web analytics

Open Mike 20/09/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 20th, 2017 - 171 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 …

171 comments on “Open Mike 20/09/2017 ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Tony Veitch (not etc) 1
    20 September 2017 at 6:24 am

    When Caribbean islands which normally might experience a category 5 hurricane once every five or ten years, get 2 category 5s in less than a month, we’ve moved beyond Climate Change.

    It’s time we started using George Monibot’s term: CLIMATE BREAKDOWN!

    http://www.monbiot.com/2013/10/04/climate-breakdown/

  2. Carolyn_nth 2
    20 September 2017 at 6:31 am

    So Nat’s infrastructure plan had roads and stadiums being more important than oil pipeline from north to Auckland.

    Key failure.

    And another Key failure: benefit sanctions.

    Newshub’s Lisa Owen reports, what we already knew, but now there’s hard evidence:

    Newshub can reveal the Government has no evidence to suggest that benefit sanctions on solo parents do anything to encourage wayward fathers to pay their share of child support.

    In fact, it means the families are at higher risk of hardship and long term welfare dependency.

    Currently people on a solo parent benefit can have their payment docked if they don’t name the other parent of their child. In 98 percent of cases that’s the father.
    …
    The so-called section 70a sanction is aimed at getting child support payments from the absent parent.

    More than three months ago Newshub asked the Ministry of Social Development to release, under the Official Information Act, any evidence that the sanctions worked.

    MSD refused the request.

    But it was forced to turn over more than 100 pages of material before the election, after the Ombudsman intervened.

    The reports addressed to Social Development Minister Anne Tolley say, “We do not have sufficient evidence to confirm if the benefit reduction is achieving the policy’s intent.”

    • AsleepWhileWalking 2.1
      20 September 2017 at 7:02 am

      Yeah this section if the Act penalises people who take on responsibility where nobody else will.

      The penalty only exists when a child is kept by one parent (and of course that child will suffer by extension…as if all the statstics on single parent families and the disadvantage to the child weren’t enough if a handicap the government decides to fuck these kids over even more). It doesn’t apply if the child goes elsewhere like a foster home or extended family.

      If you agree that the best place for children is with their own parent, then it is totally inappropriate to penalise sole families in this way.

      • AsleepWhileWalking 2.1.1
        20 September 2017 at 7:13 am

        The penalty can be lifted by swearing an affidavit stating your child was a result of rape/incest.

        Why would anyone think this is acceptable to force a parent to make such a choice? What if the child had political ambitions or became famous?

      • James 2.1.2
        20 September 2017 at 8:02 am

        And why (in general – there will always be exceptions) should the father not be named so he can be held to account to make payments for the child?

        • crashcart 2.1.2.1
          20 September 2017 at 8:18 am

          Why bother naming the father when there is no evidence that it improves payment rates. You are essentially punishing both the parent and the child for no reason.

          • James 2.1.2.1.1
            20 September 2017 at 8:23 am

            I asked why not first ……

            • Crashcart 2.1.2.1.1.1
              20 September 2017 at 11:24 am

              Why might people not want to name fathers? They may know that the father is in no position to make payments and not want to put them in the line of fire for MSD. The father may have questionable citizenship. There are plenty of reasons why a mother may not want to name a father.

              Can you give one valid reason for why they should have too? There is no evidence that it improves payment rates. If you want to punish people you have to have a valid goal. This policy does not appear to have one.

            • McFlock 2.1.2.1.1.2
              20 September 2017 at 1:55 pm

              because there’s no point to it because there’s no evidence it improves payment rates.

            • Tracey 2.1.2.1.1.3
              13 October 2017 at 3:52 pm

              But fathers not paying when named came before this section so, you first. Why don’t we recover from fathers very well James?

        • One Anonymous Bloke 2.1.2.2
          20 September 2017 at 8:29 am

          Because demanding a name abuses your victim’s human rights. Personally I think you should be held accountable for that.

          • James 2.1.2.2.1
            20 September 2017 at 8:31 am

            How is father a victim?

            • Cinny 2.1.2.2.1.1
              20 September 2017 at 8:39 am

              Morning James, from a womans point of view……

              Imagine pregnancy via a stranger raping you, and you decide to keep the child, how on earth are you going to name a stranger. And would you really want your child knowing what they were the result of OR knowing their father (even if you knew his name), if the father did such an act.

              Another scenario… pregnant via a one night stand. See guys have no problem with one night stands, possibly because they can’t get pregnant, a one night stand where you only remember their first name, and the guy might not even remember you cause you were both drunk.

              Need any more examples? It’s not as cut and dry as some may think.

              And who suffers the most, the child and the mother who knows she doesn’t know the name of the father and as if it’s not hard enough being a solo mum, they have even less money to feed their child.

              • james …
                20 September 2017 at 8:54 am

                I did say “in general” as there are always exceptions.

                As for rape – of course this should never be named – as is already allowed for.

                As for one night stands – you miss the point that the woman seems to have no issue with it as well – its not just the guys

                But what about people who have kids with people they know and NOT as a result of abuse etc? Why should they NOT be named?

                • miravox …
                  20 September 2017 at 9:09 am

                  In general?

                  How about not naming the father is because you’ve been threatened with having the living daylights beaten out of you (given NZs domestic violence rates that’s not an unlikely scenario), or the threat of a custody dispute with any history you’ve ever had being publicised or lied about. Or the father simply denying it was him and putting forward several other names to shame the mother as well as avoid responsibility.

                  • james …
                    20 September 2017 at 9:11 am

                    How about you answer my easy question first ?

                    But what about people who have kids with people they know and NOT as a result of abuse etc? Why should they NOT be named?

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      20 September 2017 at 9:18 am

                      Already answered. It’s called “freedom of expression”.

                    • Molly …
                      20 September 2017 at 9:33 am

                      “How about you answer my easy question first ?”

                      How about answering these easy questions?
                      How does any child cost $20/wk less to take care of? (putting aside the chronic underfunding for the moment)
                      How do letters on a form in the father’s name make a practical difference?
                      How do you justify this requirement when evidence provided by MSD shows there is no benefit to this request?

                      Why do you think you need to know, apart from your need to know?

                    • joe90 …
                      20 September 2017 at 9:33 am

                      But what about people who have kids with people they know and NOT as a result of abuse etc?

                      From what I’ve seen James, fear. Foregoing a portion of a benefit is infinitely preferable to living in fear of a violent man who resents being on the hook for a fifth or more of his after tax income.

                    • miravox …
                      20 September 2017 at 9:48 am

                      “But what about people who have kids with people they know and NOT as a result of abuse etc?

                      I just did. These things can (and do) happen when a relationship breaks up.

                    • Brigid …
                      20 September 2017 at 11:10 am

                      You obviously know who these women are so answer this.
                      Who are the women who are in this situation? How many are there? What are their names?

                    • Tracey …
                      13 October 2017 at 3:56 pm

                      Punishing children through this section hasn’t worked. What next James?

                • Cinny …
                  20 September 2017 at 9:11 am

                  Often drunk chicks give in to male pressure and just do it to get it over and done with, so they aren’t hassled and gropped any more. Which sucks, and is really really common.

                  Anyways… why should they not be named? Because the mother feels there would be no emotional benefit to the child from doing so, Miravox provides a fantastic example on that. Maybe later they might change their mind and name the father, and that’s ok.

                • Janice …
                  20 September 2017 at 9:54 am

                  James. have you ever had a one night stand, there may be a little James out there somewhere.

                  • reason …
                    20 September 2017 at 1:05 pm

                    James has vouched for ‘public toilet sex ‘ in the past …..

                    So God knows who what and where he has stuck it in ……

                    He says “don’t knock it”

                    But to solo mums he’d like to sock it ……..

                  • Tracey …
                    13 October 2017 at 3:58 pm

                    James would go to the authorities and demand to be on the birth certificate and then he would pay all the arrears. Right James?

                • tracey …
                  20 September 2017 at 3:40 pm

                  Are you sure when they say they were raped they do not get questioned about why they didnt press charges.

                • Tracey …
                  13 October 2017 at 3:54 pm

                  Why are men not naming themselves James?

            • One Anonymous Bloke 2.1.2.2.1.2
              20 September 2017 at 9:17 am

              Do you really not understand that it’s the mother’s human rights you’re proposing (salivating, probably) to abuse?

            • Tracey 2.1.2.2.1.3
              13 October 2017 at 3:53 pm

              I am sure most fathers know they have become fathers, wonder why they don’t come forward?

        • tracey 2.1.2.3
          20 September 2017 at 3:38 pm

          If we are not holding to account so many men whose names we know, why add to the list?

        • Tracey 2.1.2.4
          13 October 2017 at 3:51 pm

          We fail to hold to account those whose names we do know. Why is that James

    • Tracey 2.3
      13 October 2017 at 3:50 pm

      Released before the election but we didn’t publish it or their blocking of it til after the election…

  3. eco Maori/kiwi 3
    20 September 2017 at 6:45 am

    Apologies to MSM I allready new that you would not be able to grasp my reality as you are human’s to.There are people out there that no what I have said to be fact. But the positives out come hopefully is that OUR youth will keep out of the shit .
    Now all of OUR export based organisations and people working for them If I was YOU
    I would get a subscription to pay and support Joseph Parker Campaign to Dominate the WORLD heavy weight boxing .
    AS THIS WILL BE THE CHEAPEST WAY TO ADVERTISE NEW ZEALAND AND YOUR EXPORT PRODUCTS TO THE WORLD I will get one because I Love OUR beautiful country

  4. James 4
    20 September 2017 at 7:28 am

    I think there are two polls out this evening. I predict they will close a bit from being so far spark over the last few weeks.

