Open mike 17/07/2023

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 17th, 2023 - 67 comments
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67 comments on “Open mike 17/07/2023 ”

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  1. Dennis Frank 1
    17 July 2023 at 6:24 am

    For a political marketing expert, Labour's campaign slogan to examine…

    Lee, who is an associate professor in the University of Auckland’s marketing department, said before he could really analyse the slogan’s potential, the competition had to publish theirs.

    Good point: comparative analysis rules, okay?

    “Aside from the Green Party, no-one else could use a slogan like this one – National don’t have the ‘street cred’ to pull it off, but the question is does Labour still have it?” https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/132554743/labour-says-theyre-in-it-for-you–have-they-shown-it

    There was an appetite for change, he said, and this slogan could have missed an opportunity to tap into that desire. If National and the Greens were to “play their cards right”, their campaign slogans should do just that.

    “I can bet it will be something that is encouraging people to change, for something new.”

    I wouldn't. Clueless dork syndrome has all parties in its relentless grasp. I'll be a war of evasive banalities. One of bomber's commentators defined the Labour target niche for us with succinct elegance:

    Transgender Maori vegan cyclist members of the Wellington bureaucracy.

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2023/07/16/in-it-for-you-as-long-as-you-are-a-property-speculator-banks-or-mega-wealthy/

    • Mac1 1.1
      17 July 2023 at 8:15 am

      "Transgender Maori vegan cyclist members of the Wellington bureaucracy."

      What a shameful outing of prejudice and 'othering' of minorities in the guise of humour…. 'clueless dork' indeed.

      • Mac1 1.1.1
        17 July 2023 at 8:47 am

        Just to add some figures into this issue.

        Māori are 17% of our community.

        Vegans are 6% of our community.

        Transgender people are 0.0-2% of our community.

        Cyclists number 21% of our community.

        Wellington bureaucrat number 28,054 or 0.5% of our community. They comprise 44% of all of our civil servants.

        All in all, our clueless dork has insulted two fifths of the population. If he showed 'succinct elegance', then I'm glad I'm a wordy wearer of ill-fitting hand-me-downs.

        • Belladonna 1.1.1.1
          17 July 2023 at 6:57 pm

          Not that I support insulting anyone, but looking at the quoted figures.

          That seems like a very high population percentage for Vegans.
          Do you have a source for this?

          I can't find any official surveys – but one research project from 2021 indicates that there are around 6% vegetarians and vegans.

          It is difficult to know exactly how many people living in Aotearoa New Zealand are vegetarians as different statistics are reported by different organisations and researchers. A national poll in 2019 suggested that 1 in 10 New Zealanders were vegetarian, up 3% from the year before. A larger scale national research project in 2021 found that 6% were vegetarian or vegan.

          https://healthify.nz/hauora-wellbeing/v/vegetarianism-veganism/

          The site, annoyingly, doesn't link to either source….

          It's *possible* that it's this one:

          https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/most-kiwis-still-eat-meat

          If the number of vegetarians is around 6%, I'd say that the numbers of vegans would be considerably lower….

          I'm presuming that the survey informs the NZ Wikipedia data – which has Vegetarians at 6% – and no total for Vegans at all.

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country

      • Dennis Frank 1.1.2
        17 July 2023 at 8:56 am

        I agree that minorities have nothing to be ashamed of. Any attempt to selectively correlate Labour's campaign strategy with a select nexus of such minority groups is proceeding upon a flawed assumption: it's the Greens who are more likely to do what the commentator expects.

        The entire point of Labour is to seem different to National in the tiny minds of sheeple. So Labour will inevitable target the soft underbelly of National poll supporters. For another insight into that, tune into 1News tonight. RNZ's deputy political editor told us earlier this morning that they will feature another poll.

        • Mac1 1.1.2.1
          17 July 2023 at 9:54 am

          You wrote "I agree that minorities have nothing to be ashamed of." Do you agree that minorities should not be disrespected, as our clueless dork did?

          The same clueless dork who you quoted approvingly with "succinct elegance".

          Sorry, Dennis, but you don't walk away from this one without acknowledging that you approved of, and re-quoted to us, a racist, prejudiced, bigoted and shameful comment.

          It's the opposite of "In it for you"!

          • Dennis Frank 1.1.2.1.1
            17 July 2023 at 10:26 am

            I don't have that sectarian view of things. Usage of categories in political commentary is endemic, so why anyone would be fussed about any particular usage by leftists or rightists isn't ever likely to be evident to a centrist.

