Nice to see a media site pointing out the obvious that we have to do things differently. They even point the finger at media commentators, although they don't promise to change.
We won't get change (to long term thinking) unless politicians are rewarded for it. While tax cuts and high house prices are talked about as good things pollies will not stick their necks out.
We have the most coherent, centralising, long-reaching, deep-interventionist government we have had since Muldoon.
Government is not the problem.
The problem is in an exceptionally low-ambition rent-seeking large business community, together with most of our available capital tied up in real estate.
When does calling for something to stop become a way of prolonging it? And how much of a coincidence that this appears after a couple of weeks in which Luxon is revealed as a far right goose? (Note: link is paywalled. Just happen to have picked up the neighbour's paper copy today)
C'mon now its not like there were many alternatives to Foster
There was no Rennie, Joseph and Brown or Robertson option
The brains trust had no other choice because, as we all know, unless you've been in the ABS coaching set up you can't possibly be an international coach
Positive Rugby .Foster was anointed he hadn't had any experience at coaching winning teams or overseas for that matter. Scott Robertson beat a very strong Blues team by not kicking the ball away keeping the ball not allowing the opposing team to score.Foster played right into Ireland's strengths ,who invented the Gary Owen the high ball.Ireland dominated upfront even though they had a lighter pack.Foster has to go now he is out of his depth out of ideas ,Schmit or Robertson .Foster should never have been coach.Had Jacho Pyper been the ref Ireland would have been down to 13 for much of the second half .Saying all this this is a reality check a year out from the World Cup usually in the year running up to the world cup the Allblacks thrash everyone then loose the important ones .
Cheers
Just shifted jobs ,(onwards and upwards hopefully) after 4 1/2 years for some scheming miserable fuckers , thank God for labour laws I'd hate to think how they'd treat people if given free reign.
Career wise it was worth it, it got me to this job, but after all that time they used a change in my situation to screw me out of some income , went full bully ,threatening dismissal due to a brain fart I had, and then doubled the work load and expected me to do it alone for the same money ,
I remember you writing here about a pending job change quite some time back and I’m glad to hear that it has finally happened (i.e. you made it happen, I presume). Good luck with the job and I hope your family is doing better for it; a shit job tends to spill over into the home …
Talking of ‘wisdom’. A revealing interveiw on Q&A this morning with Nanaia Mahuta. I especially recommend her response to the accusations concerning members of her family. Will link when and if it becomes available.
thanks Anne for alerting us to this site about the Nanaia Mahuta interview.
When asked about her family, Mahuta talked about the trolling she had received about this. She looked visibly disressed by this. So I am sorry she has received trolling and been the subject of hurtful things. That is never acceptable.
However Mahuta failed to answer adequately the questions around her family and conflict of interests and unfortunately Jack Tame didn't ask more specific questions and got side track about the trolling.
There are definitely questions about Mahutas family being awarded contracts or public money, that should be questioned very assertively.
Mahuta's husband who has a criminal conviction of assault on a woman has been awarded contracts. I bring this up because someone with a criminal conviction of assault against a female will have a great deal of difficultly getting employment.
I think it would be fair to ask why he/his company was given a contract in suicide prevention (he has no quallifications in this). and waste management?
Her sister has also received appointments and so to have some of her nephews.
Happy to provide links on request with more details.
A close friend of mine is a retired lawyer and familiar with the details on this. His answer is that we are looking at two completely different world views here. In one nepotism is considered a problem – in the other it is a virtue.
The entity I work for has a government business group. It operates under strict ethical rules. If perchance as a member of that group I found myself negotiating with a government official who also happened to be a relative – I would have to immediately withdraw from that discussion. And fully document the circumstances to my manager. Failure to follow these rules to the letter would almost certainly result in my dismissal.
And this would apply even if both of us were highly qualified and experienced in the contract or area concerned.
Which tends to erase a lot of issues that don't apply to the Pākehā demographic majority, but do apply to a colonised, historically marginalised and much smaller indigenous community, especially in roles that pertain directly to specialist cultural knowledge only available in that community.
So all I have to do is declare that only Maori possess the proper cultural knowledge on waste management in an industrial society – and automatically only brown faces need apply for the role. And the rules around proximity can be set aside because all Maori are related.
The NZ public sector procurement requirements and outcomes make it very, very hard not to hire Maori to deliver Maori outcomes. That's particularly the case in Education and Health, but it's all through the system now: water, Tertiary education, media procurement, public health, Justice, secondary education, SSC, Conservation, Transport, and on and on.
I am reading you correctly? Are you saying that if everything gets defined in terms of Maori outcomes – as part of the decolonising mantra – then skills and experience have become secondary to cultural considerations across much of the public sector.
It's a shade more subtle than that, but the effect is that Maori get hired to deliver Maori outcomes. There's even official names for them: for some it's Broader Outcomes, or Pa Harakeke, or Progressive Procurement, or Te Akutai, and on and on.
Even in the big infrastructure bids one needs to specify who is being hired for achieving these Broader Outcomes. It’s so common now as to be ordinary, and seriously you can’t win the bid without them.
This is opposition gold ,Labour is on the backlash of out of control inflation ,a housing crisis,Labour shotrages,a health system under huge strain,food shortages ,5 waters etc.Mahuta needs to go she is the focal point of incompatency.But her going won"t save Labour the economy isn't going to recover by next winter and NZ is traditionally a National voting country .Which will mean austerity and block of cheese tax cuts for the swing voters.
….or… there are 775,836 people in Aotearoa who identify as Māori, most of whom exist within large extended families, of whom only a certain proportion have the capital and resources to rise in the educational and political sphere. Inevitably for appointments where being Māori is an important qualification people are going to be related.
You get exactly the same thing with Pākehā in the provinces but apparently that's not a problem for some reason…
I can accept there is a limited pool of talent to choose from in many cases all across public service in NZ, and that getting the right people into a role can be challenging.
But frankly I don't care how experienced or suitable you are for a role – in my view being an immediate family member is an automatic disqualification.
Well the global corporation I have been associated with most of my working life holds to a higher standard. Hell we will reprimand someone who expenses a $20 meal for their immediate manager by accident.
New Zealand remains within the top two least corrupt countries in the world and has done for over a decade.
Not sure if there's many global corporates who will expose their records in how they win bids to the kind of scrutiny states get, particularly small ones.
I think you'll find on closer examination that your joint isn't as pure as the driven snow that you're making out. Business is business.
On the contrary I know of two instance where people resigned rather than expose themselves to corrupt practice. And those are just the ones I know about. And the corporate will openly walk away from such business if necessary. I can point to one instance in Italy in just the past few months. But not all corruption involves bribes or obvious personal benefit, sometimes it can just be a case of taking a shortcut on paperwork, testing or certifying procedures – even when they seem quite logical or innocent.
Every 12 months everyone must undergo a mandatory ethics training course and must pass the exam which features notoriously tricky and often subtle case examples that are not easy. And you only get three shots at obtaining a 100% score or you're down the road. We have let very senior people go just for this.
And that is just for normal commercial business. The govt business team is another whole world I don't want to even think about.
So if that global company is an oil or oil related company which buy off govts ,ignore human rights, womens rights ,enviromental destruction no problems there.But a $20 meal not ok sounds like hypocritical gaslighting.
I'm not claiming perfection – that would be insane because nothing human ever is or will be. But the idea that big global corps routinely and actively pursue corrupt business practice no longer lines up with reality.
I cannot speak for all of them of course, but the ground has definitely shifted in the past two decades on this.
RL Oh you mean since when Clinton pardoned Marc Rich (for a small payment to the Clinton Foundation) and Rich's partners spun off to form Glencore who pleaded guilty last month to bribery,
Reaching back into the 90's. I am sure you can scour the net for many instances – but what you will not find are any shock horror articles on all the time a corporation did the right thing and it never made the news.
Again I am not claiming perfection – that would be insane. But I am saying that if you has lived and worked within or adjacent to these big corporates most of your working life you would have a more nuanced view. Defining and promoting strong ethical behaviour is a central part of the corporate game that it simply wasn't 20-30 years ago.
For example this sort of entity was simply not a thing 20 years ago.
That may well be an argument for Tipa Mahuta's appointment (though I shouldn't have thought that she was the best qualified candidate for both the Maori Advisory Group for 3 Waters and the Maori Health Authority).
But it's hard to believe that the most qualified candidates for 3 out of the 5 members of the advisory group on waste management were Mahua relatives. Especially as none of them appear to have any significant waste management experience or credentials. If all that is required is a te ao Maori perspective, there are plenty of non-Mahua-whanau candidates which can offer that qualification.
Well, I've done a quick check and can't find any relevant waste management experience for any of them on sites like Linked in which include CV, etc.
No one, not even the journalists supporting Mahuta, have been saying things like 'X's experience in Y, makes them a highly logical candidate for Z group'.
Do you have any evidence that they do have relevant experience in waste management? I'm not questioning Te ao Maori credentials – but plenty of other candidates have those….
Tamaoko Ormsby's waste minimization experience (the only one of the 3 with any listed) seems to be limited to refurbishing laptops for a school during Covid lockdown.
Both he and Waimirirangi are listed as having provided waste minimization training services. [This kind of thing is usually a tick box exercise for government departments and corporates bidding for government contracts… it rarely means much]
The waste management qualifications and experience of the 3 (such as they are) seem heavily duplicated. You could argue that 1 representative from the 'coal face' could be justified – but more than that – especially from a single family seems highly unbalanced.
Compared to the highly relevant qualifications of Jacqui Forbes and Teina Boasa – the other 2 members of the panel – they look pretty inadequate.
The relevant experience in: "waste, circular economy thinking and mātauranga Māori." – are certainly not limited to the Mahuta whanau – and would be fairly widespread across many different iwi.
The Ministry admit that they selectively approached individuals, rather than advertising or approaching a range of iwi.
Again, not questioning the Ormsbys Te ao Maori credentials – but pointing out that these are shared by a wide range of Maori from different whanau and iwi. It is difficult to see what made 3 members of the same family the ideal candidates.
What? I've provided the links, as requested, and the OIA.
And pointed out that the 3 Ormsbys have little waste management experience.
How does that equate to walking back? I am certainly questioning the hiring of the 3 Mahuta whanau members. From the OIA response, it seems that any relevant qualifications they have would be easily found in other Maori candidates.
And, for the Min of the Environment to openly admit approaching specific individuals, rather than seeking the best candidate, is pretty close to corruption in my book.
So your answer seems to be saying, doesn't matter if it's corrupt, or it's probably nepotism – hey, all of the public sector does it. Nothing to see here, move right along.
I wouldn't find that acceptable from a right wing government, and I don't find it acceptable from a left-wing one either.
