Open mike 23/02/2023

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 23rd, 2023 - 39 comments
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39 comments on “Open mike 23/02/2023 ”

  1. Sanctuary 1

    I hear Luke Malpass is so economically dry Treasury are planning to keep him in their umbrella stand as a dessicant.

  2. arkie 2

    Reports that Auckland Council wants to take the razor to environmental spending in the upcoming budget. Chlöe Swarbrick has a petition to send a message to Wayne Brown:

    Our hearts go out to everyone in Aotearoa who has been affected by recent flooding in Tāmaki Makaurau, Northland, Waikato and Cyclone Gabrielle all around the North Island.

    This is climate change.

    But right now, there are reports that Auckland’s Mayor, Wayne Brown, is considering cutting two-thirds of the funding sources for essential environmental programmes that are crucial to protecting everyone from severe weather.

    Essential work is at risk, like improving stormwater management and restoring wetlands to reduce the impact of floods.

    We’ve heard that Mayor Brown is also proposing cutting funding for buses – when we know that better public transport is a crucial part of reducing our climate pollution and delivering a more liveable, sustainable city.

    And we've even heard that the Natural Environment Targeted Rate looks to be 'paused', in addition to a significant reduction of the climate change team's work programme.

    Just as communities have united to help with the immediate response and recovery, we need to show our political leaders that we’re united in our support for:

    • Protecting and restoring wetlands, rivers, and streams to keep floodwaters away from homes and communities.
    • Improving our green spaces, through planting trees and maintaining our parks, so that our urban environment is more resilient in the face of extreme weather.
    • Making buses and trains more frequent and more reliable, so people aren’t forced into car dependency to get around their city.
    • Making streets better for people, so tamariki can walk and bike to school safely.

    As we continue to recover from the devastation, we need urgent action to build climate-friendly, resilient communities where everyone has what they need to thrive in Tāmaki Makaurau and nationwide. A better future is possible.

    Take a minute and sign the petition here: https://action.greens.org.nz/protect_our_climate_safe_future

  3. Joe90 3

    Tl;dr. Believing conspiracy theories isn't neccessarily a sign of stupidity. It may be a mark of narcissism. Grandiose narcissists – I know something you don't. Vulnerable narcissists – I'm special and they're out to get me.

    Abstract

    The present cross-sectional study (NParticipants = 397; NInformants = 460) examined the association of both grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism with conspiracy beliefs in the context of four theoretically-relevant mediators. Participants who were higher in grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism were more likely to believe in conspiracy theories, seemingly because they were more likely to hold unusual beliefs. There was, likewise, some evidence to suggest that those high in vulnerable narcissism believe in conspiracy theories because they suffer from paranoia, whereas those high in grandiose narcissism believe in conspiracy theories because of a desire to be unique. Together, these results suggest that the conspiracist ideation seen among those high in grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism is a consequence of features that are shared between and unique to each of the traits.

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656621000659

    • Sanctuary 3.1

      One thing that has astonished me is how a lot of clearly fake social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter were able to generate an entire orchestra of seditious disinformation and misinformation on crime in Hawkes Bay, and that was laundered via ACT and National into a fake news "law and order" issue.

      The whole thing was completely made up, but somehow it made it to the debating chamber of parliament and it saw the leader of the opposition more less accusing the police commissioner of lying on the basis of largely made up posts on social media. Just wild stuff.

      For many in the National party – and in particular it's fascist adjacent evangelical Taliban ten as well as the far right like ACT – these sort of reactionary shitstorms driven by fake news offer real excitement, an orgiastic opportunity to oscillate between moral panic over social breakdown and a clear taste for fascistic restoration (army on the streets! Shoot looters on sight!). I guess that is what fuels the constant organic hunger on the right for syncretic millenarianism – a toxic brew of evangelical end of times, intolerance, racism, authoritarianism and vulgar political opportunism that amounts to crypto-fascism.

    • SPC 3.2

      It would appear they are profiling the dissident public as either having delusions of grandeur, or paranoia.

      And that is not a conspiracy theory.

      It's in the – they would say that, wouldn't they, category. Classic gaslighting of the public.

      They say there is concern about CT leading to prejudicial beliefs, political apathy and distrust of vaccines …

  4. Muttonbird 4

    Digital activists sunset_flowers have had their popular https://whatdoesmylandlordown.org search tool attacked by DOS and landlord groups via the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

    The team behind the website, who call themselves sunset_flowers, announced on Saturday that changes had been made to the way ownership results were displayed.

