Open mike 22/09/2023

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 22nd, 2023 - 66 comments
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66 comments on “Open mike 22/09/2023 ”

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  1. Tiger Mountain 1
    22 September 2023 at 6:43 am

    Dirty, filthy, Rupert Murdoch is to step down. The damage this person has done to human society is immense.
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/sep/21/rupert-murdoch-stepping-down-chair-fox-news-corp

    • tc 1.1
      22 September 2023 at 8:24 am

      Can't see much changes just because he steps down with all the outlets he has globally continuing on with their agendas.

      Probably gets worse as it frees him up to be involved in the day to day matters even more.

  2. PsyclingLeft.Always 2
    22 September 2023 at 8:13 am

    The potential Coalition of Chaos (unless we stop them !)

    Moderator Rebecca Wright asked Seymour if he could work with Peters.

    "Can anyone?" he responded.

    While seeming to agree a short time later he could sit down with Peters, he went on to say: "Ultimately, if a parliament's elected by the people then you make it work, but I just say it's not credible for the guy who has had more chances to fix New Zealand's problems showing up like a fireman and saying, 'I'm here to fix it all'. It's just not credible."

    At one point Davidson interjected: "Do people actually think Luxon is going to be able to manage these two, for real?" gesturing to Peters and Seymour.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/498488/cracks-appear-soon-after-show-of-unity-from-act-nz-first-leaders

    And Marama Davidson…

    Marama Davidson was nominated as the star performer by analysts afterwards

    There has been some dislike (if not worse!) for Marama on The Standard. I like her….IMO a genuine person.

  3. Roy Cartland 3
    22 September 2023 at 8:45 am

    Here's the video of the Newshub Power Brokers debate, fyi:

    https://www.youtube.com/live/db6k68wgwHA?si=Efx1NfrEivbvqMht

  5. PsyclingLeft.Always 5
    22 September 2023 at 9:17 am

    There has been criticism of Jenna Lynch on the Standard, some valid, some not….and some to do with her Husband being in ACT? Anyway..she made this comment

    It is quite incredible to watch the real-life transformation of David Seymour into a kind of low-rent Winston Peters when he hates the guy," Lynch said.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/09/election-2023-newshub-nation-powerbrokers-debate-live.html

    Well…that was a pretty perceptive comment.

    • Anne 5.1
      22 September 2023 at 9:52 am

      "… that was a pretty perceptive comment."

      We'll have to disagree on that one PLA.

      Sure, they are both populist politicians and they both have a combative style, but as individuals they about as far apart as one could get. They don't appear to have anything in common apart from their lust for power for power's sake. There's plenty of politicians past and present who could be described as such.

      I'm not sure Jenna Lynch was being genuine with that comment. It almost came across as a line she had rehearsed in advance. She knew it would garner a response from the audience and she got it.

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 5.1.1
        22 September 2023 at 10:04 am

        She knew it would garner a response from the audience and she got it.

        What response do you think she wanted?

        • Anne 5.1.1.1
          22 September 2023 at 10:23 am

          Not sure to be honest. TV3 political commentators are into gotcha politics and like to stir the pot for clickbait? Pitching Seymour and Peters together like that would be one way of doing it.

          • PsyclingLeft.Always 5.1.1.1.1
            22 September 2023 at 10:38 am

            There are, no doubt, many media political commentators who like to throw in inflammatory comments…(stirrers ?). However I dont know which would be more inclined to do so? The Herald is often put forward as one..but I have seen some reporting not so… right wing ?

            Also Stuff…and others. I suppose its subjective.

            Anyway..the response to the Jenna Lynch comment I saw and heard..is on the link video, around… 5:35

            https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/09/election-2023-newshub-nation-powerbrokers-debate-live.html

            The audience didnt seem exactly happy? And that was why I made my initial comment….

            IMO Seymour/Peters still..very much Narcissist's and alike in ..however that goes.

