Open Mike 24/10/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 24th, 2016 - 74 comments
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74 comments on “Open Mike 24/10/2016 ”

  1. weka 1

    [Please note, we are trialling something new for Open Mike and Daily Review.

    In order to keep OM and DR free for other conversations, all comments, link postings etc about the US election now need to go in the dedicated US election discussion here.

    If you are unsure, post in that thread rather than here. It’s not possible for moderators to shift comments from OM to there, so any comments here may get deleted.

    Have fun folks – weka]

  2. Jenny 2

    Will John Key and the Nats pick up on the trend?

    The rise of the personality cult.

    The Putin Calender

    Weirdly reminiscent of Benito Mussolini’s crafted He Man image, Putin like Mussolini is often seen posing on a horse.

    Reputedly Mussolini could barely sit on a horse for a posed photo shoot, and had to use a body double for the horse jump. Though it is possible that Putin unlike Mussolini can actually ride a horse.

    But whether Putin a pudgy over weight middle aged politician is still actually a black belt capable of tossing much younger men to the ground is probably less likely.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O0GjjEQNT8

  3. Jenny 3

    Of course the personality cult serves a much more sinister purpose. When I was in Syria in 2010, the oppressive image of the dictator Basha Assad was everywhere, on huge over head bill boards and hoardings, on motorway over bridges, in every public place. I was told by my guides that to make any negative comment about the dictator and the ubiquity of his image, signaled disloyalty to the state and if overheard by the many spies and informers could result in detention or worse.

    Anita McNaught reports from Syria

    http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/08/20128213363370291.html

    • Ad 3.1

      Ah for an ounce of charisma in the Labour leadership.
      Just an ounce is all I’m asking.
      It’s not too much without going all Assad on everything.

    • reason 3.2

      Knowing a Syrian lady refugees here in NZ …….I must say her views and opinions are Nothing like the war propaganda that Jenny posts …… And unlike Jenny she has personally suffered with her brother having been killed….. and she has also lost her home and former way of life.

      The Syrian lady I know says most people in her country prefer Assad over the religious head choppers that the u.s.a has been supporting …..

      “analyzing the factions involved in the global jihad, takes a careful look at who is fighting against Assad in Syria. To what should be no one’s surprise — but will apparently be very surprising to many — the bulk of the opposition consists of Islamists.” http://www.nationalreview.com/article/439161/aleppo-syria-moderate-secular-rebels-al-qaeda-muslim-brotherhood-russia-iran

      Holding elections would be the legitimate way to change the Government in Syria ….

      Assad would probably win the elections which is why the U.s.a and European countries who want to remove him oppose them,, ….

      Assad won the last elections held …….. “an international delegation led by allies of Assad[17] from more than 30 countries including Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, India, Iran, Iraq, Nicaragua, Russia, South Africa and Venezuela[18][19] issued a statement claiming the election was “free, fair and transparent”

  4. Tautoko Mangō Mata 4

    IT WAS A POWERFUL piece of technology created for an important customer. The Medusa system, named after the mythical Greek monster with snakes instead of hair, had one main purpose: to vacuum up vast quantities of internet data at an astonishing speed.

    The technology was designed by Endace, a little-known New Zealand company. And the important customer was the British electronic eavesdropping agency, Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ.

    https://theintercept.com/2016/10/23/endace-mass-surveillance-gchq-governments/

    • Tautoko Mangō Mata 4.1

      Sept. 23 2015 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand-founded Endace, which develops technology that measures, monitors and protects high-speed networks, is understood to have laid off about two-thirds of its workers, a move that could potentially trigger claw-back provisions for government research and development funding.

      The company formed in 2001 to commercialise research out of University of Waikato, was sold for $154 million in 2012 to Californian networking solutions firm Emulex, which in turn, was sold in May to Nasdaq-listed Avago Technologies for US$587 million.

