbying by government agencies, specifically transpower, Pharmac, and assorted universities, and how they use lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence on the Ministers who oversee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Letter to the NZ Herald: NCEA pseudoscience – “Mauri is present in all matter”
    Nick Matzke writes –   Dear NZ Herald, I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. I teach evolutionary biology, but I also have long experience in science education and (especially) political attempts to insert pseudoscience into science curricula in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • So what would be the point of a Green vote again?
    James Shaw has again said the Greens would be better ‘in the tent’ with Labour than out, despite Labour’s policy bonfire last week torching much of what the Government was doing to reduce emissions. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Green Party has never been more popular than in some ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Gas stoves pose health risks. Are gas furnaces and other appliances safe to use?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Poor air quality is a long-standing problem in Los Angeles, where the first major outbreak of smog during World War II was so intense that some residents thought the city had been attacked by chemical weapons. Cars were eventually discovered ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Genetic Heritage and Co Governance
    Yesterday I was reading an excellent newsletter from David Slack, and I started writing a comment “Sounds like some excellent genetic heritage…” and then I stopped.There was something about the phrase genetic heritage that stopped me in tracks. Is that a phrase I want to be saying? It’s kind of ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON: Radical Uncertainty
    Brian Easton writes – Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s Middle East strategy, 20 years after the Iraq War
    This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. While it strongly opposed the US-led invasion, New Zealand’s then Labour-led government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark did deploy military engineers to try to help rebuild Iraq in mid-2003. With violence soaring, their 12-month deployment ended without being renewed ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    4 days ago

  • The motorways are finished
    After seventy years, Auckland’s motorway network is finally finished. In July 1953 the first section of motorway in Auckland was opened between Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and Mt Wellington Highway. The final stage opens to traffic this week with the completion of the motorway part of the Northern Corridor Improvements project. Aucklanders ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Kicking National’s tyres
    National’s appointment of Todd McClay as Agriculture spokesperson clearly signals that the party is in trouble with the farming vote. McClay was not an obvious choice, but he does have a record as a political scrapper. The party needs that because sources say it has been shedding farming votes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • As long as there is cricket, the world is somehow okay.
    Rays of white light come flooding into my lounge, into my face from over the top of my neighbour’s hedge. I have to look away as the window of the conservatory is awash in light, as if you were driving towards the sun after a rain shower and suddenly blinded. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • So much of what was there remains
    The columnists in Private Eye take pen names, so I have not the least idea who any of them are. But I greatly appreciate their expert insight, especially MD, who writes the medical column, offering informed and often damning critique of the UK health system and the politicians who keep ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 12, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 18, 2023. Story of the Week Guest post: What 13,500 citations reveal about the IPCC’s climate science report   IPCC WG1 AR6 SPM Report Cover - Changing ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Financial capability services are being bucked up, but Stuart Nash shouldn’t have to see if they c...
    Buzz from the Beehive  The building of financial capability was brought into our considerations when Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced she had dipped into the government’s coffers for $3 million for “providers” to help people and families access community-based Building Financial Capability services. That wording suggests some ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Things that make you go Hmmmm.
    Do you ever come across something that makes you go Hmmmm?You mean like the song?No, I wasn’t thinking of the song, but I am now - thanks for that. I was thinking of things you read or hear that make you stop and go Hmmmm.Yeah, I know what you mean, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • The hoon for the week that was to March 19
    By the end of the week, the dramas over Stuart Nash overshadowed Hipkins’ policy bonfire. File photo: Lynn GrieveasonTLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and the political economy covered on The Kākā included:PM Chris Hipkins’ announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but ...
    The KakaBy Peter Bale
    6 days ago

  • Saving Stuart Nash: Explaining Chris Hipkins' unexpected political calculation
    When word went out that Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would be making an announcement about Stuart Nash on the tiles at parliament at 2:45pm yesterday, the assumption was that it was over. That we had reached tipping point for Nash’s time as minister. But by 3pm - when, coincidentally, the ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    7 days ago

  • Radical Uncertainty
    Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go on to attack physics by citing Newton.So ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • Jump onto the weekly hoon on Riverside at 5pm
    Photo by Walker Fenton on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on Riverside (we’ve moved from Zoom) for our chat about the week’s news with ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • The Dream of Florian Neame: Accepted
    In a nice bit of news, my 2550-word deindustrial science-fiction piece, The Dream of Florian Neame, has been accepted for publication at New Maps Magazine (https://www.new-maps.com/). I have published there before, of course, with Of Tin and Tintagel coming out last year. While I still await the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago

