Open mike 20/07/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 20th, 2021 - 101 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 …

101 comments on “Open mike 20/07/2021 ”

    • Cricklewood 1.1

      Well yeah, life hurts it's hard sometimes people can be arseholes and sometimes shit goes wrong.

      The saying is about teaching kids to be robust and not to worry or place to much wait on what people might say.

      • Pete 1.1.1

        Teaching kids to be robust so they can handle things, put things into perspective?

        Must have been a generation that missed out on that. You know the generation that has it that a discussion document in a draw in a government office means that in a short number of years New Zealand will be an apartheid state, there'll be two equal Parliaments running the country and Maori will own most of the land.

        The same generation which has it that we definitely won't be able to open our mouths for fear of being chucked in jail for "hate speech." Over something Dennis Frank quotes (below) from Russell Palmer:

        "At this point it's not a law, it's not an act, it's not even a bill. Instead, it's a discussion document aimed at seeking opinions before the ministry comes up with a law change".

        • SPC 1.1.1.1

          It's a drawer, not a draw that you can paint any way you like.

          A "short number of years" – you mean not while the current government is in office or any National successor.

          Given most land is privately owned or public Crown land, there is no chance Maori iwi can own most of the land.

        • McFlock 1.1.1.2

          Well, that was an artful segue. /sarc

    • Jimmy 1.2

      The new modern versions of "sticks and stones" seems to be either:

      harden up snowflake or

      have a cup of concrete

  1. Dennis Frank 2

    Russell Palmer of RNZ has clarified the govt hate speech law proposals here: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/proposed-hate-speech-laws-what-you-need-to-know/MVWR2D7MNZXJCD7FEUUUDQCH4A/

    "At this point it's not a law, it's not an act, it's not even a bill. Instead, it's a discussion document aimed at seeking opinions before the ministry comes up with a law change".

    "The Justice Ministry's discussion document largely focuses on the problems of the current laws and what the new laws aim to do, but – and this is perhaps one reason for the confusion – most of it largely does not give the specific wording of what is being proposed. This makes reading the document somewhat like having a set of directions without knowing where you're going to end up. However, in the second appendix is a chart which includes the six proposed changes to be made, what the current laws are like, and a section of notes on each proposal".

    He then delineates the six with admirable precision. You may have wondered about the prospect of insults producing prosecutions. Kiwi males have long been in the habit of insulting aussie males & vice versa. Sadly the prospect of such legal entertainment seems dim. The two bunches of dimwits don't seem to hate each other. To get the police prosecutor & attorney general musing over the prospect, there would have to be a threat issued: `you guys come across the ditch, we'll give you a whack around the earhole'.

    Discerning hatred will be the challenge: emotions can be evident to many, but the evidence is subjective. The only objective proof is if someone says/writes "I hate [this group]" where this group is identified by a generally-recognised cultural or ethnic label. Contempt & ridicule are mentioned. I don't hate suit-wearers, but I have viewed them with contempt since the 1960s and do express that view on a sporadic basis – but don't recall hating them since I was a teenager. Nor do I suggest that citizens eliminate the social problems they continue to cause by eliminating the offenders!

    So prosecutions are likely to hinge on a combination of behaviours & attitudes becoming evident to the authorities mentioned above. "To be considered a hate crime, communication must intentionally incite/stir up, maintain or normalise hatred using abuse, insults or threats (including inciting violence) against at least one of the groups identified in proposal 1. For a successful prosecution, it would have to include all four of these things."

      • Dennis Frank 2.1.1

        Yeah. While paranoia is understandable in the circumstances, it ain't reasonable. Folks ought to relax & take a balanced approach. Good law will only come from consideration of all sides of the issue, then careful deliberation.

      • Forget now 2.1.2

        Another not so academic consideration is that; if NZ signs up to international treaties, we are obliged to abide by them eventually.

        But, lost in the din around the Incitement to Hatred and Discrimination discussion, is this complimentary discussion that I was barely aware of. It runs until the 6th of August too:

        Aotearoa New Zealand is home to people from over 213 different ethnic groups, who speak over 150 languages, and belong to different faith communities. About a quarter of New Zealand’s population was born overseas and about a quarter identify as disabled. We are a superdiverse nation and over the next twenty years we are expected to become even more diverse…

        Strengthening social cohesion involves changing attitudes and behaviours and is, therefore, a complex process. We need evidence-informed actions. The Government has a leadership role to play, but to make a real difference we will need to work collectively – individuals, communities and organisations across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors – from grassroots campaigns and community-led programmes right through to changes to wider policy settings and legislative safeguards. We all have a role to play.

