Open Mike 20/05/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 20th, 2017 - 52 comments
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52 comments on “Open Mike 20/05/2017 ”

  1. Tautoko Mangō Mata 1

    Heartening! Jews and Palestinians working to reclaim occupied land.
    https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1869129410026697&id=1438208006452175

    • Graeme 2.1

      Stuff published that? I hope they keep that sort of thing up for the next six months to keep the bullshit in check.

      Maybe they are throwing a hissy at dildo for not getting stuffme over the line and aren’t playing in his “communications” sandpit

    • ianmac 2.2

      GST and “tax cuts”. Those politicians are just dishonest. Who would have guessed Bull English.

  2. Glenn 3

    A widespread outbreak of myrtle rust disease had the potential to dramatically change the treescape of the region.

    The long term effects of the windborne fungal disease, which has so far affected five horticultural properties nationwide, including three in Taranaki, are unknown.

    The disease affects the myrtaceae family including 3000 species, among them pohutukawa, rata, feijoa, ramarama and manuka, and various garden ornamentals.
    The Taranaki landscape would be altered if large tracts of pohutukawa and manuka were destroyed by the disease, said gardening writer, Glyn Church.

    “We could see 1000’s of pohutukawa trees dying in front of our eyes,” Church said.
    “The myrtaceae family is quite large, it includes eucalypts, and the outcome of the disease is not known.

    “It could wipe out the trees, or it could make the plant weaker but not really kill the plant. “One thing we are certain of is that is here and would be impossible to get rid of.”
    Church said plants grown in warmer climates were often more susceptible to the disease than colder climates.

    “We’ve seen this in Australia where the disease has spread further northward along the eastern coast than southward.
    The warmer the temperature the worst effect it had on the plants.”
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/92792393/myrtle-rust-spread-has-potential-to-change-landscape

    The outcome of this could be horrendous for the environment and “tourisms scenic NZ”.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uredo_rangelii

    • bwaghorn 3.1

      honey companies have been paying huge money for land in the manuka areas of nz ,they will be sweating now, instead of spraying to kill it they will be spraying to save it,

    • mauī 3.2

      The disease has been across the ditch for 7 years now. You would think our biosecurity boffins would have tested the rust on pohutukawa and manuka by now to see the likely effects on nz plants. But it appears we have no idea what its going to do from here. Biosecurity win?

  3. AsleepWhileWalking 4

    The continuing “fake news” offensive is best described as digital book burning – Bill Holter.

  4. mauī 5

    Wow Glenn Greenwald 3 months ago, but he could be describing the goings on in Washington just this last week. He’s basically calling the propaganda against Trump the “destruction of democracy”.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY1MiNfwcRg

    • weka 5.1

      Deep State vs Tr*mp/Bannon State. Not much of a choice is it.

      Greenwald, “I happen to think that the Trump Presidency is extremely dangerous” 😉

      I agree with his general premise about the loss of democracy though and the danger of the conservatives (including in the Dems) thinking that the Deep State will save them. Really stupid.

      • mauī 5.1.1

        It’s tricky to compare the two, Trump is hurting people’s lives in America now although the Deep State has probably had a much worse effect across the world for decades.

        I just find it particularly grating that a political figure is being ousted by the so called “good folks” through the use of lies and propaganda. If there was a bully at my school who had done some horrible stuff to some other kids would I want him expelled due to some fabricated stories made up by other students in order to get rid of him for good. I’d like to think I would want no part of that, and you start to get into the territory of being no better than the bully.

    • ianmac 5.2

      The CIA has of course a long history of tampering with”foreign” countries using legal and illegal means. The USA is in deep trouble when the CIA uses its “skills” to collapse the democratically elected government. Innocent until proven guilty.

    • Bill 5.3

      But The Washington Post says they were told by an anonymous official that Trump did (fill in whatever takes your fancy). Therefore it behooves every person who might have any degree of reservation about Trump as a person or any dislike of Trump policies to jump on board and denounce, decry and destroy.

      And if The Washington Post, can’t get you on board, well we got it over here… in The New York times, The Guardian, The Independent and any other major, liberal and msm news outlet that knows what the control c /control v functions of a keyboard do.

      But wait. There’s more! We got CNN, BBC, ABC, MSNBC and every other piece of liberal alphabet spaghetti with broadcast wavelength, who’ll breathlessly provide (fill in whatever takes your fancy) as actual, verifiable news with a straight face and secondary analysis to boot.

