Open mike 24/09/2023

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 24th, 2023 - 59 comments
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59 comments on “Open mike 24/09/2023 ”

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  1. Mike the Lefty 1
    24 September 2023 at 8:09 am

    I suppose it is because nearly all of us have smartphones and computers that automatically adjust the time but do you notice that there is almost no publicity now about the changeover dates for Daylight Saving Time?

    I woke up this morning thinking I had slept late and only discovered it was DST hours when looking at a Mitre 10 website and saw a reference to their new trading hours.

    Some things creep up on you unaware.

    Must be getting old, but surely the phone companies could send you a message the night before!

    • bwaghorn 1.1
      24 September 2023 at 2:04 pm

      That'll be why I didn't wake up to 730 am, didn't realize till I read your comment, love ds personally

  2. Ad 2
    24 September 2023 at 8:46 am

    Good to see my candidate Ethan Reille get an interview on Stuff.

    Maybe he could have something more to say other than that he is young.

  3. PsyclingLeft.Always 3
    24 September 2023 at 9:00 am

    Election 2023: Winston Peters in Epsom, David Seymour’s hood, raising potential headaches for Christopher Luxon

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2023-winston-peters-in-epsom-david-seymours-hood-raising-potential-headaches-for-christopher-luxon/UIGDWSHEDREHTOYKZZONN52LHM/

    Article is paywalled..but some of the tone can be gathered from the link video…. Winston massaging his target audience with what they want to hear.

    The Happy Clappers : )

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 3.1
      24 September 2023 at 9:10 am

      Well this article is not paywalled..and IMO gives a good account of W Peters in full hyperbolic flight.

      Also carries his ACT attack into Seymour heartland…in more than one way : )

      And so it was on Friday, deep inside Act leader David Seymour’s territory at the Remuera Club in Auckland, the NZ First leader took his place at the matinee session pulpit and preached to his choir.

      https://www.newsroom.co.nz/a-country-for-old-men

      Lol that header .."A Country for old men" …

      And…keep up the infight guys. Onya !

  4. Dennis Frank 4
    24 September 2023 at 9:06 am

    Nice retrospective on one of them Motueka communes I kept hearing about but was too busy to check out at the time: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018908219/olive-jones-anarchy-and-idealism-at-the-graham-downs-commune

    The anarchy/idealism/practicality nexus was explored by Kim & Olive with suitable reference to key points – nuanced, and excellent cultural analysis.

    I have to admire anyone who could hack it for a decade. My effort up at Reef Point only lasted three weeks in the late summer of '72. Human nature needs constraints – whether rules or laws – bounds are part of nature. Conventions & guidelines often don't suffice when politics plays out in local communities. When powerful folk compete, the group needs a referee to call time out when necessary. A method to control the dark side of human nature also must be incorporated for communal resilience…

  5. Francesca 5
    24 September 2023 at 9:26 am

    Yes, my experience was mixed .Wonderful times, generosity, working together on big projects, child rearing not so isolating, mutual support amongst the women , true friendships.

    But, invariably one person would emerge, without exception a man with a giant insane prophet complex ,who would rule the roost and try and conduct soviet style (or kangaroo…take your pick)purity trials .I recognise the same thing today, gone mainstream , very USSR.

    Pain in the arse.

    But I know of other communes still operating very happily and functionally today, who have opted for pragmatism over nutty ideology

    • Dennis Frank 5.1
      24 September 2023 at 9:33 am

      Yeah pragmatism was my eventual stance too. I was ever so peace love & harmony at first. Did you know that there's an excellent survey of all the kiwi communes in print?

      I read it as a library book maybe 10-15 years back, forget the title but it was two women I vaguely recall wrote it…

  6. Dennis Frank 6
    24 September 2023 at 10:05 am

    Damien Grant's subtle put-down of animal cunning:

    National is little better. They are promising a “Back Pocket Boost” by cutting taxes for locals, who can vote, by taking cash off foreigners, who cannot. It isn’t exactly a thousand points of light; is it?

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300975763/can-we-believe-political-slogans

    Slogan that work impress people though, and political operators who make voters see a way to take money off wealthy visiting foreigners and sell it as altruism are cunning. Reagan called Bush Snr a wimp so his thousand points of light, though it got him the US presidency, was probably hallucinated by a staffer on LSD.

