Open mike 21/05/2024

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 21st, 2024 - 46 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 …

46 comments on “Open mike 21/05/2024 ”

  1. Sanctuary 1

    The first question out of any journalist mouth to Chris Bishop ought to be – "This damning report on Kianga Ora was written by Bill English, and in the words of Christine Keeler – "Well, he would say that wouldn't he?"

    • Descendant Of Smith 1.1

      Yeah the emphasis most reports seem to be putting on "independent" as if it actually is.
      And of course they are not mentioning how much the debt has increased the value of the land holdings and other assets.

      This is the same National Party of course that took hundreds of millions of dollars per year out of poor people's rents to pay into the consolidated fund to make the government books look better last time meaning much of the housing maintenance was deferred. They are such dodgy bastards.

      Pity they don't have the same criticism of debt when power companies are borrowing to give shareholders dividends.

      Debt to build houses bad debt to pay shareholders good.

      • Bearded Git 1.1.1

        Under the "independent" English the Nats sold off and failed to build state houses in order to pay for tax cuts. McAnulty was good on Morning Report today explaining how the Nats have choked off funding for social housing since they got elected.

        https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018939259/labour-criticises-government-s-plan-for-social-housing

        • AB 1.1.1.1

          McAnulty was good, while Ingrid showed how easily the public is confused once they hear the big scary word "debt".

          McAnulty might have gratuitously added that the guy who did the report was "the worst finance minister in NZ's history". Because if Luxon can do a fact-free smear of Robertson using those words and not get any pushback, then everybody's reputation is up for trashing on a whim, so we may as well all get down to it.

          • Bearded Git 1.1.1.1.1

            +100 AB.

          • tc 1.1.1.1.2

            Totally AB. English's ‘fiscally neutral’ bs with the gst rise/top rate drop cost us over $1b annually in lost tax revenue.

            Nothing to lose telling it like it is as double dipton takes more taxpayers cash to pop a cover sheet over their ongoing nobbling of public housing.

    • bwaghorn 1.2

      If gathered up the stats from 70,000 privately owned rentals ,do you think their debt level would match kianga ora's I reckon it'd be higher!!?

    • Obtrectator 1.3

      Mandy Rice-Davies, actually.

      • Visubversa 1.3.1

        I was about to comment to that effect – but had to go out. Pleased I am not the only one here who remembers the "Profumo Scandal"'

    • mikesh 1.4

      I think it was Mandy Rice Davies, not Christine Keeler.

  2. Descendant Of Smith 2

    Meanwhile in rich peoples land important things are not happening.

    “A group of us haven’t had even one match since joining, and are questioning whether it’s because there are not enough men,” said one romantic hopeful, who Stuff agreed not to name.

    There are two different membership options: Platinum ‘Match Me’ at $5,995 per annum, which Gattung told Stuff was “priority matchmaking”.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350283288/men-shortage-theresa-gattungs-6k-year-dating-biz

  3. Hunter Thompson II 3

    Radio NZ, 21 May 2024: "What will it take for NZ to be a 'rockstar' economy again?"

    It's not a good analogy. Some rock stars snort all manner of drugs, then die early.

    I'm not even certain we had a "rockstar" economy to begin with, but it sure makes good headlines for politicians.

    • Sanctuary 3.1

      It is part of a general right wing framing of the Key era in a warm glow of complacent nostalgia that has been swallowed hook, line and sinker by the MSM. The smug amnesia of 2008-17 apparently represents something of a pinnacle of capitalist achievement in NZ.

    • KJT 3.2

      A "sugar rush" economic mis-management that we will regret for many years to come.

    • tc 3.3

      They should get Fonterra in and ask them that.

      All the legislative breaks they've had, market dominance, getting their own way and what can they show for it in 2024 !

      Hardly a rockstar peddling desirable value add milk products is it ?

  4. ianmac 4

    Just read the most fulsome analysis of the Fast Track Bill by:

    Sir Geoffrey Palmer, former Prime Minister, King’s Counsel and author of the book Unbridled Power challenging Muldoon-era decision-making, says the Fast-Track Approvals Bill is a bigger threat to constitutional government

    Avatar photo

    The Prime Minister is the ultimate guardian in our system for the values of constitutional propriety. He needs to call for restraint here and search for some solid middle ground. Greater efforts must be made to develop inter-party consensus and secure a balanced approach. New Zealand’s environment is too valuable a resource to be put at risk in this way. The complications with this Bill are so numerous that it cannot work. And further it cannot be successfully amended to be make it work.

    How can the present Coalition keep going on this disaster specially for our Environment.