        Social cohesion is not about making all New Zealanders the same. We want our communities to value and welcome diversity, and to be able to share and discuss different points of view in a constructive and respectful way.

        https://social-cohesion.citizenspace.com/social-cohesion/public-consultation/consultation/subpage.2021-06-24.6598578873/

        [fixed typo in user name]

    • Ad 2.2

      If a law is going to be that hard to enforce, and even harder to prosecute and convict, it sets itself up as bad law from the outset.

      • GreenBus 2.2.1

        It's it high bar so as not to waste time and resources chasing minor stuff.

        • Ad 2.2.1.1

          That's just another part of the problem. That judgement lies with Police.

          Example: most rapes don't even get from Police to court, let alone conviction. And that's been on the books for a while.

          So wait until they are to start making marginal calls about group 'incitement'. Then put it to Police Prosecutions, then Crown Law. Then a public jury of ordinary folks.

          Unenforceable law should not be law.

          • McFlock 2.2.1.1.1

            So a possible law change shouldn't be discussed if there might be marginal calls involved?

            • Ad 2.2.1.1.1.1

              We're discussing just fine.

              • McFlock

                Fair call.

                In that case, your comparison with rape is off, because rape doesn't involve freedom of speech issues. It should be at a low bar.

                Setting hate speech at a higher bar is because there is an inherent conflict between the right to free speech and restricting speech that causes public harm (be it hate, porn, violence, incitement, etc).

                That doesn't make it unenforceable. It just means that any prosecutions should be a slam dunk, because what was said was well over the line.

    • SPC 2.3

      The group most hated in New Zealand since the 1993 legislation (which included no discrimination based on employment status) has been beneficiaries – which enabled the continuing poverty of the "brown" underclass. It also fed the 2005 election debate – across the board tax cuts (advantaging white men the most) or the WFF tax credits which helped poorer browner families (just not those on benefits).

      But little about that in this legislation.

      • Dennis Frank 2.3.1

        Class-based hatred is so 19th century? Hating the rich has been a thing since then too, though. However calls for violence against them, not so much…

        I do agree, however, that there's such a thing as institutionalised violence – mental, not physical, and beneficiaries were the target. Getting a court to accept such reasoning would be a fascinating legal challenge.

        • SPC 2.3.1.1

          Institutionalised violence – where a majority use its determination of policy to oppress "weaker" groups. Maori from their land, middle class law and order managing the underclass (drug use offences so much higher for some than among the middle class). Those on benefits paying back grant money out of future benefits while those with student loans borrow their living costs but do not pay anything back until they find work.

          Is public support of this institutionalised violence, hate speech, the National Party/ACT Party manifesto or social media comments by their support base?

  2. Dennis Frank 3

    "GCSB Minister Andrew Little said that the foreign intelligence agency has established links between Chinese state-sponsored actors known as Advanced Persistent Threat 40 (APT40) and malicious cyber activity in New Zealand. The GCSB had "worked through a robust technical attribution process" to establish its conclusions, Little said."

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/447239/government-points-finger-at-china-over-cyber-attacks

    Well okay, but since the attacks happened in March, why this now?? Spooks don't take four months to report identification of source, do they? One would think tracking a virus normally takes hours or days, not weeks or months. Are the bureaucrats sitting on the reporting process? Or is it that the govt has known the source all these months and only just now issued its delayed reaction due to some obscure diplomatic coordination requirement emanating out of Five Eyes?? I don't get it.

    • SPC 3.1

      China was suspected/blamed back in March. Now NATO-EU and Five Eyes have all concluded this was the case and said so at the same time.

      The GCSB has worked through a "robust attribution process" and if the results were different to that derived by the others we would have said so and explained why they were wrong …

      Presumably there is some signature identifying “APT40” known to the USA – whose own motive is to infer western tech vulnerability with use of Chinese suppliers (to broaden trade sanctions on security grounds).

    • Ad 3.2

      When you've seen three key industries in your big brother Australia smashed by retaliatory trade tariffs, you'd pause, get your allies in order, and then front it.

      We are now very likely to get a strong Chinese response that will affect our economy.