    But who knows – polling has been crazy.

    I predict:
    National up a little
    Labour down a little
    Greens down in the real danger zone of being wiped out (5-6%)
    NZ first a little higher than the greens but not by much.

    • Robert Guyton 4.1
      20 September 2017 at 8:02 am

      All Blacks 3, England, nil.

    • millsy 4.2
      20 September 2017 at 8:41 am

      Probably right. National will probably end up taking this out.

      Im hoping Im wrong, but I don’t want to be too dissapointed on election night.

      There will be some really hard questions about where to go from here after this.

    • Cinny 4.3
      20 September 2017 at 8:45 am

      I predict Greens up, labour up a little, nat’s down a little, not sure about the rest.

      What do you do on election night James?

      I remember my parents being invited to a ‘party’ on an election night, they didn’t know it was an election party for the local nat’s. They turned up, blue everything, mum and dad basked in the nat’s loss that night, needless to say, the party finished early, everyone (apart from my folks) was feeling a bit blue.

      • james 4.3.1
        20 September 2017 at 8:48 am

        You asked me the other day what am I doing that night – I answered then.

        But in short – having people around to watch on the big screen and have a bit of a BBQ.

        Why? you angling for an invite?

    • Glenn 4.4
      20 September 2017 at 8:54 am

      I predict:
      National steady.
      Labour up by 1%
      Greens up by 1%
      NZ first hammered down to 4.5%

      • Union city greens 4.4.1
        20 September 2017 at 1:02 pm

        Labour and nats neck and neck.
        Greens up, Winston down.
        Labour and greens could form a government.

  5. Historian Pete 5
    20 September 2017 at 7:30 am

    Gareth Morgan:The Cat is out of the bag!! Gareth would like us to believe that his primary motivation in entering politics with the TOP Party is to create a more egalitarian and democratic N.Z. Nothing, in my opinion, could be further than the truth .His motivations are revealed by two of his policies.Namely , giving N.Z. a second house of parliament and introducing a constitution.If you look at countries with constitutions you see an ever widening gap between the super wealthy one percenters and the rest of the population. In the U.S. you will see that the constitution has impeded any efforts to bring about more equality. This is not surprising as this was the reason that the founding fathers introduced a constitution in the first place. They feared the power of the common people, and they cleverly introduced a hurdle that would stultify any efforts in that direction. The U.S. constitution has presided over the greatest inequality that exists in the developed world. And there is the two houses of parliament[Congress].They were also created to protect the wealth and position of landowners and to prevent democracy.
    The House of Lords, aptly named,in the U.K.is also just such an instrument to protect the rights and property of the wealthy, the aristocracy, and the Monarchy against the”Commons”.
    So, basically the Top policies mentioned are there to protect the wealth of the Oligarchs “in waiting”in N.Z. Lord Gareth is anticipating taking up his rightful position in N.Z., as we follow in the footsteps of the more progressive U.S. and U.K. And he will be supported by the ever growing numbers of the super rich and their sycophants , that are naturally increasing in N.Z. with the efforts of the National Party Government.N.Z. has become a bolthole for the oligarchs of the world, people like Peter Thiel,connected to the Five Eyes, and of course an adviser to U.S. president Trump. Thiel was given instant citizenship by another one of our home grown one percenter oligarchs in waiting Sir John Key.And Trademe founder Sam Morgan wrote a letter in support. Get the picture? Birds of a feather flock together.So, a N.Z.constitution and upper house is a plan so cunning that you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel! Do not be fooled by the insidious Top Party Trojan Horse!!

  6. marty mars 6
    20 September 2017 at 7:33 am

    after bill loses for the second time this weekend he might just reflect on the fact that now he doesn’t have to try and be a leader to cope with the tiny handed maniac.

    Donald Trump has made his strongest threat yet against North Korea, vowing to “totally destroy” the country if it attacks the US or its allies.

    In a wideranging speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York overnight, the US President repeated his mocking nickname for Kim Jong-un – “Rocket Man” – and slammed his leadership as a “depraved regime”.

    “The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,” he said.

    “Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11924184

    Thank goodness wise heads and true leadership will be there with Jacinda and James.

  7. Dialey 7
    20 September 2017 at 7:38 am

    I’ve just heard from a friend who was a staunch John Key supporter, and therefore Nat voter, has voted Labour this time “because of Jacinda”. I hope that is a trend.

  8. Ad 8
    20 September 2017 at 8:13 am

    National proxies doing their job:

    “Farmers were encouraged by Fonterra subsidiary Farm Source Waikato to attend Monday’s march in Opposition leader Jacinda Ardern’s home town of Morrinsville, where many voiced their opposition to Labour’s plan to introduce a tax on water.

    In a group email obtained by the Herald, the head of Farm Source Waikato, Paul Grave, suggested farmers and their friends and neighbours attend the gathering.

    “As you may be aware, a group of Waikato farmers have organised a march in Morrinsville this Monday 18 September to highlight the environmental leadership shown by the dairy industry in our communities,” Grave said.

    “The march is a great opportunity for dairy farmers to show solidarity, engage with the Waikato community, and talk about the significant improvements that have been made on-farm in recent years, and plans for further work in the future,” he said.”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11924010

    Should Labour get in power, they need to look beyond farmers, and head straight to the cause: Fonterra.

    • ianmac 8.1
      20 September 2017 at 10:24 am

      Vested interest for Fonterra? Anyway it was a pretty motley protest with many of those present just local Morrinsville folk there to watch the fun. Is that the best that they can do? Ha.

    • Draco T Bastard 8.2
      20 September 2017 at 2:12 pm

      Labour changed the legislation so that Fonterra could come into existence. Maybe it’s time to change it back.

      • Ad 8.2.1
        20 September 2017 at 2:15 pm

        Was the right thing to do at the time, but they have not lived up to their promise and I would sincerely want Fonterra to be reviewed. Haven’t seen it on the agenda so far.

  9. Ad 9
    20 September 2017 at 8:33 am

    Nice review of President Trump’s speech to the United Nations yesterday:

    https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/09/trump-united-nations-obama/540288/

  10. garibaldi 10
    20 September 2017 at 8:49 am

    Trump is no longer the Trump who ran for president. He is now just a mouthpiece for the American military machine, which is disastrous for the World. It means that the USA will set up an incident then blame the other side and go to war. This will happen anywhere they choose. They have done it countless times before. They just have to have war, war and war. Incidentally Hilary would have been no better.
    PS Let’s hope they can wait till after we vote National out!
    I’m off to work now. Someone else will have to tell James he is wrong!

  11. Ad 11
    20 September 2017 at 8:53 am

    Have any viewers under 30 on this site not voted yet?

    A few days ago there were 3,218,857 voters enrolled, which is 90% of those eligible.

    Nearly 20,000 fewer people under 30 were registered compared to 2014.

    http://www.elections.org.nz/research-statistics/enrolment-statistics-electorate

    In the last election, more than 200,000 eligible voters under 30 did not vote.

    The Labour support in the polls is strongest from young people.

    If there are young people who haven’t voted (or even enrolled ) yet, do so.

  12. greywarshark 12
    20 September 2017 at 9:09 am

    michael barnett of auckland chamber of commerce says that the airline fuel problem could have been alleviated if better infrastructure had been in place. Demand has gone up considerably yet the reserve held in Auckland have remained the same.

    Is this the same michael barnett who was one of the troika introducing the Treasury’s system of cutting government planning and regulating out and leaving it instead to business which, now who, know best how to run things efficiently?

    (I say who, because companies have in past decades been given the right of being treated as ‘persons’ in law. How a company with its larger strength and capital can be equal to a person can only equate in the brain of a money maker and his lawyer.)

    • tracey 12.1
      20 September 2017 at 3:46 pm

      Is it true taxpayers are being asked to stump up for any back up plan for the pipeline? I only ask cos petrol companies do quite well financially dont they? Is AirNZ getting compensation and from whom?

      • greywarshark 12.1.1
        20 September 2017 at 4:05 pm

        I don’t know and have been wondering myself. They are starting to talk about costs which must be huge. The petrol companies own the refinery I think and probably the holding tanks. The government every now and then like to take on the oil companies that have enough reserves to release a little bit and make the pollies seem effective. So Michael Barnett being one of those cunning rats that ended up in a good possie after doing the dirty on Labour voters, will probably be thinking up something that he can write a serious history essay about that has him in a starring role.

      • mary_a 12.1.2
        20 September 2017 at 4:16 pm

        tracey @ (12.1) … I think whoever is responsible should be up for any costs relating to this incident. Such as the company concerned for poaching swamp kauri to send to its overseas business.

        No doubt Judith Collins will know what’s going on here, being Minister of energy as well as Minister for Oravida!

        • greywarshark 12.1.2.1
          20 September 2017 at 9:21 pm

          I was just talking about this and someone pointed out that the pipeline is supposed to be 30 years old and due for replacement each 25 years. So that has to be taken into account. I’m a bit prejudiced about the swamp kauri digging which seemed to be a perfect vicious circle.