      How can you not jump aboard? Are you against us? Are you a Trump voter? A Putin lover? A fascist? Just plain stupid? What’s wrong with you Will Robinson?

      • marty mars 5.3.1

        Boo hoo for trump. Who cares, he deserves everything he gets imo. I hope all media continues to dig up the truth about the unpleasant man. If his followers can’t take that much truth then that is as expected too after all they support the mango mussolini.

        • Bill 5.3.1.1

          If media were digging up truths and truly holding power to account with genuinely sourced and verifiable materials, then that would be great. But they’re not.

          Liberal msm are being willing stooges for the establishment (as personified by the likes of McCain and Clinton) – and every fucker who just mindlessly jumps on board with the shit they’re pushing through their various contacts to msm are aiding and abetting their attempts to re-assume a hold on the reins of power.

          In case it escaped your notice – not very many people anywhere want these clowns to actually have power any more. That’s why they keep losing elections (Democrats, both the traditional left and right in France) and internal control of the parties they belong to (Corbyn, Trump) or, retaining control of their parties through running machevelian bullshit (Sanders) and only winning elections and campaigns, courtesy of campaigns that are just variations on ‘Project Fear’ (Scottish independence, French Presidential elections)…and yes, losing some too (BREXIT) …

          In the choice between ‘Deep State’ (ie, the establishment) and ‘Trump/Bannon State’ (ie, authoritarian ‘new kids’), I say, a curse on both houses. I choose “left”.

          • marty mars 5.3.1.1.1

            Seriously I just don’t believe all of that. You seem to want big baddies like a James bond movie and it just isn’t like that imo. Real life doesn’t need a liberal application of imagination it’s full on enough, if you have eyes to see, already.

            • Bill 5.3.1.1.1.1

              So, you’re happy to believe what you’re being asked to believe by msm that offer no verifiable evidence (Russians messing in elections for example) and that consistently rely on anonymous sources for the stories and/or the vague assertions that they report?

              And you’re comfortable whereby one outlet (eg BBC) merely uses the reporting of another outlet (eg NYT) to lend its own reporting on a particular issue a sense of depth and veracity?

              That’s not journalism. Journalism is examining and questioning sources and evidence. (Which is kind of difficult in a world of news that runs on anonymous sources and zero evidence)

              There are no ‘big baddies’ marty, and I don’t imagine any ‘big baddies’. It’s a question of established power – which is institutional and so not predicated on particular individuals (Clinton and McCain could disappear tomorrow and the same shit would continue).

              • Yep it may not be journalism and it is the way it is. I just think all the shadowy plots are fictional. Mostly it is selfish incompetence that drives things along rather than deep state mega Corp.

                • Bill

                  No shadowy plots and no ‘deep state mega corp’ – just institutional power, in its various facets and iterations asserting itself.

                  Maybe you need to imagine a character or an individual or a committee orchestrating some great plan in order that you can ‘pin’ things on a definable physical something – but that isn’t and never has been how institutional power operates.

                  • You’ve lost me now but it’s okay I’m good.

                    • Bill

                      Institutional power is exercised through people and their positions, rather than by people in their positions. And what guides and sustains it? Simple institutional memory with all its assumptions and what not that pass on in the same way as in any culture.

                • Morrissey

                  So there are no state agents plotting against the welfare of their citizens? The people plotting against Julian Assange are just incompetent, are they? Have you actually read anything by Edward Snowden, or by Julian Assange? Or Jeremy Scahill? Or Glenn Greenwald? Or Nicky Hager?

                  • What is a state agent?

                    • Morrissey

                      What is a state agent?

                      Members of Parliament who represent powerful interests and not their constituents, prosecutors, MI5, MI6, the Police—and their quasi-official media outlets, including most shamefully the BBC.

    • Ad 5.4

      Greenwald would like to think that the U.S. intelligence community functions as the real government.

      Greenwald should open his horizon a little more.
      Trump’s administration has already gain an extremely conservative Supreme Court, to go with control of the Senate and Congress.

      Trump’s administration is openly flouting all kinds of probity andy ethics violations, and there are plenty of investigations going on about his dealings both personal and private with Russian interests.

      Trump’s administration also has complete control of the military, its funding, and its massive subcontractors.

      Trump’s administration has shown it’s perfectly happy to take out anyone it likes in the intelligence community.

