Open mike 21/12/2013

Written By: - Date published: 6:20 am, December 21st, 2013 - 173 comments
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173 comments on “Open mike 21/12/2013 ”

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  1. Paul 1
    21 December 2013 at 6:44 am

    John Armstrong fulfils his role as government propagandist.
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11176091

    • jcuknz 1.1
      21 December 2013 at 7:39 am

      If it is propaganda why do you promote it?

    • lurgee 1.2
      21 December 2013 at 9:06 am

      It seems like a fairly reasoned piece to me. National are sitting very comfortably, Labour are still stuck in the low-to-mid 30s, no scandal seems to be sticking to Key. And – slightly worryingly – Armstrong even echoes something I’ve said here many times: “For the great bulk of the people, politics does not matter most of the time. They have other things occupying their lives.”

      Which is why Labour are still stuck in the 30s and National are still riding high. People who aren’t us – normal people, I mean – aren’t worrying about politics and who will win in 2014 and whether David Cunliffe can hold a six party coalition together.

      People hereabouts need to stop confusing things not going their way with bias and conspiracy.

      • KJT 1.2.1
        21 December 2013 at 9:07 am

        Armstrong is not biased? Yeah right!

        • lurgee 1.2.1.1
          21 December 2013 at 1:16 pm

          Armstrong is not biased? Yeah right!

          Armstrong may well be biased; but the piece in question was a fairly honest summary of the current state of play. Simply yelling “BIAS” whenever someone says something you dislike is no way to run a … a … thing that you run.

      • freedom 1.2.2
        21 December 2013 at 10:34 am

        speaking of bias

        I for one wait with baited breath to see how the fair and balanced hand of John Armstrong deals with yet another exposed lie from great and wondrous leader. It’s only the PM telling porkies after all, hardly worth mentioning really.
        http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1312/S00406/john-key-played-public-for-fools-on-air-nz.htm

        • bad12 1.2.2.1
          21 December 2013 at 10:57 am

          Indeed, if Slippery the Prime Minister tells anyone it’s a nice day outside it’s better that a personal observation be made to ensure the veracity of His words,

          The current Prime Minister treats the ‘truth’ as some form of inconvenience and appears to personally delight in the fact that He can expel a litany of lies across any number of years on a weekly basis and the fools that show Him such support in the ‘polls’ are still foolishly supporting Him after whatever current bout of resiling from the truth has Him looking less a Prime Minister and more the shady used car salesman found on any back-street car lot in this country…

      • Saarbo 1.2.3
        21 December 2013 at 2:36 pm

        I think if you were to analyse Armstrong’s articles over the last 12 months you would find a clear bias towards the National Party.

      • RedLogix 1.2.4
        21 December 2013 at 4:02 pm

        I’d more or less agree lurgee.

        Most of the time people don’t care about beltway political issues because they don’t affect them personally.

        Unless of course the likes of Mr Armstrong and his coterie of merry spinners decides that one or other of these beltway issues are worth using to whip up some faux-outrage with.

        Which is why nothing ever sticks to Mr Key. Very few in the media who ever seriously tries to make anything stick.

  2. Morrissey 2
    21 December 2013 at 8:17 am

    Penny Hulse lacks the backbone and resolve to be a mayor
    Too tired, too near Christmas to go after Cameron Brewer
    Saturday 21 December 2013

    Yesterday we saw the tables turned on the loudest and most sanctimonious of the small group of ACT/National Party loons and thugs that have been holding the city to ransom for two months, and whipping up a mood of hysteria for the last two or three days. Councilor Cameron “Freebie” Brewer was exposed as having committed precisely the same offence as he has been berating Mayor Len Brown for: he failed to declare a four-day sponsored junket to the Gold Coast, including free air tickets and accommodation.

    As the late Sir Robert Muldoon said, there is no better time to kick your opponent than when he is down. If ever there was a moment to turn the tables on an aggressor and a vicious hypocrite, this was it: Cameron Brewer, that smiling, vacuous, extreme right wing ideologue, had been exposed as an unconscionable hypocrite. Surely some sharp-tongued opponent would dispatch him to the boundary of mortification and shame, where he would retire for the summer to lick his wounds and sob himself to sleep as he relived the humiliation.

    The person in perfect position to deliver the coup de grâce to this graceless pest was deputy-mayor Penny Hulse. Unfortunately, however, she showed no appetite for the fight. She sounded exhausted, and fed up with the whole business, and her comments were weak and conciliatory. In an ill-advised show of magnanimity, she stated that she would not call for an inquiry into Cameron Brewer.

    There could not be a starker illustration of the difference between the right wing and the liberal left. This week we have seen ACT thugs disrupting council meetings with crude and witless abuse, and a small group of nasty people waving placards and shouting imprecations as they follow the mayor down the street. The media, naturally, have played along with and willingly amplified these moronic antics.

    Yesterday’s revelation about Brewer offered the chance to silence him and his small band of supporters, perhaps permanently. But Penny Hulse said she was too tired, it was too near Christmas and she had better things to do than enter into a scrap with Brewer.

    It’s not as if Brewer, or Quax or any of those placard-waving halfwits will be grateful or in any way amenable to reason in future; they will (rightly) see Penny Hulse’s vacillation as weakness and will have been greatly emboldened.

    We need decent leadership in this city. If Len Brown does resign, Penny Hulse would be the worst possible candidate to fill his position.

    • karol 2.1
      21 December 2013 at 8:28 am

      Actually, I disagree. Hulse restores credibility to the leadership of elected council members.

      You really miss the point by how assuredly Hulse has managed the whole mess. She rightly judge that the residents wouldn’t be receptive to someone else doing the same kind of graceless tub-thumping as those on the right.

      Blatant aggression and putting the boot is the least likely way benefit long term outcomes.

      Hulse has left the door open to possibilities of a review of all spending by councillors, especially that of Brewer, when the time is right – the public have minds on the holiday season right now, and have probably had enough of grandstanding council antics.

      Hulse also calmly, and reasonably pointed out that being gifted holidays to the Gold Coast was worse than the hotel rooms and upgrades.

      • ianmac 2.1.1
        21 December 2013 at 8:43 am

        And of course Mr Brewer is going to be hamstrung the next time he tries the sanctimonious spiel. Hoisted I think.

        • Morrissey 2.1.1.1
          21 December 2013 at 9:06 am

          Hoisted by whom, Ian? If ever that sanctimonious git was going to be hoist by his own petard, it was yesterday. Unfortunately, Penny Hulse lacked the resolve to do the job.

          • karol 2.1.1.1.1
            21 December 2013 at 9:29 am

            Morrissey. Did you actually listen to what Hulse said. It’s here:

            http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ckpt/ckpt-20131220-1716-auckland_deputy_mayor_takes_a_swing_at_len_brown_critics-048.mp3

            “Lacks resolve”? Really? For what? Some ill-thought out rush of blood to the head to get the boot, like some sort of bovver boy, into Brewer without, a clear understanding of the unforeseen consequences? Get real!!!

