Open mike 22/10/2020

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 22nd, 2020 - 60 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

60 comments on “Open mike 22/10/2020 ”

  1. Morrissey 1

    More breathtaking hypocrisy from the U.K. state

    Last year, just weeks after the British state had forcibly removed journalist Julian Assange from his place of asylum, the British High Commission staged an Orwellian event in honour of World Press Freedom Day.

    https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2019/05/these-people-are-representative-of-new.html

    Now, the Johnson regime is at it again….

    https://twitter.com/FCDOGovUK/status/1318537453234520064

  2. Morrissey 2

    A new headache for the U.S. and its client regimes: democracy in Bolivia will not die

    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/55741.htm

  3. Ad 3

    OK so he explicitly links poverty and climate change, revolts against billionaires and 2020 capitalism, and joins the 20th century in supporting legal support for gay people.

    https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/21/europe/pope-gay-couples-civil-union-intl/index.html

    At some point this Pope is going to gain the majority of Cardinals needed to give women freedom within the Church. Slowly he will catch up with many western Anglicans, and our local Presbyterians.

    Until then, he's leading a billion moral conservatives out in front far better than 99% of the US evangelicals on display right now.

    Hang in there man.

    • The Al1en 3.1

      Still wont support gay marriage, and in 2020, hoping papa will soon give 50% of the congregation the freedoms the other half have always taken for granted is at best a poor attempt at hiding how out of touch and inconsequential the catholics really are.

      But great they're on their way. Ladies, set 2060 in your diaries and, oh yeah, prey.

    • Anne 3.2

      I was told recently that the reason priests became celibate is because some 1000-2000 years ago, the 'church' found the upkeep of wives and children as well as the priests too much of a financial burden so they decided to ban relationships between priest and their flock. Naturally they enforced it by claiming it was decree from God.

      If there is any truth to that story then I say drop the celibate nonsense and let priests marry and have partners just like the rest of us. Could solve a lot of problems.

  4. Andre 4

    The Dotard of Doltistan's personal Nosferatu might have a new bit of distraction from trying to sell his hokey'd up Hunter Biden laptop story …

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8864821/Giuliani-caught-Borats-daughter-hand-pants.html

    • Gabby 4.1

      Will Rudi claim he was in on the joke all along?

      • Andre 4.1.1

        He might.

        Any normal person would feel some kind of need to square what they claim now to what they have previously said, but Giuliani has shameless lying down to an art. (A necessary skill for hanging out with the Quid Pro Quovidiot.)

        Giuliani told Page Six that in the midst of the interview, which was being conducted by a female interviewer “with a professional set-up of lights and camera,” a man came storming in wearing an outrageous outfit. The former mayor told the publication, “This guy comes running in, wearing a crazy, what I would say was a pink transgender outfit. It was a pink bikini, with lace, underneath a translucent mesh top, it looked absurd. He had the beard, bare legs, and wasn’t what I would call distractingly attractive.”

        While Giuliani would later identify the interview-crasher as Cohen, he told Page Six he did not realize it at first and reported the incident to the police. “This person comes in yelling and screaming, and I thought this must be a scam or a shake-down,” he said. “So I reported it to the police. He then ran away.”

        “I only later realized it must have been Sacha Baron Cohen,” Giuliani added. “I thought about all the people he previously fooled and I felt good about myself because he didn’t get me.”

        https://www.indiewire.com/2020/07/sacha-baron-cohen-pranked-rudy-giuliani-fake-interview-1234572188/

    • joe90 4.2

      In an hotel room with what he thought was a 15 year old with his hands down his strides. A new perspective on Giuliani's sleazy insinuations about Hunter Biden.

    • Cinny 4.3

      Quick poll, does anyone here lay down to tuck their shirt into their pants?

      I don't know about you, but I stand up to do that.

  5. Muttonbird 5

    Perhaps Grant might show remorse for his imprisonable actions of 25 years ago and repay the victims of his fraud.

    People might then view his character in a different light.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/damien-grant-fights-for-insolvency-career-in-court-after-license-rejected-over-criminal-history/FCBD5TMQLFF7CGSIHUSHPLXF7U/

    • woodart 5.1

      yes, grant supports a political party that pushes three strikes law, grant is on strike two? one more shoplifted loaf of bread and he's looking at striped sunlight. be a bugger if he was set up by someone he had put through the financial wringer!! perhaps for his own good, they may tell him to get a lawnmowing run. plenty of time to smirk while pushing a masport.

  6. aj 6

    MediaWatch on RNZ last night featured an segment on media bias in reporting the New Zealand's election in Murdoch-owned media overseas.

