Open mike 22/09/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 22nd, 2011 - 123 comments
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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Step right up to the mike…

123 comments on “Open mike 22/09/2011 ”

  1. tc 1

    Last nights Tv3 news lead story….Zara Phillips in a nothing piece about a nothing story, unless you consider english professional sports folk getting on the turps news.
    Followed by Pyke river……the inquest into 29 deaths having some ‘shocking new evidence’ ranking below a puff piece with no content about some royal married to a sportsman.
    Also their rocked the nation show earlier having sideshow rabbeting on about a sporting moment which occurred prior to the 81 bok tour, yet not having him talk about the tour which was ranked 3rd ………that licensing deal Joyce gifted media works sure is the best PR our money can buy.

    • 1984 arrives 27 years later.  Hopefully one day people will decide to take the red pill and realise what is happening.  Right now far too many are taking the blue pill.  How spooky is it that the Matrix got the colors right …

      • Colonial Viper 1.1.1

        Damn dude, I was thinking exactly the same thing yesterday…

      • Brett Dale 1.1.2

        The Matrix was way overrated, Inception was way better.

        Red pill. blue pill, if only they gave a pill that could of given me my two hours back.

        • freedom 1.1.2.1

          Matrix had issues, certainly, but Inception suffered with that small detail of explaining exactly where they were every thirty seconds so Americans could follow the story. :]

          • tc 1.1.2.1.1

            Yeah but visually just park the brain and enjoy…..plots have far too many flaws these days to appease the funding committee machine.

  2. Tony P 2

    Not of any political or otherwise significance but the one band I hadn’t seen but still wanted to are no more. REM call it a day.
    http://www.remhq.com/news_story.php?id=1446

  3. O dear, I’ve done it all wrong. For all of you suffering from cognitive dissonance I apologise unreservedly and will from now on follow the advise of all these Psychologists and Psyciatrists and respond to your fearful denial with open ended questions and compassionate carefullness when helping you towards your new and unescapable reality so you may heal from your traumas with regards to the events of 911.

    Psychologists: Questioning 9/11 Is the Sane Thing To Do

    • The Voice of Reason 3.1

      Well, you’re halfway there. Getting in the men in white coats is definitely a good idea for you denialists, but I’d suggest using ones that aren’t equally mad for the best results.

      • travellerev 3.1.1

        ROFL, here’s a new MSM theory for ya!!! Molton aluminium reacted with the water from the sprinklers and caused the collapse of both towers! Wahahaha!!!!
        What do you think about that VOR. Does it have merit?

        • The Voice of Reason 3.1.1.1

          Hmmmm, it’s possible that such explosions happened, Ev, but I think that would be secondary at best. I’ve no doubt that molten metal of any kind coming into contact with water would react ‘explosively’, but the theory seems a bit fanciful to me. As do most alternatives to the truth, actually.

        • freedom 3.1.1.2

          The MSN have finally decided to state that explosions were heard. This is long overdue.
          – of course they are now having to run around to find a reason for them.
          Reality will continue to consume the fantasy until Truth stands taller than the Towers ever did.

          • The Voice of Reason 3.1.1.2.1

            Er, that’s MSN, not MSM, freedom. And I don’t think there’s ever been a denial of explosions. Jetliners hitting large structures are not quiet events and the subsequent collapse of the buildings after being hit is also going to involve lots of noise.
             
            Can’t wait for the results of the Toronto hearings, btw. Will it be long before the names of the hundreds of the conspirators is released to an eager public and the arrests start?

            • freedom 3.1.1.2.1.1

              One last time TVOR, the Hearings are a presentation of evidence to be used in the drive for a new and independant Investigation. They are not and can not supply you with a list of conspirators. The constant bleating of this idea from you is an embarrassment to your often cogent (if badly flawed) arguments. The T H Report will be a common ground document that contains the best and most relevant information that was collected over the last ten years. I sincerely believe that if you ever decide to spend an hour of time in objective review, you would realise the disparity between the plethora of scientifically tested evidence and the Official Story.

              As far as the release date, well i for one would like the Honorary President of the Italian Supreme Court and his collegues who are compiling the Report to take all due care and attention that is warranted by such an effort. This may not fit in with your blipvert attention span of mass consumerism but sadly the reality of the extensive work ahead demands accuracy, care and diligence in the presentation of data that is so explosive.

              • Zorr

                ffs when will people realise that honorary titles such as “Professor Emeritus” (it usually just means they are old, retired and out of touch with recent developments in their field) are mostly worthless. They are just there to lend a degree of authenticity to the hearings that would be lacking if it was just James Gourley.

                • freedom

                  Zorr, what gives the Hearings credibility is the format followed, the evidence presented and the science displayed. Your bias against any individual is just that, bias. It has little to no bearing on data being presented. I also have issues with certain people who are party to the organisations involved but i have confidence that the data will dissuade the ego and this is not and never will be about money, except the badly needed medical funds for the first repsponders. These are men and women who are dying in their hundreds, and there are also the thousands of families who refused to sign off on the Official Story and received no monies from the Government. Their families were left destitute when their loved ones were murdered by persons unknown at this time. They are the focus. Not your unfounded suspicions of corruption and people lining their own pockets.

                  • Vicky32

                    Freedom, I wonder when you and Ev are going to realise that VoUR is never going to listen to what you and she say? I used to weigh in on your side, but then after she in particular, nastily put me in my place, I am not involved any more. Have fun, but for goodness’ sake change the bloody record! I still am a ‘Truther’, and always wil be, but I am not arguing the toss here – as I am not commenting on anything else that might cause me to be abused again. Maybe one day you’ll learn that overweening self-love and just plain nastiness gets you nowhere especially in terms of persuading people of the rightness of your cause.
                    Oh and I just want to add that I am sceptical about your story about being a prodigy who refused communion at 6 years old – no real church allows 6 year olds to take communion! It sounds like a Dawkins story…

            • Zorr 3.1.1.2.1.2

              Those Toronto hearings are a farce anyway. The guy bankrolling the entire deal is an attorney and the person compiling and presenting the evidence at the end of the day isn’t an impartial body but… get this… the same stupid attorney.