      Trump also acts in total symbiosis with Fox News and Breitbart, far and away the two most powerful media outlets in North America.

      Trump’s administration has exceedingly close relationships with the banking system – far greater and more obvious than anything Bill Clinton or Obama ever dreamed of.

      Greenwald should stop looking for Washington circle-jerk intelligence conspiracies to uncover, and pay more attention to the far broader power President Trump already holds and wields across civil, legal, military, media, banking, commerce, and political spheres.

      • weka 5.4.1

        “Greenwald would like to think that the U.S. intelligence community functions as the real government.”

        Greenwald doesn’t say that though. He says that the Deep State is undermining real government and that it’s too our peril to support that in the hopes it will bring Trump administration down and restore order.

        Your last paragraph is odd, given that Greenwald basically says in the video that Trump is also very dangerous (I even quoted him saying that).

      • Bill 5.4.2

        Greenwald wasn’t saying that Ad. He was pointing out that the Intelligence Community seeks to persist and to exercise its ‘god-given’ powers regardless of any changes in elected administrations.

        The Intelligence Community is one part of what we might call ‘the establishment’ – an inherently conservative expression of power that’s exercised through various institutions (legal, media, military etc)

        As for the supposed executive powers of a US President, I don’t know enough about the US system of government to comment much, but I’d be very, very surprised if it was the case (as you claim) that a US President has complete control of the military, its funding, and its massive subcontractors.

        You’re saying by that, that neither Congress nor the Senate have any say in military budgets or military operations and that a US President could decree all military sub-contracts were to go to his Chinese mate.

        Much of the rest of what you say cannot be backed up by evidence and is just so much allegation as rumour (the Russian connections etc)

        Fox News and Breitbart are far and away the two most powerful media outlets in North America and yet (according to the lauded intelligence Community report into Russian interference in the election) RT exerted more influence on the minds of US voters than both those outlets put together! How’s that work? 🙂

        He fired a guy…one guy. Big deal (it’s not really) – though it affords a nice stick for those wanting something to hit him with.

        A US Admin in bed with bankers? Well, fuck me dead, who’d have thunk it?! Exactly how is Trump’s relationship something that Clinton and Obama could only dream of (bearing in mind that financiers hold the upper hand in that relationship)? Y’know – “Bail me! Bail me!!” “Duh – okay”

        • weka 5.4.2.1

          “Fox News and Breitbart are far and away the two most powerful media outlets in North America and yet (according to the lauded intelligence Community report into Russian interference in the election) RT exerted more influence on the minds of US voters than both those outlets put together! How’s that work? ”

          I haven’t really been following the whole thing, but if you use programmers to manipulate social media that’s an entirely different thing than broadcast media like Fox.

          • Bill 5.4.2.1.1

            RT is a broadcast network. Nothing more. Manipulation of social media belongs to the facebooks and googles of this world.

            • weka 5.4.2.1.1.1

              I thought part of the theory was social media manipulation. And sorry, but if you think FB and google are the only ones manipulating social media, that’s incredibly naive. I fully expect that the various secretive agencies in the US are also doing that. I can’t see any good reason to think the Russians wouldn’t be.

              • Bill

                The supposed ‘theory’ was to do with armies of paid commenters and such like.

                There’s manipulation and manipulation, but where google and facebook are at, is that they write the algorithms that determine what becomes prominent and what disappears. And sure, that can be ‘gamed’ to an extent.

                • weka

                  I understand what google and FB do. What I’m saying is that in addition to that it’s possible to do things like programme twitter and FB accounts to astroturf and that has nothing to do with FB and Twitter as corporations. And that governments will be doing that as well as other big players with vested interests. I think the issue here is whether it was done on the scale being claimed (likewise with Brexit), with the intention of altering another state’s democracy. I have no trouble believing that the US or Russian govt are capable of that ethically and technically.

                  I have no idea whether that happened in the last US election or not. Which is part of why I don’t follow the issue, because I’m not sure that there is any way to know. I also think the polarisation that is happening around this issue plays into the hands of the fascists and authoritarians.

                  • Bill

                    So astroturfing is setting something up to look as though it’s grassroots and popular when in actual fact it’s a piece of wholly contrived bullshit. Corporations are doing it all of the time – supposed citizens networks/ pressure groups etc.

                    You saying that finds a mode of expression through twitter and what not? I wouldn’t know – don’t do twitter and know nothing about it. I’m not understanding how an account can astroturf though. (Maybe you’re meaning something else?)

