Open mike 21/07/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 21st, 2011 - 70 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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

Step right up to the mike…

70 comments on “Open mike 21/07/2011 ”

  1. RedLogix 1

    Well this is interesting.

    The group’s founder, Zainah Anwar, said on its website: “I find the burqa really disturbing.

    “There is enough literature to show that the face veil is not a requirement in Islam.

    “In a conservative, patriarchal Muslim context, face veiling really symbolises women’s invisibility and inferior status.

    “That a woman should not be seen and heard, and should she venture into the public space she must be as invisible as possible, is an affront to human dignity.”

    As I tried to point out in an earlier thread, this kind of dress code is more cultural than religious. It is not a question of ‘religious freedom’.

    Nor do most Muslims either wear damn things.

    • prism 1.1

      I think I heard about a religious sect where the men wear some sort of bag over their heads to prevent strangers from seeing their face which would diminish their life force. Oh I have a doubt, I think it was a line by a stand up comedian.

  2. Epsom electorate nudges, winks and open arrangements, have been called undemocratic. That’s nonsense. Parties should be free to arrange whatever they want to. Voters decide for themselves what they like and who they will vote for.

    It will happen in other electorates. Maori and Mana are open about trying to arrange electorate versus party votes – and Maori electorates have been quite successful at it in past elections.

    But I’m sure we will keep hearing about Epsom assaults on democracy.

    • Epsom electorate nudges, winks and open arrangements, have been called undemocratic. That’s nonsense. Parties should be free to arrange whatever they want to.
       
      But SS you ignore the background.  ACT once was a distinct separate proud political party albeit with really weird ideas.  Then National decided that it probably would not make the 50% level of support in the election and that it needed partners.
       
      It looked to its right and saw that ACT was on its death bed.  Its leader, a supposed perk buster, had turned out to be a huge rorter of public money and its law and order spokesperson had stolen the identity of a dead baby.  The party was clearly mysoginist and its deputy leader was bullied.  Its newest member was and remains really weird.  It was and is a bunch of hypocritical mysoginist misfits.
       
      So National did what all good corporates do, it staged a takeover.  With the help of money and paid operatives it installed its ex leader as the new leader and an ex National cabinet member as ACT’s Epsom candidate.  None of the ACT members complained, self preservation does that to people without principle.
       
      Don’t you think that the use of money and power in this way is appalling?  And don’t you think that National’s setting up of a patsy party on the right to increase its own power is utterly undemocratic?
       
       
       
       
       
       

      • You’re making a lot of assumptions and accusations. You must have proof of all that or you wouldn’t be making the claims? Have your got legal advice on that?

        Or maybe you need to see your paranoia doctor a bit more often.

        Democracy is parties doing what they want, how they want, and voters making their own choices.

        • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1

          You’ve now gained enough points to apply for the resident Right Wing apparatchik position

          • Secret Squirrel 2.1.1.1.1

            Maori Party are right wing? Mana Party are right wing? The Anderton Party is right wing?

            If you think Labour wouldn’t make electorate arrangements to try and give themselves a way of cobbling together a coalition you’re as nuts as micky.

            • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1.1.1

              Meh, point me to one electorate any where in the country where LAB is doing anything of the sort.

              LAB is going to fight this election fair and is going to fight in every electorate tooth and nail.

              You are full of shit and now the one making plenty of “assumptions and accusations”. Hypocritical apparatchik that you are, I knew you would be qualified for the job.

              • CV – if Labour could I’m sure they would, it’s just that every other party senses blood in the red water and are preying on picking up votes from the entrails. So it’s unlikely Labour has anyone willing to do deals.

                • McFlock

                  Oh, so they’re all as bad as each other, Labour’s just slightly more incompetent?

                  SS, if everywhere you look in the world is self-centred and malevolent, perhaps you’re simply projecting a little bit?

            • prism 2.1.1.1.1.2

              ss I thought you had all the nuts. Are you sharing them out now.

        • mickysavage 2.1.1.2

          AAaaarrrrggghhhh
           
          PeteG you are in trolling mode.
           
          Try googling “david garrett dead baby identity court” and see what you come up with.  Then argue the accuracy of my comment.
           

          • Secret Squirrel 2.1.1.2.1

            Your posts are really spaced out this morning. Calm down and slow down.
            A new definition of trolling – upsetting ms before he’s taken his meds.

            What David Garret did some time last century is behind this right wing plot?

            • lprent 2.1.1.2.1.1

              Thank you for reminding me. My little cocktail of beta blockers, aspirin, and the like nearly got forgotten this morning..

              Now you were saying?

            • Deadly_NZ 2.1.1.2.1.2

              Oh dear Bludger has got his knickers in a twist over nothing yet again. Spin little squirrel spin

            • mickysavage 2.1.1.2.1.3

              Squirrel
               
              What David Garret did some time last century is behind this right wing plot?
               
              Ah so you can google.  Care then to reconcile my comment about him with your comment
               
              You’re making a lot of assumptions and accusations. You must have proof of all that or you wouldn’t be making the claims?
               
              Sure do.  So is what I said about Garret correct or not?  If it is correct then identify what other statements I made that are incorrect.
               
              Go on …
               
               
               
               
               

              • You’re spaced out again.

                Not according to Garrett:
                http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/07/general_debate_21_july_2011.html#comment-854525

                I’m well aware of Garrett’s passport stuff. It doesn’t mean he is printing money to fund National operatives to take over the party he belongs to.

                • You are such a crack up squirrel.  Tell me do you actually think that anything you say is true or are you just on one big piss take?

                  • felix

                    Performance art?

                  • You’re the one making bizarre accusations.

                    And yes, taking the micky isn’t very difficult.

                    • felix

                      Telling the truth about bizarre people and events is not the same thing as making bizarre accusations.

                      What is it that mickey wrote that you think is a bizarre accusation?

                      Have you been living in a cave for the last couple of years?

                    • Go on SS point out one mistake, just one, any one will do.

                    • Your first two paragraphs, allowing for a bit of dramatic license, are in the ball park.

                      “None of the ACT members complained”

                      That’s wrong. I saw Act members complaining plenty.

                      The rest, unless you have any proof of it, I don’t buy, sounds most like a desperate conspiracy theory. And I think if you had any proof you wouldn’t just be bouncing it around this blog, where frequent and excessive over the top claims render it’s credibility very suspect. I’ve seen enough here to be very skeptical of anything that has no proof.

                      Why don’t you get some legal help, put together a demonstrable accusation, and go to the media with it? If it’s as you claim it could be a big story. But parties can, within the law, operate as they want to.