I've seen plenty of ring-fencing to look at hiring someone with a specific skill set, or a specific experience profile. This is the first time I've seen that skill set effectively being 'whanau of the Minister'.
I am with Bella on this. I accept what you are saying is true, but at the same time I get the sad feeling you have normalised sub-par and shoddy standards because they are indeed so commonplace.
Bill English was indeed a senior Minister for many years – but I do not recall the exact context of these contracts you refer to. Or why you think they were problematic.
Finally, when National was in power in 2012, the Ministry of Education gave a very senior role to Apryll Parata, the sister of the Minister of Education, Hekia Parata. Concern was expressed by the then Labour Education spokesperson, who warned: “There is a perceived conflict of interest. People will draw all sorts of conclusions given the proximity of the appointment.” And that spokesperson was Nanaia Mahuta.
Well that was 10 years ago. Now we are decolonising there will be different rules for different people I should imagine.
If you don't think it's necissary to accommodate indigenous reality in situations directlty relating to indigenous matters, perhaps don't live in a colony with a history of oppression and borderline genocide and clutch your pearls over ethics and objectivity.
What colony? New Zealand has been an independent nation for almost 120 years now. And Maori have been fully legal citizens since 1840 with full male suffrage from around 1870. Before even all white males.
As for genocide – that happened in the Musket Wars before 1840. And it wasn't 'borderline' either.
As for genocide – that happened in the Musket Wars before 1840. And it wasn't 'borderline' either.
Shhhhh, RL, hush your mouth ! … those are the wars that dare not speak their name among polite (if totally clueless) Upper-Middle Pakeha Woke Society ! Spoils the highly paternalistic Noble Savage Romanticism.
Three decades of horrendous massacres, truly brutal genocidal violence, at least 20k dead (vs about 2k in the New Zealand Wars), tens of thousands enslaved, sadistic torture common, cannibalism, massive upheaval, iwi massacred, many others permanently driven from their nga rohe.
Looks increasingly like the affluent, flatulent Che Guevara beret-wearing Professional New Middle Classes – desperate for an aura of radical-chic while ensuring a highly privileged lifestyle for themselves – are intent on throwing fundamental ethics & morals out the window as they build the Brave New (deeply anti-democratic) World of He Puapua.
Narcissistic to the core … yet so utterly bereft of wisdom.
Having skim read He Puapua one of the enduring sentences I remember was the policy will mean transformational constitiutional change. Given this how come Labour didn't campaign on this?
How dare they think they can role out "transformation" to our constitutional arrangements by stealth
Stealth is very much the preferred modus operandi of Critical Theory cult members within the Professional New Middle Class … together with their unprincipled & rather cowardly fellow-travellers … they're nothing if not profoundly anti-democratic. Essentially the same elitist tactics & mindset as the Rogernomes.
Self-interested authoritarians perpetually going through this ludicrous charade of ostentatious moral posturing in a wildly unconvincing attempt to justify their power-grab.
Yes. The parallel with the disastrous Rogernome debacle is a pretty good one.
Lange was the charming, eloquent and acceptable public face of a government that imposed an extremist 'transformational' economic change on this country by stealth. Because so many people believed in Lange, the real power in Cabinet were able to operate with impunity until far too late.
Well this govt is much the same. Sure the PR optics are a lot more skilled, the circumstances are quite different – but essentially I see Ardern as the acceptable and popular face of a govt that is imposing transformational political change on this country by stealth as well. Probable outcome will not be any happier in my view.
And ably assisted by a woeful opposition. As a friend of mine said recently – when you are reduced to considering Seymour as the only sane alternative you know something has gone badly wrong.
I suspect that even without the developing economic situation this issue would see this administration lose the next election despite the attempt at stealth and an acceptable face.
And yet it's blindingly self-evident that there are huge structural, institutional, health, carceral, and economic disparities. No? So what's the basis for that? As for genocide, that applies to culture as well, and the litany of bad Crown legislation and neglect around that extends well into the twentieth century.
The public sector has gone through this for over 20 years with women and tilting the scales of hiring. The state has the right to give effect to the policy it wants through hiring.
I'm not aware that preferential hiring practices – to increase numbers of women and various ethnic minorities – were equivalent to nepotism.
There are plenty of Maori candidates (or women candidates, or Pasifika candidates, etc.) without employing family members.
Of course, there are cases where family members of politicians have nationally (and sometimes internationally) recognized levels of expertise – which make them the best candidate for a particular job – and that is why there is an elaborate Cabinet Manual procedure to deal with that situation.
The question being asked of the Mahuta family is were they unquestionably the best candidate/s for the job/s?
If the family are not the best candidates, then there is undoubtably a fault in the hiring process. We don't know what that fault is. It might be incompetence, it might be political capture, it might be nepotism, – it might be something else.
Populuxe of course it is necessary to accommodate indigenous reality in situations relating to indigeous matters. But the Mahuta family are not the only ones who can provid the "indigenous reality".
Or if you are proposing that our system that serves to see our govt officials are not guilty of corruption, should not be applied to Maori?
No I wasn't Populuxe 1. But as a citizen, I would like to see the information about the process, why Ormsby was chosen over other consultants and I think Mike King would like to know as well.
I think this is reasonable.
Unfortunately what I do know about suicide prevention is there seems to be little if anything we can do (although in the UK when they changed household gas to be less toxic, the suicide rate fell. To do with removing the means and easy access, slows people down).
"Maybe if he didn't go out of his way to antagonize the public service in the media and got his paper work in on time"
Naughty Mike. Not getting his paper work in on time and antagonizing the people in the public service (the people the tax payer pays to deliver outcomes).
Well no wonder mental health is such a shit show if that's what it takes to get public money. Too bad Mike got results and shamed the Ministry of Health by doing so
There is nothing balanced in that article. I have given up on expecting balance from Bryce Edwards. He might have valid points but he obscures them by sprinkling in words like "controversially pushing through Parliament".
Any "platform" run by Sean Plunkett has no claim to balance. Randomly choosing another article about the census brings up words like "inept" which show the author's bias.
I am sorry; whether there is a valid point in the articles becomes irrelevant when the language devolves to propaganda.
I read that the Minister had no decision-making role in those other contracts; all declared and managed via the standard public service conflicts of interest process. Not seen the interview. Did it say otherwise?
And no, I am not going to visit Mr Plunket's lavishly-funded right-wing site to see the reckons of his band of merry rejects from other media.
It is well understood that in cases of conflict of interest – perception is what matters most of all. Mahuta will have no doubt scrupulously followed the rules – but that does not eradicate the core problem here.
Ah yes, but if in fact, Nanaia Mahuta was scrupulously honest and the contracts done by the book, then that "perception" is what needs to be scrutinised: was it manufactured, whipped-up by oppositional factions in a manner other than "under ordinary circumstances" – that is, was the issue "played" (answer, YES) and has the "perception" aspect of conflict of interest issues here been gamed. Again, YES.
For me Robert, the perception is many of her relatives have gained lucrative contracts, especially her husband across a range of policy areas. Has Mr Ormsby managed to get contracts through other ministers? Private enterprize? I don't know but its a bad look and the look is nepotism. Remeber the outcry about Bil English wife, who is a GP, and her group did some work on Bill English pet mental health project. Yes it was right that questions were asked about this.
Mr Ormsby has been awarded a lot of govt money and it is unclear what he brings to the table and why it is superior to other potential contractors.
Barry, I more or less agree about the Platform, although Plunketts interview of Denis O'Reily was a good example of where he allowed O'REily to make his points and he acknowledged his points.
Surely though if there are valid points in the articles, then it can't quite be written off as propoganda
No Incognito, I wasn't challenged by Barry. He didn't say, prove your point that Bryce is balanced or where is your evidence for this. Barry has expressed his view. Fine by me.
I think both you and Sacha have misunderstood whose coincidence it was, probably I was clear enough. I meant it was a coincidence I found what David S said.
I have no doubt Seymour targeted his tweat after Nanaia's inteview. That is the sort of time politicians do. They release info in a targeted way. I am sure it was deliberate
I meant it was a coincidence I found what David S said.
There’s no coincidence as such on the internet and you already said that you’d used Google to find material on the topic. Whenever you go online you leave tracks & prints and Google and SM, for example, use these to their advantage (aka to make more money).
Just to clarify Sacha, I meant it was a coincidence that I found Seymour's tweet.
I only posted on this issue today as Anne put up a comment about how Nanaia was on Q and A and was impressive when Jack T brought up about her family.
I was interested and watched the interview. Like I commented earlier, I am very sorry she ha s been on the end of some nasty trolling. But I was wanting to hear more and have Nanaia asked more about the fact that so many of her family members including her husband have been awarded Govt contracts or positions. Jack didn't actually asks questions about this but focussed on the trolling.
So I commented here on what I was aware of about Mahuta and her family contracts. I googled to find links to her husband being awarded some sort of contract for suicide prevention. To my knowledge he has no background in mental health and suicide prevention. I came across David S tweat which was today. I suspect Seymour released this information today after the Mahuta interview. That is what a politician would do.
I was referring to the coindence that I came across this material today. I don't follow David S
You and me do not have the information to answer those questions, do we. As with most public procurement exercises. Need a higher standard than some agitation by righties to justify further discussion.
Sacha, you get the prize for the most new age attempt to shut anyone down.
So I need to not want to know stuff about Mahutas husband and the mental health contract, cause it want give me satisfaction in life? Is that what you are saying.
I am allowed to want to have information about what public money has been spent on. Whether it may or may not give me life satisfaction is entirely irrelevant.
Jack started that part of the interview, by saying "your family".
Anne started this thread off today by recomending Q and A "talking of wisdom a revealing interview on Q and A this morning with Nanaia . I especially recommned her response to the accusations concerning members of her fmaily"
So as I had read about Nanaia's relatives getting contracts, I watched the programme in order to listen to her side of the story. But actually she didn't respond about the accusations of nepotism (except for a stock politicians sentence). She talked about the trolling.
I think it is important our politicians are grilled aobut any perceived conflicts of interests. Like many on this site, I screamed and complained over the Judith Collins and Orivida affair. I can's see why people wouldn't want to know more about what has happened that so many of Mahutas relatives have ended up with govt contracts.
I've deleted your quote that has no links. Honestly beyond me why I have to keep explaining this.
If you copy and paste, you *have to link as well. This is fundamental to robust debate. Linking means people can see the quote in context (almost always improves understanding), can check for mistakes or skewing in arguments, and in the case of something like twitter, often replies or quote tweets will answer questions that arise here.
Thanks Weka. And when I thought about it, I think I didn't want to be posting a link that belonged to David Seymour, that was my motivation. But no excuse and completely my bad
Mahuta says she followed and kept to Cabinet protocols throughout. I believe her. It follows then, that she can't be justifiably be punished, only unjustly punished, which in my opinion, is what is happening here.
