Open mike 21/06/2020

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 21st, 2020 - 137 comments
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137 comments on “Open mike 21/06/2020 ”

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  1. Tired. Shift worker. 1
    21 June 2020 at 9:41 am

    Shift end. Radio tells me record day, 150,000 cases reported. Fears of second waves, concerns for -> insert overwhelmed health system/US State/Country name here. Bad. Home. Flick through recorded 6pm news. So sad. Then, man separated from luggage. What? Can someone invent a whinging entitled prat (WEP-20) test? Compulsory pre-flight screening for any signs of whingy-ness. Symptoms of self-importance? No boarding pass for you sir! You need to stay in the country you are in. Don’t come to New Zealand. We need to keep our borders safe from any infection. Protect our media from WEP-20 contagion (symptoms; whinging, moaning, complaining). Protect WEP-20 sufferers from any risk of being inconvenienced at a time when millions are suffering horrible debilitating illness and hundreds of thousands of people are dying. Just saying. Stay where you are. Stay away! Stay safe everyone.

    • observer 1.1
      21 June 2020 at 3:47 pm

      You deserve a +1 for that.

      It is extraordinary that modern technology means it has never been easier to know what is going on in the world, and yet we seem determined to focus on our navel, more than ever.

      • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1
        21 June 2020 at 4:11 pm

        IMO, possibly the result of information over-load. Flooded with information about just about everything with most of it being contradictory causing a shut-down in cognition.

        On top of that also being told to 'trust your gut' and 'common sense' both of which are the probably the worst possible pieces of advice ever.

    • ianmac 1.2
      21 June 2020 at 3:54 pm

      Totally agree TSW! I cannot understand why the grizzlers get air time. Fancy that woman being whisked off in a bus to quarantine. Woe woe. "They didn't tell us we were on our way to Rotorua! We expect much more than a free quarantine in a hotel. We don't care what is best for NZ. We want special luxury deals. Don't you know who I am?"

  2. The Chairman 2
    21 June 2020 at 9:41 am

    Interested in China, Hong Kong and the riots in the USA?

    This is being touted as the interview you must see.

    https://youtu.be/8qGg7MWqGXQ

  3. Sacha 3
    21 June 2020 at 11:39 am

    A future path for NZ business: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/121881009/how-a-kiwi-media-company-became-the-world-health-organisations-latest-covid19-weapon

    [Toby] Morris is now creative director of all the work The Spinoff team does for the WHO, and it has recruited a team of six to deliver web content, videos and animations.

    A video created by The Spinoff was translated into six languages and used to open the World Health Assembly (WHA) this year, detailing how the WHO is responding to Covid-19. Most of the work relates to the pandemic – such as information on mask guidance that has had 28 million views and written explainer pieces – but it intersects with other streams the WHO works on, such as infographics for malaria and tuberculosis.

    “You check your email in the morning and see the ebola team has been in touch,” says former Metro editor Henry Oliver, now part of the project. “Am I working on malaria or ebola today?”

    …

    “We’ve gone from a standing start to it feels like the main go-to agency on Covid-19, and increasingly on other things as well,” [Duncan] Greive said.

    He said it would have been “unimaginable” if the world had not gone into widespread lockdown. But in the new environment, no one expected a team to be able to turn up to Geneva to pitch for the work, and New Zealand’s comparable success in fighting the virus gave local teams an advantage.

    • Climaction 3.1
      21 June 2020 at 3:57 pm

      Let’s all stop what we are doing and make government funded videos for each other

      6 jobs created to replace how many lost? This is why labour could lose the election. It’s shills have no idea how the economy works.

      • observer 3.1.1
        21 June 2020 at 4:01 pm

        But National knew. It works by importing lots and lots of people. GDP goes up, property goes up, simple!

        There's a slight flaw in that plan now. But they're sticking with it.

        • Climaction 3.1.1.1
          21 June 2020 at 4:44 pm

          Weird comment. Labour had two years to stop that and change the economy? If it just carried as National were doing they are as much to blame.

          • observer 3.1.1.1.1
            21 June 2020 at 4:52 pm

            The government made numerous changes, as you well know. Ask the real estate agents who complain they can't get the flood of foreign buyers like they used to. Ask the visa scam "schools" who were closed down. Etc.

            • Climaction 3.1.1.1.1.1
              21 June 2020 at 5:13 pm

              So labour is responsible for the economy and its growing unemployment?

              • observer …
                21 June 2020 at 5:20 pm

                All governments are ultimately responsible (more accurately, accountable) for the economy. Again, as you well know.

                Playing dumb is really tedious, and I'll let you play alone.

                • Climaction …
                  21 June 2020 at 6:25 pm

                  You tried to paint the current problems as a result of the previous governments policies being untenable in the current environment. Then you pointed out that the current government had already enacted policies that should have Reduced employment given current circumstances. I’m trying to work through your stupid before I go and play with my stupid

          • greywarshark 3.1.1.1.2
            21 June 2020 at 8:14 pm

            edit
            Oh good Climaction – I'm sure you are a bloke and have a great can-do approach. You are the sort we need in NZ so get away from your keyboard and go and do something – now!

            You can see how there is no time to waste as the world speeds up and it is quite mind-boggling seeing the Worldometer site. So if you can add your boggling to it al, something will be done and we expected it by yesterday.

            Worldometer – I am sure it is recommended that sensitive persons do not watch it for more than 10 seconds or it might start a brain spasm.

            https://www.worldometers.info/

            While I watched World births went from 323,800 something to 324,000. Deaths today went to 136,200 in 20 secs. There is an imbalance there which we know about but won’t even try to think through the possibilities of being adult about it.

            Wow look at the Public healthcare expenditure for today go up towards $13 billion. Public education and Public military are changing up as fast as the eye can see. Money spent on video games today about $240 million.

      • Draco T Bastard 3.1.2
        21 June 2020 at 4:20 pm

        It’s shills have no idea how the economy works.

        The majority of people have NFI how the economy works. Thing is, most economists don't know how the economy works. Most people think that money is the economy forgetting about the actual resources.

        This is most clearly seen when people say that it would only cost a few thousand/millions to feed everyone taking absolutely no account of where the food will come from.