    …… Something to bear in mind when reading this comment piece from Rupert Murdoch’s The Australian: Danger across the ditch as incompetent leader Ardern wins office.

    It's written by a guy from a right-wing Australian think-tank who quotes Dr Oliver Hartwich, executive director of the New Zealand Initiative like this.

    “The next few years will be extremely tough. If we do not get our economic house in order, New Zealand could end up a failed state."

    Sounds a bit over the top and people reacted strongly to that on social media. But Oliver Hartwich is quoted as saying the same thing on Sunday by Stuff’s political editor – and he said the same thing back in May in an Institute newsletter.

    Two days before the election, The Australian's foreign editor Greg Sheridan said:

    "No international halo is so shabby, or so fraudulent, as that worn by New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern.”

    It’s no surprise because Murdoch’s press takes sides in Australia supporting the right and his papers’ editors and columnists follow suit.

    Colin Peacock then paints left leaning media with the same brush

    In the UK, The Guardian leans left and hammers Boris Johnson’s Tories every chance it gets – sometimes damaging its own credibility in the process.

    Colin, perhaps some politicians deserve to be hammered.

    • Muttonbird 6.1

      Along with Don Brash and others, Dr Oliver Hartwich is a major backer of Damien Grant referenced in the comment @5 above.

      • greywarshark 6.1.1

        Thanks for that enlightening comment aj – what a bloody disgrace to have to report. We've got The NZ Snuffitive and Oliver Hartwich from Germany? come like bugs imported to eat holes in the fabric of our NZ society, and being used as a fifth-columist in the main page columns of overseas newspapers as well as our own. Lies, damn lies, and the hyper-wealthy and their flatulent servants! What a lovely 21st century we have managed to build in the world.

        Stuff's political editor – is that Luke Malpass? Just appointed, and that shows an insensitivity by stuff to what is fair comment and what is right wing weighted – the flying in circles syndrome that so many journos display. Is this bird worthy of veterinary care or should it be put out of its misery?

    • ianmac 6.2

      Could the dark forces intrude in NZ? Yes.

      The anti Jacida rubbish poured out by Gideon Rozner, who is the head of policy at Australia’s powerful right wing think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), and the NZ connections are two New Zealand members of the Atlas Network: The New Zealand Initiative and the NZ Taxpayers Union. The Atlas Network claims Williams’ campaign was instrumental in getting Ardern to dump the idea of a capital gains tax. etc etc

      https://www.newsroom.co.nz/who-the-hell-is-gideon-rozner-anyway

      • UncookedSelachimorpha 6.2.1

        The linked article is incredibly important for NZers to read, IMHO. The likes of the Koch brothers and Gina Rinehart are using their money to influence the NZ media and politics.

        • aj 6.2.1.1

          +100

        • tc 6.2.1.2

          Easy solution. Turn TVNZ/RNZ into proper public broadcasters so people can tune in when they want the truth.

          Or we can leave them alone to continue using the hootons, pagani's etc being asked patsy questions by the Espiners/Ferguson/Ryan etc.

      • aj 6.2.2

        Yes the 'dark forces' are at work and won't relent. Watched a doco on Al Jazeera yesterday 'The Unfair Game' Big data politics and how the American public were tricked into opening the doors of the White House to Donald Trump (2018) and a companion piece to The Great Hack (2019). Both highly recommended. The right fight to win and use any means available.

    • Stephen D 6.3

      Boris, getting hammered by Jonathan Pie.

      https://youtu.be/CYmn76Y50Us

    • Gabby 6.4

      Did he give an example of the pommedia damaging their credibility attacking Johnson? Maybe 'Johnson' was a slip of the tongue and he meant 'Corbyn'.

    • tc 6.5

      Rudd's started a petition over “the abuse of media monopoly in Australia” and “to make recommendations to maximise media diversity ownership for the future lifeblood of our democratic system”across the ditch.

      In the video circulating via Facebook and Twitter, Rudd describes the Murdoch corporation, which owns 70 per cent of newspapers in Australia, as a “cancer on our democracy”.

      Nothings binding in terms of # signatures etc on scomo to do anything and a royal commissions will be the last thing Liberals want looking at their fav media mogul.

      • greywarshark 6.5.1

        In Australia they used to have an idea of separation of media system but the drongoes didn't maintain that and now look at their media situation. And note how influential Labour were in loosening up controls, just like here.

        Apart from a period during colonial times, the ownership of newspapers was free of government regulation until the 1980s, when Labor governments under Bob Hawke and Paul Keating introduced changes that continue to define the media landscape 30 years later….