Jack started that part of the interview, by saying "your family".
Anne started this thread off today by recomending Q and A "talking of wisdom a revealing interview on Q and A this morning with Nanaia . I especially recommned her response to the accusations concerning members of her fmaily"
So as I had read about Nanaia's relatives getting contracts, I watched the programme in order to listen to her side of the story. But actually she didn't respond about the accusations of nepotism (except for a stock politicians sentence). She talked about the trolling.
I think it is important our politicians are grilled aobut any perceived conflicts of interests. Like many on this site, I screamed and complained over the Judith Collins and Orivida affair. I can see why people wouldn't want to know more about what has happened that so many of Mahutas relatives have ended up with govt contracts.
This is not the first media story about the matter in the last week or two. Q&A is pitched at politics-followers, so they would expect their audience to already know at least some of the details.
How is Mahuta being punished? Do you mean by the trolls. Well of course that shouldn't be happening.
But it isn't punishing someone for the media to ask probing questions about this, nor for Seymour to release info that she didn't follow cabinet procedures to manage the conflict over her niece and He Puapua (if he is correct.)
… nor for Seymour to release info that she didn't follow cabinet procedures to manage the conflict over her niece and He Puapua (if he is correct.)
Do you believe Seymour or Mahuta?
Given Seymour’s history lying about misrepresenting facts, I suggest it is Mahuta who is telling the truth. She has so much more to lose by lying. Every procedure was correctly followed to the letter of the law – and I suspect some more.
Don’t know who I believe more Anne. Ideally I would want some journalist to investigate Seymour’s statement and find out whether he can substantiate it. If it’s not true Mahuta can always send him a lawyers letter.
Tbh I am suspious as to why so many of NM relatives have been given jobs or offered contracts in Ministries where she is the Minister.
I am particularly bother by the suicide prevention money her husband got. He has no background in mental health and there is limited evidence about what strategies reduce suicide. Even the recent research showing roughly a quarter of people who die by suicide have excessive blood alcohol levels. The alcohol will of course will lead to greater impulsively, but other than clinicians advising depressed people not to drink, there is an obvious intervention from this information.
The Mahuta family is a large family you know. They are at the top of the Maori chain so it isn't surprising there are several of them who have held down or are holding down government appointed positions. Brains, together with other skills, tend to be handed down through the family line.
The subject under discussion has nothing to do with suicide prevention but if you are going to tag it on, then you need to provide a link so we know what you're talking about. Chances are her husband is the 'chief cook and bottle-washer' who sought the finance for a suicide prevention programme among Maori, but the treatment will be carried out by Maori professionals in that field. That's just a guess of course.
So you mean if we disagree with your position we are practising hypocrisy.
So your queries sneers and position is "Perception is everything"
That is not the case in law and in the handbook, but that won't stop your slurs
Nanaia Mahuta has integrity and has dealt with some very difficult political and personal situations with dignity and grace. Two qualities totally lacking in some of the men trying to sway perceptions of her, and those trolling her.
Mike King asks the questions about why Mahutas husband was funded for suicide prevention. If I was Mike I would want to know to. He has worked his guts out to provide a service with little govt support.
I do think Nanaia comes across with grace and she may well have done a fantastic job. But that doesn't mean she shouldn't be open to scrutiny. Does it?
This story about Mahutas hamily appointments has been shut down in the msm, other than a brief flurry by the Herald. Cause to be honest, imo this is not a nothing to see here situation.
We are talking about multiply family members being given contracts and appointments, including her husband. Who as Mike King points out was given money for suicide prevention when he has no quals in mental health. What did Ormsby do with this money? What was achieved?
Your link tells us nothing about the background to the grant awarded to a company belonging to Nanaia's husband. I note it is for the princely sum of $28,000.
You seem to have a lot of enthusiasm for the MSM dirt diggers to keep digging for more dirt (and) to keep the story alive. AFAIK, nothing new has come to light yet and you’ll just have to wait till OIA requests come in and get drip-fed on SM and/or until the internal enquiry at the Ministry has been completed.
It is a handy smear for the racist thread of the big organised campaign against 3 Waters. No doubt the righties will keep stirring it up, plus whatever useful idiots help them out.
Yes, but it is now used as a dirty indiscriminate weapon against just about anything with the M-word in it, not to mention Co-Governance. This is not limited to coming from the Right only, as plenty of comments on this site can attest. Many pretend-Lefties pay only lip-service to empowerment of the segments of our society that continue to fall behind in many ways according to many metrics & indices. The lazy labels and low pot shots come hard and fast from both directions. Any debate and genuine engagement are on the back-foot from the outset because of the polarising language and narratives around. No one seems to be capable and/or willing to have a serious conversation about a long-term vision for Aotearoa-New Zealand, and this vacuum is fertile soil for radicalising elements and their agendas when the going gets tough, as is happening at present. Watch out for more DP and Trumpian-style politics here over the next year and a bit.
To be fair, we have a big vacuum in progressive vision and I do not expect most people to know the context before they enter the low-barrier public discourse. Broad church, etc.
This country has only just started grappling with our colonial past recently.
Thank you. Same point we have already discussed. Mike King expects expertise in suicide prevention, but..
A spokesperson for the Department of Māori Development said that expertise in suicide prevention was not required of those receiving money from the fund.
I am interested in the truth Incognito, not defending any politician whether or not they do a good interview, whether they are Labour, National or whatever party.
This website was in uproar (rightly so ) about Collins and Orivida.
Mahuta has numerous relatives getting contracts/positions where she is involved. Her husband, her sister, two nephews and a niece.
I believe that most people would say that they’re interested in the truth, so that’s neither here nor there.
I see this as a relatively minor issue and I expect we’ll get some answers in future. If it were as big some like to make it out to be then I think it likely that Mahuta would have lost her portfolios for breaching the rules, possibly just temporary as a symbolic gesture more than anything.
Labour cannot afford this lingering and hanging over them for too long, because it has a disproportionally large negative impact on a whole load of things that they want to achieve before the General Election. They would therefore want to neutralise this as soon and as much as they can, which again brings be back to Mahuta who’s still standing and going strong and getting the full support of the Labour Party.
In short, people see what they want to see and making up things to fill in the gaps (aka lack of info and answers). This is not seeking the truth but confirmation bias, pure and simple. The MSM know that without new info they cannot keep running these stories on confirmation bias of some of their readership alone.
You talk about being interested in the truth Anker yet you have already passed judgement on Nanaia Mahuta and members of her family with no actual evidence to back up the claims. As far as I can tell it is all hearsay and innuendo with most of it coming from right wing politicians such as Seymour and Brown. It is then being picked up by tabloid journos who exaggerate and embroider them for political and click-baiting purposes.
I've already told you that it is not surprising there are various members of the Mahuta family who have received contracts of one sort or another. They are a bright and talented family. How about checking how many other Maori dynasties of note have also been the recipient of contract arrangements down the years with the Crown.
"no one seems capable of and/or willing to have a serious conversation about a long term vision for Aotearoa"
I think that is what Seymour is proposing that we have a debate about cogovernance and a way forward.
RE the link from Anne . Hav e you watched it? Jack asks one question about the nepotism and Mahuta gives a cliched answer like "all procedures were followed" and that's it.
As I said earlier, I watch Q and A not out of some enthusiam to "dig dirt" but I geniunely wanted to hear what was said. The interviewer gave Nanaia a free pass on the rumours of nepotism. She could have clarifed further, but she didn't. So in my mind there are unasnwered questions.
I honestly hadn't given a lot of thought to the nepotism rumours, although they looked very suspious to me. I read what Mike King said and I thought no wonder he is pissed. He got a whole service for mental health up and running with sfa from the govt and he's letting us know about a contract Mr Ormsy got for suicide preventation and he is asking a lot of questions.
You think what Seymour is proposing is not what he and ACT are about, so why don’t you check first before you make assumptions and jump to conclusions. Hint: ACT has already rejected Co-Governance and wants a Referendum to put it to rest for at least a number of years.
My guess is you’d vote against a whole raft of policies because of your ‘suspicions’, which coincidentally align very nicely with ACT.
As to the answer Mahuta gave, which is the same as the PM and Government have given, is correct & true. It has to be because Mahuta would have received at least a Yellow Card otherwise.
You can keep looking for smoke as much as you like but it won’t start a fire nor will it fire a gun.
Nanaia Mahuta has integrity and has dealt with some very difficult political and personal situations with dignity and grace.
So true. Has anyone witnessed an instance where Nanaia has not responded with dignity? Never. She's light years ahead of her detractors.
As for the psychological abuse and the trolling… only those who have been on the receiving end can fully comprehend the huge amount of damage caused, not only to the target but often to their families and others around them. It can send the victim into a spiral of terror… afraid to leave their homes for fear of what might happen to them. The threats can be both overt and covert.
These types of people – who often also physically stalk their prey – have in the past been given a free pass with little to no consequences. It is time for such offences to be given a much higher level of priority, and the punishments increased to fit the level of abuse committed.
Incognito i think it is abundantly clear where Seymour and Act stand on co governance. But what they are saying is lets have the debate and a referendum. Unlike Labour who never mentioned He Puapua or campaigned on it in the last election.
I am now quite suspious of Labour (I am a party member by the way), because of how they have done so much by stealth. The gender self ID bill, three waters (never campaigned on it or looked at other options) the Rotorua Bill which Tamati Coffey championed (which David Parker quashed because he said it went against the Bill of Rights) and the He Puapua document (which talks about transforming our constitutional arrangemnts. That flew below the radar before the last election.
I think it is reasonable to by suspious of Mahuta given so many family appointments when she was a Minister. Two contracts to her husband in fields he has no qualifications for.
In 2016, an exhausted John Key told wife Bronagh: “I’m certain it’s my last year”. She said she would back him “100 per cent'' if he went for a fourth term. “But if you do go please tell me you won’t go back.” This exclusive extract from the book Blue Blood by senior Stuff journalist Andrea Vance reveals how that conversation set in train events that would lead to Key’s shock resignation, and plunge the party into a bloody leadership crisis.
Just goes to show the business background of long corporate lunch breaks and golf course deals is no prerequisite for a career in politics.
"I've gambled on the money trading markets" and "I ran an airline" means shit when you're expected to actually do some work for the first time in your pampered little life.
Jordan Peterson is an Narcisist a Misogynist a fossil who is a regular know it all that don't impress me at all , no science behind his theories just anecdotes.A man who is trying to take us back to the 1950's when it was a mans world and Men had all the answers .Very popular in the far right with his simplistic remedies.
Like, you wouldn't be so fucking thick as to have read this obviously absurd line on twitter and assumed it was real, would you? Gee I wonder what other bullshit you swallow regularly from the same sources.