  7. fisiani 7
    24 September 2023 at 10:35 am

    TV1 poll on Wednesday will be interesting. Predictions? How low can Labour drop to?

    [stop trolling or expect a ban – weka]

    [I’ve checked the mod notes now and see you have a few, including one that was a final warning. Banned until the end of the year to get well clear of the post-election period – weka]

  8. adam 8
    24 September 2023 at 10:47 am

    God Bless the UAW!

    Some wins, but the strike spreads because the companies keep rejecting the deal.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5X62XLMSGM

  9. Dennis Frank 9
    24 September 2023 at 11:04 am

    When the process of capitalism stutters sufficiently that it seems likely to lurch into degrowth, pretend it isn't happening. Denial of reality works on the basis that nobody can prove it's real:

    First, everyone was resigning greatly, and now the ones left are quitting quietly. This trend, in which employees do the minimum and refuse to go above and beyond for their jobs, probably describes over half of the U.S. workforce, according to research from Gallup.

    The decline in engagement is related to a marked decline in several areas: clarity of expectations, opportunities to learn, feeling cared about, and having a connection to the organization’s purpose.

    Gallup has also found that disengagement is especially significant among younger workers and managers. It is easy to see quiet quitting as another manifestation of worker discontent in the wake of the pandemic, employment market chaos, and the trend toward remote work and virtualization. However, framing it this way places responsibility on individual employees rather than the organization. Casting blame on individuals or bemoaning a perceived lack of work ethic in a younger generation does not solve the problem.

    Fixing it requires taking a hard look at what organizations are offering their workers and considering whether it is sufficient. In many cases, it is not. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/disengagement-crisis-quiet-quitting-tacit-122400666.html

    When global media report such bad news, other global media ignore it if they don't like it. Manufacturing consent keeps the system going, so ignore the victims. Voters provide consent, so campaigners promise more of the same shit.

    • AB 9.1
      24 September 2023 at 11:29 am

      The story from Yahoo Finance jumps from one bogus explanation – that worker disengagement is a result of the pandemic and working at home – to a different one – that organisations are doing enough to meet workers' expectations. Both these fictions carefully skirt the truth – that many people hate being employed by anyone and that the indignities of the one-sided employer-employee power relationship might be tolerable most of the time, but they are are intrinsically demoralising and offensive. Expect significant fightback from business to discipline labour – clearly the Nats plan to crank up immigration even higher both directly and through selling residency in the guise of education (foreign students) – is designed to increase employee precarity.

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 9.1.1
        24 September 2023 at 11:38 am

        clearly the Nats plan to crank up immigration even higher both directly and through selling residency in the guise of education (foreign students) – is designed to increase employee precarity.

        And also the Housing Crisis? What crisis. Nats solution : They can live in a van..or car. Summer is coming…warmer weather . Tents maybe ?

      • Belladonna 9.1.2
        24 September 2023 at 1:52 pm

        Hmm. I don't know about "hate being employed by anyone". Most people know they have to work to keep food on the table (and the table in the rented accommodation). However, they feel (and are entitled to feel) that their relationship with their employer doesn't involve them giving the employer 'freebies' (out of hours work, overtime, etc.)

        Covid and the post-Covid world, where employers are desperate for workers (rather than the other way around) – has meant that employees no longer feel forced into making these sacrifices just to keep their job.

        Quiet quitting – is just not making a song and dance about your refusal to do more than you're paid for.

        And, in my personal, worked, experience – public service was the absolute *worst* employer for this kind of expectation. I can remember being told that I had to attend a site blessing at dawn, and then being forbidden to take the afternoon off (since I'd started work at 5am); being expected to attend evening PR events and weekend management workshops. Not to mention a regular 10 hour day (since it wasn't actually possible to do everything I was responsible for in 8 hours, role creep and unfilled vacancies)

        None of that happens in my current role in a business. If I work extra hours, I'm paid for them; if my job requires out-of-hours tasks, they're negotiated with me (and I'm compensated). If I want to take time off in lieu, or juggle my work day to accommodate family needs – not a problem. If my job changes (because I'm taking on a different area of responsibility in the company), I come to my boss with a salary request/negotiation, and reach a satisfactory agreement.

        None of this is new with this company (i.e. it's not post Covid). It's a smart strategy from the business to get and retain the best staff in a highly competitive environment (not many in NZ with this qualification set, those and in high demand)

        Of course, if you're talking about McDonalds level of employees – it's a different ballgame. But even there, front-line fast-food retail is struggling to retain workers.

