"Two months on from Labour's election-night shellacking, leader Chris Hipkins still cannot pinpoint what the party could have done differently during the campaign to win."
How about give people hope and a vision and provide a real alternative rather than be National Lite?
I know someone here said post-election interview quotes like this is standard polly-speak and real soul-searching is going on, but no sign of that here.
He is not going to admit that he screwed up big time with his tax call and that, along with their policy bonfire, totally disillusioned a lot of people.
Some hint that he understands why Labour has burnt off support, some of which moved left and will not come back, would be good. (I realise floating voters moving right hurt them more, as the Greens picked up fewer of disillusioned Labourites than I hoped).
The Leader is not expected to win an election solo. The Party is charged with that also. Voters don't just vote for a Leader, they vote for a party and its policies.
Or are you suggesting the Right won because voters wanted Luxon to lead?
I don't need to suggest anything. There are polls that track the comparative popularity of leaders for PM and their relevant weight in voter decisionmaking. Politics really is a popularity contest.
While there is an element of truth in this – I'd argue it's largely because recent NZ history has 'taught' the electorate that the party needs to have a popular leader, in order to win. First Key then Ardern – both with that high level of personal charisma- the rock star prime minister style.
It's made us forget that there is no intrinsic reason for party leaders to have high degrees of personal charisma or popularity, in order to be elected. Clark had low levels of personal popularity prior to being PM.
I don't recall Shipley or Bolger having high degrees of personal popularity either.
It's important for a potential PM to project trustworthiness (someone electors can envision running the country) – but no need for outstanding charisma. [Yes, yes, I know – none of you thought Luxon was 'trustworthy' – but you weren't his target market]. It's much more important to have a coherent message to sell, one which appeals to a large section of the electorate.
Given that the opponent is Luxon – who also suffers from a charisma deficit – I don't think lack of charisma is a reason to ditch Hipkins.
But I don't feel that it is at all clear what Hipkins stands for (if anything, other than being elected).
He's burdened with history (he was a major player in the Ardern government – so has to carefully manage any move away from her core policies). But that's not unique. Clark was part of the 4th Labour government – with much worse history to have to deal with.
While politics is indeed a popularity contest (and part of the ongoing governance issue is that the skill set required to get elected has nothing to do with the skill set require to govern effectively) – very frequently, that contest can be between a package of ideas, rather than an individual person.
… there is no intrinsic reason for party leaders to have high degrees of personal charisma or popularity, in order to be elected. Clark had low levels of personal popularity prior to being PM.
Absolutely true. You mention Bolger, Shipley, Clark and I would add English. Whether you liked their individual policy stances or not, what they did earn among the populace at large was personal respect. As a Labour supporter, it did not stop me having regard for both English and Bolger – Bolger in particular. Politics is a dirty business but somehow those former PMs managed to stay pretty much above the fray. I would also add Ardern but it is probably too soon to make a finite judgement of her term in office.
Perhaps by 2026 people may see reason to change the negative opinion of Ardern so many ended up harbouring towards her – all for the wrong reasons in my view.
I doubt that Hipkins can realistically be blamed for the behaviour of 'his' ministers. The bad behaviour for all, except Allan (who, I would argue, is a different case) – was inherited from Ardern. Who appears to have not managed them at all.
Presenting an inspiring, sound, popular vision is one thing, but in an oppositional framework, the effect of attack, undermining, "bad agents", lies and bribes can sink the best proposals and prospects. Chuck pots money into that and you get … this!
No wonder Hipkins finds it difficult to describe a winning formula.
Do you endorse Hipkins re-election strategy….Robert?
Personally I thought his Capt's call re wealth tax was a mistake and his belated G.S.T and dental policies were tinkering and seen as bribes.Too little…too late.
When he took over from Ardern he had positive momentum….the opposition campaign was not inspiring but prevailed.
Not endorse so much, more accept, perhaps. I don't think he could realistically have done anything that would have won the election for the Left, as Ad has described. Given that, and my supposition that Hipkins was well aware that there wasn't a particular action he could have taken that would guarantee success, I understand why he didn't try to promote a wealth tax, as it would not have done the trick, but instead "parked" it for later, when a campaign on it could be effectively waged.