            Hulse has the resolve and understanding of how to approach this in the medium and long term.

            What Hulse shows is a clear understanding of process. She has performed in a very assured way, has the support of the majority of councillors, knows how to work with them, and shows herself to be someone well in control of the situation. The councillors have to work within a dog’s breakfast of an undemocratic system. Hulse wants to improve the systems. That’s the last thing Quax, Brewer et all want.

            Hulse indicates that if they rush into putting the boot in to Brewer right now, it will play into the hands of Quax, who is out to destabilise the council. In my view Quax et al want to bring down the council & install their chosen mayor. They don’t want a better system than what we’ve got now – they want to use chaos and allegations in a very emotive way to bring about a right wing coup.

            And the time right now is just not right – most of the council is going on holiday. Doing anything drastic just won’t work.

            Here are direct quotes from Hulse’s interview on Checkpoint yesterday:

            It actually backs up the point that we’ve been making for a long time. Our council processes and throughout local government in new Zealand throughout New Zealand. It’s quite unclear what people should declare and what they shouldn’t declare. There are grey areas: hotel upgrades are one of them. But third party travel is very clear. If someone else pays for your travel, you need to put it in your register of interest or in your gift register or in your third party travel register. Now, we’ve all been guilty of making mistakes but we certainly need to firm up. And particularly people who point the finger should.

            She goes on to say that first, they need clarity of what should be declared and everyone should then be upfront and declare what needs to be declared.

            Do parliamentarians declare it, does anyone else around the country, is there a way of doing it? The advice I have is “no”. Third party travel, however, MUST be declared. We are probably all guilty of not doing that well. Gifts over $300 – absolutely! And anything that might bring you into conflict, my advice to the councillors has been over the last few months, when in doubt, put it down – get it out there.

            […]
            There’ll be a review of our process to make sure that everyone understands it. Whether we need to go [?] and trawl through what everyone’s registers of interest and what they’ve put down – I think the last thing we need is another witch hunt. But we need to make sure everyone is clear about how it works.

            […]

            I think Dick Quax is very keen to keep this going. I think he doesn’t understand what drawing a line under this sad affair means.

            Hulse has done exceedingly well this week – keeping her head while all others lose their’s.

            • Morrissey 2.1.1.1.1.1
              21 December 2013 at 9:37 am

              I take your points, karol, but I don’t think the public will appreciate Penny Hulse’s failure to pin down Brewer when he is squirming. Surely she doesn’t have to fear Dick Quax’s misbehaviour into account before she speaks.

              The right wing will have been astonished at her lack of robustness—and will not be at all sporting or conciliatory about this.

              • karol …
                21 December 2013 at 9:41 am

                Morrissey – clearly we will continue to disagree on this. As far as I can see, you just fail to see how well Hulse is dealing with all this. Actually, I think she has put Quax & Brewer in their place, and really shows them to be in a pretty weak position ….. watch this space.

                • Morrissey …
                  21 December 2013 at 9:43 am

                  I hope so. I think she is far superior to those rabble-rousers; I’m just concerned that they have been causing all sorts of mischief and have not been firmly countered. But I will take your word for it, and I’m looking forward to see how she performs over the next few weeks.

            • Ad 2.1.1.1.1.2
              21 December 2013 at 10:04 am

              Fully agree there Karol. Hulse is the only Councillor to come out of this with her reputation enhanced. She is now the default leader of Auckland – and knows it.

              She has a whole lot more wisdom than to start another puerile and pointless political witch-hunt. And has no need to invite personal counter-attacks from the right – as an attack on Brewer would achieve. She also has no political motivation to defend Brown.

              What she does have the motivation to achieve is a completed Unitary Plan, to lock in a further Long Term Plan, and to get the next housing areas off the ground. ie the progress Auckland needs.

              Plenty of wannabes call for revenge against the right in one form or another. Wisdom and grace are far harder to find. If people really and truly want Auckland hamstrung by yet another by-election in the vain hope that someone slightly less stupid will get in as a result, well, here’s my advice:

              don’t start a revolution until you know with confidence what will replace it, and that you can implement it.

              Hulse knows that she is last leader standing when it comes to Auckland. We don’t need any more fights or distractions. We need politicians who are prepared to lead through a time of real crisis. Penny Hulse is that person.

              • Molly …
                21 December 2013 at 12:10 pm

                Agree. Have watched her in action a couple of times with the more rabid councillors, and even they seem to defer to her in some regard.

                • Sacha …
                  21 December 2013 at 11:21 pm

                  Penny Hulse (and Len Brown) could teach our national politicians a thing or two about how to lead in an MMP-style environment. For sustainable gains you can’t afford to exclude half the governing body by treating them like the enemy. Citizens voted for them too. Tribal zero-sum politics are destructive in that context, though there’s plenty of scope for leading with a different focus.

            • lurgee 2.1.1.1.1.3
              21 December 2013 at 1:18 pm

              keeping her head while all others lose their’s

              *Angry face*

              You don’t need apostrophes to show ownership with possessive pronouns (His, hers, mine, ours, theirs).

            • Anne 2.1.1.1.1.4
              21 December 2013 at 5:31 pm

              Splendid comments karol. I wonder how many MSM journalists and particularly the Herald editors listened to that interview with Penny Hulse? If they did, I wonder how many of them are ashamed of their own hysterical and spiteful rantings?

              Len Brown’s little bit of straying is nothing compared to a lot of parliamentary politicians past and present.

              As far as the upgrades are concerned: travel and hotel upgrades have been par for the course for politicians for many years!

      • chris73 2.1.2
        21 December 2013 at 9:04 am

        I disagree, Len stayed at SkyCity with his mistress, got upgrades and made sure SkyCity didn’t give out any embarrassing information.

        SkyCity were in the middle of negotiations to get their deal through which Len supported. Surely you can see, at the very least, thats not a very good look at all.