        • AB 9.1.2.1
          24 September 2023 at 7:54 pm

          Yes, where employees hold power due to a perception that they have skills, then the employee-employer relationship can be a much more comfortable one. But not always, in some businesses it draws a target on the employee's back for cost reduction through outsourcing/offshoring. Where power is asymmetric, it can be a very unpleasant experience. But yes, I exaggerated.

    • bwaghorn 9.2
      24 September 2023 at 12:20 pm

      This quiet quitting is it really bad?

      Where I work there is a definite vibe that I'm a slacker because I only work 730, to 5 with an hour for lunch,(I set my hours) yet I get everything needed done and meet my targets,

      Waking up fresh each day surely gets you better outputs than running on e all the time.

      • Dennis Frank 9.2.1
        24 September 2023 at 1:13 pm

        My take is that it must be rather bad if Yahoo Finance are reporting it. Capitalists reporting bad news about capitalism doesn't usually happen. Yanks maybe in some kind of existential crisis? Just look at the Hollywood strike, for instance.

        Dunno about here tho. Perhaps somewhat, but everyone does a cost/benefit analysis intuitively to weigh how badly they need that job they're in. Pragmatism.

        • Belladonna 9.2.1.1
          24 September 2023 at 1:56 pm

          Over the last year or so – almost anyone with any level of qualification/experience has had the freedom to look around for a role with better pay/better conditions.

          Quiet quitting is more around no longer giving the employer anything they don't pay for, including role expansion without extra pay, and not agreeing to additional hours (unless the employee wants the cash).

          • bwaghorn 9.2.1.1.1
            24 September 2023 at 2:11 pm

            Most sheep n beef employees are salary, the culture on some is massive hours when busy , with times where you take it easy in return, funny thing is the give back bit really happens.

            Although the law bought in that means you can't work a salary earner more hours than what would put the employee under minimum hourly wage did help, .

            • weka 9.2.1.1.1.1
              24 September 2023 at 7:03 pm

              Although the law bought in that means you can't work a salary earner more hours than what would put the employee under minimum hourly wage did help, .

              is that per week? How many hours is it?

              • bwaghorn …
                24 September 2023 at 10:21 pm

                I pretty sure the law is on a per week basis, so you can't legally be worked past the point where you would be earning less than minimum wage, so I guess the higher the wage the more hours they can legally get out of you, unless ypu practices a bit of quit quitting 😉

                • weka …
                  25 September 2023 at 9:13 am

                  crickey. So if someone was on $100,000/year, that's say $2,000/wk, which means they could technically be expected up to work 88 hours a week 😬

                  I hope even NZ isn't that bad.

  10. joe90 10
    24 September 2023 at 11:18 am

    Half a million Tutsi were hacked to death with the machetes supplied by people like Kayondo.

    .

    Pierre Kayondo, a former Rwandan prefect suspected of having participated in the 1994 genocide in the country, has been indicted in Paris and imprisoned, AFP learned on Saturday.

    Kayondo was the subject of an investigation in France from the end of 2021 after a complaint from a collective of victims.

    […]

    The Rwandan former politician was the target of a complaint raised by the Collective of Civil Parties of Rwanda (CPCR) filed in September 2021, which gave rise to the rapid opening of a judicial investigation.

    In its complaint, the CPCR affirmed that Kayondo, "former prefect of Kibuye and former deputy" in Gitarama prefecture, had "actively participated in the organisation of the exterminations in Ruhango and Tambwe in Gitarama prefecture by allowing the constitution of Interahamwe militia groups, by providing weapons and participating in meetings".

    https://uk.news.yahoo.com/genocide-rwanda-former-prefect-indicted-100900418.html

    https://theafricancriminologyjournal.wordpress.com/2022/04/20/inside-the-hunt-for-one-of-the-worlds-most-wanted-men/

  11. SPC 11
    24 September 2023 at 11:44 am

    Interesting that one of the few columnists not paywalled on Stuff is Damien Grant, a libertarian with no progressive/egalitarian word on any topic.

    Talk about preparing us “common folk/proletariat/precariat/renters” for the ethos of a NACT regime where the most protected species of haves in the OECD are catered to (35/36 have a CGT 24/36 have an estate tax, many have stamp duties and land banking rules etc).