        For Andrew Dodd, the program director of journalism at Swinburne University of Technology, 1987 [Labour's Hawke in power and neolib changes under way] was a watershed year.*

        'Rupert Murdoch bought into The Herald and Weekly Times, and in doing that he acquired the company that his father had built up. He already had assets but then he came in and bought six metropolitan newspapers as well as a raft of community papers around the country. So here he was sitting on an absolute mountain of printed publications. In the same year, the Trade Practices Commission said that this really didn't create market dominance, which was an extraordinary finding.

        (No wonder Julia Gillard got run out of town.)

        In 2011, with Julia Gillard as prime minister, the Labor government attempted a root and branch rethinking of regulation to try to take into account a media environment that now included the internet. The Convergence Review attempted to come up with a way to address powerful emerging media while also creating some commonality in regulation, so that the same standards would be applied, for example, to a print newspaper story and the online version of that story….

        'I do think that the interaction between media proprietors in Australia with politicians is different to other countries because of one very important difference, and that is that we have very high levels of media concentration in Australia compared to other countries,' adds Carson.

        'If we are looking particularly at print, the two largest proprietors, or even if you take the top three, have a 98 per cent reach of audience across Australia. That is tremendously influential.

        *Background on why 1987 was an important year:

        https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/confs/2000/kelly-address.html

        …These policies [neoliberal economic recipe] needed a fresh government prepared to defy vested economic interests. Such a government would win much support for its boldness.

        These ideas came from the top down. The public wanted change – but it was not protesting in the streets for a floating dollar, free trade and low inflation. The intellectual momentum for the 1980s reforms was elite-driven.

        • greywarshark 6.5.1.1

          Coincidence – after finding these reports referring to Australia and Bob Hawke I have come onto this piece about Yes Minister and the enthusiasm with which Bob Hawke embraced Paul Eddington, sort of.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkKY0oMP3yk&feature=emb_rel_end

          • greywarshark 6.5.1.1.1

            See at 9 mins where the director? says that the UK Yes Minister aims to show everyone warts and all unlike the USA West Wing where all have to he perfect, more like The Truman Show I suppose, just a total sham. However they, go for all the UK institutions with words like shoddy and sleazy. 'You aren't JC, you are just a naughty boy' sort of thing.

      • Gabby 6.5.2

        ScoMoFo kno what side his bread buttered.

    • Draco T Bastard 6.6

      The NZInstitute and Murdoch are just trying to ensure that the rich remain in power by raising people's fears.

      Of course, once people truly realise that government spending is what actually funds the economy and that profits are just a tax by another name then we might start changing our society for the better.

  7. Gabby 7

    Be interesting to know what agency was responsible for testing those Russukrainian fishers, and who approved the deal. Is it Mfat or Mbie does this stuff? Is Gnashie in the mix anywhere?

    • RedBaronCV 7.1

      I find it all a bit worrying. Doesn't look like there was any effort to stop covid transfer on the plane or pre boarding? did the companies bother to have any importing controls over this- and the more cases on shore the greater chance that it leaks into the community.

      Hopefully though it can be used to deter to much other private importing of labour forces based on this. I'd also like to see the plan for the sharp reduction in offshore labour in favour of training locals.

  8. Byd0nz 8

    The Movement For Socialism (MAS) scored an impressive victory in Bolivia this Sunday. Overturning the bullshit US inspired coup against the legitimate Morales election victory. Lets hope the people of Venezuela can take heart from this with their ongoing struggle against the Yankee facist interference.

    • I Feel Love 9.1

      The Amazing Randi did some very important work, a great sceptic, and very, very funny.

  9. Corey Humm 10

    Is it just me or are the left more happier in defeat. We could have woken up on Sunday to a Nat/act govt wanting to do australian style task force raptor police reforms, tax cuts , allowing people to with draw from their kiwi saver, zero investment in health reforms and a program of austerity, welfare education and social cuts and ruthanasia on steroids.

    Instead we have the biggest left wing mandate in our lifetimes to work on climate, education, health transport reforms a govt that wants to feed kids in schools free trades and wants to do more but will have to be pushed like all great left wing govts have to be pushed.

    Anyone would thing Nat / act had a super majority.

    I've criticized this govt a lot but it never had the numbers for rapid transformation and our expectations of a three way coalition were incredibly high. Ardern is now talking about accelerating change , it's million miles better than the alternative and if we push this govt I believe it will be more progressive. It actually did do a lot of good in the first term but this term it needs to be 3x faster and 3x more transformational.