        So how does that compare to Brewer

        • Chooky 2.1.2.1
          21 December 2013 at 9:57 am

          +1

        • bad12 2.1.2.2
          21 December 2013 at 9:58 am

          Pathetic chris73, Brewer has been the front runner of those seeking the Mayors head be mounted on a pike out-side of the Auckland City Council chambers,

          As Rodney Hide found, there is nobody who will suffer more disdain in politics than an out-right hypocrite,

          As far as the supposed cost of Brown’s hotel accommodation goes i find like a number of other commenters that such figures are bogus to say the least,

          The cost that Len Brown, in a free market, was willing to pay for a night’s stay in any of those hotels can and is the only figure that can be attributed to such ‘upgrades’,

          Unless the rooms were already booked and someone was moved out of these rooms to enable the Mayor to receive upgraded accommodation then the actual value of the rooms when considering they had no booking for the night and the Mayor wasn’t prepared to book and pay for them in a free market is exactly Zero,

          So is Brown worse than Brewer, my opinion says that both are as bad as each other and if the truth was only known if the other 10 council members were to now truthfully fill out their declarations of gifts there would be little surprise exhibited should the majority of them be found to have undeclared ‘freebies’ which in my opinion is the real reason the Deputy Mayor has moved to sweep the whole mess under the carpet…

          • karol 2.1.2.2.1
            21 December 2013 at 10:03 am

            there would be little surprise exhibited should the majority of them be found to have undeclared ‘freebies’ which in my opinion is the real reason the Deputy Mayor has moved to sweep the whole mess under the carpet…

            Yes, there is that implication. But also, that would play in to the hands of Quax and Brewer because it would ultimately destabilise the council, bring it down sooner rather than later, and result in an election before the left have had time to prepare a viable new candidate.

            • bad12 2.1.2.2.1.1
              21 December 2013 at 11:21 am

              Nope sorry Karol i cannot agree with you here, if it’s good enough for first Brown to be pilloried and then Brewer to be outed i would suggest the people of Auckland deserve to see the full picture especially considering that 10 ‘other’ of the council also ‘failed’ to file a disclosure of gifts,

              i cannot see how such revelations can destabilize the Auckland Council as such a disclosure does not seem to have attached to it any sanctions that would remove any of them including the Mayor,

              There is a small chance, admittedly minute, that having all the dirty laundry in the public domain will be enough to embarrass and humble these servants of the people so as to force them to get on with the business of running the City instead of grandstanding through the media lens as they obvious lust for power…

              • Ad …
                21 December 2013 at 11:47 am

                Well you could do the full Penny Bright if you like.

                You could go through the Mayor again, all the Councillors, all the staff, all the CCO Boards, all their staff, all the contractors, all 9,000 individuals…

                … it would be a permanent restructure, a state of permanent audit…

                and you could look back in three years time and be proud of Nothing. Of having achieved nothing except destruction. Of making Auckland Council essentially non-viable, perfectly antiseptic, a monumental machine at standstill, with those remaining there utterly demoralised and time-serving while they find something else.

                Not a single new initiative taken, the City Rail LInk long forgotten, the Unitary Plan flushed down the toiled for lack of ratification, the Waterfront stalled,
                O but what a pile of rubble to sit on! Quite similar to the French Revolution.

                • bad12 …
                  21 December 2013 at 12:30 pm

                  Right Ad, Council roading contractors are being investigated as we speak, wonder how far into council management and actual councilors that little investigation will lead,

                  i have a bright idea, THERE IS NO CORRUPTION IN NEW ZEALAND, so why would we bother to look for it???….

              • karol …
                21 December 2013 at 3:43 pm

                I think it’s necessary to move in an orderly way. I don’t actually think that Hulse has permanently swept things under the carpet. She’s saying: let’s get the rules clarified about what needs to be declared, and then move forward rationally. That’s better than all the finger pointing and innuendos on half knowledge. By all means hold councilllors to account for undeclared spending – especially re-conflicts of interest and apparent corruption – money for policies, etc.

                Time enough for that in the new year. If councillors or the mayor fall, so be it. But I’m more interested in getting a better structure and tighter systems for the future.

              • karol …
                21 December 2013 at 3:43 pm

                I think it’s necessary to move in an orderly way. I don’t actually think that Hulse has permanently swept things under the carpet. She’s saying: let’s get the rules clarified about what needs to be declared, and then move forward rationally. That’s better than all the finger pointing and innuendos on half knowledge. By all means hold councilllors to account for undeclared spending – especially re-conflicts of interest and apparent corruption – money for policies, etc.

                Time enough for that in the new year. If councillors or the mayor fall, so be it. But I’m more interested in getting a better structure and tighter systems for the future.

          • chris73 2.1.2.2.2
            21 December 2013 at 10:53 am

            I’m not talking cost I’m talking about the implication that SkyCity scratched Lens back in return for Len supporting SkyCity

            • bad12 2.1.2.2.2.1
              21 December 2013 at 11:08 am

              Ask yourself what was the expected quid pro quo for Brewer vis a vis His freebie from Mediaworks, or would you have us all believe that the news organization flew Him off for a holiday in Oz coz they like the pathetic little hypocrite,

              Len Brown ‘supporting’ SkyCity, are you sure that you are not a 7 year old or something, Len Brown had little option but to support the ‘convention center’ given it’s proposed use fit within the rules and laws of resource consent just as Len Brown had little option but to agree to the Chow brothers brothel being built as that is also an allowed activity for that area of the City…

              • chris73 …
                21 December 2013 at 11:24 am

                “Len Brown ‘supporting’ SkyCity, are you sure that you are not a 7 year old or something, Len Brown had little option but to support the ‘convention center’ given it’s proposed use fit within the rules and laws of resource consent just as Len Brown had little option but to agree to the Chow brothers brothel being built as that is also an allowed activity for that area of the City…”

                – Just like Len had little option but to use SkyCity for his trysts rather then getting driven home by his chauffeur (paraphrase it a bit and what you wrote could be a Tuis billboard)

                • bad12 …
                  21 December 2013 at 11:34 am

                  i and most other mature adults don’t give a toss about Brown’s sexual exploits,(or lack of them),

                  How many times did Brown host Ms Chuang at Skycity,(are you sure your not mistaking room bookings with His wife here),

                  Having nothing in the way of ammunition,when such is put under the spotlight and shown to be ‘wet’ to the extent that it is spurious, we have you now chris73 attempting to transpose your morals, or more to the point your moralizing,(given the chance i am sure you would happily share a room with Ms Chuang),on to Len Brown,

                  As i intimated above your criticism of Brown in light of Brewers equally culpable behavior is a descent into the realms of a 7 year old…

                  • chris73 …
                    21 December 2013 at 11:45 am

                    Its not about the sex, its about implication of using Skycity to facilitate the sex and then supporting Skycity in what Skycity wants.

                    Why is that so difficult to understand?

