Open mike 22/05/2022

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 22nd, 2022 - 71 comments
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71 comments on “Open mike 22/05/2022 ”

  1. Landslide victory for Labor in Oz! Echoing the 2020 wipeout of the right in NZ.

    In times of stress and change, voters want a government which cares about them and puts their interests first, not a government that gives tax cuts to rich pricks!

    The left is on the ascendency here, in Oz and soon in the UK!

    Well done Albo and the Independent Teals!

  2. SPC 2

    Not what one might expect. A support for Palestinians on Nakba in Tel Aviv – Palestinians flags etc (not something often allowed in East Jerusalem).

    https://twitter.com/yarahawari/status/1525937548689920003

    Al-Shaykh Muwannis (Arabic: الشيخ مونّس), also Sheikh Munis, was a small Palestinian Arab village in the Jaffa Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine, located approximately 8.5 kilometers from the center of Jaffa city in territory earmarked for Jewish statehood under the UN Partition Plan.

    The village was abandoned in March 1948 due to the threats of Jewish militias, two months before the 1948 Arab–Israeli war.

    Today, Tel Aviv University lies on part of the village land.

  3. aj 3

    From a recent Munk Debate: Russia-Ukraine War | Stephen Walt, John Mearsheimer v Michael McFaul, Radoslaw Sikorski, which can be found on Youtube.

    Watch Michael McFaul, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia, admit that diplomatic lies are “the real world” when he answers Stephen Walt’s question about NATO’s desire to eventually scrap Ukraine. Lies which caused a war and he's just laughing and gloating about it. The amorality of some humans…..

    https://twitter.com/21stCenturyWire/status/1527432262685540364

  4. Visubversa 4

    Bill Maher gets it (mostly) right. What he gets wrong is to conflate same sex attracted people (L G B) with the rest of the alphabet soup who are straight. And if gender is fluid – how is it innate?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMBzfUj5zsg

    [link fixed]

    • SPC 4.1

      Just use the link on the You Tube video.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMBzfUj5zsg

      • Anker 4.1.1

        "if this spikein Trans children nis natural, why is it regional?" On the different rates of trans kids in California versus Ohio. Maher.

        Good to see. Thanks for posting Visubversa

    • RedLogix 4.2

      Using the Australian election as an indication – it does not look pretty out there.

      But otherwise Maher nails it.

      • Anker 4.2.1

        Kathleen Deve was actually correct when she described transgender teens as being surgically mutilated and sterilized.

        Prescribing a drug that has been used to chemically castrate sex offenders to gender dysphoric teens (gender dysphoria is a mental health disorder, classified in the DSM5) is nothing short of a scandal as too is offering teenage girls double masectomies of their perfectly healththy breasts (not to mentioned hysterectomies) Also Jazz Jennings the poster child for teen trans had their penis amputated and the attempt to make a neo vagina wasn't succesful and Jazz has now had surgery no 4 to try and fix the problems the surgery has lead to.

        • RedLogix 4.2.1.1

          I could not agree with you more. Without any resort to exaggeration or outrage I confess that my blood runs a little cold thinking of teenagers of being sexually mutilated – often before they have any clue about their sexual future whatsoever.

          Nonetheless I can report the public discourse in Australia has been heavily captured by the trans lobby and Kathleen Deve's punishment at the poll last night is no surprise to me.

          I have to say I feel a real sense of unease and sadness at writing this.

    • weka 4.3

      Jaw dropping that he did that. Maybe the tide is going to turn in the US too. I fear for the backlash against GNC people, the whole thing was so unnecessary.

      • Visubversa 4.3.1

        Not just the GNC people – with the Transcult fastened on to the same sex attracted people's movement like giant ticks, and sucking the lifeblood from it in order to "rainbow wash" their demands for special treatment and legislation, the backlash will hit them as well.

      • Anker 4.3.2

        Actually I fear for the backlash too. And this will likely effect gay people as well as theose rare individuals who are trans.

  5. Mike the Lefty 5

    When I went to bed last night (about 10.30) the election result was still in the balance and I thought I would wake up this morning to a smug Scott Morrison chortling about how Australian voters had saved their country from chaos.

    But I was certainly surprised to see that Labour had won. When I went to bed things weren't looking too bright for Labour – particularly in Queensland and Tasmania. In the end it seems that Western Australia was the decisive mover for Labour.

    We can hope that the new Labour administration will be easier to work with than the former, but we probably should not expect miracles.

  6. weka 6

    Science, medical and systems people, can you please explain covid death reporting to me. I understand that it's deaths with covid, but I'm not clear how big a difference there is between unrelated deaths with covid, and covid as primary or secondary cause deaths.

