Open mike 18/04/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 18th, 2019 - 67 comments
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67 comments on “Open mike 18/04/2019 ”

  1. A 1

    Imperial Homes eh.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12223339

    “I heard [councillor] Chris Darby equate our situation to buying a meal at a restaurant and being asked to pay extra for cutlery. I’d say it’s more accurate to say it’s like paying for a combo from McDonald’s, then being asked to pay extra for the fries and drink.”

    Walker suggested the Jansens add a 15-day due diligence clause into the contract so they could find out a bit more. But Jonathan says Imperial was reluctant to put in a due diligence clause, so their lawyer talked again about red flags. She advised them to pull out of the deal.

    But they had fallen in love with the house. Jonathan says they agreed to scratch the due diligence clause, but asked to see the plans for the house.

    Imperial agreed, but Jonathan says they didn’t receive anything extra.

    “So we signed it — we really wanted it. But I was worried about the way it was $44,000 in cash and to a separate company. It was niggling at me.”

    Then the consultant contacted them again. Jonathan says Imperial told them it was upgrading the flooring from carpet and tiles to laminate because they knew the couple had a dog.

    Thanks but no thanks, said Jonathan. They’d stick with the carpet and tiles, which they reckoned were worth more than laminate anyway.

    “[She] called three hours later and said someone else was interested in the house. Another family had come in and talked to the director directly, she told us, and those people were happy with the laminate flooring.

    “She said the company had already ordered the laminate and she sent us a new quote — up from $44,000 to $48,000 to incorporate the $4000 ‘upgrade’ to laminate.”

    • patricia bremner 1.1

      A, This situation is the Developer getting squeezed and creating an out.
      When we built in the 70s the homeowner had 12 mths to create fences driveways etc.
      We just got a 1200 square foot home, bare boards on the floor, lighting we had up graded and that was it. Progress payments assisted in meeting dead lines.
      It could be said their developer was using two sets of documents…. one for Council and a variation for the customer…fraud? misleading the Council? Very tricky.

      • Herodotus 1.1.1

        The rules that a developer had to comply with to enable an SHA were specific, and the price level for a finished home was set at the time of the consent being issued.
        “sold for no more than 75 per cent of the Auckland region median house price.”
        The developer has “Managed” this to comply (??) – and with the extras does the development still comply with the SHA requirements ? Possibly Not. But who will follow up on this ?and it becomes another case of a developer not acting with any integrity, but getting away with it, and profiting.
        https://www.thefirsthomebuyersclub.co.nz/finding-a-house/special-housing-areas-auckland/
        ““So we signed it — we really wanted it. But I was worried about the way it was $44,000 in cash and to a separate company. It was niggling at me.” – Perhaps the IRD should have a wee look to make sure that everything from a tax position has been accounted for correctly. As it appears from the story, the couple signed away many of the protections that were in place, and the developer was able to use the situation to max. their interest.

  2. WeekendWarrior 2

    Reflecting on the events yesterday regarding CGT, and a lot of the views on here that this was a politically savvy play – I’m not so convinced. I do think that electioneering and the debates in the lead up to an election play quite a significant role in election success. At the moment, National’s talking points will focus on the fact that key election promises made by Labour have either been a failure or dropped. Kiwibuild (currently failing), 1st year free education (expensive, and not showing great stimulus to student numbers), and now CGT dumped (showing that the tail i.e. Winston is wagging the dog). Aside from Jacinda’s handling of Christchurch events, Labour doesn’t have many wins on the board. Labour needs policy wins! The current love in the polls will only last so long..and who knows what sweeteners National will offer NZF to jump ship.

    • patricia bremner 2.1

      Weekend warrior, it has been stated by National that student numbers haven;t increased. correct…less from overseas. NZ students have increased, especially in teaching by a fifth, and trades are picking up.

      • lprent 2.1.1

        and since the education funding changes were targeted at local students, I’ll just summarise to

        National – lying again.

  3. vto 3

    So the construction sector and the government need to work together to sort the sector out….

    This is clearly yet further evidence of the failure of the free market and neoliberal policies.

    Like the finance sector
    Like the mining sector
    Like the housing sector
    Like the farming sector

    How much more evidence is needed before everyone realises that free market policies require very careful implementation given their propensity for disastrous outcomes.

