Open mike 21/12/2020

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, December 21st, 2020 - 63 comments
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63 comments on “Open mike 21/12/2020 ”

  1. Treetop 1

    I have been thinking about the new variant of Covid 19.

    1. Should NZ stop flights from Britain until more is known about the variant?

    2. Does the new variant of Covid-19 require a longer isolation period?

    3. Would the new variant of Covid-19 be more lethal in the NZ population due to having less infections of the previous variant?

    About a month ago I raised the government being prepared over the Christmas/holiday period to make decisions about Covid if required.

    • Forget now 1.1

      Treetop

      Wiles has a good piece on the new UK variant, which isn't too technical. Main takeaway is that while this strain is concerning, it is the Johnson government's response to the pandemic that is really worrying.

      https://thespinoff.co.nz/science/21-12-2020/siouxsie-wiles-just-how-worrying-is-the-new-covid-19-strain-for-britain-and-the-rest-of-us/

      The more a virus infects, and thus the more it replicates, the more mutations will occur. Have to wonder what is happening in the USA, where there are more cases and less testing.

      • Treetop 1.1.1

        Thanks for the link, I will read it.

        Johnson has a lot going on with Brexit having a no deal exit as of today.

      • Treetop 1.1.2

        I did wonder if the PCR test being used would detect the new variant B.1.1.7

        • Incognito 1.1.2.1

          Wonder no longer.

          • Treetop 1.1.2.1.1

            And the next big jump of mutations with a new variant?

            • Incognito 1.1.2.1.1.1

              Are you a doomscroller?

              It is theoretically possible that current PCR tests will fail to pick up new variants but it is unlikely because PCR tests test for multiple regions of the virus genome. In any case, it is relatively easily rectified by changing the target regions of the PCR test. Different PCR test-kits target different regions, anyway, which is an argument not to rely on one test only and put all your eggs in one basket.

              BTW, those 14 mutations may not have occurred in one month.

    • Ed 1.2

      Iran has suspended flights to the U.K. for 2 weeks.

      We must follow their example.

    • According to BBC Radio 5 last night this mutation has been around since September and is one of many Covid mutations-all virus's mutate. This mutation will have spread around the world by now-the Guardian just reported that someone in Italy has the mutant virus.

      In reality the "mutant virus" story is a diversion tactic for yet another massive Boris cock-up/u-turn in relation to the abandoning of the stupid 5-day period of relaxation of the Covid rules at Christmas.

      • McFlock 1.3.1

        Yup. Maybe it's more infectious in practise, maybe not. Either way, super-covid is a great excuse for incompetent governments to start doing what they should have done nine months ago.

        • Bearded Git 1.3.1.1

          Scientists seemed to be saying yesterday that "super-covid" was no more virulent than standard covid and vaccines will protect against it. (No links sorry-just random media statements I heard)

  2. Ed 2

    Europe has banned flights. We should too.

    • Muttonbird 2.1

      Europe doesn't have MIQ. That said, there are too many people returning to this country. Needs to be managed.

      • Ed 2.1.1

        Michael Baker has expressed concerns that we are entering a most dangerous phase.

        He thinks we need more controls.

        I agree with him.

        https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/that-could-be-us-tomorrow-top-epidemiologist-warns-what-sydneys-covid-19-outbreak-means-for-aotearoa/AG3HG7DBDV22UTH5XHIJRXDZWM/

        • Muttonbird 2.1.1.1

          He's been talking about the traffic light system for a while but I can't see how if MIQ is done properly here it would make a difference.

          He's asking for a three day supervised isolation and negative test in high risk countries of origin. Great on paper but how is that going to work?

          • McFlock 2.1.1.1.1

            Weren't the Russian fishing crews tested beforehand? Don't lots of airlines already demand preflight tests?

            I’m all for defense-in-depth, but the preflight isolation and testing system doesn’t seem to have much effect.

            • Muttonbird 2.1.1.1.1.1

              Yes, the problem with testing at source is that there is no warrant against corruption and poor procedure.

              We know the rest of the world’s standards are woefully inadequate compared to our own.

