Open Mike 25/03/2018

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 25th, 2018 - 141 comments
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141 comments on “Open Mike 25/03/2018 ”

  1. Ad 1

    Great to see the new German Minister for the Environment banning Glyphosphate:

    http://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-revive-climate-change-phase-out-glyphosate/a-43110900

    It would be awesome to see our government clean out the Board and management of our Environmental Protection Agency and start banning this kind of chemical.

    • Graeme 1.1

      “It would be awesome to see our government clean out the Board and management of our Environmental Protection Agency and start banning this kind of chemical.”

      And you thought the reaction to a resource charge on water was extreme, banning glyphosphate would be seen as a ban on farming. It’s that ubiquitous and central to New Zealand agricultural systems they wouldn’t know how to farm without it.

      • AsleepWhileWalking 1.1.1

        FYI there was a study done with cows.

        Turns out that glycophospate levels in the cow blood reduce with protocol of betonite clay and sauerkraut juice. Some other stuff too but those are the main things.

      • weka 1.1.2

        DOC and groups like Forest and Bird and people who maintain school grounds would find it a challenge too. Still should happen though, they just lack imagination.

        • Pingao 1.1.2.1

          Maybe it is lack of money?? The alternative herbicides are often more expensive and may also have health risks. Most of them have issues with being ecotoxic to soil and/or waterways.

          • weka 1.1.2.1.1

            that is an issue too, but in my experience of lots of conversations on this, many people in DOC, Councils, orgs like F and B etc are ideologically committed to glyphosate. Many think it is benign. Monstanto did an amazing PR job on this a few decades ago. Remember Round Up 2 and the adds of the swan on the pond and the dude spraying around the edges? Bought hook line and sinker.

            • solkta 1.1.2.1.1.1

              Many believe that it is the lesser of the evils available based on the science with probably carcinogenic being better than immediately toxic.

              • weka

                maybe. Most people I talk to honestly think it’s benign. It just breaks down right?

                • gsays

                  My retired horticultural father in law, stills maintains round-up is inert 15 minutes after application.

                  At the risk of sounding like a scratched record, the only way this behaviour (spray and walk away ground-keeping, 1080ing the Bush pest control), can be justified is in economic terms.

                  • joe90

                    can be justified is in economic terms.

                    Indeed, because in a world where folk are squeezed by food prices, today’s price of organics will be the price of everything, post glyphosate.

                    • weka

                      there are some issues there in terms of economies of scale, supermarket subsidies etc. Also, the people I know on low incomes that have the capacity grow food to varying degrees to make it affordable, and they’re growing organic. Potential there.

            • Pingao 1.1.2.1.1.2

              True – I use it myself on a block of land on the access road and think of it as less harmful than other herbicides that target both grass & broadleaf species.

              Over my working life I have had to use hazardous substances in small quantities and see it as a kind of necessary evil I suppose. I am more cautious these days than many (especially the blokes) and wear a respirator. I have heard older guys say you can drink it!!

              Long term plan is to shade out the access road with kanuka etc to eliminate spraying and mowing. That will work for me but I don’t know what the alternatives might be for farming.

              • weka

                I think in NZ we use it in so may situations where it is just unnecessary. I hang out in organic circles so it’s pretty obvious.

                Lol, those dudes should try drinking some roundup (maybe have them google it first).

                (given climate change and drought, might want to consider planting less flammable trees).

                • Pingao

                  Yes kanuka are very flammable but are fast growing so can swap them out once they have killed the gorse and grass.

              • mauī

                Especially around urban areas you could replace Roundup with petrol or electric weed eaters quite easily. It would probably require slightly more frequent maintenance but not significantly so. I think Councils go for spraying because its marginally more convenient.

                Not sure what farmers could replace it with because I don’t have experience in that area. No-till farming would help though as weed seeds wouldn’t have the bare earth and sunlight to get established.

                Weedeating wouldn’t work on a paddock of old gorse, but a chainsaw would. And then there probably is something organic out there that you could paste onto the stumps to kill off the root system.

                • weka

                  We have been farming for 10,000 years without round up. Just saying.

                  There are plenty of sustainable ways to manage gorse. Depends on what you want to do with the land instead.

      • Ad 1.1.3

        Agree.

        Well time the farming lobby was met head on.

        Europe buys our farming produce. And still you can see in NZ whole hillsides dead brown with it, to re-sow pasture.

        Clean out the EPA.

      • RedBaronCV 1.1.4

        And get us sued under TPPA?? By a corporate incorporating in a country that can

    • AsleepWhileWalking 1.2

      Yes, absolutely essential to ban this crap.

      And we should sue Monsanto (or whatever they call themselves today) for the costs incurred treating cancer resulting from widespread use.

      Oh..wait… Tppa

    • Pat 1.3

      what did we do do before 1974?

      Glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate. It is used to kill weeds, especially annual broadleaf weeds and grasses that compete with crops. It was discovered to be an herbicide by Monsanto chemist John E. Franz in 1970.[3] Monsanto brought it to market in 1974 under the trade name Roundup, and Monsanto’s last commercially relevant United States patent expired in 2000.

      • Pat 1.3.1

        A quick search suggests it was a replacement for DDT

        • Graeme 1.3.1.1

          DDT was an insecticide, and evil shit

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT

          You may mean Paraquat, that was a herbicide, and also evil shit

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraquat

          Glyphosate has the advantage of not being immediately fatal to humans or stock

          • Foreign waka 1.3.1.1.1

            Fatal non the less. Just a slow death, like the frog sitting in a pot …

          • Pat 1.3.1.1.2

            so it was…..the replacement seems to be in terms of widespread adoption and the timing.

            A search for ‘glyphosphate replaced’ brings up some interesting articles.

            So the question is what did we do pre 74 to achieve what glyphosphate does now?…obviously something relatively effective (whether effective enough with double the population and climbing may be a different story however) as we managed to farm successfully pre 74

            • Graeme 1.3.1.1.2.1

              The advent of Roundup allowed a totally new farming system to emerge. Now pasture is renewed every 3-5 years, as that process is much easier with a cheaper and safer herbicide. (than paraquat) Our intensive farming practices depend on the flush of new grass, there’s fertilisers in the equation too.

              Previously pastures had to be ploughed to kill the old growth, now it’s spray and drill, or pray on steep country.