        • Climaction 3.1.2.1
          21 June 2020 at 4:48 pm

          You’re talking about accountants and financiers.

          economists are very concerned about the allocation of resources and tend to talk around money and the actual price of something.

          economics is the study of scarcity. One specialisation in that field could be the study of DTB’s understanding of what things really are and how that scarce knowledge could best be applied

          • greywarshark 3.1.2.1.1
            21 June 2020 at 8:31 pm

            Oh Climaction You join a select group of people who have to cut DTB off at the knees because he preaches a different sermon than your lot. The superiority is lofty, the sanctimony is superb, and the denunciation is damning,

          • Draco T Bastard 3.1.2.1.2
            22 June 2020 at 1:35 pm

            economists are very concerned about the allocation of resources

            That's what they tell us but their teachings don't support that. If they did then we wouldn't have private cars because their economies of scale are all wrong.

      • Sacha 3.1.3
        22 June 2020 at 8:59 am

        Interesting how the WHO being a public-funded organisation is the main point you saw in that.

  4. Dennis Frank 4
    21 June 2020 at 11:43 am

    Looks like Labour's election campaign strategy will hinge on evasion of responsibility and accountability. Assuming that voters will be impressed by this, apparently. Strikes me as too much of a gamble.

    Ardern and Clark have said that they won’t seek to find who is responsible for the failures, but instead simply want to fix them. The two have overruled deputy prime minister Winston Peters, who said someone should be held responsible. https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/21-06-2020/the-week-new-zealands-border-failed/

    Winston's position is likely to be more in accord with the public mood. However, holding someone responsible isn't the same as making the right person accountable! The principle of natural justice applies: punish the wrong-doer, then people will be satisfied that justice has been done.

    All Ardern & Clark are likely to achieve with their preference for traditional Labour evasion of the need for effective enforcement is to make Labour seem like a bunch of wimps in the public mind. But perhaps they're betting that re-election is so likely that they can afford to be generous and lend National a helping hand…

    • Andre 4.1
      21 June 2020 at 11:48 am

      Find the witch and burn her!

      • OnceWasTim 4.1.1
        21 June 2020 at 12:52 pm

        I'm absolutely no fan of the Deputy Dawg, worse still his BFF, however without finding where things went wrong there's not much chance of ensuring they don't happen again. We don't need to burn the witches, just go with the Peter Principle if they don't want to keep doing the same thing and having the same things go wrong. Or use existing mechanisms such as the Chief Wonder Boy the SSC. As is usual, it can all be done in silence behind the scenes with an army of ex-journalist spin doctors used pacify the masses with some well-chosen words.

        I'm not sure though they won't find out though despite what The Spinoff says, and already some people seem to 'think' they know already. Harman of Harman and Clark fame on RNZ's Sunday for example.

        The sad thing for me is that JA might find that after the next election win, kindness and transformation is still not as easy as first thought.

        • McFlock 4.1.1.1
          21 June 2020 at 1:46 pm

          Assuming that there is a single person responsible for any and all deficiencies foound, firing them isn't as good at solving the problem as determining whether what they did was abnormal practise for everyone else involved.

          We're likely talking about relatively mundane and routine decisions made many times a day by many people on multiple sites. If it's a training issue rather than an individual deficiency, seeking out the scape-goat for the incident that gets discovered is worse than unproductive, as it can give everyone else false confidence that the system is robust even though they are unaware they are making the same mistakes as the person who got fired.

          • OnceWasTim 4.1.1.1.1
            21 June 2020 at 2:45 pm

            "We're likely talking about relatively mundane and routine decisions made many times a day by many people on multiple sites."

            /agreed (There won't be a single person responsible)

            And not all of those people necessarily got the memo. Understandable in the early stages of the emergency – not so much later on. I think Harman lays the blame at several people

            Having a birds-eye view of the Bay Plaza Quarantine Hotel, I noticed that immediately after the shit hit the fan, some things changed organisationally pretty rapidly in the rear carpark.

            It is necessary though to find out where the 'system' went haywire though and those (collectively or otherwise) responsible for that 'system' to try and make sure they fully understand what's required and don't keep making the same mistakes.

            If necessary, we can burn the witches later – or not.

            Personally, I just have a problem when the same people keep making the same mistakes (or even operate with bullying or racist attitudes) without any consequence as we see in some places in the PS. Sometimes they even get promoted.

            back later

            • McFlock 4.1.1.1.1.1
              21 June 2020 at 5:34 pm

              yeah, not looking to punish individuals isn't the same as not investigating the failure. In fact it lets people speak openly about the failures they might feel responsible for without fear of losing their jobs.

              There's been no hint of actual misconduct (e.g. bribes, or intentionally neglecting the job) so far. It's more a case of polishing a system that seems to have worked well and not have any major entrenched issues, rather than having to fix an absolute shitshow.

    • The Chairman 4.2
      21 June 2020 at 11:53 am

      If the country goes back into lock-down as a result of this incompetence, Labour risk bearing the brunt come election time.

      • observer 4.2.1
        21 June 2020 at 3:05 pm

        There has not yet been a single case of community transfer, after we got to zero. Not one.

        So no, we won't be going into lockdown. Not unless we deliberately invite the virus in. That is literally the opposition's policy.

        • Climaction 4.2.1.1
          21 June 2020 at 6:29 pm

          Figuratively is the word you are looking for.

          • observer 4.2.1.1.1
            21 June 2020 at 6:35 pm

            No, it is literally true.

            National's stated policy is to invite thousands of people from Covid-19 countries to NZ, right now.

            https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2006/S00104/under-national-international-students-would-be-back.htm

            • Climaction 4.2.1.1.1.1
              21 June 2020 at 6:45 pm

              Their policy is to invite people like students back. Literally nowhere in their policy does it say anything about Covid being welcome back.
              in your mind, figuratively, inviting students back = inviting Covid back.

              persisting that it is literally their policy is figuratively stupid. Like blaming unemployment them as they were allowing foreigners to come study and invest while they were the government. 3 years ago

              • In Vino …
                21 June 2020 at 7:35 pm

                Climaction – please re-read and correct that error-ridden nonsense. And check out that you really understand the meaning of figurative.