    I'd also like a better understanding about why health systems do this. And why we don't also have reporting of deaths where those with unrelated causes aren't counted.

    • Belladonna 6.1

      Here's a link to the MoH website with the figures

      https://covid19.govt.nz/news-and-data/latest-news/covid-19-deaths-reporting-update/

      • 447 people have died with COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death. Of these, 439 died within 28 days of being reported as a case.
      • 231 people have died with COVID-19 as a contributing cause of death. Of these, 229 died within 28 days of being reported as a case.
      • 161 people, all of whom died within 28 days of being reported as a case, had a cause of death unrelated to COVID-19
      • 138 people who died within 28 days of being reported as a case have yet to be classified. In some instances, the cause of death can take longer to determined, including if it is being investigated by a coroner.

      My understanding is that the reporting is 'with Covid' as it is frequently difficult to determine the exact cause of death at the time; and the figures are subsequently reconciled (down).

      • weka 6.1.1

        thanks. That was my thinking too but it's been unclear and I have to wonder if it would be better to be more transparent about it.

        Looks like about 15% are not related.

        Is the unknown cause figure higher than usual?

        • Belladonna 6.1.1.1

          No, I don't think so. There are always complicated death situations (even without Covid being involved) where the actual cause of death isn't absolutely clear.
          Usually these will involve some secondary investigation.

          • Belladonna 6.1.1.1.1

            Oh, and I think that any potential death by violence is left as unclassified, until an autopsy (determining exact cause, because of potential court case – can't charge someone with murder, if the victim actually died of a heart attack), and often until the coroner has sat on the case.

            As an aside, this coronial inquiry can now take years, because of court system delays, much to the distress of the families involved.

  7. Anker 7

    Weka I don't have the link, but I read the number of deaths FROM covid in NZ is actually 500. Will look for link and post if I find it

    • weka 7.1

      See Belladonna's figures above. 977 deaths, 15% are not covid related but with covid. A similar amount of people died with covid but cause of death not yet determined.

      • Belladonna 7.1.1

        And quite a number of the ones with Covid as a contributing cause, will be pretty borderline (e.g. final stage cancer, but Covid probably contributed).

        This issue arises with the 'flu deaths each year. Quite a number attributed to 'flu, are in final stages of another condition, when they caught the 'flu and were unable to fight it off. Is it a 'flu death? Or a congestive heart failure death? Or a diabetes death? Or a cancer death?

        • weka 7.1.1.1

          I'm fine with someone with end stage cancer who gets covid as a contributory factor having their cause of death listed as both. So it shows up as a covid death.

          The issue for me was more that someone dying in car crash with covid was listed as a covid death. 15% doesn't seem so bad though all things considered (esp in countries where they will be undercounting cases and deaths).

          • Craig H 7.1.1.1.1

            That's an artifact of a standardized system where all violent and potentially suspicious deaths have to be investigated by a Coroner to determine cause of death. Until that determination is made, there is no legal cause of death for reporting purposes. Looks a bit odd when it intersects with notifiable disease reporting, but reporting deaths with notifiable diseases came about because of deliberate under-reporting of AIDS deaths in the USA in the 1980s at the behest of Reagan.

            • weka 7.1.1.1.1.1

              thanks! So complex reasons why we have the numbers we do in daily/weekly reporting

      • Anker 7.1.2

        Thanks Weka. Relying on my memory there!

  8. joe90 8

    Of course, 3 months and counting @$100's millions a day, nearly 30,000 troops and thousands of pieces of kit lost but we could've done the job in hours.

    Expectations lowered by the day.

    /

    https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1527979338695680000

  9. pat 10

    18 months (or so) for a NZ version of the 'Teals' to organise….will NZ follow the Australian example?

    • Poission 10.1

      Why?

      • pat 10.1.1

        For similar reasons they formed in Australia I would imagine…dissatisfaction with the existing offerings.

        • Poission 10.1.1.1

          Australia is the largest exporter of FF after Russia and Saudi Arabia,they are also a major part of the current account surplus which funds Australias overseas debt of 1and a half trillion dollars.

          NZ has a current account deficit,and a 1/2 trillion gross overseas debt loading.

          The RBA ocr rate is 0.35,ours is 1.5 ( going to 2 this week) we also have a larger CPI value,which will blow up after the subsidy lifts.

          We have promises of tax cuts from the blue teams,a tax increase( income protection insurance) from the red team.