                    • bad12 …
                      21 December 2013 at 11:58 am

                      As i have tried to explain to you chris73 under planning Legislation Brown and the Auckland City Council had little choice within the Law but to agree to Skycity building the Convention Center,

                      The ‘implications’ then become a fabrication of your own over-active imagination,

                      Again, seeing as you didn’t answer the question the first time, how many times did you say Brown hosted Ms Chuang at SkyCity,(are you sure you are not confusing the ‘stays’ of Mr and Mrs Brown)…

                    • chris73 …
                      21 December 2013 at 12:05 pm

                      “How many times did Brown host Ms Chuang at Skycity,(are you sure your not mistaking room bookings with His wife here)”

                      Thats something we’ll of course never know since Skycity is bound by confidentiality and needed Lens permission to divulge the information and of course EY never asked how many times the rooms were booked during the daytime either

                    • bad12 …
                      21 December 2013 at 12:19 pm

                      In other words Chris73 you know exactly sod all, instead choosing to make things up as you go along hoping that if you say it as many times as possible it will become believable,

                      My next question of you while largely of a rhetorical nature is were you born with a psychological disability or do you choose to sit here in the pages of the Standard behaving akin to the most dense of fucking retards just for shits and giggles,is of some import as to my wasting of my time in an educational attempt,

                      Dense idiots such as you have a home to go to over at Blubber Boys ‘wail oil’, my suggestion is you go there…

                    • chris73 …
                      21 December 2013 at 3:53 pm

                      Ok I’ll go there but only because you said so 🙂

                    • infused …
                      22 December 2013 at 1:08 am

                      bad12 has gone full retard.

                    • KJT …
                      22 December 2013 at 9:46 am

                      Didn’t notice all this self righteousness when Brash was having an affair.

            • phillip ure 2.1.2.2.2.2
              21 December 2013 at 11:12 am

              @chris 73..

              i mean..aside from the eyewatering hypocrisy..?

              ..nothing wrong in yr eyes with a local body politician ‘owing’ and being ‘owned’ by a media organisation..?

              ..nothing to see there..eh..?

              ..brewer still squeaky-clean..?..eh..?

              phillip ure..

              • chris73 …
                21 December 2013 at 11:21 am

                Len Brown has had numerous chances to explain and got found out so why not let Brewer have the same chances that Len got

                • bad12 …
                  21 December 2013 at 11:26 am

                  Oh i agree with you there chris73, i think in the New Year we should have one Big Kangaroo Court, the same as Brewer, Quacks et al ensured Brown received so that all those councilors who failed to lodge a declaration of ‘gifts’ can publicly do so while ‘explaining’ such ‘gifts’ and why they failed to file the correct returns,

                  After that i would suggest that the over-paid wankers get back to running the city of Auckland like they are paid to do…

                  • chris73 …
                    21 December 2013 at 11:33 am

                    Personally I’d like to see them all investigated properly and removed if found to be outside the rules or code of conduct

                    • bad12 …
                      21 December 2013 at 11:48 am

                      Exactly chris 73, however, there is to my knowledge no mechanism in the Legislation with which to remove any of them,

                      Democracy is a weird beast, take for instance John Minto, said in many quarters to live a simple,blameless life akin to that of a scholarly monk in some ancient religious sect, the people of Auckland wholesaley rejected Minto as their Mayor and yet Brown was and Brewer is talked of as a future ‘chance’

                      The people of Auckland chose Brown and Brewer by ‘fair’ democratic means and now must suffer them for the next 3 years…

                    • chris73 …
                      21 December 2013 at 11:54 am

                      I like Rodney Hide and I think he was a very good MP and he’d do well if he chose to come back but he got the supercity very wrong with its lack of oversight

                    • bad12 …
                      21 December 2013 at 12:11 pm

                      Chris73, ”you like Rodney Hide”, which says it all really as to your ongoing whine about Len Brown,

                      You attempt to pillory Brown for His sins and then akin to the hypocricy shown by the recently outed Brewer you claim that Hide an even bigger hypocrite as far as ‘perks’ and ‘gifts’ goes would in some way be better then the incumbent pair,

                      You allude to the ‘implications’ inherent in Browns morals when in fact you seem to lack even the basics of a moral compass yourself and your appearance here at the Standard seems to have descended into that of a farcical ‘wing-nut’,

                      My Christmas wish is for the probably impossible, please,please, can we have next year just 1 ‘wing-nut’ commenting in the Standard in possessions of at least half a functional intellect….

                    • chris73 …
                      21 December 2013 at 12:19 pm

                      Typical left response to an opposing view: pillory anything that doesn’t correspond to your opinion

                      You might find it strange but going by all the opinion polls my viewpoint is shared by more people then yours

                    • bad12 …
                      21 December 2013 at 12:37 pm

                      As you have shown us all throughout this morning’s little discussion Chris73 you and facts have not even a passing knowledge of each other,

                      Please supply a link to all these opinion polls you allude to where ‘your views’ are found to be superior…

                    • chris73 …
                      21 December 2013 at 3:55 pm

                      Which ones? The ones that say they want Len to go, the ones that show how much more support National have or the ones that show how much more popular Key is compared to Cunliffe (or indeed anyone else)

            • Molly 2.1.2.2.2.3
              21 December 2013 at 12:12 pm

              The Skycity deal was one conceived and approved of at National level.

              The Auckland Council vote was/is academic.

        • Tigger 2.1.2.3
          21 December 2013 at 12:07 pm

          So how does that compare to Brewer”

          We have no idea because he, like half the Councillors, hasn’t filed returns. But we know he went to Australia on Mediaworks so you have to ask yourself – what did they get for that?

        • Sacha 2.1.2.4
          21 December 2013 at 10:41 pm

          “Len stayed at SkyCity with his mistress”

          Really? The E&Y report says no such thing. Got another reference for that assertion?

      • Morrissey 2.1.3
        21 December 2013 at 9:19 am

        Blatant aggression and putting the boot is the least likely way benefit long term outcomes.

        Nobody expects Penny Hulse to come down to the level of Quax and Brewer and their supporters. What we do expect is that she will be robust and forthright in her statements; instead, she expressed tiredness and an entirely misjudged seasonal forgiveness to someone who has been, and will now continue to be, utterly implacable in his enmity.

        • karol 2.1.3.1
          21 December 2013 at 9:33 am

          Rubbish. Of course she is tired – but see my comment above. Forgiveness? Absolutely not. She pointed the finger at Brewer being the worst offender. What she is saying is – be careful what you wish for if you keep on with am ill thought out witch hunt – it will as likely play into Brewer and Quax hands.

          Chill Morrissey – the time is not right at the moment – let’s see what next year brings when everyone comes back from the beach.

          • Morrissey 2.1.3.1.1
            21 December 2013 at 9:41 am

            the time is not right at the moment – let’s see what next year brings when everyone comes back from the beach.

            When is the right time then? I’m not advocating a brutal crackdown on Brewer; he is entitled to due process. But what I do want is for Penny Hulse to unequivocally point out Brewer’s canting hypocrisy; generalized statements of principle are not good enough.

            • karol 2.1.3.1.1.1
              21 December 2013 at 9:45 am

              What is this if not an unequivocal statement of Brewer’s hypocrisy?