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300975763/can-we-believe-political-slogans

    • bwaghorn 11.1
      24 September 2023 at 12:15 pm

      Atleast the guys honest, surly if his beliefs are spotlighted they'll hurt act, the whole tax is theft ideology from a their defies belief!!

  12. SPC 12
    24 September 2023 at 11:57 am

    How many floods in one year before voters get it, that raiding a fund for response to action on climate change events for tax cuts is gross incompetence.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2023/09/weather-bay-of-plenty-to-be-drenched-but-reprieve-from-wild-weather-on-the-way-for-new-zealand.html

    • AB 12.1
      24 September 2023 at 12:37 pm

      Voters won't get it until their insurance company walks away from them, then they become homeless and broke in the next extreme event, then they are corralled into trailer parks that are essentially permanent, internal refugee camps, then they lose their jobs because local businesses can't survive, then they decamp to the cities to live in crappy, overcrowded rentals paying huge amounts to Luxon-style landlords while they compete for jobs with foreign students who have recently completed low-quality one-year diplomas in order to buy a pathway to citizenship. Then they'll be so shell-shocked and frightened that they'll vote for ACT or Vision NZ or some other far-right crackpot.

      • bwaghorn 12.1.1
        24 September 2023 at 1:05 pm

        Does kinda feel like we're circling the plug hole, one hopes a plug worth having turns up,but suspects that like a p addict well have to hit bottom first.

      • SPC 12.1.2
        24 September 2023 at 1:26 pm

        QFT territory and explains the wrong choices taken by our governments on so many occasions – not having state super in the 70's, the most unbalanced tax policy in the OECD since 1984-1991, and our reliance on migration for growth is indicative of acceptance of continuing low productivity and incomes. Which means declining infrastructure and inability to cope with

        1. water infrastructure costs (safe drinking water/wastewater) in the provinces.
        2. the costs of climate change on habitation in flood areas.
        3. an aging populations health needs and care.
        4. the growing numbers unable to work who cannot afford to pay market rents – the sick and the old (which will over-run state housing capacity).
        5. less ability to assist people into home ownership and raising a family.

        By the time we have finally have wealth taxation and means testing of super – the 2030's, it will be treading water/TINA time and the minimum required to remain some sort of also ran first world nation (second tier in terms of infrastructure and GDP per capita).

    • Drowsy M. Kram 12.2
      24 September 2023 at 5:25 pm

      yes

      “It means we are damned fools,” Hansen said of humanity’s ponderous response to the climate crisis. “We have to taste it to believe it.”

      Dim bulb-Brownlee was incandescent with rage about 'nanny state' energy-efficient lighting. The well-being of spaceship Earth – our only home – isn't a NAct priority.

      National vows to go back to drawing board on policy [3 May 2023]
      “I am here to get things done, I am sick of inactions, and I make no apology for that,” Luxon said.

      “It’s a case of slower to go faster. We have more coming out [on the ETS]. It’s a watch this space.”

      Real Solutions for the Environment and the Climate
      ACT will introduce a no-nonsense climate change plan which ties our carbon price to that of our trading partners.

      ACT was the only party to oppose the Zero Carbon Act.

      "It’s a case of slower to go faster." Sounds ponderous – back to the drawing board?

  13. Anne 13
    24 September 2023 at 1:05 pm

    You paint a grim picture AB but its probably true. Watching Q&A this morning was an eye opener. At one point Jack Tame produced some polling figures which included the result of a question along the lines "are you prepared to pay a bit more in tax in order to combat climate change?" A healthy majority said "No". Yet climate change is considered in most polls as the top serious problem facing the country.

    So based on that result it would seem the voters want certain things to happen but are not prepared to pay for it. A bit schizophrenic imo.

    Edit: Someone may recall the actual wording of that question.

    • psych nurse 14.1
      24 September 2023 at 2:01 pm

      At least Kiwi's will be on the winning team, All Black rejects in Aki and Lowe.

      • bwaghorn 14.1.1
        24 September 2023 at 2:15 pm

        Aki had a ripper, the amount of try line pressure Ireland soaked up at times without conceding penalties shows a team in top form.

    • Hunter Thompson II 14.2
      24 September 2023 at 2:15 pm

      They'd be a good bet for sure, along with SA (their scrum was dominant) and England.