    • Bearded Git 5.2
      22 September 2023 at 9:54 am

      Well spotted psych….Seymour may yet screw this up for Luxon

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 5.2.1
        22 September 2023 at 10:16 am

        Yea I think..(IMO of course}…that Seymour is a Narcissist. And thats possibly whereby some of his antipathy towards Winston Peters. They very much view each other as competition in the limelight regard.

        All that..would be very bad for us and NZ. And the more that is revealed..the less Chris Luxon and his chaos crew will be seen as any good.

        • Anne 5.2.1.1
          22 September 2023 at 10:46 am

          "Yea I think..(IMO of course}…that Seymour is a Narcissist."

          Absolutely. And a sociopath to boot. The two invariably go together. The way he intends to carve up some of the good work the Labour Govt. has done to assist the vulnerable in society is a case in point. [Yeah there's more to be done but it can't be done overnight.]

          For example, I am on the Super and the heating subsidy over the winter months is a godsend. He wants it scrapped. Not a thought for the welfare of most pensioners. There are numerous other examples of his sociopathic tendances as well.

          The 'vulnerable' are undeserving in his view. What a first class prick!

          • PsyclingLeft.Always 5.2.1.1.1
            22 September 2023 at 10:58 am

            Anne..that is so much, why I fear that NAct could be in power.

            I am getting older..but still able to work hard physical jobs at times..(not sure how much longer?!) and do a lot of self sufficiency.

            Its not so much for me..but for the vulnerable that i fear .

            Seymour and his cronies…would willingly institute a slash society. With them slashing…. all the way down..to the slashed at the bottom : (

            I sincerely hope they never get to do it

        • Stephen D 5.2.1.2
          22 September 2023 at 10:50 am

          For the sake of power; principles, policy, and personal feelings will be compromised.

          Seymour hasn’t come this far to sit on the cross benches. Winston will do anything to stay relevant.

    • bwaghorn 5.3
      22 September 2023 at 6:45 pm

      I agree completely, seymour is definitely morning into peters , 40 years of seymour is something to look forward to ain't it!!!!

  6. miravox 6
    22 September 2023 at 10:09 am

    Thinking of the down South people – take care out there.

  7. AB 7
    22 September 2023 at 10:09 am

    Looks like the change from La Nina to El Nino in an overheated world just means different sorts of severe damage in different places. It's not stopping. But at least the delightful people of Queenstown with their guts ravaged by cryptosporidium, their town awash and tourists getting out and staying away for the forseeable, might get the tax cut they so ache for from that wonderfully decisive and 'up for it' Mr Luxon next year. That will solve all problems.

    • Sanctuary 7.1
      22 September 2023 at 10:35 am

      Food prices won't be coming down soon – El Nino will most likely hammer global food production, and "heatflation" is coming.

      You'd like to think the government at least had a plan on what to do in the case of a severe global cereal shortage (for example – re-purposing land to wheat production) but you just know that no is, and if there is a small team somewhere who even monitor this sort of thing ACT wants to get rid of them, on the basis that if the market says people must starve to death, well the market is infalliable.

    • Ad 7.2
      22 September 2023 at 10:53 am

      The 2023-36 government no matter who they are will be required to clean up multiple disasters. The current Southland floods are nowhere near as great as the 1979-1983 series that wiped out Kelso and took out large sections of Invercargill including the airport.

      But coupled with a lower-than-optimum water purification system in Queenstown we are going to see the necessity for Three Waters integrated stormwater and wastewater and water supply integrated investments at a deeper and broader level – no matter what Luxon or Hipkins want.

    • Tiger Mountain 7.3
      22 September 2023 at 10:59 am

      As an empathetic type, my “thoughts and prayers” go out to Queenstown residents, well, at least to baristas and bartenders sleeping in vans!

      • Ad 7.3.1
        22 September 2023 at 12:20 pm

        With the collapse of the milk price per kilo, in reality it's the Queenstown tourism industry propping up the country's export income. And indeed, up the workers, sleeping in their vans.

  8. Ad 8
    22 September 2023 at 10:55 am

    With diesel heading for $2.50 and 91 heading for $3.50, this government's closure and active dismantling of Marsden Point refinery could be the most damaging long term move they ever did. In Queenstown and Wanaka we are already there for diesel.