  13. Ad 13
    20 September 2017 at 9:14 am

    If an elected government failed in an advanced economy with a large agricultural base, would anyone notice? Not in the Netherlands:

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-19/dutch-doing-just-fine-without-government-on-decade-high-growth

    So just in case New Zealand gets an election with no clear result and doesn’t have a government for a few months or indeed quite a few, it’s not the end of the world.

    • tracey 13.1
      20 September 2017 at 3:47 pm

      I recall when we didnt have one for about 9 weeks. Media gave us interesting news stories and joyrnalism.

      • Andrea 13.1.1
        20 September 2017 at 8:34 pm

        Belgium managed for more than 540 days and failed to descend into anarchy. Perhaps we could repeat the experiment, go for longer, and take our place in the Guinness Book of Records. Think of the money we could save!

  14. Cinny 14
    20 September 2017 at 9:24 am

    English is being interviewed on RNZ at the moment if any are interested. Defensive as

    Youtube stream here….

    • Rosemary McDonald 14.1
      20 September 2017 at 9:47 am

      Listening peripherally I thought it was a Party Political Broadcast….Kathryn did try…but sadly Bill is unable to speak in other than slogans and soundbites.

      • Bearded Git 14.1.1
        20 September 2017 at 9:58 am

        She did challenge him on the “Social Investment” issue. Bill continuously parrots this as though it is a solve-all breakthrough but Ryan said it was not working.

        I wish she had simply asked “why are there so many people begging and sleeping on the streets of Auckland”.

        Very noticeable when I was up there a few weeks ago.

      • ianmac 14.1.2
        20 September 2017 at 10:30 am

        Exactly. He ploughs on regardless of the question. Like the Jehhovva Witness folk who respond with a spiel distantly related to the question.
        “Nice day today”
        “Yes that is so and in the Bible Jesus says trust in the …”

  15. David Mac 15
    20 September 2017 at 9:48 am

    I caught Dr Lance on AM this morning. I was surprised to hear him say he will be standing for the Maori Party in 2020. I think it’s an announcement that will assist their vote this election, that joker is a mana fest.

    I can see him having broad appeal. I think he said something with voter appeal right across the political spectrum. Garner implied that NZ Health needs more money, O’Sullivan disagreed. He feels we need to be using the current Health budget more efficiently. Wow! A politician that doesn’t think more money is the solution. He’s not standing until 2020 and I want to hear more of what he has to say now.

    I think the chap has the potential to be quite a force in NZ politics.

    • marty mars 15.1
      20 September 2017 at 9:58 am

      He seems very ambitious…

      • Rosemary McDonald 15.1.1
        20 September 2017 at 11:11 am

        He is ambitious…and, from my observations does not enjoy the following in the Far North that you would expect.

        There have been a couple of incidents where his ego/arrogance has really ripped some undies.

        It’ll be interesting to see how far he goes…

        • marty mars 15.1.1.1
          20 September 2017 at 11:40 am

          Yep I agree. Not convinced personally and we will see. So many Māori women and men doing so much good work – no need to focus on one individual AND it is also worth noting a persons contribution imo

        • greywarshark 15.1.1.2
          20 September 2017 at 12:24 pm

          Rosemary
          About his outspokenness. I was up his way a year ago and stayed with some immigrants who were keen to get into some business and involved in the community. They seemed to feel that there was a torpor up there, a reluctance to change and acceptance of an unsatisfactory status quo.

          What Dr Lance O’Sullivan sees would set his teeth on edge, and no doubt feels more positive stuff needs to be done instead of him being the band aid to the unhealable wound.

          This was interesting and probably relates to the problems he sees and the current fuel problem up there.
          Digging for our roots?

          • Rosemary McDonald 15.1.1.2.1
            20 September 2017 at 1:01 pm

            “They seemed to feel that there was a torpor up there, a reluctance to change and acceptance of an unsatisfactory status quo. ”

            In some small groups within some small communities maybe….but certainly not on a wider scale.

            We are frequent visitors to Kaitaia and points north, and keep returning because on the whole the area retains much of what was good about NZ in times past. There is a real sense of community (has to be because of isolation issues) and a growing group of locals who are asking serious questions regarding the impacts of increasing horticulture on the environment. There is a real engagement from parents trying to support more positive educational outcomes.

            There are various NGOs active in the area…trying to address some of the issues that claim the headlines…but it has frustrated me personally that Whanau Ora (as a one stop shop for assisting families with issues across multiple government departments) has been conspicuous by its absence. We have chatted with many people whose lives could have been transformed had WO been active.

            AND…the Far North has the very best recycling operation, bar none, in the country. Woe betide the person who tries to pop a juice bottle in with the milk bottles or an empty margarine container in with the janitorials. They have been super sorting for years!

            As for the swamp kauri thing….hmm…https://publicaddress.net/envirologue/swamp-monsters-the-looting-of-northlands/

            • greywarshark 15.1.1.2.1.1
              20 September 2017 at 5:21 pm

              So why aren’t whanau ora there? What are the local Maori people doing and I think that they suffer most of the poverty there. The editor of the paper said he had things stolen from his house while he was inside. Then he saw one of the items being worn by somebody and got the police to deal with the up till then clueless case. There is activity going on but it is the wrong sort.

              There is get up and go there, but how much, and can’t they find a way of getting employment and training for the young ones. Perhaps it is a place for a charter school, away from the familiar places and faces over in Kaikohe or a certain distance away. Then they can make changes in their approaches, start learning, have ambitions, take control. There is a huge downward presssure from peer groups in some places. You do more than us, learn more, and what are you? You don’t fit in. That’s not our way.

              • Rosemary McDonald …
                20 September 2017 at 6:04 pm

                “So why aren’t whanau ora there?” Waipareira Trust were briefly in the area…they still might be but not prominently. Not on the ‘get stuck in and sort this whanau out before shit gets worse’ scale. Maybe they are being discrete.

                There is a charter school in Kaitaia…not sure of the success rate…I will inquire. 😉

                “There is a huge downward presssure from peer groups in some places. You do more than us, learn more, and what are you? You don’t fit in. That’s not our way.”

                This. This has literally reduced me to tears in relation to some of those families.

                BUT there are many families who have dug their toes in and risen up…we have met some because of the disability connection. Having a child with challenges can be a powerful motivator for many, especially mums.

  16. greywarshark 16
    20 September 2017 at 9:54 am

    I saw someone had printed a poster –
    THINK RATIONAL
    NOT NATIONAL
    VOTE LABOUR
    OR GREENS

    It would be a good idea if we all printed/wrote one out and left it somewhere noticeable.

    There’s another one apparently.

    Nats are Rats.
    They won’t go till the ship sinks.
    Make them go now!
    Vote Labour, Green, Maori Party, a people’s future.

    • Rosemary McDonald 16.1
      20 September 2017 at 11:16 am

      Doing my best Greywarshark, doing my best.

      Just got off the phone from a friend who was intending to vote National….largely because another friend had told her that “Labour would give all our money to the United Nations because of Helen Clarke”

      This lady is a lady so I didn’t let fly with the string of expletives such a statement deserves.

      I just talked about the various Party Policies on disability issues….

      • greywarshark 16.1.1
        20 September 2017 at 11:57 am

        Rosemary
        You’ve got the power! And just letting it out in little tiny bursts is so controlled and more effective. Doesn’t scare the horses! You are tops, and nothing to do with Gareth Morgan (though I don’t really dislike him. )

        • Rosemary McDonald 16.1.1.1
          20 September 2017 at 12:11 pm

          “… to do with Gareth Morgan (though I don’t really dislike him. )”

          Hah! I threatened our very old cat with Uncle Gareth yesterday as he sunk his fangs into my arm as I tried to remove handicapping knots from his nether regions. Ingrate!

          Some individuals just don’t seem to understand that one may just have their best interests at heart.

          Or otherwise, have anything but their best interests at heart

      • bwaghorn 16.1.2
        20 September 2017 at 12:20 pm

        it’s amazing how thick some people are , keeping in mind they all get to vote ,
        I overheard an old god botherer saying that the greens want to destroy the nz economy so they can help install a one world government.

        • DSpare 16.1.2.1
          20 September 2017 at 2:09 pm

          Just because someone says something, doesn’t necessarily mean they believe it to be true, That god botherer may simply have been opposed to the GP’s ideas about abortion, and been saying whatever it was that they thought would most likely convince whoever they were talking to. Of course, sometimes the shape of a person’s lies reveal more about them than the truth would.

  17. Fireblade 17
    20 September 2017 at 9:56 am

    In the past I’ve voted for Act, NZ First or National.

    Our country has changed under the current National Government. I believe they’re corrupt, full of spin and self interest, focused on protecting big business at the expense of everyone else. John Key started this agenda and Bill English has followed in his footsteps.

    I’ve read read The Standard for the last few years and my eyes have been opened. National must not have a fourth term or NZ future will consist of people who are either obscenely wealthy or dirt poor. Middle NZ will not exist.

    Yesterday I voted two ticks for Labour.

  18. patricia bremner 18
    20 September 2017 at 10:15 am

    It shocked me that only Winston Peters formally offered condolences to Jacinda on the loss of her Grandmother.