              • McFlock

                It might not even be that, so much as there's limited utility in isolating and testing someone before they go through some of the most high-traffic buildings in the world.

                A person with a false-negative result can unknowingly infect so many people at the gate, in the airbridge, in the plane, at the stopover, at the baggage claim…

        • Forget now 2.1.1.2

          Another slice of gruyere wouldn't be excessive.

          Thanks for this link Ed. I had read the truncated ODT version earlier, but that stops just after the "Ideally…" paragraph. NZH ads are pretty annoying though.

        • Treetop 2.1.1.3

          Just when you think that Covid is being managed it throws something at you. Usually 2 mutations per month, there have been 14 with B.1.1.7 the new variant.

          Link at 1.1

    • weka 2.2

      why? We have no community transmission, and if anyone coming into the country brings covid in it gets dealt with by border control.

      Europe still has community transmission and an inadequate covid response.

      I mean, I'm all for lessening flights further due to climate change, also happy for NZ to be forced by covid into a more regenerative way of living, but those are different rationales.

      • Cricklewood 2.2.1

        Ive been thinking about international air travel, I like the idea of a progressive taxation system as you dont want to make it impossible for people to visit family etc so for example you get one 'free' flight per year then for every subsequent flight you are taxed at an ever increasing percentage of the ticket value say 10 20 40 80 160….

        • weka 2.2.1.1

          Interesting idea. One of my concerns atm is that with the covid response we're creating a class division for flying. Wealthier people can afford to come and go and pay the MIQ costs (fees, time off work). Lower income people can't. Taxation would make that even more so.

          Otoh, lots of people already can't afford to fly, and beneficiaries get 'taxed' if they stay out of the country too long (lose their income in fact).

          I suspect that at this point, a big push on educating people around flying and the ecological impacts is needed before we can do much else. Then strategies on how to adapt lifestyles without feeling unduly deprived.

  3. francesca 3

    Nothing much has changed

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/20/russian-hack-suspected-role-biden-mulls-punishment

    Propaganda that isn't defrocked until decades after it's done its corrosive work .And generation after generation falls for it

    https://fort-russ.com/2020/12/todays-china-espionage-scandals-revive-the-gouzenko-hoax-that-unleashed-the-cold-war/

    Wikipedia still not addressing the 1985 declassification of the Gouzenko documents , which came up with nothing

    It's a great little gag though, your own intelligence agencies provide intelligence that can't be publicly verified for security reasons, and give cover for waging war on a perceived adversary.

  4. Anne 4

    He's starting the right way. Fingers crossed it will continue:

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/us-president-elect-joe-biden-introduces-team-to-tackle-climate-change/CMMG3LE3DNJVHKGSDZQIJX22WE/

    If the US turns it around and takes the lead on climate change… that will be a big incentive for other countries to follow suit.

    • Ad 4.1

      Biden announced it in nice clear terms:

      "We're in a crisis. Just like we need to be a unified nation in response to Covid19, we need a unified national response to climate change."

      Almost stating the obvious, except so few elected leaders are stating it.

  5. vto 5

    Repeating at risk of tedium;…

    Push wealth down and society strengthens and prospers (e.g. the US 1950-1980)

    Push wealth up and society weakens and fails (e.g. the US 1980-2020)

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/20/joe-biden-trickle-down-economics-build-up

    • RedBaronCV 5.1

      Not that I see any chance of counter measures around this government.

      And there are still 192,000 work visa holders in the country or having their visa extended again – supposedly while we "train" people – but in reality undermining our local labour market. There has been quite few months now to train people and unless we start dropping these visa numbers steadily by 20K or so a month the labour market will never start to adjust to provide proper jobs and conditions for locals.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/123772445/covid19-desperate-hospitality-industry-welcomes-visa-changes

      • Adrian 5.1.1

        If we sent the 192,000 home just exactly how much work do you think would get done? There are very few NZers who are available to do the work offered even with the quite generous incentives. It is dreaming to think that even a few thousand inner city unemployed are able or willing to move to do all the work that is out there.

        Most importantly, the billions of dollars lost if agricultural work is not done is billions that will not be available to pay for the vaccines and other essential medicines and all manner of other stuff that we now deem essential.