      • Dennis Frank 3.2.1

        "Two hours ago, China expressed outrage at the accusations it paid criminal groups to carry out cyber hacks, including the Microsoft breach and ransomware attacks. Beijing called the claims "a huge lie," "slander" and "ridiculous," and threatened devastating consequences, according to a post in China's English-language Global Times." https://www.newsroom.co.nz/8things/furious-china-threatens-retaliation-as-nz-and-allies-blame-it-for-cyber-attacks

        Whoopee! Perhaps a covert donation to Groundswell? With a bit of belt & road advice: "give them a belting, guys, send them down the road"…

        • Ad 3.2.1.1

          Make fun all you like, but Biden is fronting this for allies, including ourselves, who have been attacked.

          They are unified because this really is economic war — just minus the blood and body count.

      • Dennis Frank 3.3.1

        "Despite the strong language, there are no signs of fresh sanctions against China. In contrast, new sanctions were placed on Russia for the recent SolarWinds campaign which many experts believe was less serious than the Microsoft Exchange campaign linked to China."

        That's the bit from the BBC report you linked that interests me. Why does the Biden administration believe punishing Putin and not Xi is a good idea?? Or perhaps they are simply giving Xi a window of opportunity to respond first.

  3. Foreign Waka 4

    So is there a proposal of wealth transfer from those who have worked all their lives to pay those 16 Billion we paid in Corporate welfare called housing equality because there is now no money for social housing?

    Many of todays 50-60 year old have not had their first house until they were 30, but now they are being taxed to make sure the 18 year old gets their foot on the property ladder because successive governments have failed to maintain and build housing?

    Another proposal from those who have never done a normal everyday wage job in their lives. How would they know what so many out there have to face. Having a government job with extended leave, sick leave, guarantied pension….hallo! I mean the majority has no such luxury. Paid for by the taxpayer no less! But they now have the audacity to espouse these theories that will affect the ones who actually contribute to the GDP of this country.

    Really? Seriously? Are they living in another world or something? The wealth divide is created by the very same governments that pay them to come up with another idea how to get the remaining middle class into a dependant poor state. You will not lift anybody up by having everybody poor.

    How about taxing those who have paid the dividends to the corporates financed curtesy of the taxpayer and will be an burden for at least 2 generations? There was some noise for a while that the fraudulent taking of the corporate support will be investigated, but no one actually believes that it will happen. Meanwhile we pay money meant for victims to the gangs. Build houses, get the money of the fraudsters and build houses for goodness sake.

    Lets stop pretending everything is just a matter of milking more from those who work and we are fine.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/125796416/tax-on-all-housing-needed-to-fix-distortion-of-social-fabric

    • Ad 4.1

      They are too late: the 10 year bright line test greatly decreases outing capital circulation other than for a handful.

      St John et at should have concentrated on IRD powers to unwind trusts. That's where 90% of our private wealth is.

      IRD are making some moves against faux charity trusts, but it's the tip of the iceberg.

      • left for dead 4.1.1

        Re: Trusts

        That is the best idea here in an age,After '87 share market crash, Gordon McLaughlin I think did an in depth analysis and wrote a large essay (maybe North and South) not sure how to link but in the interweb somewhere.

      • Foreign Waka 4.1.2

        Alternatively, you could argue that the rebuild cost plus a certain % should be the base value of any house. This would rectify the market very quickly as those houses build some 30 or more years ago would be not tradeable at 1 mil plus.

        Trusts should be taxable at all levels. Its fraud by another name.

        • At 4.1.2.1

          Trusts with a charitable purchase disbursing well are a strong societal good.

          Arguably using a trust to protect family intergenerational wealth is also useful.

          But so many are tax minimization instruments pure and simple. They need legal attack from the state.

      • Craig Hall 4.1.3

        That's a tough area because although IRD can be called on to judge charitable purpose for donee organisations, mostly that's handled by DIA through the Charities Service. Important work though.

    • SPC 4.2

      It's just a rehash of TOP policy (taxing equity in property ownership).

      No government would apply it, because it has the perverse incentive of encouraging people to borrow against equity to buy more property to reduce their tax liability.

      But the emotions dragged out of the home owning class at their doing anything to reduce growing inequality because of overvalued land values are just as concerning as poor policy proposals.

      • Foreign Waka 4.2.1

        The problem is if the government devalues land, a lot of banks will demand their cash straight away.

        To just have those who actually work and try to make it trough this jungle of deceit and lies pay for exactly that lot will change the next elections 100%.

        • SPC 4.2.1.1

          Not during the term of the mortgage they won't – and if the person is making (and likely to remain doing so) the repayments they will renew. A bank flooding the market with homes for sale because of a valuation downturn would destroy itself.