      That sale led to a spat between Endace co-founder Selwyn Pellett and Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce over the $11.1 million in taxpayer funding it had received. Pellett was concerned the company was being sold to overseas interests without having to repay the grants, even though he personally benefited from the deal as a shareholder.

      Joyce said the government was trying to encourage R&D in New Zealand by funding companies that continued to do that work here regardless of ownership.

    • Takere 4.2

      Endace. Joyce’s baby. Received a $11m government “loan” at a little over 2.25% interest and only had to pay the interest of the $11m to the government.
      Same deal as Media Works getting a $41m “loan” for license payments for 5 years?? Tried to spin it as an advance?? Since when do governments pay for commercial private entities operating licenses? Oh, when crony governments kicked in, in 2008?

  5. Jenny 5

    While The Standard’s resident Lord Haw Haw enjoys some well deserved time off, it might by a time to reflect on his role as a cheerleader for genocide.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/aleppo-once-the-jewel-of-syrias-rebellion-faces-possible-collapse/

    https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=captured+syrian+pilot+you+tube&view=detail&mid=DFD73E031467791E0C66DFD73E031467791E0C66&FORM=VIRE

    [Attacking authors again?! Are you ever going to learn Jenny? One week off (again)] – Bill.

    • Garibaldi 5.1

      Get a grip Jenny. American sponsored genocide – now there’s a story you should tell. Start, say, with Vietnam then proceed through Central and South America, then onto Middle East, North Africa etc. Dig into Israel’s activities and Saudi Arabia and Turkey for good measure.
      Syria is but a drop in the bucket in the overall plan of the American backed Zionists.

      • tinfoilhat 5.1.1

        if you trawl through Jenny’s comments on this blog you’ll notice she is equally damning of all warmongers and their respective backers – I suspect this is a novel position for the likes of yourself and other cheerleaders for ‘my enemy’s enemy’.

        Edit – really Bill ? Are people not allowed to critique CV’s position on Syria and/or Trump ?

        The moderation and behaviour on this site is really beyond the pale.

        [How many boxes did you just tick with this comment? A fair few. When I first read this comment it was solely in reply in Garibaldi. Even then, it was close to the line. You want to accuse people of being war-mongers, then put up supporting evidence instead of just apparently splabbing shit that may or may not – depending on any given moderators mood – read like bullshit ad hom. Jenny’s banned. If you want to self martyr, just let me know.] – Bill

        • Ad 5.1.1.1

          Entirely reasonable.
          Read the policy Tinfoil.

          Also, objectionable to accuse anyone of filling a role of a British citizen who worked full time as a Nazi collaborator under Goebbels during World War Two, which is what Lord Haw Haw was.

        • weka 5.1.1.2

          There is a difference between critiquing someone’s position, and attacking them. Jenny has a long history of attacking authors and is frequently banned for it. She also lies about authors, intentionally IMO. She knows exactly what she is doing and why she gets a ban.

          She just said one of the authors supports genocide. On its own that might not be a big deal, just let it slide. But when it goes on all the time it affects authors and the community. If someone is misrepresenting an author’s position then that tends to keep coming up including when they write posts. Moderators and authors generally don’t have time to chase up attacks to see if they are based in fact. It’s on commenters to figure out how to critique someone’s position without attacking them.

          The priority here is to keep authors and to get new authors to write.

          There has been a lot of criticism of moderators/authors in the past week. Some of that is understandable (the moderation system isn’t perfect). However it also takes time to deal with and puts off existing and potential authors and moderators.

          If commenters want things to improve I suggest that they stop attacking moderators and authors, and either focus on the debate points or put up constructive suggestions of how things would work better (bearing in mind that telling moderators what to do doesn’t count as constructive criticism).

          • tinfoilhat 5.1.1.2.1

            “If commenters want things to improve I suggest that they stop attacking moderators and authors, and either focus on the debate points or put up constructive suggestions of how things would work better (bearing in mind that telling moderators what to do doesn’t count as constructive criticism).”