        • Belladonna 10.1.1.2

          Seems unlikely. NZ already has a fairly broad spectrum of political parties. And our MMP system encourages minor parties, rather than independents (who, afterall, have to get a majority of the vote in an electorate)

          It's really only people who already have a high profile within a party, and then go rogue, for whom this is a viable option (Peters, Anderton, Turia)

    • Graeme 10.2

      The Teal Independat model works very well to undermine a party or leader in a STV system, not so much under MMP. Here you'd need a party to set up and undermine one of the principle parties.

      We've already got ACT, Greens and Maori Party filling that role, probably not much scope for another. Various Christian focused entities have had a go as well with little success.

      However can see a grouping of corporate interests having a go a National over famers getting a free ride with emissions and resource management, especially if there's blowback from EU, China or USA over National's intention to support farmers, but not other industries

      • pat 10.2.1

        The stated origin of the Australian Teals is a metro liberal (especially woman) dissatisfaction with (among other things) climate policy….not likely supporters of ACT or the Maori Party, and the Greens as an option exist within Australian politics as well.

        Yes STV offers different opportunities however electorate seats within NZ still operate on FPP and if organised in a formal manner has the opportunity of MMP representation in the house, however even without Parliamentary success the opportunity to move the mainstream parties exists….as has been noted by many commentators the preeminence of the duopoly in Australian politics may have been irrevocably altered….both Labor and the Coalition received record low support.

        If you are a metro Liberal currently in NZ where is your natural home….anti diversity, fundamentalist National? Labour?….their support decreases by the day.

        • Belladonna 10.2.1.1

          Still have to get an outright majority in an electorate. Without STV, the chances are fairly minimal that any of the constituencies you've named would be sufficiently numerous to swing a potential Teal independent candidate over the line.

          • pat 10.2.1.1.1

            "However even without Parliamentary success the opportunity to move the mainstream parties exists….as has been noted by many commentators the preeminence of the duopoly in Australian politics may have been irrevocably altered….both Labor and the Coalition received record low support."

            Even in an MMP environment (perhaps especially) the opportunity to reduce the dominance of major parties exists…..particularly when the product dosnt do what the label says.

            • Belladonna 10.2.1.1.1.1

              Oz is an entirely different political environment, with STV favouring the 2 party duopoly.
              With MMP in NZ, minor parties form with a reasonable chance of making it into parliament. Our political environment favours minor parties, rather than independents.

              Our current situation (one single party with outright control) is an anomaly, and is unlikely to be repeated. MMP encourages coalition government (in the political sense, rather than the Australian usage!)

              As I commented above, it's highly unlikely in a NZ FPP race within an electorate that any independent is going to get a majority. The STV situation in OZ, makes that outcome much more likely.

              Without Parliamentary success, you're basically just a ginger group, and unlikely to have any significant impact on the major political parties. The Australian Teals required parliamentary success (as in being elected) to be in a position to (possibly) hold the balance of power.

              • lprent

                The Australian Teals required parliamentary success (as in being elected) to be in a position to (possibly) hold the balance of power.

                The exemplar is that neither One Nation nor Clive Palmer’s private party (whatever it is currently called) managed to get MPs in the house of representatives, they don’t have any. It looks like One Nation is about to lose their senate seat as well, so they have little ability to do much at all.

                It is also notable that neither of those supposedly insurrectionist party even managed to get gain support in an election that was largely about the voters sticking it to the tow major parties. The support went instead to independent moderates who were just sick of the major parties of government fudging their duties to govern, falling down on climate change and corruption in the political systems.

                It was also notable that (I think) that all of the winning teal candidates are professional women from various parts of the working life. Bearing in mind the sexual barbarism that has become apparent in the Aussie political system, that was a rather pointed hint that the parliamentary parties needed a pointed political stick stuffed straight up the orifices of boys only political establishment.

              • pat

                "Oz is an entirely different political environment, with STV favouring the 2 party duopoly."

                "it's highly unlikely in a NZ FPP race within an electorate that any independent is going to get a majority. The STV situation in OZ, makes that outcome much more likely."

                So does STV favour the duopoly or the independents?

                There is one aspect that enhances the Teals possible success in Australia that dosnt exist here…compulsory voting.

                18% chose not to here last time.

        • Graeme 10.2.1.2

          As Belladonna says, you've got be the highest polling candidate in an electorate to pull it off, being second could have the opposite outcome.

          Say a Teal stands in Epsom, pulling votes from Seymour and the National candidate, oooops, Labour candidate polls highest….

          Works in STV because 2nd preference goes to your mate that you're pulling votes from, or another preferred candidate, not someone diametrically opposed to your view.

