Open mike 21/03/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 21st, 2012 - 61 comments
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner).

Step right up to the mike…

61 comments on “Open mike 21/03/2012 ”

  1. Jenny 1

    http://peoplespowernz.wordpress.com/have-your-say/

    Calling all supporters of the campaigns to stop state assets sales!

    It will be a huge boost to the People’s Power Ohariu campaign to stop the asset sales by getting numbers along to the oral hearings of the Ohariu Citizens’ Select Committee this Thursday.

    Anyone from any electorate is welcome:

    Ohariu Citizens’ Select Committee
    Johnsonville Community Centre
    Cnr Moorefield Road and Frankmoore Ave
    7.30pm
    Thursday 22 March

    If you wish to present an oral submission or simply join the audience for this short but important meeting your very presence will be an significant contribution to the continuing action to get Ohariu MP and United Future leader Peter Dunne to withdraw his support for the partial sale of state assets.

    The news statement below sets out the basis of the People’s Power Ohariu’s case to get Peter Dunne to withdraw his support of the partial sale of power companies.

    If you are outside Wellington in other parts of the country please forward this email to anyone you think may want to make the meeting on Thursday.

    Thank you.

    John Maynard
    For
    People’s Power Ohariu
    027 220 7903

    News media statement 19 March 2011

    Ohariu MP Peter Dunne challenged to revoke his confidence and supply agreement

    over secret international investment negotiations

    “The Government’s secret Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement negotiations are expected to allow overseas shareholders in state owned power companies to be able to sue the New Zealand Government”, says People’s Power Ohariu spokesperson John Maynard.

    “A state/investor disputes procedure is provided for in the negotiations of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) currently involving New Zealand, the USA and seven other countries.

    “During last year’s election campaign there appeared to be no knowledge at the top level of Peter Dunne’s own United Future Party of the proposed state/investor dispute process of the TPPA. If Peter Dunne himself was also unaware of the state/investor disputes procedure he now has an opportunity to revoke his confidence and supply agreement with the Key Government over the sale of state assets.

    “New Zealanders’ opposition to the state asset sales has remained solidly between 65% and 80%. It’s not the mums and dads who want the state assets put on the block but the merchant bankers, who will collect hundreds of millions of dollars in fees and the stockbrokers, who will clip the ticket on every share trade.

    “Peter Dunne has the deciding vote in the 61 to 60 voting split. Without his vote there can be no sale of state assets.

    “Under the TPPA an overseas investor from one of the TPPA countries could act to protect its own interests in a power company by using what in effect would be a veto power over the Government’s law-making and administrative decision-making authority. It could happen if a future government decided the company was not acting in the public interest and required it to do so, or increased regulation of the sector, or tried to reverse the sale if it failed as privatisations have failed in the past. Legal challenges would not be heard in a New Zealand court but in a secret international tribunal.

    “Last year the Government refused to have a Parliamentary Select Committee hearing on the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement.

    “An Ohariu Citizens’ Select Committee set up at a public meeting in Johnsonville earlier in the month is now collecting submissions on the state asset sales and the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement. The Committee will hear oral submissions at the Johnsonville Community Centre at 7.30pm on 22 March”.

    Contact:

    John Maynard
    Spokesperson
    People’s Power Ohariu
    027 220 7903

    • I’ll be working that time tommorow, but my mother lives in Ohariu so maybe I’ll let her know if she wants to show up, she’d be all about putting pressure on Dunne and stopping asset sales.

  2. Jenny 2

    Are you concerned about global warming?

    Do you want New Zealand to give a global lead?

    Show John Key Your Opposition To Coal Mining On Conservation Land!

    Today, at 5 pm, 1 Willeston Street, Downtown Wellington, John Key will officially open Bathurst Resources’ new New Zealand office. Bathurst Resources plan to develop New Zealand’s largest open-cast coal mine on conservation land and we must oppose it every step of the way.

    Coal Action Network Aotearoa,
    Forest and Bird,
    Greenpeace,
    350,
    Ora Taiao,
    Generation Zero,
    And other concerned groups and individuals from around the country say;

    ‘NO Mining Pure NZ’.