          You're talking about homeowners, not all workers mate.

    • Incognito 4.3

      Meanwhile we pay money meant for victims to the gangs.

      Nice misleading headline and quite befitting this silly rant of yours. Don’t let facts get in the way of a good spin, inside your head. Feeling dizzy yet?

      • Foreign Waka 4.3.1

        Gangs are just that. No other country in the world would recognize gangs as a legitimate source to deliver value for any taxpayer money spent. NONE. Good god, now we are entering the stage where the perpetrator becomes the victims keeper!

        • bwaghorn 4.3.1.1

          Yip,that's one of the reasons I'll never qualify as a leftie, anyone who is thick enough to think that someone who rises to the top of the fucking mongrel mob is not a dishonest ,violent selfserving low life is at best a gullible fool,

          • Foreign Waka 4.3.1.1.1

            I am very much a social democrat but this government is not, despite their assertions. Justice would be one area that does not gel very well if we give money to gangs and/or billions to companies never to be paid back under the so called honor system.

            Only naive people believe good intentions are all one needs and yet the freedom for those basics to have a framework for all has to be defended or fought for. Look at south Africa, Intentions good, outcome…not so much.

            https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/ghana/10519.pdf

            “A huge congress of the 'Socialist International' took place in 1951 in Frankfurt and the resultant declaration opposed any form of Bolshevik communism and Stalinism.”

            The call for freedom, equality, justice and solidarity originates in old humanistic thoughts. It is central for the Christian idea of man, it has been the battle-cry of the French Revolution, it is reflected in the legal foundations of the United Nations, the UN's two Human Rights Covenants of 1966, and finally it also forms the core values of social democracy.

          • Incognito 4.3.1.1.2

            What on Earth has self-ID as Lefty got to do with the price of fish?

            • bwaghorn 4.3.1.1.2.1

              What's fish got to do with me calling anyone a daft gullible leftie for thinking giving money to the mob is a good idea. ?

              • Incognito

                It is a dim-witted accusation and doubling down doesn’t it make it a better one. Do you take your cues from the same sources as Foreign Waka, by any chance, because it certainly looks that way?

                • bwaghorn

                  Dimwitted ! Abuse is the last gasp of the losing side.

                  Na I did a bit of reading ,I get it that some in the police backed the idea ,plus others, and have decided all on my little lonesome that it's a fucking idiotic idea.

                  And it sure ain't making it easy being openly labour in my neck of the woods I tell ya.

                  • Incognito

                    Calling out your comment as dim-witted is not abuse, but if you’re that easily offended, I’d better back off from questioning your debatable reasoning and your dubious sources.

        • SPC 4.3.1.2

          Iran – Hizbollah in Lebanon and the Shia militias in Iraq.

          USA – countless groups many different nations (Mujahadeen, Contras etc)

        • Incognito 4.3.1.3

          You’re entitled to your beliefs and opinions, which you seem to get straight from MSM headline writers and spin doctors who write the press releases and SM messages for National and ACT. I prefer critical analysis based on and informed by evidence although a good rant is necessary, from time to time.

          You’re so close with your “the perpetrator becomes the victims [sic] keeper!”, yet so far.

      • pat 4.3.2

        Regardless of whether you see merit in the approach of financing the poacher to become gamekeepers it should be admitted that the optics of such a decision open up the advocates to serious questioning….and rightfully so imho

        • Incognito 4.3.2.1

          That would be a fair comment if the questioning were less partisan and more open-minded to what this is about. So far, it is mostly reflexive stereotyping and labelling with very little analysis. Very similar to many of the ‘debates’ we seem to be having nowadays, e.g., about (the) hate speech law. I get that most of those pundits have no interest in questioning let alone challenging their own engrained biases and therefore avoid genuine debate like a gang tangi. Lazy thinkers with regressive ideas.

          • pat 4.3.2.1.1

            And that is all bullshit…again….there must be numerous Iwi (or other) groups with less direct connections to the gangs that are crying out for that sort of funding to assist their communities.

            While the likes of the Mongrel Mob and Black Power may be SMEs in comparison to the 501 influenced multi-nationals the fact remains their business model is drugs based and this is a braindead proposition in the wider publics eyes.

            The fact this administration constantly creates sticks for its own back will be its undoing…not the competence of the opposing argument.

            • Incognito 4.3.2.1.1.1

              Sure, it is all BS again, which makes for a compelling and persuasive judgement.