The gst of food policy was treating the voters as thick, everyone new it would cost to implement and the gains would not make it to the shoppers back pocket. Mind numbingly stupid policy, that made me think he really wasn't clever enough for the job.
There may have been an initial cost in reprogramming the checkout machinery, but after that had been done it shouldn't have cost anything. However, I think it should have included a wider range of products, though there may have been some tricky decisions to make in deciding what to include and what to exclude.
Only because scandalous behavior by many senior cabinet members seriously undermined Labour's credibility. To blame Hipkins is a very Lame argument.If those 5 or 6 Cabinet members had been competent and kept much higher standards then Labour would have been much closer to forming a govt.Plus putting the Petrol tax back on in a period of high inflation was a dumb move.
Way I see it, nat and lab are just different faces of the same neolib coin. Doesn't matter which way you flip it, it's still the same coin.
If lab don't depart from that philosophy and strike out to put people first, equality wise, then we'll all still stay yo-yoing around the centre, no direction, no plan, no progress.
I think it does matter which way you flip it – the difference isn't anywhere near as marked as I (and you, it seems) would like, but there is a difference and if that's all that's on offer, we'd be foolish not to take it. Making the difference greater is our responsibility, I suppose – grass-roots pressure on the parties that could further our aims is the path to take. Remember also, it's not a binary matter; other parties, worse still than the bigger 2, have influence when partnered through an election result.
I would certainly agree with this – not least because the parties of the further left – have made it abundantly clear that they would not work with National (let alone ACT and NZF)
If you want a left(ish) coalition government – then you have to choose Labour, not National, as the centrist party within the coalition
When you are up against determined liars prepared to say anything as the price of power then you are on a hiding to nothing. Hipkins would have had to trump their lies but I think he is a better person than that.
I agree with you Adrian. The treachery and moral bankruptcy of the new government is succinctly described by Paul Molloy, in response to a very informative Newsroom article "Threat to walking and cycling a threat to health" on 21.12.23 by Dr Kirsty Wild and Alistair Woodward. https://newsroom.co.nz/ It starts "Opinion: The new Government is taking a sledgehammer to measures we know protect health, such as drinking-water safety and smoking cessation, and now it’s undermining efforts to reduce harm from transport. The results will be predictable: rates of disease and early death in our communities, and more stress on our already overburdened health care system. Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s letter to councils this week, urging them to scale back walking and cycling projects is the latest blow. ……".
It’s truly heartbreaking to see this new Government set on a path to destroy so many moves that had been started towards improving our society. We’re going to give 2.3 billion dollars back to landlords in tax refunds – not a dollar of which will help tenants. And we’re going to wreck the anti-smoking advances made in recent years, build more roads and encourage more driving at the very time we desperately need to be cutting emissions. We’re going to destroy the advances made in Maori health initiatives, and more. It is so galling to see Stephen Joyce given column space in the media to criticise the Labour Government for leaving hidden deficits to booby-trap the incoming Government when (a) all the fiscal risks had been clearly outlined and National chose to deliberately ignore them, and (b) Joyce constantly trumpeted the $10 billion hole in Labour’s proposed budgets 6 years ago when in fact the 10 billion dollar hole was his Government’s vast underfunding of essential infrastructure such as hospitals and schools. Once again we’re going to pay a heavy price for decades to come for the short-term thinking and gut reactions of a public who blamed a local Labour Government for the world-wide effects of Covid – a situation whose flames were fanned by a Press looking for sensation to sell papers rather than to provoke genuine debate.
You said it all in one sentence. Thank you Adrian. I'm getting a little sick of this Hipkins bashing. He was always on a hiding to nothing and a wealth or CGT tax promise would not have made one iota of difference.
If you need to blame individuals then direct it towards those who were primarily responsible – members of the media gang. By and large they let Luxon and his bunch of like minded crooks get away with the most outlandish of lies and devious political behaviour – the latter which we have come to expect from the Right. The reason why many of them did so was varied, but in some instances at least they were looking to protect their own status within the industry.
