Open Mike 19/08/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 19th, 2017 - 96 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

96 comments on “Open Mike 19/08/2017 ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Philj 1
    19 August 2017 at 7:00 am

    This is pasted from another post. Re. Polling. Responses please.
    If, if and if again. There is one poll that really counts IF you are really, really, serious. If Germany had invaded England in WW2. If the AB’S had taken their own chef and food to the World Cup in South Africa in two thousand and whatever. If Barbie was an All Black! This is what I call Poll Porn. Other countries don’t permit this poll porn, for obvious reasons. Tea leaf reading anyone?

  2. Ant 2
    19 August 2017 at 7:25 am

    Boot Camp begins at home
    If a Boot Camp’s objectives include instilling a sense of discipline and self worth then surely “boot camp” should begin at home.

    When the bell rang at 10:30 am on my first day’s teaching on Atiu (outer island of the Cooks) I asked the kids “how long is the break?” They responded that this was lunch time, not break. I learned later that they’d been up since 5:30, feeding the pigs and chickens and doing housework.

    There was no classroom “duty roster;” at the close of the school day floors were swept, windows cleaned, shelves tidied. The students buzzed round the room as routinely as one brushed one’s teeth. I marvelled as I watched them using those amazing brooms fashioned from the shredded midribs of palm fronds.

    “Looking forward to the holiday?” I asked on last day of term.
    “Not really” replied one, “we miss our friends.”
    “On an island of only 530 people?”
    But holiday time was ‘working in the taro fields time’ with far less opportunity for socialising than during term.

    The kids had developed a strong sense of independence. A massive radio mast, the victim of 5 cyclones that struck Cook Islands in the 2004/2005 season, lay sprawled as a wreck of iron and cable right across part of the playing field. It was 4 months before machinery arrived to remove it, and during all that time they played touch during break, jumping over the cables and running round the jagged metal as though it belonged there.

    Swimming sports was held in the crude little harbour. At lunch all the staff withdrew for kai under the Casuarina trees, well out of sight. And the kids played unsupervised in the water, from pre-primary through to seniors. Everyone seemed to have an eye on everyone else and it all looked very normal and natural. .

    I’m not suggesting they were saints by any means; plenty of mischief reminded me kids will always be kids. But it seems to me the early inculcation of responsibility in the home, at the work place, in care of oneself and of one another is something sadly lacking in western contemporary society.

    Why is it so hard for us to grasp the steadying influence of good old fashioned values?

    • JanM 2.1
      19 August 2017 at 8:19 am

      Last year I had a holiday in Rarotonga. One day in the township I struck up a conversation with a policewoman and commented that one outstanding feature was a total lack of bored teenages milling around on the streets, unlike NZ. “We keep them far too busy here” she responded. How cool – they are a valued part of their society, not a nuisance factor, as we seem to regard them. I’ll bet there are few, if any youth suicides there!

      • Ant 2.1.1
        19 August 2017 at 12:43 pm

        After some years on Atiu I taught in Rarotonga. Two student teachers from Australia marvelled at the 90% level of participation in ball games during interval, lamenting that in Oz 90% sit around glued to cell phones when not in class.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.2
      19 August 2017 at 12:05 pm

      Why is it so hard for us to grasp the steadying influence of good old fashioned values?

      Wouldn’t that be dependent upon which old fashioned values?

      The community based ones you describe or the capitalist ones we have.

      • Ant 2.2.1
        19 August 2017 at 1:15 pm

        I emphasized good old fashioned values….which would surely rule out capitalism.

        • Sabine 2.2.1.1
          19 August 2017 at 7:51 pm

          define ‘good’ old fashioned values.

          thanks.

          • Ant 2.2.1.1.1
            19 August 2017 at 8:08 pm

            In the context of the article how about care of one another, cooperative living, self-reliance, honouring individuality.

            • Sabine 2.2.1.1.1.1
              19 August 2017 at 8:12 pm

              see i grew up also with cleaning communal goods i.e. church, school, public yard etc. it was us girls that did the cleaning. I just wanted to make sure that when we speak of ‘good old fashioned’ values, it is not the girls that end up cleaning and the boys playing balls.

              good old fashioned means a lot of things to a lot of people. Might be better to point out the values that you are talking about and you will see that they are not forcibly ‘good ‘old’ fashioned values.