                    • What brand of Kronik do you smoke?

                    • “None of the ACT members complained”

                      You are right.  I should have said that none of the ACT MPs complained.  I am glad that you acknowledged that the first part which was most of what I said was correct.

                      And the rest?  Well google Simon Lusk and see what you come up with.  And you should realise that information concerning Simon has come from unusual sources.  Just ask Trevor.

                      Legal help?  Nah I am fine thank you.  But thinks for caring … 

                • Colonial Viper

                  What, is ACT about to recycle another has been old white guy?

          • felix 2.1.1.2.2

            It’s not a mode.

          • mik e 2.1.1.2.3

            They can use the old dog whistle Brash to soften nationals image but without this big majority they,ve been cruising toward it could back fire . and the soft middle could dessert them

      • Ianupnorth 2.1.2

        On a side note i was thinking this yesterday; are the maori wards detrimental to having truly democratic representation in parliament?
         
        Bear with me on this one….
         
        OK, take the following three mainstream electorates – Rotorua, WBOP and East Coast.
         
        Rotorua was Steve Chadwick’s after a long time as a Nat (Max Bradford) seat. It takes in the very deprived Kawerau and Kaingaroa Village, where people are predominantly Maori and are on the maori roll. In the last election Rotorua ended up with the awful waste of space Todd McClay. Needless to say he has done nothing for those communities, so by having an electorate MP (main roll) who is primarily voted in by white middle class Maori shoot themselves in the foot by being on the Maori roll.
         
        Places like Te Puke end up with Ryall and the East Coast Tolley – both areas which have big Maori populations. Makes you think.

      • Sam 2.1.3

        Obvvously you never saw Jim Anderton “party” as anything underhand then?
        Seems a severe case of pots calling kettles black.

        • felix 2.1.3.1

          You’ll need to explain how they’re similar examples.

          Jim won his seat when he was a member of the Labour Party.

          When he left the party he continued to win the seat.

          Who ever had to step aside for him to get into parliament?

          • Secret Squirrel 2.1.3.1.1

            The big Labour names contesting Wigram to compete head on with Anderton:
            2008 Erin Ebborn-Gillespie – third on 15.15% (Labour 40.19%)
            2005 Paul Chalmers – third on 19.12% (Labour 47.95%)
            2002 Mika Mora – 2nd on 26% (Labour 45%)

            Labour got the help of two Progressive seats in 2002, just Anderton since then.

            The Labour candidate this year is Megan Woods, ranked 47th on Labour’s list.

            • felix 2.1.3.1.1.1

              You think Labour could take the seat off Anderton?

              By running who, exactly?

              Whereas National could take Epsom back any time they like.

              • felix

                ps not that I think Labour do want to, or even that they should.

                As you say, parties can make whatever arrangements they like and people can vote accordingly. I also believe that if parties try to make arrangements to provide outcomes not favoured by the electorate in question, they’ll be punished on polling day.

                However if you’re suggesting that Anderton – who has won and held the same seat under two different electoral systems and at least three different political parties – is somehow not the genuinely preferred representative of the voters of Wigram…

                …or that his situation is analogous to ACT, who only exist in parliament because National step aside for them…

                …then you’re Pete George.

                • Anderton most likely would have won Wigram from a strong Labour challenge – but we’ll never know because it never happened. It was convenient for Labour to just leave it to Anderton.

                  And in another handy arrangement, Anderton retires and hands Wigram to Labour.

                  “I will be throwing my support firmly behind Labour’s Megan Woods in my current seat of Wigram.”
                  http://www.progressive.org.nz/latestnews/files/7edbf6342cc3ae907fc7a04d1bb0598a-187.html

                  • felix

                    Then I guess you can’t paint Megan as a no-hope patsy candidate anymore, seeing as you think the voters of Wigram are going to welcome her to represent them.

                    She can’t be both.

                    Rather inconvenient for your conspiracy theory about the previous Labour candidates too.

                    Which means you still haven’t explained how Anderton and ACT are analogous, seeing as how ACT only exist because National step aside for them whereas Jim has been continuously selected by his electorate since 1984.

                    And according to you, he’s so popular in Wigram that whoever he anoints will be the next MP, despite them being a low-ranked no-hope patsy earlier this morning.

                    • Colonial Viper

                      S.S. thinks Wigram is equivalent to the situation where we saw Rodney Hide “resign” from Epsom to retire after many long years of service, gracefully “handing over” the electorate (and the party) to Brash and Banks.

                      Don’t you mate.

                    • Don’t be so dopey, you get a bit carried away with your bullshit expansions.

                      Epsom and Wigram are quite different – but they are both examples of one party accommodating another for mutual benefits.

                    • felix

                      “you get a bit carried away with your bullshit expansions”

                      Instead of just replying to my comment with venom and repetition, how about showing why it’s factually inaccurate. ‘Cos you haven’t yet.

                  • lprent

                    Anderton most likely would have won Wigram from a strong Labour challenge

                    Bullshit. There have been a series of good candidates in that electorate who have never made much traction against a competent incumbent MP. Electorates will tend to support an incumbent local MP over multiple elections if they work the electorate. Look at Peter Dunne (how many years has he been fighting off both Labour and National after that seat?) or Winston Peters (until he annoyed his electorate).

                    But that is quite different to Epsom where the only thing that has been keeping a Act MP in there was complicity from National with a series of useless candidates.

                    Anderton retires and hands Wigram to Labour.

                    You mean because the Progressives decided to drop their party?

                    But I guess you prefer your dumbass explanations that have bugger all to do with reality..

                    • “bugger all to do with reality”

                      I thought for a minute you were revealing Labour’s new election slogan.

                    • lprent

                      I just looked at your list of the past three candidates for the seat from Labour. Personally I don’t bother with much of the politics or the people. But two of them are pretty damn high profile inside Labour that I know (and I ignore most people). One is a political operator and not someone you’d waste in a seat as a candidate if you could use them as a campaign organizer.

                      What your statements do reveal is that your comments are the result of self-obsessed politics. Long on self-congratulation at getting imaginary results, short on analysis of technique because no-one else assists, and with a complete lack of appreciation of the advantages of practice in the real world over navel gazing.

                      Or in short – the splattered excreta of a political wanker…

                    • “Long on self-congratulation”

                      I’m tempted to comment on that, but best left as it is.

              • Jum

                Felix “Whereas National could take Epsom back any time they like.”

                National already have.

  3. Lazy Susan 3

    So Act may agree to stand down in National marginals

    On the face of it this may seem like gaming the system to assist NAct in gaining extra seats.