    Leadership is cheap and nasty and seemingly mannerless these days.

    Good for you Winston. Old fashioned decency.

    Jacinda’s honesty and charm is a breath of fresh air, and she deserves better than this from the rest of the “leaders”

    • Red Blooded 18.1
      20 September 2017 at 11:24 am

      I’m sorry but I don’t believe that’s true. Jacinda herself told John Campbell that Bill English personally rang her to offer his condolences. There are so many faults with Bill and the Nats without throwing unwarranted shade at them.

      • greywarshark 18.1.1
        20 September 2017 at 12:26 pm

        Anyone can make a mistake red blooded. It’s the type of mistake they make that is important. I don’t see this causes for a major dressing down.

        • Red Blooded 18.1.1.1
          20 September 2017 at 1:36 pm

          It was meant as a statement and not an attempt to be a major dressing down. My apologies to patricia bremner if it was taken that way.

    • Frida 18.2
      20 September 2017 at 1:02 pm

      I’m not normally one to defend Bill English, but Jacinda Adern said on Checkpoint last night that she had been contacted directly by him giving his condolences. Credit where credit is due.

      • lprent 18.2.1
        20 September 2017 at 1:48 pm

        Saw a press release from Winston Peters with his condolences as well.

        Update: Oh I see Patricia wrote that already – was reading comment in reverse date/time order in the backend.

        • alwyn 18.2.1.1
          20 September 2017 at 2:11 pm

          I really think I prefer someone who doesn’t feel the need to come out with a Press Release for something like that.

          • McFlock 18.2.1.1.1
            20 September 2017 at 2:56 pm

            It’s old school professional courtesy. Like thank-you cards after a visit.

            • alwyn 18.2.1.1.1.1
              20 September 2017 at 3:51 pm

              I heartily agree with the sentiment being expressed. Politics shouldn’t come into it at all.
              It was that, if I have read these comments correctly, Winston felt the need to issue a Press Release about it rather than just doing it privately as it appears English did.

              The only appalling taint on this sort of thing I can remember was Rob Muldoon to Norman Kirk when Kirk went into hospital for an operation just before his death. Muldoon supposedly sent him a message along the lines of “Get well soon Norm. A pensioner needs your bed”.
              A horrible man was Muldoon, so the story is probably true.
              It is about 2/3 of the way down this story.
              http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=141378

  19. Ffloyd 19
    20 September 2017 at 10:22 am

    Two ticks for Labour. MY husband as well. Labour with a landslide!

  20. ianmac 20
    20 September 2017 at 10:56 am

    Good news from a poll! Urban and Rural.

    “Findings from Water New Zealand’s survey, released at the industry group’s conference this morning, showed 77 per cent of the 4,500 people it polled online over a month this year agreed there should be a cost when taking water from the environment for agriculture and horticulture.

    Almost three in five people – 59 per cent – believed there should be a cost when taking water from the environment for all users.

    But agreement was much higher, at 89 per cent, when asked whether water bottling companies should be charged for taking water from the environment.”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11924261

  21. joe90 21
    20 September 2017 at 11:01 am

    So, Benny “If you take out Saddam, I guarantee you, it would have enormous, positive reverberations on the region” Netanyahu reckons threatening to totally destroy a nation of 26 million people is bold and courageous.

    In over 30 years in my experience with the UN, I never heard a bolder or more courageous speech.— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) September 19, 2017

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/america-first-read-trump-s-full-united-nations-speech-n802676

    • North 21.1
      20 September 2017 at 7:28 pm

      Netanyahu is an apartheid loving fascist. No surprise that of all the western leaders Trump gets his vote.

  22. joe90 22
    20 September 2017 at 11:25 am

    Oh shit, this is bad.

    (earthquake and buildings, careful people)

    Devastating images from Mexico City. pic.twitter.com/RpF7sUq31s— Jorge Guajardo (@jorge_guajardo) September 19, 2017

  23. Adrian 23
    20 September 2017 at 12:16 pm

    Getting them in singles, the old cricket analogy works.
    Congrats to all here who have convinced somebody to move over from the dark side.
    Had a couple of victories too, a 48 year old grape pruner who has never voted or registered did so as a ” favour ” to me , I think it was just to shut me up.
    And an old friend, owner of a few houses including a boarding house, which she does a very good ethical Job of but is daily fielding calls from social services at all hours to house people , said last year ” things have to change “. Switched from a lifetime of Nat voting to TOP, I didn’t disabuse her of the notion, if our side can’t have her vote it’s better that It goes in the bin.
    Fingers crossed, Lets Do This.

  24. Stuart Munro 24
    20 September 2017 at 12:37 pm

    Are we being too nice to the Gnats?

    I hope the incoming government rips the corrupt troughers out of every public office in the country.

  25. Penny Bright 25
    20 September 2017 at 12:57 pm

    YAY! THE #TamakiSCAM STORY HAS (finally) MADE THE NEWS!

    20 September 2017

    LIFTOFF in today’s NZ Herald.

    ‪‪Will Tamaki Regeneration meet its target 7500 builds in 15 years?, via @nzherald http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11923958

  26. mary_a 26
    20 September 2017 at 1:06 pm

    Seems most of us know Oravida is the company involved with poaching swamp kauri in Ruakaka. Hell, they even advertise the fact digitally … Kauri Ruakaka, formerly known as Kauri Oravida!

    So where is msm on this? Why isn’t media investigating the company, as possibly being responsible for the fuel crises disabling NZ at present!

    Come on msm, do your job. Work on behalf of the people, not the corrupt, despicable National government! We deserve some honest answers here!

  27. cleangreen 27
    20 September 2017 at 1:25 pm

    I just heard on Radio NZ news at 1pm that some are questioning how come some staff at the polliing stations are alllowed to take the boxes of votes home with them at night?????

    Did anyone else hear this as it seems doggy to me althouugh some lawyer for the commission said “it is o/k as the bioxes have seals on them!! — reallly?

    Who can you believe in this corrupt little NZ’s grubby crime with a constantly lying PM?

    • alwyn 27.1
      20 September 2017 at 2:15 pm

      What would you prefer they do?
      Seriously would you want them left for a couple of weeks in the local library or suchlike? Wouldn’t they be safer elsewhere, or do you not think any of the people involved in the election can be trusted?

      • tracey 27.1.1
        20 September 2017 at 3:51 pm

        Locked up securely overnight? It is an election afterall. If this was happening in Nigeria you woukd scoff.

  28. Bearded Git 28
    20 September 2017 at 1:38 pm

    674,000 have voted and counting….

    • McFlock 28.1
      20 September 2017 at 3:00 pm

      I bloody went to vote at the university of otago booth today, but I didn’t have time – too many students queuing to vote!

      It seems that the best voting prediction possible is that the % at the start of the night’s coverage will barely change, if half the votes have been counted alread 🙂

      • alwyn 28.1.1
        20 September 2017 at 3:40 pm

        According to a report on Radio New Zealand they can’t start counting the early votes until 9am on Saturday. The count of the early votes is only an indication of the final result on Election Day, not the final result however.
        I’ll bet they keep it very, very quiet until 7pm though.

        According to RNZ
        “Election officials can begin counting ‘early votes’ – the advance votes cast by voters on the printed electoral roll for the electorate they voted in – at 9 am on election day. Their count of these early votes then becomes publicly available very shortly after the polls close.
        If the Electoral Commission’s predictions are accurate, this means up to half of all votes may have been counted and made public at this point. And in the previous two elections, the preference distribution of these early votes quite closely matched the final election night result.”

        However they then have all the Special votes and the distribution of these doesn’t normally follow the standard votes. If, as seems possible, both The Green Party and New Zealand First are near the 5% number they will both be sweating until all the special, including the overseas, votes come in. If my memory is correct the Green Party tend to do better in the overseas votes than those in NZ. I don’t know about NZF

        • Muttonbird 28.1.1.1
          20 September 2017 at 5:31 pm

          According to a report on Radio New Zealand they can’t start counting the early votes until 9am on Saturday.

          That’s a relief. With the integrity of the National Party more and more in question, who knows what they’d get up to if they had advanced warning of the count.

  29. ianmac 29
    20 September 2017 at 2:45 pm

    Sharp earthquake in Marlborough 4 Minutes ago. About 4 second long.

    • mac1 29.1
      20 September 2017 at 2:51 pm

      magnitude 5 east of Seddon.

      I chivvied the electrician who had just gone outside to please walk a little quieter, but he didn’t know why I was saying this. He did say that he missed a step as he walked down the stairs but hadn’t felt the shake.

  30. Once was Tim 30
    20 September 2017 at 4:54 pm

    @Weka and @Tracey
    Have a listen to “The Panel” today after the 4.30 news (if you can stomach Mora and The Hairdo) – the item on the Public Service.
    Some points well made (by Tamihere in particular) – although there are plenty more.

    It is probably one of the biggest issues facing future governments (I think THE biggest) if we are to preserve any semblance of a functioning democracy in future.
    A shitload of departments are bad (MPI, MoBIE, MSD/WINZ, MPI, Education, Health …..)
    Two, for me are standouts (as in bad)

  31. James 31
    20 September 2017 at 4:54 pm

    Gareth Morgan on people voting on the “Jacindamania”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11924483

    “Voters cannot be that think”.