                Not Achieved at present, but you may re-submit.

    • xanthe 4.3
      21 June 2020 at 12:01 pm

      Yeah nah !

      more transparent propaganda from Dennis. So a system put together in an emergency was found to be unable to scale to unprecedented demand without some glitches. so what!… lines of responsibility being rationalised, more resources being provided.

      I believe most NZ (thats not you Dennis) can recognise a media gang up when they see it. the election results will reflect that.

      • woodart 4.3.1
        21 June 2020 at 12:52 pm

        maybe dennis and his fellow travellers are pi$$ed off because the economy isnt tanking like they had hoped. even herald has had to print that auck economy has hardly slowed. what a bugger!

    • Sacha 4.4
      21 June 2020 at 12:30 pm

      Couldn't you say, Dennis, that Labour will campaign on fixing the quarantine problems – so they had better do that before the election. Nats and Seymour will gnash and whine. Winston will bet a buck each way. The Greens will be ignored.

      • Dennis Frank 4.4.1
        21 June 2020 at 12:51 pm

        Election outcomes are a consequence of mass psychology, and if Labour campaigned on "fixing the quarantine problems" most people would see that as credible if they had actually achieved that result.

        Time will tell. Unfair to prejudge. But if you put someone in charge of quarantine admin, then fail to hold them accountable for consequent incompetence, it just sends the signal that anyone can get away with ignoring procedures.

        Unwise, that! The effect on mass psychology is huge. That's the point, really. I gave them credit for being successful in the `team of five million' effort. It exhibited both competence and political nous. Now, however, I'm bemused and taken aback that they seem intent on doing the opposite. As if going for variety rather than consistency.

        • observer 4.4.1.1
          21 June 2020 at 3:24 pm

          Let's check the record of commentators' predictions, vs actual public opinion, properly measured.

          At every – yes, every – stage of the 4/3/2/1 process, there were loud voices in the media saying NZ should now be at a lower level, and there should be exceptions for A, B, C, and X, Y, Z.

          And at every – yes, every stage, public opinion said the opposite. I've seen at least 8 different surveys (TV1, TV3, Spinoff etc) which showed 80-90% support, over the 4 stages.

          Surely we must have grasped by now that an individual person's opinion is generated instantly, because no field work is required, only an open mouth. Whereas public opinion requires proper methodology, to return reliable data. So the false headlines come days or weeks before the real evidence.

          Only a fool believes the reckons before the results. Let's not be fools, eh?

          • Dennis Frank 4.4.1.1.1
            21 June 2020 at 3:41 pm

            Verification of public opinion via stats takes time, and any ebbing faith in govt management of the pandemic has yet to show, so I was indicating a likelihood based on past experience of mass psychology. Responses to perceptions of social (in)justice tend to be visceral and widespread!

            Accountability in governance is a perennial social necessity. It's a serious concern when political leaders evade that necessity. Makes them seem irresponsible. Delinquent, even. To teeter themselves at the top of that slippery slope is reckless and foolhardy. Better to enforce accountability, so as to retain the public's faith in your political expertise – that's my advice to them.

  5. R.P Mcmurphy 5
    21 June 2020 at 11:50 am

    reading a post in FB from the Spinoff which claims the government is scrambling over the latest covid cases. this assertion is just tripe. the meedja have had a field day with covid and just because they are spinning on their own axis and threatening to disappear up their own fundamental orifice has no relation to the decisions of government. the meedja in New Zealand is riddled with infantilised noo noo heads obsessed with their own importance

    • xanthe 5.1
      21 June 2020 at 12:04 pm

      The media is one sick puppy.

      • In Vino 5.1.1
        21 June 2020 at 7:38 pm

        xanthe – you know that media is a plural noun? I would agree with 'are sick puppies'.

        • xanthe 5.1.1.1
          21 June 2020 at 8:29 pm

          no I did not know that ! so what is the singular? or are (is?) they like sheep linguistically as well as behaviorally ?

          • In Vino 5.1.1.1.1
            21 June 2020 at 9:17 pm

            One Medium (like a fortune-teller who acts as a medium between us and the spirit-world)

            Two Media. The news media consist of TV (a visual medium along with cartoons, posters, photos, etc) Radio (an auditory medium) and the printed medium (newspapers, magazines, etc.)

            Most people don't care now, apparently.

            Todd Muller keeps saying,"The criteria is…" One criterion, 2 criteria

            George W Bush famously asked, "What is our children learning?" Todd is obviously keen to take us in a similar direction..

            Sad.. (Sheep is a clever but unusual example! Like fish, deer.. unusual)

  6. Patricia Bremner 6
    21 June 2020 at 12:59 pm

    There will be an equal and opposite reaction to the success. Let us hope the pendulum swing is reaching its peak and now returning to its usual place.

    The prime minister has used her energy wisely. Chasing those who made errors while dealing with the huge numbers of returning residents is perhaps overload at present. Those errors have been corrected and the whys may be dealt with in a later inquiry.

    Some of these visitors/ returnees are still expecting unrealistic outcomes, in spite of free accommodation food and medical care, plus free transport from the airport to their 14/28 day isolation, and they still complain to the press. Some seeking to shorten the isolation time for a variety of reasons. That at least has been stopped. Also the idea of testing being optional has been corrected firmly. Day 3 and 12 seems sensible, 28 day stay on refusal seems reasonable in the face of a tricky virus.

    What part of possibly infected do they not grasp? To hear some saying they should be able to pick up food and drink at the airport is just amazing hubris, or total denial of where they have come from and what they may be carrying.

    So many are returning they are being bussed to hotels in outlying towns now. So far a city worth of people has come in, at a cost of 81 million.

    The huge influx of returning Kiwis who have lost employment overseas is a new problem for this Government. They will put strain on our infrastructure, and in Auckland with a current water shortage they will need to be placed far and wide in NZ.

    The ability to divide Kiwis into us and them exists…'we' fought it and succeeded and 'they' came back to be part of that success. In real terms people go where the work or support is. We have to accept their right to return, it is enshrined in law.

