Open mike 21/04/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 21st, 2021 - 56 comments
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56 comments on “Open mike 21/04/2021 ”

  1. Jenny How to get there 1

    Flight hesitancy, is it a thing?

    The cruise industry has been effectively ruined as a perceived incubator for covid-19

    Could the same happen to air travel?

    it might, if there are any more reports like this.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-coronavirus-47-passengers-test-positive-after-overseas-flight/7EGAVKASPTX2XCPBJA5APHOT5I/

    • Incognito 1.1

      Another one of your false equivalences; air travel =//= cruise industry.

      • Sabine 1.1.1

        why that comment?

        I think it is fair to speculate on the fate of recreational boat trips or recreational plane trips, both of whom have closed windows in general and air conditioning. And yes, i can see people forgoing both in the future as an option for holiday making if they fear contamination.

        that of course leaves out those that travel for other then pleasure.

        • McFlock 1.1.1.1

          Worst case scenario for air travel (short of elimination) is they spend more fuel drawing in fresh air and putting in better filters on the recirculated air, rather than recirculating contaminated air.

          Worst case for cruise ships short of elimination is they have to completely redesign the ventilation, onshore activities, food service, onboard facilities, and passenger monitoring in order to become marginally less infectious.

          Best case for aircraft is they can get away with returning to BAU as soon as regions get vaccinated.

          Best case for cruise ships is they take a few years to recover their PR from their latest infectious disease problems.

          • Gabby 1.1.1.1.1

            They'll probably have to do something about the airports as well, you know, queues, baggage handling, seating, all the stuff ppl touch, travel to and from..

            • McFlock 1.1.1.1.1.1

              Maybe, but then that's not a problem directly facing the airlines. Whereas the cruise lines handle everything to get their cut.

          • Worst case for climate change is for aircraft returning to BAU as soon as regions get vaccinated.

            Worst case for climate change is cruise ships take a few years to recover their PR from their latest infectious disease problems.

            Let's hear it for BAU

        • '

          "….that of course leaves out those that travel for other than pleasure."

          Sabine

          Wherein lies another tale;

          “This polling shows that after a year of quick and easy virtual meetings, travellers aren’t planning to go back to business as usual.”

          https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2021/04/business-flyers-could-stick-to-video-calls-even-after-covid-19-pandemic-survey-suggests/

          Stranded asset anyone?

          Shssh

      • I agree absolutely.
        Air travel and cruise industry are not equivalant.
        One polluting, loss making industry, is being bailed out with hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars, and one is not.

        • Incognito 1.1.2.1

          You’re already halfway answering your own question @ 1. Amazing what one can achieve when using one’s brain.

      • Air travel and cruise industry are not equivalent.
        One burns fossil fuels the other burns pixie dust.

  2. TheNZJerster 2

    Countering dominant narratives of NZ's far right

    Marc Daalder'

    https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/countering-dominant-narratives-of-nzs-far-right/ar-BB1fRAWO

    Read this article this morning. Interesting.

    Where do you guys think the Counter narative is going right and where is it going wrong?

    [One letter was missing from user name; guess which one]

    • TheNZJester 2.2

      I seem to have put an extra letter in my name.

      I guess that is what happens when you are rushing in the morning

      • Incognito 2.2.1

        No, you didn’t; it was (partly) my mistake and I was the one who was rushing it 🙁

        FYI, on 15 March, you started using a different user name here, i.e. TheNZJerster instead of NZJester, and another Moderator approved it. That continued for a little while until you changed it to TheNZJester, without the “r”. Moderators are wasting much time running around checking/correcting/approving people who use slightly changed user names, accidentally or willingly; sometimes it is caused by a wayward cursor 🙁

  3. ghostwhowalksnz 3

    Chauvin verdict reached .