    I hope labour and greens can work out a confidence agreement that gives the greens experience policy reforms and the ministerial portfolios outside of cabinet to see those reforms happen, I was hoping labour would get 60 seats and the greens about what they got so we could blame all the left wing stuff we need to do on the greens (even though we mostly wanna do it) but now we have a mandate. The left are either saying we can't do it because swing voters voted labour (when was that a bad thing, I think they wanted that transformational change that Ardern spoke of throughout the last period) or that nothing can ever change because the labour party, the party of reforms has a mandate to do nothing, with covid still unfolding and the economic crisis it brings on and labour being elected to do the recovery both economically and socially Labour can say that anything they do is a part of the covid recovery.

    We won the party vote in nearly every Electorate, every city except Auckland, Tauranga are seas of red, Ilam, rangitata hell even whangerei may be red after specials, the greens increased their vote and the Maori party have been reelected on a left wing mandate and the labour party just wow… Let's not write this govt off before the votes even been counted and if lab and the greens can't use this historic mandate on climate change reform to work together then something is seriously wrong with us.

    Victory is so rare in the left. So rare, we lose globally. Let's savior this victory and yes organize to push the govt to be more active but some of us have been given great hope by this win and some of us feel really happy that this country is not a divided mess and that instead of voting for me this country voted for we, we can make this country a better place, let the chips fall before we right this govt off.

    Sorry for the rant but you'd literally think we lost and sometimes I wonder, do left wingers prefer nights like 2014 to nights like Saturday?

    • RedBaronCV 10.1

      I too am grateful that we don't have Judith and struggle to believe that 35% of the country were willing to take a chance on catching covid.

      I'm not sure if it is the media presentation or labour itself that is coming over as so risk adverse. I do feel though that the electorate at large – will still wanting to be employed but not in a dead end seasonal minimum rate if you are lucky job- has a lot of concern about bigger issues both economic and social and would like some progress on those.

    • greywarshark 10.2

      Victory is so rare for the left that we have to keep our heads while we unwrap what the gift is made of. No good getting a lovely toy if the key isn't with it. That's why everyone is thinking through implications – Mum we aren't there yet are we!

      But good news. All wasp haters will be pleased. And look how well we collaborated for the common good. Why can't we get this mode of behaviour rippling across the world?

      https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC2010/S00038/world-first-wasp-genome-completed.htm

      In a world first, New Zealand researchers have sequenced the genome of three wasps, two of which are invasive wasps in New Zealand, paving the way for new methods of control for these significant pests.

      Genomics Aotearoa researchers working at the University of Otago and Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington, alongside colleagues from the UK, Australia and California have successfully completed a three-year project to sequence and interpret the genomes of the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris), German wasp (Vespula germanica), and the western yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica).

      Now another insect that could invade our borders as we have the right climate for it. Perhaps we could work with the Chinese and other Asian laboratories on the dreaded Chinese hornet – that would be a good collaboration also.

      [deleted]

      [multiple links get caught in the filter, no explanation or the links and mods are likely to treat them as spam – weka]

  10. Patricia Bremner 11

    We should start applying the kindness we want to this Government. I hear many critical voices here, and small support for what they have managed.
    Voters understood, Winston wanted too much status quo and the Greens think of this Government in terms of past iterations, and tokenism.

    Jacinda Ardern is such a breath of fresh air she has made a mark internationally, and that has attracted enemies in the oil coal and right wing think tanks.

    She has made New Zealanders proud of our country, prepared to help each other and listen to the scientists. This Labour Party has attracted high calibre representatives who will be able to take more of the load.

    We want this Government to right all the wrongs, during a pandemic, which is still raging, and to govern for all.

    The bitterness some feel with real reason will take many a balm to still the pain, and prejudging is unhelpful to the sensitive negotiations taking place right now.

    We hope to have a combination of parties, and the real shape of Government will show after the special votes are counted. 'Till then be glad we are not waking up to Judith and that lot.

    • Whispering Kate 11.1

      +100

    • Draco T Bastard 11.2

      We want this Government to right all the wrongs, during a pandemic, which is still raging, and to govern for all.

      As the saying, apparently wrongly attributed to pretty much everybody, says:

      Never let a good crisis go to waste.

      Labour are very much at the point where they're going to let the present crisis go to waste as they try to maintain BAU – especially as the crisis proves BAU to be contrary to a resilient economy and society.

      They really do need to use the crisis to move away from BAU.

    • Patricia Bremner 11.3

      Could this @ 12 be removed? I corrected some spacing and it worked but repeated the whole thing lol sorry everyone… once @ 11 is enough.

      Draco, Jacinda has said she wants to "build back better"

      I don't think she listens to JK, as he meant "make money in the fire sale" when he said “never let a good crises go to waste".