    However, this ignores the fact that under MMP it’s the party vote that determines the make-up of Parliament – not the number of Electorate seats. Act standing down in marginals does nothing to increase the total NAct party vote – in fact quite the contrary it may well decrease that total vote for the following reasons:

    1) No Act canditate in some electorates to campaign for them

    2) Soft National and undecided voters not liking the game playing and somewhat too cosy relationship with Act.

    3) Hard right Act voters being hacked off for them being too cosy with National.

    4) Draw out more of the centre left vote in those marginals to keep NAct out

    Of course under FPP this sort of game-playing would work so it seems NAct have just highlighted another very good reason for keeping MMP.

    • Yes, I agree that using MMP (“game playing” it) is a good reason to keep MMP, there are more party and voter options.

      • Lazy Susan 3.1.1

        I wrote

        under FPP this sort of game-playing would work

        i.e. under MMP it does not work

        As usual the squirrel choses (or refuses) to read what was written before comitting nonsense to keyboard. Perhaps you’ll be able to throw in a few irrelevant links as well, as you did the other day when debating? English’s crap numbers.

    • Lanthanide 3.2

      Yes, in the electoral calculus, this move ultimately hurts their total seat majority.

      The total party vote determines the number of seats you get in parliament, and both Labour and National always get multiple list votes to top up their electorate winnings. Purely in terms of seats, winning more electorates for Labour or National just means fewer list members.

      Act need to do everything possible to increase their party vote, especially when they’re under the 5% threshold, as it effectively goes towards creating an overhang (in their favour) in parliament. Standing people in marginal electorates may cause National to lose them (which doesn’t ultimately affect their seat total one jot), but it would also have the effect of increasing Act’s profile and hopefully gaining them more party votes than they would otherwise. Party votes are what Act needs, so having them not stand in these electorates ultimately isn’t in their best interests, except where they can make deals over it (Brash gets a good ministerial position, instead of just a lame associate one, for example).

  4. Ianupnorth 4

    Israeli spies – call me cynical, is this a manufactured Key diversion, takes the debate well away from economics, cost of living and CGT and focuses on him in the US as our great I can fix everything leader? maybe we should let this drop and bring the debate back to real issues.

    • prism 4.1

      Inorth – It is intriguing (literally) though isn’t it, this thing about the Israeli travellers. Radionz talked to the father of a young man who lost his life. The father must be well off with lots of contacts and pull if he could find a group of experts to drop their business so they could travel here on his behalf, and who paid their travel and accommodation bill? Did he or they pay out of their huge bank accounts and the goodness of their hearts? It seemed necessary he said as we appeared slow and incompetent compared to other countries.

      I guess Israelis are used now to getting things their own way. Their leader goes to the United States and addresses a large group which gives him a standing ovation. I wonder whether ours will get a few smiles and nods. This link gives a youtube video of his 24 May 2011 speech to congress and you can see the sycophantic response to his every remark. Then when you’re tired of the repetition of hand clapping you can read the transcript below.
      USA and Israel

      • freedom 4.1.1

        can you imagine how long it would take Key to say that speech

        “I speak (looks down, reads, looks up) on behalf of the (looks down, reads, looks up) Jewish people and (looks down, reads, looks up) the Jewish state (looks down, reads, looks up) when I say to you”

        • felix 4.1.1.1

          “I’m akshully speaking for behalf the Jew, people and the state, vis a vis I’m having said that I say it to you. I love lamp.”

  5. Anne 5

    Can’t agree Ianupnorth. To manufacture a spy scandal as a diversion would be fraught with problems. To start with, your intelligence and defence agencies would cease to trust you with information. Anyway, his initial response suggests he was taken by surprise and tried to wriggle out by using his stock answer “it’s not in the National Interest for me to comment”. What he means of course is that it’s not in his interest to comment. 😉

    • Ianupnorth 5.1

      I am not saying it’s necessarily made up, just handy and convenient to deflect the press from the inflation figures and assets sales.

      • felix 5.1.1

        Either way, Anne’s analysis stands. It’s not the kind of distraction that’s helpful to Key whether he instigates it or not, there’s just too many ways he can come out of it looking bad. Too risky.

        The distractions Key likes are all about him winning and laughing, not about him being connected in any way to the murky world of espionage.

  6. felix 6

    CitRats (National) councillor and all-round tory fuckwit George Wood has a solution to Auckland’s housing problem:

    Trailer parks.

    Not even kidding. http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20110721-0726-councillor_offers_trailer_parks_as_solution_to_housing_shortage-048.mp3

    That’s the tory vision in a nutshell: Them living in luxury and the rest of us in fucking trailer parks.

    These dinosaur elitists have to go.

  7. Jum 7

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/rupert-murdoch/5318708/News-Corp-structure-questioned

    ‘In a three-hour hearing, committee member Adrian Sanders invoked the 2001 collapse of Enron, asking whether the Murdochs were familiar with the term ”wilful ignorance”. ”It states that if there is knowledge that you could have had and should have had but chose not to have, you are still responsible,” he said.’

    Is John Key guilty of ‘wilful ignorance’ in that as a moneytrader working in America with a spider’s web of networks that he continued to return to visit during his latest sojourn to New Zealand, he never warned New Zealanders that there was a huge financial collapse that would endanger New Zealand fiscally, because if he didn’t know then his credibility as a financial whizz is shot to hell. He’s back there now getting his latest instructions and selling off New Zealand’s sovereignty with his rush to push the TPPA through.

    No wonder he and his mates tried to bully Labour into giving tax cuts and thereby seeking to make our financial position suicidal instead of just uncomfortable.

    No wonder the business fraternity under his guidance and Phil O’Reilly’s spin, sought to sack workers (bringing some back at lower wages and no benefits) soon after winning the election and reducing workers’ rights to fair treatment.

    Their current plan to sell off assets New Zealanders already own to foreignors or rich business interests would have carried even less weight than it does now. They could only seek to do that by refusing to fund coach building in New Zealand by New Zealanders because that would empower Kiwis. They could only seek to do that by making New Zealanders poorer or insecure.

    Apply this thinking to many of this government’s ridiculous and disloyal decisions and you will begin to understand their reasoning.

    Key is America’s man, not ours.

    He is not worthy of New Zealanders’ trust. After this election if he gets back in, New Zealand is gone.

  8. Ianupnorth 8

    After reading this http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/81961,people,news,jk-rowlings-multi-million-harry-potter-thank-you I was thinking maybe Mr. Key is expecting the same from Warners after The Hobbit comes out?

  9. I agreed with Banks this morning, he said the country was flat broke. Someone from the right is finally telling the truth.