The funny thing about Peterson is that no-one EVER criticises anything he's actually said.
Leave the Intersectionals alone … they may be inadvertently regurgitating embarrassingly weak satire … but it's their truth … which is just as valid as ours. Putting aside the fact that “truth” itself is a yucky patriarchal settler-colonist construct designed to oppress pregnant men of colour.
As so often, despite displaying the trademark pomposity & self-satisfaction of the former Public Address cadre, you've managed to get things totally arse about face. Falling for any old invective against one of irrational Wokedom's key hate-figures (in this case, a patently obvious – if banal – parody) is very much the tin foil hat territory here, sweetness.
Now if you could answer this with an erudite little bon mot, I’m sure those of equal pretention will find themselves utterly enchanted.
The problems referenced apply to NZ as well, and explain why most of the infrastructure devleopment we are putting in to fix the housing crisis is unsustainable.
Political antagonism and shortfalls of deep thinking and analysis by parliamentary select committees do not lead to robust decisions. Outside Parliament, political commentators in the newspapers “are just so overtly political and partisan, it's not helpful”.
“These are complex multidimensional issues, which require more than shallow, political or partisan argument. And that's what we're not good at,” he [Peter Gluckman] says.
Gluckman was to scared to mention this when he was John Keys lackey but better late than never! Did Key do anything longterm yes he cut health funding police funding education funding all had longterm consequences. Nothing will change politics is a popularity contest every 3 years so no longterm solutions will happen, balance books buy votes, balance the books buy votes and on it goes.
Your comment is laughable and pathetic at the same time. Say what you like about Gluckman but he’s never been anybody’s lackey. You can join the other group of commenters here who like to shoot the messenger instead of adding something constructive and of real substance to the commentary here.
I'm sure they can all see the writing on the wall – petrol prices are not coming down, and the hit when the subsidy ran out would be painful to the voting population.
I expect to see it extended again in January (unless I'm wrong and petrol prices are indeed dropping) – until after the election.
Oh yes. She's too good for many Kiwis. That's why she is continuously being undermined – including by some regulars here. Tall poppy syndrome in full flight!
Better be careful. They'll be coming for you next. Mind you I think you can handle it with good humour n'all.
There must be some incriminating shit in those texts.
The Secret Service’s account about how text messages from the day before and the day of the Capitol attack were erased has shifted several times, the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security told the House January 6 select committee at a briefing on Friday.
At one point, the explanation from the Secret Service for the lost texts was because of software upgrades, the inspector general told the panel, while at another point, the explanation was because of device replacements.
The inspector general also said that though the secret service opted to have his office do a review of the agency’s response to the Capitol attack in lieu of conducting after-action reports, it then stonewalled the review by slow-walking production of materials.
[…]
In the letter, the inspector general said that certain Secret Service texts from 5 January and 6 January 2021 were erased amid a “device replacement program” even after he had requested the messages for his internal inquiry.
The Secret Service has disputed that, saying in a statement that data on some phones were lost as part of a pre-planned “system migration” in January 2021, and that Cuffari’s initial request for communications came weeks later in late February 2021.
But the select committee questioned the Secret Service’s emphasis on that date, the participants said, and noted in the subpoena letter that the request for electronic communications in fact first came from Congress, ten days after the Capitol attack.
The congressional request from 16 January 2021 addressed to multiple executive branch agencies – including the Homeland Security Department, which oversees the Secret Service – was for all materials referring or relating to the riot.
At a minimum, if you have been found to have destroyed evidence, the judge may draw or the jury may be told it can draw an inference that the materials you destroyed were harmful to your case.
In plain English, destroyed evidence can be held against people in certain circumstances.
Hi,Before we crack into today’s Webworm, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Israel is pushing into Rafah. Over 100,000 Palestinians are now attempting to flee the one place that was deemed “safe”.Trouble is, the place they’re fleeing to is already destroyed. Total annihilation is the end goal here.“Israel is ...
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
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 ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
“Instead of following along countries that are investing in death and better ways of killing people faster, we need to invest in life and in making Aotearoa a fair, just and equitable place where everyone has what they need for a dignified life.” ...
MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI, TPM MP FOR TAI TOKERAU This Government will not waver in its mission to exterminate Māori. CHRISTOPHER LUXON Oh well look you know I don’t think that hard-working Kiwis want to hear language like that. It’s just really unhelpful rhetoric. My Government is genuinely committed to advancing outcomes ...
The body positivity movement started with women confronting the unrealistic expectations and unrepresentative portrayals of them in media and advertising. Men weren’t part of it … their bodies hadn’t been sexualised to the same extremes and they didn’t really need it. But now that’s changed. And in a warped sort ...
The New Zealand comedy legend takes us through her life in television, including the time she hugged Elton John and the unshakeable legacy of a girl named Lyn. In 1981, Ginette McDonald stood on the stage of Auckland’s St James Theatre and directly addressed Queen Elizabeth II. It was a ...
An essay by Lily Duval from the just-released anthology Otherhood: Essays on being childless, childfree and child adjacent.I was 22 when my friend Alice gave birth in the living room of our pokey Addington flat. She laboured in the blow-up pool for hours. Garish fish swam along the inflated ...
Ella Borrie on the best books about motherhood she’s come across so far. Over the past few years I’ve been drawn to books about motherhood. I’m fascinated by the joys and horrors of becoming a parent. The question of children also feels more pressing than it used to. It’s like ...
Out of gift ideas for mum? You can’t go wrong with a bottle of toilet cleaner and a new squeegee. Emily Writes is the writer and editor of Emily Writes Weekly. This week marks five years since I published a post on The Spinoff about Mother’s Day marketing titled ‘A ...
My husband is posted overseas for 12 months and I’m armed with an expensive, newfangled vibrator. Will I miss him? The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.A few days after my husband leaves, a new sex toy arrives at the front door. Nestled ...
Jaimie Baird’s new book Here Today Gone Tomorrow is a record of four decades of graffiti and street art in Wellington, told through more than 1,200 photographs. He spoke with Joel MacManus about what inspired the book. How did you first get interested in photographing street art? I remember ...
Editor Madeleine Chapman looks back at a busy week where food of all political leanings dominated. Sometimes you’re just going about your week thinking you’ve got a good handle on what might be coming as far as news topics and then someone (usually a politician) says something so ridiculous that ...
In Melbourne’s hardscrabble western suburbs where AFL – Aussie rules football – is a state religion, Callum Donaldson has been quietly grafting away, four months into an odyssey that he hopes will take him to another promised land: the NRL. It was a solid 2023 for the softly spoken 20-year-old ...
A banner notification alerts me to the fact that I’ve received an Instagram message from @felicity.loves. She always comments on my posts. I shouldn’t have opened the message, but clicked on the notification before rationalising this. OMG! Are you in Wellys? X I debate not replying, but Instagram will inform ...
Pacific Media Watch Television New Zealand Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities in a ceremony at Government House, reports 1News. She has been the Pacific correspondent for 1News since 2002, breaking many ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Tuesday’s budget will respond to the deepening public agitation over Australia’s housing shortages by pouring new money into crisis accommodation for women and children, social housing and infrastructure. A specially-convened national cabinet late Friday ticked ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Treby, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT University P.j.Hickox, Shutterstock Peatlands store more carbon per square metre than any other ecosystem on Earth. These waterlogged, mossy bogs beat even dense rainforests for their ability to act as carbon reservoirs. Under the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions. ...
New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...
Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
Wellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...
New Zealand’s largest book publisher has undergone drastic changes this week, leaving its future role in local publishing uncertain. Two of the most recognisable local publishers in New Zealand are among those restructured out of Penguin Random House, it was announced this week. Head of publishing Claire Murdoch will leave ...
In 2021 the Public Interest Journalism Fund launched the Te Rito Journalism project, a $2.4 million initiative to boost diversity in New Zealand’s newsrooms. The initiative was in response to the decades-long shortage of Māori and Pacific journalists in the media industry. It was billed as New Zealand’s ...
The Black Ferns Sevens appeared to be a mile behind Australia at the halfway point of the 2023-24 SVNS international circuit. Winless in three tournaments, a cup quarter-final exit in Perth was one of their worst results. To add insult to injury, talismanic skipper Sarah Hirini had been ruled out ...
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Successive governments have tried, and failed, to count Māori. But with the return of social investment, it’s more important than ever to get good data. The post Government looks for a better way to count Māori appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Experts in financing social investment initiatives say New Zealand is in a prime position to tackle social issues via a social investment approach The post What will Willis’ social investment fund look like? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300637193/new-zealand-can-we-fix-it-not-unless-politicians-grow-up
Nice to see a media site pointing out the obvious that we have to do things differently. They even point the finger at media commentators, although they don't promise to change.
We won't get change (to long term thinking) unless politicians are rewarded for it. While tax cuts and high house prices are talked about as good things pollies will not stick their necks out.
We have the most coherent, centralising, long-reaching, deep-interventionist government we have had since Muldoon.
Government is not the problem.
The problem is in an exceptionally low-ambition rent-seeking large business community, together with most of our available capital tied up in real estate.
When does calling for something to stop become a way of prolonging it? And how much of a coincidence that this appears after a couple of weeks in which Luxon is revealed as a far right goose? (Note: link is paywalled. Just happen to have picked up the neighbour's paper copy today)
Fizzer Foster flops…again..high jump.
Just keeps creating records this guy…first series loss at home for 27 years!
C'mon now its not like there were many alternatives to Foster
There was no Rennie, Joseph and Brown or Robertson option
The brains trust had no other choice because, as we all know, unless you've been in the ABS coaching set up you can't possibly be an international coach
This may or may not be sarcasm
Positive Rugby .Foster was anointed he hadn't had any experience at coaching winning teams or overseas for that matter. Scott Robertson beat a very strong Blues team by not kicking the ball away keeping the ball not allowing the opposing team to score.Foster played right into Ireland's strengths ,who invented the Gary Owen the high ball.Ireland dominated upfront even though they had a lighter pack.Foster has to go now he is out of his depth out of ideas ,Schmit or Robertson .Foster should never have been coach.Had Jacho Pyper been the ref Ireland would have been down to 13 for much of the second half .Saying all this this is a reality check a year out from the World Cup usually in the year running up to the world cup the Allblacks thrash everyone then loose the important ones .
Testing 123
nice to see you back.
Cheers
I hope life has been treating you well.
Cheers
Just shifted jobs ,(onwards and upwards hopefully) after 4 1/2 years for some scheming miserable fuckers , thank God for labour laws I'd hate to think how they'd treat people if given free reign.
That sounds like no fun at all. Hope things get back on track for you.
Giving people a little power quickly reveals their true character.
