Open Mike 25/05/2018

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 25th, 2018 - 170 comments
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170 comments on “Open Mike 25/05/2018 ”

  1. Jenny 1

    Using the same tactics as the fascist regime in Syria, (and even some of the same video clips), an Israel lobby group spreads hoaxes to whitewash Gaza massacre

    https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/david-cronin/israel-lobby-group-spreads-hoaxes-whitewash-gaza-massacre-0

    https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/05/22/broken-dreams-and-lost-lives-israel-gaza-and-the-hamas-card/

    Contrary to the Israeli and Western effort to reduce Hamas to a collective of essentially unschooled or unsophisticated foreign born so-called Islamists, nothing could be further from the truth. Hamas is a movement born of Palestine, composed of Palestinians who were raised on the very streets where the blood of their people and families, has been lost to the occupation terror imposed by Israel. For the many who suffer from a now decade old blockade of Gaza–with its lack of food, water, medicine and mobility–Hamas and their families have known the same isolation and paid a like price.

    • Ed 1.1

      Jenny I am with you on the Palestinian issue.
      Not so your standpoint on Syria.
      Do you realise that Israel and the Saudis support the head chopping Jihadis in their fight against Assad?

      • mauī 1.1.1

        +1

      • Wayne 1.1.2

        I presume your “head chopping jihadis” is a reference to ISIS. When has Israel ever supported ISIS?

        • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.2.1

          In the propaganda that dupes believe, it’s common knowledge. But Israel doesn’t need to support external fascism: it has its own.

          • Wayne 1.1.2.1.1

            OAB

            Plenty of information that Israel has supported Syrian rebels, zero evidence that Israel has supported ISIS.

            Though given your pro Assad sympathies, perhaps you think all Syrian rebels are ISIS.

            • Andre 1.1.2.1.1.1

              OAB has pro-Assad sympathies and has the overly simplistic view that all Syrian rebels are ISIS? Not that I’ve noticed. Perhaps you are getting him confused with someone else.

            • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.2.1.1.2

              your pro Assad sympathies

              Are you on drugs Mapp? Beta blockers? Viagra*? Something that induces hallucinations?

              *”Some sildenafil users have complained of seeing everything tinted blue”.

              • OnceWasTim

                I hope you weren’t expecting the courtesy of an apology from Wayne @OAB – even tho’ you can see the timestamps show the irriot is still around, and even tho’ he’s at pains to present himself as a fair and reasonable sort of bloke -affably fair and balanced (almost) and very ‘nice’. Which is probably why the Sunday morning comfy media parachuted in to the studio see him as some sort of wise old sage they can depend on for some words of wisdom (going forward).
                He’s as big a ‘spray and walkaway’ spreader of his ideology as the all-purpose drench is to livestock.
                The Honourable Dr Wayne Mapp. No wonder we could be in the shit -the guy is as big a fossil to foresight and wisdom as a mizzz Boag is to the consumption of botox and image consultants.
                Both very shallow folk. Indeed they could probably set up their own veneer company with the good Doctor advising on the technicalities with Mish advising on the latest trends.

            • Stunned mullet 1.1.2.1.1.3

              Wayne you need to reread what oab wrote – he is no supporter of Assad.

        • Bill 1.1.2.2

          Nice straw man and diversion there Wayne.

          There are plenty of Jihadist groups going under various names that have a thing for chopping off heads. Al Nusra and Al Zinki come instantly to mind.

          And there is plenty of evidence that “western” governments have given material support to those groups. Should “western” include Israeli? I guess that’s somewhat of an open question.

          • Stunned mullet 1.1.2.2.1

            What’s The governments preferred method for execution in Syria Bill ?

            • Bill 1.1.2.2.1.1

              Insofar as there is capital punishment for some crimes in Syria, I’d guess that the “preferred” method for death would be by hanging. I could well be wrong – it’s only a guess.

              • Stunned mullet

                I had a look on the amnesty site but couldn’t find it.

                https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/syria/report-syria/

                • Brigid

                  You quote Amnesty?
                  Hilarious

                  • Stunned mullet

                    Brigid I don’t find any of the information relayed by Amnesty International hilarious, if you do you have a very strange and dark sense of humour.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      As everyone knows*, Amnesty are headchoppers.

                      *terms and conditions apply.

                    • Stunned mullet

                      Ah thanks for the clarification it’s so hard to keep up with who’s in whose bad books these days.