              The target here shouldn’t just be glyphosphate, but the whole farming system with it’s downstream effects. Replacing glyphosphate with something else won’t stop the environmental disaster that is New Zealand intensive agriculture

              • Pat

                k…so if in the past we controlled weed growth and pasture renewal via tillage to a greater extent…and I suspect considerably more physical removal,i.e. grubbing or weeding….then one consequence of a ban on roundup could be increased fossil fuel use in agriculture.

                Additionally it appears glyphosphate has enabled additional crop plantings per season according to an article I skimmed earlier, so potentially a reduced yield.

                • Graeme

                  Another benefit of the Roundup / drill model is much reduced soil loss, most of which used to end up as sediment in rivers. Direct drilling is marvellous in this regard.

                  Yes, it also allowed extra rotations, any yield issues are dealt with by another round with the bulky (fertiliser spreader), so potentially more NPK run off into the river. The gps controls on bulk spreaders are pretty good now too, so application is very accurate hopefully reducing over application like what went on in the past.

                  Done properly the Roundup model should be lighter on the land, but, human nature / greed intervenes and it becomes a means to produce more to the same effects. So you still have the same effects.

                  The Roundup tolerant crop thing sort of died, along with the cows. Seed companies are having trouble selling it, and got in even more trouble when they “accidentally” shipped the GE seed rather than what the farmer ordered. Much dancing on the head of the pin over that.

                  • Pat

                    so assuming all the previous it would be fair to observe that a ban on glyphosphate will result in increased carbon emissions (arguably)…a reduced yield (or additional fert or both)…higher labour inputs.

                    Adding that up equals higher food prices ….and reduced export competitiveness.

                    That may or may not be a price the wider public is prepared to accept, let alone the ag sector…or it may be acceptable until the effects felt.

                    • Macro

                      Actually a ban on roundup and other forms of industrial farming would result in a massive reduction in atmospheric carbon as pasture that is undisturbed sequesters large amounts of carbon. Killing pasture, and replanting might reduce the amount of soil erosion, but it increases substantially the amount of Carbon that was being stored in the plant and in the soil back into the atmosphere in the form of Methane and CO2. Most of that carbon is actually stored in the micro-organisms in the soil. When you kill the plant you kill the micro-organisms that are dependent upon the plants roots. It is pretty much a symbiotic arrangement. By allowing the plants to grow they establish greater root systems and thereby increase the micro-organisms (fungi and bacteria) that ultimately sequester the atmospheric carbon fed to them by the plant into the soil, increasing the soil carbon.
                      If we are to really get to grips with mitigating Climate Change and tackling the already massive loading of atmospheric Carbon that is causing the rapidly increasing global temperatures. We need to think quickly how we manage our agriculture and our environment.
                      You can read all about it in this massive pdf:
                      http://www.fao.org/3/a-i1880e.pdf

                    • Pat

                      @ Macro…thanks for link..am slowly working through it.

                      I note you state…..”Actually a ban on roundup and other forms of industrial farming would result in a massive reduction in atmospheric carbon”….without the ‘and other forms of industrial farming’ I see no evidence for that….and we are not going to stop farming on an industrial scale for we cannot…but we can perhaps change the intensity and land uses.

                      The increased CO2 (arguably) I was referring to was the average approx 100kg CO2 p/ hectare a typical tractor will emit when working up ground….an action that may increase without the availability of glyphosphate.

                      CO2 aside theres still the reduced yields and increased labour inputs and the flow ons to consider.

              • Brigid

                “Now pasture is renewed every 3-5 year”
                Are you sure that’s correct? Pasture that’s managed correctly doesn’t grow broad leafed weeds. Grasses are perennials, they are long lived plants. I just don’t see the point in killing the whole pasture and re sowing. Besides it takes 3 or 4 months for pasture to be properly established. Thats quite a while for land to be not productive.
                Considering clover is a important component of pasture, and glyphosphate doesn’t kill clover, there’s no point in applying this weedkiller.
                I do know it’s used extensively in horticulture though – vineyards, orchards, etc

                • joe90

                  They renew pasture at a rate of 5-15% of farm area each year.

                  At 5% it takes 20 years to renew the entire farm, 15% – around every 7 years.

                  • Brigid

                    Could you supply a link?

                    In my experience prior to 1974 reseeding was only done when new and better grasses had been developed, or pasture had been managed so poorly, reseeding was the only option. The dairy and sheep and cattle farms I lived on never destroyed whole pastures, ploughed and reseeded. It just wasn’t necessary.
                    On Lands and Survey blocks young men and women were employed on some sort of scheme to walk the whole farm grubbing out thistles and ragwort.

                  • Brigid

                    “Pasture renewal programmes vary widely across NZ, typically ranging from 0%-15% of farm area each year. The average on dairy farms is 5-10% compared to 2-5% on sheep farms. ”

                    I think Google intends that information it offers is meant to be read.
                    And understood. Guess it’s just beyond some though.

                  • Graeme

                    Assumption there that what the supplier sells the farmer works, or the farmer uses it correctly. Lots can go wrong. Most of what got sown around here will have to be redone next year because climate.

                    My 3-5 year figure is an observation of reasonably intensive properties around here (Whakatipu) 5-15% gets thrown out if there’s an ag or fodder crop (sometimes both) in the rotation, effectively doubling it or more.

          • solkta 1.3.1.1.3

            I used to spray a mix of Paraquat and Simozine when i worked in a plant nursery in the mid-1980s. The rules were full wet weather gear and respirator and if you got any on your skin to shower immediately (which i did one day). I thought “fuck this” and found a new job within a few months.

            • Macro 1.3.1.1.3.1

              You were lucky! I was using the stuff in the 1960’s working in summer hols while at Uni. The local parks sent me off with a open 44 gal drum on the back of the tractor to spray the gorse at the back of the local grass tennis courts. So off I went – not one item of protective clothing on – because – well what was that?? Anyway unbeknown to us the drum actually had a slight leak. For weeks after you could see where I had been 😈. The tennis club were not pleased!
              Fortunately I seem to have avoided getting any of the stuff on me and haven’t had any after affects (that I am aware off 😉 ).