    Wont be announced till 8:30 am our time ( 3:30PM US ET time)

  4. Chris 4

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/housing-affordability/124861129/car-stolen-emergency-housing-denied-a-woman-faces-sleeping-rough

    MSD is continually tell people they won't be providing emergency housing when the rules say the person's eligible. Again, it took embarrassing media coverage to get MSD to back down, and it's always a "mistake". How many other people are being told the same thing but nothing gets done about it? We all know there's a housing shortage, and that this must put pressure on MSD, but they shouldn’t be trying to hide the demand by refusing people wrongly. They should be welcoming the information about how need isn’t being met so that government and policy makers get to how things aren’t working.

    • Foreign Waka 4.1

      Difficult to say why this is. Maybe personal bias? Maybe a directive? Maybe that lady still had some shoes so she must be ok (sarc)? Who knows and I think we never will. Political correctness will make sure of that. Suffice to say that I hope I never will depend on people or organizations like that.

      [please remove “WTB” from the user name field before you next submit a comment, thanks]

      • left for dead 4.1.1

        Whoever is writing in bold.. why at this site does the curser go back to a filled in field….?

        • Incognito 4.1.1.1

          It’s a known problem, but solvable, apparently. I will leave a comment in the back-end for Lprent.

  5. Forget now 5

    The link from No Right Turn to The Standard has been broken for a while now. It's probably just a glitch in an address link with a site update or something, but does mean that I (& probably others) are less likely to drop by the site. Just thought I'd mention it, while onsite today in case there's an easy fix.

    • Incognito 5.1

      Works for me, in two different browsers on two different computers. However, I noticed it is not secure, but it does open for me. I had a similar problem recently with this site (i.e. TS) and my bookmark didn’t open any longer. I had to put “https:// ” in front of the URL and it was fine again. Lprent was stumped too 🙂 I felt ‘pretty special’ because it seemed that I was the only experiencing that problem with TS …

  6. Sabine 6

    If the government can spend 400 $ a night on unsafe emergency housing in a slum motel then it should be able to simply pay for a week of rental in a proper house and call it 'government housing'.

    I am so sick of this. It is everywhere in Rotorua. Young kids on unlisenced, unplated dirt bikes hooning and ripping up parks, non of them wearing helmets of course, beggars and babys in gang colors. My shopping fringe is 'blue' where i have my business, and every now and then i just close the door to be safe. Go figure.

    Fights in the open street. Drug handling in the open street. You simply do not want to go to certain parts on main street Fenton or 'downtown' Rotorua for fear of a mugging or worse after 6 pm.

    This is as bad as it was under National with overcrowding and run down camp ground housing of homeless in West Auckland. And sadly Rotorua ain't as big as Auckland, so they can hide is less. God only knows where the Labour doodas are that ran and lost the last election despite their nice Billboards with dear Jacinda ' Lets keep moving'? Moving to where dear Lady? She may hope for a nice 6 figure job at a thinktank somewhere like her Labour Predecessor when she is done Prime Ministering, but the rest of us has to continue to live here.
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/emergency-housing-woman-beaten-unconscious-children-being-put-at-risk/E7BFU4ULMAV2TORDWMC7LRX5BA/

    Distressing revelations about life in emergency housing continue to emerge, including a woman being punched unconscious by another motel resident, putting her in hospital.

    The 49-year-old was left so terrified she refused to go back into any form of shared living.

    Those at the coal face say there's not enough oversight, with families mixed in with gang members, and many places rife with crime and intimidation.

    And there are further warnings about the significant potential for abuse and sexual violence, with one Auckland charity saying women escaping from an abusive home can end up going back after staying in emergency housing, because at least "they know that violence".

    Severe concern too about the plight of children; in some cases taken out of school, cut off from their communities and confined to their motel room by their parents because it's too dangerous to venture outside.

    While short term and quickly accessible motel rooms are required to get people in urgent need somewhere to stay, officials laid out the case last year against continuing their use in such high numbers: emergency housing costs more, it only provides the accommodation and none of the extra services needed to help residents with the likes of budgeting or addiction, and the government is less able to monitor exactly what's going.