              This isn’t the first time something like this will have been done by a lawyer in order to generate income/large public cases. The exact same thing happened with the vaccination autism link – Andrew Wakefield (the doctor) was collaborating with a lawyer to create the evidence in order to be able to prosecute the vaccine companies and they would both get a cut of the ensuing income.

              There is no reason to even pay any attention to the Toronto hearings until, at the least, an impartial board is appointed to review and compile the evidence otherwise it is just a gerrymandered show for the benefit of this lawyer.

              • Zorr

                Hear are the specifics from the information page:

                “Who is the Sponsor?

                The lead sponsor of these Hearings is the International Center for 9/11 Studies. Established by U.S. attorney James Gourley”

                “the final report will be edited by the American attorney James Gourley”

                • freedom

                  “..James Gourley, …[International Center for 9/11 Studies] is currently known best for its success in gaining the release of approximately four terabytes of video evidence held (and kept from the public) by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.”

                  yeah he is so selfish and focused on his wallet he spent tens of thousands of dollars to battle for the release of information the Government wanted kept secret

                  Do you actually have any idea how many high-level people are beginning to back away from the Offiicial Story. Military leaders, Businessmen, Politicians,. There are members of the Official Commission who have stated the Official Story is not accurate. If they decided to publicly stand on the side of Truth i suspect you diss them also as they were once part of the problem. People are complex entities, and many have the capacity to learn, adapt and some even grow to realise they were wrong and try to make things right. James Gourley, has nothing to gain financially as you disparagingly suggest. I guess the authors of the books that drive the funding of many Truth events are also to be ignored based on your reasoning.

              • freedom

                p.s. “The International Center for 9/11 Studies is a not-for-profit organization ”

                NOT FOR PROFIT

                do you understand these simple words ? or is the concept foreign to your dogma

                • Lanthanide

                  You know that “not for profit” companies still actually pay their employees salaries, right?

                  You can be a “not for profit” company while paying your director a $1,000,000 salary. In fact being “not for profit” encourages unscrupulous companies to do do such things.

                  Similar to the “Emeritus Professor” note above, being “not for profit” is simply a distraction that doesn’t necessarily mean what it implies.

                  • freedom

                    Gee can they? wow thanks for the newsflash. Sarcasm aside, with no proof or valid reasoning you want to tar an organisation with the mercenary ideals of your own suspicions. That is not an attractive quality. Guess what, most Aid agencies throughout the Globe are rife with corrupt accounting practises yet they still seem to be on every street corner and Tv screen without a whisper of your discontent.

                    Many of the major charities operating today declare adminstrative costs that have been as high as 75% of donated funds. When i see your vitriol expressed at the gravey train of relief organisations that swim in money, i will happily make enquiries about unfounded accusations against the shoestring budgets of Truth Organisations.

                    State your concerns, supply the evidence or give them the benfit of the doubt that this organisation is operating in a NFP manner, exactly how it says it does.

                    • Lanthanide

                      Actually freedom, it is you saying the words “not for profit” magically mean that there is no corruption involved, everything is above board and we should not be suspicious of this guys motive at all. I’m merely pointing out that the words “not for profit” don’t mean any of that and you’ve just agreed with me.

                      See, it goes like this:
                      Zorr:
                      Those Toronto hearings are a farce anyway. The guy bankrolling the entire deal is an attorney and the person compiling and presenting the evidence at the end of the day isn’t an impartial body but… get this… the same stupid attorney.

                      freedom:
                      p.s. “The International Center for 9/11 Studies is a not-for-profit organization ”
                      NOT FOR PROFIT
                      do you understand these simple words ? or is the concept foreign to your dogma

            • freedom 3.1.1.2.1.3

              TVOR,
              MSN in July 2011 received 400,000,000 unique visitors, not exactly a barren wasteland of news
              http://www.google.com/adplanner/static/top1000/

            • travellerev 3.1.1.2.1.4

              Here you go a video of 18 seconds. Explosions at the start of the collapse of building 7.

              Here is dr Shyam Sunder the head of the WTC7 investigation by NIST giving a radio interview about the pending report. Here is the official presentation of NIST of the WTC7 report
              Here is NIST’s computer model of the collapse and the building actually collapsing.

              ROFL!!! If you believe that Dr Shyan Sunder of NIST, when he says we took the most probably hypothesis and ignored all other info because it did not fit our hypothesis, is performing science you are a sad puppy!

              • McFlock

                Nice video. No source of origin or indication of what caused the bang, though – fracturing columns, collapsing walls, TNT?
                  
                It would, however, be able to be compared with the known frequency of explosions caused by nanothermite (not all explosives sound the same – some pop, others wooomph, others crack, etc). Might be useful.
                  
                Personally it sounded to me like internal structural failures, but that’s just a gut instinct.

                • Colonial Viper

                  Gun shot acoustic recording systems which keep track city wide will have recorded that ‘explosion’.

                  Notice how the firemen ducked when the sudden sound came through. That’s a reaction to ordnance going off, not a wall etc tumbling down.

                  Where are those acoustic records now.

                  • McFlock

                    Firefighters only duck if explosives detonate, but not to other sudden sounds?  Even if you were right in general, that was by then what one might regard as “a very bad day”.

                  • freedom

                    I have a certified copy of 9/11 Raw which is a real time untouched unedited A/V recording of the time period immediately prior to the collapse of WTC 1 & 2, and the subsequent chaos.
                    http://www.911raw.com/ ( clean link kept breaking up)

                    It was filmed by Richard A Siegel from a vantage point in Hoboken. The DVD has been rigorously analyzed and declared as an authentic recording of the events that occured as viewed from the Hoboken harbour where the filming took place.

                    On this DVD are numerous auditory anomolies that can only be ascribed to the existence of explosive events.

                    All attempts to present the data to the Official 9/11 Commission were refused.