                    With BREXIT, it’s being claimed that a US (?) company had the wherewithal to target messaging at fairly precise demographics based on data they possessed around browsing habits or some such. I’m sure if you google, you’ll find the details.

                    What’s the polarisation that’s feeding into the hands of authoritarians? Whether people voted on a punt or in protest or desperation or whatever, as against being manipulated by “the Russians” or “tyhe Kremlin”? If that’s what you’re referring to then sorry, but that’s like saying there’s polarisation around the issue of there being fairies at the foot of the garden.

                    edit – I should add that the Intelligence Community report that so many put so much store by mentioned nothing about any of the stuff you’re alluding to. Most of it was the supposed influence of RT broadcasts.

        • Ad 5.4.2.2

          The President is the Commander in Chief of the entire military.

          The President proposes the budget, and has had his first one approved already. That’s how it works.

          The President has fired and replaced almost all senior figures in the entire public sector – and that is standard practise.

          The Constitution predicts and expects that other branches of government will continue while the seat of President goes through elections. That continuity exists in every part of our public sector, and theirs.

          Now, I fully expect that under this Presidency the US constitutional framework part will be challenged, right to its core, but so far it really looks to me like all parts of the system are working there as they should.

          Greenwald was better under the Bush 2 administration – because that was an inept and weak President. Trump ain’t one of those.

          • weka 5.4.2.2.1

            I can’t see any reason why the so called deep state can’t operate within the framework you just outlined.

            • Ad 5.4.2.2.1.1

              What you call the ‘deep state’ (however you would like to define it) is better known to mere mortals as the public service, doing its’ job.

              As a result, Greenwald continues to sound like a Bourne Supremacy extra.

              If there was a sniff that we were in the midst of a full scale 1950s-1960s Commie witch-hunt, or a massive 1970s ‘Manufacturing Consent’ South American rogue CIA, or even a 1980s Contra programme, I’d say, fair enough, have a good crack Mr Greenwald. Write a book.

              Instead, all the scandals are in perfectly plain sight. Where they should be in a democracy. The media and the Senate are doing their jobs.

              Hell, even Comey has agreed to testify in public.

              Trump’s military and intelligence leadership is accelerating what Obama set in train: managed and gradual retreat.

              Trump will either figure out how to operate in the sunlight, continuing this strategic direction, or he will resign in frustration.

              • weka

                “What you call the ‘deep state’ (however you would like to define it) is better known to mere mortals as the public service, doing its’ job.”

                I’m just using the term as short hand. But I don’t think it’s the public service doing its job. It’s extra that, that’s the point. Greenwald might be over-egging it, but it’s not helpful to deny that the culture of the secret services would be self-serving, and that individuals within it don’t gather and use the power at their disposal. I’m not suggesting widespread corruption, but I can’t see how those agencies could be corruption free entirely.

                “Instead, all the scandals are in perfectly plain sight.”

                How would we know? I don’t mean that in a paranoia way, but honestly, with a set of systems this complex and large, how would we know?

  5. Weka, Greywarshark et al;. – this article from The Dark Mountain Project is wonderful! All about the rhizomati (the who?) – you heard right, the rhizomati 🙂

    “When contemplating the quagmire of obstacles and institutions within our capitalist society that interfere with the equitable and just interchange of currency and access to resources, I find myself motivated to explore less oppressive economic, social, and political human relationships.

    In doing so, I have become aligned with that ever-gallant and hopeful group of folks dismissed as unrealistic dreamers. We ‘dreamers’ always hold fast to the truth that the wilful designation of creation and power can be delineated into a network of horizontal or lateral functions that make greed, conquest, and competition unnecessary and invalid, except in extreme conditions.”

    http://dark-mountain.net/blog/radicle-and-rhizomati-notes-from-a-folk-herbalist/

    • Bill 6.1

      A thing that has stood me in good stead from those reckless days of youth is never to underestimate the power of a ‘shroom! 😉

    • weka 6.2

      good read, cheers.

    • greywarshark 6.3

      Good thoughts Robert. It is a big journey from town man to earth man – farmers, horticulturalists, isolated locations – to simple-living earth man in tune with the seasons, and the plants.

  6. greywarshark 7

    Heard on Kim Hill this morning on Radionz.