                    • McFlock

                      Pretty simple, really.

                      Assad and Putin are Benevolent and Popular Leaders who distribute presents to children and kiss puppies, and this infuriates the evil Western Deep State who spread lies and crisis hoaxes to keep their own populations in fear. The WDS also fund Terrorist Head-Choppers to fight the BPL, and every person who opposes the BPL are THCs. The WDS and their THC puppets also randomly kill BPL political opponents (who are usually THCs or WDS operatives) and innocent civilians in order to make it look like the BPL are actually cruel and totalitarian dictators who do not shy away from torture (lies) and murder (fake news!).

                      Fortunately, we have amongst us visionaries who can see through the lies of the WDS-controlled Main Stream Media and nobly tell us how good the BPL really are.

                      lol

        • Brigid 1.1.2.3

          That you don’t know Wayne, demonstrates your ignorance.

        • Brigid 1.1.2.4

          Wayne, FYI
          Israeli Intelligence chief: We do not want ISIS defeat in Syria
          https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/israeli-intelligence-chief-not-want-isis-defeat-syria/

      • Gosman 1.1.3

        Why isn’t the Assad regime fascist?

      • Jenny 1.1.4

        Ed 1.1
        25 May 2018 at 6:34 am
        Jenny I am with you on the Palestinian issue.
        Not so your standpoint on Syria.
        Do you realise that Israel and the Saudis support the head chopping Jihadis in their fight against Assad?

        Hi Ed,

        It probably wouldn’t hurt if you put in some links to support your narrative. At the very least to give your comment some context linked to the real world.

        Your use of emotive words like “head choppers” to denounce the Syrian people in revolt against the Assad regime. Is at best a generalisation, and at worst a broad smear. Of course Isis has executed people, (and probably innocent people) by chopping off their heads. This is a matter of factual record. But to generalise that to smear the whole opposition to Assad, needs more evidence than you have ever produced.

        The fact that some rich and eccentric Saudi princes have funded the fundamentalist parts of the opposition is a matter of public record. As a result, the fundamentalists are the only part of the armed opposition that has ever received much material aid of any sort. While the liberal and progressive forces have been starved of all support. (a fact which has helped the growth of the more extremist Islamist groups).

        Your other conjecture Ed, is that Israel is opposed to the Assad regime.

        Again you should supply some proof to back up your conjecture. Just saying it, doesn’t make it so.

        There is a lot of evidence,( contrary to your conjecture), that leading members of the Assad ruling dynasty have had a close working relationship with the Zionist state over several decades.

        https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/features/2015/8/17/exclusive-assads-sanctions-busting-ties-to-israeli-business-tycoon

        As the above link details, much of the Assad dynasty credibility as Arab nationalists, rests on their on their supposed anti Zionist and anti-imperialist position, a position that doesn’t bear much examination.

        During my time spent in the refugee camp in Latakia, at any mention or discussion of the Assad regime, the Palestinian refugees that I met expressed open derision at the idea of Assad being opposed to Israel. The Palestinian refugees in Syria told me that the Assad acted as a protector of Israel’s northern border, and that they did not consider the regime to be a genuine supporter of the Palestinian people.

        The Assad regime much like the Sadat/Mubarak regime in Egypt had made their peace with the Zionists.

        Though this relationship has been strained by the civil war, particularly by the Assad regime taking military support from Israel’s enemy Iran, the links will still be there. Personally I find it uncanny how the Israeli airforce can precisely target Iranian missile shipments to Hezbollah without the regime forces ever taking casualties.

        The regime’s Arab nationalist anti-imperialist credentials don’t bear much examination either. As well selling off and privatising its public assets in the early 2000s at the behest of the World Bank and the IMF, (a sellout to Western imperialism that regime insiders also took a cut of), the Assad regime supplied 19,000 troops to support the US in the first Gulf War against Iraq. The Assad regime also worked closely with the CIA to help the CIA torture suspects flown to Syria under the CIA program of extraordinary rendition.

        Ed, in past comments, I have provided you and others with the links to disprove your conjecture that Assad is an anti-imperialist Arab Nationalist. I won’t this time, because you obviously don’t read them, or even bother to open them. Because you have adopted a shallow narrative that such facts just don’t fit into.