    Thanks again to Newsroom.

    https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/05/20/a-fast-track-to-environmental-degradation/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

    • Incognito 4.1

      This collusion government won’t listen to critical experts but only to friendly ones, e.g., from the NZ Initiative, the NZ Centre for Political Research, and other RW shill-tanks.

      Alexander Gillespie is a professor of Law at the University of Waikato and he wrote a damning analysis.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/517329/fast-track-laws-parliamentary-urgency-treaty-tension-media-retreat-warning-signs-for-nz-s-brittle-democracy

      Analysis – There have been so many submissions on the government's proposed Fast-track Approvals Bill – 27,000 written, with 2900 wanting to appear before the select committee in person – that a ballot system has been introduced to manage the process.

      Given the already widespread disquiet over the bill's shape and intent, it is a fair assumption most of the submissions will be critical of its potential environmental and democratic impacts.

      For those with memories long enough, it also calls to mind the original "fast-track" methods used by the then prime minister, Robert Muldoon, to expedite his "Think Big" projects in the 1970s. Then, too, special laws were passed to circumvent normal planning mechanisms.

  5. Bearded Git 5

    Assange has won; he will not be extradited. I didn't realise the import of today's London High Court ruling until I heard Kristinn Hrafnsson interviewed on RNZ today.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018939275/wikileaks-julian-assange-granted-permission-to-appeal

    If the USA had any sense of fairness they would throw in the towel now and Assange could be released.

    Hats off to the English legal system, even if it took a while.

    • joe90 5.1

      Assange has been allowed to appeal his extradition. He'll likely remain in custody for now so he ain't out of the woods just yet.

      https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/assange-v-government-of-the-united-states-of-america-3/

    • Adrian Thornton 5.2

      "Hats off to the English legal system, even if it took a while"…..are you doffing your hat to a legal system that has imprisoned the most important journalist in the modern age, in one of the most brutal prisons in the UK for over FIVE years, without chance of bail, has impaired and disrupted his legal defense team at every opportunity…the UK legal system has done exactly what it was supposed to do…send a message to every journalist working now or becoming one in the future, or any potenial whtleblower…and that message is simple, brutal and to the point ….'Don't Fuck with the Western Hegemony, because this is what we can do to you..right out in the open, in broad daylight, and there isn't anything anybody can do about it'

      So I say, Fuck the UK legal system…it is corrupt and rotting to it's stinking core.

      • aj 5.2.1

        Totally agree Adrian. It's a blessing, I hope, but lets not forget what they have done to crush him.

      • Bearded Git 5.2.2

        Fair points both of you…Assange should have been free long ago….I've got the t- shirts.

        But what I am saying is that a couple of HC judges finally got it right in London. He will be free soon…..this is a highly embarrassing legal defeat for the US and nobody could be happier than me.

        If these 2 HC judges hadn’t made this decision Assange would have been on a plane to the US next week. Listen carefully to the audio.

    • SPC 5.3

      If he remains in Belmarsh, he might well die there during the appeal.

  6. Ffloyd 7

    We read that the Kainga Ora report was done by Bill English and we laughed and we laughed and we laughed. How many more leeches are going to attach themselves to the CoCs corpse trying to make them relevant? Look what just happened to their key man Key. Karma has snuck up on him and about time.

  7. Lebleaux 8

    As was the head of the Labour established Tax Working Group in 2019 – Sir Michael Cullen. As was Heather Simpson, appointed by Labour to head the Health and Disability Commission Review in 2018.

    Pot … Kettle

    • mikesh 8.1

      Sir Michael Cullen headed the tax working group so, rather than reflecting his personal views, his report would have reflected the (majority) views of the group. I imagine it would have been the same with Heather Simpson.

  8. tWig 9

    Disinformation is being created around the NZ Relationships and Sexuality guidelines for schools, both before the election, and more recently. The government included a review of the guidelines in its Coalition agreement.

    The disinformation includes faked Education Ministry documents. Winston Peters campaigned against 'woke ideology' in schools.

    • Visubversa 9.1

      You don't need to fake anything. Just read the Glossary of the Year 1 to Year 8 Relationships and Sexuality Curriculum and it tells you exactly what the mindset is for the Education Department.

  9. ianmac 10

    Hipkins has just accused Luxon of mis-leading the House.

    This was after Brown had to apologise for "mistake" in the false graph that he presented to the House last time.

  10. Adrian Thornton 11

    And now for some much needed GOOD NEWS….

    "World Court seeks arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Hamas leader for war crimes"

    https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2024/05/21/world-court-seeks-arrest-warrants-against-netanyahu-hamas-leader-for-war-crimes/

    And just look at the MSM headlines on this…nearly all voicing Netanyahu's outrage as their angle for this news…when will Western MSM stop running cover for this Genocide?