    Property owners with fewer than 20 titles would now have their names redacted in search results, so it would be possible to see what else they owned but their names would not be accessible, a website update said.

    “This is not because 19 is an ‘acceptable’ number of properties to own. In fact, we believe that owning *any* amount of land is a privileged position in society that should be scrutinised, particularly in a country where land is cut up and sold through colonial violence.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/131203829/new-website-revealing-how-many-properties-landlords-own-is-under-investigation?rm=a

    Critic Te Ārohi snagged an interview with one of the websites’ developers, Jordan*. Jordan said that the motivation for making the website came from the common experience of feeling hopeless in the Aotearoa housing market, where he and his mates “foresee no way of home ownership [themselves]”.

    According to the website, the tool provides an “understanding of the wealth divide and pathways for collective responses.” A bit like knowing the rules before you break them, the website states that “in order to hold power to account, we must first understand this power.

    https://www.critic.co.nz/news/article/10479/no-that-landlord-website-wasnt-taken-down

    Textbook activism there, love it!

  5. pat 5

    "Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr could not have been more clear. If the Government includes raising taxes in its plans to pay for the Cyclone Gabrielle rebuild, then that will take pressure off him to raise interest rates. Twice in his Monetary Policy press conference yesterday, he carefully stated that position."

    Continue reading at https://www.politik.co.nz/orr-raise-taxes-or-i-will-raise-interest-rates/ | Politik

    What will Hipkins/Robertson conclude….who can they tax and still retain an opportunity for re election?…or will they gamble and seek to borrow?

      • bwaghorn 5.1.1

        Dumb question of the day!!

        Do the profits from oil companies and banks get paid out as dividends to there share holders, who would then pay income tax on said dividends???

        • weka 5.1.1.1

          no-one is saying take all their profit (apart from maybe the communists).

        • UncookedSelachimorpha 5.1.1.2

          The windfall proposal would effectively increase the amount going to tax from these profits.

          Of course the capital gains that accrue when the share price is driven up by said profits – and which can dwarf the dividends – remains entirely tax free for some odd reason.

      • tsmithfield 5.1.2

        A Spinoff article here on Windfall Taxes. Quite a good article actually, pointing to both the benefits and the drawbacks of such a tax.

        From the article:

        A windfall tax is more likely to be successful if it is actually taxing a windfall. But this is not a tax that would be simple to implement. Determining the excess profit is likely to be complex. A time frame for the tax would also need to be determined – a windfall tax should not be permanent.

        Finally, there is a general reluctance in New Zealand to use the tax system in an ad hoc way. There is a specific process intended to ensure effective tax policy development. Even if the usual consultation process is bypassed, change is unlikely to be fast.

        And here is a thorny question for those who propose a Windfall Tax: Should businesses deemed to be targets of windfall taxes also be able to claim for unexpectadly large losses?

        Afterall, that is the quid-pro-quo that goes with most taxes. Even the proposed CGT design I think had a provision to claim capital losses against future capital gains.

      • Binders full of Women 5.1.3

        Or why don't we cancel the folly that is the Auckland toy train, spend it on the rebuild? boom, and we'd get change/ reduce emissions/ and have more resilient connected communities.

    • Nic the NZer 5.2

      Why is that the question for Hipkins/Robertson?

      I mean if the current inflation is coming from the supply side then these OCR hikes could well be adding to business costs (of doing finance) rather than sequestering demand (apparently due to cheap credit). This then means the RBNZ continued OCR hikes are pushing up inflation, rather than pushing down inflation. In fact there is at least weak evidence that you don't need to impact actual business costs much before many will use it as an excuse to put prices up, pocketing the extra in excess profits, especially before passing that on to wage increases.

      This is all supported by the data, which demonstrates declining real wages, CPI prices moving first and ahead of business cost shifts and high profit rates in many industries. Maybe the finance minister should tell the governor to pull his head in instead of introducing political difficulties to the government.

      • pat 5.2.1

        In the absence of the gov and RBNZs ability to impact supply the RBNZ has determined they will reduce demand (we can debate the need for this till the cows come home, however that is their determination)…demand is currently being maintained and if the Gov decides to provide the required funds needed for the reconstruction of the effected areas without removing a comparable amount of spending capacity via tax/levies the RBNZ has signalled it will feel compelled to further reduce discretionary spending via the OCR…that spending capacity obviously does not reside in the lower income and wealth quintiles and hasnt even prior to the 'inflationary' spike.