  10. Historical quote….

    “The working classes may be injuriously degraded and oppressed in three ways:

    1st When they are neglected in infancy
    2nd When they are overworked by their employer, and are thus rendered incompetent from ignorance to make a good use of high wages when they can procure them.
    3rd When they are paid low wages for their labour “. (Robert Owen , 1818)

    For more common sense from nearly 200 years ago see http://www.robert-owen.com/extracts.html

    • Bored 10.1

      He forgot to mention a fourth way….when the worker is denied a cycleway despite the promises of his political masters.

      • Ianupnorth 10.1.1

        Very good 🙂

        Amazing to think someone 200 years ago actually had a clue and actually wanted to help better people, especially the most disadvantaged.

  11. Morrissey 11

    Thursday 21 July 2011
    Some questions about media “coverage” of the Israeli spy story

    1.) Why was the Israeli spy story only on Page 2 of the New Zealand Herald this morning?

    2.) Why did both TV1 and TV3 reporters (including even the normally excellent Patrick Gower) both refer to Israel by the erroneous black propaganda term “the Jewish state”?

    3.) Why did TV1 and TV3 autocue readers both say “the Jewish community” is “outraged” by the New Zealand police committing these “attacks” on Israel?

    4.) Why did both TV1 and TV3 autocue readers both quote and show inflammatory, absurd headlines from the extreme right-wing Jerusalem Post and not report or show anything from the liberal and internationally respected Haaretz?

    5.) Why did neither TV1’s CloseUp nor TV3’s Campbell Live spend even one second on this story tonight?

    6.) Could NewstalkZB have found three more grossly biased or lamentably ill-informed people to discuss this scandal than Larry Williams, Bill Ralston and Jock Anderson?

  12. M 12

    Love Max and Stacey:

    Max: ‘… Marx predicted capitalists would sell themselves the noose to hang themselves’

    Interesting interview about Bitcoin.

    • Draco T Bastard 12.1

      Can’t watch Keiser – his voice grates like fingernails across a blackboard.

      • Colonial Viper 12.1.1

        LOL. That guy (Keiser) needs to be head of Treasury

        I think a day a week will get the job done just fine. (Don’t know what the hell all those neoliberal office rats are doing there now Mon-Fri except no good)

    • felix 12.2

      Is it just me or do they both look really high?

  13. Jum 13

    It was excellent to see Justice being intelligent; yes, there was nothing to stop Hannah Tamaki from pursuing a presidency over the Maori Women’s Welfare League but don’t bother to use the votes from the ten ring in groups.

    Destiny are nothing if not cunning. The canny Maori Women’s Welfare League are nothing if not caring of all their people. I hope they get what they want, not what agenda Brian Tamaki wants.

  14. M 14

    Bill nutshells it again:

CommentsOpinions

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

FeedsPartyGovtMedia

  • More Notes From Stinky Town

    Good morning, folks. Another wee note from a chilly Rotorua morning that looks much clearer than yesterday. As I write, the pink glow in the east is slowly growing, and soon, the palest of blue skies should become a bit more royal.A couple of people mentioned yesterday that I should ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 hours ago
  • Make it make sense: why axe valuable local projects?

    Last week, Matt looked at how the government wants to pour a huge chunk of civic infrastructure funding for a generation  into one mega-road up North, at huge cost and huge opportunity cost. A smaller but no less important feature of the National Land Transport Plan devised by Minister of Transport ...
    4 hours ago
  • Driving blind at higher speeds

    An open letter by experts about plans to raise speed limits warns the “tragic consequence will be more New Zealanders losing their lives or suffering severe injury, along with a substantial burden on the nation's healthcare and rehabilitation services”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 hours ago
  • 2024’s unusually persistent warmth

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink My inaugural post on The Climate Brink 18 months ago looked at the year 2024, and found that it was likely to be the warmest year on record on the back of a (than forecast) El Nino event. I suggested “there is a real chance ...
    5 hours ago
  • National plan for 2000 more Kiwis a year in prison

    Open for allYesterday, Luxon congratulated his government on a job well done with emergency housing numbers, but advocates have been saying it‘s likely many are on the streets and sleeping in cars.Q&A featured some of the folks this weekend - homeless and in cars. Yes.The government’s also confirmed they stopped ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 hours ago
  • I Found a Note in a Tree

    Hi,On most days I try to go on a walk through nature to clear my head from the horrors of life. Because as much as I like people, I also think it’s incredibly important to get very far away from them. To be reminded that there are also birds, lizards, ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 hours ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Politicians need to lift their game

    Declining trust in New Zealand politicians should be a warning to them to lift their game. Results from the New Zealand Election Study for the 2023 election show that the level of trust in politicians has once again declined. Perhaps it is not surprising that the results, shared as part ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    16 hours ago
  • A dysfunctional watchdog

    The reality of any right depends on how well it is enforced. But as The Post points out this morning, our right to official information isn't being enforced very well at all: More than a quarter of complaints about access to official information languish for more than a year, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    20 hours ago
  • Climate Change: The threat of a good example

    Since taking office, the climate-denier National government has gutted agricultural emissions pricing, ended the clean car discount, repealed water quality standards which would have reduced agricultural emissions, gutted the clean car standard, killed the GIDI scheme, and reversed efforts to reduce pollution subsidies in the ETS - basically every significant ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    20 hours ago
  • Vegas Baby

    Good morning, lovely people. Don’t worry. This isn’t really a newsletter, just a quick note. I’m sitting in our lounge, looking out over a gloomy sky. Although being Rotorua, the view is periodically interrupted by steam bursting from pipes and dispersing—like an Eastern European industrial hellscape during the Cold War.Drinking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Why Entrust Needs New Leadership

    I am part of a new team running in the Entrust election in October. Entrust is a community electricity trust representing a significant part of Auckland, set up to serve the community. It is governed by five trustees are elected every three years in an election the trust itself oversees. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    1 day ago
  • London Bridge is falling down

    In the UK, London is the latest of council groups to signal potential bankruptcy.That’s after Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, went bankrupt in June, resulting in reduced sanitation services, libraries cut, and dimmed streetlights.Some in the city described things as “Dickens” like.Please, Sir, Can I have some more?For families with ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 day ago
  • Govt may kick elderly out of hospitals

    The Government is considering how to shunt elderly people out of hospitals, and also how to cut their access to other support. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Getting the nephs off the couch

    The so-called “Prince of the Provinces”, Shane Jones, went home last Friday. Perhaps not quite literally home, more like 20 kilometres down the road from his house on the outskirts of Kerikeri. With its airport, its rapidly growing (mostly retired) population, and a commercial centre with all the big retail ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • De moralibus orcorum: Sargon of Akkad, Rings of Power, Evil, and George R.R. Martin

