Open mike 22/04/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 22nd, 2010 - 51 comments
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51 comments on “Open mike 22/04/2010 ”

  1. Bored 1

    I am still mightily pissed at the eco destroyers that the Nact ecociders are encouraging. Who saw on TV last night the pittiful McKenzie Country farmers dreaming of turning the place green so that they could cut the grass and feed it to cows who live in cages in sheds? Poor bloody cows, they just want to be out and about in a more favourable climate eating grass that is growing on rain water.

    These peoples pursuit of profit is outrageously immoral in every way, yet they seek to justify it by co-opting us as suppposed economic beneficiaries. I’m now going to buy only free range dairy…how I dont know but Im looking.

    • just saying 1.1

      I couldn’t agree more.

      Went on a summer holiday to southland 2 years ago and couldn’t believe the amount of dairy and cattle farming there. It was easily as cold as a Waikato winter – god knows how those animals survive in the winter. Dairying has got crueller in many ways sincer farmers have got greedier.
      I’ve been buying only free-range beef and sheep meat for a while now. I wish I could stipulate north island beef. The upside is far less meat in my diet.

      I found it interesting that John on Campbell live implored the audience to keep on watching a piece on Ecan last night despite how bored they might feel because of the importance of the issues it raised. It was like “we’re going to cover some real news now, but please dont change the channel.”

      • gingercrush 1.1.1

        OMG that is one of the most stupid comments I’ve ever read here. Those poor cows in the cold. Oh dear. They survive fine in winter btw.

        • felix 1.1.1.1

          Are you saying cows don’t get cold? Or are you saying you don’t care?

        • RedLogix 1.1.1.2

          Shedding cows is not a black and white matter. In the Wairarapa there is one interesting example of a dairy farm that has built a large shed for animal shelter, from which the animals are normally free to move to and fro to open paddocks as they please.

          The structure provides protection from wind, sun and the cold.

          Any supplementary feed is available in old-fashioned mangers.

          The benefits are shown to be:

          1. About 20% increased milk production.

          2. A big reduction in mastitis and other common health issues.

          3. A very relaxed and contented herd that is easy to manage and work with. The shed provides a clean mud-free environment for farm workers and vets to interact with them.

          Overall the farmer has expressed delight in the results of his investment. It is of course quite different to the ‘caged up 10 months of the year’ regime proposed by the MacKenzie country crew, and illustrates that animal welfare is a complex matter… it’s not always a straightforward matter of ‘paddock good, barn bad’.

      • Lew 1.1.2

        Free-range beef and sheep meat, and dairy: you mean, any of it? Because, in this country, it’s all free-range.

        But hey, if it makes you feel better …

        L

  2. Alexandra 2

    I agree. Dairying is getting grubbier by the day. Unfortunately going free range will not be so easy. According to fonterra separating barn dairy milk from free range will be extremely difficult. Organic will be a safe bet, if barn dairy goes ahead here.

  3. Olwyn 3

    For some reason, our business people are ever eager to kill any goose that threatens to lay a golden egg. Instead of seeing the success of the dairy industry as an economic positive which might inspire further economic developments, they just want a piece of any action that’s going on until there is no action left in it.

    • vto 3.1

      A resultant leftover from our recent colonial pioneering history and culture. It not that long ago that all the forests were milled, the fisheries almost nailed, leftover bush burnt for pasture and then erosion. The approach was take take take. Most nobody had any idea of environmental threats. Hard to judge past actions on todays knowledge.

      Can’t really blame individuals – it is part of our very recent tradition. It continues today in certain sectors. Say a farm that has stayed in one family for example, if the gradnfather is alive today he was probably involved in burning and draining.

      Imo that is where the attitude springs from. However it seems to be changing fast. Farming appears to be the last to embrace the change, no doubt because of the common family structure, traditions and longer term timeframes involved. But they are under pressure and the politics will in the end force them to change faster.

      But meantime brutal battles will occur. It is mid-war these very days.

      2c.

      • Bored 3.1.1

        I like the comment on this being a hang over from our colonial rip shit and bust days….why dont we call dairying what it really is…GRASS MINING.