                  • The Voice of Reason

                    Dunno about the gun shot records, CV and I wouldn’t be entirely sure that the area around the WTC complex has recordings anyway as I wouldn’t have thought it was a high gun crime area. Plus the overall level of noise with the collapse of the buildings would probably render them ineffective.
                     
                    However, there were also seismic recordings on the day, from a station on the outskirts of the city, that show the collapse in reasonable detail. No sign of thermite style explosions, of course, because that didn’t happen, but the usual pattern of noise and vibration consistent with a large building falling down.

                    • freedom

                      and the numerous other seismic recording devices that were confiscated by the FBI and other agencies immediately after the attack and never presented as evidence or returned to their original operators? Where are their records ? Why were they removed?

                      Kind of like the 89 surveillance cameras around the Pentagon and local businesses that had all footage removed and subsequently ‘lost’ or ‘damaged’ during the 9/11 investigation

                    • freedom

                      http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-22092011/#comment-377407
                      reply to your popular mechanics comedy

                      TVOR
                      If you ever bother to watch the video of that particular moment in the collapse you will see the twenty odd story section of the tower begins to follow the path of least resistance as expected, then it does a bizarre thing, it does not continue to arc out according to the laws of physics and collapse enmasse into the street eighty floors below, no, instead it turns into dust and debris. Remember this section, the one YOU have pointed out, is above the impact zone of the Aircraft and has no forces working upon it except for gravity and newtonian physics.

                    • Colonial Viper

                      Those gun shot mics can pick up firearms activity anywhere from 2km – 4km away. They dont need to be on top of a site of interest.

                      but the usual pattern of noise and vibration consistent with a large building falling down.

                      Sorry mate you can only say that if that station can routinely pick up controlled demolition activity of old buildings a similar distance away.

                • That was a clip from a documentary made by an Italian main stream media network (They have a lot of experience with state crimes against democracy after all) Here is the six minute version.

                  It is way at the end and you can see the interaction the two man have with the firefighters.
                  Note that never in the history of steel framed buildings there had been a collapse in free fall speed as result of office fires(Not before nor after 911) and that Jovenko the Dutch demolition expert who was interviewed by a Dutch mainstream media sender (We to have our experiences with governments and their inherent unreliability) died recently in a car crash.

                  • The Voice of Reason

                    This wasn’t an office fire. It took two fuel laden aircraft hitting the buildings at several hundred kph to make them collapse. Or, maybe 2 holograms, several hundred tons of thermite, an army of thousands and vast conspiracy of silence. 
                     
                    By the way, what happened to all the people that boarded the holograms/and or disguised missiles in Boston? I’ve been meaning to ask for ages if we know what happened to them. I presume they were executed in the departure lounge and the bodies buried out the back of Logan Airport and the phone calls from the planes, sorry, hologram/missile were faked as well.
                     
                    What’s the go there?

                    • Colonial Viper

                      What’s the go there?

                      Nothing pleasant, I imagine. BTW its not a question of whether or not the planes struck the two towers (the Pentagon is another issue). But whether or not assymetrical strikes, assymetrical structural damage and assymetrical fires, could have caused not just one, but both towers to fall perfectly vertically and symmetrically, directly down on to their own streetside footprints.

                      In the other scenario, an army of thousands? I'd say 50-100 people all up, tops would have been ample.

                      Hundreds of tons of thermite? No, less than 10 tonnes might have done the trick. Moved in over 12 months, thats 30kg shifted per day. Could do it in a back pack.

                    • Actually NIST specified that the damage to building 7 wasn’t severe enough to cause the collapse and that office fires had caused the almost free fall collapse of building 7. We are talking about building 7 here not the twin towers.

                      You are getting quit emotional over this aren’t you? I mean your going of on all kinds of strange tangents such as holograms and that. I have never denied planes flew in the buildings or that real people died when the buildings came down.

                    • By the way the Manhattan project (Nuclear bombs and that) involved about a 125.000 individuals and was kept secret for about 12 years. (Even though Russian spies managed to penetrate the wall of secrecy. The American population most assuredly was kept in the dark.

                    • The Voice of Reason

                      ” … to fall perfectly vertically, directly down on to their own streetside footprints”
                       
                      What a weird statement! While the buildings obviously fell straight down, more or less, pancaking on themselves as the laws of physics demand, tons of debris was flung for considerable distances, including the portion that detached and struck WTC7. You know that they’re not trees, eh? Buildings don’t fall sideways like a pinus radiata being logged, but WTC’s 1 and 2 definitely did not impact just in their own footprints. 
                       
                      There’s a great photo showing the upper portion of one them twisting away from the centre line here. The article’s good reading too and also contains a bit about the seismic readings that give the lie to the thermite explosions theory.
                       
                       

                      Edit: Ev, the majority of the Manhattan project workers were not privy to the ultimate goal, that is true. Only a handful knew. But your 9/11 theory requires all of the conspirators to know and still keep silent. I’m not emotional about this at all, but it’s fair to say I don’t believe in pissing on the dead.

                    • While the buildings obviously fell straight down, more or less, pancaking on themselves as the laws of physics demand, tons of debris was flung for considerable distances, including the portion that detached and struck WTC7. You know that they’re not trees, eh? Buildings don’t fall sideways like a pinus radiata being logged, but WTC’s 1 and 2 definitely did not impact just in their own footprints. 

                      There’s a great photo showing the upper portion of one them twisting away from the centre line here. The article’s good reading too and also contains a bit about the seismic readings that give the lie to the thermite explosions theory.

                      And for you in the real world here is a presentation of Greame McQueen about the collapse of the twin towers.
                      By the way VOR, even NIST deserted the pancake theory a long time ago and no the laws of physics do not demand pancaking but do require the path of least resistance which means that that upper portion twisting away should have fallen of the top not toward it but that is neither here nor there because it pulverized in mid air as visible in this 2 minute video. Also very interesting is the strange shaking of the camera just before the collapse.