    So sad to be losing our entities of excellence (non-business oriented) because they aren’t immediately, or at all, profitable. Can we do something about Waikato University and their desire for functionality?

    education music
    11:05 am today
    David Dolan – Please don’t stop the music
    From Saturday Morning, 11:05 am today

    Listen duration 55′ :32″
    Lecturers at the Waikato University School of Music fear proposed staff cuts will see the school’s demise, with University management preparing to restructure the faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and proposing to cut the full time staff numbers in the music department from eight to five. David Dolan is a concert pianist, researcher and a professor both at the Yehudi Menuhin School and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in the UK, and he is dedicated to the revival of the art of classical improvisation. He has weighed in to efforts to try and save the facility, describing it as a “rare and precious” world class centre of excellence, with a standard of teaching he has rarely witnessed anywhere in his travels.
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201844557/david-dolan-please-don-t-stop-the-music

    Also heard – see details I’ve put up under #1 on post about Mike King and Mental Health suicide prevention.
    Ariel Levy
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201844552/ariel-levy-the-rules-do-not-apply
    and
    Tommy Rhattigan
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201844547/tommy-rhattigan-bread-jam-and-terror

  7. Draco T Bastard 8

    Immigrants ‘bypassing health criteria’ – MBIE

    Immigration New Zealand has taken steps to close a loophole which it says immigrants were exploiting to bring children who are sick, disabled or have special needs into the country.

    It has prohibited parents from leaving children off residence applications or withdrawing them, as it said some families were doing so to circumvent health criteria and then later making a humanitarian case for their child to be allowed to stay.

    In other words what some people were doing was ‘losing’ some children to get residence and then once settled ‘finding’ those children again and then bringing them here for the medical care.

    They’re trying to close the loophole by doing data matching with the MoE which itself could be problematical. If they’ve lied once then the chances are that they’ll lie again. Obviously we need to catch these discrepancies at the border and not after they’ve settled here.

  8. joe90 9

    heh

    "If he took a dump on his desk you would defend it." 💩@andersoncooper what? 😲 pic.twitter.com/nD8ZfZKtVN— Salvador Hernandez (@SalHernandez) May 20, 2017

    https://twitter.com/SalHernandez/status/865724799473135617

    I regret the crude sentence i spoke earlier tonight and followed it up by apologizing on air. It was unprofessional. I am genuinely sorry.— Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) May 20, 2017

    https://twitter.com/andersoncooper/status/865754552766803969

    • McFlock 9.1

      lol

      I believe the current form is for the mouthpieces to deny a dump took place and explain that someone might have misidentified a bowl of hershey’s kisses, and the fake news outlets are making things up.

      And the next morning Trump tweets that he’s president and can take a dump wherever he wants, and Obama did it too.

  9. Morrissey 10

    Great Thinkers of Our Time: Bernard-Henri Lévy

    BHL’s a fool and a buffoon, so of course he makes a lot of money as a “philosopher” in France….

    http://normanfinkelstein.com/2017/05/17/scenes-from-the-life-of-frances-most-honored-philosopher-since-voltaire/

    More Great Thinkers of Our Time….
    https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-26072015/#comment-1049985

  10. Andre 11

    Loony lefty fake news does exist and is spreading and needs to be guarded against. Anything passing near the likes of Louise Mensch, John Schindler, Claude Taylor should be viewed with extreme skepticism.

    https://www.vox.com/world/2017/5/19/15561842/trump-russia-louise-mensch

    But this is not to be confused with the work of proper journalists in credible news organisations (like CNN, NYT, WaPo, Guardian etc) that still believe in fact-checking and not publishing until they’re reasonably confident in their accuracy (but still occasionally get things wrong).

    • Bill 11.1

      lol – nice article there on being hoist by ones own petard.

      The second part of your comment, obviously doesn’t stack up. It’s the evidence free reporting of anonymous sources from your CNN, NYT, WaPo, Guardian etc that’s feeding this shit…making the claims of the worlds’ Mensch’s seem plausible and/or believable.

  11. greywarshark 12

    I liked Wallace Chapman this Sunday – gripping.

    HEARTENING – Educational interview on bringing education to adult school leavers. One so poorly advised that he thought he did not have any educational qualifications for his school time, and actually when checked on-line, he had over 100. (We have to help each other because the government will not, although it has been tasked with bringing the aids of a modern society to all.) Can we help this initiative in a way they would find helpful?