    I have noted before that The Rings of Power has attracted its unfortunate share of culture war obsessives. Essentially, for a certain type of individual, railing on about the Wokery of Modern Media is a means of making themselves a online livelihood. Clicks and views and advertising revenue, and all ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37

    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 8, 2024 thru Sat, September 14, 2024. Story of the week From time to time we like to make our Story of the Week all about us— and ...
    2 days ago
  • Salvation For Us All

    Yesterday, I ruminated about the effects of being a political follower.And, within politics, David Seymour was smart enough on Friday to divert attention from “race blind” policies [what about gender blind I thought - thinking of maternity wards] and cutting school lunches by throwing meat to the media. Teachers were ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • A warm embrace

    Far, far away from here lives our King. Some of his subjects can be quite the forelock tuggers, but plenty of us are not like that, and why don't I wheel out my favourite old story once more about Kiwi soldiers in the North African desert?Field Marshal Montgomery takes offence ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Literal clowns are running the place, we must put a timeout on this stupidity… right Aotearoa?

    These people are inept on every level. They’re inept to the detriment of our internal politics, cohesion and increasingly our international reputation. And they are reveling in the fact they are getting away with it. We cannot even have “respectful debate” with a government that clearly rejects the very ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    3 days ago
  • Fact brief – Does manmade CO2 have any detectable fingerprint?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does manmade CO2 have any ...
    3 days ago
  • Judge Not.

    Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY men and women professing the Christian faith would appear to have imperilled their immortal souls. ...
    3 days ago
  • Managed Democracy: Letting The People Decide, But Only When They Can Be Relied Upon To Give the Righ...

    Uh-uh! Not So Fast, Citizens! The power to initiate systemic change remains where it has always been in New Zealand’s representative democracy – in Parliament. To order a binding referendum, the House of Representatives must first to be persuaded that, on the question proposed, sharing its decision-making power with the people ...
    3 days ago
  • Looking For Labour’s Vital Signs.

    Flatlining: With no evidence of a genuine policy disruptor at work in Labour’s ranks, New Zealand’s wealthiest citizens can sleep easy.PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN has walked a picket-line. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has threatened “price-gauging” grocery retailers with price control. The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform situates it well to the left of Sir ...
    3 days ago
  • Forty Years Of Remembering To Forget.

    The Beginning of the End: Rogernomics became the short-hand descriptor for all the radical changes that swept away New Zealand’s social-democratic economy and society between 1984 and 1990. In the bitterest of ironies, those changes were introduced by the very same party which had entrenched New Zealand social-democracy 50 years earlier. ...
    3 days ago
  • Kōrero Mai – Speak to Me.

    Good morning all you lovely people. 🙂I woke up this morning, and it felt a bit like the last day of school. You might recall from earlier in the week that I’m heading home to Rotorua to see an old friend who doesn’t have much time. A sad journey, but ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Winning ways

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Street architecture adjustment, KolkataShare Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • 48 seconds on a plan that would reverberate for a million years

    Despite fears that Trump presidency would be disastrous for progress on climate change, the topic barely rated a mention in the Presidential debate. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Using blunt instruments and magical thinking to ignore evidence of harm

    The abrupt cancellations and suspensions of Government spending also caused private sector hiring, spending, and investment to freeze up for the first six months of the year. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThis week we learned:The new National/ACT/NZ First Coalition Government ignored advice from Treasury that it didn’t have to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power Episode 5 (Seaso...

    Another week of The Rings of Power, season two, and another confirmation that things are definitely coming together for the show. The fifth Episode of season one represented the nadir of the series. Now? Amid the firmer footing of 2024, Episode Five represents further a further step towards excellent Tolkien ...
    4 days ago
  • In Open Seas; A Book

    The background to In Open Seas: How the New Zealand Labour Government Went Wrong:2017-2023Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand, published in 2020, proved more successful than either I or the publisher (VUP, now Te Herenga Waka University Press) expected. I had expected that it would ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 13

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the climate implications of the US Presidential elections; and special guests Janet ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Do or do not. There is no try

    1. Upon receiving evidence that school lunches were doing a marvellous job of improving outcomes for students, David Seymour did what?a. Declared we need much more of this sort of good news and poured extra resources and funding into them b. Emailed Atlas network to ask what to do next c. Cut ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Dangerous ground

    The Waitangi Tribunal has reported back on National's proposed changes to gut the Marine and Coastal Area Act and steal the foreshore and seabed for its greedy fishing-industry donors, and declared it to be another huge violation of ti Tiriti: The Waitangi Tribunal has found government changes to the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: National wants to cheat on Paris

    In 2016, the then-National government signed the Paris Agreement, committing Aotearoa to a 30 (later 50) percent reduction in emissions by 2030. When questioned about how they intended to meet that target with their complete absence of effective climate policy, they made a lot of noise about how it was ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Treasury warned Govt lower debt limits meant less ‘productivity-enhancing investment’

    Treasury’s advice to Cabinet was that the new Government could actually prudently carry net core Crown debt of up to 50% of GDP. But Luxon and Willis instead chose to portray the Government’s finances as in such a mess they had no choice but to carve 6.5% to 7.5% off ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Is the Media Complicit?

    This is a long read. Open to all.SYNOPSIS: Traditional media is at a cross roads. There is a need for those in the media landscape, as it stands, to earn enough to stay afloat, but also come across as balanced and neutral to keep its audiences.In America, NYT’s liberal leaning ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Black Friday

    It's Black Friday, the end of the weekYou take my hand and hold it gently up against your cheekIt's all in my head, it's all in my mindI see the darkness where you see the lightSong by Tom OdellFriday the 13th, don’t be afraid.No, really, don’t. Everything has felt a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 13-September-2024

    Ooh, Friday the thirteenth. Spooky! Is that why certain zombie ideas have been stalking the landscape this week, like the Mayor’s brainwave for a motorway bridge from Kauri Point to Point Chev? Read on and find out. This roundup, like all our coverage, is brought to you by the Greater ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #37 2024

    Open access notables Early knowledge but delays in climate actions: An ecocide case against both transnational oil corporations and national governments, Hauser et al., Environmental Science & Policy: Cast within the wide context of investigating the collusion at play between powerful political-economic actors and decision-makers as monopolists and debates about ‘the modern ...
    5 days ago
  • What it is

    I liked what Kieran McAnulty had to say about the Treaty Principles bill this morning so much I've written it down and copied it out for you. He was saying that rather than let this piece of ordure spend six months in Select Committee, the Prime Minister could stop making such ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • A government-funded hate campaign