                    • freedom

                      http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-22092011/#comment-377407
                      “But your 9/11 theory requires all of the conspirators to know and still keep silent”

                      complete horse manure and you know it. The whole event could be done with a couple of dozen well placed people of authority and means. Who benefits? the Afghanistan nation surely didn’t. Modern high energy explosives can be painted on and any crew can be told it is a new form of fireproofing paint and they would have no reason to think otherwise. The maintenace and structural areas for WTC can be accessed and walked through without the public/tenants knowing. There are numerous anomolies of the weeks preceeding the event. These include unprecedented power-downs of both towers, weeks of unspecified upgrading of communications data including a vast new wireless network and in the weekend prior to the event, the removal of Bomb sniffing dogs who had been on duty every day since 1993. WTC7 had also undergone major structural work in the three years prior.

                      The very real planes can be and most likely were remote controlled. This has beeen possible for a half century. The fate of the actual aircraft and the passengers are unknown but there is a lot of information pertaining to landings at a Govt controlled landing strip and disembarkation of congruous numbers of people has been reported. The Pentagon story was so thoroughly obliterated during the Toronto hearings i won’t even bother to detail how.

                      The list goes on and on but the idea that thousands of people are needed to be aware of it, in order to carry it out, ignores the inherent and quite brilliant simplicity of the plan. Let us wait for some common ground shall we. Let us all await the Toronto Hearings and the actual data, the actual facts as science has declared them to be. Let us see if the weight of factual evidence will finally destroy the spineless illusions dictated by the Official 911 Commission.

                    • Colonial Viper

                      tons of debris was explosively flung for considerable distances sometimes at hundreds of metres per second, including the portion that detached and struck WTC7.

                      Fixed that up for you.

                      Glad you brought up the point about jets of debris visible in the videos, shooting out sideways at high speed.

                • freedom

                  “Personally it sounded to me like internal structural failures, but that’s just a gut instinct.”
                  wow, Mcflock, heard many steel framed sky scrapers suffer structural failure have you?
                  when and where?

                  your comment reminds me of the ‘guy on the street’ they kept interviewing on the day who said ” ….mostly due to structural failure because the fire was too intense..’
                  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0wHeekgPqk

                  in a world where
                  NO STEEL FRAMED BUILDING HAD EVER COLLAPSED DUE TO FIRE
                  and people were panicked and in shock, they found the one guy amongst the chaos who had worked out the cause and could plainly and repeatedly state it for the cameras.

                  i must have seen this guy interviewed on camera a dozen times on 9/11 2001

                  (This man has been identified as Mark Walsh .
                  He worked as a freelance cameraman for Fox News in 2001, .)
                  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTrw9dh3xOU

                  • McFlock

                    True enough that I don’t have much of a comparison set, although I’ve heard one or two loud bangs in my time.
                     
                    But I noticed that the firefighters continued their personal calls without utterances like “omg, that sounded like artillery!” or “golly, I’ve never heard something like that before, what could it be?” The closest they got were references to “blow up” or “exploding”. Pretty understandable given the width of the debris field.

                    • Pretty understandable given the width of the debris field.

                      The debris field of WTC7 did not exceed its footprint when intact. It came straight down in its own footprint in near free fall speed. If no explosives were used it broke all laws of physics.

                    • McFlock
                      I take it that your lack of reaction to the entire clip means that it fell outside your 30 second rule?

                    • freedom

                      there are numerous videos and testimony is prolific from Firefighters and Police who witnessed/heard/felt explosions and adequately define them as such. Not just during but prior to the onset of collapse.

                      watch this video of Firefighters discussing activity in the Lobby AFTER the planes hit and tell me they imagined it.

                      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IYlEVCpG_0

                      it is a short video, just a couple of minutes,

                    • McFlock

                      Nah, watched the entire clip.
                      It’s an interesting piece, but not conclusive by any stretch of the imagination. I am tempted to call it your most persuasive link to date, but that is saying less than nothing.

                      PS: if explosives were used and it’s collapse was as perfectly confined as you suggest, it still “broke all the laws of physics” (translation: achieved an extremely low-probability outcome based on rough estimates of a highly complex system).

                    • McFlock

                      freedom:

                      I think it’s a video of people trying to process a massive event very shortly after it happened, subsequently being overanalysed by people who are simply looking for evidence that supports their thesis, rather than impartially assessing all the available data.
                        
                      I also love how you guys are now being a touch sarcastic about video times, simply because I can’t dick about watching youtube all day at work. Maybe the trouble you guys have is too much time on your hands so you let your imaginations run a little hot.

                    • clandestino

                      Hah ain’t that the truth(er)

                  • Nick C

                    Well that confims it then. You are all complete nutjobs. No one takes 9/11 conspiricy theories seriously anymore.

                    I cant wait for you to get up on the next global warming thread and complain about the unfounded views of idiots with crazy views who ignore the evidence and come up with increasingly bizzare rationalisations.

                    http://www.debunking911.com/

                    • Colonial Viper

                      No one takes 9/11 conspiricy theories seriously anymore.

                      A couple of thousand registered architects, engineers and academics who are members of AE911 do.

                    • Nick C

                      Yes. And im sure you could find a couple of thousand people with science degrees who question global warming without any trouble. The fact remains that the overwhelming majority of engineers and architects believe that there is no conspiricy based on the evidence of what brought the buildings down.

                      http://911-engineers.blogspot.com/

                      “Only a handful of architects and engineers question the NIST Report, but they have never come up with an alternative. Although at first blush it may seem impressive that these people don’t believe the NIST Report, remember that there are 123,000 members of ASCE(American Society of Civil Engineers) who do not question the NIST Report. There are also 80,000 members of AIA(American Institute of Architects) who do not question the NIST Report.

                      Although their field of expertise is not related to the construction of buildings – they don’t seem to have a problem with that over at AE911truth – there are also 120,000 members of ASME(American Society of Mechanical Engineers) who do not question the NIST report. There are also 370,000 members of IEEE(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) who do not question the NIST report. There are also 40,000 members of AIChE(American Institute of Chemical Engineers) who do not question the NIST Report. There are also 35,000 members of AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) who do not question the NIST report. So who would you rather believe?”