    Anyone wants to see where our main inflation driver is, fuel is about 25% of food production.

    • weka 8.1
      22 September 2023 at 11:03 am

      big incentive to transition faster.

      • Ad 8.1.1
        22 September 2023 at 11:23 am

        That's a pretty cruel comment for most New Zealanders who have no choice how they get about.

        • weka 8.1.1.1
          22 September 2023 at 11:54 am

          not really. If we don't use these pressures to transition, it's akin to saying 'sorry pandemic, we're not ready to do what is necessary, let's do it later'. The cost of living crisis doesn't exist separately from the climate/eco crisis, it's part of the same thing.

          There's no good reason to not be transitioning right now. For instance, we could be relocalising food production and adopting regenerative models. That both drops GHGs, and builds resilience by reducing our reliance on the global food supply chain.

          The block to that is industry's lack of imagination and experience on how to create a different kind of economy. The people who do know how to transition aren't the ones with the power (mostly). It's the same dynamic with tourism that wasted the opportunity from the pandemic because the industry bods were using old ways of thinking.

          Not completely, there are obviously good things happening in tourism from the more progressive side. But trying to do things like save the ski industry in its current form is just fucking nuts.

          People have a right to be fucked off and react to the CoL crisis. Chickens are coming home to roost though, and voting in a NactNZF hybrid government because of the CoL crisis will just make the situation much much worse.

          • Ad 8.1.1.1.1
            22 September 2023 at 12:14 pm

            Scolding people convinces no one. Change your tone.

            Cynically drawing on the ruptures of crisis to tilt our society very rarely goes to plan and usually makes things worse. You could always pop down to Gore right now and try to convince people about their unrighteousness.

            No one is having a block of imagination when they're at Pak n Save unable to afford a block of cheese.

            The ski industry is happily transitioning to the offroad cycling industry, from where I work in Wanaka and Queenstown. They do so when they are presented with reasonable and rational choices.

            Being fucked off in reality is just a signal for people to fuck off. So what we get as a replacement is cheap foreign labour, not some utopia where the haute-bourgeoisie and their ultra-refined tastes gradually expand. If only.

            The most organised transition towns are either in dire poverty subsidised up the wazoo by the state, or run by ultra-elites like Wanaka's WAO movement.

            This is not a moment for blunt ideological instruments and cheap shots at the poor who have no choice.

            • weka 8.1.1.1.1.1
              22 September 2023 at 12:45 pm

              stop making shit up about my views. I'm not taking shots at poor people, I'm taking shots at industry leaders who've been dragging the chain for decades.

              I'm talking to people on TS not people in Gore or Queenstown or Twizel. This is classic manipulative commenting from you. If you feel scolded, maybe that says something about your resistance to change.

              The ski industry is happily transitioning to the offroad cycling industry, from where I work in Wanaka and Queenstown. They do so when they are presented with reasonable and rational choices.

              Yes, this is my point exactly. We need the people with the imagination to bring the reasonable and rational transition choices to the table, but instead far too many BAU people are still the ones with the power.

              Mountain bike tracks are great, and they won't help people feed themselves when the shit hits the fan because we used an economy before ecology lens going into the climate crisis.

              As for tone, at times you are one of the most relentlessly negative people here. Sometimes it's like two different people commenting from your handle, you obviously bring a wealth of industry experience and sometimes some deep and clear thought. But your constant sniping at the leading edge on transition is just tedious as fuck, and it also blocks change in its own small way.

            • newsense 8.1.1.1.1.2
              22 September 2023 at 10:50 pm

              Be kind to the farmers.

              Be kind to the ones who told us it was a hoax, then to be fast followers, then slow followers, and now that they already are the best in the world at efficiency (no link provided), that no one else is doing anything and that it is all a hoax any how.

              Don’t scold them Weka. Be kind.

              Also don’t scold Ad. Be kind.