    However, perhaps in these unusual times we should give those people a card telling them what our expectations are, and where people have a certain level of assets that they contribute to the costs entailed. It is human nature to value what we pay for.

    Those in the press and opposition trying to paint a picture of failure, using every bump in this new road of coping as a cause for wild statements, may find the pendulum swings back and cuts a swathe in their arguments.

    One of the things the opposition will point to is the huge and growing group of returning unemployed. I wonder if they will count the returnees as a new group, or add them to the current group. The only answer is to raise benefit levels to allow the system to keep functioning rather than grinding people down. Allowing people to get involved in the digital age, regenerative farming and horticulture, the arts and creative sectors, construction and trades, or anything which supports sustainable living.

    • RedBaronCV 6.1
      21 June 2020 at 2:04 pm

      "Some of these visitors/ returnees are still expecting unrealistic outcomes "

      Well said -About the only request I don't find unrealistic is the one for a test. As far as I am concerned they can have one every day if they want. The press does love it's sob stories but maybe there is a benefit in that it sorts out public attitudes.

      But if the flood is becoming so great and more airlines are returning then it's likely to overwhelm the border isolation? Busing to outlying towns -ouch.

      Maybe we need a hard priority list and quarantine bookings. I haven't seen a number for the citizens who no longer live here and may return but large? I asked yesterday and apparently permanent residency can be hung onto even if the person no longer bothers to reside in NZ and hasn't for a considerable period. So if they are not habitually resident why do they get any priority at all? At best they have become drive by residents probably for welfare purposes only. Then we appear to be allowing import of sports teams for competitions (okayyyy) plus those on work permits for the infrastructure projects – can't they and the farmers find a few people to employ out the returning citizens or horrors some of our newly unemployed and have been living here which was how the policy was sold

      Labour don't have an enviable position in that they have to sort out a decade of lax anything goes migration from National and the luxury of doing it gradually has now gone.

      • greywarshark 6.1.1
        21 June 2020 at 8:41 pm

        RedBaronCV It's gopod to read some reasoned comment after some of the flimsy, baiting stuff further up.

    • Janet 6.2
      21 June 2020 at 2:19 pm

      With so many Kiwis ( New Zealand born citizens) returning home and maybe unable to find employment here should we not be sending the migrant workers still in NZ back to their homelands now? We hear of non- kiwi “permanent residents “ clamoring for their partners and children elsewhere in the world to be allowed to come “home” to NZ but do you hear of these people thinking to join their partners instead?

      And anyone returning should not be expecting 2 weeks free food and lodgings in guarantine or anywhere !

      • Wayne 6.2.1
        21 June 2020 at 4:38 pm

        It is much more likely that the work visas will not be renewed, that is the current work visa applies till it runs out. Only only in exceptional circumstances would it be renewed.

        That would be fair to the people on the work visas and fair to the returning New Zealand citizens and permanent residents.

        • RedBaronCV 6.2.1.1
          21 June 2020 at 6:47 pm

          Once again a Nact created problem They handed out work visa's like crack cocaine to the Nact voters who were intent on paying no attention to employment laws and who didn't want to pay a decent wage. Now they are addicted and they are whinging at the government to keep giving them a fix. Some for FFS are being let back in for the infrastructure programmes rather than local hire.

          The visa's had the sept extension so all they expire on the same day- but if the large number that need to go don't start going soon there will be no airline seats for them.

          We need to start now dragging the expiry dates back a bit so the march expirys get to week 1 sept, the april expiry are now week 2, etc

      • greywarshark 6.2.2
        21 June 2020 at 8:44 pm

        It seems so hard to remember that we aren't talking about imported boxes of toilet paper when migrant workers are mentioned. We wanted them, they applied, we accepted them, and can't just throw them out of the cot like disgruntled babies. More gruntle needed Immigration, and some round-table discussion and fact checking and systems change required to be implemented in stages, being fair and practical.

        • mpledger 6.2.2.1
          21 June 2020 at 9:16 pm

          *We* didn't want them – a lot of people could see that they were putting a strain on housing and infrastructure while driving down wages and employment conditions.

          Some businesses wanted them so that they could get cheap labor.

          Some political parties wanted them so that they could drive down workers conditions and pay and make themselves look good by artificially driving up GDP.

          Like most capitalists they want to take all the profits but get out of paying the costs.

          • greywarshark 6.2.2.1.1
            21 June 2020 at 9:24 pm

            Bit I am talking about the matter as the migrants would see it. We, the country appeared to want them, our government did and let them in. These are people who applied, were accepted, organised their lives to come here and 'we' in power, ie the government have that power to decide what to do with them.

            What we, the public felt about that or anything, has been of no account for decades. So I can have some idea of how unhappy the migrants are feeling. Perhaps you are in a position to control matters that are of importance to you.

  7. peterh 7
    21 June 2020 at 1:11 pm

    Bubble??? In Victoria 25 new cases yesterday, reported people who know they have covid19 continue to work and socialize

      • Fireblade 7.1.1
        21 June 2020 at 5:19 pm

        The state of Victoria has introduced new Covid-19 restrictions which take effect from 11:59pm on Sunday 21 June. Below is a summary from the Premier's statement.

        * The number of visitors you can have at your home will reduce to five. Outside the home, families and friends can meet in groups up to ten.

        * Restaurants, pubs, auction halls, community halls, libraries, museums and places of worship – maximum of 20 people in any one space until 12 July.

        * Gyms, cinemas, theatres and TABs can open – only with a maximum of 20 people.

        * Businesses need to ensure those who can work from home continue to do so, at least until 31 July.

        * If we keep seeing high case numbers each day, we will consider putting whole suburbs back into lockdown.

        https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/statement-from-the-premier-45/

  8. Anker 8
    21 June 2020 at 1:12 pm
    • Re the chairman’s comments. I absolutely shudder to think what would have happened if National were in charge.
    • they flipped flopped through out the covid process, bleeding on about the economy.
    • i remember when we first closed our border to China and the Chinese ambassador was unhappy, Bridges saying “this is very worrying”
    • Tony Veitch (not etc.) 8.1
      21 June 2020 at 2:13 pm

      Quite right, Anker. It's all hypothetical, but we have Natz past little glories to judge them by.