        In your mind Assad is some sort of Ho Chi Minh or Fidel Castro fighting the evil Yankee imperialists, as such we can afford to overlook or ignore his other faults, like genocide, and mass detention and torture in Nazi like death camps. Links that again I have supplied, (facts that you never challenge, instead that you choose to willfully ignore). In willfully overlooking these massive crimes against humanity, (as the necessary acts of a Nationalist leader defending himself against a foreign invader), as a result Ed you have become, wittingly or unwittingly an apologist and party to genocide.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQni3qn6GIU

    • Jenny 1.2

      Don’t support fascism.

      It really shouldn’t have to be said.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 1.2.1

        I think it needs to be said over and over again, to the people who support fascism because they’ve been duped by fascist propaganda. Mention Assad, they start screeching about ‘headchoppers’ (another bunch of fascists, as though it needs saying). Mention Trump, they start blithering about her emails.

        You can fool some of the people all of the time. Here at The Standard we have real world evidence that Lincoln was right.

        • Macro 1.2.1.1

          So very true aob

        • Gosman 1.2.1.2

          What is your definition of fascism? Some people claim the Bathist regime in Syria is Fascist. It certainly is a totalitarian State that promotes a strong government and Syrian nationalism. Those are usually the cornerstone of Fascism.

        • Bill 1.2.1.3

          I think it needs to be said over and over again, to the people who support fascism because they’ve been duped by fascist propaganda.

          I think that’s far too narrow a focus and ought to be broadened out to include those who are unwitting supporters of fascistic tendencies because they believe Liberal propaganda.

          Actually, on brief reflection, this “fascist” propaganda you speak of – who exactly are the fascists propagating it and that people are listening to?

        • mauī 1.2.1.4

          Duped by fascist propaganda, from the likes of decent journalists like Pilger, Bartlett, Beeley and others. Hmm..k.

          Sure you haven’t been duped by CNN, MSNBC, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights working out of his house in the UK?

          • Gosman 1.2.1.4.1

            Pilger supports the Chavista regime in Venezuela. Enough said.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 1.2.1.4.2

            Beeley and Bartlett are decent journalists? 😆

            Edit: I wonder why The Intercept doesn’t appear in your list of news sources that I’m allegedly duped by. No, wait, I’m lying: I know exactly why that is 😆

            • Bill 1.2.1.4.2.1

              I don’t suppose you’ve ever bothered to wonder why Eva Bartlett wasn’t subjected to the level of opprobrium she’s attracted for her coverage of Syria when she was reporting on Palestine from Gaza?

              Maybe she just “lost the plot” somewhere along the line, or then again, maybe she’s consistent, and it’s just that her reporting from Syria doesn’t fit in the same nice comforting box as her reporting from Palestine?

          • reason 1.2.1.4.3

            To bloody right maui … and we could add Fisk, Jeremy Scahill , Seymor hersh and others who have to find a outlet in our media landscape …

            And what a warped landscape it is …. Here’s the results of some google searches I did ….

            Skripal+poison+russia About 863,443 results

            Yemen+siege+u.s.a+famine+2018 About 270 results

            Syria+gas+Assad+2018 About 2,859,015 results

            Yemen+siege+Britain+2018 About 15 results

            Russia+”war crime”+Syria+2018 About 30,358 results

            Israel+”war crime”+Gaza About 3 results

            Corbyn+Anti-Semite bout 21,479 results

            “Israeli terrorists”About 3,430 results

            “Palestinian terrorists” About 24,209 results

            Shaping opinion …. manufacturing consent

            • One Anonymous Bloke 1.2.1.4.3.1

              So I just did a Google search for “Israel + ”war crime” + Gaza” (note the syntax – spaces between terms) and returned many pages of results – Google says “about 250k results”. I don’t think much of your “findings”.

              Edit: “Yemen + siege + u.s.a + famine + 2018” (note the syntax again) returns “about 253k results”. 🙄

              • reason

                Thanks OAB … can you fact check this for me

                Marco the other day ( I think )made a good post containing and accurate statement about ‘farm sewerage

                Labour has been attacked for a cow cap / cull based on excessive nutrient levels in our rivers ….. Nutrients don’t sound to bad and I’d swim in them … hell, do I get some vitamins with my nutrients in the river water ??….

                But ‘Farm sewerage’ … I’m not going to swim in raw animal shit … it sounds very unhealthy swallowing and bathing in fecal matter …

                “farm sewage” +”New Zealand”+river+excessive+safe About 38 results

                nutrients +”New Zealand”+river+excessive+safe About 18,781 results

                Framing the argument …. shaping opinion

                Labour can easily win the excessive farm sewerage argument ….