    In May 2010, over 50 000 people marched up Queen Street in Auckland to protest the Government’s proposal to open up National Parks and other protected areas, after which the government executed a remarkable backdown and committed not to mine in National Parks and other significant conservation areas protected under Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act.

    They also stated that “significant applications to mine on public conservation land should be notified”. In November 2011, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson advised that the application for Australian-owned Bathurst Resources to have access to mine the fragile and unique Denniston Plateau will not be publicly notified.

    Bathurst’s proposal for a resource consent to mine coal on the Denniston Plateau on the West Coast is currently under appeal to the Environment Court. This proposal is the thin edge of Bathurst’s wedge which would see a unique ecosystem destroyed and the volume of coal exported by New Zealand increase by 40% and more in the future if we don’t stop this.

    So bring your placards and help give John Key and Bathurst Resources our simple message: “Keep the coal in the hole”.

    Find out more here
    Or email: coalactionnetwork@gmail.com

  3. rosy 3

    I watched the Queen’s speech at the UK parliament on her 60th jubilee today (I know… I was bored and just happened to see it). Lovely lady it seems, but what struck me was the utter irrelevance to New Zealand now. I will be very happy indeed when New Zealand becomes a republic.

    • Half Crown Millionare 3.1

      + 1

      • Bored 3.1.1

        My husband and I find this manner of response from our imperial …ummhhh sorry dominion….commonwealth servants rather disconcerting. It upsets the corgis you know, just as much as the nasty man with the grass skirt and tattos did that horrid dance that scared poor Tiddles last time…put him off his food for a week. To question my relevance what what??? Don’t you colonials realise how we prop up your women’s magazine industry?

    • Jenny 3.2

      Kingdom or Republic?

      Would it make as much difference as the average temperature rises to 25C and the sea level is 1m higher?

      • Vicky32 3.2.1

        Would it make as much difference as the average temperature rises to 25C and the sea level is 1m higher?

        It is to laugh, honestly! 😀 (As I sit here freezing. Guess how many mosquitoes I’ve seen/heard in  2012? Two of them, both at midday.) Five years ago, the pests were everywhere all night. I find it so hard to believe in global warming, and impossible to care, when every year, right here in Auckland, the temperature goes down…

        • Draco T Bastard 3.2.1.1

          Interesting, most of my family have been complaining that Auckland is now too damn hot.

          Anecdotes do not a science make.

    • Fortran 3.3

      I believe it has been said many times in the past that the decison is one for New Zealand to take. I would believe that the Monarchy has no feeling one way or the other.

      How would you handle the Treaty of Waitangi, which would be nullified with no reference to the Crown. Do you invent a new Crown ?

      Australia’s recent referendum on the subject was overwhelming in favour of retention.

      Do you believe that it would be different in New Zealand ?

      • Jenny 3.3.1

        Would it matter?

        • Draco T Bastard 3.3.1.1

          Yes, I think it would. Symbolically more than anything else, the step away from being a child.

      • rosy 3.3.2

        – Absolutely it is for New Zealand to decide.
        – Part of the reason the Australian monarchy referendum was lost was that there was no agreement on how to select/elect a president.
        – The government already acts for the Crown. There would have to be a way of legitimising this (probably the most difficult task in setting up a republic).
        – It very much depends on the transfer of the Treaty of Waitangi to government, agreement on the form and function of a republican parliament and the referendum questions.

  4. muzza 4

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10793489

    Looks like the predictions were right then…..shakes in NZ and Peru also.

    Next predicted September 20/21

    • What predictions? That there might be earthquakes in some places of the world sometimes, especially along the perimeter of tectonic plates?

      There could be times they are slightly more likely to hit than others – even tidal movements could be an influence, but general guesses are not predictions.

  5. logie97 5

    At last Labour has found a straight talker in Andrew Little.
    Listen to his interview on Morning Report this morning at 7:25
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport

  6. Te Reo Putake 6

    And in a late breaking conspiracy theory madness update, here’s the skinny on the CIA’s funding of Greenpeace.