      It may come down to the bounce of the ball, or the ref doing a Wayne Barnes and not seeing a forward pass.

      I don't rate the ABs given their performance vs France.

  15. Catherine Bindon aka Rosie 15
    24 September 2023 at 3:59 pm

    Kia ora

    Interested to know if any left women here at The Standard who have been pushed off social media due to intense misogynistic trolling during the election cycle we are in. This has mainly been occuring on the Labour Party page, Green Party page and even our council page any time there is any discussion of te reo Maori. Feels not just RW but RW/conspiracy theorist hybrid troll types.

    Would be interested to know of any sites where women can safely speak, that is not terfy/transphobic. I have had to shut down my FB page and with that, my animal welfare page. Sucks.

    • SPC 15.1
      24 September 2023 at 4:31 pm

      Look at the Feeds here and at No Right Turn.

      • SPC 15.1.1
        25 September 2023 at 2:07 pm

        Wider afield.

        And moving forward Mastodon (in development as an alternative to X).

        One of the most important differences is that Mastodon is a completely decentralized network, where thousands of servers are linked together to create content. The best part, each user can have their own server, which gives them a power they didn't have before.

        Or BlueSky (also in development as an alternative to X)

        Otherwise Discord.

        • Catherine Bindon aka Rosie 15.1.1.1
          25 September 2023 at 4:30 pm

          Thanks again. It was only the faceblabblabblab I was on but I know of folks who have moved over to Mastodon, who were formerly on X.

          Sounds interesting and thank you for being helpful. I'll have a look at Discord.

    • Visubversa 15.2
      24 September 2023 at 10:37 pm

      So – only "free speech" that you approve of then? If a woman cannot say what a woman is – then where do we have women's rights at all?

      • Catherine Bindon aka Rosie 15.2.1
        25 September 2023 at 1:43 pm

        Thank you SPC.

      • Catherine Bindon aka Rosie 15.2.2
        25 September 2023 at 1:48 pm

        Not sure what you mean. I have been attacked for being a woman. What I was saying is I am not interested in the new faux feminism which is simply transphobia, and seems to be totally consumed by some invisible threat of public toilets. Think of groups like Let Women Speak. They simply promote hatred. That is not for me.

  16. AB 16
    24 September 2023 at 4:20 pm

    Who knew that Donald Trump is a radical proponent of 'transgender ideology'? Surprising it may be, but now a political PAC supporting Ron Desantis makes the case with this hilarious, bonkers ad. What fun. The bedfellows get odder and odder.

  17. joe90 17
    24 September 2023 at 8:59 pm

    Musk does Mengele with allegations of potential securities fraud, misleading comments about the primate deaths and focally tattered macaques.

    /

    For example, in an experimental surgery that took place in December 2019, performed to determine the “survivability” of an implant, an internal part of the device “broke off” while being implanted. Overnight, researchers observed the monkey, identified only as “Animal 20” by UC Davis, scratching at the surgical site, which emitted a bloody discharge, and yanking on a connector that eventually dislodged part of the device. A surgery to repair the issue was carried out the following day, yet fungal and bacterial infections took root. Vet records note that neither infection was likely to be cleared, in part because the implant was covering the infected area. The monkey was euthanized on January 6, 2020.

    Additional veterinary reports show the condition of a female monkey called “Animal 15” during the months leading up to her death in March 2019. Days after her implant surgery, she began to press her head against the floor for no apparent reason; a symptom of pain or infection, the records say. Staff observed that though she was uncomfortable, picking and pulling at her implant until it bled, she would often lie at the foot of her cage and spend time holding hands with her roommate.

    Animal 15 began to lose coordination, and staff observed that she would shake uncontrollably when she saw lab workers. Her condition deteriorated for months until the staff finally euthanized her. A necropsy report indicates that she had bleeding in her brain and that the Neuralink implants left parts of her cerebral cortex “focally tattered.”

    https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-pcrm-neuralink-monkey-deaths/

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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...
    It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news  out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Xmas  good  cheer  for the dairy industry  as Fonterra lifts its forecast
    The big dairy co-op Fonterra  had  some Christmas  cheer to offer  its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for  the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast  midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • MICHAEL BASSETT: Modern Maori myths
    Michael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28
    Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the irony
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
    It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
    Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago

  • The Prime Minister's Dream.
    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago

  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago

  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago

  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago

  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    6 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
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