    Imagine trying to apply it to health???
    Or education???
    Or housing??… oh wait, it has been and the outcome is a disaster leading to lower home ownership, not increased..
    Or employment?? … oh wait, it has been but the employers don’t like it when the demand-supply equation they all voted for works against them, so squeal and cry to nanny state for intervention.

    • RedLogix 3.1

      It’s a balancing act. Too little regulation and you get all the outcomes neoliberalism has delivered us since the 80’s. Too much and you stifle risk and innovation, everything slowly stagnates and dies. Understanding this balance is not easy.

      A healthy market needs a diversity of players with different appetites for risk. One of the more attractive models that we know works, is that the state should act as the stodgy, low risk, ‘provider of last resort’ across a range of industries.

      The desirable fraction of state involvement varies by industry. Health and education are both long term, high stakes industries where the state already has a dominant position. Corner stores and car dealers much less so. Others like housing and insurance the state has a clear role in providing a ‘floor’ in the market below which no other private provider can fall and stay in business.

      We already do this to a large extent; we just need to start thinking about it more strategically.

      • Ad 3.1.1

        I agree with your comment in the abstract.

        But this government needs to show that it is a pro-market-regulation government.

        At the moment its strongest intervention is with wads of poorly-designed cash handouts in the form of a $3 billion slush fund. The regulation is so bad that government oversight agencies are putting the hard ruler over them.

        The Chorus mess with oppressive contracts is a direct responsibility of the government through Crown Fibre Holdings, such that MBIE are stepping in much harder.

        Waikato Hospital Hospital Board is about to be sacked.

        They are proposing to re-regulate the entire secondary school industry, polytech industry, justice industry, and many more in the public arena, before we start getting to their woolly ideas on construction “cooperation”.

        There is no common strategy, theme, legislative direction, or collective purpose to any of it. It’s pretty incoherent.

  4. francesca 4

    Another in the long list of journalism awards for Julian Assange

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/julian-assange-wins-eu-journalism-award-20190417-p51euj.html

    The Galizia award

    • Andre 4.1

      Cameron Slater won awards too.

      • greywarshark 4.1.1

        Andre
        That little comment dripping with malice. It doesn’t add anything to the discourse or the gathering of facts about Assange. Comes under the old saying that if you haven’t got something that adds usefully to the conversation, don’t say anything. This is a positive input because it is necessary for us to aim at striking a good balance of discussion so we don’t become a little den of gossip, innuendo and slanging matches. The TS needs to be better than that.

      • mauī 4.1.2

        Good to know he is one of your heros.

        • Brigid 4.1.2.1

          It’s good you think it good that he is anyone’s hero.
          He is certainly one of Roger Water’s hero’s as he says in this interview
          “The most important information, that we, Julians Assange’s fellow citizens of the globe need, is information about the secret malfeasance and wrong doing of government, which are legend”

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=408&v=6smG6po8YVw

          Of course I’m guessing you wont watch this video.
          The question you could ask yourself though is,
          “why?”

          • mauī 4.1.2.1.1

            I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick… I love Waters! and am interested in what he has to say.

            I was referring to Andre’s obvious reverence for Slater.

        • greywarshark 4.1.2.2

          Yes he is. You aren’t.

          • mauī 4.1.2.2.1

            Completely unnecessary attack grey… To say I’m disappointed in your comment is an understatement.

            • greywarshark 4.1.2.2.1.1

              maui

              <i>Good to know he is one of your heros. 4.1.2</i> I suggest that your attacks against Assange are not reasonable. But that is not disappointing – it is your expected common theme. You often sharply defend your personal compatriots so you tcarry that through to refer to an 'unnecessary attack' from me to Andre. Andre is quite capable of answering for himself.

              It seems that you are trying to limit free speech except for your own. i think it is malicious of Andre to equate Assange with Slater. That is a reasonable view and you have no right to take me to task over it. Don't play the superior pedagogue with me.

  5. Gabby 5

    You know something about an impending arrest there dredre?

  6. Herodotus 6

    Re Global Warming and what has to be done
    Why are there very few asking about population, our pop of 7.7b – and what is the carrying capacity of the earth especially as we are to reduce our dependancy on oil
    https://worldpopulationhistory.org/carrying-capacity/
    https://www.livescience.com/16493-people-planet-earth-support.html

  7. adam 7

    Wage Slave
    Rent Slave
    Slave

  8. swordfish 8

    Final Preferred PM Poll ratings for Leaders just before being Toppled / Replaced
    (Colmar Brunton since 1997)

    (Main Intra-Party Rival in parentheses)

    Bolger (Oct 1997) … 13%
    (Shipley … 10%)
    Shipley then replaces Bolger
    .