Career wise it was worth it, it got me to this job, but after all that time they used a change in my situation to screw me out of some income , went full bully ,threatening dismissal due to a brain fart I had, and then doubled the work load and expected me to do it alone for the same money ,
And Rich people wonder why us workers hate them .
Rich people often obtain to more power than their character deserves, but they are not alone in this. The resentful poor can be just as ugly.
Good work getting out.
I remember you writing here about a pending job change quite some time back and I’m glad to hear that it has finally happened (i.e. you made it happen, I presume). Good luck with the job and I hope your family is doing better for it; a shit job tends to spill over into the home …
Missed your little pearls of wisdom bwaghorn.
Talking of ‘wisdom’. A revealing interveiw on Q&A this morning with Nanaia Mahuta. I especially recommend her response to the accusations concerning members of her family. Will link when and if it becomes available.
Who me ,wise ??? If only you knew, 😅😅😅
Would you prefer your witty one liners? 🙂
Hope you won through bwaghorn. Cheers. Some firms are @#&$$!!
thanks Anne for alerting us to this site about the Nanaia Mahuta interview.
When asked about her family, Mahuta talked about the trolling she had received about this. She looked visibly disressed by this. So I am sorry she has received trolling and been the subject of hurtful things. That is never acceptable.
However Mahuta failed to answer adequately the questions around her family and conflict of interests and unfortunately Jack Tame didn't ask more specific questions and got side track about the trolling.
There are definitely questions about Mahutas family being awarded contracts or public money, that should be questioned very assertively.
Mahuta's husband who has a criminal conviction of assault on a woman has been awarded contracts. I bring this up because someone with a criminal conviction of assault against a female will have a great deal of difficultly getting employment.
I think it would be fair to ask why he/his company was given a contract in suicide prevention (he has no quallifications in this). and waste management?
Her sister has also received appointments and so to have some of her nephews.
Happy to provide links on request with more details.
A close friend of mine is a retired lawyer and familiar with the details on this. His answer is that we are looking at two completely different world views here. In one nepotism is considered a problem – in the other it is a virtue.
Hence Mahuta's distress at being called on it.
If her family members are the best qualified for the roles/contracts then so be it
If they're not or if there's people equally qualified then of course people will be looking sideways at what's happening
The entity I work for has a government business group. It operates under strict ethical rules. If perchance as a member of that group I found myself negotiating with a government official who also happened to be a relative – I would have to immediately withdraw from that discussion. And fully document the circumstances to my manager. Failure to follow these rules to the letter would almost certainly result in my dismissal.
And this would apply even if both of us were highly qualified and experienced in the contract or area concerned.
Which tends to erase a lot of issues that don't apply to the Pākehā demographic majority, but do apply to a colonised, historically marginalised and much smaller indigenous community, especially in roles that pertain directly to specialist cultural knowledge only available in that community.
So all I have to do is declare that only Maori possess the proper cultural knowledge on waste management in an industrial society – and automatically only brown faces need apply for the role. And the rules around proximity can be set aside because all Maori are related.
It's a cute trick really.
The NZ public sector procurement requirements and outcomes make it very, very hard not to hire Maori to deliver Maori outcomes. That's particularly the case in Education and Health, but it's all through the system now: water, Tertiary education, media procurement, public health, Justice, secondary education, SSC, Conservation, Transport, and on and on.
I am reading you correctly? Are you saying that if everything gets defined in terms of Maori outcomes – as part of the decolonising mantra – then skills and experience have become secondary to cultural considerations across much of the public sector.
It's a shade more subtle than that, but the effect is that Maori get hired to deliver Maori outcomes. There's even official names for them: for some it's Broader Outcomes, or Pa Harakeke, or Progressive Procurement, or Te Akutai, and on and on.
Even in the big infrastructure bids one needs to specify who is being hired for achieving these Broader Outcomes. It’s so common now as to be ordinary, and seriously you can’t win the bid without them.
This approach should be the one used with government money.
Lordie great in principle but what can I say except 'Welcome to Wellington'.
The consultant contracts that people got – and get – by being mates you used to work with, are just part of beltway life especially since 2017.
You could swim the Terrace in jam.
This is opposition gold ,Labour is on the backlash of out of control inflation ,a housing crisis,Labour shotrages,a health system under huge strain,food shortages ,5 waters etc.Mahuta needs to go she is the focal point of incompatency.But her going won"t save Labour the economy isn't going to recover by next winter and NZ is traditionally a National voting country .Which will mean austerity and block of cheese tax cuts for the swing voters.
There is zero chance the Maori caucus will allow Mahuta to go anywhere. Even less than zero if Labour ever wanted to get in with Te Maori Party.
Labour has lower-hanging fruit to take out than that.
….or… there are 775,836 people in Aotearoa who identify as Māori, most of whom exist within large extended families, of whom only a certain proportion have the capital and resources to rise in the educational and political sphere. Inevitably for appointments where being Māori is an important qualification people are going to be related.
You get exactly the same thing with Pākehā in the provinces but apparently that's not a problem for some reason…
I can accept there is a limited pool of talent to choose from in many cases all across public service in NZ, and that getting the right people into a role can be challenging.
But frankly I don't care how experienced or suitable you are for a role – in my view being an immediate family member is an automatic disqualification.
It's really not. It's just a thing you declare.
Pretty hard to do business in this country otherwise.
Well the global corporation I have been associated with most of my working life holds to a higher standard. Hell we will reprimand someone who expenses a $20 meal for their immediate manager by accident.
Yes that's a key difference between a global corporation and a small state.
Certainly doesn't make the global corporate more virtuous.
And you will find that global corporate doesn't get hired by small states unless it figures that out. Many of them do.
OK so next time someone here talks about predatory and corrupt global capitalism I can safely ignore then.
New Zealand remains within the top two least corrupt countries in the world and has done for over a decade.
Not sure if there's many global corporates who will expose their records in how they win bids to the kind of scrutiny states get, particularly small ones.
I think you'll find on closer examination that your joint isn't as pure as the driven snow that you're making out. Business is business.
On the contrary I know of two instance where people resigned rather than expose themselves to corrupt practice. And those are just the ones I know about. And the corporate will openly walk away from such business if necessary. I can point to one instance in Italy in just the past few months. But not all corruption involves bribes or obvious personal benefit, sometimes it can just be a case of taking a shortcut on paperwork, testing or certifying procedures – even when they seem quite logical or innocent.
Every 12 months everyone must undergo a mandatory ethics training course and must pass the exam which features notoriously tricky and often subtle case examples that are not easy. And you only get three shots at obtaining a 100% score or you're down the road. We have let very senior people go just for this.
And that is just for normal commercial business. The govt business team is another whole world I don't want to even think about.
Government business teams are born with snorkels.
So if that global company is an oil or oil related company which buy off govts ,ignore human rights, womens rights ,enviromental destruction no problems there.But a $20 meal not ok sounds like hypocritical gaslighting.
You need to update; this isn't the 80's anymore.
I'm not claiming perfection – that would be insane because nothing human ever is or will be. But the idea that big global corps routinely and actively pursue corrupt business practice no longer lines up with reality.
I cannot speak for all of them of course, but the ground has definitely shifted in the past two decades on this.
RL Oh you mean since when Clinton pardoned Marc Rich (for a small payment to the Clinton Foundation) and Rich's partners spun off to form Glencore who pleaded guilty last month to bribery,
https://twitter.com/JavierBlas/status/1529221948198162432?cxt=HHwWgMCo0c_Q8bgqAAAA
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jun/21/glencore-african-oil-operations
Reaching back into the 90's. I am sure you can scour the net for many instances – but what you will not find are any shock horror articles on all the time a corporation did the right thing and it never made the news.
Again I am not claiming perfection – that would be insane. But I am saying that if you has lived and worked within or adjacent to these big corporates most of your working life you would have a more nuanced view. Defining and promoting strong ethical behaviour is a central part of the corporate game that it simply wasn't 20-30 years ago.
For example this sort of entity was simply not a thing 20 years ago.
https://ethisphere.com/
That may well be an argument for Tipa Mahuta's appointment (though I shouldn't have thought that she was the best qualified candidate for both the Maori Advisory Group for 3 Waters and the Maori Health Authority).
But it's hard to believe that the most qualified candidates for 3 out of the 5 members of the advisory group on waste management were Mahua relatives. Especially as none of them appear to have any significant waste management experience or credentials. If all that is required is a te ao Maori perspective, there are plenty of non-Mahua-whanau candidates which can offer that qualification.
It is hard to believe. So is your claim true?
Well, I've done a quick check and can't find any relevant waste management experience for any of them on sites like Linked in which include CV, etc.
No one, not even the journalists supporting Mahuta, have been saying things like 'X's experience in Y, makes them a highly logical candidate for Z group'.
Do you have any evidence that they do have relevant experience in waste management? I'm not questioning Te ao Maori credentials – but plenty of other candidates have those….
Well you haven't provided any links for your claims, so can you at least show what are the hiring criteria you're evaluating from?
I don't know that I can link from Linked in – but I'll try….
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gannin-ormsby-9571a0171/?originalSubdomain=nz
https://www.linkedin.com/in/waiormsby/?originalSubdomain=nz
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamokoormsby/?originalSubdomain=nz
Here's the OIA response on the establishment of the group
https://environment.govt.nz/assets/OIA/Files/OIAD-277-Response.pdf
Tamaoko Ormsby's waste minimization experience (the only one of the 3 with any listed) seems to be limited to refurbishing laptops for a school during Covid lockdown.
Both he and Waimirirangi are listed as having provided waste minimization training services. [This kind of thing is usually a tick box exercise for government departments and corporates bidding for government contracts… it rarely means much]
The waste management qualifications and experience of the 3 (such as they are) seem heavily duplicated. You could argue that 1 representative from the 'coal face' could be justified – but more than that – especially from a single family seems highly unbalanced.
Compared to the highly relevant qualifications of Jacqui Forbes and Teina Boasa – the other 2 members of the panel – they look pretty inadequate.
The relevant experience in: "waste, circular economy thinking and mātauranga Māori." – are certainly not limited to the Mahuta whanau – and would be fairly widespread across many different iwi.
The Ministry admit that they selectively approached individuals, rather than advertising or approaching a range of iwi.
Again, not questioning the Ormsbys Te ao Maori credentials – but pointing out that these are shared by a wide range of Maori from different whanau and iwi. It is difficult to see what made 3 members of the same family the ideal candidates.
So you've stated that you're not questioning the hiring of the person itself.
Well great walkback there.
This is what a slur looks like.
Hey top work.
What? I've provided the links, as requested, and the OIA.
And pointed out that the 3 Ormsbys have little waste management experience.
How does that equate to walking back? I am certainly questioning the hiring of the 3 Mahuta whanau members. From the OIA response, it seems that any relevant qualifications they have would be easily found in other Maori candidates.
