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.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQkyouPOrD4

      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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  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    22 hours ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    24 hours ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 day ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 day ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    2 days ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago

  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    3 days ago

  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The stupidest of stupid reasons
    One of the threats in the National - ACT - NZ First coalition agreements was to extend the term of Parliament to four years, reducing our opportunities to throw a bad government out. The justification? Apparently, the government thinks "elections are expensive". This is the stupidest of stupid reasons for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • A website bereft of buzz
    Buzz from the Beehive The new government was being  sworn in, at time of writing , and when Point of Order checked the Beehive website for the latest ministerial statements and re-visit some of the old ones we drew a blank. We found ….  Nowt. Nothing. Zilch. Not a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • MICHAEL BASSETT: A new Ministry – at last
    Michael Bassett writes – Like most people, I was getting heartily sick of all the time being wasted over the coalition negotiations. During the first three weeks Winston grinned like a Cheshire cat, certain he’d be needed; Chris Luxon wasted time in lifting the phone to Winston ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Luxon's Breakfast.
    The Prime Minister elect had his silver fern badge on. He wore it to remind viewers he was supporting New Zealand, that was his team. Despite the fact it made him look like a concierge, or a welcomer in a Koru lounge. Anna Burns-Francis, the Breakfast presenter, asked if he ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL:  Oranga Tamariki faces major upheaval under coalition agreement
     Lindsay Mitchell writes – A hugely significant gain for ACT is somewhat camouflaged by legislative jargon. Under the heading ‘Oranga Tamariki’ ACT’s coalition agreement contains the following item:   Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 According to Oranga Tamariki:     “Section ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record. Brian Easton writes – 1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Cathrine Dyer's guide to watching COP 28 from the bottom of a warming planet
    Is COP28 largely smoke and mirrors and a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel? Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: COP28 kicks off on November 30 and up for negotiation are issues like the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition, contributions to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Monday, Nov 27
    PM Elect Christopher Luxon was challenged this morning on whether he would sack Adrian Orr and Andrew Coster.TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am on Monday November 27, including:Signs councils are putting planning and capital spending on hold, given a lack of clear guidance ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the new government’s policies of yesteryear
    This column expands on a Werewolf column published by Scoop on Friday Routinely, Winston Peters is described as the kingmaker who gets to decide when the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded but equally important role as the ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • The New Government’s Agreements
    Last Friday, almost six weeks after election day, National finally came to an agreement with ACT and NZ First to form a government. They also released the agreements between each party and looking through them, here are the things I thought were the most interesting (and often concerning) from the. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • How many smokers will die to fund the tax cuts?
    Maori and Pasifika smoking rates are already over twice the ‘all adult’ rate. Now the revenue that generates will be used to fund National’s tax cuts. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The devil is always in the detail and it emerged over the weekend from the guts of the policy agreements National ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • How the culture will change in the Beehive
    Perhaps the biggest change that will come to the Beehive as the new government settles in will be a fundamental culture change. The era of endless consultation will be over. This looks like a government that knows what it wants to do, and that means it knows what outcomes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • No More Winnie Blues.
    So what do you think of the coalition’s decision to cancel Smokefree measures intended to stop young people, including an over representation of Māori, from taking up smoking? Enabling them to use the tax revenue to give other people a tax cut?David Cormack summed it up well:It seems not only ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 19, 2023 thru Sat, Nov 25, 2023.  Story of the Week World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chief  Exclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must ‘stop ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Some of it is mad, some of it is bad and some of it is clearly the work of people who are dangerous ...
    On announcement morning my mate texted:Typical of this cut-price, fake-deal government to announce itself on Black Friday.What a deal. We lose Kim Hill, we gain an empty, jargonising prime minister, a belligerent conspiracist, and a heartless Ayn Rand fanboy. One door closes, another gets slammed repeatedly in your face.It seems pretty ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • “Revolution” is the threat as the Māori Party smarts at coalition government’s Treaty directi...
    Buzz from the Beehive Having found no fresh announcements on the government’s official website, Point of Order turned today to Scoop’s Latest Parliament Headlines  for its buzz. This provided us with evidence that the Māori Party has been soured by the the coalition agreement announced yesterday by the new PM. “Soured” ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • The Good, the Bad, and the even Worse.
    Yesterday the trio that will lead our country unveiled their vision for New Zealand.Seymour looking surprisingly statesmanlike, refusing to rise to barbs about his previous comments on Winston Peters. Almost as if they had just been slapstick for the crowd.Winston was mostly focussed on settling scores with the media, making ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • When it Comes to Palestine – Free Speech is Under Threat
    Hi,Thanks for getting amongst Mister Organ on digital — thanks to you, we hit the #1 doc spot on iTunes this week. This response goes a long way to helping us break even.I feel good about that. Other things — not so much.New Zealand finally has a new government, and ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • Thank you Captain Luxon. Was that a landing, or were we shot down?
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Also in More Than A FeildingFriday The unboxing And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Cans of Worms.
    “And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”LAURIE AND LES were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Disinformation campaigns are undermining democracy. Here’s how we can fight back
    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record.1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is not even an entry in Wikipedia. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • The New Government: 2023 Edition
    So New Zealand has a brand-spanking new right-wing government. Not just any new government either. A formal majority coalition, of the sort last seen in 1996-1998 (our governmental arrangements for the past quarter of a century have been varying flavours of minority coalition or single-party minority, with great emphasis ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    7 days ago

  • The unboxing
    And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the tree with its gold ribbon but can turn out to be nothing more than a big box holding a voucher for socks, so it ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • A cruel, vicious, nasty government
    So, after weeks of negotiations, we finally have a government, with a three-party cabinet and a time-sharing deputy PM arrangement. Newsroom's Marc Daalder has put the various coalition documents online, and I've been reading through them. A few things stand out: Luxon doesn't want to do any work, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • Hurrah – we have a new government (National, ACT and New Zealand First commit “to deliver for al...
    Buzz from the Beehive Sorry, there has been  no fresh news on the government’s official website since the caretaker trade minister’s press statement about the European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement. But the capital is abuzz with news – and media comment is quickly flowing – after ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Christopher Luxon – NZ PM #42.
    Nothing says strong and stable like having your government announcement delayed by a day because one of your deputies wants to remind everyone, but mostly you, who wears the trousers. It was all a bit embarrassing yesterday with the parties descending on Wellington before pulling out of proceedings. There are ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Coalition Government details policies & ministers
    Winston Peters will be Deputy PM for the first half of the Coalition Government’s three-year term, with David Seymour being Deputy PM for the second half. Photo montage by Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: PM-Elect Christopher Luxon has announced the formation of a joint National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government with a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • “Old Coat” by Peter, Paul & Mary.
     THERE ARE SOME SONGS that seem to come from a place that is at once in and out of the world. Written by men and women who, for a brief moment, are granted access to that strange, collective compendium of human experience that comes from, and belongs to, all the ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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