      • Draco T Bastard 11.3.1

        Doesn't have to be used to make things worse. The crisis can be used to make things better and so the Labour party should be doing so.

        And its not even unscrupulous as it really does need to be done.

  11. RedBaronCV 12

    See Stuff has another think piece -without much think- on possible seasonal worker shortage.

    However I had found a piece from 2019 in Stuff – not sure why they published it!- that if I read it correctly stated that gold kiwifruit returned about $95000 per hectare and cost about $2000 to pick.

    Now I know there are other costs but it would be very interesting to see the per hectare returns of a lot of other fruits. Cherries at about $20 retail per kg so say $10 cost – so a worker needs to pick some 2.5kg per hour plus more for other overheads ?

    This doesn't seem to be part of any of the media stories.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/113257301/kiwifruit-picking-hot-hard-work-that-nobody-wants-to-do

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/300138256/fruitpicking-jobs-going-begging-who-is-really-to-blame

    • Adrian 12.1

      I think you might find that cost to a producer of agri and hort crops is closer to 80 to 90% of return. Viticulture, depending on the season is lucky to average 7% before tax.
      Fuck knows why we do it.
      That retail cherry price in a supermarket is at least twice the growers return, picking is one week in 52, they don’t look after themselves for the other 51.

      Urban ignorance of how food happens is staggering, except for those few who have attempted to grow $50 lettuces and $80 a kilo tomatoes.

      • WeTheBleeple 12.1.1

        That's simply not true. Returns are lucrative which is why every man and his dog jumped on the bandwagon.

        https://www.apata.co.nz/orchard-buyers-guide

        "For the 2016/17 harvest, the average forecast return ("OGR" or Orchard Gate Return) for Green Kiwifruit is just over $53k per hectare and for Gold Kiwifruit it is just over $95k. With average on orchard costs sitting at about $30k per hectare, the maths is pretty simple and compelling. Remember, this is the average. When growers put in the time and effort, the rewards are generally, better."

      • RedBaronCV 12.1.2

        Um I'm not that urban. I do realise that the local veggie market is not super profitable to put it mildly – on the other hand AFAIK they also don't employ RSE and backpackers to any great extent. On the other hand there was a time when tomato paste fetched huge prices – although that is now gone?

        I'm more interested in the seasonal vines and fruit picking that use RSE labour and backpackers and keep muttering about labour shortages. Is it that the stuff is not profitable unless the wage rates are rock bottom or could the wages go up? For the export markets I guess it makes sense to concentrate on the more profitable crops bearing in mind that the production life can be 10 ++ years for the tree or vine and retruns can vary over that life.
        So I do think it is a valid question that the MSM could be asking along with queries about the extent of foreign ownership of the sector.

        Frankly for me I would far rather help a local owner than some business where the profit is being siphoned off by overseas ownership or a wad of local intermediaries.

        Otherwise did I touch a nerve there? Something best not discussed?

        • Adrian 12.1.2.1

          Markets determine the price and the vast majority are supermarket chains and they are arseholes, constantly driving down the return so they can claim to be the "cheapest food "in town.

          The kiwifruit returns are a bit of bullshit, because Zespri etc have propietry rights to the cultivars, "'Use of " charges for the plants are astronomical , in the 100s of thousands of dollars per hectare but these are not counted as "orchard "costs, but as start up expenses.

  12. PaddyOT 13

    Ooops Sweden?

    "Sweden has now seen a doubling in cases in three weeks, hitting more than 1000 new cases in one day for the first time since June,"
    "Sweden's cumulative death total from infections is 10 times higher than neighbouring Norway and Finland and five times higher than Denmark."

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-coronavirus-swedens-strategy-takes-a-turn-as-cases-spike/KP3SUPMIC7YZ5NQXEPTSIL63B4/

  13. Stuart Munro 14

    It seems that kea may be able to learn to recognise 1080 baits.

    This is crucial for kea because DoC, who are ostensibly concerned to protect them, will keep poisoning in any event. For the keas, it's a bit like having Harold Shipman as one's GP.

    • Draco T Bastard 14.1

      The 1080 is better than having the possums eating their eggs/chicks.

      • Barfly 14.1.1

        In my young days I worked as a possum trapper for a while and witnessed first hand the utter devastation that possums can wreak upon the bush – 1080 is by far the lesser evil.

  14. Burton 16

    Twitter and facebook are censoring Biden articles now. Is Democracy dead in the usa?

    What has become of journalism?

    Thank you

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    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 ...
    5 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    8 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    8 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    9 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    10 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    14 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    15 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    16 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    18 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T11:05:32+00:00