            Well it would also help if the site wasn’t a hot bed of misogyny, testosterone, bullying and group think but then again that’s why I left the site a while back – guess i made a poor decision to come back.

            • weka 5.1.1.2.1.1

              I appreciate the sentiment. Those of us trying to do something about that could do with some support tbh.

              • Incognito

                It’s a tricky one and I’d like to give some support but other than ignoring the ‘stuff’ and refusing to engage with it I don’t know what I can do to help. FYI, I completely ignore the newly-setup posting categories, which is a shame because I will miss out on useful and interesting information, but life is too short to have to dig deep for those raw diamonds and gold nuggets.

          • Karen 5.1.1.2.2

            Well put Weka. I had stopped looking at The Standard at all over the past week and on my return I see there have been some welcome changes. The quarantining of US election material is a brilliant idea and it seems a few of the destructive forces are having a break. Positive moves IMO.

        • tinfoilhat 5.1.1.3

          [deleted]

          [banned two months for abusing an author, wasting moderator time, self-martyrdom and deliberately ignoring moderation requests and winding up moderators – weka]

          • Bill 5.1.1.3.1

            In the spirit of this wonderful new bar for intelligent and thoughtful commentary that you’re setting – have a sticky out tongue with a rattling raspberry tinfoilhat.

            edit. Oh. Or then again…

      • reason 5.1.2

        +100 Garibaldi ………… Jenny may not be a troll but on Syria she’s as one eyed as a Penis …… and it’s only a short step to become a dic pic ( troll ) from there

        tinfoilhats dishonest smear post supporting her shows what a drippy little dick he is …..

        He should keep his raincoat on more

    • xanthe 5.2

      thanks bill

      • North 5.2.1

        CV has been an entitled arsehole around this site for a couple of months. Like he appreciates he’s royalty here and can do whatever. I’m not sure I understand the need for Anne’s ban. Just saying not contesting. As far as I know Anne has never behaved in a way which is damaging to this site. CV has. Brusquely, unapologetically.

  6. save nz 6

    Love how the council are planning on cutting jobs and services from libraries while spending over a billion on failed IT and now more cash on a waterfront stadium. sarc.

    It should be clear why that only 17% approve of the council, i.e. 83% do not approve of the job the council are doing.

    On a similar theme was at Long Bay Regional park, which was packed with people in the weekend, a lot of them families who were engaging in sports like cricket at the park. The grass was long and uncut, there was not enough parking for the amount of people and a big billboard proclaimed, donate to preserving the regional park. Ok, so now parks are a charity and big business vanity projects are where ratepayers money goes? In the back ground were multi million dollar housing projects and clearly millions of money doing to the council but not being returned to the area.

    Have to wonder about Phil Goff’s credentials for Labour is the first thing he oversees as Mayor is to cut jobs and cut library hours while taking about a vanity real estate sports stadium project for Auckland. We already went through that disaster with Murray McCully. Cut the Grass at the parks and upgrade it with council money, because that is where the kids are playing sports and families can have free fun (not pay $300 for professional sports tickets).
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11734454

    And cutting jobs and hours at the library… really…. WTF?

    • b waghorn 6.1

      ‘Have to wonder about Phil Goff’s credentials for Labour ‘ I think it’s a well established fact that goff is no worker for the lesser peoples , that said he’s got to be better than anything the nat/act types could put up.

      • save nz 6.1.1

        @ b waghorn – I’m not so sure that Goff is better than the Nat/act types as he believes in similar principles. Ratepayers want social amenities for their elected councillors and don’t actually care what political party they come from. Len Brown got in for saying he was going to make the swimming pools free and get public transport working. If Phil Goff’s first job as Mayor and the newly elected councillors first job is overseeing employees being made redundant at Christmas and cut their hours at the libraries – is that why people voted for them – I think not? Everyone uses the libraries old to young, rich to poor, even the homeless can be found in the CBD library enjoying a snooze. Likewise libraries are one of the most multicultural areas of the city.