        • Graeme 1.3.2.1

          And more than a few New Zealand farmers, factory workers and nearby residents too

    • veutoviper 1.4

      This is a liitle off topic but related –
      On 18 February 2018, some of us were involved in a discussion under 5 in Open Mike* where Carolyn Nth posted a call from an organisation called Avaaz for donations to fight a 168 page US court subpoena from Monsanto requiring Avaaz to disclose “every private email, note, or record we have regarding Monsanto, including the names and email addresses of Avaazers who have signed Monsanto campaigns!!”
      * link https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-18-02-2018/#comment-1450415

      None of us really understood what this was all about so Carolyn and I did some research and posted our results back at 5.2.1 and 5.2.1.1. Lots of links there with background to Avaaz; but in brief, this subpoena is in relation to Avaaz’s campaign against the renewal application by Monsanto and Bayer to the EU and its agencies for Glyphosphate (eg Round-up).

      The short story to this is that Avaaz fought a major campaign against the renewal over a year – but in November 2017 the EU renewed the approval of Glyphosphate but only for five years as opposed to the 15 years sought. Monsanto then filed the above mentioned subpoena.

      I had been meaning to keep an eye on this and was prompted to do so by your post today. Nothing further on the Avaaz situation since a Feb 23 Guardian article which was still about the subpoena. Avaaz’s website does not provide any obvious update but is still calling for donations ($136K raised so far).

      Back on topic –
      As part of my research into the above I discovered this link to RNZ’s website, which provides a good source to keep up-to-date on what is happening on Glyphosphate in NZ. There are some good summaries on there on what is currently (eg 23 March) going on with the EPA, for anyone interested.

      http://www.radionz.co.nz/search/results?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=glyphosate&commit=Search

      • veutoviper 1.4.1

        Note – In the above, I changed glyphosate to glyphosphate in my paras 2 and 3 because I thought I had spelt it wrong. I was right the first time but cannot now change these back. Sorry.

      • tracey 1.4.2

        Thanks for this update

    • cleangreen 1.5

      here here. I agree.

  2. Ad 2

    We want change or we will vote you out.

    That’s a gutsy response from the many thousands of young people who marched on Washington towards greater gun control and against gun violence yesterday:

    https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/delaney-tarr-march-for-our-lives_us_5ab678d8e4b0decad04a5df7

    There’s always hope in the US of A.

    I want to see this movement survive beyond the mid-terms.

    • Jenny 2.1

      “Hundreds of thousands march for gun control in the US”

      NRA goes silent in midst of protest.

      The National Rifle Association (NRA) went silent on Twitter on Saturday morning, in contrast to its reaction to the nationwide school walkouts against gun violence on March 14, when it tweeted a photo of an assault rifle and the message “I’ll control my own guns, thank you.”

      Unusually, President Trump keeps away from making a tweet.

      As of early afternoon, Trump himself had yet to weigh in on Twitter about the protests.

      Politics is all about pressure

      “It’s pretty simple for me,” said Zoe Tate, 11, from Gaithersburg Middle School in Maryland, explaining why she marched in Washington. “I think guns are dumb. It’s scary enough with the security guards we have in school. We don’t need teachers carrying guns now. I find it amazing that I have to explain that idea to adults.”

      Said her mother, Maria Blaeuer: “For our kids, feeling safe is fundamental, and they don’t feel safe.”

      Large rallies also unfolded in such cities as Boston; New York; Chicago; Houston; Fort Worth, Texas; Minneapolis; and Parkland, Florida, the site of the February 14 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 people dead.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/102566171/hundreds-of-thousands-march-for-gun-control-in-the-us

      • joe90 2.1.1

        NRA goes silent in midst of protest.

        They’re rattled.

        .

        In what can only be described as a desperate plea for attention, the NRA has released a new video that takes aim at survivors of the Parkland shooting, telling them that if their friends hadn’t died, “no one would know your names.”

        The video, titled “A March for Their Lies,” was posted to NRA-TV’s YouTube channel just ahead of the student-led March for Our Lives event scheduled for Saturday in Washington, D.C.

        In the clip, NRA-TV host Colion Noir lashed out at the teens who survived last month’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, mocking them for their youth and even taunting them about the deaths of their classmates.

        Noir brought up the recent school shooting at Great Mills High School in Maryland, telling the Parkland survivors he wished an armed resource officer had been at their school “because your classmates would still be alive, and no one would know your names.”

        “The media would have completely and utterly ignored your story,” Noir said, before falsely claiming that the media had not covered the school shooting in Maryland.

        https://shareblue.com/nra-taunts-parkland-survivors-march-for-our-lives/

    • Macro 2.2

      The Guardian has given over its editorial this weekend to the student journalists and they are giving great reads. Very inspirational.

    • joe90 2.3

      They say they’re going to call AR 15’s Rubios, and now this….

      Parkland students are wearing a $1.05 "price tag" which represents the total NRA money that went to Marco Rubio divided by the number of Florida students.— JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) March 24, 2018

      …and this is just sad.

      A six-year-old just handed this to me. pic.twitter.com/9osX7LNpFj— Laura Koenig (@2nickels) March 24, 2018

    • tracey 2.4

      Compare with Black Lives Matter. Reminds me of this line in the Columbine movie

      “Middle Amercia, now it’s a tragedy, now it’s so sad to see, in upper-classity”

  3. Jenny 3

    Politics is all about pressure. II

    Generation Zero

    Kia Ora Jenny

    You may have seen in the media that on Monday a petition was handed to the Government which had over 45,000 signatures calling for an end to oil and gas exploration in Aotearoa.

    Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, along with Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw and Minister for Energy and Resources, Megan Woods were there to accept the petition in person, signalling that the Government is listening and considering this strong call to End Oil.

    We need New Zealanders all around the country to keep raising your voices, so that our Government hears loud and clear that ending the block offer process for new oil and gas exploration is the right decision.

    Our Prime Minister promised several times during the election campaign that climate change would be a priority for her government. Let’s hold them to that promise!

    Will you help us End Oil in Aotearoa?

    You can do this by:

    Writing a personal letter from you or an organisation you are affiliated with to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Energy Minister Megan Woods calling for an end to oil exploration
    Writing a letter to the Editor of your local newspaper
    Make an appointment with the Labour/NZ First MP that represents your constituency about this
    Join the Rally for Climate Justice if you’re in Wellington next week, or help amplify it on social media!

    With hope for a better future climate,

    Your friends at Generation Zero

    http://www.generationzero.org/

    • Jenny 3.1

      Politics is all about pressure III

      “The time has come for politicians to become activists, and for activists to become politicians.”