    • Incognito 5.2

      Another shill piece by a shill for neo-liberalism in a shill tabloid. \sarc

  6. Muttonbird 6

    A $6000 fine for two years of deliberate neglect is just $8/day. Pathetic disincentive.

    Crockers should be held accountable too. Property management companies should be regulated into ensuring their clients abide by the rules, or face penalties.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/12/south-auckland-landlord-ordered-to-pay-tenants-6000-after-failing-to-repair-mouldy-water-damaged-home-for-two-years.html

  7. Phillip ure 7

    everyone pretty relaxed about labour sitting on that damning report (commissioned by them) into how the border closedown was mis-managed..?

    that they sat on it since september..then released it on the very last day possible in 2020..thus avoiding parliamentary questioning..?

    any labour loyalists at all uncomfortable about any of that..?

    and of course..seeing as they were re-elected on their handling of that issue..?

    and all bullshitting on their part also..to add insult to injury..

    how about all that..?

    • Graeme 7.1

      It all depends on how comprehensively the findings of the report have been acted on and the deficiencies around the border corrected. My impression is that they have been.

      Government commissioned the report to find out what wasn't working. We'd never done this before so there's a very high chance some things wouldn't be working as well as they should, so find them and fix them. That's government / management.

      Sitting on the report until the end is also government / management. It reduces the time that the opposition and media can attack the things that happened in the past and distract and divert the Government from governing and keeping us safe. National were very adept at this as well, but usually it was around feathering their mates' nests.

    • lprent 7.2

      The report recommendations were reported on some time ago. In the lead up to the election. It was a report commissioned to look at lessons learnt rather than to fulfilling your critic’s blame game tactics. That is why you can see a pile of recommendations about how to make the system better and look at the limits on the approach rather tha trying to crucify people..

      Don’t you think that it is better to report on how actually fix problems? Rather than being a ineffectual simpleton critic who drools at the thought of political blood sports and eating red meat of victims?

      If you think that last was offensive to you – then think on how offensive I view your lazy arse comment as being. Pigfucker comments deserve the same in response.

      • Phillip ure 7.2.1

        'pigfucker comments'..for questioning this..?

        really..?

        would you say the same thing to Kathryn ryan..?

        'cos she just lost it in her politics with bridget morton/mills segment on rnz..(available on rnz site later..)

        I have never heard her more angry..

        my comment is most polite..in comparison..

        and so…if national did something like this…

        you would be totally relaxed about that..?

        to me it reeks of both hubris..and deeply cynical cover-up..

        and light years away from the new way of doing politics..promised by j.ardern..

        • lprent 7.2.1.2

          Pigfucker. Just one part of that…

          any labour loyalists at all uncomfortable about any of that..?

          That walked right over the edge into making you appear to have the ethics of Cameron Slater.

          That is a pigfucker question of the style of “when did you last fuck your favourite sow?” It works on the principle that explaining is losing. Has nothing to do with debate.

          eg; “Aren’t you discouraged that you don't appear to have ever managed to do anything effectual politically in your lifetime?”

          It is often directed at a group so that the coward using it can say “but I wasn’t meaning you” when people take it personally. If you don’t like getting called on doing it, then don’t come here.

          I’m perfectly comfortable with treating you the same as I did with Cameron.

          • Phillip ure 7.2.1.2.1

            so…back to Kathryn ryan..

            have you listened to her anger…?

            and my echoing her words..

            ..deserves me being called a pigfucker..?..and the rest of it..?

            and now I am cameron slater…?

            a tad over-reacting from you..?

            and I was under the impression using such personal abuse is not allowed on this site..?

            and am I meant to be cowed by that abuse…?

            I ain't..

            • Drowsy M. Kram 7.2.1.2.1.1

              Heard Ryan's splenetic positioning (link @7.2.1.1) – not unreasonable on a semi-political blog, but OTT for a RNZ interviewer don't you think? Maybe our Government understands the importance of sustaining the hugely successful health outcomes of NZ's COVID response into 2021 – here's hoping.