      They would, without doubt, have bowed to the 'economic' imperative and moved down levels quicker than the coalition did.

      They would have opened the borders by now, especially to lucrative Chinese students (they are owned by China, after all) and

      Their management of quarantine would have been abysmal – one only has to remember the psa kiwifruit problem and mbovis to realise that.

      I'm no fan of Winnie, but we should all be thankful he chose to go into coalition with Labour.

    • RedBaronCV 8.2
      21 June 2020 at 2:50 pm

      Yeah – National would have been a million times worse, (most of these discussions we wouldn't even been having)- and still would be so I don't see that as an electoral point in their favour.

      Labour at least have tried, not always succeeded, listened adjusted and do not spend their time on blame shifting although they have a number of areas where they might well say- "National caused this ".

      The area's where I think they may be misreading public opinion and listening to only small self interested groups who want the neo lib model are:

      – mass tourism particularly the "I can live on the roadside for free crowd"

      – a neo lib labour market underpinned overcompetition from a lax migration polciy and minimal labour laws which large groups of employers largely ignore anyway.

      Wages in this country have barely moved in the last 30 years apart from at the top (who are grossly over rewarded) and the minimum wage shifts at the bottom. To return to that model when so many are facing job loss and reduced incomes and do not have drive by access to residence in a number of countries needs a lot more policy change than the BAU model they seem to be sticking with.

      • Draco T Bastard 8.2.1
        21 June 2020 at 4:36 pm

        National would have been a million times worse,

        There's a real life example of just how bad things would have been if we had listened to National:

        The study’s authors concluded: “Our findings indicate that provision of misinformation in the early stages of a pandemic can have important consequences for health outcomes.”

        With National telling us that we needed to do less, to open up our borders earlier we can guarantee that more people would have died.

  9. Robert Guyton 9
    21 June 2020 at 1:53 pm

    Your search function returns "nothing nothing nothing nothing"

    • Andre 9.1
      21 June 2020 at 2:40 pm

      Wrong. My search function involves going to google, typing in my search and adding site:thestandard.org.nz. Returns plenty.

      • greywarshark 9.1.1
        21 June 2020 at 9:01 pm

        edit
        That is a convoluted way to try and find entries for say myself or other commenters or subjects. It adds extra buttons and sites to get what used to be a simple list with one request while looking at The Standard..

        For instance on Google : Andre – 1st up June 8 2020 – No posts found.

        15/6/20 One from you – I use link and it takes me to the top of the page and I have to scroll down page to find you.

        Next – 2 days ago @author "feijoa" Then 7 June, 14 June, 18 June.
        This was going down the page.

        Not in date order, not useful and convenient. Everyone hasn't all day to play around on their computer.

  10. feijoa 10
    21 June 2020 at 2:26 pm

    Reading all the vitriole in the media, smashing Jacinda and Ashley, I would say Dirty Politics is back.

    Divide and rule is the oldest political trick in the book, and that is exactly what the Nats and the media are doing.

    Kia kaha everybody

    • Patricia Bremner 10.1
      21 June 2020 at 5:16 pm

      feijoa, you have that right The current propaganda exercise is, "it's a debacle, disaster, stuff up, put in any suitable adjective. "The country needs National", I add "like a hole in my head!!"

      They know we are doing well, but anything to make people anxious is being said and printed. Definitely Dirty Politics.

  11. Fireblade 11
    21 June 2020 at 2:38 pm

    Ministry of Health media release.

    "Today there are two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 to report in managed isolation facilities in New Zealand."

    "As with the five other cases reported in recent days, these two cases were recent arrivals from overseas and both were detected within our managed isolation facilities. Neither involves community transmission."

    https://www.health.govt.nz/news-media/media-releases/2-new-cases-covid-19-4

    • Andre 11.1
      21 June 2020 at 2:42 pm

      In other words, except for the two women that started this whole thing, the border quarantines and managed isolation appear to have been doing the job we expect from them.

      • observer 11.1.1
        21 June 2020 at 3:00 pm

        Indeed.

        Some people (i.e. opponents and moaners) complained that Ardern's press conferences before and during lockdown were like talking to children. Like a primary school teacher or talking to mentally challenged, Nat MPs said.

        And now we know why she had to do this. Here are the facts:

        Fact 1: There have been stuff-ups in the quarantine system.

        Fact 2: People are arriving at the border from other countries, with Covid-19.

        Fact 3: Fact 2 is 100% unrelated to fact 1.

        The number of cases we now have is 7. If the quarantine was perfect, without a single mistake, ever, then the number of Covid-19 cases in new Zealand would be (drum roll …)

        Seven.

        How hard is it to understand this? Too hard for some, it seems.

      • peterh 11.1.2
        21 June 2020 at 3:02 pm

        In fact better than any country with 500 cases or more,but you wont here the media saying that ,only country with 500 or more infections with no border transmissions

      • RedBaronCV 11.1.3
        21 June 2020 at 3:03 pm

        Too early to say? That was a day 3 test advised today day 6. Are there not tests that return results sooner. And why not a day 1 test for the pre infected?

        I must admit I was not impressed to find that they had only picked up 2 asymptomatic spreaders on day 12 of isolation ( not quarantine). That should have been a lot earlier

        • aj 11.1.3.1
          21 June 2020 at 6:43 pm

          they had only picked up 2 asymptomatic spreaders on day 12 of isolation ( not quarantine). That should have been a lot earlier

          It asks the question, where did they pick up the virus. Was it community transfer within one of our isolation hotels? or did they pick it up in, say, the 24 hrs before arrival here, very mild cases, which was not detected in earlier test (s)

      • Herodotus 11.1.4
        21 June 2020 at 3:11 pm

        And the other groups that were granted on compassionate grounds to leave the 14days early, I recall something like 320 ( but my recollection may be out). We are so fortunate that only these 2 have been confirmed, imagine if there has/is more. So it is NOT only these 2 sisters, that the system had on the team of 5m had been found to be faulty, especially in the case of Deiderick John Grant, known as DJ Rogue funeral.