      J.

      In Canada yesterday, federal politicians from three different political parties joined together in an act of civil disobedience.

      Former Liberal candidate Briony Penn, Green Party leader Elizabeth May and NDP MP Kennedy Stewart were all arrested at Kinder Morgan’s Burnaby tank farm.

      Here in New Zealand, civil disobedience from sitting MPs has not been witnessed since the days of the highly successful anti-nuclear ship protests.

      It was this sort of powerful direct action leadership, that shifted the whole of parliament in this counttry, including two National Government MPs Marilyn Waring and Michael Minogue to vote for the opposition party’s private members bill to ban nuclear ship visits. To prevent the vote being taken, the National Government Prime Minister Robert Muldoon was forced to call a snap election. The rest is history.

      I’m a Grandmother, and anyone who is looking at the climate crisis on this planet, who doesn’t recognise that it’s an emergency, is sleepwalking towards a precipice.

      We need to wake up..,
      Take responsibility..,
      As parents…,
      And as grandparents.

      Because, I will not slip off this mortal coil thinking there is something more I should have done. And maybe, that I should have gone up Burnaby Mountain on March 23rd.

      Elizabeth May
      (As she is being arrested on Burnaby Mountain for joining with protesters blockading the Kinder Morgan oil sands pipeline.)

      https://www.facebook.com/CoastProtectors/videos/10156160208158416/?hc_ref=ARTTjiMXKyEBERPH3C7fIKzsbtzPExbFSq0PWpCoTcrCYzGLRuBosLf58S1Fj83vddg

      Kia kaha Elizabeth May, Kennedy Stewart and Briony Penn. May your brave stand shift public opinion and the Canadian Government to act against oil sands.

      • Jenny 3.1.1

        Politics is all about pressure IV

        “Bernie Sanders to Parkland Students: You Have the Power to Change America”

        I know in the last couple of years you have seen a lot of grass roots movements come out of, you know, people who aren’t necessarily elected leaders……

        https://www.facebook.com/ijrresponse/videos/2010321442557744/

        (In this country in my generation; John Minto, Joe Hawk, Whina Cooper, Eva Rickard, to name just a few.)

        What do you feel is the importance of these grass roots movements in changing policy?

        Extraordinarily important. I’ve said it a million times in every speech that I give. Change never takes from the top — never takes place from the top. It always come from the bottom on up and you can see it right now……

        https://www.facebook.com/ijrresponse/videos/2010321442557744/

  4. Jenny 4

    The lesson for Auckland if the city continues to spend public money expanding the motorway system, over investing in public transport, is that Auckland will become a poorer more crime ridden and polluted place.

    “By Focusing on Cars Over Public Transportation, Cities Continue to Foster Inequality”

    Policies and projects that broaden transportation options beyond driving a car significantly reduce income inequality between urban white and black households and between men and women in cities, according to a recent study published in the journal Local Environment. In cities with this “multimodal” infrastructure, white men see no loss of income even as other demographic groups tend to earn more income, the researchers found. White men are more likely than white women, black men, and black women to own cars.

    “Increasing rail capacity means more opportunities for people who do not have cars,” says study co-author Chad Frederick, an assistant professor of sustainability studies and urban planning at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. “Multimodal infrastructure enables more people to participate in a wider labor market.”

    https://undark.org/2018/03/22/cities-commitments-cars-foster-inequality/

    “Medellin’s Amazing Metro System: Colombia Uses Public Transport To Drive Societal Change”

    “The city [of Medillin] transformed violence and despair into hope and opportunity, using sustainable transport as one of the key levers to drive change,” said ITDP board member Holger Dalkmann.

    https://thinkprogress.org/medellins-amazing-metro-system-colombia-uses-public-transport-to-drive-societal-change-1a4186f6c3c6/

    • Ad 4.1

      This governments’ transport Government Policy Statement comes out this week.

      It’s going to be a goody.

      • Jenny 4.1.1

        Let us hope that it includes deeply burying this particular piece of motorway madness from the Nats. beyond all hope of it ever being exhumed to see the light of day.

        http://www.times.co.nz/news/petition-save-mill-road-corridor-project-launched/

        Nutters

        https://www.facebook.com/judithcollinsmp/videos/1556452037765877/

        • cleangreen 4.1.1.1

          1000% Jenny.

          Our NGO just wrote to Transport Minister of regional development Shane jones and Transport Minister Phil Twyford three days ago on this; here it is.
          We want less trucks more rail.

          CEAC.
          Protecting our environment & health.
          In association with other Community Groups, NHTCF and all Government Agencies since 2001.
          Public COMMUNITY letter;
          22nd March 2018.

          Hon’ Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Development & other Ministers.
          Dear Ministers,

          This is a letter of support for and a challenge to Shane jones as our “champion of all our provinces” We agree Government is to be held accountable and we encourage anyone who wants to hold all authorities accountable for environmental issues should be supported also.

          Thank you for your hard work and diligence to keep authorities accountable Shane & Winston.

          Our SOE Kiwi rail is now in need of serious investigation as it has also a bad CEO in need of being replaced by a real rail engineer and not just a patsy for the previous National Government policies who hated using rail to lower the climate change emissions, which will become the “nuclear moment our children’s future.”

          National encouraged closing regional rail freight in favour of using road freight which is seriously degrading our air and water quality and causing catastrophic weather events and floods, public health injuries, and declining health and this current Labour Government are not yet radically increasing any regional rail freight use to meet their future climate change emissions target that government have signed up to by 2035-50 as a carbon neutral policy.

          Save the Gisborne rail service as it is not being considered for inclusion by Labour yet.

          Kiwi rail CEO Peter Reidy must go as he is not supporting labour coalition plans to use rail freight policy in line with the Labour party’s 2005-15 “National rail strategy” to connect all ports to rail services to lower climate change emissions.

          http://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/Import/Documents/nationalrailstrategy.pdf

          QUOTE from ISBN 0-478-10005-1 Forward from Pete Hodgson 2005 as Minister of Transport.

          “Now we have brought New Zealand’s rail infrastructure back into public ownership, and the vision and objectives of the New Zealand Transport Strategy will be applied to New Zealand’s railway network.