  4. Armchair Critic 4

    That’s a hopeful assessment vto.
    My concern is that farms across the NZ countryside will be fully corporatised and run by international businesses, with NZ-based managers flogging the land and animals for all the profit they can get. Eventually most of the country, outside conservation land and cities, could be owned by a handful of absentee landlords. It’s potentially only a few legislative changes away.

    • nzfp 4.1

      “Eventually most of the country, outside conservation land and cities, could be owned by a handful of absentee landlords”

      Well it’s happened before – remember Queen Victoria, the New Zealand Company and Wakefield?

      • Marty G 4.1.1

        yeah, and eventually the govt stepped in and broke up the stations – clues for the future 😉

      • Armchair Critic 4.1.2

        “remember Queen Victoria, the New Zealand Company and Wakefield?”
        No, I wasn’t born when they were around.
        But, yes, it has happened before, and I understand the main cause of its demise was legislation (rates and taxes were used to encourage the subdivision of large landholdings??). And with a willing government it could happen again.

        • nzfp 4.1.2.1

          You’re right – I wasn’t there either – but my Tupuna were and I don’t believe they were treated all that well. If legislation doesn’t work – or doesn’t happen – perhaps New Zealanders (Maori, Pakeha) may consider the methods employed by Te Kooti, Te Rangihaeata, Te Rauparaha, Ti Tokowaru, Hongi Hika, Hone Heke, Tawhiao Potatau Te Wherowhero, George Washington (US) and so on.

          • RedLogix 4.1.2.1.1

            but my Tupuna were and I don’t believe they were treated all that well.

            So were mine. I’ve written evidence of one of them having a stand-up argument with Hone Heke … and winning her point.

            But as working class folk none of them have been treated all that well by successive govts either.

    • vto 4.2

      Yes that is the direction it is heading under the current govt but imo they are going against the grain of the wider population.

      You raise another area where my own politics sit to the left – that of foreign ownership of land. It must be stopped. NZers cannot compete with the northern hemisphere capital for our own land and why should we? In addition it is abundantly clear to anyone with an understanding of human history that a tenant community is a weak community.

      Labour last time under Clark seemed to be aiming to be the new natural party of govt, taking the mantle off National. Well It may not have happened then but I think a significant move in that direction was made and I suspect that by the end of the decade that wish may well come true. Or something along those lines. General populace politics is slowly moving ‘left’ in NZ imo. Hopefully such politics will embrace these issues and we will end up with a strong community that is prosperous and living in a lush environment.

      sounds dreamy. hopefully it’s not.

      • Draco T Bastard 4.2.1

        Politics in NZ has always been Left. We only had National in government so much because the voting system favoured National.

  5. gobsmacked 5

    Morning all.

    To brighten your day, enjoy the David Cameron Random Anecdote Generator. Click on link, have a laugh:

    http://www.fridgemagnet.org.uk/toys/dave-met.php

    • Ianmac 5.1

      Great. Must be why referenda don’t work. 🙂

    • Pascal's bookie 5.2

      “Last week, I met a Cornish family, who told me that economic migrants needed to get a proper job.”

    • felix 5.3

      There is a youtube video linked from the fridgemagnet page for the slow kids like me who don’t get the reference, but it has been taken down. Anyone know where another one might live?

  6. prism 6

    gobsmacked Priceless. A very good link to keep for the variety and I guess they will be adding new gems. By the way do people watch Auto Tunes. We need a bit of a laugh occasionally in between watching the political drivers who rarely seem to get past their learners licence.

    • Draco T Bastard 7.1

      Because that is what it is. ANZAC day is the perpetuation not of the grief felt for those who died in Gallipoli but a celebration of a Nation proud to be part of an Empire even if that empire collapsed ages ago. It is the celebration of a Nation basing it’s value not on being independent and proud of it but one in submission to a queen in a far away land and eager to send more young men to die for wars in far away lands.

      I’d agree with that.

  7. Ianmac 8

    Good news but irrelavent. Those great people who have been showing off bypronouncing the volcano as Eyjafjallajokull is actually the glacier under the volcano Eyjafjoell, which is much easier to say. 🙂

  8. prism 9

    Minister for Veterans Affairs Judith Collins rides forth on her high horse to take a shot at peace activists purveying white poppies. Oh horror the vips (very inferior people) are at it again, trying to do something beyond the status quo.