              It’s going to be a long 6- 9 years with a wealth of ignorance representing our official positions or nod, wink.

              Applause for Peters at Business North Shore for strip tease climate denial:

              https://www.newsroom.co.nz/peters-predicts-being-in-government-and-a-pre-xmas-mini-budget

              Oh and Andrew Hoggard of the Federated Farmers- the rational ones- who said climate change probably exists and then joined ACT.

              We’ve been lead by blunt tools for a long time.

              For 25 years, as Chippy did when he arrived as PM, the speeches begin with ‘Now is not the time…’

              I too struggle to find a consistency of ideas with Ad. I think I might have said at a grumpier moment that he seemed like a Rogernome ready to join ACT with some of his rhetoric.

              There is no alternative to ignoring climate change. Anyone who tries policies to come to terms with it is a something or other.

              Unbelievable that Queenstown has cut back its rates to the point where they are unable to provide drinking water. It’s a preview. If no drinking water is an option for cuts, then minimal climate action isn’t going to be much more popular.

          • gsays 8.1.1.1.2
            22 September 2023 at 12:19 pm

            I don't disagree with any of that.

            What sticks in the craw, is Wood's decision (Wood's advisors decision, let's be frank) was purely a financial decision, see DOS's Newsroom link.

            Undermines our independence, resilience and puts out fuel security at the whim of foreign shipping companies.

            Of course holding this opinion makes you a nutjob, a cooker, a fringe. Hard to keep company with those who thoughtlessly use this refrain.
            See TM below, although they are far from the only one to chuck this epithet around carelessly.

            • weka 8.1.1.1.2.1
              22 September 2023 at 12:47 pm

              Closing Marsden Point looks like a big mistake from a resiliency pov. And a neolib response from someone who doesn't understand the seriousness of the crisis.

              • Graeme …
                23 September 2023 at 6:50 am

                Fossil fuels, no matter where they are refined, are a mistake from a resiliency pov for New Zealand. Either way they still have to be imported.

                When you've got to import most of the components, especially the really critical ones, that keep Marsden Point going, it makes sense to leave the refining to economies that have the engineering scale and expertise to build, maintain and run the things. Refineries are hard, and a sunset industry. It might surprise some people here but the industry sets that, which is why small, isolated refineries like Marsden Point are being closed around the world.

                This article gives an interesting 'fuel industry' perspective https://www.fuelsandlubes.com/fli-article/the-end-of-oil-refining-in-australia/

                Re security of supply

                The reality is there is little difference in fuel security risk between importing refined fuel or crude oil. A multitude of seaborne routes to-and-from Australia ensure a reasonable level of supply chain security.

                Re resilience

                The Australia Institute’s quarterly National Energy Emissions Audit has previously questioned the logic of propping up old and inefficient refineries with public money and suggested it will do little to boost Australia’s fuel security. “The best way to increase Australia’s energy security in the medium term would be to reduce consumption of petrol by rapidly switching to electric passenger vehicles and focus on diesel and jet fuel supplies as the main energy security challenge,” says Dr. Hugh Saddler, energy analyst and author of the National Energy Emissions Audit.

            • Kat 8.1.1.1.2.2
              22 September 2023 at 12:47 pm

              "Foreign shipping companies…………

              How did the crude oil get to NZ to be refined, I am sure it wasn't by post.

              • Drowsy M. Kram …
                22 September 2023 at 1:05 pm

                yes NZ exports all the oil produced here, so that small trading income stream is also “at the whim of foreign shipping companies.”

                All local oil production is exported as the New Zealand refinery is not suited to processing it.
                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_and_gas_industry_in_New_Zealand

                https://tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/crude-oil-production

                • Adrian …
                  22 September 2023 at 1:22 pm

                  NZ oil is exported as it is very low in sulpher and is used amongst other tasks for smelting steel and high grade chemicals and is worth a lot more per barrel than the low grade stuff used for processing into diesel and petrol. Just economic sense.

                  The refinery was closed down because by the time the necessary multi billion dollar rebuild would be finished it would have been almost redundant as the majority of the transport fleet will then be electric.