    Cabinet discussed National's constitutionally and historically illiterate "Treaty Principles Bill" this week, and decided to push on with it. The bill will apparently receive a full six month select committee process - unlike practically every other policy this government has pushed, and despite the fact that if the government is ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • How Substack works to take (some) craziness out of America’s elections

    I spoke with Substack co-founder yesterday, just before the Trump-Harris debate, about how Substack is doing its thing during the US elections. He talks in particular about how Substack’s focus on paid subscriptions rather than ads has made political debate on the platform calmer, simpler, deeper and more satisfying ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • David Seymour is such a loser

    For paid subscribersNot content with siphoning off $230,000,000 of taxpayers money for his hobby projects - and telling everyone his passion is education and early childcare - an intersection painfully coincidental to the interests of wealthy private families like Sean Plunkett’s1 backers, the Wright Family, Seymour is back in the ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Cross-party consensus: there’s no pipeline without good faith

    There’s been a lot of talk recently about a cross-party agreement to develop a pipeline for infrastructure, including transport. Last month, outgoing CRL boss Sean Sweeney talked about the importance of securing an enduring infrastructure programme. He outlined the high costs of the relentless political flip-flopping of priorities, which drives ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    5 days ago
  • Voters love this climate policy they’ve never heard of

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The Inflation Reduction Act is the Biden administration’s signature climate law and the largest U.S. government investment in reducing climate pollution to date. Among climate advocates, the policy is well-known and celebrated, but beyond that, only a minority of Americans ...
    5 days ago
  • ACC wants to administer inflation at more than double the RBNZ’s target rate

    ACC levies are set to rise at more than double the inflation rate targeted by the RBNZ. Photo: Lynn GrievesonKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 12:The state-owned monopoly for accident insurance wants ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Harris vs Trump

    We’ve been selected to rock your asses 'til midnightThis is my term, I've shaved off my perm, but it's alrightI solemnly swear to uphold the ConstitutionGot a rock 'n' roll problem? Well we got a solutionLet us be who we am, and let us kick out the jams, yeahKick out ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Treaty Bill “a political stunt”

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon appears to have given ACT Leader David Seymour more than he has been admitting in the proposals to go forward with a Treaty Principles Bill.All along, Luxon has maintained that the Government is proceeding with the Bill to honour the coalition agreement.But that is quite specific.It ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • An average 219 NZers migrated each day in July

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 11:Annual migration of New Zealanders rose to a record-high 80,963 in the year to the end of July, which is more than double its pre-Covid levels.Two ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • What you’re wanting to win more than anything is The Narrative

    Hubris is sitting down on election day 2016 to watch that pig Trump get his ass handed to him, and watching the New York Times needle hover for a while over Hillary and then move across to Trump where it remains all night to your gathering horror and dismay. You're ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • National’s automated lie machine

    The government has a problem: lots of people want information from it all the time. Information about benefits, about superannuation, ACC coverage and healthcare, taxes, jury service, immigration - and that's just the routine stuff. Responding to all of those queries takes a lot of time and costs a lot ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Christopher Luxon: A Man of “Faith” and “Compassion” Speaks on the Treaty Pr...

    Synopsis: Today - we explore two different realities. One where National lost. And another - which is the one we are living with here. Note: the footnote on increased fees/taxes may be of interest to some readers.Article open.Subscribe nowIt’s an alternate timeline.Yesterday as news broke that the central North Island ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • Member’s Day

    Today is a Member's Day. First up is the third reading of Dan Bidois' Fair Trading (Gift Card Expiry) Amendment Bill, which will be followed by the committee stage of Deborah Russell's Family Proceedings (Dissolution for Family Violence) Amendment Bill. This will be followed by the second readings of Katie ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Northern Expressway Boondoggle

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has been soaring high with his hubris of getting on and building motorways but some uncomfortable realities are starting to creep in. Back in July he announced that the government was pushing on with a Northland Expressway using an “accelerated delivery strategy” The Coalition Government is ...
    6 days ago
  • Never Enough

    However much I'm falling downNever enoughHowever much I'm falling outNever, never enough!Whatever smile I smile the mostNever enoughHowever I smile I smile the mostSongwriters: Robert James Smith / Simon Gallup / Boris Williams / Porl ThompsonToday in Nick’s Kōrero:A death in the Emergency Department at Rotorua Hospital.A sad homecoming and ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Question Two of The Kākā Project of 2026 for 2050 (TKP 26/50)

    Kia ora.Last month I proposed restarting The Kākā Project work done before the 2023 election as The Kākā Project of 2026 for 2050 (TKP 26/50), aiming to be up and running before the 2025 Local Government elections, and then in a finalised form by the 2026 General Elections.A couple of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Why is God Obsessed with Spanking?

    Hi,If you’ve read Webworm for a while, you’ll be aware that I’ve spent a lot of time writing about horrific, corrupt megachurches and the shitty men who lead them.And in all of this writing, I think some people have this idea that I hate Christians or Christianity. As I explain ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Inside the public service

    In 2023, there were 63,117 full-time public servants earning, on average, $97,200 a year each. All up, that is a cost to the Government of $6.1 billion a year. It’s little wonder, then, that the public service has become a political whipping boy castigated by the Prime Minister and members ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • New Models Show Stronger Atlantic Hurricanes, and More of Them

    This is a re-post from This is Not Cool Here’s an example of some of the best kind of climate reporting, especially in that it relates to impacts that will directly affect the audience. WFLA in Tampa conducted a study in collaboration with the Department of Energy, analyzing trends in ...
    7 days ago
  • Where ever do they find these people?

    A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, is how Winston Churchill described the Soviet Union in 1939.  How might the great man have described the 2024 government of New Zealand, do we think? I can't imagine he would have thought them all that mysterious or enigmatic. I think ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • Motorway madness

    How mad is National's obsession with roads? One of their pet projects - a truck highway to Whangārei - is going to eat 10% of our total infrastructure budget for the next 25 years: Official advice from the Infrastructure Commission shows the government could be set to spend 10 ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • Our transport planning system is fundamentally broken

    Ever since Wayne Brown became mayor (nearly two years ago now) he’s been wanting to progress an “integrated transport plan” with the government – which sounded a lot like the previous Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) with just a different name. It seems like a fair bit of work progressed ...
    1 week ago
  • Thou Shalt Not Steal

    And they taught usWhoa-oh, black woman, thou shalt not stealI said, hey, yeah, black man, thou shalt not stealWe're gonna civilise your black barbaric livesAnd we teach you how to kneelBut your history couldn't hide the genocideThe hypocrisy to us was realFor your Jesus said you're supposed to giveThe oppressed ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • How mismanagement, not wind and solar energy, causes blackouts

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections In February 2021, several severe storms swept across the United States, culminating with one that the Weather Channel unofficially named Winter Storm Uri. In Texas, Uri knocked out power to over 4.5 million homes and 10 million people. Hundreds of Texans died as a ...
    1 week ago
  • The ‘Infra Boys’ Highway to Budget Hell

    Chris Bishop has enthusiastically dubbed himself and Simeon Brown “the Infra Boys”, but they need to take note of the sums around their roading dreams. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Media Link: “AVFA” on the politics of desperation.