        The question wasnt whether the RBNZs actions are correct or effective, it was what course will the Gov adopt?

        • Nic the NZer 5.2.1.1

          "that spending capacity obviously does not reside in the lower income and wealth quintiles and hasnt even prior to the 'inflationary' spike."

          This is just incorrect. The OCR (if it works) works be reducing demand and generating unemployment. That's also how the RBNZ says it works, even if the notion that they are intentionally causing unemployment is not their favourite thing to say. And it still works that way even if Robertson doesn't like to say he backs the RBNZ trying for around 70K unemployed, and would like it if that could be avoided.

          That pretty clearly does effect the lower income and wealth quintiles very directly.

          "The question wasnt whether the RBNZs actions are correct or effective, it was what course will the Gov adopt?"

          Quiet word from the Treasurer to the Governor, along the lines of stay out of our lane, thanks. Its an option. If that doesn't work (it will) then reword that into the next RBNZ policy letter.

          • pat 5.2.1.1.1

            You appear confused…."This is just incorrect. The OCR (if it works) works be reducing demand and generating unemployment. "

            Who do you think the lower quintiles of wealth and income are?

            • Nic the NZer 5.2.1.1.1.1

              The distribution of access to credit is clearly beside the point here. When your policy is to generate unemployment (among those least responsible for inflation) you need a bloody strong case for why your doing that, and that those goals are being achieved.

              • pat

                Yep. definitely confused…..the source of the demand is not and hasnt been the lower quintiles who largely live pay cheque to pay cheque and have little to no savings….they are also unlikely to be approved for a mortgage irrespective of interest rate.

                The beneficiaries of 'the wealth effect' however.

                The fact you dont like RBNZ policy is irrelevant to the question of how the Gov will respond to that policy implication as the election approaches.

  6. Ed1 6

    Huntly to burn wood:

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/131298611/huntly-burns-wood-instead-of-coal-during-short-trial

    That they are still using Huntly is a huge indictment on the structure of the electricity generation industry.

    I doubt that there will be any attempt to buy back shares in the generating companies, but I would be interested in whether the owners of Huntly are paying the full cost of emissions (whether they burn coal or wood) – that may give an incentive to encourage other electricity generation. The other decision that may be worth considering is legislating to give anyone feeding electricity back into the grid the same price that they would have been paying for the same flow in the other direction – that would encourage people to look to solar or other generation, and stop the industry profiting from other generation.

    • tsmithfield 6.1

      The government needs to incentivise people to put solar on their roofs if they are serious about being green.

      Or, as a guy from Harrisons who was present solar power to us said, it would be better from a grid perspective if the government subsidised battery storage for solar.

      Either way, this seems low hanging fruit to me. Far quicker and less environmentally harmful than building new dams or whatever.

      • Graeme 6.1.1

        Government actually need to do both, solar and battery on every roof, and something like Onslow.

        They work at very different timescales, the solar and battery is storage for tonight or tomorrow, Onslow is storage for next year or the year after. Onslow can also provide something for tomorrow, but within ramping limits of the downstream catchment, distributed batteries don't have this constraint.

        Harissons et al are pushing this from a bit of self interest, but they do have a very good point. Probably the best option would be interest free loans like was given for LPG conversions in 70's – 80's.

        • weka 6.1.1.1

          how long are the Clutha and Waitaki dams supposed to last?

          There are all sort of problems with household batteries at scale (GHG emissions from mining, production, shipping, and the pollution problems cradle to grave). We're at the limits of growth.

          • Graeme 6.1.1.1.1

            The dams will last a very long time, the planting them gets replaced 20 – 50 years and the copper and steel get recycled.

            With house scale batteries and EV batteries both using lithium chemistry recycling is coming on stream, good explanation in this link https://www.leafscore.com/tesla/is-it-possible-to-recycle-a-tesla-battery/

            For batteries at a grid or community level there's other chemistries coming through that could be much more resource efficient, iron air looks interesting. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rusty-batteries-could-greatly-improve-grid-energy-storage/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1673519626

            • weka 6.1.1.1.1.1

              you think NZ is going to ship tesla batteries back to the factory? What's the GHG footprint of that?