              • gsays …
                22 September 2023 at 2:05 pm

                Apart from the environmental plus, do you think closing Marsden Point was a good decision?

                • Peter …
                  22 September 2023 at 4:19 pm

                  When the crap hits the fan with fuel all the Nat/Act, private enterprise/ 'Government out of business' mob will go crazy about Labour. It'll be 'they should have bought the refinery, taken it over, blah, blah blah.'

    • Tiger Mountain 8.2
      22 September 2023 at 11:08 am

      A number of anti 5G type nut jobs up here in Northland made much of closing the Refinery, but for different reasons it may indeed have been a mistake

      A person I know well was there a lot in a Union role and got to know the site’s history and the motivation of various managers. Green energy was not at all acceptable to the board, that was a potential happener on the old Marsden B site.

      Really, it goes back to Rogernomics and setting up Refining NZ which was the typical license to rake it in for the international oil industry.

    • Descendant Of Smith 8.3
      22 September 2023 at 11:36 am

      Though I had always understood it wasn't able to process Maui's oil and the reasons for closing it down had very little to do with the government. The shareholders voted to sell. I'm not sure what you would have wanted – the government to buy a refinery (and incur the future clean-up costs) from the private sector who had deemed it be closed.

      Thought you were against unnecessary government spending.

      The refinery was closed down for commercial strategic reasons – closure was even a condition of Ampol’s takeover of Z Energy.

      https://www.newsroom.co.nz/national-cost-of-marsden-point-closure-highlighted-by-christmas-jet-fuel-shortage

      • Ad 8.3.1
        22 September 2023 at 12:01 pm

        It was Woods and Cabinet that discussed intervening in 2021 by underwriting the refinery for up to 10 years.

        So Whangarei lost 240 of some of the highest paid jobs in Northland. And they are never coming back, either as incomes or as families to our shores.

        Woods decided in her Cabinet paper on it that there wasn't enough of a case to support the continued operation on fuel security grounds.

        Should not have needed a new Defence White Paper to figure out the risk we have to the Singapore refineries.

        And of course we are quite happy to shore up Glenbrook Steel to the tune of $300 million to disable using our own ironsands.

        This world does not owe New Zealand the right to be secure.

        • weka 8.3.1.1
          22 September 2023 at 12:11 pm

          Woods decided in her Cabinet paper on it that there wasn't enough of a case to support the continued operation on fuel security grounds.

          was that an economic decision?

        • Descendant Of Smith 8.3.1.2
          22 September 2023 at 1:06 pm

          There is a substantial difference however between the government choosing not to buy it versus the government closing it down.

          In my view Douglas should never have sold it but he did. Unsure as to the wisdom of picking it up again. Here is MBIES advice which also points out that refinery's were closing/had closed elsewhere as well.

          Australia had seven operating refineries in 2010, of which only two now remain operating – supported by an Australian Government assistance package of up to A$2.3 billion announced in May 2021. According to the US Energy Information Agency, the US had 129 oil refineries at the beginning of 2021, down from 135 a year earlier, with closures attributed to falling fuel demand and increasing interest in renewable diesel production.

          https://www.mbie.govt.nz/dmsdocument/17733-fuel-supply-resilience-without-a-domestic-oil-refinery-proactiverelease-pdf

          I think the bigger mistake made in NZ was decommissioning the electrification of the main trunk line but we all have our particular interests.

          • PsyclingLeft.Always 8.3.1.2.1
            23 September 2023 at 8:08 am

            I think the bigger mistake made in NZ was decommissioning the electrification of the main trunk line

            Absolutely. But really…there was no Govt interest in continuing any Rail in NZ…at all. It was instead, more and heavier trucks ..with of course the ever increasing attendant road damage.

  9. Kat 9
    22 September 2023 at 11:24 am

    Now that the Marsden Refinery has been shut down the next move should be to dismantle the eyesore that it is and return the Cove to the beauty it once was. Whangarei is starting to look like a lovely city and a wonderful place to live. With the Bay of Islands just up the road Northland is truly a gem in the NZ crown. The marine industry for one is on a high growth curve.