    In this podcast Selwyn Manning and I talk about what appears to be a particular type of end-game in the long transition to systemic realignment in international affairs, in which the move to a new multipolar order with different characteristics … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • The cost of flying blind

    Just over two years ago, when worries about immediate mass-death from covid had waned, and people started to talk about covid becoming "endemic", I asked various government agencies what work they'd done on the costs of that - and particularly, on the cost of Long Covid. The answer was that ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Seymour vs The Clergy

    For paid subscribers“Aotearoa is not as malleable as they think,” Lynette wrote last week on Homage to Simeon Brown:In my heart/mind, that phrase ricocheted over the next days, translating out to “We are not so malleable.”It gave me comfort. I always felt that we were given an advantage in New ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Unstoppable Minister McKee

    All smiles, I know what it takes to fool this townI'll do it 'til the sun goes downAnd all through the nighttimeOh, yeahOh, yeah, I'll tell you what you wanna hearLeave my sunglasses on while I shed a tearIt's never the right timeYeah, yeahSong by SiaLast night there was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Could outdoor dining revitalise Queen Street?

    This is a guest post by Ben van Bruggen of The Urban Room,.An earlier version of this post appeared on LinkedIn. All images are by Ben. Have you noticed that there’s almost nowhere on Queen Street that invites you to stop, sit outside and enjoy a coffee, let alone ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    1 week ago
  • Hipkins challenges long-held Labour view Government must stay below 30% of GDP

    Hipkins says when considering tax settings and the size of government, the big question mark is over what happens with the balance between the size of the working-age population and the growing number of Kiwis over the age of 65. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Your invite to Webworm Chat (a bit like Reddit)

    Hi,One of the things I love the most about Webworm is, well, you. The community that’s gathered around this lil’ newsletter isn’t something I ever expected when I started writing it four years ago — now the comments section is one of my favourite places on the internet. The comments ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago

  • Enabling rural recovery works in Hawke’s Bay

    Cabinet has approved an Order in Council to enable severe weather recovery works to continue in the Hawke’s Bay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell say. “Cyclone Gabrielle and the other severe weather events in early 2023 caused significant loss and damage to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • FamilyBoost childcare payment registrations open

    From today, low-to-middle-income families with young children can register for the new FamilyBoost payment, to help them meet early childhood education (ECE) costs. The scheme was introduced as part of the Government’s tax relief plan to help Kiwis who are doing it tough. “FamilyBoost is one of the ways we ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Prioritising victims with tougher sentences

    The Government has today agreed to introduce sentencing reforms to Parliament this week that will ensure criminals face real consequences for crime and victims are prioritised, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. "In recent years, there has been a concerning trend where the courts have imposed fewer and shorter prison sentences ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • Targets data confirms rise in violent crime

    The first quarterly report on progress against the nine public service targets show promising results in some areas and the scale of the challenge in others, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “Our Government reinstated targets to focus our public sector on driving better results for New Zealanders in health, education, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • Asia Foundation Board appointments announced

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the appointments of Hone McGregor, Professor David Capie, and John Boswell to the Board of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.  Bede Corry, Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has also been appointed as an ex-officio member. The new trustees join Dame Fran Wilde (Chair), ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Endeavour Fund projects for economic growth

    New Zealand’s largest contestable science fund is investing in 72 new projects to address challenges, develop new technology and support communities, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. “This Endeavour Fund round being funded is focused on economic growth and commercial outputs,” Ms Collins says. “It involves funding of more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Social Services Providers Whakamanawa National Conference 16 September 2024

    Thank you for the introduction and the invitation to speak to you here today. I am honoured to be here in my capacity as Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, and Minister for Children. Thank you for creating a space where we can all listen and learn, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Parihaka infrastructure upgrades funded

    The Government will provide a $5.8 million grant to improve water infrastructure at Parihaka in Taranaki, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka say. “This grant from the Regional Infrastructure Fund will have a multitude of benefits for this hugely significant cultural site, including keeping local ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Serious assaults down 22% in Auckland CBD

    Cross-government action to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour in Auckland is getting traction, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “Our central cities should be great places to live and work, but in recent years they have become hot spots for crime and anti-social behaviour. In Auckland, businesses and residents suffered as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Increased certainty for contractors coming

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says upcoming changes to the Employment Relations Act will provide greater certainty for contractors and businesses. “These changes to legislation are necessary to ensure businesses and workers have more clarity from the start of their contracting arrangement. It is an ACT-National coalition ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Draft critical minerals list released for consultation

    A draft list of minerals deemed essential to New Zealand’s economy and strengthening its mineral resilience has been released for consultation, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The draft Critical Minerals List identifies 35 minerals essential to economic functions, are in demand internationally, and face high risk of supply disruption domestically ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government eliminates $190 million in trade barriers to boost the economy

    The Government has successfully removed trade barriers affecting nearly $190 million worth of exports to help grow the economy, Minister for Trade and Agriculture Todd McClay today announced.  “In the past year, we have resolved 14 Non Tariff Barriers (NTBs), returning significant value to kiwi exporters. These efforts directly boost our ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Reo Māori the ‘beating heart’ of Aotearoa New Zealand

    From private business to the Paris Olympics, reo Māori is growing with the success of New Zealanders, says Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka. “I’m joining New Zealanders across the country in celebrating this year’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week, which has a big range ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Need and value at forefront of public service delivery

    New Cabinet policy directives will ensure public agencies prioritise public services on the basis of need and award Government contracts on the basis of public value, Minister for the Public Service Nicola Willis says. “Cabinet Office has today issued a circular to central government organisations setting out the Government’s expectations ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister to attend Police Ministers Council Meeting

    Police Minister Mark Mitchell will join with Australian Police Ministers and Commissioners at the Police Ministers Council meeting (PMC) today in Melbourne. “The council is an opportunity to come together to discuss a range of issues, gain valuable insights on areas of common interest, and different approaches towards law enforcement ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New Bill to crack down on youth vaping