                • One Anonymous Bloke

                  “farm sewage” + ”New Zealand” + river + excessive + safe: “about 253 results”.

                  nutrients + ”New Zealand” + river + excessive + safe: “about 899k results”.

                  This is the last time I will try and educate you about syntax: add spaces between your search terms.

                  M. Bovis might just give the government space to initiate some “disaster Socialism“, and I’m not holding my breath.

        • Daveosaurus 1.2.1.5

          OAB: absolutely true. One of the most poisonous and pernicious fallacies in contemporary politics is ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’. That’s what causes otherwise sane people to support crooks and despots like Trump (‘buh, buh, but, her emails, and yuck, icky icky girl cooties’) and Assad (‘buh, buh, but the Russians like him, and we like the Russians because…’ see previous). It’s stupid now, and it was stupid 35 years ago when that senile old fool Reagan was duped into supporting the most evil political movement of the second half of the 20th century.

      • reason 1.2.2

        What Is the difference in a nazi / facist who does this … http://ahrp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Ravensbruck-Emaciated_Children-.gif

        And the people who do this https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemen-civil-war-crisis-conflict-udai-faisal-starving-children-malnutrition-saudi-air-strikes-aid-a6958096.html

        The children die the same way ….. But the disgusting Mays / Camerons / Trumps / Obamas are sick hypocrytes to lecture anyone about “humanitarian values” …

        the United States and the United Kingdom are backing the Saudi-led coalition, and while calling for an end to the war, they continue along with Spain, France, Canada, Australia, and Italy, to sell billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and military equipment to parties to the conflict.

        over the past 1,000 days:

        Nearly 5,300 civilians were killed
        Three million people were forced to flee their homes
        Nearly one million people are suspected of contracting cholera in the world’s worst outbreak ever recorded

        Oxfam said all that all parties to the conflict bear responsibility for these huge levels of human suffering and all are responsible for violations of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law.http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/08/the-united-states-is-complicit-in-the-destruction-of-yemen.html

        https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/yemen-saudi-blockade-un_us_5a04678fe4b0f76b05c3d4f1

  2. Sanctuary 2

    Poor old National party. The classic five stages of grief are on full display.

    1 – DENIAL – Period suffered: Election night to budget day

    Politics became meaningless. Parliament makes no sense. National were in a state of shock and denial. They were numb. Some pretended they were still minister, issuing decrees and orders that were ignored by tearful ex-staffers moving their boxes out of their Beehive offices. Awkward. Others wondered how they could go on, why should they go on. Many, many couldn’t go on and resigned. They tried to find a way to simply get through each day, going on diets, appearing on reality TV dancing shows.

    2 – ANGER – Period suffered – Budget day to present.

    National’s anger seems endless. But the more National truly feel it, the more the anger will begin to dissipate and the more they will heal. The truth is that Tory anger has no limits. It can extend not only to the speaker but their friends, the civil service, and silly little girls everywhere. Judith Collins, in her daily prayer session with Cameron Slater probably asks, “Where is God in this?” Underneath the anger is their pain. It is natural to feel deserted and abandoned by the electorate. Anger and fear are National’s strength and anchor, giving them temporary structure to the nothingness of their existence.

    Still to come:

    BARGAINING

    DEPRESSION

    ACCEPTANCE

    • cleangreen 2.1

      Sanctuary 100%

      A good wrap on the shonkey way National mussles in to crash Parliament now as they are such sore loosers arent they just.

      They still dont accept defeat because they oppose MMP and believe they still have the right to Govern.

      Sad folks National Party are really.

      • Gosman 2.1.1

        I’m not sure how you expect an opposition to behave. If memory serves me correctly I believe people like you were almost demanding Labour and the rest of the Opposition parties oppose the last government far more vigorously. It was as if not doing their utmost to stop them would be a betrayal of the nation. Now you think National should somehow become compliant. It makes little sense.

        • mac1 2.1.1.1

          Gosman, don’t confuse opposing ‘far more vigorously’ with petulant and pre-planned disobedience. They have the entitlement of their questions allocated by the Clerk according to their numbers in the House. They should learn to ask questions properly.

        • Stuart Munro 2.1.1.2

          You’re confusing form with content.

          The Key kleptocracy’s innumerable rorts, failures and shortcomings were sufficient to keep a vigorous opposition busy for decades.