It will be interesting to see which of them end up as press secretaries in the new ministerial line-up.
Adrian, the billionaires club sewed up the election. Dirty politics found all of Labour's achilles heel(s) and dealt to them. They then campaigned on crisis in law education and inflation, with pots of money from their friends. They believe in small government. At $9 per vote adverts as against $1.90, odd, they were bound to win, as they had to swing 5% of the electorate to have enough seats. Blaming all that on Hipkins is wet. He is not the leader we needed, and Jacinda read the mood better than he did. However the tax decisions undermined Robertson and Parker's work, and lost him credibility.
When people have had a hard emotional time, and relief is promised through tax cuts Wallah!!
However, many are shocked at the cavalier manner and removal of checks and balances this coalition has employed. With spiteful glee they have begun to dismantle the state. The swing is hard right, and perhaps we will see hard left in the near future.
Hipkins may grow into the role. A thoughtful steady leader who begins to listen more… but I think we have been too methodical, predictable and easily derailed, because we follow the “rules”.
Hipkins is a more than competent leader especially of the opposition.He doesn't whine or get flustered nails the topic on point with out the fluff that Luxon Willis Seymour or Peter's wallow in.people will get tired quickly of Luxon and his Conman talking Willis's whinning,Peter's bully tactics Seymours nonsense.Once the shine goes off their gushing it will expose them as hollow politicians full of it.Luxon and Willis are behaving like a FPP govt no compromise even John Key didn't do massive change he was a pragmatist therefore an incrementalist.Nationals policies will force interest rates up at a time when if there were no tax cuts interest rates and inflation would drop.So over the next 3 years interest rates and inflation will stay stubbornly high.Housing will become more unaffordable with migration at all time highs housing construction declining rapidly rents ,mortgages 'house prices, The cost to businesses of ongoing high interest rates will damage our economy. National never have stable economic growth they always pump tax cuts in just before the elections for the feel good factor then the Reserve bank take all away by controlling inflation with interest rate hikes. Luxon is just a big mouth talking over everyone Willis the Whinging winning cheerleader/doomsayer!
Him personally? He was only in the job a short time – surely his team ought to have done as you suggested, far earlier on. I think Adrian has it right.
The latest Consumer has an article on electric and hybrid cars.
"We tested 88 electric and hybrid cars on practicality, safety and performance. Find the right vehicle for your needs with our test results and buying guide. Our results are from independent testing in Europe. Some models are not available in Europe, so aren’t included in our results."
The top two rated vehicles are BMWs. Can't see anyone giving me one of those for Christmas at $207,000 and $289,000.
These car tests leave so many considerations out. Particularly on the cost of ownership. Reliability, cost of parts, insurance, resale value.
Resale value is particularly important for a small vehicle fleet operator. The economics of fleet operation other than reliability hinges entirely on resale value.
The two year cycle of new cars being sold by fleet operators will be a real test to see if they depreciate steep enough for those who can afford something in the $20-$30k range …
… which will be closely watched by those of us who worry about getting a second =hand car battery costing $30-$40k to replace.
Are there useful examples of secondary markets for EV's or hybrids forming in comparable countries?
I'll be doing some site development work between now and the 8th Jan while I'm off work (I'm on call for much of the remainder of December and January). Most of that will be writing a modernised theme for the site.
In theory it won't affect the site until I get to cleaning up plugins. But much of the theme build will be done on the live system, but under the covers.
Please ignore comments from my alter-ego AncientGeek. I use that login for testing modes other than super-admin.
labour was the most timid government I can remember. had a majority and did nothing with it could have been transformative but wimped out.Now the leader doesn't know why
Except for those in denial, or with vested interests.
I think the Ardern years were a dead cat bounce for Labour, as they say in the markets. They’ve been struggling for decades now, and look to have handed the socialist vote to the Greens long term, so being National-lite is all they can aspire to.
They’re the party for public servants and that’s about it.
Russia playing moral guardian in the ME after bombing the cities of Syria and moving on Ukraine. There are more refugees from Syrian cities they bombed and Ukraine than the number of people in Gaza and the West Bank.