    I attend a mid-morning service each Anzac Day and it follows the same routine with the same words, seeming merely a form to remember the dead with no life in the ritual. We could hear a 3 minute briefing from someone in the peace movement, or the aid contingent, or the anti-nuclear activists which would honour our dead in a real way by saying ‘We are carrying on the fight for a better world’. But nothing changes – we can’t do anything different and relevant to now.

    Besides thinking of the reason for the white poppies initiative, we should take a wee space of time to think of the White Rose Resistance group that attempted to stop the spread of dreadfulness that was under way in Germany. Many German people were cowed under the crushing regime that started in the 1930’s. The White Rose group was I think mainly students.
    More about them on Wikipedia.
    Wikipedia heading note – Fritz Scholl (22 September 1918 22 February 1943) was a core and founding member of the White Rose resistance movement in Nazi Germany . …

  9. Ianmac 10

    And the RSA chappie this morning’s radio seemed very reasonable with the line that, “We fought to protect the freedom of speech and so be it for the White Rose group. Although we might have preferred that they were not on Anzac Day.”

  10. prism 11

    The RSA spokesperson this morning made a very good impression – thoughtful and reasonable.

    This morning also was the last meeting of the Canterbury ECAN board. Some councillors were weeping, some in black, some carried a coffin representing dead democracy. They finished the meeting abruptly, what was the use of discussing points on the agenda – they would have no weight.

    I wonder if this sort of takeover of an established body was how Hitler and his buddies got established. The little so and so got into politics and worked his way up to Chancellor before he took on the role of World Enslaver. He was able to talk his way to his aims, coupled with some eager thugs, and I wonder is plain-speaking, confident, plausible Rodney Hide in similar mould?

    • Bored 11.1

      Have a read of Trotters latest on Bowalleyroad. Hide is as you know a corporatist…..cant use the H or F or M words.

      Also it fills me with sadness that these elected representatives have been treated so shabbily and their reputations blackened. The Nacts are fast becoming a criminal state.

      • prism 11.1.1

        Yes I notice that every time the right gets in they don’t just want to govern, they want to overturn previously established systems and insert their own. It makes for at the least an unsettled democracy, and I don’t agree with left and right automatically nay-saying the other party.

        I’ve seen a naive but determined committee, when they took over running an organisation, wreck it. Previous decisions, and the reasons for them, and even the good of the group, doesn’t matter, only the brave, new way they have decided to impose.

        • Bill 11.1.1.1

          Problem is when the opposition acquiesces to the imposition of whatever new regime because they hold the ‘good of the group’ (read ‘stability and continuity’) as prime considerations. Meaning that they will not add to any turbulence being unleashed by the new kids on the block, but rather, believe that by tacitly cooperating with the new kids, that turbulence will be minimised and stability and continuity restored… which is good for the group/society

          But it’s not.

          It means in the context of our social democracy that everything drifts inexorably to the corporate right…the ones prepared to unleash mayhem; the ones prepared to slash and burn society and institutional mores simply so their ideology breathes easier. When the opposition assumes power again it will not tear down the nonsense created by the erstwhile new kids, but will institute only gradual reversals for the sake of continuity and stability.

          And so the drift continues over the long term.

          • prism 11.1.1.1.1

            Yeah, yeah Bill. That was (seemed) a good argument till you came along.
            The problem is that the incumbents shouldn’t be upsetting all the established systems so that the opposition has to remake everything again.

            Rome wasn’t built in a day is the saying. But with our politicians it would never have consisted of more than a few columns and a lot of bricks.Bit like the present ruins. But oh those were grand days in past Rome. NZ will likely never have grand days again to look back on with our bifurcated (new word) bunch.

  11. Pascal's bookie 12

    wee gripe:

    “the govt sez more public servants may lose their jobz because of budget contraintz”

    I’m sure they do sez that.

    Don’t see why it needs to be quoted in the passive voice that the govt would prefer it be announced in though.

  12. vto 13

    I see the new Ecan Commissars have been named.

    Fuck me they have some massive powers. Seems that when Bainimarama, I mean Key, finally lets us have elections again the people will have to vote in people to reverse the commissars actions (presuming they get out of line with the Canterbury public).