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/201844586/ngaire-aben-tuhiwai-and-cleveland-raroa-from-nuhaka-with-aroha
    Listen 15.10m
    Nuhaka in the northern Hawke’s Bay has a general store, a fish and chip shop, eight marae and until recently little in the way of post-secondary educational opportunities. Educationalist Ngaire Aben-Tuhiwai decided to do something about that and has started an educational programme for local rangitahi that aims to see them all complete their NCEA level 3 qualifications. Twenty-six-year old Cleveland Raroa says it’s education with aroha and that’s the way he likes it.

    GOOD Insight doco on P – Meth Listen to the full Insight documentary here duration 26′ :58″
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/201844428/insight-meth-the-human-cost-of-a-hit
    The police and health authorities are trying a new tack in Northland – to loosen the grip of methamphetamine on troubled communities. They’re joining forces in a pilot project – not to arrest users – but to offer them help to kick the P habit that’s breaking hearts – and families across the region.

    The call came out of the blue last week, for Margaret – a Whangārei grandmother.
    And yet it was one she’d been half-expecting for years.
    Her methamphetamine addicted daughter in Auckland had left her five children home alone.
    Someone called the police – and at 3am they’d picked them up.
    The eldest was 10 – the youngest, two.
    Unless Margaret took in the two eldest girls and the other grandmother in Kaitaia took in the rest, they’d all be going into foster care.
    “Wednesday, my daughter brought two of the children up to me and she just quickly left,” she said.
    Her daughter, who’s 28, has been using P since she was 18.

    Another part of the story was about grandparents with adult children who have fallen under the spell of P or meth and have neglected children who have learned to despise their parents. The law says that grandparents can ask for a benefit for each child to be paid to them so they can provide and support it. But the social welfare – WINZ? agent turned them down.

    Winston Peters has helped nine of these hard-worked oldies gain this money. And the children can be helped to settle down eventually with settled lives and continual stable care. But once settled with the grandparents when the children have let their guard down and rely on them, they can develop separation anxiety so it is hard to attempt to leave them for a time. Emotional, health, learning disabilities – grandparents deserve all the help they can get.

    But one great thing, an organised team is helping with this dreadful P epidemic. It is bad in Northland, they used to make it themselves, but its coming in from China now, left off shore attached to a buoy, and with a GPS tracker on it so it is easy to pick up.

    This is a harsh look at the drug scene from Tom Lehrer (at present meths is being offered for free, as a taster).
    (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTfuGeKPsZM

    ALSO early on: TAX and Fairness was subject at 7am+. You may have been still dozing and missed it but it will be important to listen to. ( I am reminded of watching a vid of Mark Blyth, Scot lecturer living in USA. His message on how to get things going there – most basic thought – “Pay your taxes”.)

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/201844580/tax-and-fairness-what-s-wrong-with-the-system
    New Zealander’s are being taxed too harshly with KiwiSaver funds paying four times as much as property investors, a tax expert says.
    A new book, Tax and Fairness, by tax consultant Terry Baucher and senior taxation lecturer and Labour Party candidate Deborah Russell said a tax system needs to be fair and ours is not.

    Mr Baucher told Sunday Morning tax rules meant KiwiSaver members ended up paying tax even if their fund had not earned anything.
    “Over time what is emerging is that … if you looked at the size of KiwiSaver funds, looked at the tax it’s paid relative to property investors, they’re paying four times as much.”

    Mr Baucher said the latest figures showed in the past five years the average tax paid by property investors was less than a third of what the New Zealand Super Fund paid last year alone.
    Tax consultant Terry Baucher has written a book “Tax and Fairness” with Massey University tax lecturer and Labour candidate Deborah Russell, outlining why our tax system needs work. They’ve timed its release to begin a discussion on capital gains tax, negative gearing and superannuation in election year. Terry Baucher and former IRD Deputy Commissioner Robin Oliver discuss tax and why we should smile when paying it.

  12. greywarshark 13

    Piece in local Gisborne Herald about the initiative of adult, school leavers furthering their education in isolated Nuhaka.

    http://gisborneherald.co.nz/lifestyle/2755271-135/nuhaka-education

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    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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    7 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
    8 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
    10 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
    22 hours 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days 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
    3 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
    5 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
    6 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
    20 hours 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. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
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    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
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    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
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    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
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    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
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    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
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    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
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    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
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    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
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    5 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
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    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
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    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
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    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
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    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
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    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
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    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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    7 days ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
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    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
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    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
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    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
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    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
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    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
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    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
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    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
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    1 week ago
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
    This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti.  Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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