    There are a lot of people thinking the same thing.

    • The decrypter 31.1
      20 September 2017 at 4:58 pm

      You said it james, lots of voters I know are that THINK.

    • McFlock 31.2
      20 September 2017 at 5:21 pm

      If he seriously thinks the post-Little change is just about a smiley face, he’s the thick one.

      I think it was largely about two things:

      an unexpectedly high energy level; and

      points of difference in the leadership that demonstrated Labour wasn’t just talking different to National, but that it is different to National. Competence rather than bullshit, generational difference, gender difference. Not a “cosmetic” change as such ( it wouldn’t work if she didn’t have the energy and assurance), but it shows the country something other than two rich middle aged white guys waffling on and pretending to score points off each other.

  32. eco Maori/kiwi 32
    20 September 2017 at 5:11 pm

    Apologies To MSM I forget that those muppets have painted a shit view about me.

    • james 32.1
      20 September 2017 at 5:23 pm

      The only ‘view’ people have about you eco Maori/kiwi is from the content of your post.

      You could be headlining the news this evening and we would be none the wiser.

  33. james 33
    20 September 2017 at 5:21 pm

    And Winny says no a a water tax for farmers – excellent – even more reason for him to side with National over Labour.

    http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/09/winston-peters-say-he-won-t-support-a-water-tax.html

  34. Muttonbird 34
    20 September 2017 at 5:21 pm

    Industry leaders absolutely kicking the National Party’s light touch on crucial infrastructure.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/339832/infrastructure-an-enormous-gap-in-governance-industry

  35. JC 35
    20 September 2017 at 8:49 pm

    Not Xenophobic But this is Scary!

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/09/18/48616/expert-calls-for-inquiry-into-chinese-threat

    ” Dr Brady said that after watching China’s growing influence for several years, it was time for a special commission to investigate its impact on New Zealand’s democracy.

    … recent revelations that National Party MP Dr Jian Yang did not declare his background in military intelligence when applying for citizenship are extremely concerning.

    ” there was deep concern among her international colleagues at the conference that China is meddling in the affairs of their respective countries, Australia, the US, UK, Canada, EU states and Japan.

    China was using the same tactics in most of those countries, including New Zealand. They included:

    – Gaining influence over Chinese migrants living in other countries (10 million Chinese live outside China).

    – Taking over or integrating the local ethnic Chinese media with the Chinese media controlled by the Communist Party.

    – Encouraging local Chinese who are acceptable to the Chinese government to enter politics in their host countries and if elected getting them to promote China’s interests.

    – Appoint former local MPs with access to political power to high profile roles in Chinese companies or Chinese-funded entities in the host country.”

  36. mosa 36
    20 September 2017 at 9:34 pm

    September 24th 2017 National the largest party backed by NZF and ACT and the Maoris.

    Jacinda will prevail in 2020 in the biggest landslide in recent history after serving her three year apprenticeship.

    That is my prediction and Winston’s last term.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Speaker: The cannabis referendum – a doctor’s perspective
    Cannabis is part of our culture: 80% of adults have tried it sometime. Intuition tells us that legalising cannabis will increase use – science suggests that is not likely. Our Dunedin and Christchurch studies show that cannabis use peaks in our 20s. Older people are less frequent users whether it ...
    Public Address
    23 mins ago

  • First steps: Jerry DeSilva on the evolution of bipedalism
    Yesterday morning I got up (at the rather early and unaccustomed hour of 3.30am) to listen to a webinar by paleoanthropologist Dr Jeremy DeSilva¹. Titled “First Steps”, his presentation was about the origins of bipedalism in the human lineage. It was a fascinating session & I thought I’d turn my ...
    SciBlogsBy Alison Campbell
    58 mins ago

  • True Believers In A False God.
    Down The Rabbit Hole: "Social psychologists have found that when fearful people contemplate potential misfortunes, they tend to feel helpless and pessimistic, but when angry people contemplate the same, they feel a sense of optimism and control. And one simple way to transmute fear into anger is to perceive an evil ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 hour ago

  • Majority Rule Requires Majorities That Are Real.
    Fifty Percent Plus One: New Zealand’s genuine-majority-delivering two-party system endured for five elections only (1938, 1943, 1946, 1949, 1951) a period of just 16 years. Very few New Zealanders alive today can boast of participating in an election which delivered a true majority to either Labour or National. Someone who ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 hours ago

  • Labour super exploitation
    This is the second in the lecture series by Andy Higginbottom on superexploitation. Here he looks at Marini’s theory of labour super-exploitation and Capital ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    10 hours ago

  • Small asteroid to make near-miss of Earth in NZ skies tonight
    Sorry for the late notice on this one, but I only just heard myself, in common with most of the human race. A small asteroid, somewhere between the size of a truck and the size of a house in dimensions, will hurtle past the Earth tonight, dipping closer to ...
    SciBlogsBy Duncan Steel
    17 hours ago

  • This is not what accountability looks like
    When someone commits trespass, assault with a weapon, and kidnapping, you'd expect them to be prosecuted, right? But apparently the rules are different if you wear a blue uniform: A police investigation has found officers in Northland trespassed on a man's property, then unlawfully pepper sprayed him and arrested ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    18 hours ago

  • Cycling: head injuries ignored because of entrenched macho culture
    Howard Hurst, University of Central Lancashire and Jack Hardwicke, University of Winchester Competitive road cycling is a demanding and unique sport. One where crashing is inevitable – especially at the professional level. While the risk of head injury is relatively low in cycling – approximately 5-13% – compared to contact ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    19 hours ago

  • The coming US shitshow
    Today President Trump once again refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the US election. Coincidentally, The Atlantic has a long article on exactly what that means, from voter suppression by armed thugs in the name of "ballot security", to refusing to allow the vote ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    19 hours ago

  • A moral void
    That's the only way to describe the SIS, who - like their British counterparts - decided to look the other way on child abuse: The SIS knew a young woman was being sexually abused by her father but failed to lodge a complaint with the police, effectively allowing the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    20 hours ago

  • When will Goldsmith resign?
    The National Party’s campaign has gone from bad to worse with a further two large miscalculations being uncovered in their alternative fiscal plan. Firstly, National’s economic spokesperson and list MP, Paul Goldsmith, used May's Budget figures instead of last week's PREFU numbers, and came up with a whopping $4.3 billion ...
    The Jackal
    21 hours ago

  • The Adventures of Annalax: Part IX
    The initial session was a struggle. Annalax and Magni tried sorting out the details with the Isaac twins (the people pursuing the mountain trip). Annalax happened to mention his devotion to Lolth… whom the Isaacs, being ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    22 hours ago

  • This is bullshit
    On March 13, three plainclothes police officers kicked in Breonna Taylor's door under a no-knock warrant targeting another person. When a person inside reasonably assumed they were home invaders and (this being America) started shooting, they shot up the place and everyone around them - killing Taylor. Today, one of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    22 hours ago

  • Arctic sea ice is being increasingly melted from below by warming Atlantic water
    Tom Rippeth, Bangor University Arctic sea ice today (white) is covering a much smaller area than in 1980-2010 (orange line). National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CC BY-SA Each September, scientists like me look out for the point when the Arctic’s meagre summer fizzles out and ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    1 day ago

  • The long-term health burden of COVID-19: further justification for NZ’s elimination strategy
    Prof John D. Potter* This blog briefly surveys the emerging scientific evidence on the longer-term burden of symptoms and disease in survivors of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these symptoms point to damage in the brain and heart. These long-term harms add to the wide range of other reasons for ...
    SciBlogsBy Public Health Expert
    1 day ago

  • Going High, Going Low: An Assessment Of The First Leaders’ Debate.
    Uncrushed: Jacinda Ardern knew exactly what was expected of her in the first Leaders' Debate. Labour’s dominant position, three weeks out from the general election, is constructed out of the admiration and gratitude of hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who, more often than not, vote National.  Nothing she said ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 day ago

  • The smokefree policies of political parties: Do they care about people who smoke?
    George Thomson*, Nick Wilson, Janet Hoek, Andrew Waa, Richard Edwards In this time of Covid-19, helping people who smoke to quit their addiction has an even greater importance. Smokers are more vulnerable to many harmful health effects, including severe effects from the virus. Policies that support people who smoke to ...
    SciBlogsBy Public Health Expert
    1 day ago

  • The Fog Of Economic Policy Is Starting To Clear…
    Bryan Bruce, https://www.facebook.com/www.redsky.tv, 19 September 2020 National’s economic policy of temporary tax cuts yesterday proved, if proof be needed, that they are unapologetic neoliberals. While their claim that with more money in their pockets people will spend more might sound attractive, the reality is that tax cuts always benefit the ...
    Closing the GapBy Tracey Sharp
    1 day ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #38, 2020
    Highlighted article: Carbon pricing and planetary boundaries  Engström et al take what might be called a systems approach to evaluating carbon pricing, taking into a account various economic sectors affected by and affecting paying for emissions. The conclusions are overall a rare pleasant surprise— a feature predicated on cooperation.  Abstract: ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Humans ignite almost every wildfire that threatens homes
    Nathan Mietkiewicz, National Ecological Observatory Network and Jennifer Balch, University of Colorado Boulder CC BY-ND Summer and fall are wildfire season across the western U.S. In recent years, wildfires have destroyed thousands of homes, forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate and exposed tens of millions to harmful ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    2 days ago