          Through the National Rail Strategy, the Government is demonstrating its commitment to retaining the existing network; to investigating the development of a number of new railway lines; and to maximising the use of rail transport. The aim is to move people out of cars for urban journeys, and freight off roads, wherever possible. For freight this means a focus on bulk or containerised loads, including traffic such as milk or logs. For passengers it means a focus on busy urban corridors in the larger centres, and using smart thinking to manage congestion.

          This is an exciting time in New Zealand transport, with a dynamic vision beginning to achieve real results, working towards an affordable, integrated, safe, responsive, and sustainable transport system. The Labour Progressive government acknowledges the contribution of the Green Party to the development of this Strategy, and both the Green Party and the United Party’s support of the government’s transport policy.
          Hon Pete Hodgson” Minister of Transport 2005

          Warmest regards,
          CEAC Secretary.

    • Ed 4.2

      [deleted]

      [Ed, you were banned until the 31st. Pulling shit like this is asking for a very long ban to be handed down. Don’t comment until such times as your regular details have been cleared from the blacklist]

  5. weka 5

    Maybe someone could have a crack at explaining just how those Aussie cricket players could be so stupid? Even if they did gain an advantage in the moment how could they possibly think it wouldn’t be caught on camera and expose them for cheats?

    http://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/43526870

    • gsays 5.1

      Like our white collar criminals here in Aotearoa,
      (MOH coleman and Manukau mould, CCTV building engineers, ex PM and ex MOD regards Afghanistan murders and subsequent cover-up), they are above the law and consequences don’t apply to them.

      Our ocker cousins have form for this sort of thing.
      Shane Warne and his ‘diet pills’ (speed to you and me) and the Chappell brothers disgrace come to mind.

    • millsy 5.2

      The probably thought a test win would outweight the negative press and ICC penalties, which are essentially a slap on the wrist.

      • tracey 5.2.1

        I reckon they are so pissed off at the wife cracks they wanted revenge. Anger clouds the thinking. Especially when you have gone all holier than thou in selfcrighteous indignation.

        GlennTurner has very sad stories of the comments made to him by Aussies about his Indian born wife. They have always been able to dish it out but never been great at taking it

    • Macro 5.3

      Well the got away with this in 1981 – so why not now?
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbOq-oe2kN8

      • tracey 5.3.1

        Except underarm was still in the rules at that time. Tampering is, mindlessly on a Level 2 offence

        • Macro 5.3.1.1

          Well that is true – except that it was clearly not in the spirit of the game – ie it wasn’t cricket. That’s how the rules develop. Eg the body line series when the Aussies were subjected to a series of fast deliveries directed at the body and a stacked leg side field. That cheating by the English on that occasion led to the rule restricting of the number of fields men behind square leg to two.
          Ball tampering has been around for as long as there has been cricket. Some of it more obvious than others. This occasion happens to be a rather obvious and rather more serious example.

  6. Ffloyd 6

    Two words. Aussie. Stupid.

    • Stunned Mullet 6.1

      Pity Ritchie Benaud’s no longer with us – he would have some choice words for them – class act was Ritchie.

  7. Muttonbird 8

    Great news – 4000 homes to be built on Unitec land.

    Whenever I go there for work which is once or twice a year I alway think what a great development it would be. There are acres and acres (literally 53 hectares) of space right next to a new motorway interchange. For one thing this means the traffic increase will have short runs to the motorway system rather than through streets.

    Mount Albert train station just metres from the south eastern corner of this site.

    Properly planned a lot of services could be within the new development reducing the need for residents to go elsewhere for daily stuff.

    Unitec have wanted to downsize that 53 hectares into 9 for some time now.

    You got to wonder why the Nats didn’t think of this – oh that’s right, when they’re not denying the existence of a housing crisis, they are ideologically opposed to fixing it.

    • Graeme 8.1

      And they weren’t going to get a contribution to the party coffers out of UNITEC like they could with the SHA malarky.

    • Herodotus 8.2

      I hope that the infrastructure is capable of handling the additional stormwater, gas, fibre, water and roading. And this is to service 10,000 people a development housing the pop. of Queenstown or Gore
      http://www.tageo.com/index-e-nz-cities-NZ.htm
      Imagine 4000 homes in 44 ha. a density of 99/ha.
      https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2012/02/10/what-does-density-look-like/
      Developments like this may be appropriate for a hectare or 2 BUT 44 ha of this ???
      And I note for those not experienced within the development industry, that the example on Symonds Street is bordered by public roads, for a development of 44 ha such roading infrastructure would be internal and using some of the 44 h.a, increasing the densities to well beyond 100/ha

      • alwyn 8.2.1

        It isn’t even 44 ha apparently.
        According to the link about the story it is only 29 ha.
        Still, Phil sys it will be wonderful and will have parks and shops and all those good things.
        What is there that won’t be heaven on earth?
        I’ll bet he wouldn’t buy there.

    • alwyn 8.3

      Are you sure about your numbers? In fact do you have a link for this story?

      If they are reducing 53 ha to 9 ha that will leave 44 ha for the development.
      I would assume that one third of that would be required for roads, services and of course I am sure there will be cycle ways everywhere. No doubt someone who knows more about this than I do will be able to correct this assumption if it is way out. You do say that these services could be within the development.
      That leaves about 30 ha or 300,000 square metres.

      If there are 4000 homes as you claim that will mean an average land area of, at most, 75 square metres per home.
      How many stories is each block going to be? They clearly won’t be single story will they?
      How big are the homes going to be?
      Are there going to be any parks. Or shops? Or anything else?

      This sounds like one of those dreadful high rise developments of pokey little flats that were built after the second world war and that every sensible country is demolishing because they were places that no sensible person wanted to live in.
      And this meant to be progress? Is this the best that is being offered?
      And when will the places be built?

      • Muttonbird 8.3.1

        Here you go.

        http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/03/first-kiwibuild-houses-announced.html

        Although being in a constant state of misery might preclude you from being forward-looking and positive about this.