    • LOL, the CIA thinks green movements are dangerous extremists, (which is ironic given that the CIA is operating illegally in their own country) that’s the stupidest conspiracy theory in a long time, and I’m including lizard people in that list. 😛

      • Te Reo Putake 6.1.1

        The worrying aspect of this lunacy is that Clive Palmer is a massive donor to the Liberal Party at both State and Federal level.
         
        Big mining state Queensland goes to the polls shortly, with the Libs likely to win easily, and federally, the Liberals are lead by a belligerently sceptical climate change denier, Tony Abbott. Palmer will be expecting a quick payoff from his donations locally and nationally, which is bad news for environmentalists and the indigenous peoples of Australia, whose land he likes digging up.

  7. ianmac 7

    One of the women accused in the Urewera case used $35,000 of Legal aid to get ready to defend herself.
    The case against her was dropped (along with many others.)
    She has a good job.
    Now she has to repay the $35,000.
    That doesn’t seem right. I suppose it happens elsewhere but to defend against a case that never happened seems wrong?

    • just saying 7.1

      Yeah it’s a real travesty. Legal aid has the discretion to lower, or wipe-out such a debt (and I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that they do), but sadly, they won’t.

      I hope someone sets up some kind of an official whip-round for her.

    • Grumpy 7.2

      She could have bought some really nice guns for that money…….

  8. Jackal 8

    The real nasty bloggers

    The rightwing bloggers who’ve been foaming at the mouth about somebody who does not deserve their various unfounded accusations and bullying can now STFU.

  9. Ianupnorth 9

    key’s brighter future clearly is in Australia
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10793539
    Another record exodus to their shores!! Can the last out please switch off the lights…

  10. KeepOurAssetsDon'tSell. 10

    Time for a short break! Let’s have some humour no matter how pathetic!

    Shonkey is missing something in his life? Bromance (Romance between bros)

    Camoron and Obamageddon are cosying up in true Bromance style check this out and John eat your heart out bro!

    “A very special relationship: Cameron claims he was tucked up in the President’s bed by Obama on Air Force One”

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2117730/David-Cameron-tucked-Presidents-bed-Obama-Air-Force-One.html#ixzz1phpMuSuv

    • KeepOurAssetsDon'tSell. 10.1

      In the policy area Shonkey shows the same slavish adherence to the NeoLiberal Washington Consensus. It’s painful but New Zealand must stand on its own feet. The first thing to do is to listen to all the people. The U$$$ no longer leads in anyplace except it’s massive destructive military capability, without that it’s just the Banana republic of America.

      This is so embarrassing – Cameron was acting like a little toy boy trying to please his Dad when he was there, beaming with red faced pleasure every time he got a pat on the head and Obama seems to be continuing to take the rise out of him. The whole visit made Britain look weak and silly. Not exactly like Churchill and Roosevelt’s meeting, was it?

      Gee, kinda reminds us of Michael Jackson and his affinity for naive little boys!

  11. Well who would have thought the Herald would headline that the National Govern is one of shame. Bloody hell perhaps pigs can fly.

  12. logie97 12

    Anyone else think it laudable of Smith to resign his Ministerial positions?
    He is personally taking cuts in line with the local government realignments he hoped to put in place.

    Well done Nick. Leading by example. Unfortunately, of course, someone else in your party will step up to take your old salary perks.

    Now who have NACT got in their ranks with experience in local politics? Ah yes, Rodney’s replacement in Epsom. (No doubt Key is making a decision as I write this …)

  13. vto 13

    This is completely and utterly appropriate and expected. Nick Smith gave us complete and utter bullshit and lies over the sacking of Ecan and I have zero sympathy for him and his type. None. Nada. Zip. He can go evaporate for all I care.

    And I agree that this government is starting to teeter. Key is not up to being a PM. He is a money-changer and he should go back to that fine and upstanding trade…

  14. Pascal's bookie 14

    What with the mfat breakdown, the POAL backdown, the Nick Smith get down, and the PM getting a throw down from hundreds of protesters at Denniston; reckon a certaim smiley waver might be about ready for an early beddy-bies.