  • Climate Change: China steps up
    China has increased its climate change ambition, and set a target to be carbon-neutral by 2060: China will reach carbon neutrality before 2060 and ensure its greenhouse gas emissions peak in the next decade, Xi Jinping has told the UN general assembly. “China will scale up its intended nationally ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Humans have dealt with plenty of climate variability
    Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz How much climate variability have humans dealt with since we ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    2 days ago

  • Indigenous perspectives on unrestricted access to genomic data
    By Genomics Aotearoa researcher Maui Hudson, University of Waikato It is vital that genomics research respects genomic data and genetic heritage from indigenous communities. Genomics research is a rapidly growing field of study, and there is a strong push to make the huge amount of data being produced open ...
    SciBlogsBy Genomics Aotearoa
    2 days ago

  • Terrible luck: lockdowns on learning and youth job prospects
    What is bad luck? Bad luck is spilling spaghetti sauce down your shirt right before an important meeting. When the person in front of you gets the last seat on the bus, that’s bad luck. Bad luck is when it’s sunny outside, so you leave the house without a coat, ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    2 days ago

  • Ian Powell: Does private healthcare threaten public healthcare in New Zealand?
    Is the private health system impacting negatively on the public health system? Health commentator Ian Powell evaluates a recent NZ Herald article by Natalie Akoorie (“Public v private healthcare: Moonlighting, skimming, duplication – should NZ do better”), and looks at how the dual system works, and concludes that the answer ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago

  • A rabbit-hole election debate: So do you want more avocado orchards?
    We live in strange and unusual times. It’s been a century since we’ve endured a global pandemic like this, more than half a century since we’ve had economic woes like this. So maybe we got an opening election debate for the times - because that was a strange and unusual ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    2 days ago

  • LIVE: Jacinda Ardern vs. Judith Collins, First Debate
    Tonight, The Civilian will be live-blogging the first of too many debates between Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and National Party leader Judith Collins, and also the last fifteen minutes of the news. Be sure to tune in from 6:45pm for regular updates, which can be accessed by refreshing this page ...
    The CivilianBy admin
    3 days ago

  • Hundreds of Aucklanders arrested after illegal mass gathering on Harbour Bridge
    An enormous drive-in party, shown here, was held this morning on Auckland’s Harbour Bridge, where police were forced to intervene. Hundreds of Aucklanders were arrested this morning on public health grounds, after an apparent illegal mass gathering on the city’s Harbour Bridge. Police say hundreds of Aucklanders gathered in their ...
    The CivilianBy admin
    3 days ago

  • The Looming Fight.
    Social Distancing Be Damned - It's Jacinda! Shortly after ascending to Labour’s leadership, Jacinda described herself as a “pragmatic idealist”. It was an inspired oxymoron – packing into just two words the essence of the social-democrat’s dilemma. It was good to know that she knew what lay ahead of her. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Moving faster
    Back in 2017, the UK announced that it would ban the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles by 2040. Its a basic climate change measure, aimed at reducing emissions by shifting the vehicle fleet to cleaner technologies. Now, in the wake of the pandemic, they're planning to bring it forward ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • The Australian courts have had enough of refugee detention
    For the past decade, Australia has had a racist, anti-refugee policy. Those claiming refugee status are imprisoned without trial and left to rot in the hope they would "voluntarily" return to be tortured and murdered. When the courts have granted them visas, the government has immediately revoked them on racial ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Friction and the Anti-lock Braking System
    Yesterday afternoon I had to call on my car’s anti-lock braking system (ABS). For reasons best known to its driver, a car pulled out of a side road right in front of me while I was driving home after work, and I needed to stop in a hurry. I rather ...
    SciBlogsBy Marcus Wilson
    3 days ago

  • The Inside Word: New Zealand Quarantine
    There are a fair few misconceptions about conditions within New Zealand’s Quarantine Hotels. Madeline Grant’s misplaced accusations being one prominent example, though she is not alone. Today, I thought I’d share the inside word, so to speak. A friend of mine has recently returned to New Zealand from overseas, and ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    3 days ago

  • Hard News: ASA: Let’s not talk about this
    Last week, major newspapers carried a full-page ad as part of the campaign for a "No" vote to the referendum question about supporting the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill. The ad was authorised by the SAM NZ Coalition, which takes its name from a controversial American anti-cannabis group and includes ...
    Public Address
    3 days ago

  • This is not kind
    New Zealand has a serious homelessness problem, due to skyrocketing rents and a lack of state houses. One of the ways we stick a band-aid on it is to put people up in motels. Previously, they were charged full commercial rates, saddled with odious debt due to the government's failure ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Wokies are the establishment
    by Ani O’Brien In the absence of a better word with which to refer to the rabid activists who claim progressivism while demanding adherence to an increasingly prescriptive set of political beliefs, I call them “woke”. With its roots in Black American slang, the term originally denoted a person or ...
    RedlineBy Daphna
    4 days ago

  • How to strengthen the post-isolation Covid rules
    Over the weekend, the Ministry of Health reported a case of Covid-19 in Auckland that is not related to the current Auckland cluster. Before we start to panic, here’s how I think the case happened and how we can strengthen our current border controls. The new Covid-19 case is someone ...
    SciBlogsBy Siouxsie Wiles
    4 days ago

  • Neuralink and You: A Human-AI Symbiosis
    Becky Casale Elon Musk reckons his Neuralink brain implant is much more than a medical device–that one day it will drive a symbiosis between humans and artificial intelligence. “Good morning! I’m Dr Benedict Egg and I’ll be supervising your Neuralink insertion today. Do you have any questions?” “Yes, Doc. ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    4 days ago

  • Liam Hehir: Our obsession with American politics
    Many New Zealanders take a strong interest in US politics, with the death of Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg being the latest example. Liam Hehir wonders if it very wise for New Zealanders to get so worked about it.   Many politically engaged New Zealanders are now furiously ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • COVID: Back to Level 1
    After stamping the Coronavirus out via strict lockdown between March and May, New Zealand went through a good three months without any community cases. Then a local outbreak in Auckland rather buggered things up last month. Auckland’s been in level 3 and level 2.5 for the past six weeks. ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change: Climate injustice
    Who's causing our skyrocketing emissions? As with most of our other problems, It's the rich: The wealthiest 1% of the world’s population were responsible for the emission of more than twice as much carbon dioxide as the poorer half of the world from 1990 to 2015, according to new ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Good riddance
    The border closure and resulting lack of foreign slave-workers is driving the fishing industry out of business: One fishing company is effectively out of business while others are bracing for large financial hits as the deepwater New Zealand industry, unable to get skilled foreign workers into the country, have ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #38
    Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... The tipping points at the heart of the climate crisis Many parts of the Earth’s climate system have been destabilised by ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Anyone for Collins?
    In the absence of national public opinion polls, we have had to make do in recent weeks with other guides to voter intentions. Those guides, such as the Auckland Central poll, the incidence of google enquiries and the responses to Vote Compass questions, have suggested, not unexpectedly, that Labour is ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    4 days ago

  • Crusher’s fiscal malfunction
    Crusher Collins - National Party leaderWe all know that the National Party is desperate to gain some traction during this election campaign and have been throwing pretty much everything at the Labour Party in order to try and undermine Jacinda Ardern and what the Coalition Government has achieved. But unfortunately ...
    The Jackal
    4 days ago

  • Much of the commentariat’s reporting of the most recent GDP figure was misleading and unhelpful. The prize for the stupidest remark about the GDP figure for second quarter 2020 (2020Q2) released on Thursday (17 Sept) goes to Judith Collins, whose response to Grant Robertson’s comments indicated she did not ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago

  • Love and Hate as Complementary Revolutionary Acts
    by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh goloing@gmail.com (19/09/2020) Che Guevara said that a true revolutionary is motivated by love i.e. love of the oppressed, the poor, the children dying from preventable illnesses. This phrase of his is true but has been used by reformists and their more hippy wing have taken advantage ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    5 days ago

  • 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #38
    A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 13, 2020 through Sat, Sep 19, 2020 Editor's Choice Get to Net-Zero by Mid-Century? Even Some Global Oil and Gas Giants Think it Can Be Done A report by a ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Tax cuts for all!!! (except you, you, and you)
    With the National Party this week announcing a new policy of tax cuts to spice up the election campagin. MyThinks went along to the launch and afterwards we spoke to the party’s finance spokesperson Paul “Golden Touch” Goldsmith. MT: Thanks for speaking to us Mr Goldsmith. PG: No. Thank you. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    6 days ago

  • Great Waves Washing Over New Zealand
    Always to islanders danger Is what comes over the seas ‘Landfall in Unknown Seas’ (Allen Curnow)Six economic issues external to New Zealand, which will greatly impact upon us. 1.         The Diminishing Global Dominance of the US. Since 1941 America has dominated the world economically and politically. Probably it could ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • New Zealand has role to play in resolving crisis on ‘geopolitical fault line’, Helen Clark says
    By Geoffrey Miller New Zealand should continue to champion human rights in Belarus amidst an ongoing crackdown on protests by the country’s regime, former Prime Minister Helen Clark says. Protests in the country often referred to as ‘Europe’s last dictatorship’ erupted after the country’s disputed presidential elections on August 9 ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    7 days ago