  4. The latest contender for Richardhead of the year has to be Matthew Ridge.  Although why the Herald should consider this a story is beyond me.  After all who would be surprised that a rugby jock used car selling millionaire would be anti Labour?

    • Countersinker 4.1

      I thought Labour meant doing work or have the Labour Party got a mortgage on the word Labour?
      Bit like homos having a mortgage on the word gay.

      • Lanthanide 4.1.1

        How does one “mortgage” a word, exactly? What does that even mean?

      • Akldnut 4.1.2

        because of the words ‘Say no to Labour’, and the reference to voting and tick in a box on a blue background which may reasonably be regarded as encouraging or persuading voters not to vote for the Labour Party as a political party,”

        Self explanatory really – don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that it’s an underhanded election advert in the guise of a business hoarding.

        • Tigger 4.1.2.1

          Countersinker – take your homophobic crap elsewhere you worm.

        • freedom 4.1.2.2

          Quite smart starting the ‘unofficial’ National Party campaign with the Ridge. The inherent buffoonery can swipe away the seriousness of the transgression. If they got caught (AS THEY HAVE) then it is wet bus tickets and just boys having a laugh. I suspect there are many more of these types of campaign messages to come over the next eight weeks and they will now be groomed based on the fines/judgements of these early efforts.

    • tc 4.2

      lower wages, employer friendly climate and if ya don’t like the way that person’s slaving over yo car….ya got 90 days to sack em without any qusetions…..what the jocks would call a ‘full credit’ outcome.

      Ridgey and his partners would be lovin the brighter future….do the maths on charges V min wages next time you venture into one….water’s still cheap as Wodneys reforms haven’t kicked in yet.

    • Ianupnorth 4.3

      Never liked that wanker Ridge

  5. Janice 5

    I hope that someone is putting Bernie Monk up for some recognition in the New Year Honours. Despite his personal grief he has always been available to speak for the Pike River families in a concise and respectful manner. Given the facts coming out at the commission there must have been many times when he had to bite his lip when being interviewed by ignorant journalists making thier own assumptions. Now RNZ is reporting that the families have asked for a meeting with the key, when another family member was on earlier saying that it was his office that asked for the meeting – no doubt for a serious photo op after all the ra ra ra photos of the RWC.

    • vto 5.1

      Well yes Key is in Greyhole today no less. No doubt he will try to get a photo like the pathetic image of him standing adjacent to Mealamu for the nat anthem at the Japan game last week. It was like he was pretending he could run with a rugby ball… actually, has anybody ever seen Key run?

      It will be interesting to see what comes of Pike River today with mr shallow in attendance…

      • Alan 5.1.1

        Oi! ‘Greyhole’?

        At least we don’t free shakes with our happy meals 🙂

        Otherwise, i agree with what you said.

    • gingercrush 5.2

      Sorry but the way the media are reporting Pike River is doing my head in. You can’t show lawyer from EPMU, Labour Dept, Pike River, families etc. attacking someone on the stand and report it that way and then go back to Bernie Monk every bloody day so he can speak on behalf of the family. Its a royal commission and I can’t stand how the media have been reporting it. Its not healthy to have a set of conclusions made every time someone speaks. Its just not good.

  6. Jim Nald 6

    Anyone heard our country’s Attorney General trying to keep a straight face on Morning Report to cover his cock up?

    Well done, Chris dahhhling. You could have fooled us.

  7. freedom 7

    so it is not an election ad but they let him make an election statement whilst telling you it’s not an election ad. I see a wet bus ticket in ridge’s future and the herald just wanders off without a word against their manipulations.

  8. ianmac 8

    Another clearly stated opinion this time by Mai Chen on the five issues that she perceives with the retrospective Surveillance proposals.
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10753400
    Her last para sums it up nicely in my opinion.
    No one wants to let criminal offenders get off scot free, but if the Government passed prospective, rather than retrospective, legislation concerning the Supreme Court decision, this would preserve the fundamental constitutional principle that we are all ruled by law (including the police) and we should know what the law and its consequences are before we act.

  9. Good on Amnesty International for campaigning ‘to halt the execution of Troy Davis, an American citizen convicted of killing a police officer. ‘

    What hapened to ‘innocent until PROVEN guilty’ – ‘beyond reasonable doubt’?

    Troy Davis has already spent 20 years on ‘Death Row’.

    America – the ‘land of the free’?

    Yeah right.

    http://www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pubs/2006nov_factsheet_incarceration.pdf

    “The US has less than 5% of the world’s population but over 23% of the world’s incarcerated people.

    In the past 30 years, the United States has come to rely on imprisonment as its response to all types of crime.

    Even minor violations of parole or probation often lead to a return to prison.

    This has created a prison system of unprecedented size in this country.

    The US incarcerates the largest number of people in the world.

    The incarceration rate in the US is four times the world average.

    Some individual US states imprison up to six times as many people as do nations of comparable population.

    The US imprisons the most women in the world.

    Crime rates do not account for incarceration rates.

    Local and state facilities across the country are overcrowded, exacerbate prisoner health problems, risk the safety of both staff and prisoners, are in poor repair, and strain taxpayers.

    The nationwide bill for incarceration is conservatively estimated at $42 billion annually (see AOUSC, May, 2004).

    Many prison and jail systems havebeen sued for failure to meet minimum requirements for health and safety.

    Prisoner rehabilitation and reentry services are inadequately funded.”

    I wonder how many of those incarcerated in the USA are in prison for ‘white collar’ crime?

    In NZ – you will note that the ‘three strikes’ policy does NOT apply to ‘white collar’ crime?

    Penny Bright. Independent ‘Public Watchdog’. Candidate for Epsom.

    • freedom 10.1

      Troy Davis is due for Lethal Injection in a half hour, unless Georgia can admit it made a mistake.