      • Graeme 11.1.5
        21 June 2020 at 3:17 pm

        Even the two sisters weren’t that out of control. Someone made a compassionate judgement and allowed them to travel, in controlled circumstances, to Wellington to support their recently widowed father. OK, something went wrong and they dealt with it themselves, which was not been ideal. But they were tested in Wellington and found to be positive and went into a quarantine bubble, hopefully still able to support their Dad.

        Somehow the National Party got hold of it and made a political football out of it. I wonder what the sisters think of that.

        • Sacha 11.1.5.1
          21 June 2020 at 3:26 pm

          Hadn't their father died just before they came here?

          • Andre 11.1.5.1.1
            21 June 2020 at 3:30 pm

            Apparently the timeline is:

            7 June they arrive in NZ

            12 June they applied for the compassionate exemption. Later that day their parent died. As a result, their application was expedited.

            13 June they traveled to Wellie, with detour and meetup along the way.

            Not sure which parent died.

            • Bearded Git 11.1.5.1.1.1
              21 June 2020 at 4:37 pm

              You missed:

              12 June-Chris Bishop (National, ex-tobacco industry stooge) lobbied vigorously for the 2 UK women to be given compassionate exemption because they were friends of a friend of his in the UK
              Q. Why has the media accepted that the two women were constituents of Bishop when they are not? (Bishop lied)

              Q. Why has Bishop not released the text of his contacts between him and his friend in the UK, between him and the 2 women and between him and the quarantine centre managers?

              Q. Did Bishop request that his friend's friends should only be released after a negative test?

              Q. Why did one of the women hide her Covid-19 symptoms?

              • ScottGN …
                21 June 2020 at 5:29 pm

                Absolutely BG. No one involved in any of it is actually a constituent of Mr. Bishop. Add to that the fact that he has tried to distance himself from UK based intermediary who contacted him on behalf of the sisters, and you start to get the impression at least that there is another link that perhaps the National Party would prefer not to reveal.

                • Bearded Git …
                  21 June 2020 at 6:31 pm

                  Exactly Scott….laugh

                • RedBaronCV …
                  21 June 2020 at 6:55 pm

                  Yesss – I wonder what it is. But aren't MP's elected and paid for by the us NZ citizens and taxpayers. So exactly why was Bishop advocating for them? He should have been advocating for the people living here who don't want covid.

          • Anne 11.1.5.1.2
            21 June 2020 at 5:37 pm

            mother.

  12. anker 12
    21 June 2020 at 3:17 pm

    I wonder when there is going to be a back lash against people coming into the country who complain.

    Latest is people arriving from planes being put on a bus and finding out they were going to Rotorua complaining to the media. Dreadful for them! Poor things (sarc)

    Also earlier on Stuff a women with a baby, (nothing to do with Covid complaining about not getting on a plane to Taupo for her mum's birthday, because baggage got closed off before she could be processed…………….What are we suppose to do shed tears with her. Stupid that they even bother to report this stuff.

    • Graeme 12.1
      21 June 2020 at 3:30 pm

      The bus trip to Rotorua wouldn’t have been that much longer than going into the CBD. They were lucky that they’re only in Rotorua, next option is on a charter flight and down to Queenstown or Christchurch.

      There’s probably a connection to the palaver around using the Stanford Plaza https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300038948/hotel-residents-concerned-over-reports-of-quarantined-travellers-arriving

    • Halfcrown 12.2
      21 June 2020 at 6:47 pm

      Answer to anker @12
      Agree 100%

      Re open Somes Island for these people. Better still send these whinging self entitled non entities to Tiri. Not far from the airport, quick trip up the Motorway to Gulf Harbour then a pleasant trip by boat to the island. The only problem being, there is no accommodation there and they will have to live under canvas. These whinging poor things might discover how it is for the millions of refugees living in these type of conditions and realise how lucky they are to be able to return to NZ.

      No wait! Forget that idea, Tiri is a magnificent bird sanctuary which I would not like to see polluted, also the whinging could drown out the bird song.

      • greywarshark 12.2.1
        21 June 2020 at 9:09 pm

        Not fair to Tiri and the inhabitants there – winged! It is a special island and the intention is to keep pests off it.

        • Halfcrown 12.2.1.1
          22 June 2020 at 7:37 pm

          " It is a special island and the intention is to keep pests off it"

          Ha, ha. I like it greysmiley.

  13. Dennis Frank 13
    21 June 2020 at 4:06 pm

    Tracy Watkins being silly: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300038914/coronavirus-the-only-way-to-restore-confidence-is-to-order-an-urgent-inquiry-into-our-border-failures

    Jacinda Ardern got all the plaudits internationally for “beating Covid”, but New Zealand’s success was never really down to her – or her Government. It came from all of us; the team of five million.

    Both/and. Her negation of govt agency as determinant is fatuous. The country did what the govt required. The success resulted from unison.

    And really, form a committee?? We've seen the failure of that approach continuously since the 1970s:

    The Government has no choice now but to urgently order an independent inquiry – one that includes sweeping powers to investigate and inspect facilities on the ground.

    We know that both National and Labour always sweep things under the carpet, and any consequent report is designed to carefully fudge all relevant issues. Any such inquiry would waste time and space. The govt knows who screwed up. They just don't want to tell us. We're meant to have blind faith they'll get it right next time. Politicians hold the public in contempt. Nothing new.

  14. Whispering Kate 14
    21 June 2020 at 4:12 pm

    I thought it must just be me about these incoming expats etc grizzling about their accommodation etc. It beggars belief the entitlement of some people. Surely to God they would be just so relieved to be home again and just get on with the 14 days quarantine and be thankful for small mercies.

    When are these people going to be asked to pay for their 14 days quarantine. Surely its not too much to ask these returning passengers to pay for their accommodation and be darned grateful they are home. Nothing but a bunch of whinging selfish people. Its time Jacinda tempered her kindness with a tiny wee bit of mongrel.

    • observer 14.1
      21 June 2020 at 4:35 pm

      Woods and Webb just gave a press conference on this, and they were (rightly) making no apology for putting people in quarantine, wherever and whenever needed.

      They said that over 200 people will arrive tomorrow, and over 500 on Tuesday. The numbers are increasing, and the countries of origin have very high Covid-19 cases (UK, India).