If only Maxwell Smart was there with his Khrushchev era shoe phone.
OK Chief, we agree provided Russian forces withdraw into Russian territory at the same time.
Then maybe Russians can compete under their flag in 2024.
+1 Adrian. I had a look at CHs diary from January on and it was jam packed. All these people lambasting him about what he should have done,not done etc, wouldn’t even go out their front door if they were having to face what he was facing day in day out. And this was after the sterling work over Covid with taking on all those portfolios. After assuming PMship he was straight into Auckland floods, overseas meetings,daily blasting from the COCs hurling abuse, lies and concoctions of the truth smirking safely behind their snarling packs of millionaires and lobbyists and Lo and behold John Key. Chris was on a hiding to nothing and he barely had time to breathe getting (Covid himself didn’t help) . Give him a break.
NZ has moved on from that style of Socialism long ago the Corbin experiment in the UK just handed the Torries another 10 years of power.No one wants to go back to that time it's over cloth cap socialism is over. No young ones want to pay union fees or protest about being left out.Their protest is not voting for those bastards all of them are useless as far as they are concerned.
Labour returning to its roots would be a disaster at the polls.Labour would be a fringe party.People haven't adapted to the reality of the free market and are just hoping for a change back to old school socialism.Which is not going to happen. That's why National voters went with Labour to shut out the greens more progressive agenda. Monied people have way more power than impoverished progressives so no contest. Pragmatic incramentalism is all anyone is going to achieve until more than 50% of the population faces real hardship.Political science 101 reality!
You’re probably right about that. I do try quietly (I’m management, so I shouldn’t) to encourage people who work in my teams to join the union. But the younger ones don’t want to pay union dues, and It’s not really something they think is worthwhile, which is a shame. Many of them think they are up and coming senior managers, so they don’t believe they will benefit.
But the younger ones don’t want to pay union dues, and It’s not really something they think is worthwhile,
This is very true in my experience. I've worked in a range of organizations which were 'traditionally' unionized. There are still union members, but almost entirely at the upper end of the age brackets. And the union appears to have little influence on anything to do with worker conditions – so the younger people think there is little point in membership.
heres7is me thinking I was talking about NZ not our colonial forebears.There are more and better run countries in the world than England.tricledown says it all really.
You are right Robert, adopting a wealth tax that close to the election would have opened Chippie and Labour up to a huge campaign of even more lies and vilification and the loss would have been even greater. No matter that 60% plus may have thought it was a good idea, once posited by a political party it would have been a millstone, as everyone would have a different idea as to who to target, not themselves of course, it would have been disastrous, hence the “ not on my watch “ statement from him. That’s good politics, a CGT or WT will need to be a multi year well sold campaign to be effective.
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
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TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
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About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
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As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
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Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
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TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
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National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
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"Two months on from Labour's election-night shellacking, leader Chris Hipkins still cannot pinpoint what the party could have done differently during the campaign to win."
How about give people hope and a vision and provide a real alternative rather than be National Lite?
I know someone here said post-election interview quotes like this is standard polly-speak and real soul-searching is going on, but no sign of that here.
He is not going to admit that he screwed up big time with his tax call and that, along with their policy bonfire, totally disillusioned a lot of people.
Some hint that he understands why Labour has burnt off support, some of which moved left and will not come back, would be good. (I realise floating voters moving right hurt them more, as the Greens picked up fewer of disillusioned Labourites than I hoped).
http://'Sometimes you lose' – Chris Hipkins reflects on 2023 https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/505403/sometimes-you-lose-chris-hipkins-reflects-on-2023
Ardern had pulled Labour into such a steep popularity crash that there was nothing Hipkins could have done.
But Hipkins must go. Had his moment and failed.
If there was nothing he could have done, he can't have failed his "moment".
Chucking him out for failing to do the impossible seems shortsighted.
Baby with the bath-water.
His job description is to win elections.
The electorate could not have been clearer about both baby and bathwater.