              I know that many law-abiding citizens view gangs as nothing but drug peddlers and sources of crime and misery. With such a blinkered view it is only logical and morally imperative to take a hard line on gangs, which means no State support for any gang associates and their affiliates and further demonising and excluding them from normative society. The same dim-witted thinking leaves no room for considering, even for a moment, that including gangs in approaches and strategies that could lead to better outcomes for all involved, i.e. for all society. I can understand all these things and yet not buy into the same thinking because it has not delivered much to write home about thus far except providing useful ammo for certain political ‘gangs’, their leaders, and their associates and affiliates. Maybe building a few more prisons is the right answer? Serco won’t mind 😉

              What was the Human Rights Commissioner thinking when he gave a $200 koha?? Very bad optics; he must have lost his mind …

    • Jimmy 4.4

      It's an envy tax. Read the comments on the article. It would be a very hard sell for any government.

    • Jenny how to get there 5.1

      War-tearing Palestinians off the lands they are living on sought by Israel for settling its citizens on, would be more accurate.

  4. Maurice 6

    … and where shall we be when everyone has "cancelled" everything else?

    When nobody can even talk about it!

  5. aom 7

    OH REALLY – https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/447264/act-proposes-limiting-gang-members-freedoms.

    What a load of bullshit and ignorance. History and research proves this would only fuel the problems these ACT dickwits think they would solve! Perhaps if the party of selfish tax-dodgers and rorters paid their fair share of tax, NZ could seriously begin to deal to poverty – the real problem. The only surprise is that they aren't pushing gun rights to implement the Duterte solution (/sarc).

    The greatest irony is that the announcement was made from the premises of a supplier of the county's most harmful drug!!!

    • Shanreagh 7.1

      The greatest irony is that the announcement was made from the premises of a supplier of the county's most harmful drug!!!

      There is a bit or a lot of that 'taking battle with one's own agenda' going on these days either through non-consultation on issues that are deserving of consultation, both in central and local govt or disrupting events when brave souls want to consult.

      Life's ironies abound. I suspect this undermining/battling of the ACT agenda was inadvertent.

    • greywarshark 7.2

      The ACT leader looks every day more like the mask for comedy on a theatrical stage, or the trickster in some Shakespearean play. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/60264/21-phrases-you-use-without-realizing-youre-quoting-shakespeare

      Like? "Nay, an I tell you that, I'll ne'er look you i' the face again: but those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but, for mine own part, it was Greek to me." — Casca

      Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five. Was I with you there for the goose?" — Mercutio

      "So, again, good night. I must be cruel only to be kind. Thus bad begins and worse remains behind." — Hamlet

      The game's afoot: follow your spirit, and upon this charge cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'" — King Henry V

    • SPC 7.3

      It's posturing shiite – their existing policy is that anyone on Job Seeker Benefit goes onto an electronic (restricted spending) card after the first 4 weeks of cash benefit (eftpos card).

    • Ad 7.4

      This government is a idiot for seeking to suppress further 1-off territory attacks, when lage, powerful armed terror groups like Mongrel Mob are growing unchecked and attacking in towns and cities at will.

      Such misdirected nonsense from this government and Police on terror groups.

      • aom 7.4.1

        Where do you get your information from? Pretty dodgy to say the least.

        From your comment, it sounds as thought there is only one gang in NZ and that they are armed to the gills and in the midst of a shooting war with all and sundry.

        Hate to disabuse you of your fantasies but some reading suggests the 501 seeded gangs are more heavily armed (weapons arrive with drugs from South America) and NZ's numerous other gangs are no doubt just as lethal. It also seems you work on other very misguided assumptions that are not worth addressing as it is obvious you have more than a few mind-blocks.

        By the way, when were you last terrorised by an armed Mongrel Mob Member? Was it when you didn't pay for the drugs you received or was it after you shot up their pad?

        • RedLogix 7.4.1.1

          Odd you should mention this. Last night I was dealing with my disabled brother who has discovered a very recent bullet hole in his house. Police have told them they know who it was but no action can be taken.

          I'm still trying to work out what this means.

        • Cricklewood 7.4.1.2

          About 20 years ago when some pissed prospects decide leave the party at the pad down the road and invite themselves into our flat and proceed to start smashing the place up.

        • Ad 7.4.1.3

          You are just stupidly ignorant.

          Auckland's SH1 motorway was shut down by a gang gun exchange on Thursday night.

          More gang gun violence occurred in Massey yesterday.