              Meanwhile,

              • Lithium is one of the key components in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, but global supplies are under strain because of rising EV demand.
              • The world could face lithium shortages by 2025, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says, while Credit Suisse thinks demand could treble between 2020 and 2025, meaning “supply would be stretched”.
              • About 2 billion EVs need to be on the road by 2050 for the world to hit net zero, the IEA says, but sales stood at just 6.6 million last year, and some carmakers are already selling out of EVs.
              • Lithium supply faces challenges not only from surging demand, but because resources are concentrated in a few places and over half of today’s production is in areas with high water stress.
              • Future developments with batteries or manufacturing methods could eventually alleviate some lithium shortages.

              https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/electric-vehicles-world-enough-lithium-resources/

              I'll keep saying it, it's the limits of growth. We could choose to work within those limits, prioritising lithium for essentials and making sure we work with cradle to grave processes. But that's not BAU.

    • Mac1 6.2

      In the article on Huntly burning wood it says, "Genesis isn’t considering further imports of wood. Instead, it wanted to develop a local source of pellets or “biomass”, said interim chief executive Tracey Hickman​.

      “It’s worth some focus by government and business to see if a sustainable local supply chain can be developed. Compared to some other decarbonisation solutions, biomass conversion could be implemented much sooner to the benefit of the country,” she said in a statement.

      My sense of irony suggests that the errant timber companies producing all that destructive slash should as part of making amends produce biomass pellets from the slash for burning at Huntly, to be trucked there by rail and vehicle using non-fossil fuels such as home-grown diesel, electricity and even steam powered by burning the same biomass.

      Oh the beauty of it!

      • pat 6.2.1

        Is irony the right word?

        "My sense of irony suggests that the errant timber companies producing all that destructive slash should as part of making amends produce biomass pellets from the slash for burning at Huntly, to be trucked there by rail and vehicle using non-fossil fuels such as home-grown diesel, electricity and even steam powered by burning the same biomass."

        "But more than a decade of research has shown that wood pellets cause more carbon pollution than coal per unit of energy produced. And while it’s true that over the long term, regrowing trees may be able to sequester the same amount of carbon that is released producing and burning wood pellets, in the short-term, forest biomass is masquerading as a zero-emission energy source — allowing power plant smokestacks to pump out greenhouse gas emissions today and into the future, quickening the pace of global warming."

        https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/surging-wood-pellet-industry-threatens-climate-say-experts/

        • Mac1 6.2.1.1

          "Irony- a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often wryly amusing as a result."

          My irony is that the forestry companies would never even consider amends. and yours is that a solution makes it all worse.

          Is it ironic that you should think I knew what irony meant.

  7. Shanreagh 7

    There has been an announcement of a Ministerial enquiry into forestry practice and slash

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/131315345/government-orders-inquiry-into-forestry-slash-after-cyclone-gabrielle#cx_testId=900&cx_testVariant=ctrl&cx_artPos=10

    Hon Hekia Parata

    alongside former regional council chief executive Bill Bayfield​ and forestry engineer Matthew McCloy​.

    We'll see.

    • Johnr 7.1

      I fail to see the need for an inquiry.

      As my mother instilled in me 70 something years ago. "You make the mess, you clean it up". All it needs is for the govt to define the parameters regarding "you clean it up".

      We guys are just far to soft with big business. We see a tie and go weak at the knees

      • Shanreagh 7.1.1

        I think this is done through Regional Councils.

        But Timber Coys operate with 'impunity' or should that be 'immunity'.

        My view is that they are extracting timber from areas where timber was planted as part of a soilcon project and that you cannot possibly use, and expect the same extractive process to work, as you would from a timber planted on lower country.

    • RosieLee 7.2

      Why do we need a Ministerial enquiry? That will involve a couple of years of meetings and committees, a lot of lawyers and consultants and squillions of dollars.

      Why can't the current minister say that no milled logs may be removed from a forestry site until a forestry inspector has signed off that the shit has been cleared up?

      Simple – and no expensive and time wasting bureaucracy needed.

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 7.3

      Hi Shanreagh. Have you seen this?

      The consequences of short-term thinking

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/484691/time-to-invest-in-native-planting-after-bola-pine-failures

      Well we (most..or some of us?) can see this in all its terrible consequence now. How hard can it be, to get moving on Change?

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    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

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