The Leader is not expected to win an election solo. The Party is charged with that also. Voters don't just vote for a Leader, they vote for a party and its policies.
Or are you suggesting the Right won because voters wanted Luxon to lead?
I don't think so.
I don't need to suggest anything. There are polls that track the comparative popularity of leaders for PM and their relevant weight in voter decisionmaking. Politics really is a popularity contest.
While there is an element of truth in this – I'd argue it's largely because recent NZ history has 'taught' the electorate that the party needs to have a popular leader, in order to win. First Key then Ardern – both with that high level of personal charisma- the rock star prime minister style.
It's made us forget that there is no intrinsic reason for party leaders to have high degrees of personal charisma or popularity, in order to be elected. Clark had low levels of personal popularity prior to being PM.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_1999_New_Zealand_general_election
I don't recall Shipley or Bolger having high degrees of personal popularity either.
It's important for a potential PM to project trustworthiness (someone electors can envision running the country) – but no need for outstanding charisma. [Yes, yes, I know – none of you thought Luxon was 'trustworthy' – but you weren't his target market]. It's much more important to have a coherent message to sell, one which appeals to a large section of the electorate.
Given that the opponent is Luxon – who also suffers from a charisma deficit – I don't think lack of charisma is a reason to ditch Hipkins.
But I don't feel that it is at all clear what Hipkins stands for (if anything, other than being elected).
He's burdened with history (he was a major player in the Ardern government – so has to carefully manage any move away from her core policies). But that's not unique. Clark was part of the 4th Labour government – with much worse history to have to deal with.
While politics is indeed a popularity contest (and part of the ongoing governance issue is that the skill set required to get elected has nothing to do with the skill set require to govern effectively) – very frequently, that contest can be between a package of ideas, rather than an individual person.
An excellent analysis Belladonna @ 5:45pm.
Absolutely true. You mention Bolger, Shipley, Clark and I would add English. Whether you liked their individual policy stances or not, what they did earn among the populace at large was personal respect. As a Labour supporter, it did not stop me having regard for both English and Bolger – Bolger in particular. Politics is a dirty business but somehow those former PMs managed to stay pretty much above the fray. I would also add Ardern but it is probably too soon to make a finite judgement of her term in office.
Perhaps by 2026 people may see reason to change the negative opinion of Ardern so many ended up harbouring towards her – all for the wrong reasons in my view.
Ad why do you want to change Hipkins if he is so bad if you want National to win the next election you would be demanding labour keep Hipkins .
Over promised under delivered, woeful behavior from his ministers, and yip trying to out national national,
I doubt that Hipkins can realistically be blamed for the behaviour of 'his' ministers. The bad behaviour for all, except Allan (who, I would argue, is a different case) – was inherited from Ardern. Who appears to have not managed them at all.
Was thinking labour in general,
Ebb & flow.
Presenting an inspiring, sound, popular vision is one thing, but in an oppositional framework, the effect of attack, undermining, "bad agents", lies and bribes can sink the best proposals and prospects. Chuck pots money into that and you get … this!
No wonder Hipkins finds it difficult to describe a winning formula.
Do you endorse Hipkins re-election strategy….Robert?
Personally I thought his Capt's call re wealth tax was a mistake and his belated G.S.T and dental policies were tinkering and seen as bribes.Too little…too late.
When he took over from Ardern he had positive momentum….the opposition campaign was not inspiring but prevailed.
Not endorse so much, more accept, perhaps. I don't think he could realistically have done anything that would have won the election for the Left, as Ad has described. Given that, and my supposition that Hipkins was well aware that there wasn't a particular action he could have taken that would guarantee success, I understand why he didn't try to promote a wealth tax, as it would not have done the trick, but instead "parked" it for later, when a campaign on it could be effectively waged.
The gst of food policy was treating the voters as thick, everyone new it would cost to implement and the gains would not make it to the shoppers back pocket. Mind numbingly stupid policy, that made me think he really wasn't clever enough for the job.
everyone new it would cost to implement
There may have been an initial cost in reprogramming the checkout machinery, but after that had been done it shouldn't have cost anything. However, I think it should have included a wider range of products, though there may have been some tricky decisions to make in deciding what to include and what to exclude.