  10. weka 10
    22 September 2023 at 12:22 pm

    Good short read from Kemara on Dirty Politics and Rawshark.

    https://bsky.app/profile/taipo.bsky.social/post/3k7k3hr2shq2n

    • Roy Cartland 10.1
      22 September 2023 at 12:55 pm

      Can you post the text here? That link just takes me to a Blue Sky login…? (Another thing to sign up for)

      • weka 10.1.1
        22 September 2023 at 1:04 pm

        sorry about that, I wasn't sure how bluesky displayed here. So annoying when they do that. Here's the first post, but there are ten altogether.

        9 years ago, in the year of our lord 2014, came the release of the book Dirty Politics by Nicky Hager detailing the haxored disclosures by Rawshark the great, which brought the National lead governments dirty politics division to a grinding halt.

        • Tricledrown 10.1.1.2
          22 September 2023 at 1:21 pm

          That only pushed it underground and made them more careful at not been caught.This has resulted in better coordination and funding of the Dirty politics brigade morphing into so-called independent institutes which push the right wing agenda.

        • Tricledrown 10.1.1.3
          22 September 2023 at 1:31 pm

          Nick Hager has been stalked and bullied out of politics by the right wing.The police illegally hounded him and had to pay a large sum in reparation no one charged in the police for the political hatchet job.The SIS had tabs on green activists who were protesting legally while the SIS completely ignored right wing white supremacists .No open inquiry into both organisations!

          Nick Hager's investigative journalism is missing in this country today,It takes a very brave individual to take on the very powerful.

          • Roy Cartland 10.1.1.3.1
            22 September 2023 at 1:47 pm

            Well I saw him at warehouse stationery the other day, printing out a whole lot of… something! So maybe he's not missing, but regrouping!

          • Anne 10.1.1.3.2
            22 September 2023 at 7:04 pm

            "Nick Hager has been stalked and bullied out of politics by the right wing."

            He was only one with a very high profile. It started way back in the 1960s/70s (maybe earlier) and continued to occur well into the 1990s at the least.

            Someone here recently suggested I should write a book about my experiences. What I think would be far more useful would be for an expert (Nicky Hager or someone with his level of experience) to interview those of us targeted in the past and write a book of our collective experiences. I think it would shock many people to discover what was going on in this country. I am sure the meme that 'New Zealand is the least corrupt country in the world' would take a bit of a thrashing.

  11. Dennis Frank 11
    22 September 2023 at 1:34 pm

    The collusion between the red & blue neolibs is exemplified by their campaign strategy (fake it till you make it) as dissected by RNZ here:

    This week, neither National nor Labour answered clearly how much they had planned to set aside for these costs nor how they intended to pay them. They instead focused their answers on wanting to cut planet-heating emissions more deeply inside New Zealand’s borders.

    At times, politicians seemed to confuse domestic emissions budgets with the $3b-plus added cost of buying offsets to meet the Paris target, or they made heroic statements about how much they could do onshore, without supplying the figures behind them.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2023-the-multibillion-dollar-climate-hole-faced-by-both-labour-and-national/W4UCM54ABFAYBCY46V3YX37ZVU/

    I suppose one could sympathise with the collective horror they must feel at the challenge of having to deliver realistic long-term budgeting, but circumstances seem to be demanding that they do their job properly. We're hiring these turkeys to act professional.

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    22 hours ago
  • Cross-party consensus: there’s no pipeline without good faith

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    A delay in reappointing a top civil servant may indicate a growing nervousness within the National Party about the potential consequences of David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill. Dave Samuels is waiting for reappointment as the Chief Executive of Te Puni Kokiri, but POLITIK understands that what should have been a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #36

    A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 1, 2024 thru Sat, September 7, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is about how peopele are not born stupid but can be fooled ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago
  • Time for a Change

    You act as thoughYou are a blind manWho's crying, crying 'boutAll the virgins that are dyingIn your habitual dreams, you knowSeems you need more sleepBut like a parrot in a flaming treeI know it's pretty hard to seeI'm beginning to wonderIf it's time for a changeSong: Phil JuddThe next line ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Six.