              • Ant …
                19 August 2017 at 9:20 pm

                “Might be better to point out the values that you are talking about…..”

                The entire article, with no mention of gender, points to the values I’m talking about that I noted amongst my students: once again mutual caring, cooperative living, self reliance. These are sadly absent in large swathes of western society.

                • Sabine …
                  19 August 2017 at 9:50 pm

                  and yet, you do not talk about community values you talk about ‘good old fashioned values’. Which means something different to many people.

                  As for saying that these are largely absent, no, thy are not. They might not be exercised in a way that you would count them, but there are many young people involved in the community, there are volunteers tonight going out in rain and hail to put tarp up over roofs blown away, to put out fires and pull animals out of ditches just to name a few.

                  the kids are alright, its the grown ups that have fucked up society.

                  i don’t disagree with you, but words and their meaning matters.
                  Go ask women what ‘good old fashioned values’ mean to them. 🙂

                  • Stuart Munro …
                    19 August 2017 at 10:57 pm

                    The good old fashioned values I remember – my grandfather’s – were of sharing. He did a lot of fishing, had a smokehouse, and pretty much everyone who knew him got fish. Down here in the south the need to lock doors (or bikes) only came in the last 30-40 years. When AH Reed walked from Cape Reinga to Bluff he could rely on being offered a billet by strangers.

                    So why’d it all go away? Neo-liberalism was part of it. I suspect the decline of churches as social organizations and the decline of social rugby were part of it too. We have become to some extent deculturalised. It’s a dangerous thing in fact – the folk that ISIS recruit are not mainstream Muslims, but deculturalised ones.

                    Media prostitutes like Hoskings and Gower are deculturalised – they have no loyalty to public interest. The blame lies in part with those who hire them – the choice to further debase our society is deliberate.

                    • Incognito …
                      20 August 2017 at 12:04 am

                      Deculturalised or nihilist? What is the countervailing voice, to use Monbiot’s phrasing?

                      Sharing is a powerful (trans)action with very deep symbolism and meaning.

                  • Ant …
                    20 August 2017 at 10:51 am

                    “….the kids are alright, its the grown ups that have fucked up society”.

                    Our kids are NOT alright, they are suffering. I agree about the adults.

                    Jun 15, 2017 – A report by Unicef contains a shocking statistic – New Zealand has by far the highest youth suicide rate in the developed world.

                    • Sabine …
                      21 August 2017 at 11:34 am

                      my comment does not refer tot he material status a young one has but to the attitude of our young ones.
                      And they are ‘all right’, they are helpful, studious, polite, they volunteer, they juggle school, homework, work, they live in a world that is dead set against them and still they are polite, helpful, industrious, and lovely.

                      Its the old ones that fuck it up. We should own up to that. The ‘oldfashioned values’ were not ‘destroyed by the young ones, but are disregarded by many grown ups. We – old people – set the standard, we don’t get to complain if in the end we dont like what we harvest.

                • Incognito …
                  19 August 2017 at 9:50 pm

                  The terminology “good old fashioned values” seems to suggest that they have gone out of fashion here but in other cultures/societies they still exist and still guide, regulate, and shape human actions and interactions. This raises a few interesting questions: why & how did we lose them, and how can we restore or re-establish them (assuming, of course, that we can and want to)? This is Puddleglum material 😉

  3. Eco maori 3
    19 August 2017 at 7:30 am

    There a good blog on yesterday’s go out to vote

    • garibaldi 3.1
      19 August 2017 at 7:58 am

      Eco maori, if the comment you are referring to is your own one praising TOP, I would simply point out to you that it seems strange that a bunch of rich white capitalists will supposedly fix the ills of capitalism for us all. Warning bells should be ringing.
      I wish Gareth Morgan well BUT let him bleed the Natz, not us.

      • bwaghorn 3.1.1
        19 August 2017 at 10:37 am

        the Jacinda effect has killed tops chances ,

        • mauī 3.1.1.1
          19 August 2017 at 4:47 pm

          You never know he’s sitting on 2%, last time Colin lifted his party from 1% to 4% in a matter of a few weeks. A couple of good TV appearances and Gareth could fly in under the radar.