          Having nothing comparable to criticize, the wretched Gnats are reduced to picking fights with the speaker. Had they the sporting chops to which Key so often pretended they’d realise that slagging off the Ref is a great way to excuse failure, but a lousy tactic if you actually mean to win.

    • Stuart Munro 2.2

      “Where is God in this?”

      More like “Great Cthulhu, blight my enemies.” Until recently her real enemies were on her own side of the house, but it must be hard to consider B&B a threat.

    • Anne 2.3

      Aha… I was planning a bit of a dissertation along the same lines but yours is – as usual – better Sanctuary.

      I think they’re almost done with the ‘Bargaining phase” (at least for the time being because Bridges won’t see the term out) and they’re moving into the ‘Depression’ state. Hence the tears of frustration and imagined victimisation by the Speaker. They’re causing it themselves but won’t ever admit it. This is likely to last until the end of the term with occasional outbursts of denial and anger thrown in for good measure.

      I’m lovin it. 😀

  3. Ad 3

    President Trump.

    – Pulled out of Paris Climate Accord
    – Pulled out of CPTPP
    – Pulled out of Iran
    – Obliterated Palestinian peace dialogue
    – Killed historic talks with North Korea

    But delivered tax reform for corporations and very wealthy people, and increased funding for the military.

    Worst US President in my lifetime.

  4. Jenny 4

    In the face of Donald Trump’s saber rattling and veiled threat about the size and power of the US nuclear strike capability.

    Will South Korea and Japan defy the US and continue to seek rapprochement with North Korea?

    South Korean president ‘perplexed’ at Trump’s decision to cancel North Korea summit
    JULIA MANCHESTER – 24 May, 2018

    http://thehill.com/policy/international/389219-south-korean-president-holds-emergency-meeting-after-trump-scraps-summit

    Japan has reportedly reached out to North Korea for a summit meeting

    http://www.businessinsider.com/japan-summit-with-north-korea-2018-3/?r=AU&IR=T

  5. Jenny 5

    Has Donald Trump torpedoed the proposed peace treaty between North and South Korea to officially end the Korean War?

    https://www.businessinsider.com.au/north-and-south-korea-agree-to-pursue-signing-a-peace-treaty-2018-4?r=US&IR=T

  6. Ffloyd 6

    Judith Collins says Jacinda weak by not accepting Twyfords resignation. Yet here she still is. .

    Unfortunately.

    • Puckish Rogue 6.1

      Jude doesn’t actually want Twyford to resign from anything as shes having far too much fun pointing out why Twyford has been promoted above his capabilities

      • alwyn 6.1.1

        “shes having far too much fun”.
        Don’t you feel just a bit sorry for Twyford?
        Question time has Phil looking rather like a mouse that a domestic cat has caught. There is the little rodent Twyford squeaking away in his state of terrified befuddlement.
        Mind you, as someone who lives in the country that he claims to have some control over I would be only too happy to see Collins put him out of his misery and that he be replaced by someone with at least a skerrick of ability.

        • Ffloyd 6.1.1.1

          Oh for goodness sake Alvin. Go and change your pants. You are way to excited about chest beating Collins. Bet your dreams are full of Collins, black leather, thigh high boots and whips and handcuffs. Have i missed anything?

          • Puckish Rogue 6.1.1.1.1

            Thats quite a detailed description there Ffloyd 🙂

          • alwyn 6.1.1.1.2

            That is called Psychological Projection isn’t it FFluffy?

            “Psychological projection is a defense mechanism people subconsciously employ in order to cope with difficult feelings or emotions. Psychological projection involves projecting undesirable feelings or emotions onto someone else, rather than admitting to or dealing with the unwanted feelings”

            Is that how you feel about Ms Collins? It certainly not something that ever occurred to me. Just don’t try and put your fantasies into practice.

            • Ffloyd 6.1.1.1.2.1

              So funny Alvin. You’d better sit down your projection is showing.

              • alwyn

                My God, FFluffy.
                More Projecting on your part.
                You identify as being an exhibitionist as well. You know you should be ashamed of yourself so you try and pretend it is other people who do the things that are the flaws in your own behaviour.
                Sad. Really sad. Keep away from Primary Schools until you learn to control yourself.