    The “double shocks” in post Cold War international affairs. The end of the Cold War fundamentally altered the global geostrategic context. In particular, the end of the nuclear “balance of terror” between the USA and USSR, coupled with the relaxation … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Buried deep

    Here's a bike on Manchester St, Feilding. I took this photo on Friday night after a very nice dinner at the very nice Vietnamese restaurant, Saigon, on Manchester Street.I thought to myself, Manchester Street? Bicycle? This could be the very spot.To recap from an earlier edition: on a February night ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies, Excerpt Five.

    Military politics as a distinct “partial regime.” Notwithstanding their peripheral status, national defense offers the raison d’être of the combat function, which their relative vulnerability makes apparent, so military forces in small peripheral democracies must be very conscious of events … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago
  • Leadership for Dummies

    If you’re going somewhere, do you maybe take a bit of an interest in the place? Read up a bit on the history, current events, places to see - that sort of thing? Presumably, if you’re taking a trip somewhere, it’s for a reason. But what if you’re going somewhere ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Home again

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Dead even tie for hottest August ever

    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:The month of August was 1.49˚C warmer than pre-industrial levels, tying with 2023 for the warmest August ever, according ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 7

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the debate about how to responde to climate disinformation; and special guest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Have We an Infrastructure Deficit?

    An Infrastructure New Zealand report says we are keeping up with infrastructure better than we might have thought from the grumbling. But the challenge of providing for the future remains.I was astonished to learn that the quantity of our infrastructure has been keeping up with economic growth. Your paper almost ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago
  • Councils reject racism

    Last month, National passed a racist law requiring local councils to remove their Māori wards, or hold a referendum on them at the 2025 local body election. The final councils voted today, and the verdict is in: an overwhelming rejection. Only two councils out of 45 supported National's racist agenda ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • Homage to Simeon Brown

    Open to all - happy weekend ahead, friends.Today I just want to be petty. It’s the way I imagine this chap is -Not only as a political persona. But his real-deal inner personality, in all its glory - appears to be pure pettiness & populist driven.Sometimes I wonder if Simeon ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    7 days ago
  • Government of deceit

    When National cut health spending and imposed a commissioner on Te Whatu Ora, they claimed that it was necessary because the organisation was bloated and inefficient, with "14 layers of management between the CEO and the patient". But it turns out they were simply lying: Health Minister Shane Reti’s ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • The professionals actually think and act like our Government has no fiscal crisis at all

    Treasury staff at work: The demand for a new 12-year Government bond was so strong, Treasury decided to double the amount of bonds it sold. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 6-September-2024

    Welcome to another Friday and another roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. As always, this and every post is brought to you by the Greater Auckland crew. If you like our work and you’d like to see more of it, we invite you to join our regular ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies; Excerpt Four.

    Internal versus external security. Regardless of who rules, large countries can afford to separate external and internal security functions (even if internal control functions predominate under authoritarian regimes). In fact, given the logic of power concentration and institutional centralization of … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • A Hole In The River

    There's a hole in the river where her memory liesFrom the land of the living to the air and skyShe was coming to see him, but something changed her mindDrove her down to the riverThere is no returnSongwriters: Neil Finn/Eddie RaynerThe king is dead; long live the queen!Yesterday was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bright Blue His Jacket Ain’t But I Love This Fellow: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power E...

    My conclusion last week was that The Rings of Power season two represented a major improvement in the series. The writing’s just so much better, and honestly, its major problems are less the result of the current episodes and more creatures arising from season one plot-holes. I found episode three ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • Who should we thank for the defeat of the Nazis

    As a child in the 1950s, I thought the British had won the Second World War because that’s what all our comics said. Later on, the films and comics told me that the Americans won the war. In my late teens, I found out that the Soviet Union ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #36 2024

    Open access notables Diurnal Temperature Range Trends Differ Below and Above the Melting Point, Pithan & Schatt, Geophysical Research Letters: The globally averaged diurnal temperature range (DTR) has shrunk since the mid-20th century, and climate models project further shrinking. Observations indicate a slowdown or reversal of this trend in recent decades. ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm

    Photo by Jenny Bess on UnsplashCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with special guests:5.00 pm - 5.10 pm - Bernard and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Media Link: Discussing the NZSIS Security Threat Report.