      • Pete 3.1.2
        19 August 2017 at 12:05 pm

        Garibaldi, apart from making an increadibly racist and sexist comment re white men, you show total ignorance of the makeup of TOP.

        Maori, Polynesian and women are all over represented in their office holder ranks. But then why let reality and a little fact checking get in the way of your cliched viewpoints

    • Xanthe 5.1
      19 August 2017 at 9:46 am

      Polling period 31 July-13 August … this latest roy morgan is not usable data too much has happened to change stuff in the period

  6. Bearded Git 6
    19 August 2017 at 9:40 am

    My rolling average of the last 3 Roy Morgans including August 13 poll just out:

    Lab/Gr 41.7 (polling Lab 32.5 Greens 9.0 on August 13)
    Lab/Gr/NZF 51.2
    Nats 44.0
    Nats/ACT/MP 46.3
    Nats/ACT/MP/NZF 55.8
    NZF 9.5

    If Winnie goes as part of the 4-headed monster it’s 55.8 versus 41.7

    If Winnie goes with the Lab/Gr bloc it’s 51.2 versus 46.3

    Both would give safe majorities.

    These figures probably give a better idea of bedrock support, rather than the recent volatile Colmar Brunton, though the Jacinda effect may not be fully reflected.TOP continues to languish. Roy Morgan had Labour on 23% last November.

  7. swordfish 7
    19 August 2017 at 10:05 am

    Young Dickie Harman at Politik

    The big “what if” relates to Winston Peters and NZ First

    And though he is adamant he won’t even begin to negotiate until the writs are returned on October 12, people close to him are beginning to believe that he would prefer to go with Labour.

    (As election narrows, National hits the fund raising button with high priced dinner with PM – August 18, 2017)

    • Sabine 7.1
      19 August 2017 at 11:31 am

      his sign in our backwaters here

      Had Enough?

      🙂

      everyone keep swimming, there is no land in sight.

    • CLEANGREEN 7.2
      19 August 2017 at 11:52 am

      True that is Swordfish,

      We have family inside the Party that confirms what you highlighted there.

    • mikesh 7.3
      19 August 2017 at 2:09 pm

      John Armstrong, in this morning´s Herald is arguing that NZ 1st should go with whichever major party receives the largest vote, whether this is Labour or National, apparently because this is what the electorate expect. Do people really expect this in this day and age? I would expect Peters to coalesce with whichever party he has most in common, policy wise, (assuming of course that a government can be formed if he does so) . Am I somehow out of step with the rest of the country?

      Armstrong goes on to argue that a vote for the Green Party is a wasted vote irrespective of whether or not they pass 5%, because their presence in parliament will give Peters the ¨wriggle room¨ to go with National, even if it turns out that Labour is the largest party. Maybe – or would it simply mean that the electorate were looking for a coalition that included the Green Party, and should Peters not recognise this?

  8. greywarshark 8
    19 August 2017 at 10:38 am

    An interesting and powerful interview by Kim and Charlotte Wood this morning.
    At 10.04 – about women and mistreatment.

    Australian writer Charlotte Wood is the author of five novels and two books of non-fiction, including Animal People, The Children and The Writer’s Room – a collection of interviews with writers about their work. Her most recent book, The Natural Way of Things, was inspired by an ABC documentary, Exposed to Moral Danger, about the hidden history of one of Australia’s most notorious state institutions, the Hay Institution for Girls.

    The Natural Way of Things won the 2016 Stella Prize, the 2016 Indie Book of the Year and Novel of the Year, and was joint winner of the Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Fiction. Also last year, Wood was named the Charles Perkins Centre’s inaugural Writer in Residence at the University of Sydney. Wood recently visited Wellington as a guest of Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML).

    Good for women, just mentioned 85 year old woman who has gone to Nigeria to look at what is happening to females there! I can’t remember who – they had just mentioned Edna O’Brien and Margaret Drabble.

    But this interview is good for men to listen to, to get background on what is enraging some women about sexism and lack of respect etc.

  9. greywarshark 9
    19 August 2017 at 10:46 am

    An interview after 11am this morning on stem cell research and human enhancement.
    Will end up keeping the elite going looking acceptable on television and holding onto power to suit the elite.