    Shipley (Sep 2001) … 14%
    (English … 5%)
    English then replaces Shipley
    .

    English (Oct 2003) … 7%
    (Brash … 3%)
    Brash then replaces English
    .

    Brash (Oct 2006) … 17%
    (Key … 11%)
    Key then replaces Brash
    .

    Shearer (July 2013) … 13%
    (Cunliffe … 2% / Clark … 2%)
    Cunliffe then replaces Shearer
    .

    Little (July 2017) … 6%
    (Ardern … 6%)
    .Ardern then replaces Little

    .
    Compare with
    .

    Bridges (April 2019) … 5%
    (Collins … 5%)

  9. francesca 9

    How about this for misleading headlines?

    “Protesters target Jeremy Corbyn on day three of Extinction Rebellion”

    and then later on

    “A few hours later, four protesters glued their hands together and chained themselves to a fence outside Corbyn’s house, saying he was “the best hope this country has got” to meet the challenges of the climate crisis, adding that they were there to “support him” to go further.”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/17/extinction-rebellion-halt-london-docklands-trains-carriage

    • RedLogix 9.1

      It’s when you realise that the media do this ALL the damn time that you begin to understand the problem we have.

      The media have an important role in society; well above any commercial consideration. They are like the eyes and ears of our societies, and when they mislead us we are all in deep trouble.

      • adam 9.1.1

        OMG, RedLogix actually accepting reality for once…

        Well done for noticing, better late than never…

        • lprent 9.1.1.1

          OMG Adam noticed what someone else actually said rather than just making an interpretation up..

          RL started saying that on this site about 9-10 years ago. I remember that was the topic of one of the first comments of his that I noticed.

          Could it be that you don’t notice what people say unless they agree with you?

          • adam 9.1.1.1.1

            OMG lprent, I have not read all his posts – I have a life.

            All I have is the ones I have seen of late, which come across as a smug know it all. 🙂

    • greywarshark 9.2

      Thanks for that fransesca. People here who read the Guardian have been very critical of it. I looked at it and kept finding good stuff. Then someone noted their peculiar biases here and there and I think one was Jeremy Corbyn. That heading you quote is a blatant, naked example. Headline porn.

    • marty mars 9.3

      Yes it is misleading but why do it?
      Maybe they hate corbyn or they follow the agenda given to them

      A big part I think is that imo they are money hungry capitalists that want to sell something to make more money and misleading headlines, which drag people into see wtf, are just a crude technique among many that they use. This example you put up shows how they can twist the whole thing around to mean the opposite whilst technically also being correct. Clever little shits alright.

      Good we keep track of these – thanks.

    • gsays 9.4

      Back in the ’90s I had a pub in a small town.
      One Saturday evening 3 brothers came in, 2 were under age. They were asked to leave.
      On their way out, 2 of them assaulted a young kitchen hand, a boy who didn’t get a chance to fight back. He was highly disinclined to raise his voice or his fists.
      Front page news on Monday: ‘Teens fighting in local bar’, article went on to name pub and make a few assertions. We didn’t get contacted or questioned.
      Contacted editor and three days later on page 5 a wee correction.

      Jolly media!

      • McFlock 9.4.1

        It can work the other way, though – years ago I ended up fronting to the local journo for a project I was running (just a wee thing, nothing earth shattering). I was a young chap and had no fucking idea about the usual patter one says in such articles.

        The journo needed some copy anyway, so asked questions like “would you say that it’s been well received by people in a variety of circumstances?” and “what about it’s contribution to [issue], would you regard it as being a convenient anchor point for [group]?”.

        Reading the published article, the others involved thought I’d done really well in the interview – I had so many eloquent quotes lol 🙂

  10. greywarshark 10

    Concerning in Peru, a measure of how all countries leaders are stressed? And another nail in democracies coffin-shaped podium.

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/387298/peru-s-former-president-alan-garcia-kills-himself-ahead-of-arrest

  11. greywarshark 11

    NZ – another boring report about the poor state of NZ waterways. Ho hum. /sarc!