              There are grey areas: hotel upgrades are one of them. But third party travel is very clear. If someone else pays for your travel, you need to put it in your register of interest or in your gift register or in your third party travel register.

              It’s out there on the record. It’s a clear warning shot across Brewer’s bow. It does not involve a lot of over-the-top posturing. But it will simmer away and is there to be pulled out when Brewer starts trying to do his over-exaggerated accusatory rants.

              • Grumpy …
                21 December 2013 at 10:30 am

                The test is that used by Key on Heatley. Stood down as minister and referred to AG. Reinstated when AG ruled their was no intent to mislead.
                Looks like that would clear Brewer, but, just to be sure, why not call in the AG. I think we all know why, don’t we?

                • Colonial Viper …
                  21 December 2013 at 3:54 pm

                  I love how you suggest calling in the AG as an independent auditor but have already decided for yourself what the outcome should be! LOL!

                  Is the reason that the AG hasn’t been called in because the Key Govt is good friends with Len Brown and hence has avoided doing so??? Seriously grumpy you’ve not been engaging your brain last few days.

                  • Pascal'sbookie …
                    21 December 2013 at 11:05 pm

                    And once the AG starts looking into whether or not SkyCity corruptly influenced politicians, who knows where it would end up?

                    The National Party pays the card rate for those functions they hold at SkyCity don;t they?

                    [I think you keep going into moderation PB because a computer you are using has no space between “Pascal’s” and “bookie – MS]

  3. rich the other 3
    21 December 2013 at 8:32 am

    NOT THE SALAVTION ARMY
    So much for poverty, poor people seem to have gotten by without this food banks help.

    A Wellington food bank spent donations on junk food, booze and electronics while giving only a fraction to the hungry, court documents claim.

    The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) alleges only 4 per cent of the $770,000 donated to the Wellington Food bank Service ever went to helping the needy.

    The food bank – not associated with the one run by the Wellington City Mission – claimed to help “low-income families, children and youth of the Wellington region”.

    • karol 3.1
      21 December 2013 at 8:52 am

      Yeah. Saw that. The lowest of scum to exploit the willingness of others to support those struggling on little money or resources.

    • AsleepWhileWalking 3.2
      21 December 2013 at 10:26 am

      It may be very hard to prove “fraud” because there is no limit to the percentage commission that can be charged for fundraising activities.

      Given the confident rebuff by the accused it sounds like he has it all figured out. Hope they manage to get him prosecuted anyway. Certainly one to watch.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.3
      21 December 2013 at 12:59 pm

      That wouldn’t surprise me. It’s why private charities never work to alleviate poverty. Of course, such charities do help to salve the conscience, if they’ve got one, of the people who cause the poverty – the rich.

    • Colonial Viper 3.4
      21 December 2013 at 1:03 pm

      Well, it’s defrauding the public. Don’t think it will be that complicated.

    • Murray Olsen 3.6
      21 December 2013 at 7:02 pm

      RTO – you are twisted. Only you and Paula Benefat could possibly see a case of misappropriation of donations as showing that there is no poverty. If I amputated your legs and you “got by” sitting on a skateboard, would that show you never had any need for the legs?

  4. Tiger Mountain 4
    21 December 2013 at 8:33 am

    I would not mind if Len went after his appalling treatment of the wharfies and GI residents, or even if he decides he has had enough. BUT he should stay right where he is if his departure does not guarantee a full new election with equal media time for all candidates so the actual policies can be re litigated.

    The alternative is a right wing coup via some dodgy commissioner that they have been angling for since the Pallino camp (proxy for National/ACT) tried to overturn the result. Chuang now seems a possible if dorrisy double agent all along. Aucklanders may just experience the reality of ECAN and Gerry’s special powers that Christchurch has put up with via their own similar little imposed dictatorship. Just as “Hideolini” first envisaged.

    Is the threat of this enough reason to keep Len on? well yes, given the low participation rate of Aucklanders. And the Herald is hardly like to run “Democracy Under Attack” front pages if there is no new election.

    Minto for Mayor and Penny (Bright) heh, as deputy, that should stir up a few more voters!

    • karol 4.1
      21 December 2013 at 8:51 am

      Agreed, Tiger Mountain. Better Brown for now than a right wing coup. Come the next election I’d like to see a real contest with all kinds of views aired, including/especially those of Minto & Bright – they need to keep the pressure on to keep the left and elected representatives honest.

      However, on past record, especially how assuredly and well she handled proceedings this week, I’m ear-marking my vote for Hulse …… when the time is right.

      And we can do without Labour Caucus neoliberal rejects like Goff being given a nice little mayoral earner as a way to entice him away from the House – what are Trotter and Bradbury thinking?!!!

    • Chooky 4.2
      21 December 2013 at 10:11 am

      +1…”.Chuang now seems a possible if dorrisy double agent all along”

      …..imo there is a very real danger that the perception of corruption…casino convention centre, multi-story brothels at Auckland’s heart.. ( or at very least gross misjudgment and mismanagement) associated with Len and his watch …… and who is now so unpopular with ordinary voters…… that his association with Labour could impact on Labours’ chances in the 2014 general Election , especially with the crucial Auckland vote

      The Left should be at least preparing for a WINNING alternative to Len that all can agree on…should another election be needed

      • Draco T Bastard 4.2.1
        21 December 2013 at 1:02 pm

        and who is now so unpopular with ordinary voters

        Haven’t seen anything to suggest that.

        • Chooky 4.2.1.1
          22 December 2013 at 7:46 am

          ..talk back shows I am told…not to mention commentators on ‘the daily blog’……polls?….time will tell

    • Grumpy 4.3
      21 December 2013 at 2:20 pm

      Tim Shadbolt was just as radical as Minto and any city would welcome him as mayor………

  5. Fisiani 5
    21 December 2013 at 10:04 am

    Cheer up folks. Armstrong is just a tool of the Right after all. How dare he present the truth.
    Have a happy Christmas and to cheer you up when The Cunliffe continues to poll lower than Shearer ever did I give you good cheer from your wonderful PM.

  6. Tracey 6
    21 December 2013 at 10:25 am

    ” Hulse is the only Councillor to come out of this with her reputation enhanced. She is now the default leader of Auckland – and knows it.”

    +1

    • Draco T Bastard 7.1
      21 December 2013 at 1:06 pm

      Oh good – I was looking for something like that yesterday. And, yes, it’s good to see the inherent bias towards National in Treasury confirmed.

  9. captain hook 9
    21 December 2013 at 11:11 am

    what a load of crap about Hulse being default leader of Auckland.
    When and if she is elected then she can claim that distinction.
    as of now she is just another slavering purve who should have the decency to keep her mouth shut.

  10. Colonial Viper 10
    21 December 2013 at 12:04 pm

    Wallace Chapman is taking over from Chris Laidlaw on Sunday mornings, apparently.