    And how will they choose to ‘enhance’ the lower classes? We already can see in present society that the elite have no feeling of connection with the non-elite.

    11am RadioNZ
    Julian Savulescu is an Australian philosopher and bioethicist. He is Uehiro Professor of Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford, Director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Sir Louis Matheson Distinguished Visiting Professor at Monash University, and Head of the Melbourne-Oxford Stem Cell Collaboration, which is devoted to examining the ethical implications of cloning and embryonic stem cell research. He is the editor of the Journal of Medical Ethics.

    In addition to his background in applied ethics and philosophy, he also has a background in medicine and completed his MBBS (Hons) at Monash University. He completed his PhD at Monash University, under the supervision of bioethicist Peter Singer. Savulescu’s latest examination of the ethics of the biological enhancement of the human race are contained in The Ethics of Human Enhancement: Understanding the Debate.

  10. Dspare 10
    19 August 2017 at 11:49 am

    The video on this is pretty glitchy, and what I can make out it is heavy on glib optimism and light on details. Though Coleman is talking now and touting the previously announced ICU beds. Seems to have cut out entirely now it has gone to questions.

    https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/health/least-1b-rebuild

    One billion dollars does sound like a lot, but you can’t help wondering how much could have been saved by timely maintenance over the past decade. Not just in money terms, but also in human misery. Of course, this is Bill English’s National, so I’d have to see the details to know how much of that spend is going to end up as hospital, and how much will line the pockets of consultants (and even then the accountancy is likely to be creative in including operating expenses in the rebuild to inflate the wow number factor of this suspiciously round figure).

    I don’t know how I feel about the Wakari option yet. From the perspective of sea level rise, it would be a good idea in the longterm to move away from the harbour flatlands. From the perspective of patient accessibility, there would be problems, especially during the winter when the hills get icey (and dicey). Then there would be the impact on the medical school of separating the University health science buildings and the hospital.

    Still, considering how bad things are at the moment, anything would be an improvement to the Dunedin public health system. As an election bribe, it is a bit; too little too late, given that Labour is likely to commit to equal or better the offer. Plus they offer greater transparency, and hopefully the end of the antidemocratic commissioner’s regieme:

    The rebuild announcement comes after the Cabinet considered an early stage business case outlining three options… The Dunedin North MP David Clark said that there had been unacceptable delays and secrecy.

    “In 2014, I became concerned about ongoing delays in the rebuild project and sought answers from then minister Tony Ryall.”

    He gave assurances a business case would be before Cabinet by the end of 2014.

    Dr Clark called for the release of the full business-case document to allow greater transparency.

    • Draco T Bastard 10.1
      19 August 2017 at 1:29 pm

      One billion dollars does sound like a lot, but you can’t help wondering how much could have been saved by timely maintenance over the past decade.

      If a full new build is the best option now then simple maintenance wouldn’t have cut it. Of course, proper funding and delegation of authority would have had the new build started years ago without the government even having to have a say.

      Of course, this is Bill English’s National, so I’d have to see the details to know how much of that spend is going to end up as hospital, and how much will line the pockets of consultants

      10 to 15% will disappear in the dead-weight loss of profits.

      Considering that they seem to have spent years on this already then I’d expect the consultants to already have cost millions.

  11. joe90 11
    19 August 2017 at 11:59 am

    From earlier in the showing just how unpopular Ms Hipango is here in Whanganui but alas, South Taranaki.

    A Wanganui Chronicle reader poll has revealed a big lead for Labour’s Steph Lewis as preferred Member of Parliament for the Whanganui electorate.

    The online poll was run over the past two weeks and 617 readers responded.

    Most indicated a preference for Ms Lewis as MP with 52 per cent support.

    National’s Harete Hipango ran second with 37 per cent. The Greens Nicola Patrick attracted 9 per cent and ACT’s Alan Davidson two per cent.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503426&objectid=11903825

  12. UncookedSelachimorpha 12
    19 August 2017 at 12:11 pm

    Good discussion today of the vile ideology that is neoliberalism:

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/aug/18/neoliberalism-the-idea-that-changed-the-world

  13. Draco T Bastard 13
    19 August 2017 at 12:26 pm

    NZ law could disqualify all Australians from their Parliament

    “Under recent and little-noticed changes to New Zealand law, Australian citizens now don’t need a visa to live, study or work in the Land of the Long White Cloud. That’s right: Any Australian citizen is entitled to live, study and work there,” he said.