        • alwyn 8.3.1.1

          Good God, it’s even worse than you said.
          They are going to buy only 29 hectares. I suggest that you will only get 20 ha to put the houses on.
          At 4000 houses that is going to give you a figure of 50 square metres of land per house.
          Out of curiosity I had a look at what are the typical minimums for residential properties in New Zealand.
          Hamilton will do as an example. For a single dwelling the lowest amount you are allowed is 350 sqm. For an Apartment block it is 150sqm/apartment. That is the absolute minimum.
          http://www.hamilton.govt.nz/our-council/council-publications/districtplans/ODP/chapter4/Pages/4-4-Rules-General-Standards.aspx
          Twyford thinks that only one third of that will be sufficient? Then he has the gall to claim that this is going to get rid of overcrowding?
          You accuse me of being in a continual state of misery. If I had to live in the sort of place that idiot is proposing I certainly would be miserable. So I imagine would anyone else living in this country.
          Would you think it was acceptable. Would you choose to live in such conditions?
          Twyford really is a twat, isn’t he?

          • Muttonbird 8.3.1.1.1

            You do know they can build buildings of more than one story these days, don’t you?

            • alwyn 8.3.1.1.1.1

              You have discovered that have you?
              I gave the figures for Hamilton, as a representative New Zealand city.
              Those numbers of minimum land size have absolutely nothing to do with how many stories there are in the building.
              If they are single dwellings the minimum size of the block of land is, in high density areas, 350 square metres. To have 4000 of them you would have to have a minimum land area of 140 ha for the houses, plus whatever you needed for the streets, parks, footpaths and so on.
              Much, much more than at Unitec, isn’t it.

              As far as multi-story blocks go that is what is normally referred to as an Apartment Block. Ever heard of them? They are normally multi-story. The minimum is 150 square metres of land per apartment, regardless of the height of the building. That is why I put Apartment Building numbers in. The density Phil Twyford seems to see as entirely reasonable is about three times the maximum allowed in Hamilton. The minimum there is 150 square meters of land per apartment. Kiwibuild is certainly going to provide miserable conditions for anyone who is going to live in them isn’t it if there are only going to be an allocation of 50 square metres?
              And they would all be in high rise buildings. Hell on earth in the UK cities which have bowled them.

          • Ad 8.3.1.1.2

            Last suburban housing development I did was in New Lynn.

            On about one acre of land, we put:
            – 120 apartments
            – 70 car parks
            – 30 retail stores and restaurants
            – 1 major medical centre with 12 specialities

            You just need good design.

            • alwyn 8.3.1.1.2.1

              You put all that on a piece of land with dimensions like 50 metres wide and 80 metres deep? That is about half the land required for a Rugby Field.
              What are the numbers in the Auckland District Plan for building density?
              How many stories does it have? How big is a typical apartment or a shop?

              When you finished did it match the beautiful picture Phil puts forward?
              “This is a beautiful and historic piece of land with natural features such as the Oakley Stream running through it. It’s close to education, employment and public transport. This new community will have open spaces, new parks and shops.”

              And would you really as described the apartments as being houses, or even homes suitable for a typical family?

              • Ad

                The height limits were good.

                12 stories for one building, three for the other.

                It was better than Phil’s – after all it was my show 🙂

                The apartments were both integrated beautifully into the town centre with the library and community hall right next door, they were also fully integrated into a brand new underground rail station, plus a really large shopping mall.

                95% sold off plans, and they hardly ever come up for sale.

                I can see you are going through a grieving cycle for a quarter acre block, with a lawnmower, a great sward of parkland, a church spire ringing bells, mum at home putting out great white sheets on a line, she greets him every evening with scones and a pinafore apron, and every night your dad tucks you – but he leaves the door ajar so you still get a bit of light to keep those bad suburban monsters at bay.

            • Herodotus 8.3.1.1.2.2

              Ad , It would be of interest the family makeup of such developments, from what I have seen, families in such developments are as rare as the Northern White Rhino !!

              • Ad

                Oh please.

                They have all kinds of families.
                New, old, young, small, big.
                Even just couples!
                Even single people!
                Even cats!

                It’s just amazing the diversity of reality up in the Big Smoke.

            • patricia bremner 8.3.1.1.2.3

              Yes Ad, like they do in Australia. Some homes are rented, some purchased and as you say, well designed with all amenities. This is 9 km to city centre, has a golf course nearby, parks and open spaces and roading established.

          • cleangreen 8.3.1.1.3

            Alwyn,
            Would all your negativity at labours home building plan mean that you were also suitably pissed off at national’s nine years of sitting on their butts doing nothing, but selling state house for peanuts, and buying expensive motels to rent to poor homeless families at high prices?

            • alwyn 8.3.1.1.3.1

              I was pissed off with the way National largely ignored the problem for the first EIGHT years. then in the last year they started doing something, On the other hand it got even worse even faster under the 1999-2008 lot. I wonder who they were?
              National sold some state houses. They were either ones where there was no demand, or some that were sitting on enormously valuable blocks where you could get enough for a single old house to build 4 or 5 others. I see no need for the State to continue to retain State Houses worth more than a million dollars.
              The current lot also are being quite stupid retaining old 2 bedroom places when the demand is for larger properties.
              I am unaware of National buying motels.
              I realise that it is against your religion to answer questions but if you really want an opinion on that you are going to have to provide evidence of it happening. Otherwise I am going to suspect that you have just made it up.

      • patricia bremner 8.3.2

        The Nats wanted private enterprise to put up the money. That amount 29 hectares would require Government investment. Well done Phil.

    • Roflcopter 8.4

      “You got to wonder why the Nats didn’t think of this”

      ummm…. this block of land has been going through the process of being freed up for housing, since 2016… by National.

    • Herodotus 8.5

      I also notice the extensive area currently planted in trees.
      Will these be removed and we are left with a sterile high density development.
      And as I commented earlier that this proposed development will cater for a pop. of Queenstown or Gore – what support will there be for exisiting schools e.g. Gladstone, Mags etc as Queenstown and Gore have a couple of Primary, an Intermediate and High School
      https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/102567247/4000-homes-to-be-built-in-mt-albert
      And a final observation – I do not believe that 4,000 dwellings are able to be built under the current council zoning, and if I am correct the time it will take time to progress a private plan change, that will involve traffic management, stormwater etc.
      I cannot see any physical work well after the 2020 election, let alone occupants- which could beyond 2022.

      • Ad 8.5.1

        They already did the plan change.

        There’s tonnes of trees in the masterplan.

        If you are in Auckland you should pop up and take a look at the site for yourself – it will put your mind at rest.

        • Herodotus 8.5.1.1

          There still is required resource consents, and there are still years of process from this link ….
          http://www.mtalbertinc.co.nz/unitec/
          When will the first homes start rising? Probably not any time soon – at least on the bulk of the land, because Unitec first needs to sort out its own precinct, and that will take years from start to finish.