          Closest we've come to this would be Bob Jones in 1984 where he split the Muldoon National vote.

          • Belladonna 10.2.1.2.1

            A more recent example (pre-Swarbrick) was Auckland Central – where Nikki Kaye won on multiple occasions, despite the Labour+Green vote outnumbering her share.

          • pat 10.2.1.2.2

            Highest polling…not 50% +1 as required under STV…indeed in Epsom Seymour has a large majority with 47%

            Epsom could fall to a 'Teal' candidate by seizing half of Acts and Nationals candidate support and still outpoll Labour comfortably….and remembering the party vote still remains.

            • Graeme 10.2.1.2.2.1

              There's also the question if there are any potential victims?

              Luxon? Wonder how vulnerable he would be on his personal views in that electorate?

              My example of Epsom was hypothetical as it was one where a sort of even four way split could happen

              • pat

                There are always potential victims…its in the eye of the beholder.

                Potentially any electorate could develop multiple splits, just because historically the two major parties traditionally dominate votes dosnt make it a requirement, that is the point.

                Perhaps the 'Teals' success in Australia will trigger such…and perhaps not, but i think it reasonable to observe that the current dissatisfaction with the existing options certainly suggests something is likely to change.

        • lprent 10.2.1.3

          …the Greens as an option exist within Australian politics as well.

          A point was raised on something that I read today on abc.net.au today that the Greens did really well in urban seats in Queensland – because there weren’t any Teal candidates put up in those electorates. The voting pattern was corresponding quite different to the other two large states.

          • pat 10.2.1.3.1

            I expect the main reason Teal candidates didnt stand in Queensland was the target demographic was pretty thin on the ground…however if that pattern plays out here next year the Greens will be expecting a significant surge in support….it dosnt appear to be showing in the polls as yet.

            • Poission 10.2.1.3.1.1

              In Melbourne the Greens (incumbent) had a 12% swing to labour against them.

              Maybe also a bit of change whoever is there.

              Also there was a demographic change since covid with depopulation

              • pat

                New Labor candidate?

                • Poission

                  New candidate union,large inner city depopulation,and WFH has reduced inner city spend,sort of like Auckland central.

                  • pat

                    A lot of that depopulation will be temp migrants (students etc) that were ineligible but some i guess will also be due to covid…apparently quite a bit of movement for lifestyle reasons due to lockdowns.

                    The similarity I have reported from contacts there is a dissatisfaction with politics in general….and the perceived solutions are likely to be similar.

                    • Poission

                      There was a lot of internal migration from central to provincial centre's following covid constraints being lifted (60000 from Melbourne) they had a hard lockdown.

                      A lot of public perception on political solutions now is they are not unique,but copy and pasted from someone else's song sheet eg the narrative is the same,where as circumstances may differ locally.

                • Poission

                  Incumbent is the Green leader.

            • lprent 10.2.1.3.1.2

              it dosnt appear to be showing in the polls as yet.

              I am not sure it will. We haven't had the ongoing drought, fire, flood and just painful changes in weather and climate cycles that has become so evident to Australians with any kind of memory.

              It has highlighted what is any report on probable effects of climate change in Aussie has said for the last 40 years that I have been reading them. Direct experience tends to educate more people than theoretical models.

              NZ is blessed with a narrow island land mass where nowhere is more than 100 kilometers from large oceans and seas. The water mass and types of currents buffers the direct experience away from citizens in NZ because it buffers the temperature extremes and even most of the rainfall variation.

              However it won't buffer the sea level rises that are probable between 2030 and 2100 – which currently look to me to be likely to be considerably faster and larger than the IPCC upper limits. Most of that will impact NZ first in water and some transport systems.

              Things like having housing in stupid locations will go first. But that will be buffered by insurance rates. It is already getting a lot more expensive to get seashore housing insurance or riverside insurance.

              Probably water systems will be the first wakeup call like the aussies have been having.

              I don't think that the resilience that 3 waters is meant to provide for essential systems is going to happen fast enough. Whatever lame arse stupidity National will characteristically use to replace 3 waters as a political band-aid obviously has no chance of being more then a extender of a small fuckup into a much larger one. That is their usual method of operation.

              However when the sewerage systems die or the storm water systems backup because of sea level rises or plains farming suddenly find their ground water, rivers and creeks are going saline. Not to mention simple flooding as waterways outflows to the sea start getting backed up because of coastal erosion and larger waves as well as actual sea level rise. Then a lot of voters will become greener as they get experienced in the effects of climate change.