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/387308/nature-at-risk-damning-report-warns-environment-in-serious-trouble

  12. mosa 12

    Sanders on FOX

  13. Morrissey 13

    I’ve been labeled a “sub-optimal person” by a Kiwiblogger.

    Yesterday I returned to Kiwiblog after a six week absence. My first comment was a brief driveby shot at the infamous Double Dipper from Dipton. It didn’t go down well….

    https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2019/04/general_debate_17_april_2019.html/comment-page-1#comment-2475821

    The comment deemed “grossly inappropriate” by the “moderator” [sic] at Kiwiblog can be accessed here….

    http://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2019/04/brief-kiwiblog-exchange-re-double.html

    • Rosemary McDonald 13.1

      Morrissey….harden up. You know very well that Farrar’s Ferals don’t play nice, yet off you go….

      The whole moderation thing is very, very new over there, give them time. They have had carte blanche since, well, forever. They are still straining against the ropes.

    • higherstandard 13.2

      “I’ve been labeled a “sub-optimal person” by a Kiwiblogger.”

      Not just Kiwiblog to be fair Moz.

  14. Mjolnir 14

    So much for the free speech fetishists on The Daily Blog. If your criticism against Trotter or Bradbury is too trenchant it will never never seethe light of day

    I posted a critical rebuttal to one of Trotter’s blogpost and it vanished

    Free speech?

    I call tui

    • Rosemary McDonald 14.1

      I wouldn’t panic too much Mjolnir. There has been lots of traffic over at TDB and all comments go into moderation, so there could very well be a delay.

      Trotter, Bradbury, Macskasy ….they all wear big boy pants now and can cope with strong criticism.

      • Mjolnir 14.1.1

        From 2 days ago?.

        Yeah I get that everything is placed moderation, but that one was submitted on Tuesday evening. Since then other comments have been published

        So free speech is fine but not the thingI said (and I am minding my language, Scarlet Mod made a fair call on me on that one)

        • Psycho Milt 14.1.1.1

          I’ve had a few go down the memory hole, which is one reason I hardly ever comment there now. If your comment is one that would be difficult for Bradbury to rebut, it just never appears.

    • Incognito 14.2

      It wasn’t a comment on Trotter’s post entitled “Recognising Hate Speech When You See It”, was it?

  15. greywarshark 15

    Some thoughtful comment on Wellington buses/public transport from someone with depth of background experience. With thoughtful comments below.

    http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=117890
    Waiting at the bus stop?

    • OnceWasTim 15.1

      No doubt there’ll be many learnings going forwid from the Wellington bus fiasco @ grey, the proposed solutions which will probably do SFA to solve anything.

      They’re thinking of sacking the Waikato DHB board.
      The GRWCouncillors ? yea nah 18 monthgs onward – letalone the ‘officials’ that came up with this bugger’s muddle in the first place.
      And then there’s WCC’s involvement which I pick they’ll get away with by shifting blame.

      And even if and when they do manage to get things back to some semblance of order, they’ve fucked things up SO badly that it’s going to take some serious persuasion to get a certain demographic to go back to catching buses.
      ( If you’re one of two from a household, catching an Uber is now just as cheap or fuck-all more expensive for door to door service, and at a time of your choosing ).

      Accountability???? There’ll be none

      There’s actually a shitload of blame to go around, and it isn’t just Laidlaw and his cronies (elected and/or ensconced in GWRC), but it’s also WCC cronies (elected and ensconced) too.
      It’ll be interesting to see who ekshully has the cheek to stand come election time. I hope they put their hands up soon so they can be publicly challenged.

  16. mauī 16

    A punk legend in action for 50+ years! Oh bless. Only on RT of course – straight from the propaganda factory.
    “Westwood: I’ll get Assange out of the embassy”

  17. greywarshark 17

    What do other people do, how do they manage their part of the world? With a less complicated economy and one not dominated by the world system, can a workable system arise? On Yap they have operated their system using stones for currency.. Which reminds us that money is symbolic, and imbued with our ideas of agreed value.

    Looking at Yap a small island, now a group, in the North Pacific nearish to Guam a USA military base. Apparently the Chinese will change their tourism from about 4,000 over years by erecting a resort with 4,000 units on the island? End of
    culture and simple autonomy to complicated slavery I think with some modern
    gew-gaws that alienate the youngsters from the elders.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yap#Economy

  18. greywarshark 18

    I think more cults will spring up as more people kept pushed to the fringes and to constantly have to search for stability and a settled life that enables a decent standard of living.