            The entire point of any particular usage is whether it is effective propaganda or not. You're aware of how toxic wokeism has become for leftists? Important to learn from such unhealthy cultural trends whenever they occur.

            Unless it learns how to do effective political framing, the left isn't likely to get much attraction amongst floating voters. Merely virtue-signalling at them has failed. Are you trying to suggest that such failure can't be learnt from?

            • Mac1 1.1.2.1.1.1
              17 July 2023 at 11:16 am

              "Transgender Maori vegan cyclist members of the Wellington bureaucracy."

              This is a political framing of a point of view that is the opposite of what I stand for- literally, in my case, because I have been a political candidate.

              Belittling terms have always been around. I choose to object to them when I feel that if I don't object then I become complicit.

              I'm old enough to remember 'political framing' aka insults, such as 'bleeding heart liberal', 'pinko', 'commo', 'lefty', 'peacenik', 'and more recently 'virtue-signalling', 'politically correct' and a 'woke' practitioner of the 'politics of envy'.

              Are you arguing that we should also be into such political framing in order to compete?

              I much prefer 'In it for you".

              Yes, you. All those pakeha, meat-loving, car-addicted, straight(-ish), provincial self-employed persons included.

              At least, there was no mention of women in our 'clueless dork' friend's statement.

              Because that issue raised itself on the Standard with misogynistic rants in the time of PM Jacinda Ardern. I rebutted them, too.

              Look where that pile of insults got those mysogynistic 'political framers' in 2020 when women turned out for Labour.

              The level of insults in this election is now, and will be high- as a counter to the politics of inclusion, fairness, compassion and "in it for you'.

              • Dennis Frank …
                17 July 2023 at 12:02 pm

                I do understand where you are coming from, as a result of your articulation of it. There's a spectrum tween framing and insult. Seems to me some folks will see an insult where none was intended. One often sees that with satire, irony, etc. Some folks see a motive that the framer doesn't have.

                My view is akin to that of an amateur social scientist: I note framings that achieve resonance because they then operate similarly to levers or portals, inasmuch as resonance tends to constellate collective opinion.

                In my view a commentator has a mental interface with the public arena, as well as a tech interface. Each of those being driven by a triad (user/interface/public) plus a tetrad (user/interface/network/public) when you incorporate the systems view. Such is the basis of ecosystemic human relations in the Deep Green view, but one must to go further & include stuff like mimesis/memetics that generate field effects between people & systems.

            • tWiggle 1.1.2.1.1.2
              17 July 2023 at 5:25 pm

              Toxic wokeism, unhealthy cultural trends, virtue signalling. Dennis Frank, you're seasoning your comments with meaningless rw catchphrases again.

              I'm guessing you are a casualty of the meaningless rw culture war against phantoms…Head injury?

              • weka …
                17 July 2023 at 5:32 pm

                Head injury?

                Don't do that. You had an argument that you could make coherently, insulting someone doesn't add to that, it just inflames things.

          • Phillip ure 1.1.2.1.2
            17 July 2023 at 1:34 pm

            @ macl..

            You left out 'fleshist'..

            (Def: flesh-eater who sneers at non-flesh-eaters..)

            • Mac1 1.1.2.1.2.1
              17 July 2023 at 2:42 pm

              Philip, I left out a lot of things. I am all of those things I listed though I do own a bike that is unusually ridden (unusual in terms of frequency but especially since I don't often pedal as it's battery electric). But it sticks in my craw to read jokes based on 'othering'.

              I believe in joking at my own expense so I can take the piss of Irish and Scottish traits happily, being a Mac1, but not of others. One little trick I learned is to tell Irish jokes but change the subject of the humour to a Kiwi- suddenly it's not funny any more!

              "How do you get a Kiwi up onto a roof?" "Tell him the drinks are on the house…."

              I'm a Kiwi, btw.

          • JeremyB 1.1.2.1.3
            17 July 2023 at 3:14 pm

            Hear hear.

      • Jilly Bee 1.1.3
        17 July 2023 at 5:06 pm

        Against my better judgement I ventured over to The Daily Blog for a wee gander. I soon vacated the blog site very rapidly. What a vapid next of vipers the commenters (and of course B B himself) have degenerated into. I used to make TDB one of my daily reads but thank Dog, no longer. I do wonder who 'they' will ultimately vote for, if at all.