  11. Craig Y 11
    21 December 2013 at 12:07 pm

    And in some good news for the holiday season, Canada’s sex workers are now completely legal! Although it took them a decade longer than New Zealand, the Canadian Supreme Court has struck down all prior Canadian anti-sexworker laws, including street soliciting, brothel work and ownership and living off the proceeds. In a unanimous move, the court said that mere potential public nuisance issues should not be allowed to obstruct serious issues related to the health, safety and lives of Canadian sex workers: http://www.globeandmail.com/news/national/supreme-court-rules-on-prostitution-laws/article16067485/

    • Colonial Viper 11.1
      21 December 2013 at 12:18 pm

      Now if Canada would only get rid of Harper, cease attacking scientists and academics, and stop being one of the world’s most egregious GHG and ground water polluters…

      • swordfish 11.1.1
        21 December 2013 at 12:50 pm

        “Now if Canada would only get rid of Harper…”

        What’s really annoying is that, between them, the NDP, Liberals and Greens won more than 53% of the vote (with a stunning swing to the Left – NDP soaring by more than 12 points). Harper’s Conservatives won a clear majority of seats despite winning less than 40% of the vote.

        • Colonial Viper 11.1.1.1
          21 December 2013 at 2:07 pm

          total scam of a corporate democracy…

        • ScottGN 11.1.1.2
          21 December 2013 at 4:38 pm

          That’s First Past the Post for you. Conveniently for the Conservatives the Liberals and NDP split the left vote in a lot of seats allowing the Tory candidate to come through the middle.

        • Paul 11.1.1.3
          21 December 2013 at 7:04 pm

          Rod Donald’s great legacy M.M. P.
          How the corporates allowed that in, I don’t know.

  12. Herodotus 12
    21 December 2013 at 12:26 pm

    Now we know one more reason for building costs being so high !!
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11153296
    Councils are being blamed for the high cost of building New Zealand houses, ahead of the role played by manufacturers.
    Perhaps it not all about councils, now !
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/9543076/Business-watchdog-to-take-Carter-Holt-Harvey-to-court
    And this from what is becoming a repeat offender in the market manipulation.
    http://www.comcom.govt.nz/fair-trading/fair-trading-media-releases/detail/2006/carterholtharveyfined900000forfals
    Carter Holt Harvey’s machine stress graded MGP10 sales in the period July 2000 to November 2003 were approximately $63.4 million annually. Between August 2001 and November 2003, CHH reported net sales revenue of approximately $162.1 m from sales of MGP10 timber.
    So we are not talking about small amounts.
    Someone better start wetting the bus ticket !!

    • Draco T Bastard 12.1
      21 December 2013 at 1:35 pm

      Materials costs had risen only 12 per cent since 2008.

      I have family in the construction industry and they’ve seen, in some years, better than 25% increases in less than 6 months.

  13. joe90 13
    21 December 2013 at 1:16 pm

    Dan Savage reviews Sarah Palins latest effort.

    This paragraph about gun shopping in December of 2012—one first grader at Sandy Hook was shot 11 times—ends with Palin bragging about her tits. I’m not kidding.

    Okay, I have to put the book down. I’m five pages into Good Tidings and Great Joy and… Jesus Fucking Christ… I have got to put down this toxic little shitstain of a book. I’m going to go wash my eyes out with hydrogen peroxide. Be right back.

    http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/good-grief-and-great-tits/Content?oid=18503580

  14. thechangeling 14
    21 December 2013 at 3:00 pm

    This is what I believe to be the way forward to giving back democracy to the people of New Zealand:

    With the madness that neo-liberalism (manifested in deregulation and Free Trade Agreements) has done to New Zealand since 1984 by both Labour and National Governments, it’s time to move to a new system controlled by the people for the people.
    This new system is called ‘Absolute Democracy’ whereby every bill that goes to Parliament to become law is voted on by the people via regular referendums held electronically on the internet.
    Three education agencies are tasked with informing the public of the intended consequences of the bill in question, and will be formed so that people can form their voting intentions from a comprehensively derived knowledge base. Two of these agencies are aligned with each of the desires and intentions of the leftist and rightist political blocs, and the third is totally independent of any political organisation.
    Only this way can ‘true democracy’ be instigated into New Zealand’s cultural fabric because now what we have is a main stream media controlled by vested interests putting out biased information about policies that are creating a tide of both poverty and obscene wealth by dis-empowering ordinary kiwi’s.

  15. joe90 15
    21 December 2013 at 3:25 pm

    Not just the Koch brothers.

    Key findings include:

    Conservative foundations have bank-rolled denial. The largest and most consistent funders of organizations orchestrating climate change denial are a number of well-known conservative foundations, such as the Searle Freedom Trust, the John William Pope Foundation, the Howard Charitable Foundation and the Sarah Scaife Foundation. These foundations promote ultra-free-market ideas in many realms.

    Koch and ExxonMobil have recently pulled back from publicly visible funding. From 2003 to 2007, the Koch Affiliated Foundations and the ExxonMobil Foundation were heavily involved in funding climate-change denial organizations. But since 2008, they are no longer making publicly traceable contributions.

    Funding has shifted to pass through untraceable sources. Coinciding with the decline in traceable funding, the amount of funding given to denial organizations by the Donors Trust has risen dramatically. Donors Trust is a donor-directed foundation whose funders cannot be traced. This one foundation now provides about 25% of all traceable foundation funding used by organizations engaged in promoting systematic denial of climate change.

    Most funding for denial efforts is untraceable. Despite extensive data compilation and analyses, only a fraction of the hundreds of millions in contributions to climate change denying organizations can be specifically accounted for from public records. Approximately 75% of the income of these organizations comes from unidentifiable sources.

    http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-12/du-njt122013.php?

    • chris73 16.1
      21 December 2013 at 3:58 pm

      Bad year for the looney left, they can only hope a disaster happens for some publicity

      • fender 16.1.1
        21 December 2013 at 4:44 pm

        May not be as inspiring to you as going to watch the ammo at gun city but there’s plenty of impending disasters for you here

    • fender 16.2
      21 December 2013 at 3:59 pm

      Global warming since 1997 more than twice as fast as previously estimated, new study shows.

      • Grumpy 16.2.1
        21 December 2013 at 4:02 pm

        So the estimate was actually a significant reduction? Who knew?
        Jesus, just looked at your link – The Guardian??? FFS!