And, for the Min of the Environment to openly admit approaching specific individuals, rather than seeking the best candidate, is pretty close to corruption in my book.
Plenty of hires are ringfenced in the public service.
And in the private sector as well.
In fact in NZ it's one of the most common ways to hire.
Just says you don't understand how the public sector hire.
So your answer seems to be saying, doesn't matter if it's corrupt, or it's probably nepotism – hey, all of the public sector does it. Nothing to see here, move right along.
I wouldn't find that acceptable from a right wing government, and I don't find it acceptable from a left-wing one either.
I've seen plenty of ring-fencing to look at hiring someone with a specific skill set, or a specific experience profile. This is the first time I've seen that skill set effectively being 'whanau of the Minister'.
No I am saying that it is common hiring policy throughout the public service, and you have been taken in by raw political spin.
It is also quite common for key hires to have direct political lineage. There are whole vetting committees in DPMC and Cabinet for them.
I am with Bella on this. I accept what you are saying is true, but at the same time I get the sad feeling you have normalised sub-par and shoddy standards because they are indeed so commonplace.
"No I am saying that it is common hiring policy throughout the public service, and you have been taken in by raw political spin.
It is also quite common for key hires to have direct political lineage. There are whole vetting committees in DPMC and Cabinet for them."
Top comment, that, Ad.
Not sure how your friend's theory applies to, say, the health contracts appointed to Dr Mary English, for example.
Bill English was indeed a senior Minister for many years – but I do not recall the exact context of these contracts you refer to. Or why you think they were problematic.
https://theplatform.kiwi/opinions/government-appointments-under-scrutiny
This is quite a balanced take on the issue of Mahuta and family conflict of interests.
https://theplatform.kiwi/opinions/three-of-minister-s-family-members-paid-usd90k-for-role-in-expert-ropu
And more about the contracts Mahutas family have been awarded
Well that was 10 years ago. Now we are decolonising there will be different rules for different people I should imagine.
If you don't think it's necissary to accommodate indigenous reality in situations directlty relating to indigenous matters, perhaps don't live in a colony with a history of oppression and borderline genocide and clutch your pearls over ethics and objectivity.
What colony? New Zealand has been an independent nation for almost 120 years now. And Maori have been fully legal citizens since 1840 with full male suffrage from around 1870. Before even all white males.
As for genocide – that happened in the Musket Wars before 1840. And it wasn't 'borderline' either.
Shhhhh, RL, hush your mouth ! … those are the wars that dare not speak their name among polite (if totally clueless) Upper-Middle Pakeha Woke Society ! Spoils the highly paternalistic Noble Savage Romanticism.
Three decades of horrendous massacres, truly brutal genocidal violence, at least 20k dead (vs about 2k in the New Zealand Wars), tens of thousands enslaved, sadistic torture common, cannibalism, massive upheaval, iwi massacred, many others permanently driven from their nga rohe.
Looks increasingly like the affluent, flatulent Che Guevara beret-wearing Professional New Middle Classes – desperate for an aura of radical-chic while ensuring a highly privileged lifestyle for themselves – are intent on throwing fundamental ethics & morals out the window as they build the Brave New (deeply anti-democratic) World of He Puapua.
Narcissistic to the core … yet so utterly bereft of wisdom.
Agree Swordfish.
Having skim read He Puapua one of the enduring sentences I remember was the policy will mean transformational constitiutional change. Given this how come Labour didn't campaign on this?
How dare they think they can role out "transformation" to our constitutional arrangements by stealth
.
Stealth is very much the preferred modus operandi of Critical Theory cult members within the Professional New Middle Class … together with their unprincipled & rather cowardly fellow-travellers … they're nothing if not profoundly anti-democratic. Essentially the same elitist tactics & mindset as the Rogernomes.
Self-interested authoritarians perpetually going through this ludicrous charade of ostentatious moral posturing in a wildly unconvincing attempt to justify their power-grab.
Yes. The parallel with the disastrous Rogernome debacle is a pretty good one.
Lange was the charming, eloquent and acceptable public face of a government that imposed an extremist 'transformational' economic change on this country by stealth. Because so many people believed in Lange, the real power in Cabinet were able to operate with impunity until far too late.
Well this govt is much the same. Sure the PR optics are a lot more skilled, the circumstances are quite different – but essentially I see Ardern as the acceptable and popular face of a govt that is imposing transformational political change on this country by stealth as well. Probable outcome will not be any happier in my view.
And ably assisted by a woeful opposition. As a friend of mine said recently – when you are reduced to considering Seymour as the only sane alternative you know something has gone badly wrong.
Probably because they were worried about bigots getting upset over any challenge to the status quo.
I suspect that even without the developing economic situation this issue would see this administration lose the next election despite the attempt at stealth and an acceptable face.
And yet it's blindingly self-evident that there are huge structural, institutional, health, carceral, and economic disparities. No? So what's the basis for that? As for genocide, that applies to culture as well, and the litany of bad Crown legislation and neglect around that extends well into the twentieth century.
Relax.
The public sector has gone through this for over 20 years with women and tilting the scales of hiring. The state has the right to give effect to the policy it wants through hiring.
So that's what it does.
I'm not aware that preferential hiring practices – to increase numbers of women and various ethnic minorities – were equivalent to nepotism.
There are plenty of Maori candidates (or women candidates, or Pasifika candidates, etc.) without employing family members.
Of course, there are cases where family members of politicians have nationally (and sometimes internationally) recognized levels of expertise – which make them the best candidate for a particular job – and that is why there is an elaborate Cabinet Manual procedure to deal with that situation.
The question being asked of the Mahuta family is were they unquestionably the best candidate/s for the job/s?
No, the question is whether there is a fault in the hiring process in this particular contract.
Unless there is a particularly good smoking gun fault to be shown, the rest is pure politics.
If the family are not the best candidates, then there is undoubtably a fault in the hiring process. We don't know what that fault is. It might be incompetence, it might be political capture, it might be nepotism, – it might be something else.
You don't know what the fault is, still?
But there's a series of mights? That's it?
Take a minute on how you sound and look.
Exactly Belladonna.
yes and no Ad. This is about nepotism. Not positive discrimination
Populuxe of course it is necessary to accommodate indigenous reality in situations relating to indigeous matters. But the Mahuta family are not the only ones who can provid the "indigenous reality".
Or if you are proposing that our system that serves to see our govt officials are not guilty of corruption, should not be applied to Maori?
How would you know? Were you involved with recruitment and assessed all the available options?
No I wasn't Populuxe 1. But as a citizen, I would like to see the information about the process, why Ormsby was chosen over other consultants and I think Mike King would like to know as well.
I think this is reasonable.
Unfortunately what I do know about suicide prevention is there seems to be little if anything we can do (although in the UK when they changed household gas to be less toxic, the suicide rate fell. To do with removing the means and easy access, slows people down).
Maybe he didn't go out of his way to antagonise the public service in the media and got his paperwork in on time?
"Maybe if he didn't go out of his way to antagonize the public service in the media and got his paper work in on time"
Naughty Mike. Not getting his paper work in on time and antagonizing the people in the public service (the people the tax payer pays to deliver outcomes).
Well no wonder mental health is such a shit show if that's what it takes to get public money. Too bad Mike got results and shamed the Ministry of Health by doing so
There is nothing balanced in that article. I have given up on expecting balance from Bryce Edwards. He might have valid points but he obscures them by sprinkling in words like "controversially pushing through Parliament".
Any "platform" run by Sean Plunkett has no claim to balance. Randomly choosing another article about the census brings up words like "inept" which show the author's bias.
I am sorry; whether there is a valid point in the articles becomes irrelevant when the language devolves to propaganda.
100+ Barry
I read that the Minister had no decision-making role in those other contracts; all declared and managed via the standard public service conflicts of interest process. Not seen the interview. Did it say otherwise?
And no, I am not going to visit Mr Plunket's lavishly-funded right-wing site to see the reckons of his band of merry rejects from other media.
It is well understood that in cases of conflict of interest – perception is what matters most of all. Mahuta will have no doubt scrupulously followed the rules – but that does not eradicate the core problem here.
True.
Ah yes, but if in fact, Nanaia Mahuta was scrupulously honest and the contracts done by the book, then that "perception" is what needs to be scrutinised: was it manufactured, whipped-up by oppositional factions in a manner other than "under ordinary circumstances" – that is, was the issue "played" (answer, YES) and has the "perception" aspect of conflict of interest issues here been gamed. Again, YES.
🙂
That is so true Robert!
And look who made the claims. David Seymore and Simeon Brown. A more insipid pair of nasties among the current crop of pollies would be hard to find.
Oh, I dunno – Brownlee's still there, isn't he? And Woodhouse. There will be others, champing at the bit…
You were too quick. I changed the wording. 😛
Brownlee and Woodhouse are yesterday's media flavour.
For me Robert, the perception is many of her relatives have gained lucrative contracts, especially her husband across a range of policy areas. Has Mr Ormsby managed to get contracts through other ministers? Private enterprize? I don't know but its a bad look and the look is nepotism. Remeber the outcry about Bil English wife, who is a GP, and her group did some work on Bill English pet mental health project. Yes it was right that questions were asked about this.
Mr Ormsby has been awarded a lot of govt money and it is unclear what he brings to the table and why it is superior to other potential contractors.
You mean the nasty slanted suggestions by right wing nut bars of course/sarc
Q&A interview with Mahuta (5m): https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/07/17/mahuta-hits-back-at-toxic-trolling-after-nepotism-accusations/
Barry, I more or less agree about the Platform, although Plunketts interview of Denis O'Reily was a good example of where he allowed O'REily to make his points and he acknowledged his points.
Surely though if there are valid points in the articles, then it can't quite be written off as propoganda
You seem to have a very ‘quaint’ idea of what propaganda is and what and when it is not. Do you still own a B & W TV, by any chance?
Stop patronizing me Incognito.
Why don’t you tell us your understanding of what is propaganda? Is it merely a bunch of lies?
You were challenged by barry @ 4.3.2.2.3 (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-17-07-2022/#comment-1900478) on your claim that the article you linked to was “balanced”; propaganda is not balanced by definition.
No Incognito, I wasn't challenged by Barry. He didn't say, prove your point that Bryce is balanced or where is your evidence for this. Barry has expressed his view. Fine by me.
He challenged your opinion, which is what we do here on this site. Anyway, no point challenging you on the finer points of propaganda.
Yes Mahuta is right to hit back at trolls, but that doesn't answer the questions about nepotism.
Interestingly today (and coincidentially) David Seymor has tweated
[unlinked quote deleted] Nainaia is her aunty.
If this is true and Mahuta didn't excuse herself from the appointment process, it is very damming and I think Nainias job will be on the line.