    Defnitely heated times. Got to about 28 celcius today…

    • Pascal's bookie 13.1

      $900/day tv 3 reckoned they’re getting.

      Seems steep to me, is that coming out of rates?

      • Ianmac 13.1.1

        Good question. I gather that part of the rates due include a portion for Ecan. Some are with-hold that portion in protest and a trust account is being set up. For each or a group I don’t know. The $900 per day and $1400 per day for the Chair plus powers that the old committee asked for but were denied. Roll on the stripping of the waterways.

    • prism 13.2

      Interesting that none of the present councillors, though some shortlisted, were ‘good enough’. The problem seems to be that they were often split on decision making. Answer – sack them and put in like-minded people who will walk as sweetly as line dancers with their ankles tied together. Mind you give them a push….

      • Ianmac 13.2.1

        What would be the point if all on a committee were unanimous? Under Parkinson’s Law 7 should be the ideal number on a committee or 9 at the most. 15 as Ecan was, created problems because factions build up.

        Of course an ideal committe would be Smith alone. He would always have a quorum and seldom would he have serious arguement with himself. “Those in favour? Come on there Mr Smith. In favour? Yes Mr Smith. You are right again Mr Smith. Aye Mr Smith. Motion carried unanimously Mr Smith!”

        • prism 13.2.1.1

          Long ago part of one of my courses was devoted to group decision making and it said that there was an ideal number for a viable effective committee. Like what you have just said Ianmac. I think that it also said that having too many in the group over the ideal became unwieldy. Shame if that fact has led to ECANs demise.

  13. vto 14

    yes.

    rates revolt! who’s in?

  14. outofbed 15

    This will teach those pesky Libs Dems
    http://politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2010/04/22/tabloids-cover-lib-dems-sensation/

    And I thought our MSM was bad

  15. logie97 16

    I commented on yesterday’s Open Mike about the broken promise of more leisure time as industry becomes more robotic… and suggested that the displaced/unemployed would be vilified by the right…

    Some of you might have noticed what the Right in Australian politics (the ones we are trying to catch) are reported as suggesting in today’s Herald… FFS
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/employment/news/article.cfm?c_id=11&objectid=10639969

    • Descendant Of Smith 16.1

      I was going through some of my father’s old things recently and came across a Jubilee Magazine for Queen Victoria. What I thought was most interesting was the lovely drawings of children working in the coal mines. They were there just matter of factly, a simple depiction of life as it was – something they were clearly proud enough of, or blase enough about, to put in such an important publication.

      Obviously going back to those days is a good option:

      Mine for your country, save money in education spending.

      I can’t believe that we heading back to the days of vilifying people who don’t want to do a shitty, filthy, dangerous job like mining.

      Much better solution is to stick bankers and share-brokers and loan-sharks and real-estate agents in there to do it. Apparently they are highly valued important people with much needed skills.

      Apparently mining is the most important work you can do for your country.

      Sounds like a match made in heaven.

  16. prism 17

    DoS Good thinking, sharp, funny, like the reasoning.

    Red Logix Interesting points about open shelter for animals. Sounds like a worthwhile investment too, so good for animals and for managers of.

  17. Why did Peace Movement Aotearoa choose to sell its white poppies in the lead-up to Anzac Day? Pure and simple – it wanted to “cash in’ on the decades of good RSA red poppy day publicity. PMA decided in 2008 to deliberately move to the Anzac period there can be no disguising its intent. It’s no wonder NZers are angry! It should return its white poppy selling to its original position on Hiroshima Day and go the long haul to make the day its own, not try and piggyback on the blood, sweat and lives of our servicemen and women.

    http://yardyyardyyardy.blogspot.com/2010/04/seeing-red-over-white-poppies.html

    PhilBee, Auckland

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    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 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
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Funding hole for tax cuts growing by the day
    The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s brave climate change promise
    The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles  and that ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days 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
    3 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
    5 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
    5 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
    19 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
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    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 ...
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    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 ...
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    5 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 ...
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    5 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
    5 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, ...
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    5 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 ...
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    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 ...
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    6 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
    6 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
    6 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. ...
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    7 days 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
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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