        • fender 16.2.1.1
          21 December 2013 at 4:20 pm

          Average of global temps using *HadCRU/NOAA-NDCC/NASA-GISS*

          2001-2010 14.47 deg C
          1991-2000 14.26 deg C
          1981-1990 14.12 deg C
          1971-1980 13.95 deg C
          1961-1970 13.93 deg C
          1951-1960 13.92 deg C

          • One Anonymous Knucklehead 16.2.1.1.1
            21 December 2013 at 5:24 pm

            There is no point in presenting facts to wingnuts. Low IQ and all that…

          • One Anonymous Knucklehead 16.2.1.1.2
            21 December 2013 at 6:43 pm

            PS: those numbers should come with a health warning. May cause alarm: the increase in the increase per decade is…significant. Fuck.

        • Murray Olsen 16.2.1.2
          21 December 2013 at 7:38 pm

          The Guardian is pretty good at presenting science, actually. Unlike many media, they don’t misrepresent stuff, but give a reasonable précis of what’s in the original work. I can see why oil worshippers wouldn’t like it.

        • Paul 16.2.1.3
          21 December 2013 at 8:14 pm

          The source for the Telegraph report is “David Hone, Shell UK’s Melbourne-born “senior climate change adviser”.
          The source for the Guardian report is a study, authored by Kevin Cowtan from the University of York and Robert Way from the University of Ottawa.

          Did you read these articles and notice the sources of both before your post?

          This report is called Science, grumpy. You can choose to ignore it and go with the opinions of someone paid by Shell. That’s your choice. I don’t know if the opinion you hold is that of wilful ignorance. I don’t know if you have just heard one side of the argument through your selection of media sources.

          However, by doing that, your opinion will be discarded by those who follow the principles of reasoned, evidence based discussion.

    • joe90 16.3
      21 December 2013 at 4:20 pm

      Surely you can provide something a little more reputable – some real science perhaps.

      Three years of observations by ESA’s CryoSat satellite show that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing over 150 cubic kilometres of ice each year – considerably more than when last surveyed.

      http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/CryoSat/Antarctica_s_ice_loss_on_the_rise

      It’s official: East Antarctica is pushing West Antarctica around.

      Now that West Antarctica is losing weight–that is, billions of tons of ice per year–its softer mantle rock is being nudged westward by the harder mantle beneath East Antarctica.

      The discovery comes from researchers led by The Ohio State University, who have recorded GPS measurements that show West Antarctic bedrock is being pushed sideways at rates up to about twelve millimeters–about half an inch–per year. This movement is important for understanding current ice loss on the continent, and predicting future ice loss.

      http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-12/osu-eai121113.php?

      The September 2013 Arctic sea ice minimum extent was 5.10 million km2. This was 1.69 million km2 greater than the record minimum set in 2012, but was still the sixth smallest ice extent of the satellite record (1979-2013).
      The amount of first year sea ice continues to increase, accounting for 78% of the ice cover in March 2013.
      A satellite-derived, Arctic Ocean-wide decrease in sea ice freeboard, from 0.23 m in March 2011 to 0.19 m in March 2013, implies a 0.32 m decrease in ice thickness, from 2.26 m to 1.94 m.

      http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/sea_ice.html

        • halfcrown 16.3.1.1
          21 December 2013 at 5:52 pm

          Jesus, just looked at your link – Daily Telegraph??? FFS!

          • Paul 16.3.1.1.1
            21 December 2013 at 7:17 pm

            You are wasting your time with these people.
            No evidence can persuade them. The Koch Brothers through their acolytes in edit like thenTelegraph have indoctrinated them and no form of reasoning can be used.
            A bit depressing but the human mind is easily manipulated. It’s like trying to debate with a Mormon.

            • Anne 16.3.1.1.1.1
              21 December 2013 at 8:04 pm

              These oil tycoons and their fellow travellers are today’s equivalent of the tobacco industry tycoons who spent nearly a century denying that tobacco was harmful to health. They came up with all manner of spurious evidence to verify their false claims. Personally, I think the leading lights in that campaign should have spent some time in gaol for their crime against humanity. It would be good if the climate denial wankers were also brought to justice for their falsehoods and crime against humanity.

              • Grumpy …
                21 December 2013 at 9:10 pm

                Sounds like burning at the stake to me.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  21 December 2013 at 9:43 pm

                  Where our ecosystems and our people is being sacrificed on the pyre of corporate profit.

                  And it’s happening right now. Corporate capitalism is an organised system of destruction. No two ways about it.

                  • Grumpy …
                    21 December 2013 at 10:03 pm

                    Reckon there are at least 4 or 5 ways……

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      22 December 2013 at 12:34 am

                      Explain them one by one if you would.

                      My position is simple: delivering maximum short term yield to shareholders requires maximising the consumption of products, energy and services globally. The rapid and total exploitation of the environment and of workers without regard for physical or societal limits is fundamental to being able to achieve this goal.

            • Grumpy 16.3.1.1.1.2
              21 December 2013 at 9:09 pm

              Mormon….who are you calling a Mormon?

      • joe90 16.3.2
        21 December 2013 at 4:28 pm

        So that’s it, opinion?.

        edit: Quadrant, you’re kidding, right?.

        • Grumpy 16.3.2.1
          21 December 2013 at 4:34 pm

          Face it, it’s over…..

        • joe90 16.3.2.2
          21 December 2013 at 4:40 pm

          So that’s it, cranks who cite fellow cranks and cranks who associate with and share a stable with racist revisionists and your own opinion?.

          • Grumpy 16.3.2.2.1
            21 December 2013 at 4:46 pm

            Cripes, what’s this racist revisionist rubbish, you guys have really lost the plot. The major countries have abandoned AGW and the public have turned off. Bach prices in The Sounds are still at record levels, give it up. Find some other wealth redistribution scheme.

            • fender 16.3.2.2.1.1
              21 December 2013 at 4:54 pm

              You must be one of those Grumpy old men without any grandchildren, certainly none that you care about.

              Have a fun time in The Sounds.

              • Grumpy …
                21 December 2013 at 5:02 pm

                You would be wrong. I also believe it is immoral to increase poverty and starvation in the push for biofuels. Of course, the more radical environmentalists push for population reduction. The problem was in the hysteria and the lunatic fringe taking over, making wild claims that, when disproved, collapsed the whole circus.

          • joe90 16.3.2.2.2
            21 December 2013 at 4:50 pm

            Windschuttle.

            • Colonial Viper 16.3.2.2.2.1
              21 December 2013 at 4:56 pm

              Grumpy is sorta right. It “is over.”

              Minor course corrections starting in the 1970’s, after the publication of “limits to growth”, would have averted the need for any drastic and civilisation disturbing actions to try and deal with climate change and fossil fuels reliance.

              Of course that didn’t happen.

              And of course, it is no surprise that an oil company executive cannot hear and cannot accept what does need to happen. The idea of needing to dramatically reduce our use of fossil fuels is a revolutionary idea, to a corporate whose profits and existence is predicated on more and more fossil fuel use.

              Our economic system will keep pushing pedal to the metal even as we all sail off the cliff.