  2. Dennis Frank 2
    17 July 2023 at 6:57 am

    [comment with quotes but no links deleted]

  3. Poldark 3
    17 July 2023 at 7:51 am

    This last weekend we went on a road trip from Nelson to Hokitika to celebrate a 100th birthday of a whanau and made it a round trip. (Via Reefton one way then Westport the other) Never saw 1 pothole. Never had a ramrade in our parts for about 20 years either for that matter!

    • Dennis Frank 3.1
      17 July 2023 at 8:12 am

      Interesting. A conspiracy theorist would deduce that this regional paradise effect was produced by a Labour strategy to grow their support base in the top of the South Island and west coast. As if departmental maintenance is regionally-driven, I presume.

      Although such regional bias would be denied by both the departmental heads and the minister, to reassure sheeple. In order to import ram-raids into your region, you must first import the foreigners to establish attractive shops! Worked well in Ak.

    • Ad 3.2
      17 July 2023 at 8:55 am

      Nick Smith both as local MP and as Minister defended his part of the state highway network really well.

      Also that route barely gets a major truck.

      I do the Crown Range from Wanaka to Queenstown most days, and frankly it's a dream compared to anything north of Taupo.

  4. Hunter Thompson II 4
    17 July 2023 at 9:37 am

    I've been watching TV coverage of the Tour de France lately. No road potholes, although on one stage the riders had to contend with cobbles, which were very tricky and led to crashes.

    Seen this way France looks terrific, with its mountains and picturesque old towns.

    What's striking is how much vegetation cover the French have retained. A contrast with good old NZ, where the odd macrocarpa stands in a sea of grass.

    • Mac1 4.1
      17 July 2023 at 11:21 am

      My memory of 3000 kms of driving on French provincial roads was their quality, similar to our two-lane SH1 standard but mostly I remember the 70 km/h speed limit. A speed that respected safety, the road surface and the views to be had.

      • Bearded Git 4.1.1
        17 July 2023 at 12:12 pm

        Agreed Mac.

        The Crown Range is still 100km/h at the moment and there are regular accidents. I would speculate that many are caused by people being distracted by the wonderful views.

        A clear case for either 70km/h or 80km/h between Cardrona and SH6 at the Arrow Junction.

        Ad says (above) that he drives it most days-I wonder what he thinks.

      • Phillip ure 4.1.2
        17 July 2023 at 2:06 pm

        I came away from France with the conclusion that the french know how to do country…

        New Zealand does not…

        • tWiggle 4.1.2.1
          17 July 2023 at 5:32 pm

          France is happy to run national debt at 90-100% of GDP. It has been doing so for decades to prop up its excellent healthcare and aged care sectors, with retirement at 60y. Personal tax runs at ~40%.

  5. Dennis Frank 5
    17 July 2023 at 11:13 am

    Loneliness as producer of health costs: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/how-our-cities-could-help-alleviate-loneliness

    Dr David Jenkins and Eileen Corcoran sketch out three general directions Aotearoa urbanism might follow. Jenkins is a lecturer in political theory at the University of Otago. Corcoran is completing a Masters in Politics at the University of Otago

    According to Loneliness NZ, more than 650,000 Kiwis have felt lonely within the past four weeks, with 137,000 of them feeling lonely most or all of the time. Especially worrying is that loneliness is highest among 15-24-year-olds, a demographic in this country that has the highest rate of suicide within the OECD countries.

    First, rather than focus on moving materials around our cities, we should prioritise improving tenants’ rights. Improving security of tenure, imposing price controls and more strictly enforcing sanctions against errant landlords can help people put down the kinds of deep roots that turn neighbourhoods into communities.

    The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 signals improvements in the right direction but Aotearoa can continue to strengthen tenants’ rights and, perhaps, develop more proactive government provision of high-quality social housing, of the kind enjoyed by 60 percent of the residents of Vienna, the most liveable city in the world, according to a report by the Economist.

    For second, they just go for extending the Greener cities trend. Third, they just go for rejuvenating centers of cities, which has also been happening for years. Would've been better to devise collaborative projects folks can join into.