More to the point, I don't think anyone trusted the supermarket duopoly to pass on the savings to customers, at least in the long term.
Only because scandalous behavior by many senior cabinet members seriously undermined Labour's credibility. To blame Hipkins is a very Lame argument.If those 5 or 6 Cabinet members had been competent and kept much higher standards then Labour would have been much closer to forming a govt.Plus putting the Petrol tax back on in a period of high inflation was a dumb move.
Way I see it, nat and lab are just different faces of the same neolib coin. Doesn't matter which way you flip it, it's still the same coin.
If lab don't depart from that philosophy and strike out to put people first, equality wise, then we'll all still stay yo-yoing around the centre, no direction, no plan, no progress.
I think it does matter which way you flip it – the difference isn't anywhere near as marked as I (and you, it seems) would like, but there is a difference and if that's all that's on offer, we'd be foolish not to take it. Making the difference greater is our responsibility, I suppose – grass-roots pressure on the parties that could further our aims is the path to take. Remember also, it's not a binary matter; other parties, worse still than the bigger 2, have influence when partnered through an election result.
I would certainly agree with this – not least because the parties of the further left – have made it abundantly clear that they would not work with National (let alone ACT and NZF)
If you want a left(ish) coalition government – then you have to choose Labour, not National, as the centrist party within the coalition
When you are up against determined liars prepared to say anything as the price of power then you are on a hiding to nothing. Hipkins would have had to trump their lies but I think he is a better person than that.
Na he tried their tactics, every time he used the stolen coalition of chaos line I threw up a little in my mouth,
I agree with you Adrian. The treachery and moral bankruptcy of the new government is succinctly described by Paul Molloy, in response to a very informative Newsroom article "Threat to walking and cycling a threat to health" on 21.12.23 by Dr Kirsty Wild and Alistair Woodward. https://newsroom.co.nz/ It starts "Opinion: The new Government is taking a sledgehammer to measures we know protect health, such as drinking-water safety and smoking cessation, and now it’s undermining efforts to reduce harm from transport. The results will be predictable: rates of disease and early death in our communities, and more stress on our already overburdened health care system. Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s letter to councils this week, urging them to scale back walking and cycling projects is the latest blow. ……".
Paul Molloy says:
21/12/2023 at 9:19 am
It’s truly heartbreaking to see this new Government set on a path to destroy so many moves that had been started towards improving our society. We’re going to give 2.3 billion dollars back to landlords in tax refunds – not a dollar of which will help tenants. And we’re going to wreck the anti-smoking advances made in recent years, build more roads and encourage more driving at the very time we desperately need to be cutting emissions. We’re going to destroy the advances made in Maori health initiatives, and more. It is so galling to see Stephen Joyce given column space in the media to criticise the Labour Government for leaving hidden deficits to booby-trap the incoming Government when (a) all the fiscal risks had been clearly outlined and National chose to deliberately ignore them, and (b) Joyce constantly trumpeted the $10 billion hole in Labour’s proposed budgets 6 years ago when in fact the 10 billion dollar hole was his Government’s vast underfunding of essential infrastructure such as hospitals and schools. Once again we’re going to pay a heavy price for decades to come for the short-term thinking and gut reactions of a public who blamed a local Labour Government for the world-wide effects of Covid – a situation whose flames were fanned by a Press looking for sensation to sell papers rather than to provoke genuine debate.
You said it all in one sentence. Thank you Adrian. I'm getting a little sick of this Hipkins bashing. He was always on a hiding to nothing and a wealth or CGT tax promise would not have made one iota of difference.
If you need to blame individuals then direct it towards those who were primarily responsible – members of the media gang. By and large they let Luxon and his bunch of like minded crooks get away with the most outlandish of lies and devious political behaviour – the latter which we have come to expect from the Right. The reason why many of them did so was varied, but in some instances at least they were looking to protect their own status within the industry.
It will be interesting to see which of them end up as press secretaries in the new ministerial line-up.