  • Euthanasia referendum: How to cut through the emotions
    Jacqui Maguire, registered clinical psychologist This podcast episode highlights how difficult it is to have effective conversations about euthanasia due to how polarised people’s views are. I’m a clinical psychologist, with a passion for science communication. In early 2020 I founded the podcast Mind Brew, with an aim to make psychological ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    7 days ago

  • Why we need cameras on boats
    In case anyone needed further convincing, there's another example today of why we need cameras on fishing boats: reported seabird bycatch doubled during a camera trial: Commercial fishers operating off Auckland's coast around vulnerable seabirds are twice as likely to report accidentally capturing them when cameras are on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • Graham Adams: The religious right’s campaign to spike the euthanasia referendum
    In the leadup to the euthanasia referendum, an array of conservative Christian political organisations is running an expensive campaign to sow doubt about the safety of assisted dying. Graham Adams argues that these religious forces know that Christian arguments aren’t convincing the public, but that it is in the public ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    7 days ago

  • Opportunistic looting
    The National Party has spent the last six months acting horrified at the cost of supporting people through the pandemic and banging on about how the debt must be repaid. So what was their economic policy released today? Massive tax-cuts for the rich, of course! National has walked back ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • Uncomfortable Choices.
    Dangerous Times: This will be the choice confronting those coming of age in the 2020s. Embrace Neoliberalism’s belief in racial and sexual equality; adopt its secular and scientific world view; and cultivate the technocratic, multicultural, global outlook required of those who keep the machinery of hyper-capitalism humming. Or, throw your ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • Tony Burton: Covid and benefit payments
    It would be a great time to reform the benefit system, according to former Deputy Chief Economic Advisor at the Treasury, Tony Burton. He argues the complexity of benefit system means that it’s failing to achieve its difficult three core objectives, which form an “iron triangle”.   New Zealand’s benefit ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    7 days ago

  • Talking tax: How to win support for taxing wealth
    Tax Justice UK, September 2020 Serious tax reform is on the political agenda for the first time in decades due to the coronavirus crisis. As this debate hots up it is important to understand what people think about public spending, wealth and tax. Tax Justice UK, along with Survation and ...
    Closing the GapBy Tracey Sharp
    1 week ago

  • Getting Tough.
    Not Mucking Around: With upwards of 800 dead from the virus’s resurgence in the Australian state of Victoria, leniency is not on Premier Daniel Andrews’ agenda. The Victorian Police are cracking down hard on the protesters the Australian press has labelled "Covidiots".IMAGES OF POLICE, some in riot gear, others on ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • Media Link: Nuclear strategy, then and now.
    Although I had the fortune of being a graduate student of some of the foremost US nuclear strategists of the day (1970s) and later rubbed shoulders with Air Force and Naval officers who were entrusted with parts of the US nuclear arsenal, I seldom get to write or speak about ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago

  • The Chinese List.
    News that Zhenhua Data, an arm of China Zhenhua Electronics Group, a subsidiary of the military-connected China Electronic Information Industry Group (CETC), maintains a list of 800 New Zealanders on a “Overseas Key Information Database” that contains personal information on more than 2.4 million foreign individuals, has caused some consternation ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago

  • Things that grow fast, and things that surprise us
    Marie Becdelievre January 2020. The number of news article mentioning coronavirus exploded and anxious voices whispered about a global pandemic. Whisper? To me, it was only a whisper. I tend to learn about the world through non-fiction books, conferences, and academic research rather than news and social media, so ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    1 week ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #37, 2020
    2,082,476,000,000,000 Viability of greenhouse gas removal via the artificial addition of volcanic ash to the ocean  (not open access, unfortunately) walks us through the numbers on a particular means of CO2 removal, addition of volcanic tephra to the ocean. The mechanism is straight chemistry and the cost is fully an order of ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Barbados to become a republic
    Barbados is planning to remove the queen as head of state and become a republic in time for the 55th anniversary of its independence in 2021: Barbados has announced its intention to remove the Queen as its head of state and become a republic by November 2021. [...] Reading ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Party Like It’s 1989: Bait and Switch is a Bad Look, Mr Hipkins
    At the 2017 election, the New Zealand Labour Party promised a Fees Free Policy for tertiary students. Basically, it would make the first year of university education free in 2018, with a second year in 2021, and a third in 2024. It also promised to restore Post-Graduate access to the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago

  • Will the tropics eventually become uninhabitable?
    Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz What is the impact of temperature increases in the tropics? ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    1 week ago

  • A first-hand look: What it’s like to live in a 2020 California wildfire evacuation zone
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons It felt like 100 degrees in my in-laws’ Grass Valley, California, kitchen, but at least the lights were on and for the moment we were safely “distanced” from the Jones Fire. We’d just finished dessert, after pizza and a movie ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • COVID-19 is not the only infectious disease New Zealand wants to eliminate, and genome sequencing is...
    Nigel French, Massey University Genome sequencing — the mapping of the genetic sequences of an organism — has helped track the spread of COVID-19 cases in Auckland, but it also plays an important role in the control of other infectious diseases in New Zealand. One example is Mycoplasma bovis, a ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    1 week ago

  • A flaw in our electoral transparency regime
    A key part of our electoral funding regime is a requirement for some transparency around donations, on the basis that if we can find out who has bought our politicians (typically after we have voted for them) then everything is alright. There are a lot of problems with that regime ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Don’t Steal This Book
    On “In Defense of Looting” Matt Taibibi takes an entertaining look at this generation of woke activists and how they compare with Abbie Hoffman the iconic anti-Vietnam war counter-culture figure of the 1960s On Thursday, August 27th, the same day Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican nomination, National Public Radio ...
    RedlineBy Daphna
    1 week ago

  • Climate Change: Carbon prices must rise
    When Parliament introduced the Emissions Trading Scheme, it was worried that carbon prices might get too high. So it introduced a "fixed price option", allowing polluters to pay the government $25 in the place of surrendering credits. The result was predictable: after we were thrown out of international carbon markets ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Climate Change: Disclosure
    The government will finally be requiring large New Zealand companies to disclose their climate change risks: New Zealand finance companies will be made to report on climate change risk, Climate Change Minister James Shaw has announced. The policy will force around 200 large financial organisations in New Zealand to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Tackling the hard issues – trust and relationships
    By Claire Grant, Genomics Aotearoa Communications Manager Community consultation is becoming an increasingly important aspect of research programmes in New Zealand, and with that comes the art of relationship building. Engagement between scientists and user-groups is certainly nothing new. But as stakeholder involvement becomes more of a requirement for science, ...
    SciBlogsBy Genomics Aotearoa
    1 week ago

  • Equality Network – September Newsletter
    Read the Equality Network newsletter here ...
    Closing the GapBy Tracey Sharp
    1 week ago

  • The Left’s Lost Allies.
    Rebels In A Wrong Cause: The truly frightening thing about Jami-Lee Ross’s and Billy Te Kahika’s success in persuading thousands of New Zealanders that Covid-19 is just another trick, just another way of stealing away their power, is realising just how many of them once marched at the Left’s side. ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

Older posts

  • Better health care for West Coasters as Te Nikau Hospital officially opened
    The Government has delivered a new hospital for Greymouth and is starting work on a much needed new health centre in Westport, ensuring local communities will benefit from better access to high quality integrated health services. Today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare officially open Te ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    46 mins ago

  • Government backing local with PGF loan
    A West Coast distillery will benefit from a Provincial Growth Fund investment that will enable it to expand its operations and create jobs in the town of Reefton, Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Reefton Distilling Co will receive a $928,000 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago

  • Primary sector exports and jobs up again
    Primary sector exports and jobs are up again, demonstrating the sector’s underlying strength amid the COVID-19 global pandemic and US-China trade war, and supporting New Zealand’s economic recovery. Stats NZ today reported New Zealand’s merchandise exports in August were up 8.6% on a year ago, driven by an increase in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago

  • Clean energy future for more schools
    Schools across Aotearoa New Zealand will be supported by the Government to upgrade to run on clean energy, the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw announced today. The Minister has allocated $50 million from the Clean Powered Public Service Fund to replace, or convert, coal boilers in schools with clean ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago

  • Building business strength with digital tools
    New training and tools for digital commerce will give small businesses, especially in the tourism sector, the support they need to adapt and innovate in a COVID world. Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash have announced details of how $20 million digital capability funding set aside ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • New pest lures to protect nature
    The Department of Conservation (DOC) is investing $1.4 million to develop new predator lures that would be game-changers for trapping and surveillance towards a predator-free Aotearoa, the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage, announced in Christchurch today. The proposal is to develop long-life lures attractive to a range of predators—rats, mustelids ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Support for innovative Pacific education responses to COVID-19 needs
    Supporting new and creative Pacific education practices as part of our COVID-19 response and recovery is the focus of a new $28.5 million Pacific Education Innovation Fund announced today by Associate Minister of Education Jenny Salesa.  “There is already an incredible amount of innovative and creative work going on in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Eligibility expanded for COVID-19 leave support
    The expanded scheme will cover: People who have COVID-19 like symptoms and meet the Ministry of Health’s criteria, and need to self-isolate while awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test. People who are directed to self-isolate by a Medical Officer of Health or their delegate or on advice of their ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Seasonal work visa available to more people
    The Government is putting in place a range of immigration policy changes to help fill labour shortages in key industries while ensuring New Zealanders, who have lost jobs due to COVID-19, have the chance to find new employment. “Two key sectors we are moving to help are horticulture and wine ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • More border exceptions for critical roles
    The Government has established class exceptions for border entry for a limited number of veterinarians, deep sea fishing crew, as well as agricultural and horticultural machinery operators. “Tight border restrictions remain the backbone of the Government’s border strategy to protect New Zealand against COVID-19 and ensure New Zealand citizens and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Crown will not appeal Dodds v Southern Response decision
    The Crown will not appeal the Court of Appeal decision in the Dodds v Southern Response case, Grant Robertson announced today. “Southern Response will be paying the damages awarded by the Court to Mr and Mrs Dodds shortly. The Crown was already meeting their legal costs for this appeal. “The ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Crucial PGF investments for Northland
    The Provincial Growth Fund is investing nearly $30 million in a diverse range of projects that will create immediate and long-term jobs and lift economic and social outcomes for Northland and its people. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones made the announcement today in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • $27million investment in global vaccine facility
    The Coalition Government has committed to invest $27 million in COVID-19 vaccine development through the global COVAX Facility, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today. “The COVAX Facility is a key part of our COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy to obtain safe and effective vaccines. It allows us to invest in a high-quality, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Government backing Māori landowners
    The Government will provide up to $1.69 million through the One Billion Trees programme to Māori landowners to make their whenua more productive through the planting of forests, both native and exotic, and improve economic and environmental outcomes, Forestry Minister Shane Jones has announced. “Around 1.5 million ha of land ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • New tools to make nature more accessible
    People planning to head outdoors now have a resource that lets them know how accessible an area is for people with varying levels of mobility, Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced today. The Halberg Foundation, Sensibel, and the Department of Conservation (DOC) have launched Accessibel, a new tool which helps ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • PGF makes Māori history more accessible
    One of the most significant battle sites of the 1860s Land Wars will receive $2.96 million from the Provincial Growth Fund to improve the site and help tell the New Zealand story to visitors, Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. Nanaia Mahuta ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Making it official: The journey of te reo Māori | Kia whakapūmautia: Ngā piki me ngā heke o te r...
    The journey towards recognising Māori as an official language and taonga has been captured as a web series and launched today during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, announced Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni. “Te reo Māori is a living language, and understanding its significance, and pathways to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Better-than-forecast GDP reflects decision to protect New Zealand
    Today’s better-than-forecast GDP figures show the expected impact of the decision to act quickly to protect New Zealanders from the global COVID-19 pandemic. GDP fell 12.2% in the June quarter from March, reflecting decisions to close New Zealand’s borders and enter Alert Level 4. “This result was better than the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Boost for COVID-19 related Pacific education needs
    The Government is investing $39.7 Million over four years to support the educational needs of Pacific learners and families in the regions hardest hit by COVID-19, with Auckland getting an immediate boost, Associate Minister of Education Jenny Salesa says.   “Like all New Zealanders Pacific families want learners to do well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • More resources for kiwi conservation
    New Zealand’s goal of 100,000 kiwi by 2030 is being helped by an extra $19.7 million in funding to accelerate iwi and community efforts to protect kiwi, Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced. “$19.7 million of Jobs for Nature funding is being invested in kiwi conservation activities including increased predator ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Improving access to affordable electricity
    Ensuring New Zealanders can get the best deal on their electricity takes a step in the right direction today with the South Island launch of the EnergyMate pilot run by the Electricity Retailers’ Association, says Minister of Energy and Resources, Dr Megan Woods. EnergyMate is an industry-led programme providing coaching ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Government achieves 50 percent women on state boards
    Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter announced today that the Government has reached its target of 50 percent on women on state sector board and committees – setting a new record level of women on state sector boards. “This Government is committed to having more women in leadership roles - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Record transport investment to help economic recovery and save lives
    Transport Minister Phil Twyford released today the final Government Policy Statement on land transport (GPS) 2021 which outlines the planned $48 billion investment in services and infrastructure over the next decade. “The final GPS supports our Government’s five-point plan for economic recovery by confirming our record investments in transport infrastructure ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Advancing clean energy technology
    Three ambitious and cutting-edge research programmes that will lift New Zealand’s advanced energy technology research capability over seven years, have been supported by Government today, says Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods. The projects will each receive a share of $40.7 million investment from the Strategic Science Investment Fund. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Major milestone reached in Pike River Re-entry
    The critical area for forensic examination known as Pit Bottom in Stone has been reached in what is a major milestone for the Pike River re-entry project, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little announced. “The infrastructure located in Pit Bottom in Stone is of very significant interest in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Economic recovery guides Govt response to retirement income policy review
    The Government is working on how New Zealand’s retirement income policies and settings can best support Kiwis in light of the COVID-19 economic recovery, with the help of the Retirement Commissioner’s latest review, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi said. “The Retirement Commissioner’s three-yearly review into New Zealand’s retirement ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Iwi community hub opens in Murupara
    A new digital hub and development centre in Murupara will be instrumental in growing the region’s productivity, said Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau at the official opening of two community initiatives today. “I’m pleased to be here celebrating a significant milestone for two projects set to make a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • PREFU shows economy doing better than forecast
    PREFU shows economy doing better than forecast Unemployment to peak at 7.8%, down from 9.8% forecast in the Budget Year-to-June accounts show tax revenue, debt and OBEGAL better than forecast Global forecast downgraded as COVID-19 second waves and uncertainty grows Balanced plan to support critical public services, manage debt and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Spruce-up for Ōtaki community facilities
    The Kāpiti Coast town of Ōtaki will receive $1.4 million in Government funding for two projects providing scores of jobs for locals while improving community facilities, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Māoriland Charitable Trust will receive a $900,000 Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) grant to upgrade the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • PGF funding for Jobs for Nature programme
    The Provincial Growth Fund will provide $11.88 million to fund fencing and waterway projects nationwide that will improve the environment and create jobs in their communities, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. “These projects will create more than 100 jobs nationwide with work starting within the next couple ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Procurement to promote jobs, Māori and Pasifika businesses and sustainability
    As part of the COVID-19 recovery, the Government has strengthened its procurement rules to ensure its annual $42 billion spend creates more jobs, uses more sustainable construction practices and results in better outcomes for Māori and Pasifika, Government Ministers announced today.   Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford says the $42 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Timaru’s Theatre Royal to be upgraded and new heritage facility built
    The Government is supporting a major upgrade of Timaru’s iconic Theatre Royal and the construction of a new connected Heritage Facility museum and exhibition space with $11.6 million from the Government’s Infrastructure Fund, Jacinda Ardern announced today. “We heard the call from the community and the council. The Theatre Royal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • District Court judge appointed
    Chrissy Montague (formerly Armstrong), barrister of Auckland has been appointed as a District Court Judge with Family Court jurisdiction to be based in Wellington, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Ms Montague commenced practice in Auckland in 1987 and went into general practice dealing with Wills, Estates, Trusts, Conveyancing, Relationship Property ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Approval given to Commercial Film and Video Production Proposal
      A Proposal to provide for the development and operation of commercial film and video production facilities in areas of Christchurch has been given the go ahead. Hon Poto Williams, Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, has approved the Proposal, which was prepared and submitted by Regenerate Christchurch. Minister Williams ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Supporting a thriving wānanga sector to benefit Māori learners
    As part of the Government’s focus on building closer partnerships with Māori and enhancing the quality of, and access to, Māori medium education, a payment of $8 million will be made to Te Wānanga o Raukawa in partial recognition of its Waitangi Tribunal claim (WAI 2698), Associate Education Minister Kelvin ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Jobs for Nature boosts efforts to restore Kaimai-Mamaku
    The Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage has announced a $19 million investment over four years in an important forest restoration project involving a partnership between the Department of Conservation, iwi/hapū, the Bay of Plenty and Waikato Regional Councils, community conservation groups and organisations such as Forest and Bird across the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand first in the world to require climate risk reporting
    New Zealand will be the first country in the world to require the financial sector to report on climate risks, the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw announced today. The changes build on the huge progress this Government has made to tackle the climate crisis. “Today is another step on ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Economic data highlights impact of Auckland moving out of Level 3
    Economic activity across the Auckland region and the country bounced back to levels experienced under Alert Level 1 following Auckland’s move out of Alert Level 3, analysis in the Treasury’s latest Weekly Economic Update shows. The analysis of economic data since Auckland’s move out of Level 3 shows: Auckland card ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • PM statement on Cabinet COVID-19 Alert Level review
    Takiri mai te ata, ka ao, ka ao, ka awatea, tihei mauriora! Tātou katoa ngā iwi o Aotearoa, tēnā koutou! Tēnā tātou e whakanuia ana i te wiki nei, te wiki o te reo Māori Greeting to you all from Otepoti, Dunedin.  This week is the Māori Language week and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • More mental wellbeing services for young people in regions
    More mental health and addiction services are available for young New Zealanders in Rotorua and Taupō, Wairarapa, South Canterbury, Dunedin and Southland from next month, Health Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter say. “The Government is serious about making sure New Zealanders struggling with mental health ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

Older posts

Older posts