  6. Dennis Frank 6
    17 July 2023 at 12:10 pm

    Greens giving the Nat/ACT bear a prod: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/greens-launch-maori-land-policy-hoki-whenua-mai-vows-to-return-stolen-land-revisit-claims-and-redress/IH4JRCB53BFAZD2VAJA2GUH774/

    I'm okay on the principle of their policy: satisfactory resolution of problems created by past maladministration. Natural justice. I'll reserve judgment on their proposed method until I see if others find any flaws.

  7. PsyclingLeft.Always 7
    17 July 2023 at 1:27 pm

    Asked whether this was a political gimmick Brown said: "Not at all

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/493844/national-s-pothole-policy-about-finding-balance-between-safety-and-efficiency-brown

    Yeah…Riiight. Complete with two hands in pockets, pothole plonkers.

    Reality….

    The government was spending $2.8 billion on highway maintenance, saying it was a 65 percent increase on what the previous National government had spent.

    And beside that, NZ's chronic car culture addiction is just exacerbating any existing problem . To say nothing of the fkn heavy truck trailers rooting the roads/highways.

    Should we spend more money on "fixing" something that should be being replaced….by major Public Transport and Rail networks ?

    No.

  8. Phillip ure 8
    17 July 2023 at 2:10 pm

    Question:

    Why are dairy farms allowed right on the edge of the already polluted Manukau harbour..?

    Given all we now know..

    ..how the fuck is this allowed to continue…?

    For cow shit/nitrates to be allowed to just pour into the harbour..?

    • bwaghorn 8.1
      17 July 2023 at 3:43 pm

      How's a city allowed to keep expanding on already polluted harbours that are regularly closed to human food gathering and recreation due to human sewage over flows??

  9. Sanctuary 9
    17 July 2023 at 2:50 pm

    The Green party appears to have a death wish. The same sort of activist fanaticism that led to anti-smacking debacle that saw the Left in opposition for 9 years appears to be back with the insane suggestion that private property be subject to Maori land claims. Talk about lunatics with a death wish!

    Apart from anything else, who is this policy meant to appeal to? It is the sort of insanity you'd expect from a bunch of unwashed anti-capitalist student anarchists living in squat, not a party with mainstream aspirations.

    • arkie 9.1
      17 July 2023 at 3:13 pm

      Or, alternatively:

      The Green Party has unveiled its plan to return land wrongly taken from Māori.

      If part of the next government, the Greens would amend the Public Works Act to prevent Māori land being taken in future.

      It would repeal the 2008 deadline to lodge new Treaty claims and reinstate the ability for the Waitangi Tribunal to make recommendations on privately-owned land, as it comes on the property market.

      The Greens also want to establish a Royal Commission to investigate land taken through breaches of the Treaty.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/493846/greens-announce-policy-to-repeal-2008-deadline-to-lodge-treaty-claims

      I think it should be mainstream to attempt to resolve the illegal breaches of our nation's founding document by the state. Private property would only be included as it was sold by current owners. Try and read before you react.

      • Sanctuary 9.1.1
        17 July 2023 at 3:26 pm

        Right so your the sort of person who thinks telling every person in NZ who owns their own home or farm or factory, or has a mortgage pursuant to that end, that what they've purchased in good faith can now be subject to a Maori land claim is a vote winner?

        It us ridiculous policy no one asked for and seems to be mainly designed as a masochistic desire to upset 98% of the electorate.

        The Greens keep whining that they are a serious party. On the basis of this policy I say bullshit to that.

        [“… that what they've purchased in good faith can now be subject to a Maori land claim is a vote winner?”

        You appear to be implying that land would be taken off non-Māori and given to Māori. This is not true, it’s been pointed out to you that it’s not true, and you’ve repeated it. Even if you didn’t mean that, both your comments can easily be construed by people reading to mean that.

        If I see you run this line again, I will consider you to be knowingly lying and I will ban you until well after the election. Only warning.

        https://www.greens.org.nz/hoki_whenua_mai_announcement

        • weka]

    • foreign waka 9.2
      17 July 2023 at 3:24 pm

      It is sad to see that the green party has no real interest in Green issues that really matter. Like a marine sanctuary or an end to bottom trawling. Even the damage of the land and infrastructure through iwi owed forest companies is not mentioned and the taxpayer has to foot the bill. I am interested how all the claims are set vis a vis the billions already paid in reparation and the tax exemption of iwis.

      Lets not forget, it is not the "Crown" who pays but the taxpayer.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/5130429/Super-rich-tribes-pay-no-tax#:~:text=A%20law%20change%20by%20the,those%20businesses%20are%20getting%20big.