        • Puckish Rogue 6.1.1.2

          I don’t feel sorry for him at all, he was part of the group that stated time and time again how bad NZ was, how bad National were, how Labour were so much better well hes got his chance and now hes showing just how competent he really is

          The longer Jude toys with him and makes him look like the incompetent he really is the better, hes sort of representative of Labour really

          Take Cindy away from Labour and all you have is people like Twyford

          • patricia bremner 6.1.1.2.1

            Funny, I seem to remember Judith Collins as one of the ‘”what housing crisis?” mob. Phil Twyford is doing OK. Don’t believe all the MSM bleats.
            Collins was sacked for taking advantage of her position, so why is she so good? Oh your opinion.??

          • alwyn 6.1.1.2.2

            @PR.
            True. When you really look at him he isn’t worthy of sympathy.
            I personally think that Grant Robertson is about all the CoL has going for it. He has surprised me with the way he seems to have started getting a grasp on his portfolio. When you look back at his mucking about a couple of years ago with his blathering about things like a UBI and so on he has got much better.
            I suppose it is because he has been house-trained by Treasury.

            Ardern remains a major disappointment in my view. Perhaps she will learn in the future but she shows no signs of having any grasp of her job to date. She has been pretty much a glove-puppet for Tsar Winston so far.

            • McFlock 6.1.1.2.2.1

              Your assessment of ardern is praising with faint damnation.

              • adam

                I thought the casual sexism from alwyn was the standout silliness, but I can see what you’re saying McFlock.

              • alwyn

                “praising with faint damnation”.
                Sounds a reasonable interpretation of my opinion.
                I simply don’t think she is up to the job. She simply doesn’t know enough about the problems and isn’t prepared for it..
                I want someone competent in that job, and she simply isn’t the one.
                Of the Labour leaders since Clark, who was up to the job, the only one who seemed to be capable of filling the role was Shearer. Why did the Labour Party stab him in the back?
                And, for your mate adam, it has nothing whatsoever to do with her sex.
                But he knows that doesn’t he?

                • McFlock

                  lol

                  Obviously sowing discord and fanning paranoia in Labour is a perishable skill.

                  A solid seven years of Labour fighting itself left you incompetent at doing the job yourself.

                  Putting the Shearer barb aside (which is just disappointingly weak), Ardern consistently nukes shouty&co in the House, her ministers are getting results, and all in all they’ve stepped into their new roles with ease and competence. But then it doesn’t take much to improve on the last batch of ministers, anyway.

                  • alwyn

                    Ardern, in the House, simply doesn’t answer the questions. Still, she has got Mallard to protect her doesn’t she.

                    Look at this extract from Hansard. It was Question 1 last Tuesday.
                    “Hon Simon Bridges: What extra funding did the Budget provide to fulfil her promise to pay early childhood education (ECE) centres more for employing 100 percent qualified staff?

                    Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As the member will know, Budget 2018 included a 45 percent increase in education funding. The fact that we could put 45 percent more into education—new funding—and still have additional needs that we need to meet demonstrates just how bad things were for the education sector.”

                    When it was pointed out that there had been no attempt to answer the question Trevor came out with,
                    “Mr SPEAKER: Well, it was very clearly addressing the question.”
                    You call that “nuking”?

                    “her ministers are getting results”. Really?
                    How many of the billion trees have been planted?
                    How many of the 100,000 homes have at least been started?
                    How many pensioners are getting their $700 heating allowance this year?

                    • McFlock

                      maybe after a few years more practise you’ll get the hang of it.

                    • alwyn

                      “after a few years more “.
                      You may be right. Of course after a few more years the answers to my 3 questions will still be the same.
                      Trees planted. ZERO.
                      Kiwibuild affordable homes started. ZERO
                      Pensioners getting $700 heating allowance in 2018. ZERO.
                      Have a nice day y’all.

                    • McFlock

                      I would bookmark that prediction, but in two years we’ll probably have plenty of more recent examples of your grief-ridden disconnect with reality.

                    • Gabby

                      That addressing the question malarkey is bollocks isn’t it wally. Whose bright idea was that?

        • Anker 6.1.1.3

          Alywyn and PR if you are feeling excited that Judith blew the whistle on pt use of the cell phone you are desperate. It is a minor misdemeanor and only serves to compare and contrast what happened with Gerry and airport security. No conquence for Gerry. Phil stands down on a very minor part of his workload(probably glad to get rid of it)………jacinda looks good. The majority on an on-line poll thinks phill didn’t need to stand down……..is this all national have got? Rather pathetic

        • Gabby 6.1.1.4

          It’s those godawful butchered eyebrows that terrorise the poor man wally.