Adrian, the billionaires club sewed up the election. Dirty politics found all of Labour's achilles heel(s) and dealt to them. They then campaigned on crisis in law education and inflation, with pots of money from their friends. They believe in small government. At $9 per vote adverts as against $1.90, odd, they were bound to win, as they had to swing 5% of the electorate to have enough seats. Blaming all that on Hipkins is wet. He is not the leader we needed, and Jacinda read the mood better than he did. However the tax decisions undermined Robertson and Parker's work, and lost him credibility.
When people have had a hard emotional time, and relief is promised through tax cuts Wallah!!
However, many are shocked at the cavalier manner and removal of checks and balances this coalition has employed. With spiteful glee they have begun to dismantle the state. The swing is hard right, and perhaps we will see hard left in the near future.
Hipkins may grow into the role. A thoughtful steady leader who begins to listen more… but I think we have been too methodical, predictable and easily derailed, because we follow the “rules”.
Thank you Patricia. Between us I think we laid it out on a platter – sadly not a Xmas platter. The insight of age and experience?
I included "the billionaires" in my "… like minded crooks".![smiley smiley](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.png?x42494)
Sadly we have seen it before
Anne.
Hipkins is a more than competent leader especially of the opposition.He doesn't whine or get flustered nails the topic on point with out the fluff that Luxon Willis Seymour or Peter's wallow in.people will get tired quickly of Luxon and his Conman talking Willis's whinning,Peter's bully tactics Seymours nonsense.Once the shine goes off their gushing it will expose them as hollow politicians full of it.Luxon and Willis are behaving like a FPP govt no compromise even John Key didn't do massive change he was a pragmatist therefore an incrementalist.Nationals policies will force interest rates up at a time when if there were no tax cuts interest rates and inflation would drop.So over the next 3 years interest rates and inflation will stay stubbornly high.Housing will become more unaffordable with migration at all time highs housing construction declining rapidly rents ,mortgages 'house prices, The cost to businesses of ongoing high interest rates will damage our economy. National never have stable economic growth they always pump tax cuts in just before the elections for the feel good factor then the Reserve bank take all away by controlling inflation with interest rate hikes. Luxon is just a big mouth talking over everyone Willis the Whinging winning cheerleader/doomsayer!
He could have focussed on getting the youth and poor to get out and vote!
Him personally? He was only in the job a short time – surely his team ought to have done as you suggested, far earlier on. I think Adrian has it right.
The latest Consumer has an article on electric and hybrid cars.
"We tested 88 electric and hybrid cars on practicality, safety and performance. Find the right vehicle for your needs with our test results and buying guide. Our results are from independent testing in Europe. Some models are not available in Europe, so aren’t included in our results."
The top two rated vehicles are BMWs. Can't see anyone giving me one of those for Christmas at $207,000 and $289,000.
These car tests leave so many considerations out. Particularly on the cost of ownership. Reliability, cost of parts, insurance, resale value.
Resale value is particularly important for a small vehicle fleet operator. The economics of fleet operation other than reliability hinges entirely on resale value.
The two year cycle of new cars being sold by fleet operators will be a real test to see if they depreciate steep enough for those who can afford something in the $20-$30k range …
… which will be closely watched by those of us who worry about getting a second =hand car battery costing $30-$40k to replace.
Are there useful examples of secondary markets for EV's or hybrids forming in comparable countries?
Yes there's a whole post to write on electric cars and indeed the idea of transition itself as only being affordable by the super-rich.
Only the super-rich can afford brand new cars and brand new solar systems …
… unless they are massively subsidised – perhaps even more than Labour-Greens did.
Nicola Willis.
Show Me The Money!!
Show Me The Money!!
Show Me The Money!!
That cost Labour an election it was said, so what about you?
Christmas joy!
Bowie and Crosby?
I'll be doing some site development work between now and the 8th Jan while I'm off work (I'm on call for much of the remainder of December and January). Most of that will be writing a modernised theme for the site.
In theory it won't affect the site until I get to cleaning up plugins. But much of the theme build will be done on the live system, but under the covers.
Please ignore comments from my alter-ego AncientGeek. I use that login for testing modes other than super-admin.