  • Snakes and leaders
    And so this is Friday, and what have we learned?It was a week with all the usual luggage: minister brags and then he quits, Hollywood red carpet is full of twits. And all the while, hanging over the trivial stuff: existential dread, and portents of doom.Depending on who you read ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • This station is Karanga-a-Hape, Chur!
    When I changed the name of this newsletter from The Daily Read to Nick’s Kōrero I was a bit worried whether people would know what Kōrero meant or not. I added a definition when I announced the change and kind of assumed people who weren’t familiar with it would get ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Greens don’t shy from promoting a candidate’s queerness but are quiet about govt announcement on...
    There was a time when a political party’s publicity people would counsel against promoting a candidate as queer. No matter which of two dictionary meanings the voting public might choose to apply – the old meaning of odd, strange, weird, or aberrant, or the more recent meaning of gay, homosexual ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Ask Me Anything about the week to March 17
    Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:PM Chris Hipkins announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but which blew up ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Slow consenting could create $16b climate liability by 2050
    Even though concern over the climate change threat is becoming more mainstream, our governments continue to opt out of the difficult decisions at the expense of time, and cost for future generations. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Now we have a climate liability number to measure the potential failure of the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • THOMAS CRANMER: Challenging progressivism in New Zealand’s culture wars
    Thomas Cranmer writes  Like it or not, the culture wars have entered New Zealand politics and look set to broaden and intensify. The culture wars are often viewed as an exclusively American phenomenon, but the reality is that they are becoming increasingly prominent in countries around the world, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Gordon Campbell on firing Stuart Nash, plus a music playlist
    Here’s an analogy for the Stuart Nash saga. If people are to be forgiven for their sins, Catholic dogma requires two factors to be present. There has to be a sincere act of confession about what has been done, but also a sincere act of contrition, which signals a painful ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 week ago

  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges.  Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago

  • New project set to supercharge ocean economy in Nelson Tasman
    A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • National’s education policy: where’s the funding?
    After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment.  “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Free programme to help older entrepreneurs and inventors
    People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government target increased to keep powering up the Māori economy
    A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Continued progress on reducing poverty in challenging times
    77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Speech at Fiji Investment and Trade Business Forum
    Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government investments boost and diversify local economies in lower South Island
    $2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government future-proofs EV charging
    Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • World-leading family harm prevention campaign supports young NZers
    Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention. Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. “Over 1,200 young kiwis told ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • First Chief Clinical Advisor welcomed into Coroners Court
    Hon Rino Tirikatene, Minister for Courts, welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s appointment of Dr Garry Clearwater as New Zealand’s first Chief Clinical Advisor working with the Coroners Court. “This appointment is significant for the Coroners Court and New Zealand’s wider coronial system.” Minister Tirikatene said. Through Budget 2022, the Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Next steps for affected properties post Cyclone and floods
    The Government via the Cyclone Taskforce is working with local government and insurance companies to build a picture of high-risk areas following Cyclone Gabrielle and January floods. “The Taskforce, led by Sir Brian Roche, has been working with insurance companies to undertake an assessment of high-risk areas so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • New appointment to Māori Land Court bench
    E te huia kaimanawa, ko Ngāpuhi e whakahari ana i tau aupikinga ki te tihi o te maunga. Ko te Ao Māori hoki e whakanui ana i a koe te whakaihu waka o te reo Māori i roto i te Ao Ture. (To the prized treasure, it is Ngāpuhi who ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government focus on jobs sees record number of New Zealanders move from Benefits into work
    113,400 exits into work in the year to June 2022 Young people are moving off Benefit faster than after the Global Financial Crisis Two reports released today by the Ministry of Social Development show the Government’s investment in the COVID-19 response helped drive record numbers of people off Benefits and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Vertical farming partnership has upward momentum
    The Government’s priority to keep New Zealand at the cutting edge of food production and lift our sustainability credentials continues by backing the next steps of a hi-tech vertical farming venture that uses up to 95 per cent less water, is climate resilient, and pesticide-free. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Conference of Pacific Education Ministers – Keynote Address
    E nga mana, e nga iwi, e nga reo, e nga hau e wha, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou kātoa. Warm Pacific greetings to all. It is an honour to host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers here in Tāmaki Makaurau. Aotearoa is delighted to be hosting you ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • New $13m renal unit supports Taranaki patients
    The new renal unit at Taranaki Base Hospital has been officially opened by the Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall this afternoon. Te Huhi Raupō received around $13 million in government funding as part of Project Maunga Stage 2, the redevelopment of the Taranaki Base Hospital campus. “It’s an honour ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Second Poseidon aircraft on home soil
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the country’s second P-8A Poseidon aircraft alongside personnel at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base at Ohakea today. “With two of the four P-8A Poseidons now on home soil this marks another significant milestone in the Government’s historic investment in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Further humanitarian aid for Türkiye and Syria
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide further humanitarian support to those seriously affected by last month’s deadly earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, says Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. “The 6 February earthquakes have had devastating consequences, with almost 18 million people affected. More than 53,000 people have died and tens of thousands more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Community voice to help shape immigration policy
    Migrant communities across New Zealand are represented in the new Migrant Community Reference Group that will help shape immigration policy going forward, Immigration Minister Michael Wood announced today.  “Since becoming Minister, a reoccurring message I have heard from migrants is the feeling their voice has often been missing around policy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • State Highway 3 project to deliver safer journeys, better travel connections for Taranaki
    Construction has begun on major works that will deliver significant safety improvements on State Highway 3 from Waitara to Bell Block, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan announced today. “This is an important route for communities, freight and visitors to Taranaki but too many people have lost their lives or ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Ginny Andersen appointed as Minister of Police
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has today appointed Ginny Andersen as Minister of Police. “Ginny Andersen has a strong and relevant background in this important portfolio,” Chris Hipkins said. “Ginny Andersen worked for the Police as a non-sworn staff member for around 10 years and has more recently been chair of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Government confirms vital roading reconnections
    Six further bailey bridge sites confirmed Four additional bridge sites under consideration 91 per cent of damaged state highways reopened Recovery Dashboards for impacted regions released The Government has responded quickly to restore lifeline routes after Cyclone Gabrielle and can today confirm that an additional six bailey bridges will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Foreign Minister Mahuta to meet with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for China tomorrow, where she will meet with her counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, in Beijing. This will be the first visit by a New Zealand Minister to China since 2019, and follows the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions between New Zealand and China. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Education Ministers from across the Pacific gather in Aotearoa
    Education Ministers from across the Pacific will gather in Tāmaki Makaurau this week to share their collective knowledge and strategic vision, for the benefit of ākonga across the region. New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti will host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers (CPEM) for three days from today, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • State Highway 5 reopens between Napier and Taupō following Cyclone Gabrielle
    A vital transport link for communities and local businesses has been restored following Cyclone Gabrielle with the reopening of State Highway 5 (SH5) between Napier and Taupō, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan says. SH5 reopened to all traffic between 7am and 7pm from today, with closure points at SH2 (Kaimata ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Special Lotto draw raises $11.7 million for Cyclone Gabrielle recovery
    Internal Affairs Minister Barbara Edmonds has thanked generous New Zealanders who took part in the special Lotto draw for communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. Held on Saturday night, the draw raised $11.7 million with half of all ticket sales going towards recovery efforts. “In a time of need, New Zealanders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Government delivers a $3 million funding boost for Building Financial Capability services
    The Government has announced funding of $3 million for providers to help people, and whānau access community-based Building Financial Capability services. “Demand for Financial Capability Services is growing as people face cost of living pressures. Those pressures are increasing further in areas affected by flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle,” Minister for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao – new Chair and member
    Minister of Education, Hon Jan Tinetti, has announced appointments to the Board of Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao. Tracey Bridges is joining the Board as the new Chair and Dr Therese Arseneau will be a new member. Current members Dr Linda Sissons CNZM and Daniel Wilson have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Scholarships honouring Ngarimu VC and the 28th (Māori) Battalion announced
    Fifteen ākonga Māori from across Aotearoa have been awarded the prestigious Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships and Awards for 2023, Associate Education Minister and Ngarimu Board Chair, Kelvin Davis announced today.  The recipients include doctoral, masters’ and undergraduate students. Three vocational training students and five wharekura students, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Appointment of Judge of the Court of Appeal and Judge of the High Court
    High Court Judge Jillian Maree Mallon has been appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal, and District Court Judge Andrew John Becroft QSO has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Mallon graduated from Otago University in 1988 with an LLB (Hons), and with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ still well placed to meet global challenges
    The economy has continued to show its resilience despite today’s GDP figures showing a modest decline in the December quarter, leaving the Government well positioned to help New Zealanders face cost of living pressures in a challenging global environment. “The economy had grown strongly in the two quarters before this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Western Ring Route Complete
    Aucklanders now have more ways to get around as Transport Minister Michael Wood opened the direct State Highway 1 (SH1) to State Highway 18 (SH18) underpass today, marking the completion of the 48-kilometre Western Ring Route (WRR). “The Government is upgrading New Zealand’s transport system to make it safer, more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Briefings to Incoming Ministers
    This section contains briefings received by incoming ministers following changes to Cabinet in January. Some information may have been withheld in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982. Where information has been withheld that is indicated within the document. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Teaming up for a stronger, more resilient Fiji
    Aotearoa New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta reaffirmed her commitment to working together with the new Government of Fiji on issues of shared importance, including on the prioritisation of climate change and sustainability, at a meeting today, in Nadi. Fiji and Aotearoa New Zealand’s close relationship is underpinned by the Duavata ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Investment in blue highway a lifeline for regional economies and cyclone recovery
    The Government is delivering a coastal shipping lifeline for businesses, residents and the primary sector in the cyclone-stricken regions of Hawkes Bay and Tairāwhiti, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan announced today. The Rangitata vessel has been chartered for an emergency coastal shipping route between Gisborne and Napier, with potential for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Next steps developing clean energy for NZ
    The Government will progress to the next stage of the NZ Battery Project, looking at the viability of pumped hydro as well as an alternative, multi-technology approach as part of the Government’s long term-plan to build a resilient, affordable, secure and decarbonised energy system in New Zealand, Energy and Resources ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Statement from the Prime Minister on Stuart Nash
    This morning I was made aware of a media interview in which Minister Stuart Nash criticised a decision of the Court and said he had contacted the Police Commissioner to suggest the Police appeal the decision. The phone call took place in 2021 when he was not the Police Minister. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • CPTPP Trade Ministers coming to Auckland
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