    “That means we’re all entitled to the rights and privileges of a subject of New Zealand – not a citizen, with the attached rights and privileges such as voting – but to be a subject of that country, living there, subject to New Zealand law, working or studying. And there’s no doubt that New Zealand is a foreign power.”

    According to Angyal, if section 44 were to be taken into account, no Australian would be eligible to be an Australian MP.

    Perhaps, if they’re nice to us, we’ll let them rule themselves again 😈

    • greywarshark 13.1
      19 August 2017 at 3:42 pm

      Don’t drop your guard for a minute, nice to us now, Oz will turn around when it suits and bite us in the bum later. But being rather soft in the bum and everywhere else, NZs will just sigh and give them a little pat, and say ‘There, there, you are a bit overwrought. All will be well.’

  14. Muttonbird 14
    19 August 2017 at 12:37 pm

    When you start to see protesters on the streets then something is very wrong. Particularly galling is the National Party using the campaign period to announce big projects which the electoral commission warns against.

    Nats don’t get the public – they do get corruption though.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/95949112/new-1bn-hospital-for-dunedin-govt-announces

    Poor old Bill. He had to run away.

    • Draco T Bastard 14.1
      19 August 2017 at 1:20 pm

      I’m kinda hoping that that attempt by National to rort the system for their own benefit is going to bite them.

    • Dspare 14.2
      19 August 2017 at 1:38 pm

      muttonbird
      That video is a lot more entertaining than the one I sat through (up at comment 10, though there is a brief snippit of it at the end of this one). It is an interesting point about; “using the campaign period to announce big projects which the electoral commission warns against”.

      However, the announcement really boils down to a mere: “$2million in further stop-gap funding to keep the existing hospital running.”. With the business case for the rebuild not even going to cabinet till next year, and a proposed completion date of; “2027, but this depends on the location”. So this billion dollar hospital is a long way off, and in no way certain.

    • greywarshark 14.4
      19 August 2017 at 4:28 pm

      Muttonbird galling is the National Party using the campaign period to announce big projects which the electoral commission warns against.

      Last minute promises in an effort to scuttle the opposition: They are particularly important if this is correct:
      ‘of a poll of [Canadian] voters on election day 25 percent only decided within twenty-four hours of the election, 40 percent had decided in the previous week’
      (The Big Red Machine… by Stephen Clarkson)

      I came across BaitandSwitch. Have they tried that here?
      Politics
      In lawmaking, “caption bills” that propose minor changes in law with simplistic titles (the bait) are introduced to the legislature with the ultimate objective of substantially changing the wording (the switch) at a later date in order to try to smooth the passage of a controversial or major amendment.

      Rule changes are also proposed (the bait) to meet legal requirements for public notice and mandated public hearings, then different rules are proposed at a final meeting (the switch), thus bypassing the objective of public notice and public discussion on the actual rules voted upon. While legal, the political objective is to get legislation or rules passed without expected negative community review.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait-and-switch#Politics

      And from a different viewpoint.
      https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201011/promises-promises-when-politicians-don-t-deliver

  15. lprent 15
    19 August 2017 at 1:28 pm

    Has anyone got an idea why one of largest posts over the last few months is Simon Louisson post from last year.

    https://thestandard.org.nz/why-was-john-key-singled-out-by-panama-papers-hacker/

    It is literally almost always in the top current posts being read at present. Right now it has 5 people reading it. We get spikes of this, but usually not sustained spikes over months (unless it is a great photo of a milkbottle)

    I’d guess that it is from facebook bearing in mind that it shows up as 3 from facebook, 2 direct.

    • Draco T Bastard 15.1
      19 August 2017 at 1:31 pm

      people coming in from a Facebook post and looking around?

      • lprent 15.1.1
        19 August 2017 at 2:58 pm

        Yeah. That is to be expected. By why is this facebook thing getting passed around so much, and so recently.

        That post was more than a year ago, he is no longer the PM, and the overseas trust ‘industry’ here is now just husk of what it once was as even this favourable towards corruption government was forced to lock out the criminal money laundering that was going on.