        It’s about time the elected councillors show some teeth to the imposed CEO structure. I hope Mike Lee in particular who was nearly pushed out by a taste of electioneering dirty politics, but saved by voters who care about the city and society, actually fights hard for his voters to stop the rot. Cathy Casey also was popular and I don’t see her as one to be diminishing services to the libraries.

        • save nz 6.1.1.1

          Also if the library lending is decreasing, it could be the $1 a day fines per book when overdue. That means within a very short amount of time the public can encrue huge fines.

          With that N/ACT brainiac idea to discourage use, it means most people are then trained to take as few books out as possible and not at busy/stressful times in your life when you might return the books late.

          If you are poor and can’t afford the fines, you are cut off from the library.

          And then it also looks like library lending is declining – which is great because you can then justify cutting services.

          Another plan, to reduce the educational ability of the population.

      • Sacha 6.1.2

        Like the other righties, Goff campaigned on capping rates and making ‘savings’. That means cutting staff and services.

    • Sacha 6.2

      “there was not enough parking for the amount of people”

      If you want enough carparks for a busy day, there won’t be much beach or grass left the whole time. Previous years they’ve put on extra bus services at busy times.

      • save nz 6.2.1

        We seem to need to spend billions of tax payers money on roads (for the ‘growing’ population), but when it comes to services the council and government takes the money from the newcomers but then cuts services. Would think that with our increased population in Auckland we would need more jobs for the libraries and longer opening hours, not less? Of course that would employ a low paid worker which is a crime under neoliberalism. sarc.

        As for the parking, the Long Bay regional park is a large area and there could be plenty of room for all if it was laid out better and bothered to do small things like cut the grass – some of the grass people were parking on and trying to play sports on was nearly half a meter high. I know it’s been wet, but still… is it like the user pays berms, when you go to the beach and take your lawn mower too, mow your way in, is that really the third world look we want for NZ, on a public holiday?

        Considering how each member probably pays in rates, it’s a disgrace.

        As for cutting costs, $250 a week for lawn mowing – is it really too much? That’s like half an hour for a council lawyer to help ports of Auckland steal our harbour. Probably cost $5000 to lay out the parking better there. We are not talking big bucks at all. Just a lack of interest in real public services that is the problem.

        It’s not about the amount of money the council has, it is how they spend it that is the problem.

        • Sacha 6.2.1.1

          I recommend visiting http://transportblog.co.nz for detail about parking vs alternatives like public transit.

          No idea what council is doing with lawn-mowing but they have been constantly cutting costs at the insistence of those who set up the amalgamation along with those current ratepayers more focused on this year’s rates bill than what sort of region they leave their children. Auckland has suffered from that equation for many decades, and we have the polluted beaches after any storm to show for it.

          • The New Student 6.2.1.1.1

            Catching a bus is easy. As long as there are buses to catch. Been doing this my whole life. I don’t know why others can’t at least try

            • Sacha 6.2.1.1.1.1

              To be fair, it’s less easy to carry everything a family wants to take to the beach. But with places like Long Bay PT is just going to become the most common way as our city becomes designed to suit a larger population and not having to drive everywhere. Going to be an awesome next 30 years.

    • millsy 6.3

      The first thing left wing (or even centre left) people do when they take office is lose their backbone.

      • rhinocrates 6.3.1

        Do you mean to imply that at some point Goff was left wing? He was always an eager acolyte of Douglas and ambitious for power. Very likely the only reason that he never left Labour for Act was that he expected to be PM and knew that would never happen as a member of a minor party. He’s always been a right winger genuinely interested only in his own advancement.

        • Sacha 6.3.1.1

          While we use FPP for local elections Auckland’s mayor is most likely to straddle left and right, more right-leaning to match the older people who actually vote. Brown fitted that bill as does Goff. Most local issues do not match that binary in any case.