          At least 900 people joined a gang last year – an increase of 13% on the year before.

          https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300193448/number-of-people-joining-gangs-increased-by-at-least-13-per-cent-this-year-police-data-shows

          Since Labour came into office in 2017 gangs have recruited 2660 new members, an increase of just under 50 per cent. We now have over 8,000 – that's equivalent to the entire town of Kawerau. All facts on the record.

          Plenty of our small towns have gangs as the primary organising power of their society. Including places like Kawerau.

          Different reasons why:

          https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/123699877/new-zealand-gangs-on-the-rise-why-young-kiwis-are-getting-patched

          December last year there were two drive-by shootings from gangs within 24 hours – in Napier.

          Police raids on gangs have increased this year, with huge hauls and Proceeds of Crime seizures.

          They ride our streets in packs unimpeded. They are now so big that the governemnt has to employ them to manage the impact of the drugs they import.

          Targeted assassinations by gangs, using firearms, are now much more prevalent.

          https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/125565035/targeted-assassinations-becoming-more-prevalent-in-gang-scene

          You want a discussion on the impact of terrorist groups in New Zealand, start with the armed terror groups that are embedded and expanding already.

          • RedLogix 7.4.1.3.1

            Personally I regard them as outlaws. In the original sense of that word, and all that implies.

          • Muttonbird 7.4.1.3.2

            This is the product of the policy of Australia's Liberal coalition government, therefore the product of the people of Australia, and literally the product of Australian society.

            Thousands of criminals, trained by Australia, have been exported to New Zealand in the last 6 years. With them they bring sophisticated networking, fundraising and recruitment practice, all nurtured in Australia. They also bring their anger, magnified.

            NZ has become a dumping ground for the failures of a morally corrupt Australian society and this is the primary reason for an increase in organised crime violence here.

            Add to this their export of real terrorism in the form of murderous white supremacy, which we have known bubbles away in Australia under the radar since its colonisation, by criminals.

            • Ad 7.4.1.3.2.1

              Yes there's a wee bit of that. But they are our people doing this crime, our people are the criminals, and apart from the Comancheros they came back to fully formed gangs ready to expand – which they are doing big time.

              And there's no way the Ardern government isn't responsible for effectively policing them.

            • RedLogix 7.4.1.3.2.2

              You only have to look to some Latin American nations, Mexico leaps to mind, as to what happens when govts fail to police gangs.

              Two years ago I had a very interesting Mexican colleague (I think I mentioned him here in a thread before) who explained to me in detail one night over dinner, how two of his business partners were in separate incidents, both kidnapped, ransomed and murdered. We’re talking legit, tech based, middle-class professionals – specifically targeted for purely monetary gain and no other reason. Needless to say this is also the reason why he now lives in Australia.

              You will read this and feel nothing – having it retold by someone who lived through it first hand is deeply chilling. And if NZ imagines that it's immune to this kind of collapse of social moral structure it would be deluding itself.

  6. greywarshark 8

    A clever, amusing title to brighten the day. It's about a serious subject but just a pause for a smile before reading further.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018804301/money-for-the-mob-and-hoha-over-koha

    • Ad 8.1

      They get paid by the market to bring the drugs in, and paid by the public to mitigate the damage of drugs.

      Pretty sweet deal.

      • greywarshark 8.1.1

        That sums up a lot of business in NZ Ad.

        • RedLogix 8.1.1.1

          No it bloody doesn't. The fact of so many left wingers openly siding with criminal gangs who inflict nothing but misery on their own people is a testament to a dismal moral degeneracy I find very hard to understand.

  7. Chris 9

    Here's an extremely accurate description of our "inclusive" education system. The HRRT needs to fast-track hearing IHC's complaint:

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/125796031/young-lives-up-in-smoke-more-special-education-help-is-needed-at-schools

  8. Jimmy 11

    The Auckland to Hamilton train had a bad day yesterday by the sounds of it.

    Train wreck of a commute: 'Bits of the train were bouncing down the tracks' – NZ Herald

    • greywarshark 11.1

      No worries, we'll get it fixed and it'll go like the clappers. In the meantime a bit of the old pioneer spirit needed, and patience.

      [third and last time; removed the following text from user name: “Timely warning”]

      See my note above. Will do.

      • Incognito 11.1.1

        [third and last time; removed the following text from user name: “Timely warning”]

    • Ad 11.2

      That's the last time they name a service after an extinct bird.

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    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    7 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    8 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    9 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    12 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    13 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    15 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    17 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
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    1 day ago
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