    • Daveosaurus 6.2

      That’s nothing to do with Twyford. That’s Collins declaring open war against Brownlee – because any discussion of Twyford’s actions inevitably broadens to include Brownlee’s own error of judgement.

      It’s almost sad to see how the Nats have begun tearing themselves apart after their election loss. Even Labour in 2008 weren’t that bad.

    • Daveosaurus 6.3

      (The system is telling me this is a duplicate comment – but the original comment was lost in cyberspace – admins feel free to delete one or t’ other)

      That’s nothing to do with Twyford. That’s Collins declaring open war against Brownlee – because any discussion of Twyford’s actions inevitably broadens to include Brownlee’s own error of judgement.

      It’s almost sad to see how the Nats have begun tearing themselves apart after their election loss. Even Labour in 2008 weren’t that bad.

  7. dukeofurl 7

    Uber autonomous car crash in Arizona investigation report is out

    The Uber car, a Volvo XC90 sport-utility vehicle equipped with Uber’s sensing technology, comes with an automatic emergency braking system from the manufacturer.
    But Uber disabled that function as well as other safety features to “reduce the potential for erratic vehicle behavior,” according to the report.

    While the person pushing the bike across the road had traces of P and marijuana in her system, its stunning to find Uber had disabled part of the vehicles emergency systems
    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/technology/uber-autonomous-car-ntsb-investigation.html

  8. cleangreen 8

    micro plasma bovis spread – “Livestock transporters let down over effluent “- By Ken Shirley.

    This was an Interesting bit here; – from a National Party ally and ex MP in the Act party in coalition with the 1990’s era of the National Government.

    Ken Shirley is now talking about shifting the blame onto Labour now!!!!

    incredible it is when he was firstly an MP under Labour in the Langey government then under National Party as an ACT MP in 1990’s alongside National when they were in power!!!

    Ken Shirley couild have sung loud about road truck effluent spread then couldn’t he?

    “I see nothing” = Ken Shirley.

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

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1805/S00364/livestock-transporters-let-down-over-effluent.htm

    SCOOP POLITICS

    Livestock transporters let down over effluent
    Thursday, 24 May 2018, 12:06 pm
    Press Release: Road Transport Forum
    24 May 2018

    Livestock transport operators are extremely disappointed in the way farmers, OSPRI and MPI have failed to implement and properly enforce stock movement regulations as is their responsibility under the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) scheme, says Road Transport Forum Chief Executive Ken Shirley.
    “These regulations were put in place for a reason, as we are now finding out to the country’s considerable cost with the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak.”
    “Stock trucks are fitted with effluent tanks with a finite capacity that require frequent emptying. The act of disposing effluent, which in the past was difficult enough, has as a direct result of the fear associated with disease spread become a significant issue.”
    Many farmers have been remiss in not adequately standing stock off green feed prior to transport to reduce effluent production while local government and meat processing companies have been extremely tardy in providing access to effluent disposal facilities. Access to traditional disposal facilities is also now being restricted fearing disease spread.
    “With Mycoplasma bovis upon us greater demands are being put on stock transporters to wash and sanitise their vehicles but there has been no focus on the provision of adequate effluent disposal sites by the other parties.”
    “Farmers and meat processors are placing increased burdens and cost on stock transporters but steadfastly refuse to shoulder the additional costs and responsibility generated by their own tardiness.”
    “What if Mycoplasma bovis was an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease? In that nightmare scenario it would clearly not be acceptable to leave the burden of responsibility for effluent disposal solely with transporters, yet the primary sector doesn’t seem to appreciate that the principle here is just the same.”
    “Livestock transporters are more than happy to continue to play their part in the responsible movement of animals. However, MPI, councils, farmers and meat processors also need to help facilitate the appropriate disposal of stock effluent through better facilities and practices,” says Shirley.
    ends

    • dukeofurl 8.1

      The constant movement of stock will be a thing of the past now the disease is here. If you have a disease free herd you will want to keep it that way.

      by bye stock trucks. You wont be missed. ( other than to the works)

      • cleangreen 8.1.1

        here here; dukeofurl,

        We will not miss those rattling nasty smelling stock trucks as the smell is also the sign we are recieving water droplets of aerosols that can cause us many diseases we are warned constantly.