      It would be nice if the reporters at the press conference were listening, and also had a basic grasp of arithmetic.

      • In Vino 14.1.1
        21 June 2020 at 7:54 pm

        Yes, but that would require independent thought. Most reporters now seem to go in with prepared questions only. Gotcha ones…

    • anker 14.2
      21 June 2020 at 4:42 pm

      No Whispering Kate, I too am really struck by people returning who are whinging!

      Latest from the press conference was a reporter relaying the complaint that someone on the bus to Rotorua complained they weren't even given any water!!!!!! FFS. two hour trip. Grow up or go back. I was sorry the military guy wasn't more old school and didn't tell them to shut up and obey orders. He does seem competent though as does Megan

    • RedBaronCV 14.3
      21 June 2020 at 6:34 pm

      For starters citizens need priority ( and ones without dual nationality first).

      So why isn't the flow being cut back by changing the permanent resident visa conditions so that there is no right of re entry unless they have met the conditions over the last two years that they had to meet before being granted the visa. Being a taxpayer, being actually present in the country for most of the last two years and all the other signs of permanent habitation and contributing to the land of Aoteoroa. They have the passport of another country so they are not stateless. The change could be backdated to say Jan 1 2020 with a transistion period before they have to leave again. Coming back now means they are likely welfare tourists which we can't afford and frankly I don't see local appetite for paying for this on top of quarantine.

      Despite what Megan Woods says permanent residents don't have "an absolute right of entry" because the rules could be changed and should be changed, Looking at the inflowthis is likely to get worse. We may yet have an over run health system from incomers bringing their infections and whining with them.
      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300039338/returning-kiwis-may-have-to-wait-overseas-as-quarantine-hotels-fill-up

    • Shanreagh 14.4
      21 June 2020 at 7:16 pm

      Just imagine how much they will be moaning if they decide not to allow a test for Covid-19 and have to wait a month instead of 2 weeks to be released.

      • In Vino 14.4.1
        21 June 2020 at 7:58 pm

        Actually a great idea, Shanreagh. Our Hospitality industry's problem would be solved, and the whingers would become a source of income for our beleaguered economy.

  15. Whispering Kate 15
    21 June 2020 at 4:17 pm

    And yes I have family overseas and we have let them know that if and when they decide to return home they had better observe our quarantine laws or there will be hell to pay at our place.

  16. Dennis Frank 16
    21 June 2020 at 4:58 pm

    Trump's campaign already had speed wobbles. Now it seems to have hit the skids: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/21/politics/trump-campaign-trail-coronavirus/index.html

    The President received a report that only about 25 people were assembled in the overflow space the campaign had reserved for a crowd Trump claimed five days earlier would top 40,000.

    Though Trump formally launched his campaign one year ago in Orlando, he started telling people in recent weeks that the Tulsa event was the "real launch." He reasoned that his abysmal poll numbers were only because of the coronavirus lockdowns …

    Once viewed inside the White House and Trump's campaign as a reset button for a presidency beset by crises and self-inflicted wounds, Saturday evening's campaign rally in Tulsa instead became plagued with pitfalls, a disappointing microcosm of the blindspots, denial and wishful thinking that have come to guide the President as he enters one of the most precarious moments of his first term.

  17. Dennis Frank 17
    21 June 2020 at 5:45 pm

    I googled Biden's campaign slogan out of curiosity but got no revelation. Some good suggestions though:

    A Return to Slightly Less Bad

    Took One Idea from Bernie, Stop Complaining

    Not Racist Recently

    Actually, playing the redemption card could work with all them christians in the USA:

    Hasn't Voted for the Iraq War In Over 15 years!

    Can't go wrong with being traditional, it always works:

    Yet Another Old White Rich Male

    But my favourite so far has to be:

    Putting the `er' back in America 😆

  18. McFlock 18
    21 June 2020 at 6:05 pm

    I'm intrigued that they're bussing people to the regions straight from the airport. I wonder what the benefits are over a two-stage system, transferring people to the regions after a couple of weeks, and replacing their berths in the Auckland hotels with new arrivals?

    That way the people most likely to be discovered to have it are in closer proximity to the quarantine residences and a tertiary hospital set up for covid treatment.

    • Andre 18.1
      21 June 2020 at 6:18 pm

      After a couple of weeks their isolation should be finished and they're let loose to do as they please.

      Maybe they've shifted to having all the arrival from a specific day or two go to the same hotel. To minimise the possibility of a fresh arrival infecting someone that's just about to leave.

      • bwaghorn 18.1.1
        21 June 2020 at 6:29 pm

        It's more the trickle has become a flood, just on the news now the said there is 700 people coming in over the next 2 days .

        Time to start charging nzs fair weather's kiwis for their isolation,it will slow the buggers down .

        • Pat 18.1.1.1
          21 June 2020 at 6:47 pm

          fair weather kiwis?…how do you know?

          • observer 18.1.1.1.1
            21 June 2020 at 6:52 pm

            It's unfair to call them that, obviously. They may have all kinds of personal circumstances we don't know about. And we can have sympathy, to a degree.

            But some of them need to start reading the room, before complaining to the media. People who have lost jobs and businesses and loved ones in NZ lockdown are not going to be a very receptive audience to arrivals complaining about their hotels.

            • Pat 18.1.1.1.1.1
              21 June 2020 at 7:05 pm

              yes some appear to be somewhat entitled however there are hundreds (or thousands over time) who may wish to return home not to mention the obligations and rights under international law…..we dont know (and nor do we need to) the circumstances that necessitated their returns ….and charging for an enforced quarantine is the sort of thing Id expect from those that espouse the 'efficiency of market forces'….no thanks

            • Anne 18.1.1.1.1.2
              21 June 2020 at 7:18 pm

              People who have lost jobs and businesses and loved ones in NZ lockdown are not going to be a very receptive audience to arrivals complaining about their hotels.

              I suspect that the majority of the population are already not receptive to these whinging arrivals. Indeed it smacks to some degree of some of them using the situation to indulge in their 15 minutes of fame.

              The problem with this latest batch being sent to Rotorua is that a bunch of rich, entitled permanent residents at the Stamford Hotel are kicking up blue murder which has prompted the new military chief to temporarily bypass the place until a few things are sorted.