    • Gabby 6.4

      Phil knows the gumming won’t come to a jobs and services party but they’ll turn up to a white elephant party with their hair in a braid and bells on their toes.

    • Sacha 6.5

      “spending over a billion on failed IT”

      I should also note in the interests of accuracy that this allegation comes purely from the Herald’s shockingly poor local govt reporter Bernard Orsman and has been recycled since by righties including Crone with no evidence to back it. Given how legendarily stupid the guy is, I would not be surprised if he’s read the next decade’s operating costs from a budget and turned that into a headline. His editors for some reason keep him on.

      Yes, council have stuffed up the regional IT systems merge and the responsible manager has now been removed, but the cost blowout is nowhere near that level and current systems seem to be working in the meantime. It does our activism no favours to be based on misinformation.

  7. save nz 7

    Great to see standards are high (sarc) with Atomic and Nuclear Physics industry, in which a gobbledygook paper written using Apple’s iOS autocomplete – and filled with nonsense was accepted by a nuclear physics conference in the USA.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11734639

    • Draco T Bastard 7.1

      It was probably accepted by software as well…

      It’s the machines – they’re taking over

  8. joe90 9

    Greenwald puts the slipper in, questions Wikileak’s ethics.

    DS: That approach is different than what WikiLeaks has done, where it puts everything out there. Why have you taken a different approach?

    GG: Well, because I think that — not just as a journalist but as a human being — I have the ethical responsibility to avoid actions that can harm innocent people. And if you look at some of things that WikiLeaks has published, even in this latest batch of material from John Podesta’s emails, there are things in there talking about the mental health problems of individuals who have no power in Washington, people whose private lives have been exposed for no reason whatsoever.

    DS: And what’s wrong with putting everything out at once?

    GG: It’s not a difficult call. You’d have to be a sociopath to think that we ought to just take all of this material and dump it all on the internet without regard to the impact that it will have for innocent people.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/greenwald-the-investigators-1.3816510

    • Karen 9.1

      I particularly like the sociopath line. While Greenwald and Snowden have always behaved ethically with due regard to the effect on innocent people, Assange doesn’t seem to care about collateral damage.

    • Karen 9.2

      Joe, have you seen this?
      Interesting analysis of the motivation and character of Assange from a former wikileaks insider:

      https://www.buzzfeed.com/jamesball/heres-what-i-learned-about-julian-assange?utm_term=.wtOzMzQeb#.pfK1b1P4j

      • Bill 9.2.1

        Not to distract from the info in your link Karen, but for me the basic downfall of Assange is and always has been his ego.

        Unlike Snowden who insisted that the story was the material he was releasing, Assange positioned himself front, centre stage and self promoted as some kind of crusader. Beyond that, for me, there isn’t really much of worth or interest that can be added in terms of his character.

        And ‘over there’, Wikileaks have done some sterling things and some woeful things.

        • xanthe 9.2.1.1

          https://t.co/bYyWwMG5Ox

          statement from wikileaks re status of assange, equador, and internet access

        • Karen 9.2.1.2

          I absolutely agree with you that “Wikileaks have done some sterling things and some woeful things.”

          As for ego being the main problem with Assange I would mostly agree, though I also think there is a fair measure of misogyny in his character as well.

      • weka 9.2.2

        That was an interesting read Karen and gave some context that I hadn’t understood before. Not sure what to make of it. The journalist’s story and take on things seemed plausible, yet the photos of the trashed bookcase, and the last few paragraphs jarred. Maybe that was an editorial thing.

        • Karen 9.2.2.1

          Photographs and headlines are usually editorial but I’d say Jamie Ball has written it all including the last few paragraphs. I found it an interesting analysis from someone who was once part of Wikileaks, but in the end it is still his opinion (albeit based on a more personal relationship than the rest of us have).