      As an immigrant, settling here some 37 years ago, this discussion is provoking the feeling that I to have to uproot again. It was psychologically some work to feel "at home" but it seems I need to be prepared to move as the situation here is getting more and more unsettling.

      In that vain, I think all immigrants and people thinking about coming back should be told in an unambiguous way what they will have to expect and expectations about their contribution.

      • arkie 9.2.1
        17 July 2023 at 3:29 pm

        Look at the policies and you will find what you claim is not there:

        • Establish a well-resourced and politically independent Ocean Commission to develop and establish Te Tiriti-based ocean governance of our entire marine area, including the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and to advise Government on legislative, policy and institutional reform. (1.1)
        • Reform fisheries and marine protection legislation and establish a national, comprehensive, and coherent system of no-take, marine protected areas. (2.1)
        • Resource mātauranga Māori organisations and promote the use of marine cultural health indices to empower community action and well-being to inform policy, management, and operations. (2.4)
        • Halt any further degradation of marine and estuarine habitats through the extraction of natural resources, destructive fishing practices or inappropriate construction of our built environments. (4.1)
        • Phase out bottom trawling, prioritising seamounts and areas with high levels of sequestered carbon and biodiversity for protection. (5.1)
        • Enable kaitiakitanga, including upholding and underpinning Māori fisheries rights in the transition of the QMS to an ecosystem-based management. (5.4)

        https://www.greens.org.nz/marine_policy

        • Move away from exploiting the environment for the economy, and towards a circular economy. (1.2)
        • Protect and restore populations of native species to ensure healthy ecosystems; access to these species for the purposes of tikanga Māori, and build resilience to a changing climate. (2.2)
        • Honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi by resourcing tangata whenua to exercise tino rangatiratanga as kaitiaki, including through the return of land. (5.1)
        • Resource youth-led research on environmental issues, and protect and restore the environment for future generations. (5.6)
        • Implement and strengthen measures to rapidly reduce our own greenhouse gas emissions. (6.6)

        https://www.greens.org.nz/environmental_protection_policy

        • Uphold and resource the kaitiaki role of tangata whenua, and work with them to protect taonga species and significant places, including through the return of whenua. (1.1)
        • Establish a complete linked network of ecologically representative areas – terrestrial, marine and aquatic – under protective management. (3.2)
        • Work with local government and communities to ensure a minimum 5% of the land area of all ecological districts in Aotearoa New Zealand is in native vegetation or set aside for the restoration of nature. (3.3)
        • Establish legal protection for indigenous plants and ensure legal protections for indigenous wildlife are robust enough for all threatened species. (3.8)
        • Implement strategies for climate-change adaptation of native ecosystems and species (…). (4.1)
        • Manage human activity outside of public conservation land in a way that supports the wellbeing of natural ecosystems, indigenous species and habitats (…). (5.1)

        https://www.greens.org.nz/conservation_policy

        etc etc

      • Phillip ure 9.2.2
        17 July 2023 at 4:27 pm

        What alarmist b.s. there f.w..

        Are you a'fearing a brown people uprising..?

        What exactly is 'unsettling' you..?

        You aren't just pearl-clutching for the sake of it..?

        Do tell..!

        • Foreign waka 9.2.2.1
          17 July 2023 at 7:20 pm

          Bit of a racist remark there? You will be surprised to know that I have been told twice that pakeha ate only "allowed" to be here to pay for the upkeep of Maori. Seems to be confirmed.

          • Phillip ure 9.2.2.1.1
            17 July 2023 at 7:31 pm

            Been told twice…?..eh..?

            By two different racist whites..?

            Or was it the same one saying it twice..?

            And what exactly 'seems to be confirmed'..?

            And how exactly..?

            • Foreign waka 9.2.2.1.1.1
              17 July 2023 at 7:43 pm

              By Maori on a hui no less. But never mind, people like you have made up their mind that anybody else is just out to exploit. Thats ok. I will make my decision and thats that.

  10. Phillip ure 10
    17 July 2023 at 4:22 pm

    This idea of mini-ministries (c f. fix potholes) could have merit..

    How about a ministry to fix scumbag slum landlords..?

    For starters..?

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    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago

  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago

  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 days ago

  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago

  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    3 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago

  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    6 days ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    7 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    1 week ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

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