        There is no apparent reason why this post should be being passed around facebook at this time – and increasing in velocity.

        • Craig H 15.1.1.1
          19 August 2017 at 3:41 pm

          There’s a Facebook group popping up in my feed for National – NZ’s most corrupt government ever (or something like that), with thousands of members, and that post is one of their favourites.

          • lprent 15.1.1.1.1
            19 August 2017 at 3:48 pm

            Sounds like a likely kind of source. I guess people are dispersing links to more of these kinds of posts and readers are drilling down more in the approach to the election.

    • weka 15.2
      19 August 2017 at 1:58 pm

      milk bottle?

    • weka 15.3
      19 August 2017 at 1:58 pm

      We can’t tell where on FB or direct people are coming from though right?

    • Stuart Munro 15.4
      19 August 2017 at 2:03 pm

      Best guess might be international interest – does it rise during our nighttime? A lot of Latin American journalists are probably looking for stolen money.

    • marty mars 15.5
      19 August 2017 at 2:13 pm

      I noticed it on fbook maybe someone shared it.

    • adam 15.6
      19 August 2017 at 3:48 pm

      There are rumors on Facebook that say, and I’m paraphrasing.

      “””Key resigned from being PM, because he was more involved in the Panama papers fiasco than the MSM has even let on. (Up to his eye balls) And he feared that it would come out during the election, and not only destroy his reputation, but that of the national party (TM) as a whole.”””

      It comes in a few different versions with a lot more guttural language used in various incarnations.

      Some of the more colorful ones coming from people off shore.

      • Tamati Tautuhi 15.6.1
        19 August 2017 at 6:37 pm

        Heard he was actually pushed ?

        • adam 15.6.1.1
          19 August 2017 at 6:44 pm

          I’ve heard quite a few rumors, but at the moment that is what they are, rumors.

          My favorite rumor was that his trichophilia had gotten to be unmanageable, and that after a certain incident in the back offices of parliament, he was asked to stand down.

    • AsleepWhileWalking 15.7
      19 August 2017 at 6:02 pm

      Sounds like either a bot or someone trying to rank that page.

  16. Tamati Tautuhi 16
    19 August 2017 at 1:58 pm

    See National’s choirboy John Armstrong is back writing nonsense again for the Nanny Herald ?

    • mary_a 16.1
      19 August 2017 at 3:55 pm

      @ Tamati Tautuhi … (16) … Yes, as to be expected Armstrong crawls out from under his rock to perform his once three yearly cycle of contaminated bullshit for his Natz master Herr Joyce!

  17. aj 17
    19 August 2017 at 2:26 pm

    The Nation: Amy Adams vs Phil Twyford.
    Adams very high speed and volume delivery largely obliterated Twyford. I’d love a word count, and Adams had the cheek to accuse Twyford of cutting her off and using more time.

  18. Tony P 18
    19 August 2017 at 3:12 pm

    This guy has started appearing the Hawke’s Bay Today on Saturdays apparently as a counter to Mike William’s column. Further proof of the local rag’s pro National leanings and maybe a sign they are worried.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11902562

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503459&objectid=11906514

    Who the hell is Jerry Flay anyway?

  19. greywarshark 19
    19 August 2017 at 5:37 pm

    Looking at a history of the Paeroa and District Caledonian Society. I was struck by the cause of its close and selling up.

    In 1974 a decision was made to put the Society into recess, a decision not made lightly.

    It is ironical that at the time of closing, the Inglesides were still attracting crowds big enough to fill the War Memorial Hall but simply lacked people able or willing to do the work involved in running a dance.

    And so, in 1975 the assets of the Society were sold and the money divided between the Crippled Children’s Society, the St. John’s Ambulance and the I H C Building Fund – a sad but fitting conclusion to a Society which, for years, had worked for the good of the community.

    Is this, in a nutshell, the background story of why NZ is being sliced, diced and sold off in bits today? If so how can we stop this process? And having got the show together, how do we make sure it continues for the eager community, and keeps the people committed to ensuring it carries on for their children’s children?
    http://www.ohinemuri.org.nz/journals/71-journal-43-september-1999/1581-paeroa-district-caledonian-society

  21. amirite 21
    19 August 2017 at 7:11 pm

    Our farming industry and the massive chunk of our economy is based on cheap, exploited, abused immigrant labour which maintains the low-wage economy and the wage stagnation for the domestic worker. The Government absolutely loves it.