BTW I only came acorss Seymours tweat because I was looking for the link about Ormsby and the suicide prevention project he received public funds for.
Bless.
David must have thought, "Was stumbling upon this material serendipity? Sure!" before hitting the "publish/attack" button.
I think both you and Sacha have misunderstood whose coincidence it was, probably I was clear enough. I meant it was a coincidence I found what David S said.
I have no doubt Seymour targeted his tweat after Nanaia's inteview. That is the sort of time politicians do. They release info in a targeted way. I am sure it was deliberate
There’s no coincidence as such on the internet and you already said that you’d used Google to find material on the topic. Whenever you go online you leave tracks & prints and Google and SM, for example, use these to their advantage (aka to make more money).
Just to clarify Sacha, I meant it was a coincidence that I found Seymour's tweet.
I only posted on this issue today as Anne put up a comment about how Nanaia was on Q and A and was impressive when Jack T brought up about her family.
I was interested and watched the interview. Like I commented earlier, I am very sorry she ha s been on the end of some nasty trolling. But I was wanting to hear more and have Nanaia asked more about the fact that so many of her family members including her husband have been awarded Govt contracts or positions. Jack didn't actually asks questions about this but focussed on the trolling.
So I commented here on what I was aware of about Mahuta and her family contracts. I googled to find links to her husband being awarded some sort of contract for suicide prevention. To my knowledge he has no background in mental health and suicide prevention. I came across David S tweat which was today. I suspect Seymour released this information today after the Mahuta interview. That is what a politician would do.
I was referring to the coindence that I came across this material today. I don't follow David S
If the contract is for cultural expertise or community engagement, the topic is not always important.
And what came out of community engagement if that is the case?
Why was his company appointed? Surely others can do community engaement?
You and me do not have the information to answer those questions, do we. As with most public procurement exercises. Need a higher standard than some agitation by righties to justify further discussion.
No the link provides no information about what the grant was for and I would like to know
I would like to know lots of things but I have learned that is no guarantee of satisfaction in life.
Sacha, you get the prize for the most new age attempt to shut anyone down.
So I need to not want to know stuff about Mahutas husband and the mental health contract, cause it want give me satisfaction in life? Is that what you are saying.
I am allowed to want to have information about what public money has been spent on. Whether it may or may not give me life satisfaction is entirely irrelevant.
I have a particular interest in suicide
Feel free to submit an OIA, where it will be tested against the public interest. The answer may or may not satisfy you.
" Jack didn't actually asks questions about this…"
Yet you are disappointed Mahuta didn't answer the questions you have in your head?
Curious…
Jack started that part of the interview, by saying "your family".
Anne started this thread off today by recomending Q and A "talking of wisdom a revealing interview on Q and A this morning with Nanaia . I especially recommned her response to the accusations concerning members of her fmaily"
So as I had read about Nanaia's relatives getting contracts, I watched the programme in order to listen to her side of the story. But actually she didn't respond about the accusations of nepotism (except for a stock politicians sentence). She talked about the trolling.
I think it is important our politicians are grilled aobut any perceived conflicts of interests. Like many on this site, I screamed and complained over the Judith Collins and Orivida affair. I can's see why people wouldn't want to know more about what has happened that so many of Mahutas relatives have ended up with govt contracts.
I've deleted your quote that has no links. Honestly beyond me why I have to keep explaining this.
If you copy and paste, you *have to link as well. This is fundamental to robust debate. Linking means people can see the quote in context (almost always improves understanding), can check for mistakes or skewing in arguments, and in the case of something like twitter, often replies or quote tweets will answer questions that arise here.
God so sorry. No excuses. Had said before but will try and do better
with twitter, just cut and paste the URL. The tweet will embed and you get the quote and link in one go.
Thanks Weka. And when I thought about it, I think I didn't want to be posting a link that belonged to David Seymour, that was my motivation. But no excuse and completely my bad
Nanaia Mahuta was very powerful in that interview. I support her 100%.
Backing your own teams hypocrisy 100%.
Mahuta says she followed and kept to Cabinet protocols throughout. I believe her. It follows then, that she can't be justifiably be punished, only unjustly punished, which in my opinion, is what is happening here.
Jack started that part of the interview, by saying "your family".
Anne started this thread off today by recomending Q and A "talking of wisdom a revealing interview on Q and A this morning with Nanaia . I especially recommned her response to the accusations concerning members of her fmaily"
So as I had read about Nanaia's relatives getting contracts, I watched the programme in order to listen to her side of the story. But actually she didn't respond about the accusations of nepotism (except for a stock politicians sentence). She talked about the trolling.
I think it is important our politicians are grilled aobut any perceived conflicts of interests. Like many on this site, I screamed and complained over the Judith Collins and Orivida affair. I can see why people wouldn't want to know more about what has happened that so many of Mahutas relatives have ended up with govt contracts.
This is not the first media story about the matter in the last week or two. Q&A is pitched at politics-followers, so they would expect their audience to already know at least some of the details.
How is Mahuta being punished? Do you mean by the trolls. Well of course that shouldn't be happening.
But it isn't punishing someone for the media to ask probing questions about this, nor for Seymour to release info that she didn't follow cabinet procedures to manage the conflict over her niece and He Puapua (if he is correct.)
Do you believe Seymour or Mahuta?
Given Seymour’s history
lying aboutmisrepresenting facts, I suggest it is Mahuta who is telling the truth. She has so much more to lose by lying. Every procedure was correctly followed to the letter of the law – and I suspect some more.Tbh I am suspious as to why so many of NM relatives have been given jobs or offered contracts in Ministries where she is the Minister.
I am particularly bother by the suicide prevention money her husband got. He has no background in mental health and there is limited evidence about what strategies reduce suicide. Even the recent research showing roughly a quarter of people who die by suicide have excessive blood alcohol levels. The alcohol will of course will lead to greater impulsively, but other than clinicians advising depressed people not to drink, there is an obvious intervention from this information.
The Mahuta family is a large family you know. They are at the top of the Maori chain so it isn't surprising there are several of them who have held down or are holding down government appointed positions. Brains, together with other skills, tend to be handed down through the family line.
The subject under discussion has nothing to do with suicide prevention but if you are going to tag it on, then you need to provide a link so we know what you're talking about. Chances are her husband is the 'chief cook and bottle-washer' who sought the finance for a suicide prevention programme among Maori, but the treatment will be carried out by Maori professionals in that field. That's just a guess of course.
So you mean if we disagree with your position we are practising hypocrisy.
So your queries sneers and position is "Perception is everything"
That is not the case in law and in the handbook, but that won't stop your slurs
Nanaia Mahuta has integrity and has dealt with some very difficult political and personal situations with dignity and grace. Two qualities totally lacking in some of the men trying to sway perceptions of her, and those trolling her.
Mike King asks the questions about why Mahutas husband was funded for suicide prevention. If I was Mike I would want to know to. He has worked his guts out to provide a service with little govt support.
https://chrislynchmedia.com/newsitems/mike-king-what-expertise-nanaia-mahutas-husband-has-in-suicide-prevention.
https://chrislynchmedia.com/newsitems/mike-king-what-expertise-nanaia-mahutas-husband-has-in-suicide-prevention
I do think Nanaia comes across with grace and she may well have done a fantastic job. But that doesn't mean she shouldn't be open to scrutiny. Does it?
This story about Mahutas hamily appointments has been shut down in the msm, other than a brief flurry by the Herald. Cause to be honest, imo this is not a nothing to see here situation.
We are talking about multiply family members being given contracts and appointments, including her husband. Who as Mike King points out was given money for suicide prevention when he has no quals in mental health. What did Ormsby do with this money? What was achieved?
Your link tells us nothing about the background to the grant awarded to a company belonging to Nanaia's husband. I note it is for the princely sum of $28,000.
I think Mike King doth protest too much!
No the link provides no information about what the grant was for and I would like to know
You seem to suffer from a similar selective memory as some of National’s past Leaders. Anne started this thread @ 4.3 (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-17-07-2022/#comment-1900453) with the mention of the interview with Mahuta on Q+A and Sacha @ 4.3.3 (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-17-07-2022/#comment-1900510) provided the link to the interview that aired on 1news. If that’s not MSM then what is?
You seem to have a lot of enthusiasm for the MSM dirt diggers to keep digging for more dirt (and) to keep the story alive. AFAIK, nothing new has come to light yet and you’ll just have to wait till OIA requests come in and get drip-fed on SM and/or until the internal enquiry at the Ministry has been completed.
It is a handy smear for the racist thread of the big organised campaign against 3 Waters. No doubt the righties will keep stirring it up, plus whatever useful idiots help them out.
Yes, but it is now used as a dirty indiscriminate weapon against just about anything with the M-word in it, not to mention Co-Governance. This is not limited to coming from the Right only, as plenty of comments on this site can attest. Many pretend-Lefties pay only lip-service to empowerment of the segments of our society that continue to fall behind in many ways according to many metrics & indices. The lazy labels and low pot shots come hard and fast from both directions. Any debate and genuine engagement are on the back-foot from the outset because of the polarising language and narratives around. No one seems to be capable and/or willing to have a serious conversation about a long-term vision for Aotearoa-New Zealand, and this vacuum is fertile soil for radicalising elements and their agendas when the going gets tough, as is happening at present. Watch out for more DP and Trumpian-style politics here over the next year and a bit.
To be fair, we have a big vacuum in progressive vision and I do not expect most people to know the context before they enter the low-barrier public discourse. Broad church, etc.
This country has only just started grappling with our colonial past recently.
Leading the way are and have been for some time the ACT Party and acolytes (e.g. NZCPR) copying the same imagery Iwi vs Kiwi (https://thestandard.org.nz/how-can-labour-win-in-2023/#comment-1898904).
Just in reply to your request further down for links to Mike King, if you scroll up to my Comment below Patricia B's there are a couple of links.
Let me know if that was what you wanted.
Thank you. Same point we have already discussed. Mike King expects expertise in suicide prevention, but..
https://chrislynchmedia.com/newsitems/mike-king-what-expertise-nanaia-mahutas-husband-has-in-suicide-prevention
I am interested in the truth Incognito, not defending any politician whether or not they do a good interview, whether they are Labour, National or whatever party.
This website was in uproar (rightly so ) about Collins and Orivida.
Mahuta has numerous relatives getting contracts/positions where she is involved. Her husband, her sister, two nephews and a niece.
How? Highly relevant question.
I believe that most people would say that they’re interested in the truth, so that’s neither here nor there.
I see this as a relatively minor issue and I expect we’ll get some answers in future. If it were as big some like to make it out to be then I think it likely that Mahuta would have lost her portfolios for breaching the rules, possibly just temporary as a symbolic gesture more than anything.