          While the precinct has been enabled for development; public opening of the roads to the south (Renton, Rhodes and Laurel) needs resource consent and the council will have to assess who would be affected.

          Before this, however, Unitec may choose to create a private road which can also be opened to the roads to the south, but the consent process for that would not involve the adjacent community.

          Any development on the precinct (buildings, subdivision) will require an ITA, which includes the provision of walking, cycling, vehicle and public transport modes. Additionally, after two years, any resource consent applications for further development will need an updated ITA.

          And I note that the fact sheet that accompanies today release is for “• Unitec has already conducted comprehensive due diligence on the site’s housing potential, which suggests it is suitable for a large scale residential development approaching 3,000 houses. ” NOT 3,000-4,000,

          • Ad 8.5.1.1.1

            Very little of that will be a problem for this development.

            There won’t be any appeals because UNITEC is an exceedingly motivated vendor, and they surround the site. The development – as National noted today – has been around for a while and will take none of the regulators or politicians by any surprise. This one will have a very smooth passage.

            Re cycleways, there was a major cycleway construction right through the UNITEC site as part of the Waterview Tunnel development. This cycleway in turn links to the SH16 cycleway that goes all the way in to downtown, and all the way up the Northwestern Motorway to Te Atatu. It will be interesting, though, to see how they are going to make sufficient PT service to truly make it a car-free development. Usually parking-absent developments are closer in to town than this.

            The big constraint will be an actual developer to take on the job. Things are pretty tight out there.

            I suspect however that the Minister’s HLC Company is waiting in the wings, together with Te Whanau O Waipereira and Ngati Whatua property arm.

            • tracey 8.5.1.1.1.1

              And the Nats attitude to tertiaries essentially forced Unitec to sell to keep itself open and relevant. The difference will be that Nats would have had some Developer mates lined up with token affordable homes thrown in to appease the peasantry

          • tracey 8.5.1.1.2

            Remembef there are existing buildings with connected services and the Hospital laundry was a huge operation there too. It woukd have had water and wastewater equivalent of many homes?

        • cleangreen 8.5.1.2

          Yes Ad good advice for the negative to see it first.

          “If you are in Auckland you should pop up and take a look at the site for yourself – it will put your mind at rest.”

          On Radio NZ ‘bulldog Collins’ said Labour just borrowed the plan National already had ticked off by them, but the only change was that labour made was it was switched to using Government money where National of course always want to use private financers and their money rather than have a “NZ owned housing development.”

          Funny that when you look up the real meaning of “National” it reads essentially (my words) “for the people of the country”‘

          National seem to want all overseas investors to own NZ now.

    • tracey 8.6

      The land has been earmarked for housing for some time. As a former employee there I can tell you we knew it was being sold off for homes and to pay for Unitec’s trade building and hub upgrades, a few years ago.

    • patricia bremner 8.7

      The Nats wanted private enterprise to put up the money. That amount 29 hectares would require Government investment. Well done Phil.

      • Muttonbird 8.7.1

        I remember it was one of John Key’s first proclamations that Hobsonville shouldn’t be forced to have a mixed strata of housing and community because it would ‘sabotage people’s house prices’. That was back in 2007 or something.

        If that Nats were allowed to do the same thing at Carrington there’d be 10 mansions each with 12 acres of manicured grounds, tennis courts, and olympic sized swimming pools.

  8. Muttonbird 9

    Good win for a families here against spiteful landlords. The low penalty and that these landlords don’t have to give a reason for eviction is two of many, many issues this government badly needs to address in the Tenancy Act.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12018256

    NZ Invest are the ones who pretend they’re working for both property investors and first time buyers. Guess they’re not working for renters though.

    NZ Invest can rot and die as far as I’m concerned.

  9. Morrissey 10

    That shithead Prince Harry dressed as a Nazi, but nothing happened to him.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti2bVS40cz0

  10. RedBaronCV 11

    Just looking at a stuff story on the Plunket society. (moving community funds to head office).
    Yes it has a specific role and it is being funded to around $1700 per birth .
    Not easy to tell from the website what “actual another pair helping hand services ” they provide but the usual stacks of (lecture style) written advice plus a Thursday podcast for those who have the time (LOL).

    But maybe time there was a look at all the funding going into the 0-2 years and the 3-5 years. There seem to be lots of programmes in this area but is all this money actually creating services that are being accessed by those in need.

  11. AsleepWhileWalking 12

    Kelvin Cruickshank helped find a body.

    Only found out today when I had a chance to flick through one of those weekly mags.

  12. Draco T Bastard 13

    Some more selected quotes fro Why we can’t afford the Rich

    Those who lend at interest certainly don’t want borrowers to default on repayments, but if borrowers clear their debts and fail to borrow anew, that’s bad news for lenders, as it stops their unearned income; if borrowers can be kept in a state of indebtedness, needy yet just solvent, able to pay off compound interest, then that’s ideal for lenders. And of course, with compound interest, when the borrower gets into difficulties, short of defaulting altogether, the lender benefits even more. In the sober language of political economy, it is an extremely ‘regressive’ form of redistribution of income. This means there’s a strong whiff of hypocrisy and deceit about the portrayal of debtors as morally deficient – whether it’s indebted individuals, companies or whole nations – for the creditors’ continued unearned income depends on these debts being renewed!

    In other words, it’s the lenders that are morally deficient.

    Whatever we think about the ‘justifications’, they are beside the point when it comes to explaining what happens here: lenders charge interest because they can, not because they can show that they deserve it or because it’s good for the economy as a whole. And of course the lenders usually charge as much as the market will bear. Whatever the ‘justifications’, it fits our definition of unearned income.

    There’s that moral deficiency again – pure bludging.

    Credit is useful, indeed essential for an efficient modern economy, but interest is unearned income and a deadweight cost on economies; it redistributes wealth upwards and it places huge burdens on future generations. It’s therefore ethically questionable and dysfunctional, so rates of interest are best minimised.

    Actually, interest needs to be eliminated. It does nothing beneficial for society while becoming a drain on it so as to allow the rich to bludge off of everyone else.