And this is me – currently as a Subscriber.
labour was the most timid government I can remember. had a majority and did nothing with it could have been transformative but wimped out.Now the leader doesn't know why
look in the mirror
Yep, and so obvious.
Except for those in denial, or with vested interests.
I think the Ardern years were a dead cat bounce for Labour, as they say in the markets. They’ve been struggling for decades now, and look to have handed the socialist vote to the Greens long term, so being National-lite is all they can aspire to.
They’re the party for public servants and that’s about it.
Russia playing moral guardian in the ME after bombing the cities of Syria and moving on Ukraine. There are more refugees from Syrian cities they bombed and Ukraine than the number of people in Gaza and the West Bank.
If only Maxwell Smart was there with his Khrushchev era shoe phone.
OK Chief, we agree provided Russian forces withdraw into Russian territory at the same time.
Then maybe Russians can compete under their flag in 2024.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/middle-east/301032014/us-avoids-three-un-vetoes-in-a-row-with-abstention-on-passing-gaza-aid-resolution
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/8/russians-belarusians-to-compete-as-neutrals-at-2024-paris-olympics-ioc
+1 Adrian. I had a look at CHs diary from January on and it was jam packed. All these people lambasting him about what he should have done,not done etc, wouldn’t even go out their front door if they were having to face what he was facing day in day out. And this was after the sterling work over Covid with taking on all those portfolios. After assuming PMship he was straight into Auckland floods, overseas meetings,daily blasting from the COCs hurling abuse, lies and concoctions of the truth smirking safely behind their snarling packs of millionaires and lobbyists and Lo and behold John Key. Chris was on a hiding to nothing and he barely had time to breathe getting (Covid himself didn’t help) . Give him a break.
the only break he needs is from parliment
labour doesn't respect the working class thats why they never pick any as candidates norm kirk was probably the last one
NZ has moved on from that style of Socialism long ago the Corbin experiment in the UK just handed the Torries another 10 years of power.No one wants to go back to that time it's over cloth cap socialism is over. No young ones want to pay union fees or protest about being left out.Their protest is not voting for those bastards all of them are useless as far as they are concerned.
Labour returning to its roots would be a disaster at the polls.Labour would be a fringe party.People haven't adapted to the reality of the free market and are just hoping for a change back to old school socialism.Which is not going to happen. That's why National voters went with Labour to shut out the greens more progressive agenda. Monied people have way more power than impoverished progressives so no contest. Pragmatic incramentalism is all anyone is going to achieve until more than 50% of the population faces real hardship.Political science 101 reality!
" Pragmatic incramentalism is all anyone is going to achieve until more than 50% of the population faces real hardship.Political science 101 reality!"
Unless it all goes down in a screaming heap of conflict beforehand.
You’re probably right about that. I do try quietly (I’m management, so I shouldn’t) to encourage people who work in my teams to join the union. But the younger ones don’t want to pay union dues, and It’s not really something they think is worthwhile, which is a shame. Many of them think they are up and coming senior managers, so they don’t believe they will benefit.
This is very true in my experience. I've worked in a range of organizations which were 'traditionally' unionized. There are still union members, but almost entirely at the upper end of the age brackets. And the union appears to have little influence on anything to do with worker conditions – so the younger people think there is little point in membership.
Be very interested to know what …'the reality of the free market'…actually is.
heres7is me thinking I was talking about NZ not our colonial forebears.There are more and better run countries in the world than England.tricledown says it all really.
Ickey. You sound very much like your name. Have a lovely Christmas.🎅
[Please fix your email address in your next comment, thanks – Incognito]
Mod note
You are right Robert, adopting a wealth tax that close to the election would have opened Chippie and Labour up to a huge campaign of even more lies and vilification and the loss would have been even greater. No matter that 60% plus may have thought it was a good idea, once posited by a political party it would have been a millstone, as everyone would have a different idea as to who to target, not themselves of course, it would have been disastrous, hence the “ not on my watch “ statement from him. That’s good politics, a CGT or WT will need to be a multi year well sold campaign to be effective.