              The expensive and ineffective border system we’ve had in place to date is not good enough. National is ready to work constructively with the Government on ways to improve this.

              I lay NZ’s comparatively excellent COVID health outcomes at least partly at the feet of our Government, our public health service professionals and boarder control workers et al. Always room for improvement, and yet there's no place I'd rather be right now.

              We don't know how fortunate we are to have that place
              We don't know how propitious are the circumstances Frederick

              So if things are looking really bad
              you're thinking of givin' it away
              Remember New Zealand's a cracker
              and I reckon come what may
              If things get appallingly bad
              and we all get atrociously poor
              If we stand in the queue with our hats on
              we can borrow a few million more.

              We don't know how lucky we are, mate
              We don't know how lucky we are.

              • Phillip ure

                that's why it stood out to me..

                the high degree of splenetic in her rant…

                (she had to pause to catch her breath a couple of times)

                and no matter how it is trying to be spun after the event…I think some trust has been bonfired..

                and I'm picking that the new year will see the end of that long honeymoon between j.ardern..and the media…

                a harsher eye will be cast upon j.ardern/this gummint..

                especially if they fail to move on the issues screaming out for urgent solutions..

                • Drowsy M. Kram

                  Ryan has certainly 'bonfired' some of my trust in her impartiality. She has a guest 'from the left' and a guest 'from the right' in that weekly timeslot – maybe she thought her guest 'from the right' wasn't splenetic enough.

                  NZ has been lucky, but our comparatively excellent COVID-19 health outcomes aren't all down to luck – there's been some good management too. NZ is well on the way to breaking its previous record of 102 days without a case of COVID-19 from an unknown source, and we've had more NZers repatriated during the current run of nearly 3 months.

                  New Zealand’s approach to the pandemic has been widely praised internationally for its quick and tough action over the virus, having completed 1,030,115 tests as of 18 October 2020.
                  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_New_Zealand

                  Here's hoping the team of nearly five million can get through to the New Year without another case of community transmission to establish a new (year's) record smiley

            • lprent 7.2.1.2.1.2

              Your behaviour. Your problem. You've been warned.

    • Muttonbird 7.3

      The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

    • Louis 7.4

      Mismanaged? Nah, not so. NZ has no community transmission and has one of the best Covid19 responses in the world. Look at what is happening around the world, NZ is the best place to be right now. Dont know why youre bitching about it, there was no rule book for this pandemic, the govt have learnt along the way, like everyone else, and have corrected what ever needed to be adjusted to shore up NZ's response and its working. The facts prove it.

  8. Muttonbird 8

    Only white people welcome?

    Luxury resort attracts former PM John Key and cricket coach Brendon McCullum

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/123769946/luxury-resort-attracts-former-pm-john-key-and-cricket-coach-brendon-mccullum

    Not one mention in that article about the Real Estate agent's very recent past.

    • Graeme 8.1

      Well this would be the 3rd or 4th go at launching this project. It's on the windiest, driest and most rabbit infested bit of land in the basin. The same sort of development has been proposed, and attempted by at least four other developers on other sites down the Valley of Debt, sorry, Gibbston Valley, without success, they usually get a very windswept vineyard that cost money to run, a few building platforms and the 'resort' bit never seems to eventuate.

      The valley is also renown for it's water wars, which hop off into another dimension without equal.

      For some light relief here's compost's marketing video. Warning : swallow your coffee first

      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/750m-golfhousing-resort-planned-for-quiet-gibbston-valley/U3K2ZYAPRDXO3F4HMWUN5DC66I/

      As for Key and McCullum's involvement, probably got a section / shares for the use of their 'brands' in the marketing.

      I'd be surprised if this really goes where they are planning, the site isn't even close to what Millbrook can offer and not where you'd want to have your 5 million mansion.

  9. Nic181 10

    I’ve just read that so called “A listers,” are lining up for a gated community in the Gibbston Valley. Houses cost $4 million upwards. Apparently John Key is one of them. What Fuckers!! When we have families living in cars that is beyond obscene! Fuck off to the USA where money is worshipped, you won’t get that from this Kiwi.

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    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

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