    A Rotorua motelier, speaking anonymously for fear of backlash, refuses MSD clients to focus instead on business and tourism clientele.

    "As sad and rude as it may sound," she says, "they're often return guests and we can't allow them to come to accommodation that has drugs, fighting, abuse, and the police there all the time".

    However, other moteliers are "showing signs of greed now because the payments are phenomenally high", she says, with motels initially being being offered $119 per night, per unit but now up to $400 a night.

    Let them find the houses to rent and then pay the fucking rent that would only be about 150 more the week then what these useless eaters in governmetn pay right now for one night.

    Give these people houses rather then what is on offer now. As for those moteliers that don't want to house homeless – like some that i know – almost all couples in their 60s – i don't blame them for not doing it, they are as vulnerable to assault and mayhem as their 'unfortunate' homeless customers. And the police usually shows up when the damage is done.

    Last but least this was not OK under Paula Benefit and John Fucking Key, it is not OK under Carmel "See no evil, hear no evil, pretend its not happening" Sepuloni and the current Dear Leader.

    These are OUR people, OUR children, OUR women, OUR men that get thrown into the meatgrinder to come out more broken then they were when they got thrown in by governments that don’t give a flying fuck. Kinder, gentler, my lovely backside.

    • Cricklewood 6.1

      Wow, from the same article 4000 children in these slums hotel's 1000 of them for more than a year…

      Wtf is going on, I'll bet in 20 years there'll be a royal commission into abuse in emergency accomodation…

      Lets do this?

      Keep at it Sabine to many Labour fans are turning a blind eye…

      • Sabine 6.1.1

        IT is not a Labour or National thing, this is really where we can state simply that 'both sides indeed do it'.

        the point that i am trying to make is simply 'pay rents rather then motel rates'.

        My post right now is identical to some that i posted 6 odd years ago under J. K and P.B.

        It is the lazyness in envisaging a different solution to the same problem. ITs not even that we don't have enough houses, it is that people can't pay for them, and the government rather then pay rents outright, spends 400 NZD a night for someone to sleep in a hovel with no access to anything other then a bed, a kettle and a teabag.

        • Cricklewood 6.1.1.1

          Agree completely, I just feel that there are more than a few that like to pretend the problem has magically disappeared now their 'team' is in govt…

          When the reality is the situation is worsening dramatically…

    • Chris 6.2

      The public outrage at the cost of motels forced the government and MSD to intoduce "transistional housing" which is even worse. Slum properties, often run down or former motel units, policed by incompetent and officious community groups who evict people at the drop of a hat, the government making sure rights under the RTA were removed, MSD washes its hands so the person is then forced to reapply for emergency housing and the whole cycle starts again, MSD often wrongly refusing to assist because of how the previous arrangement ended. The whole mess is completely out of control.

      • Sabine 6.2.1

        as i said above

        Let them – the people in need of housing – find an appropriate property and have Winz pay for it. That would prevent abuse by landlords of Winz, and Winz / Government would save a tidy a penny for a rainy day by not paying 400 NZD per day.

        The government could stipulate how that could work, i.e. in Germany when i was a student the government would pay up to 450 per month (yes per month) for one person. It did absolutly not matter what property you found, so as long as it was not more expensive as that.

        What we are doing now is going to be so bad for the future, and it is already so bad for Rotorua.

        • Chris 6.2.1.1

          Given the cost of the complete fiasco that is emergency and transitional housing the idea is attractive. How do you see the legal relationships and responsibilities operating, ensuring security of tenure etc? Does Kāinga Ora lease the property, which then becomes a state house, which is then rented by the tenant? If so, doesn't that just bring us back to the chronic supply shortage?

          • Sabine 6.2.1.1.1

            We don't have a supply shortage, we have an affordability problem.

            Rent is too high. Rent could be measured by square meterage, or by rooms i.e. 150 per room per week for a rental. That would be somewhere around 300 – 45 for the common two bedder/ three bedder and then you could add in say 150 for close schools, public transport, shops etc.