    A shameful report has come out detailing the amount of exploitation and abuse of Filipino dairy workers http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11907236

    • Tamati Tautuhi 21.1
      19 August 2017 at 8:18 pm

      John Key stated he did not want us to be tennant’s in our own country, then did exactly the opposite selling of NZ Housing and Farm Land ?

      Bill English said we are a low wage economy and is driving it as hard as he can ?

      What happened about the old National Policy of trying to get the NZ average wage up to the Australian Level ?

      • miravox 21.1.1
        19 August 2017 at 9:07 pm

        “What happened about the old National Policy of trying to get the NZ average wage up to the Australian Level ?”

        Bill’s right and it never was a National policy to get wages up to the Australian level, that was just editing for the massess.

        https://thestandard.org.nz/transcript-proves-key-is-lying/

        During a Northland meeting on his Heartland tour, John Key met Kerikeri District Business Association president Carolyne Brooks-Quan in a cafe with a journalist present. Key seems to have taken little notice of the journalist, referring to him in a later media interview as ‘a young guy’.

        During the meeting Brooks-Quan expressed to Key her concern about calls for employers in New Zealand to pay their workers more:

        ‘There’s been a lot surrounding the exodus of people to Australia that are lured by higher wages. There are some calls here for employers to pay more. What’s your take on that?

        John, ever the business-friendly politician, replied:

        ‘We would love to see wages drop. The way we want to see wages increase is because productivity is greater. So people can afford more. Not just inflationary reasons, otherwise it’s a bit of a vicious circle as it comes back to you in higher interest rates. We really want to drive that out.’

        So while low income workers are on the bones of there arses, and the middle is squeezed, after 9 long years we’re still waiting for the simplistic productivity/wage growth formula to produce an income bonanza for working people. Real wages and purchasing power lagging productivity.

        • greywarshark 21.1.1.1
          19 August 2017 at 10:37 pm

          Key-lite coming out with his rote learning.

          Also slightly amusing to see Don Brash defend his basic understanding of an aspect of neo lib economics against Bryan Gould pointing out that he was wrong. Bryan Gould quoted the British but Don Brash probably repeating something schooled in by Harvard.

          http://www.bryangould.com/the-fallout-from-brashs-downfall/
          He had, after all, been the country’s top banker, and that is to say nothing of his eventual emergence as a “hard right” politician – leading first the National party and then Act, and only narrowly failing to become our Prime Minister in 2005.

          As Governor of the Reserve Bank, he had been the principal champion and practitioner of the neo-liberal economic policies which became known as “Rogernomics”. Are we happy that our economic fortunes were entrusted to a single individual who understood so little of his subject, and that ministers applauded themselves for their disclaimer of any responsibility for the decisions he made?

          His woeful attempt to deny what is now accepted must cast huge doubt on the continuing legacy of “Rogernomics” in our economic policies. The whole myth of prudent economic management under neo-liberal policies must be reconsidered in the light of what we now know is the banks’ self-interested creation (or “printing”) of billions of new money.

          The frequent condemnations of any suggestion that governments might “print money” (unless it is “quantitative easing”, with the purpose of bailing out the banks) must now be viewed against the relaxed attitude towards the banks doing precisely that – day in, day out, and on a massive scale – for their own profit-making purposes.

          An acknowledgment of the true role of the banks should lead us to reconsider many of the hitherto accepted nostrums in tackling economic problems. Inflation? No, not created by greedy workers claiming higher wages but by banks printing more and more money to boost their profits.

          13/4/17 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11836928
          Bryan Gould: Banking should be under closer Government control

          28/4/17 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11845670
          OPINION
          Bryan Gould: Brash doesn’t seem to understand banking

          5/5/17 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11849995
          OPINION
          Don Brash: The banking system creates money, not banks

          Why have we been knuckle-dragging for the last nine years? Because we are all ignorant, but have covered that with a mantle of slick confidence which is reinforced by the small groups of self-interest repeating their mantras, and disrespecting the caution of professionals.