    I don’t like the sound of this one.
    https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018691418/inside-the-nxivm-cult

  19. David Mac 19

    “A Hastings principal has slammed an increasing number of parents taking kids on holiday during term time, arguing it could ruin their kids’ and the school’s future results.

    St John’s College principal Paul Melloy, who is currently in Chile on a tour with the school’s first XV rugby team…”

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12223056

    Goodness me.

  20. greywarshark 20

    The housing market is overpriced, and I am hearing that leases for small businesses are over-valued. The country is riding for a fall, and the rock star will smash his guitar on stage before long. High rents, the people in the rentier game are squeezing the people actually doing the yakka that earns our country’s living. What are we going to do about being hollowed out by these modern aristocrats? A Revolution? Can we think of something clever without blood? We need businesses to keep going, we need employment, the ability to buy things or enjoyment. We may need to live more simply but can we have a decent standard of living.

    But small businesses are having trouble keeping going, big overseas names are flooding in to soak up any money we have spare. The rents are getting too high everywhere. The greed of people with a lot of money is growing. The present economic system is unsustainable madness. What a contrast between the ultra-high income and the ordinary business owner earning what an ordinary person needs.

    (https://hub.packtpub.com/jack-ma-defends-the-extreme-996-work-culture-in-chinese-tech-firms/

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

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/996_working_hour_system)

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/111998900/capital-cuisine-how-hard-is-it-to-run-a-restaurant-in-wellington
    Capital Cuisine: What’s killing Wellington’s restaurants?
    4/16/2019
    STUFF
    There are nearly 900 places to grab food and drink in Wellington City.

    One of the country’s top chefs, Bosley retired from restaurants after his Wellington eatery Martin Bosley’s Yacht Club went into liquidation in 2014.
    “When I opened my restaurant my main courses were $35, I sat 60 people and my rent was just over $40,000.
    “When I closed it 13 years later, I still sat 60 people, my main courses were now $45 but my rent was now over $100,000 a year.”
    With rents so high, Bosley said meals were essentially being “subsidised” by restaurant owners.
    “If you’re a diner right now, this is the best time to be dining.”..

    Restaurant Association president Mike Egan estimated the average margin was between three and five per cent for most restaurants. ,,,
    Egan said the recent minimum wage rise had left businesses scrambling to cut costs before it hit their bottom line.
    As of April 1, the minimum wage was $17.70 an hour.

    • Stuart Munro. 20.1

      “A Revolution? Can we think of something clever without blood?”

      There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here – the Mongols were not at all keen on bloodshed either, and Genghis was a master of a kind of democratic decision making.

      https://www.cvltnation.com/mongols-executed-enemies-no-blood-spilled/

      I understand the process commences with a request for earth and grass.

    • Blazer 20.2

      dead right.The OPEX of doing business in NZ is way out of kilter.
      Supposedly the free market will correct that.
      .A small domestic market with increased competition should be good for the consumer but the reality is the BIG guy with BIG capital can access offshore product and undercut the local and just like the demise of the Made in NZ auto market ,all other high involvement retail will be taken over by the cheapest alternative…eventually.

  21. Morrissey 21

    What’s behind Ecuador’s betrayal of Julian Assange?

  22. Eco Maori 22

    Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.

    https://youtu.be/fKopy74weus

  23. eco maori 23

    Whanau Eco Maori has been on the Gisborne man sandflys radar for a few years now they thought my great grandfather was Eco Maori he died in a work accident ???????? ,
    My uncle he was a church going man to the state got a hold of him he died they target 2 other males who lived in my great grandmothers house thinking they were Eco Maori .The sandflys now know the target they have been looking for in the last 50 years is ME Eco Maori they are scared of Eco Maori