              The fact that there would be significant disruptions from moving off fossil fuels is of no surprise. The concentrated energy of fossil fuels is the heroin we have grown a global civilisation up on. Withdrawal symptoms are going to be nasty.

    • jaymam 16.4
      21 December 2013 at 5:03 pm

      An ice-free Arctic is good news:

      ‘An ice-strengthened sea freighter has become the first bulk carrier to traverse the Northwest Passage through Canada’s Arctic waters, heralding a new era of commercial activity in the Arctic.

      Travelling with a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker, the 75,000 deadweight-tonne Nordic Orion left Vancouver on Sept. 17 carrying 15,000 metric tons of coal. It is currently off Nuuk, Greenland, where it let a Canadian Arctic adviser off board.

      “The Northwest Passage is more than 1,000 nautical miles shorter than the traditional shipping route through the Panama Canal and will save time, fuel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” said Nordic Bulk Carriers, the Danish owner of the ship.’

      • fender 16.4.1
        21 December 2013 at 5:23 pm

        Yeah we should flatten Epsom too to facilitate faster travelling times eh.

      • rich the other 16.4.2
        21 December 2013 at 7:02 pm

        It’s all been done before ,Amundsen did it in 1906 it ,must have been a warm year.

        • McFlock 16.4.2.1
          21 December 2013 at 7:18 pm

          In a fishing boat with a <3ft draught. Not in a 75kton freighter. You're an idiot.

          • Paul 16.4.2.1.1
            21 December 2013 at 7:21 pm

            He is deliberately being an idiot.

          • rich the other 16.4.2.1.2
            21 December 2013 at 9:57 pm

            McFlock
            They have one thing in common , they both float on water.
            Currently the arctic is frozen solid , the biggest area frozen for years, and some boats are trapped.

            • Draco T Bastard 16.4.2.1.2.1
              21 December 2013 at 10:10 pm

              Slow growth on the Atlantic side of the Arctic

              Ice extent in the Arctic was below average during November. There was substantially less ice than average in the northern Barents Sea, likely due to an influx of warm ocean waters and the persistence of a strong positive Arctic Oscillation (AO).

              You really do pull that shit straight out your arse don’t you?

            • RedLogix 16.4.2.1.2.2
              21 December 2013 at 10:27 pm

              Always the best and this one is especially worth a read:

              http://tamino.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/smooth/

              This is how professionals take apart the ignorant.

              Update:

              Remarkably, in the comment thread, the target of Tamino’s snark has the courage and humility to accept he was wrong.

              http://tamino.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/smooth/#comment-83651

              Hey Tamino, good post. No excuses from me, but a retraction. After reading your post I take back my claim of “wishful thinking”. I was out of my depth on statistical analysis and admit I based my beliefs mostly on a hunch. You therefore successfully defended the integrity of Laden’s article.

              I appreciate the time you took to critique my post, I’ve never heard of “Ramsdorf” etc before and learned a lot from your post.

              Now that is a remarkable moment.

            • McFlock 16.4.2.1.2.3
              21 December 2013 at 10:49 pm

              Adding more to the case that you’re a fucking moron, rto?
              The fact that 45ton herring boats AND 75,000ton freight ships float was not in dispute.

              The distinction between the former hull-scraping through 3ft waters if needs be and the latter steaming through with its 46ft draught seems to be lost on you. At 43ft, it is impossible to touch the full extend of your stupidity with a barge pole.

  17. Penny Bright 17
    21 December 2013 at 3:53 pm

    It’s not ‘left’ vs ‘right’ and hasn’t been since the ‘Rogernomic$’ neo-liberal reforms were forced upon us by the 1984 -87 Labour Government (in my considered opinion).

    In my view – it’s the corporate minority vs the public majority and those who serve their interests.

    Who really controls the Auckland region?

    http://www.committeeforauckland.co.nz membership

    How many of you have bothered to check this out for yourselves?

    Who else has warned you about the corporate control being exercised over the Auckland region via this extremely powerful private sector lobby group?

    How many Auckland Council / CCO contracts are going to member companies of the Committee for Auckland?

    How many members of the boards of Auckland Council CCOs (or CEOs) are members of the Committee for Auckland?

    How is it not a MAJOR ‘conflict of interest’ that Auckland Council CEO Doug McKay is a member of this unelected, invitation-only $10,000 per year membership private lobby group, when he is supposed to be an ‘apolitical oublic servant’?

    How convenient that Doug McKay, Ernst and Young and Sky City are ALL members of the Committee for Auckland?

    Interesting that in 2010 Penny Hulse was personally endorsed by the (then) Chair of the Committee for Auckland, Sir Ron Carter?

    Wake up folks!

    Beware the ‘care veneer’ – the personable manner – the smiley faces and take a cold, hard look at whose interests are being served and by whom, is my respectful suggestion.

    Penny Bright

    Merry Christmas! 🙂

    • Grumpy 17.1
      21 December 2013 at 4:01 pm

      You are probably right Penny but it should have dawned on you by now that the so-called “left” are also part of the ” establishment”. Cunliffe part of Boston Consulting?? Scary eh?

    • karol 17.2
      21 December 2013 at 4:14 pm

      I did check out the membership oganisation. It doesn’t just include corporates. Other members include:

      Auckland Arts Festival
      Auckland City Mission
      Auckland Communities Foundation
      Auckland District Health Board
      Auckland War Memorial Museum
      Auckland University of Technology (AUT)
      Counties Manukau District Health Board
      Kiwibank
      Manukau Institute of Technology
      Massey University
      Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
      New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development
      NZ Institute of Architects
      Regional Facilities Auckland
      Unitec Institute of Technology
      University of Auckland
      Watercare Services
      Waterfront Auckland
      The Salvation Army

      Don’t know who the “individual members” not part of organisations are.

      Membership also includes weird bunch – what are they there for?
      Consulate General of The United States of America
      Consulate General of Australia (Austrade)
      Consulate General of The Peoples Republic of China

      I do think the whole structure of the council needs to be reviewed. The unaccountable CCOs need to totally be replaced by something democratic.

      The council has been constructed as a business-friendly, corporate type structure. Picking of various individuals won’t change that. Also, anyone in a senior role needs to work with that structure, and the committee of Auckland or they will not survive.

      Getting rid of a few people, without changing the whole set up, will just mean similar sorts of people will replace those who have left.

  18. Tracey 18
    21 December 2013 at 6:01 pm

    Super city and charter schools… tail wagging the dog much?

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    In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
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    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
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    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
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    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
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    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
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    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
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    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
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    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
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    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
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    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
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    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
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    5 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
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    5 days ago
  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
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    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

    The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway

    The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
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    1 week ago
  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

    New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
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    1 week ago
  • 'Pacific Futures'

    President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests.    Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone.    Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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