            The government could actually regulate rent. Currently rent is based on mortgage mainly, plus the maintenance of that mortgage, rates, insurance etc, and then maybe the boat, the holiday and the braces for the kids. But rent should only cover the use of the property, not the owner ship. Which is what a mortgage covers.

            Also if the government for example would pay rents for beneficiaries, the market would follow in maybe building for these tenants. Smaller flats, one bed to three/four bedrooms, high density building. Currently we don't do that. We build shitty apartment blocks that fall apart after 6 years with huge co-op costs. Did you know that in Germany people wash down their own stair case 😉 or have a live in Janitor couple (usually rent free plus pay).

            The chronic shortage is because we never regulated the market, and now people – even well to do people – can't afford to either rent or buy, or sell for that matter. Cause no matter how much money you have it won't be enough in the long term. And the last announcement of the governments housing policies reflect that by increasing the amount a first home buyer can spend in order to still get the government subsidy.

      • greywarshark 6.2.2

        Gosh Chris that is pure purgatory for those beneficiaries. The disgust is building against Labour, and well founded. They actually have to pull some rabbits out of the hat and not just wave it around with promises. This latest health thing is expensive and time-consuming and could fit in with the polly-watchers theories that Labour was basking in the Covid19 management magic, but that has worn off, and need something else to fill the gap.

        So Health instead of Housing which they don't want to touch from a distance closer than a barge pole, and are leaving it to the professionals who know how to build the modern chook-house painted grey with black roof that is regarded as all modern NZs could wish for. And what about the others? They must be feeling like fringe-dwellers lost in one of those desperately sordid dystopian dark stories that get on to tv.

  7. RedBaronCV 7

    Handing out pamphlets pretending to be the health department. At the very least I'd have thought issuing a trespass notice immediately might help. Plus who paid for this ??

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/440904/covid-19-wellington-commuters-face-anti-mask-propaganda-on-train

    • Peter 7.1

      The sooner Billy Te Kahika and his lunatic supporters disappear off the face of the planet the better.

  8. greywarshark 8

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/440858/rse-seasonal-migrant-worker-scheme-does-not-benefit-economy-report

    This is an example of looking at one side of a policy's effect. It isn't the most efficient or effective way of handling seasonal work to have people come into the country from Pacific Islands or employ young tourists. But it is really good way to interact with the Pacific Islands people, our neighbours who are small like us and go better when there is a co-operative relationship amongst the Pacific small islands.

    As for visitors and tourists, young people being able to visit and learn about other countries is very important for understanding between nations and about being a citizen in this world. And it keeps us on the map, and we don't get forgotten down here at the bottom of the world. So there are more benefits to NZ than a narrow economic survey can demonstrate.

    Perhaps we allow them into the country under time limitation, and giving preference to the *Woofers scheme (Willing Workers On Organic Farms). This means they are available to work for food and accommodation mainly, and probably have to have a return ticket booked when they come here,

    * Wwoofing – Willing Workers On Organic Farms – is a host system where you exchange hours of work for accommodation and food. … Wwoofing is a well established global host system and New Zealand is one of many participating countries. https://www.backpackingmatt.com/wwoofing-in-new-zealand-tips-and-experiences/

  9. Morrissey 9

    Those monsters, enticing teachers with great pay and cheap accommodation

    https://twitter.com/china_takes/status/1384228640083177476

  10. Obtrectator 10

    Another lament about declining birth-rates in the UK:

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/20/britain-falling-birthrate-covid-pandemic-conservatives-removed-support-for-parents

    I suppose it's personal for Ms Toynbee, who stands to be one of those worst affected by an over-proportion of elderly to young. But if not her (also my) generation, then which? It's got to happen some time; might as well be now.

    • greywarshark 10.1

      What? Parents not being regarded as worthy for consideration and assistance from the government?

    • KJT 10.2

      "Not enough new workers being born".

      "May have to pay decent wages and look after them".

      Tragedy.

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    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
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