      This case is not a million miles away from the problems we are facing in NZ. The supposition that the State knows best has only dragged Justice backwards and i have a recurring nightmare that the call for a death penalty will be revisited if National get back in.

      • joe90 10.1.1

        SCOTUS still considering the Davis stay.

      • Brett Dale 10.1.2

        Its been delayed.

        • travellerev 10.1.2.1

          Troy Davis has just been executed! I have no words

          • McFlock 10.1.2.1.1

            bugger

            • joe90 10.1.2.1.1.1

              Billie Holiday – Strange Fruit

              Southern trees bear strange fruit
              Blood on the leaves
              Blood at the root
              Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
              Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
              Pastoral scene of the gallant south
              The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
              The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh
              Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
              Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
              for the rain to gather
              for the wind to suck
              for the sun to rot
              for the tree to drop
              Here is a strange and bitter crop

              • McFlock

                very apt

                • joe90

                  Ani DiFranco – Crime for crime

                  the big day has come
                  the bell is sounding
                  i run my hands through my hair one last time
                  outside the prison walls
                  the town is gathering
                  people are trading crime for crime

                  everyone needs to see the prisoner
                  they need to make it even easier
                  they see me as a symbol, and not a human being
                  that way they can kill me
                  say it’s not murder, it’s a metaphor
                  we are killing off our own failure
                  and starting clean

                  standing in the gallows
                  everyone turned my way
                  i hear a voice ask me
                  if I’ve got any last words to say
                  and i’m looking out over the field of familiar eyes
                  somewhere in a woman’s arms a baby cries

                  i think guilt and innocence
                  they are a matter of degree
                  what might be justice to you
                  might not be justice to me
                  i went to far, i’m sorry
                  i guess now i’m going home
                  so let any amongst you cast the first stone
                  now we’ve got all these complicated machines
                  so no one person ever has to have blood on their hands
                  we’ve got complex organizations
                  and if everyone just does their job
                  no one person has to understand

                  you might be the wrong colour
                  you might be too poor
                  justice isn’t something just anyone can afford
                  you might not pull the trigger
                  you might be out in the car
                  and you might get a lethal injection
                  ’cause we take a metaphor that far

                  the big day has come
                  the bell is sounding
                  i run my hands through my hair one last time
                  outside the prison walls
                  the town has gathered
                  people are trading crime for crime
                  people are trading crime for crime
                  people are still trading crime for crime

    • Lanthanide 10.2

      You’ve missed one crucial point about the US prison system: it is modern day slave labour. Once you understand that point, the motivations for the rest of it becomes clear. Sorry for the long copy and paste dump, but this is all very pertinent:

      http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8289

      “The prison industry complex is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States and its investors are on Wall Street. “This multimillion-dollar industry has its own trade exhibitions, conventions, websites, and mail-order/Internet catalogs. It also has direct advertising campaigns, architecture companies, construction companies, investment houses on Wall Street, plumbing supply companies, food supply companies, armed security, and padded cells in a large variety of colors.”

      According to the Left Business Observer, the federal prison industry produces 100% of all military helmets, ammunition belts, bullet-proof vests, ID tags, shirts, pants, tents, bags, and canteens. Along with war supplies, prison workers supply 98% of the entire market for equipment assembly services; 93% of paints and paintbrushes; 92% of stove assembly; 46% of body armor; 36% of home appliances; 30% of headphones/microphones/speakers; and 21% of office furniture. Airplane parts, medical supplies, and much more: prisoners are even raising seeing-eye dogs for blind people.”

      “Who is investing? At least 37 states have legalized the contracting of prison labor by private corporations that mount their operations inside state prisons. The list of such companies contains the cream of U.S. corporate society: IBM, Boeing, Motorola, Microsoft, AT&T, Wireless, Texas Instrument, Dell, Compaq, Honeywell, Hewlett-Packard, Nortel, Lucent Technologies, 3Com, Intel, Northern Telecom, TWA, Nordstrom’s, Revlon, Macy’s, Pierre Cardin, Target Stores, and many more. All of these businesses are excited about the economic boom generation by prison labor. Just between 1980 and 1994, profits went up from $392 million to $1.31 billion. Inmates in state penitentiaries generally receive the minimum wage for their work, but not all; in Colorado, they get about $2 per hour, well under the minimum. And in privately-run prisons, they receive as little as 17 cents per hour for a maximum of six hours a day, the equivalent of $20 per month. The highest-paying private prison is CCA in Tennessee, where prisoners receive 50 cents per hour for what they call “highly skilled positions.” At those rates, it is no surprise that inmates find the pay in federal prisons to be very generous. There, they can earn $1.25 an hour and work eight hours a day, and sometimes overtime. They can send home $200-$300 per month.

      Thanks to prison labor, the United States is once again an attractive location for investment in work that was designed for Third World labor markets. A company that operated a maquiladora (assembly plant in Mexico near the border) closed down its operations there and relocated to San Quentin State Prison in California. In Texas, a factory fired its 150 workers and contracted the services of prisoner-workers from the private Lockhart Texas prison, where circuit boards are assembled for companies like IBM and Compaq.”

    • Brett Dale 10.3

      Penny Bright:

      You said, “Land of the free, yeah right.”

      A New Zealand politician taking cheap shots at the states, heck that hasnt happen before.

      • thejackal 10.3.1

        Why on earth is New Zealand following a country with the most defunct and destructive prison system in the world?

        • Brett Dale 10.3.1.1

          Thejackel:

          Yeah Im sure the prisons in south america, asia, africa, eastern europe are brilliant and obey by international human rights laws.

          • joe90 10.3.1.1.1

            Yeah sure, but unlike the evil empire they’re not talking out of the sides of their mouths about human rights while they go about killing their own citizens.

      • Penny Bright 10.3.2

        I’m actually a judicially-recognised ‘Public Watchdog’ (on Metrowater, water and Auckland regional governance matters) , and a publicly-acknowledged ‘anti-corruption campaigner’ – not a politician.

        I find that the electoral process is a good way of helping to focuss public attention on the issues.