Labour cannot afford this lingering and hanging over them for too long, because it has a disproportionally large negative impact on a whole load of things that they want to achieve before the General Election. They would therefore want to neutralise this as soon and as much as they can, which again brings be back to Mahuta who’s still standing and going strong and getting the full support of the Labour Party.
In short, people see what they want to see and making up things to fill in the gaps (aka lack of info and answers). This is not seeking the truth but confirmation bias, pure and simple. The MSM know that without new info they cannot keep running these stories on confirmation bias of some of their readership alone.
You talk about being interested in the truth Anker yet you have already passed judgement on Nanaia Mahuta and members of her family with no actual evidence to back up the claims. As far as I can tell it is all hearsay and innuendo with most of it coming from right wing politicians such as Seymour and Brown. It is then being picked up by tabloid journos who exaggerate and embroider them for political and click-baiting purposes.
I've already told you that it is not surprising there are various members of the Mahuta family who have received contracts of one sort or another. They are a bright and talented family. How about checking how many other Maori dynasties of note have also been the recipient of contract arrangements down the years with the Crown.
"no one seems capable of and/or willing to have a serious conversation about a long term vision for Aotearoa"
I think that is what Seymour is proposing that we have a debate about cogovernance and a way forward.
RE the link from Anne . Hav e you watched it? Jack asks one question about the nepotism and Mahuta gives a cliched answer like "all procedures were followed" and that's it.
As I said earlier, I watch Q and A not out of some enthusiam to "dig dirt" but I geniunely wanted to hear what was said. The interviewer gave Nanaia a free pass on the rumours of nepotism. She could have clarifed further, but she didn't. So in my mind there are unasnwered questions.
I honestly hadn't given a lot of thought to the nepotism rumours, although they looked very suspious to me. I read what Mike King said and I thought no wonder he is pissed. He got a whole service for mental health up and running with sfa from the govt and he's letting us know about a contract Mr Ormsy got for suicide preventation and he is asking a lot of questions.
You think what Seymour is proposing is not what he and ACT are about, so why don’t you check first before you make assumptions and jump to conclusions. Hint: ACT has already rejected Co-Governance and wants a Referendum to put it to rest for at least a number of years.
My guess is you’d vote against a whole raft of policies because of your ‘suspicions’, which coincidentally align very nicely with ACT.
As to the answer Mahuta gave, which is the same as the PM and Government have given, is correct & true. It has to be because Mahuta would have received at least a Yellow Card otherwise.
You can keep looking for smoke as much as you like but it won’t start a fire nor will it fire a gun.
Did Mike King put in a tender in the same round?
Interested – do you have a link?
So true. Has anyone witnessed an instance where Nanaia has not responded with dignity? Never. She's light years ahead of her detractors.
As for the psychological abuse and the trolling… only those who have been on the receiving end can fully comprehend the huge amount of damage caused, not only to the target but often to their families and others around them. It can send the victim into a spiral of terror… afraid to leave their homes for fear of what might happen to them. The threats can be both overt and covert.
These types of people – who often also physically stalk their prey – have in the past been given a free pass with little to no consequences. It is time for such offences to be given a much higher level of priority, and the punishments increased to fit the level of abuse committed.
Incognito i think it is abundantly clear where Seymour and Act stand on co governance. But what they are saying is lets have the debate and a referendum. Unlike Labour who never mentioned He Puapua or campaigned on it in the last election.
I am now quite suspious of Labour (I am a party member by the way), because of how they have done so much by stealth. The gender self ID bill, three waters (never campaigned on it or looked at other options) the Rotorua Bill which Tamati Coffey championed (which David Parker quashed because he said it went against the Bill of Rights) and the He Puapua document (which talks about transforming our constitutional arrangemnts. That flew below the radar before the last election.
I think it is reasonable to by suspious of Mahuta given so many family appointments when she was a Minister. Two contracts to her husband in fields he has no qualifications for.
Interesting comparison between NZ and Australia by two high level experts. Yes, the real experts not the pseudo variety as preferred by some:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/471081/covid-19-how-are-australia-and-nz-managing-the-rising-winter-wave-is-either-getting-it-right
Whitewasher reveals her calling. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300638654/blue-blood-how-the-national-party-went-to-war-with-itself
Key was "exhausted"?
They say maintaining pretence is very tiring.
As are affairs, apparently
Just goes to show the business background of long corporate lunch breaks and golf course deals is no prerequisite for a career in politics.
"I've gambled on the money trading markets" and "I ran an airline" means shit when you're expected to actually do some work for the first time in your pampered little life.
Q&A interview with Vance about her book (9m) https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/07/17/nats-caucus-still-fragile-after-5-years-of-internal-tumult/
Great journalist, poor interviewee 🙂
Oh dear…
https://twitter.com/JasonStrummer/status/1548071157231849481
Makes me very sorry for the female sexual partners in Jordan Peterson's life. Sounds like he's just not very …. adequate….
Jordan Peterson is an Narcisist a Misogynist a fossil who is a regular know it all that don't impress me at all , no science behind his theories just anecdotes.A man who is trying to take us back to the 1950's when it was a mans world and Men had all the answers .Very popular in the far right with his simplistic remedies.
Of course you do realise that's a parody from a youtube voice impersonator called "voiceover shill", right?
(10) Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson discuss the myth of the female orgasm – YouTube
Like, you wouldn't be so fucking thick as to have read this obviously absurd line on twitter and assumed it was real, would you? Gee I wonder what other bullshit you swallow regularly from the same sources.
The funny thing about Peterson is that no-one EVER criticises anything he's actually said.
Babbling
Are you now pretending you weren't gullible enough to fall for that obvious bullshit?
After barking benzo-boy's reckons about women and cosmetics, anything is possible.
Dude's a fucking clown.
Barking indeed.
I have and do and Petersen is still top of my twit list.
The AB's could have done with your help shifting goalposts the other night.
Oh, its a satire Felix? Thanks for the info.
It was a satire on youtube, just a blatant lie by the time it got quoted on twitter as if it were real though.
Leave the Intersectionals alone … they may be inadvertently regurgitating embarrassingly weak satire … but it's their truth … which is just as valid as ours. Putting aside the fact that “truth” itself is a yucky patriarchal settler-colonist construct designed to oppress pregnant men of colour.
Do you have enough tinfoil?
.
As so often, despite displaying the trademark pomposity & self-satisfaction of the former Public Address cadre, you've managed to get things totally arse about face. Falling for any old invective against one of irrational Wokedom's key hate-figures (in this case, a patently obvious – if banal – parody) is very much the tin foil hat territory here, sweetness.
Now if you could answer this with an erudite little bon mot, I’m sure those of equal pretention will find themselves utterly enchanted.
The overly ostentatious vocabulary and excessive italics are a dead giveaway.
lol 100$ Swordfish
A you tube series worth watching.
The problems referenced apply to NZ as well, and explain why most of the infrastructure devleopment we are putting in to fix the housing crisis is unsustainable.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300637193/new-zealand-can-we-fix-it-not-unless-politicians-grow-up
Gluckman was to scared to mention this when he was John Keys lackey but better late than never! Did Key do anything longterm yes he cut health funding police funding education funding all had longterm consequences. Nothing will change politics is a popularity contest every 3 years so no longterm solutions will happen, balance books buy votes, balance the books buy votes and on it goes.
Your comment is laughable and pathetic at the same time. Say what you like about Gluckman but he’s never been anybody’s lackey. You can join the other group of commenters here who like to shoot the messenger instead of adding something constructive and of real substance to the commentary here.
Be lucky if we're not flapping in a puddle by 2050.
(CNN)Two years ago, forecasters in the UK conducted an interesting thought experiment: What will our forecasts look like in 2050?
[…]
"Not actual weather forecast," the Met Office's graphics said. "Examples of plausible weather based on climate projections."
Well, on Monday and Tuesday, the "plausible" becomes reality — 28 years early.
https://twitter.com/SimonLeeWx/status/1547957062000267267
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/15/weather/2050-uk-forecast-comes-true-in-2022/index.html?
Somebody give this guy a shot at permanent PM.
Roberston extends the fuel subsidy through to January next year.
Grant Robertson extends fuel tax cut to January, with fuel relief now costing $1b – NZ Herald
Way to suck the political oxygen out of the room Grant.
Must know the CPI for tomorrows release,getting ahead of the curve with a swerve.
Maybe his advisors though had not told him of the risks with NZ,with regard to the high current account deficit,and the housing corp debt problem.
Canny political move.
I'm sure they can all see the writing on the wall – petrol prices are not coming down, and the hit when the subsidy ran out would be painful to the voting population.
I expect to see it extended again in January (unless I'm wrong and petrol prices are indeed dropping) – until after the election.
Good move, Grant. Great also to have a PM who gives others the platform to announce positive actions: that Jacinda! She's too good!
🙂
Oh yes. She's too good for many Kiwis. That's why she is continuously being undermined – including by some regulars here. Tall poppy syndrome in full flight!
Better be careful. They'll be coming for you next. Mind you I think you can handle it with good humour n'all.
"someone give this guy a shot at permanant PM". Ad your standards are too low
Its a tax cut. not a bad decision, but hardly rocket science
Deleted after they were requested?
There must be some incriminating shit in those texts.
The Secret Service’s account about how text messages from the day before and the day of the Capitol attack were erased has shifted several times, the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security told the House January 6 select committee at a briefing on Friday.
At one point, the explanation from the Secret Service for the lost texts was because of software upgrades, the inspector general told the panel, while at another point, the explanation was because of device replacements.
The inspector general also said that though the secret service opted to have his office do a review of the agency’s response to the Capitol attack in lieu of conducting after-action reports, it then stonewalled the review by slow-walking production of materials.
[…]
In the letter, the inspector general said that certain Secret Service texts from 5 January and 6 January 2021 were erased amid a “device replacement program” even after he had requested the messages for his internal inquiry.
The Secret Service has disputed that, saying in a statement that data on some phones were lost as part of a pre-planned “system migration” in January 2021, and that Cuffari’s initial request for communications came weeks later in late February 2021.
But the select committee questioned the Secret Service’s emphasis on that date, the participants said, and noted in the subpoena letter that the request for electronic communications in fact first came from Congress, ten days after the Capitol attack.
The congressional request from 16 January 2021 addressed to multiple executive branch agencies – including the Homeland Security Department, which oversees the Secret Service – was for all materials referring or relating to the riot.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/16/secret-service-deleted-text-messages-january-6
That's going to hurt in terms of US criminal law (potentially tampering with evidence) and also potentially evidence rules. To quote https://corporate.findlaw.com/litigation-disputes/delete-at-your-peril-preserving-electronic-evidence-during-the.html :
In plain English, destroyed evidence can be held against people in certain circumstances.