    The coalition Government has introduced legislation to tackle youth vaping, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2) is aimed at preventing youth vaping.  “While vaping has contributed to a significant fall in our smoking rates, the rise in youth vaping ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Interest in agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review welcomed

    Regulation Minister David Seymour, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard have welcomed interest in the agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review. The review by the Ministry for Regulation is looking at how to speed up the process to get farmers and growers access to the safe, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Bill to allow online charity lotteries passes first reading

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government is moving at pace to ensure lotteries for charitable purposes are allowed to operate online permanently. Charities fundraising online, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust and local hospices will continue to do ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Tax exempt threshold changes to benefit startups

    Technology companies are among the startups which will benefit from increases to current thresholds of exempt employee share schemes, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Revenue Minister Simon Watts say. Tax exempt thresholds for the schemes are increasing as part of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2024-25, Emergency ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Getting the healthcare you need, when you need it

    The path to faster cancer treatment, an increase in immunisation rates, shorter stays in emergency departments and quick assessment and treatments when you are sick has been laid out today. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has revealed details of how the ambitious health targets the Government has set will be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Targeted supports to accelerate reading

    The coalition Government is delivering targeted and structured literacy supports to accelerate learning for struggling readers. From Term 1 2025, $33 million of funding for Reading Recovery and Early Literacy Support will be reprioritised to interventions which align with structured approaches to teaching. “Structured literacy will change the way children ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Survivors invited to Abuse in Care national apology

    With two months until the national apology to survivors of abuse in care, expressions of interest have opened for survivors wanting to attend. “The Prime Minister will deliver a national apology on Tuesday 12 November in Parliament. It will be a very significant day for survivors, their families, whānau and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Rangatahi inspire at Ngā Manu Kōrero final

    Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini kē - My success is not mine alone but is the from the strength of the many. Aotearoa New Zealand’s top young speakers are an inspiration for all New Zealanders to learn more about the depth and beauty conveyed ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Driving structured literacy in schools

    The coalition Government is driving confidence in reading and writing in the first years of schooling. “From the first time children step into the classroom, we’re equipping them and teachers with the tools they need to be brilliant in literacy. “From 1 October, schools and kura with Years 0-3 will receive ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Labour’s misleading information is disappointing

    Labour’s misinformation about firearms law is dangerous and disappointing, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says.   “Labour and Ginny Andersen have repeatedly said over the past few days that the previous Labour Government completely banned semi-automatic firearms in 2019 and that the Coalition Government is planning to ‘reintroduce’ them.   ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action on mpox response, widens access to vaccine

    The Government is taking immediate action on a number of steps around New Zealand’s response to mpox, including improving access to vaccine availability so people who need it can do so more easily, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. “Mpox is obviously a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Next steps agreed for Treaty Principles Bill

    Associate Justice Minister David Seymour says Cabinet has agreed to the next steps for the Treaty Principles Bill. “The Treaty Principles Bill provides an opportunity for Parliament, rather than the courts, to define the principles of the Treaty, including establishing that every person is equal before the law,” says Mr Seymour. “Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government unlocking potential of AI

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced a programme to drive Artificial Intelligence (AI) uptake among New Zealand businesses. “The AI Activator will unlock the potential of AI for New Zealand businesses through a range of support, including access to AI research experts, technical assistance, AI tools and resources, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government releases Wairoa flood review findings

    The independent rapid review into the Wairoa flooding event on 26 June 2024 has been released, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced today. “We welcome the review’s findings and recommendations to strengthen Wairoa's resilience against future events,” Ms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Promoting faster payment times for government

    The Government is sending a clear message to central government agencies that they must prioritise paying invoices in a timely manner, Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Andrew Bayly says. Data released today promotes transparency by publishing the payment times of each central government agency. This data will be published quarterly ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Acknowledgement to Kīngi Tuheitia speech

    E te māngai o te Whare Pāremata, kua riro māku te whakaputa i te waka ki waho moana. E te Pirimia tēnā koe.Mr Speaker, it is my privilege to take this adjournment kōrero forward.  Prime Minister – thank you for your leadership. Taupiri te maunga Waikato te awa Te Wherowhero ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Interim fix to GST adjustment rules to support businesses

    Inland Revenue can begin processing GST returns for businesses affected by a historic legislative drafting error, Revenue Minister Simon Watts says. “Inland Revenue has become aware of a legislative drafting error in the GST adjustment rules after changes were made in 2023 which were meant to simplify the process. This ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Strong uptake for cervical screening self-test

    More than 80 per cent of New Zealand women being tested have opted for a world-leading self-test for cervical screening since it became available a year ago. Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti and Associate Minister Casey Costello, in her responsibility for Women’s Health, say it’s fantastic to have such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Ministry for Regulation’s first Strategic Intentions document sets ambitious direction

    Regulation Minister David Seymour welcomes the Ministry for Regulation’s first Strategic Intentions document, which sets out how the Ministry will carry out its work and deliver on its purpose. “I have set up the Ministry for Regulation with three tasks. One, to cut existing red tape with sector reviews. Two, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Māori Education Advisory Group established

    The Education Minister has established a Māori Education Ministerial Advisory Group made up of experienced practitioners to help improve outcomes for Māori learners. “This group will provide independent advice on all matters related to Māori education in both English medium and Māori medium settings. It will focus on the most impactful ways we can lift ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government welcomes findings of NZ Superannuation Fund review

    The Government has welcomed the findings of the recent statutory review into the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, Minister of Finance Nicola Willis says. The 5-yearly review, conducted on behalf of Treasury and tabled in Parliament today, found the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • First of five new Hercules aircraft takes flight

    Defence Minister Judith Collins today welcomed the first of five new C-130J-30 Hercules to arrive in New Zealand at a ceremony at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base Auckland, Whenuapai. “This is an historic day for our New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and our nation. The new Hercules fleet ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Have your say on suicide prevention

    Today, September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, a time to reflect on New Zealand’s confronting suicide statistics, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “Every death by suicide is a tragedy – a tragedy that affects far too many of our families and communities in New Zealand. We must do ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Action to grow the rural health workforce

    Scholarships awarded to 27 health care students is another positive step forward to boost the future rural health workforce, Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “All New Zealanders deserve timely access to quality health care and this Government is committed to improving health outcomes, particularly for the one in five ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac delivering more for Kiwis following major funding boost

    Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour has welcomed the increased availability of medicines for Kiwis resulting from the Government’s increased investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the Government,” says Mr Seymour. “When our Government assumed office, New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-09-16T23:48:06+00:00