              With 700 due to arrive within the next 48 odd hrs they're probably running out of suitable places to put them.

            • RedBaronCV 18.1.1.1.1.3
              21 June 2020 at 10:28 pm

              We could get that catering firm that Nact though was good enough for the hospitals to feed them. That should increase the whinging to a jet engine sized roar.

    • The Al1en 19.1
      21 June 2020 at 6:22 pm

      Nice, but you may want to give thought as to what Prentice will do when he finds illegal downloads published on this site.

    • Morrissey 19.2
      21 June 2020 at 7:50 pm

      Looks like the sane and rational Bolton is part of "The Resistance" now, along with other caring and thoughtful individuals like David Frum, Karl Rove, and William Kristol. surprise

  20. Foreign waka 20
    21 June 2020 at 6:18 pm

    Given the data and increasing numbers of corona virus infected people recorded, I believe we should hold all flights landing from overseas until the logistics of the arrangements are air tight. There is no way that it is acceptable to invite the virus into the county. Yes, people might be p… off. But crunch the numbers and compare a few hundred people vs 5 million. If we get another 20 or so corona positive we are on the way to be shut down again. A nightmare in the making.

    • observer 20.1
      21 June 2020 at 6:24 pm

      You say "another 20 or so", but you know the number in the community is currently zero, right? So saying "another" is misleading, and linking it to lockdown is false.

    • Halfcrown 20.2
      21 June 2020 at 6:53 pm

      I agree with that Foreign 200%

  21. observer 21
    21 June 2020 at 6:20 pm

    Nat MPs Kaye and Woodhouse on the news with residents of central Auckland hotel, complaining about returning Kiwis being quarantined there.

    That is the same Kaye and Woodhouse who want to bring in thousands of foreign students for the second semester (= now) and put them in quarantine in … um, central Auckland hotels.

    Sure, Nats are gonna Nat, but will any reporter ever be awake to ask the obvious questions?

    • aj 21.2
      21 June 2020 at 6:50 pm

      Observer 20.1 and 21

      +100

      • aj 21.2.1
        21 June 2020 at 9:36 pm

        You say "another 20 or so", but you know the number in the community is currently zero, right? So saying "another" is misleading, and linking it to lockdown is false.

        Professor Michael Baker made a very important point this morning, RNZ. He said that as long as there is no community transmission, it means the disease is still eliminated from New Zealand.

        Cases may be arriving and showing up while people are in isolation, and it's only a quirk of the way international stats are collected that mean they are added to the New Zealand total. Long may it last – and it will be a massive fight to keep it that way.

        Another point about 'opening the borders' and forming 'bigger bubbles'. I think the events recently in Victoria Australia show that they have a big problem on their hands at the moment and I can't see New Zealand allowing free travel between other states and New Zealand. I suspect the usual suspects promoting opening up won't be quite so loud in the coming few weeks.

  23. McFlock 23
    21 June 2020 at 6:48 pm

    Interesting and thought-provoking review of a book on "white fragility".

    Something to mull over.

  24. McFlock 24
    21 June 2020 at 7:51 pm

    on a funnier note, apparently the nats have released a meme of a 17 June speech where "Todd Muller DESTROYS Labour".

    I mean, it's not a terrible speech, but they went with "amazing crescendo music library hits #57" as the background music. On a loop. The music reaches a passionate high about three times at random points during the speech (with random shots of a largely empty and bored-looking House), and finishes at roughly the time he stops talking.

    I laughed quite a bit. The juxtaposition is quite something.

    • mac1 24.1
      21 June 2020 at 9:33 pm

      Down our way we have an annual meteorological event in November called the Dr Muller Frost. Commemorating a venerated doctor who was always late to arrive for a baby's delivery, it names after him a late frost that threatens grape vines, tomatoes and potatoes. You're pretty safe from a Dr Muller frost after Labour Day though! 😉

    • RedBaronCV 24.2
      22 June 2020 at 11:54 am

      Overseas these types videos are part of right wing campaigns – designed to hook in people who think they are funny then turning them into a voter. think Boris used them in the UK – along with ssoccer games sharing etc that grduaally turn political. The left needs to counter these.

      • Sacha 24.2.1
        22 June 2020 at 11:58 am

        The left needs to counter these.

        Parties do not beat those by responding to them.

      • McFlock 24.2.2
        22 June 2020 at 12:57 pm

        Really? Odd tactic, to be so laughably terrible that they gain votes.

        Just looked cheap to me, and the speech wasn't any better.

  25. sumsuch 25
    21 June 2020 at 10:51 pm

    Can anyone explain to me why Kiwiblog gets 400 comments regularly and the blogs of the Left, or the heart of NZ, get a 100 odd? Lazy reactive know-nothingness beats memory I think. Thankfully, no one takes their uncles seriously beyond that circle. Sadly, no one much follows the good auld tradition of democratic politics.

    • aj 25.1
      21 June 2020 at 11:05 pm

      Angry right wingers wave hands and flap gums a lot more than the left of politics. It's hard work getting all the BS and talking points out. Might also explain why the right have won a lot of battles around the world in recent decades

  26. sumsuch 26
    21 June 2020 at 11:15 pm

    We had current events in Primary. That Dutch train held up by terrorists. Trees … forests.

    What really matters.

    I think climate change is everything. You know, our grandchildren …children … and old age! Evidence. Scuffing about with mindless day to day politics is beneath us and irrelevant. Modern comfort has no future. Though as a history bloke I enjoy the 'footnotery' of you lot.

  27. Eco Maori 27
    22 June 2020 at 6:33 pm

    Kia Ora

    Newshub.

    That's is cool testing people for the virus on arrival.

    No the tree planting after Cyclone bolar was massive. The credit for native trees planting could be good.

    Ka kite Ano.

  28. Eco Maori 28
    22 June 2020 at 7:22 pm

    Kia Ora

    Te Ao Maori News.

    I think it's sad the way they sacked the Warriors Coach when they have other issues to sort.

    That's awesome Whakatohea Iwi getting there Waitangi settlement sorted finally.

    Ka kite Ano.

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    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

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