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktvTqknDobU

    P.S Ma te wa

  24. Eco Maori 24

    Our enviroment is what keeps US alive and we are poisioning it fast.
    I have said these words before what would happen if you let a child eat what it wants say chocolate well that child would soon become obeast become sick with deibetes many bad thinks would happen to the child and if not corrected the child would die.
    Papatuanuku is the same if we keep pumping chemicals into OUR enviroment we are causing our world to become sick if we don’t stop it we will be in the SHIT.
    Another story the 00.1 % ARE like a BABY with chocolate with there money the keep wanting more and won’t share fairly they are getting sick on there overindalgence in MONEY they want more and more even if there actions are killing mother earth and our grandchildrens future we the 99.9 have to become the rulers of the world and teach the ruleing class the correct way to behave love thy neighbour respect thy neighbour forgive thy neighbour share with thy neigbour respect for our past our tipuna respect for OUR FUTURE
    The report presents a sobering summary of a country starkly different from the ‘Pure New Zealand’ marketing campaign. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian
    A report on the state of New Zealand’s environment has painted a bleak picture of catastrophic biodiversity loss, polluted waterways and the destructive rise of the dairy industry and urban sprawl.
    Environment Aotearoa is the first major environmental report in four years, and was compiled using data from Statistics New Zealand and the environment ministry.
    It presents a sobering summary of a country that is starkly different from the pristine landscape promoted in the “Pure New Zealand” marketing campaign that lures millions of tourists every year.
    It found New Zealand is now considered one of the most invaded countries in the world, with 75 animal and plant species having gone extinct since human settlement. The once-vibrant bird life has fared particularly badly, with 90% of seabirds and 80% of shorebirds threatened with or at risk of extinction.

    ‘Their birthright is being lost’: New Zealanders fret over polluted rivers

    Almost two-thirds of New Zealand’s rare ecosystems are under threat of collapse, and over the last 15 years the extinction risk worsened for 86 species, compared with the conservation status of just 26 species improving in the past 10 years.

    Ka kite ano links below

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/18/decades-of-denial-major-report-finds-new-zealands-environment-is-in-serious-trouble

  25. Eco Maori 25

    It amazes me why they would not let Maori build on Marae land why would our culture get to strong.
    The government has announced it will build six homes at Tuahiwi marae near Kaiapoi, and will repair sixty houses in the region.
    It’s a welcome move for Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga chair Arapata Reuben, who has lived in the small pā at Tuahiwi for 25 years. He spent his childhood there and said the new papakāinga development is major.
    “For me, it means that all of my children can live next to me,” he said.
    “I have already passed over my lands to them already which means they can now build on their whenua next to their mum and dad, they can grow up and raise their children.
    “They all want to live at the pā. They know what it is like to be [raised] at the pā. They see their life being the pā.”
    Mr Reuben said local government had restricted the building of houses on the pā for decades. Local Māori fought for more than 10 years to lift the restrictions, which eventually happened in 2015 through the post earthquake Canterbury Emergency Act. Ka kite ano links below P.S I loaded that post above 3 hours ago it just loaded ten mins ago and I had to rewrite this post the sandflys are shitting them selves they cannot put Eco Maori back.

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/387264/new-3-point-7m-housing-development-signals-new-era-for-christchurch-marae

  26. Eco Maori 26

    Kia ora Newshub.
    If you go into a animal whare house you have to show respect for the animals and keep the tamariki safe.
    The trump investergating was a sham I have heaps of facts to link to that statement.
    Eco Maori says Rotorua is a great destination to have a holiday the place is booked out enjoying a booming tourist season.?
    I say that exercise any time is good the producers boggle me mind YEA IGHT
    GUIDE horse in Britain that’s a novelty lol.
    Kia kaha Ka extinction Protesters I have said the leftys need to harden up.
    I don’t use Facebook had a look.
    Fejoe problems with a moth larvae there was a problem with them last year to.
    Don’t like having a beard just have time to keep the hair tidy let alone cleaning and brushing a beard each to their own my son has a good beard.
    Hydrogen cars will be a rich person toy the common people will drive battery elictric car’s. Ka kite ano P.S my Mokopuna take up my time