    Whoever controls the allocation of credit, whether through using savings deposits or by creating credit money, has considerable power, for they control ‘the commanding heights of the economy’ and can shape its development. But where private banks are allowed to do this, the only responsibility that goes with this power is to their depositors (creditors) and shareholders. As far as they are concerned it doesn’t matter what the loans are for and what their wider economic impact might be, so long as they stay in profit and keep share values rising. This ensures that financial ‘investment’ has little relation to real investment. Today’s financial elite has come to imagine – extraordinarily – that extracting interest payments from people, businesses and governments is a form of wealth creation. For them, money is money, so who cares where it comes from?

    My bold.

    It’s obviously not wealth creation – it’s wealth extraction from those who actually produce it. The financial sector is a parasite – and that’s putting it nicely.

  13. Zorb6 14

    ‘Inhuman ‘ to expect council staff to be denied business class travel!
    https://youtu.be/YjQuy0MesMU

    • joe90 14.1

      It fucking is inhumane to deny any worker comfortable travel!

    • tracey 14.2

      Hmmm how is it inhumane when hundreds of humans, including me, fly economy.

      • joe90 14.2.1

        It’s a job. And It’s no less acceptable to ask them to fly long distance in cattle class than it was to ask me, a large human, to travel long distances in the backseat of a TK crew cab.

    • Draco T Bastard 14.3

      Well, if it’s inhumane to have people travelling in cramped quarters with dirty toilets then perhaps we need to regulate the airlines more to ensure that they’re not profiting from such inhumane practices.

  14. Sanctuary 15

    Emma Gonzalez is simply amazing.

  15. Jenny 17

    This is not what democracy looks like.

    Greenpeace New Zealand Director in court for protesting.

    “Greenpeace protest: Russel Norman committed for trial”

    Russel Norman and Sara Howell refused diversion despite considerable pressure from the Crown to do so. If Norman and Howell had accepted diversion, which meant them pleading guilty. A guilty plea by especially by Russel Norman. Greenpeace’s director would have implicated Greenpeace the organisation, which is facing the same charges as the director. The Crown offer of diversion was not made to the organisation.

    If you want to destroy Greenpeace. You have to come through us first. Is the Greenpeace Director’s message to the Government and the Crown.

    “Judge-alone Trial”

    Norman and Howell appeared before Judge Nevin Dawson on Thursday morning where a judge-alone trial date was set for April 30, 2018.

    Mansfield noted it was expected the trial would take one to two weeks and there would be considerable defence evidence, including expert witnesses.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11929761

    The significance of a judge-alone trial, is that this is a political decision, making this a political trial. The Crown backed by the departing National Government did not want a repeat of the Jury trial that acquitted the Waihopai Three.

  16. Jenny 18

    This is not what democracy looks like. II

    Greenpeace New Zealand Director in court for protesting.

    Political trials need to be heard by the “Little Parliament”.

    It is a disgrace and a perversion of democracy that it is not.

    https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-08042011/#comment-317412

    It is a disgrace and a perversion of democracy that the Greenpeace director is being tried for protesting, in the first place.

    If the Andarko Amendment, or something like it, had been in place during the anti-nuclear ship protests New Zealand’s nuclear weapon free status, of which we are rightly proud of, could not have been achieved.

  17. The AM Show I agree with Mark lets not bag our Australian cousins Cricket test team to much after all everyone makes mistakes and I’m sure there are others who have dune a similar offense chin up guys.

    The big anti gun protests in America by the mokopunas is a great thing . I have other words on this subject but I don’t want others using them to attack these other helping the mokopunas you see the mokopunas have impunity Kia Kaha people enough said.

    Face book is a good tool for family’s to keep up with each other my children all have a page it is a good tool for business I would have had a page my self but the Gisborne man has been harassing me for longer than face book has been around and that is the reason why I chose not to have a Face Book page .

    When I go to Waiapu to a whano function I stay with whano our wharenui fulls up quite fast and there are no hotels up there m8 P.S The new carving to my Marae are going up soon . When my children were younger we use to stay with whano on all our trips but my family is to big now so we stay at hotels now .Ka kite ano

    • eco maori 19.1

      AM Show I’m studying OUR Maori culture at the minute I don’t have a lecturer or mentor this is a good thing as I will come to my own conclusions on this subject.
      Nurses should be payed more 10% up at least they treated me humanly and with respect when I need there services . Ka kite ano

      • eco maori 19.1.1

        I have a Maori cultured relative he has being in the same job for years he is a good leader he told me that he was offered a higher position and declined this was about ten years ago his words were I can’t be bothered with the hassle .
        I am going to tell my relative that he has to take the position with more mana my reason is that when Maori take on higher positions with mana they will be helping lift all Maori with them. So this is ECO MAORI challange to all Maori cultured people If you are offered a higher position take it or strive for a higher position in work or life and you will be lifting Maori mana as well you will most likely employ maori and so on enough said . Ka kite ano P.S be nice in the way you go about achieving these challenges I have set for you.

          • eco maori 19.1.1.1.1

            Mana Wahine

            http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12017134

            P.S Te kumara never tells how sweet it is Ana to kai

            • eco maori 19.1.1.1.1.1

              One of my extended whano who is a great orator in Te REO was taken down by lies and decidet. He is a great Ngati-porou leader the gossip was that he was guilty but ECO MAORI found out through other sources that he was framed can’t have them Ngati-porou haveing another great leader.
              Kia kaha Ka kite ano P.S his wife gets a lot of air time now Ka pai

          • eco maori 19.1.1.1.2

            Newshub Mike it is a good thing that these sand flies are testing Eco Maori Mana because I won’t trust anyone till they have been tested now .
            Te Ihorangi and Whaitiri papa are strong no Ingrid . Te kumrua never tells how sweet it is Ana to kai Ka kite ano

            • eco maori 19.1.1.1.2.1

              Newshub the Top twins deserve all the fame they have for the wonderful shows they have gifted to us over the years they are the way Kiwi use to be like David Clark Fred Dag an Murry Ball Tui Teka and Billy T James Ka kite ano

              • eco maori

                The Project Jeremy shonky is getting what he is owed . Yes our Ossie cousins strive to win and yes I watch that game of Cricket all those years ago Eco Maori can’t help but feel sorry for them they have stopped the sheep jokes .My condolences go out to Stan Walker and his Whano and yes whano go to the Doctor and get a check up enough said .Kia kaha Stan Ka kite ano P.S I see

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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 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
    14 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
    15 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
    16 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    4 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
    7 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
    12 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
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
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