              But of course so of course will all political parties. I am pretty sure that is going to happen starting now in Aussie.

              • pat

                No we havnt had the bush fires or floods to the scale of Australia (or the temps) but I think we have had enough 'weather' events in the past couple of years that are causing wider concern…..and the frequency certainly keeps it front of mind for voters…as do the appeals for support and associated costs.

              • Poission

                Are the convergent systems ie climate drivers different from 2010-2011?

                The attractors are preferred states ie La nina,Southern annular mode,IOD.

                All have the same properties (read sign) of 2010-2011.Long term persistence is well described.

                http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/history/La-Nina-2010-12.pdf

                http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/#tabs=Indian-Ocean

                • lprent

                  Not really different as a patterns so far (I really hope we don't see pattern changes).

                  To me, what appears to be changing is the intensity of the weather generated and the frequency of events within the overall patterns.

                  It is what you'd expect when there is increasing energy in the climate system. Moisture gets picked up from warm oceans at a different rate. There is more energy to move it with. This can lead to larger dumps of water at different locations or water not dropping where it used to. Or simply different air masses moving faster and longer. Or increasing numbers of topical cyclones, moving on longer tracks.

                  • Poission

                    During the 2010-2012 La Nina regime,globally sea levels fell due to more rain falling on land,especially Australia where there was also a decrease in the co2 airborne fraction due to the increase of biomass in Asia and Australia.

                    Locally in oz there was an increase in sea level ( east coast) due to thermal expansion and increased flooding on flood plains,which is expected (there was an article from graziers in inland oz who said they needed a months supply during the wet season)

                    Australia ( 2021) also has the coolest temperatures since 2012 (the last La Nina regime shift) so heavy rain is expected in the -ve ENSO system,and extended droughts in the +ve (el nino) system, do we tend to over extend correlation to expected climate regimes?

                    • lprent

                      do we tend to over extend correlation to expected climate regimes?

                      Sure – everyone does that. There are timescale issues with all climate events for humans. We usually don’t live long enough to see them. However that is changing for current generations.

                      However aussies also looking at the extent of fires in the last fire season, which were unprecedented in the number of sites and areas across the last century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushfires_in_Australia. But also that the majority of the eastern states populations have now seen several rounds of bad fire seasons, that their parents, grandparents, and great grand-parents did not.

                      Just as a matter of context about human time scales, I’m 62. My last great grand parent was died when I was in my 20s, she was born in the 1890s. I knew and talked to all of my grandparents when I was an adult. They were born in the 1920s. When I was doing earth sciences I spent time talking to them all about NZ as it was and what changed.

                      Queensland isn’t exactly unused to flooding. But they’re just into the start of their fifth flooding this year (just reading the flood warning).

                      Even when you contrast this with the 2010-11 eastern flooding, the 2022 flooding to date looks like it has already exceeded every flooding season in Australian history in terms of the type of rain that triggers it. It has barely started.

                      The droughts are the same when you look over the 20th century onwards (the 19th century data is a bit eccentric).

                      I did like the future projections. That is the shortest summary I have seen of their projections. I presume it is out of the IPCC reports from the wording.

                      Australia’s national science research agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), states that on account of projected future climate change, hot days will become more frequent and hotter (very high confidence), extreme rainfall events will become more intense (high confidence), and the time in drought is projected to increase over southern Australia (high confidence). Seasonal-average rainfall changes will vary across Australia: in southern mainland Australia, winter and spring rainfall is projected to decrease (high confidence), but increases are projected for Tasmania in winter (medium confidence), while in eastern and northern Australia in the near future (to 2030), natural variability is anticipated to predominate over trends due to greenhouse gas emissions.[56] However even if climate change does not result in decreased rainfall in eastern and northern Australia over the period to 2030, the perceived severity of drought (in terms of low soil moisture) would increase on account of the higher evaporative demand resulting from the projected overall rise in average temperatures.

                      The CSIRO has a pretty good set of models for Australia, that have been pretty accurate in projections since the mid-1990s when I first looked at them. It is a short baseline (less than a century of accurate widespread data) because of the paucity of accurate data on Australian climate. This is a good place to drill down from.

  10. Stuart Munro 11

    There's an interesting interview on Stuff that sheds some light on contemporary immigration policy:

    What the plantation economy does, he says, is bring the labourers in, and gives them just enough of an education so they can follow orders and do the basic arithmetic required of the job.

    Small wonder then that most do not qualify for residency except by dodgy workarounds. The BAU of immigration as managed by both parties has much to answer for.

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    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    11 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
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