    I was interviewed by Mike Hosking at NewstalkZB and a few other media outlets about the NZSIS Security Threat Report released recently. I have long advocated for more transparency, accountability and oversight of the NZ Intelligence Community, and although the … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • How do I make this better for people who drive Ford Rangers?

    Home, home again to a long warm embrace. Plenty of reasons to be glad to be back.But also, reasons for dejection.You, yes you, Simeon Brown, you odious little oik, you bible thumping petrol-pandering ratfucker weasel. You would be Reason Number One. Well, maybe first among equals with Seymour and Of-Seymour ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • A missed opportunity

    The government introduced a pretty big piece of constitutional legislation today: the Parliament Bill. But rather than the contentious constitutional change (four year terms) pushed by Labour, this merely consolidates the existing legislation covering Parliament - currently scattered across four different Acts - into one piece of legislation. While I ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Nicola Willis Seeks New Sidekick To Help Fix NZ’s Economy

    Synopsis:Nicola Willis is seeking a new Treasury Boss after Dr Caralee McLiesh’s tenure ends this month. She didn’t listen to McLiesh. Will she listen to the new one?And why is Atlas Network’s Taxpayers Union chiming in?Please consider subscribing or supporting my work. Thanks, Tui.About CaraleeAt the beginning of July, Newsroom ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Inflation alive and kicking in our land of the long white monopolies

    The golden days of profit continue for the the Foodstuffs (Pak’n’Save and New World) and Woolworths supermarket duopoly. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 5:The Groceries Commissioner has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The thermodynamics of electric vs. internal combustion cars

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler I love thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is like your mom: it may not tell you what you can do, but it damn well tells you what you can’t do. I’ve written a few previous posts that include thermodynamics, like one on air capture of ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Three.

    The notion of geopolitical  “periphery.” The concept of periphery used here refers strictly to what can be called the geopolitical periphery. Being on the geopolitical periphery is an analytic virtue because it makes for more visible policy reform in response … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • Venus Hum

    Fill me up with soundThe world sings with me a million smiles an hourI can see me dancing on my radioI can hear you singing in the blades of grassYellow dandelions on my way to schoolBig Beautiful Sky!Song: Venus Hum.Good morning, all you lovely people, and welcome to the 700th ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • I Went to a Creed Concert

    Note: The audio attached to this Webworm compliments today’s newsletter. I collected it as I met people attending a Creed concert. Their opinions may differ to mine. Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago
  • Government migration policy backfires; thousands of unemployed nurses

    The country has imported literally thousands of nurses over the past few months yet whether they are being employed as nurses is another matter. Just what is going on with HealthNZ and it nurses is, at best, opaque, in that it will not release anything but broad general statistics and ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • A Time For Unity.

    Emotional Response: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addresses mourners at the tangi of King Tuheitia on Turangawaewae Marae on Saturday, 31 August 2024.THE DEATH OF KING TUHEITIA could hardly have come at a worse time for Maoridom. The power of the Kingitanga to unify te iwi Māori was demonstrated powerfully at January’s ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again

    National's tax cut policies relied on stealing revenue from the ETS (previously used to fund emissions reduction) to fund tax cuts to landlords. So how's that going? Badly. Today's auction failed again, with zero units (of a possible 7.6 million) sold. Which means they have a $456 million hole in ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Two.

    A question of size. Small size generally means large vulnerability. The perception of threat is broader and often more immediate for small countries. The feeling of comparative weakness, of exposure to risk, and of potential intimidation by larger powers often … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago

  • New Bill to crack down on youth vaping

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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