      • xanthe 9.2.3

        i dont buy it, looks like a hit job

        “Now it is the darling of the alt-right, revealing hacked emails seemingly to influence a presidential contest, claiming the US election is “rigged”, and descending into conspiracy. ” ….. ahh yes who dosn’t think the US elections are rigged . thats not an “alt right” view

        “Neither Assange nor WikiLeaks (and the two are virtually one and the same thing) have changed ” …….. ummm maby ! maby not .

        the whole story about “adam” … not creditable, lots of column inches lots of innuendo, no actual verifiable content!

        lots of “opinion” about the swedish investigation at odds with the documented facts

        quite simply IMHO an uninformed smear!

      • joe90 9.2.4

        He is indeed a rather odd character, Karen, who seems to have made more than a few enemies for himself and his organisation.

        https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=24468#.WA1z4ySE-Un

        http://forward.com/news/national/347546/why-does-wikileaks-have-a-reputation-for-anti-semitism/

  9. Draco T Bastard 11

    Population growth gives Australians misleading picture of economy

    Commonwealth Bank senior economist Gareth Aird has released a report showing population growth was helping the economy and keeping some key figures looking positive but may not be improving the lives of many ordinary Australians.
    “The economy might be growing at 3 per cent but that is being massively assisted by population growth and the fact we might be selling more commodities offshore,” he told news.com.au.

    No, where have we seen that before?

    “If you have more people, they can buy more things,” he said. “If there’s faster population growth, you can have a faster rate of growth of prospective customers.”

    Which is, of course, the drive for ever more exports. The problem when those exports are physical is that it results in a real decrease in the wealth that the country has.

    And, no, more spending is not a positive.

  10. Muttonbird 12

    The RNZAF is getting back at Key for stripping funding, literally.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/85673878/john-keys-plane-is-grounded-in-australia-en-route-to-india-due-to-a-technical-fault

    Pretty embarrassing for the prime minister to be on a biz-tour to India with his good mate BMac only to arrive days late.

    • Muttonbird 12.1

      Updated. What a shambles.

      The Mumbai leg of the trip has now been cancelled – the business delegation travelling with Key were meant to be taking part in an innovation showcase while there.

      Key would also miss a visit to Shree Siddhivinayak Marble Temple, speaking at the Bombay Stock exchange, meeting the chief minister of Maharashtra and signing an education agreement.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/85673878/john-keys-plane-is-grounded-in-australia-en-route-to-india-due-to-a-technical-fault

      I can just hear him now: When in India, do as the Indians do.

      • b waghorn 12.1.1

        i bet he would have made it if he had of gone with an airline instead of on clownforce1 .

      • Sacha 12.1.2

        The business people must be pissed off. Amateur hour.

        • Muttonbird 12.1.2.1

          I’ll say. Imagine the resources spent attending this cheap labour love-in. To then have a no-show by the chief clown himself is a massive loss of face.

      • Muttonbird 12.1.3

        Audrey Young tries to shit in her own nest on this but ends up blaming the wrong people.

        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11734917

        She seems so preoccupied and upset that John Key has ‘been made to look bad’ by the RNZAF, rather than looking deeper into the issue of why the RNZAF can’t keep its aircraft in operational order.

        She must be on this flight as one of Key’s embedded journalists and is stung by the increasingly amateurish nature of official tours.

        • Paul 12.1.3.1

          Audrey Young is a shameless propagandist.

          • Muttonbird 12.1.3.1.1

            Nothing more than a mouth piece for John Key’s penny-pinching, do-nothing government. Even at her most upset – when her junket tour to India has been disrupted – she can’t put two and two together and sheet the blame home to where it lies.

  11. b waghorn 13

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11734737

    the pirates are taking over icelands government (maybe if they get elected)

  12. weka 14

    [In order to keep OM and DR free for other conversations, all comments, link postings etc about the US election now need to go in the dedicated US election discussion here.

    If you are unsure, post in that thread rather than here. It’s not possible for moderators to shift comments from OM to there, so any comments here may get deleted – weka]

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    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    10 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    12 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    13 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    15 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    18 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
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