        That’s the main reason why I chose to stand as an ‘Independent Public Watchdog’ candidate in the ‘Auckland Mayoral election , and Botany and Howick by-elections.

        🙂 Penny Bright. Independent ‘Public Watchdog’. Candidate for Epsom.

    • Colonial Viper 10.4

      What the US needs to do is lock more people up for longer, and then (clearly) things will improve.

      Get put behind bars for robbing a business of $500, but steal $500B from the taxpayer and get a year-end bonus as a bankster.

      Welcome to the USA.

    • Vicky32 10.6

      Good on Amnesty International for campaigning ‘to halt the execution of Troy Davis, an American citizen convicted of killing a police officer. ‘
      What hapened to ‘innocent until PROVEN guilty’ – ‘beyond reasonable doubt’?
      Troy Davis has already spent 20 years on ‘Death Row’.
      America – the ‘land of the free’?

      Sadly, they killed him! I heard that this afternoon on the BBC WS, they had it as breaking news… His last words were that he forgave those murdering him, and that the family of his ‘victim’, should look into having the case re-investigated….

  10. AAMC 11

    Earth to Labour, from England to you…

    “The economy is in flames and the neoliberal model that has brought it to this pass is bust – even as the political class clings stubbornly to the orthodoxies of the boom years. But those who grasp that the crisis is transforming politics will shape its future.”

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/21/radical-action-drag-economy-brink

    • marsman 11.1

      We all knew that the neoliberal model was a nasty crock of shit by the time Roger Douglas got his knighthood, didn’t we?

      • AAMC 11.1.1

        Perhaps the Left should be better grasping the changing narrative then!

        This is the opportunity to educate the electorate and show the status quo is the cause for the predicament, and that Key n co are wedded to an ideology which proved itself to have failed in Chile in the 70’s, Asia in the 90’s.
        And now that the debt bubble fueled by Asia – who learnt the lessons we didn’t, and saved and managed rather than consumed and deregulated, flooding us with liquidity with which to pretend we were booming – has burst and the failure throughout the Western economies is irrefutable, why isn’t the Left dominating the debate rather than running scared of the focus group.

      • KJT 11.1.2

        Some of us were saying it at the time.

        Unfortunately everything we warned about has occurred.

        George Orwell was right!

  11. Fukushima is Worse

    Last night, New Zealand’s mainstream media reiterated that the Fukushima nuclear disaster was officially recognized as an accident similar in scale to Chernobyl, and that typhoon Roke, was heading towards the stricken nuclear power plant, which was devastated in the 11 March earthquake and tsunami…

  12. Colonial Viper 13

    Keep the Middle East poor and oppressed quiet

    By giving them free food and social services.

    Can’t have a revisit of the ‘Arab Spring’.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-19/opec-s-1t-cash-quiets-poor-on-longest-ever-100-oil.html

  13. Ianupnorth 14

    Here’s a thought, only just occurred to me.
     
    Anyone think the price of fuel has been upped for the last week or so and for the next couple of weeks? Considerably more traffic (camper vans, rental cars, etc) on the roads.
     
    Are the petrol companies price gouging?

    • insider 14.1

      Last week the AA said they thought the increases were reasonable or in line with historic margins.

    • thejackal 14.2

      They are price gouging… the cost of a barrel of Brent crude has fallen by $20 over the last two weeks. Being that the oil industry wants National to win (because National will ignore New Zealand’s obligations under the Kyoto protocol an is pro deep sea oil drilling), we can expect the price of crude to continue to fall leading up to the next general election. The increase at the pump is just a small blimp to take advantage of the increased traffic.

  14. I have waited in vain, of course ,for the Herald to headline the sleazy actions of National President Goodfellow regarding his business concerned with allegations of slave labour with his shiping company.
    There was a small column in last weeks Sunday Star but so far I have seen nothing in the Herald.Just imagine if this had involved any one from Labour.It would have been headline news , In fact they would be demanding his resignation and prosecution .

  15. Environment vs Big Oil & Gas

    We all know that our reliance on petroleum-based products will come to an end, the question is when and how much damage is going to be caused in the mean time. The difficulty is that we’ve built our entire system around cheap oil with little consideration for the environment. Even when informed of the danger, mankind is failing to change its habits…

  16. freedom 17

    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-22092011/#comment-377472

    McFlock,
    My work allows me to maintain a proximity to ongoing discussions, i am not going to apologise for that.
    I am dissapointed however with your insinuations against the work ethic of people you do not know.
    That said, let’s move on shall we?

    Firemen in distress.
    I always tend to trust reality over editing.

    In any investigation of a terrorist attack, a natural disaster or similarly destructive event, the eyewitness reports of trained professionals in the moments after an event are proven to be some of the most crucial.

    Years ago, I did watch a lot of 9/11 videos. Many of them were terrible and were not very constructive. Others were pure dis-info and were highly destructive by design. Knowing this, i actually do not spend all day watching YouTube. I occassionally pop in to grab a video i know is there, when requiring the content for illustration of a discussion. I downloaded many of these videos and now and again i may watch one or a part of one. Since then it has been a steady diet of actual information not just absorbing others’ visual interpretations of the content. I absolutely agree there is a risk of over exposure to information and a corresponding impairment to judgement.
    Is 9/11 Truth the only topic with this malady?

    • McFlock 17.1

      Ongoing discussions is one thing – I’m in the same priviledged boat, there. But being able to set aside 3 hours to watch something in the hope that it will be more persuasive than the wishful thinking previously exhibited seems a bit high-cost low-gain.
        
      Yes, professional contemporaneous eyewitness statements are usually very valuable. This is why I’m not quite so derisive as if someone is arguing that aluminium cannot possibly melt in a fire. But such footage is indicative, not conclusive. E.g. even if there were explosions, were those bombs, structural failures prior to the eventual collapse, or even gas cylinders from restaurants, floor polishers, forklifts, or even something else that is explosive under some circumstances and perfectly reasonable to store in a large facility?
        