          Perhaps because of the assured and derogatory response to intellectual thought from Cameron Slater 20/4/17 (Whaleoil) “all round know it all academic tosspot, Bryan Gould, has been schooled on NCEA economics by Don Brash.”

          But a detailed look at the argument here:
          https://croakingcassandra.com/2017/04/29/brash-vs-gould-vs-brash/

    • marty mars 21.2
      19 August 2017 at 9:53 pm

      So disgusting the shameful way a chunk of the dairy industry treats these people. So our waterways are polluted AND people are treated like shit – wtf are the good points about this industry again? Oh that’s right some owners and others make lots of money from it – meanwhile the environment, the water and the workers are fucked. Thanks dairy farmers, thanks a lot.

  22. Robert Atack 22
    19 August 2017 at 7:55 pm

    Funny as fuck, I know the cure for cancer … but I haven’t got a clue how to cure cognitive dissonance. And because of that I won’t tell you 😉

    • In Vino 22.1
      19 August 2017 at 9:48 pm

      Puzzling. This is in response to what?

      • Incognito 22.1.1
        19 August 2017 at 9:53 pm

        Robert won’t tell you 😉

        • In Vino 22.1.1.1
          20 August 2017 at 12:04 am

          Because of whose cognitive dissonance?

          • Incognito 22.1.1.1.1
            20 August 2017 at 12:12 am

            I think it’s mine that’s the problem but what would I know?

            Robert, please enlighten us.

            • Robert Atack 22.1.1.1.1.1
              20 August 2017 at 8:01 am

              People would rather die of cancer, or have their guts cutout than admit they are being lied to by politicians/doctors/MSM, etc
              People would rather indirectly kill their own children than admit they are being lied to.
              The first step to being cured of most illnesses, is accepting you are being fed buckets of shit daily.
              The next step is to accept that EVERY politician doesn’t give a flying fuck about you.
              It doesn’t matter if they are black, green, blue, red, or fucking pink polka dot, they are all lying, except the ban 1080 party, every other group is a selfish bunch of bastards, just pulling your strings.
              The human die off will start in earnest, in a few short months, but no one gives fuck.
              Maternity wards, and voting are the evidence that the general dumb public/the walking dead, haven’t a clue.

              I told you so.

              • marty mars …
                20 August 2017 at 8:18 am

                okay, so the sure for cancer is death – thanks for that great insight robert –
                now onto the weather…

                and I hope you aren’t going to “I told you so” right through the demise of our species – that would be poor form old boy, very poor.

                • Robert Atack …
                  20 August 2017 at 8:22 am

                  No Marty
                  The cure for cancer is first accepting you are being lied to, then thinking for yourself, outside the box.

                  The irony is @ nearly 60, I have a medical condition that if not for ‘the pills’ would see me dead, so no I will not be saying “I told you so” for long.
                  The Politicians only allow me 3 months worth at a time, so yes a very short future for me.

                  • marty mars …
                    20 August 2017 at 8:25 am

                    I thought you were going the weed way – lots like that approach.

                    • Robert Atack …
                      20 August 2017 at 8:39 am

                      My ‘cure’ is legal and cheap. but alas it will not replace the equivalent of a severed leg
                      ie, I cured my 20 year gut complaint in 12 days for $20.00.

                    • marty mars …
                      20 August 2017 at 9:06 am

                      Robert i wish you all the best for the difficult times ahead. Thank you for your years of trying to get people to listen – thank you again.

                  • Robert Atack …
                    20 August 2017 at 8:35 am

                    I can afford to buy a 5 year unsubsidized supply, but the don’t give a fuck politicians will not let me.

                    • marty mars …
                      20 August 2017 at 9:10 am

                      Sorry to hear that. You should also be allowed access to quality weed for pain relief, nausea control or pretty well any reason you want at this time – subsidised and accessible – fuck the stupid repressive Victorian attitudes imposed in this country.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Stories of varying weight

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • Balancing External Security and the Economy

    New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    18 hours ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: The unravelling of the offsets

    The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago
  • What makes us tick

    This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    23 hours ago
  • Foreshore and seabed 2.0

    In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

    The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway

    The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

    New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 'Pacific Futures'

    President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests.    Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone.    Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-07-27T00:02:55+00:00