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  • The shabby “Parliamentary urgency” ploy – shaky foundations and why our democracy needs trust
    Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust.  The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    59 mins ago
  • Jones has made plain he isn’t fond of frogs (not the dim-witted ones, at least) – and now we lea...
    This article was prepared for publication yesterday.  More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written.  We will report on these later today ….    Buzz from the Beehive  There we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 hour ago
  • Infrastructure & home building slumping on Govt funding freeze
    New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 hours ago
  • Brainwashed People Think Everyone Else is Brainwashed
    Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 hours ago
  • Peters’ real foreign policy threat is Helen Clark
    Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    7 hours ago
  • NZ’s trans lobby is fighting a rearguard action
    Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    14 hours ago
  • Your mandate is imaginary
    This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    19 hours ago
  • 14,000 unemployed under National
    The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    22 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Discontent and gloom dominate NZ’s political mood
    Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    22 hours ago
  • Taking Tea with 42 & 38.
    National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    23 hours ago
  • Beware political propaganda: statistics are pointing to Grant Robertson never protecting “Lives an...
    Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”. As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    23 hours ago
  • Winding back the hands of history’s clock
    Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    24 hours ago
  • Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
     Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    24 hours ago
  • Business confidence sliding into winter of discontent
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the coalition’s awful, not good, very bad poll results
    Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
    1 day ago
  • New HOP readers for future payment options
    Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
    1 day ago
  • 2024 Reading Summary: April (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
    2 days ago
  • At a glance – Clearing up misconceptions regarding 'hide the decline'
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    2 days ago
  • Road photos
    Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
    The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago
  • NZDF is still hostile to oversight
    Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Winding Back The Hands Of History’s Clock.
    Holding On To The Present: The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
    2 days ago
  • Sweet Moderation? What Christopher Luxon Could Learn From The Germans.
    Stuck In The Middle With You: As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
    2 days ago
  • A clear warning
    The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Poll results and Waitangi Tribunal report go unmentioned on the Beehive website – where racing tru...
    Buzz  from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example.  This shows National down ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Listening To The Traffic.
    It Takes A Train To Cry: Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
    2 days ago
  • Comity Be Damned! The State’s Legislative Arm Is Flexing Its Constitutional Muscles.
    Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
    2 days ago
  • Ending The Quest.
    Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
    2 days ago
  • Will political polarisation intensify to the point where ‘normal’ government becomes impossible,...
    Chris Trotter writes –  New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Tuesday, April 30
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:30am on Tuesday, May 30:Scoop: NZ 'close to the tipping point' of measles epidemic, health experts warn NZ Herald Benjamin PlummerHealth: 'Absurd and totally unacceptable': Man has to wait a year for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Worst poll result for a new Government in MMP history
    Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Pinning down climate change's role in extreme weather
    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
    2 days ago
  • Serving at Seymour's pleasure.
    Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Webworm LA Pop-Up
    Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • “Feel good” school is out
    Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 6 Months in, surely our Report Card is “Ignored all warnings: recommend dismissal ASAP”?
    Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic plan, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy. Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    3 days ago
  • Bread, and how it gets buttered
    Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Justice for Gaza?
    The New York Times reports that the International Criminal Court is about to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over their genocide in Gaza: Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • If there has been any fiddling with Pharmac’s funding, we can count on Paula to figure out the fis...
    Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • FastTrackWatch – The case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Monday, April 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Iran killing its rappers, and searching for the invisible Dr. Reti
    span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
    3 days ago
  • Auckland Rail Electrification 10 years old
    Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
    3 days ago
  • Coalition's dirge of austerity and uncertainty is driving the economy into a deeper recession
    Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Disability Funding or Tax Cuts.
    You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Of the Goodness of Tolkien’s Eru
    April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
    4 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
    4 days ago
  • Pastor Who Abused People, Blames People
    Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
    The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Winston remembers Gettysburg.
    Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • 25
    She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8.  The universe was ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Fact Brief – Is Antarctica gaining land ice?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
    5 days ago
  • Policing protests.
    Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
    Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: FastTrackWatch – The Case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago
  • Luxon gets out his butcher’s knife – briefly
    Peter Dunne writes –  The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • More tax for less
    Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Real News vs Fake News.
    We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Another way to roll
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Simon Clark: The climate lies you'll hear this year
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
    5 days ago
  • Cutting the Public Service
    It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s demoted ministers might take comfort from the British politician who bounced back after th...
    Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:  we live in a troubled ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • This is how I roll over
    1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Waitangi Tribunal is not “a roving Commission”…
    …it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition   NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes –  The High Court ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Is Oranga Tamariki guilty of neglect?
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same? Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Three Strikes saw lower reoffending
    David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s ruthless show of strength is perfect for our angry era
    Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • 'Lacks attention to detail and is creating double-standards.'
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • One Night Only!
    Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • What did Melissa Lee do?
    It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2024
    Open access notables Ice acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment: In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
    7 days ago
  • Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Wa...
    Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Stronger oversight for our most vulnerable children
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Streamlining Building Consent Changes
    The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says.      “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
    New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
    Good evening –   Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Accelerating airport security lines
    From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Community hui to talk about kina barrens
    People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
    Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Mining resurgence a welcome sign
    There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
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