      I think the issue about 9/11 is that it goes to a lot of people’s hearts and serves to highlight their initial biases. These are things that we all need to overcome to lok at the evidence impartially, but as soon as we do that we realise that 99.9% of the “evidence” is supposition, hearsay, assumption, overinterpretation of misinterpretation or whatever – we’re swamped with bullshit.
        
      All that can be said with any degree of probability is that it was then used as a casus belli against at least one nation that was almost certainly unconnected to the attacks.

      • freedom 17.1.1

        It is most certainly the Wars that are too often neglected in 9/11 discussion. I like to think people generally dislike them and prefer not to be reminded they are ongoing. They certainly do not smile when shown War’s relationship to the world we share. The pure subconscious terror that many experience as doubt gnaws their heart has become more obvious and more pertinent as the years pass.
        Many people use this as a reality barometer.

        Another useful measure would have been a ‘global debate worm’ during the Toronto Hearings.
        McFlock , If it began with the 99.9 % figure you provided, over the four days of the evidence,
        i believe the nose dive of belief in the Official Story would have been impressive to witness.

        • The Voice of Reason 17.1.1.1

          “If it began with the 99.9 % denial figure you provided, over the four days of the evidence,i believe the nose dive of belief in the Official Story would have been impressive to witness.”
           
          What’s really important is that no evidence of a crime at was presented over the four days, freedom. What was presented, as McFlock suggests, was supposition, hearsay, assumption, over interpretation or misinterpretation.
           
          By the way, would you convict the Urewera accused on ‘evidence’ as flimsy as that that you currently hold in regard to a 9/11 conspiracy? Law is a yes or no thing. Either you have evidence or you don’t. The coppers didn’t, so they dropped the charges against most. There needs to be a level of proof of a conspiracy before any of your theories have any validity. Any credence. So, even if the theories are all correct, it doesn’t matter a damn if you can’t pin it on someone.
           
          And then there is the little question of why. Why the fuck would you do this to your own country? Cui bono? There is no benefit to America, only downsides. And, as I know you think it was needed to spur a war or two, why bother? A fertiliser bomb laden truck outside the US embassy childcare facility in Baghdad or Kabul or any number of similar atrocities would work just as well and be a damn sight easier to organise.
           
          Nah, it’s shit. Sorry mate, but there you have it.

  17. big bruv 18

    So has Matthew Ridge made it onto Campbell Larsen’s list of people he wants to see “hurry up and die” yet?

    Imagine that, two high profile league players and all round working class men coming out and backing the government.

    It has not been a good week for you guys has it.

    • millsy 18.1

      Ridge is an entertainer. Not a league player. Right from when he signed his contract with Manly in ’89 he became an entertainer. Not an ‘all round working class man’. Pro sport is all about entertainment. NOT sport.

  18. joe90 19

    Only in America is there money to be made in state sanctioned killings.

    A Moment Of Brilliance–How To Not Kill Troy Davis

    We also call on all employees of Dr. Musso’s businesses, RainbowMedical Associates and Correct Health, Inc., who have anyinvolvement with implementing the Georgia Department of Corrections execution protocol, to refuse to participate in theexecution of Troy Davis. Remember your humanity and that youroath is to facilitate healing, not killing!

    #correcthealth

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    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    23 hours ago
  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    23 hours ago
  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    1 day ago
  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    1 day ago
  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago
  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    1 day ago
  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    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 ...
    3 days ago
  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    3 days ago
  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    3 days ago
  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    3 days ago
  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    4 days ago
  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    5 days ago
  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

    5 days ago
  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
    6 days ago
  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago
  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    Turning Point: What has turned me away from the mainstream news media is the very strong message that its been sending out for the last few years.” “And what message might that be?” “That the people who own it, the people who run it, and the people who provide its content, really don’t ...
    6 days ago
  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
    No – nothing about that in PM Luxon’s nine-point plan to improve the lives of New Zealanders. But beyond our shores Jamie Dimon, the long-serving head of global bank J.P. Morgan Chase, reckons that the chances of a goldilocks soft landing for the economy are “a lot lower” than the ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago
  • Sad tales from the left
    Michael Bassett writes –  Have you noticed the odd way in which the media are handling the government’s crackdown on surplus employees in the Public Service? Very few reporters mention the crazy way in which State Service numbers rocketed ahead by more than 16,000 during Labour’s six years, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research.   “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government redress for Te Korowai o Wainuiārua
    The Government is continuing the bipartisan effort to restore its relationship with iwi as the Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Claims Settlement Bill passed its first reading in Parliament today, says Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith. “Historical grievances of Te Korowai o Wainuiārua relate to 19th century warfare, land purchased or taken ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Focus on outstanding minerals permit applications
    New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals is working to resolve almost 150 outstanding minerals permit applications by the end of the financial year, enabling valuable mining activity and signalling to the sector that New Zealand is open for business, Resources Minister Shane Jones says.  “While there are no set timeframes for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Applications open for NZ-Ireland Research Call
    The New Zealand and Irish governments have today announced that applications for the 2024 New Zealand-Ireland Joint Research Call on Agriculture and Climate Change are now open. This is the third research call in the three-year Joint Research Initiative pilot launched in 2022 by the Ministry for Primary Industries and Ireland’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Tenancy rules changes to improve rental market
    The coalition Government has today announced changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to encourage landlords back to the rental property market, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “The previous Government waged a war on landlords. Many landlords told us this caused them to exit the rental market altogether. It caused worse ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Boosting NZ’s trade and agricultural relationship with China
    Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay will visit China next week, to strengthen relationships, support Kiwi exporters and promote New Zealand businesses on the world stage. “China is one of New Zealand’s most significant trade and economic relationships and remains an important destination for New Zealand’s products, accounting for nearly 22 per cent of our good and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Freshwater farm plan systems to be improved
    The coalition Government intends to improve freshwater farm plans so that they are more cost-effective and practical for farmers, Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay have announced. “A fit-for-purpose freshwater farm plan system will enable farmers and growers to find the right solutions for their farm ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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