    Sorry about the lack of links, but it’s all out there, easy to find.

    • Grumpy 14.1

      Hundreds of protestors at Denniston? Nobody lives there!!!

      • Pascal's bookie 14.1.1

        I know!

        The dead be rising from their graves to give ‘im a piece o’ their minds.

        Fair play to them I say. The man’s a dick

  15. Pascal's bookie 15

    All right then:

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/101462/prime-minister-greeted-by-anti-mining-protesters

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/101463/ports-of-auckland-re-enters-collective-bargaining

    And yes, POAL management ‘denies a U-turn’, but they are entering the bargaining they said was done and dusted and over finis.

    So U-turn it is.

  16. Reality Bytes 16

    Auckland to get double decker buses
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10793562

    Not the answer to our pub transport woes, but still cool imo. It all helps (assuming it goes ahead) towards a more efficient/effective bus service. And it reminds me of London 🙂

  17. Morrissey 17

    DEAKER-WATCH No. 4

    New Zealand’s top brains spring into action following Super 15 disaster
    Radio Sport, Sunday 10 July 2011 3.30 p.m.

    The Canterbury Crusaders lost the Super 15 final on Saturday night. That means New Zealand’s best intellects will be working hard to work out the reason for the calamity….

    MURRAY DEAKER: Plenty of spare lines, you’ll get straight through if you ring now. Phil, your thoughts?
    CALLER PHIL: I want to talk about the All Black squad. Murray, I am very, very concerned. I think we will have a lack of intelligence, once the ball goes past Daniel Carter.
    DEAKER: [long, thoughtful pause] Conrad Smith?
    PHIL: Yes, but what if he’s injured, Murray?
    DEAKER: [long, thoughtful pause] I know what you’re getting at, Phil.
    PHIL: Yes, well, it needs to be said, Murray.
    DEAKER: [with utmost gravitas] A lot of people talk about this in private, but are not prepared to talk about it in public. But I don’t give a TOSS about that! The problem is that in this country we have a lot of boys that are EARLY MATURERS.
    PHIL: Yes, oh yes.
    DEAKER: These guys haven’t got the slender build of, say, a Dan Carter, or a Jeff Wilson, or an Andrew Mehrtens.
    PHIL: That’s right, Murray.
    DEAKER: So they’ve never had to jink, or sidestep, or run around any opponents. They are so HUGE that all they have ever had to do is barge past them. They’ve never had to THINK! Because they’re early maturers!
    PHIL: It’s a worry. Because these overseas teams, they’re THINKERS, Murray! They’re private school boys, and they’re thinkers.! The Australians, Murray, they’re just so EDUCATED! I remember once when the lowest-qualified player in the team was a chartered accountant, Murray!
    DEAKER: Yes, but we’ll not see the likes of Nick Farr-Jones, David Kirk, Sir John Graham and Sir Wilson Whineray again. They were very bright guys!
    PHIL: I’m so worried, Murray….

    …ad absurdum, ad nauseam, ad infinitum….

    – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
    DEAKER-WATCH is a series dedicated to highlighting the contributions of Murray Deaker to New Zealand public life.

    DEAKER-WATCH No.1…
    
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-13032012/#comment-446445

    DEAKER-WATCH No. 2…
    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-14032012/#comment-447110

    DEAKER-WATCH No. 3…
    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-15032012/#comment-447518

  18. Beyond Help 18

    A few new labels for a few politicians

    Mr Slash and Burn-the PM

    Mr Power Hungry- No3

    Ballooning Debt -No2

    Small Man Syndrome No1-Power of Attorney
    Small Man Syndrome No 2 – the other lawyer
    Cruising on the Share-market -The ultimate corrections minister

    Black Knight Dame-The Police

    Latest manifesto blue print for the national party

    How to wreck a country in 2 terms without trying

    Can it get any worse ?

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    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
    4 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
    4 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
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
    4 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
    5 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
    6 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
    20 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
    24 hours 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
    5 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
    7 days ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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