        Yes I operate a small farm but we keep our stock away from our home.

        We advocate using rail again to move our stock as rail is away from roads and our driving behind stock trucks is a health risk but trains we dont travel behind. so this is worth thinking abiout now.

        Besides the roads are falling apart with so many stock trucks on our rural roads now.

        Shirey and his gangsrters should ppay to fix our rural roads then he may jion us and use rail again.

    • Graeme 8.2

      Not sure that he’s trying to “blame” Labour, rather a plea for everyone in the industry to work together sort the situation out.

      “Many farmers have been remiss in not adequately standing stock off green feed prior to transport to reduce effluent production while local government and meat processing companies have been extremely tardy in providing access to effluent disposal facilities. ”

      That’s a full on assault on farmers and the parties that should have been providing the effluent disposal and washing facilities. And coming from the stock transport sector who’ve made a considerable amount out of being a bus service to the livestock industry. But think Citybus rather than Tour Bus.

      What Ken doesn’t touch on, but which is freaking the transport sector, is transport becoming a party to NAIT. This way the stock will be tagged off the farm, onto the truck, off the truck, and onto the farm. So then there’s a record of the animals that have been on each truck. Easy to do but a considerable cost to the transporter, and will put the clammers on black / grey market stock movements. And that side of the business is where the money is. Ooooops

      • Robert Guyton 8.2.1

        Graeme! Wash, as the trucks have to be, your mouth out with soap! Such things you say! Calves, without ear-tags? Surely, no!

        • Graeme 8.2.1.1

          A stock truck pulls up to a farm loading ramp in the middle of the night, 10 cows get off, 4 get on, that’s after the same truck took a full load past the gate to the works that afternoon from a farm 100 km away.

          Then you’ve got RentaBull, guy down the road has several hundred for short term hire, along with NickaBull, (can get tricky getting him into the trailer in the middle of the road), and BorrowaBull (short out the fence with your cows in the boundary paddock)

      • Draco T Bastard 8.2.2

        What Ken doesn’t touch on, but which is freaking the transport sector, is transport becoming a party to NAIT. This way the stock will be tagged off the farm, onto the truck, off the truck, and onto the farm. So then there’s a record of the animals that have been on each truck.

        As it always should have been.

        Easy to do but a considerable cost to the transporter, and will put the clammers on black / grey market stock movements.

        Make it mandatory to have GPS tracking on all vehicles and road sensors watching and counting the vehicles.

        Also, go Cashless. It’s difficult to commit crime when it will be picked up automatically.

        • Graeme 8.2.2.1

          “As it always should have been.”

          Would love to see the decision trail around that. There would have been some intense lobbying to keep the truckies out of it and create a gap that the cash could flow through. Interesting that the most vocal opponents of NAIT were stock agents.

        • One Two 8.2.2.2

          Cashless..

          There you go again, Draco..

          How do you see cashless playing out …really…

          Serious question…

          • Draco T Bastard 8.2.2.2.1

            How do you see cashless playing out …really…

            Pretty well. We’re almost there already as I point out.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 8.2.2.3

          It’s difficult to commit crime when it will be picked up automatically.

          No, it will simply require a little more coordination between organised criminals in the banking sector and those in the underground economy.

          • Draco T Bastard 8.2.2.3.1

            The banking sector won’t actually have the money on them. It will be entirely stored in government servers.

    • Gabby 8.3

      Shirley he’s not preempting some revelation about effluent disposal.

  9. Observer Tokoroa 9

    Gosman
    Puckish Rogue

    It gives me great Pleasure to announce the long awaited marriage between the above two tireless contributors to Drivel Inc . It is seldom that two blogees marry and produce happiness. We should be so grateful for their joint outpourings of hot crap.

    They are so well matched and mated.

    • Psych nurse 9.1

      No, they are too imbued in the concept of self pleasuring to be able to consumate a relationship.

    • Robert Guyton 9.2

      On the marriage of Gosman and Pucky; Jude will be seething!!
      Pucky’s hers!

      • Puckish Rogue 9.2.1

        Heres a poem i wrote that succinctly describes my feelings, what do you think?

        My life is brilliant
        My life is brilliant
        My love is pure
        I saw an angel
        Of that I’m sure
        She smiled at me on the TV
        She was with another man
        But I won’t lose no sleep on that
        ‘Cause I’ve got a plan
        Shes beautiful
        Shes beautiful
        Shes beautiful, it’s true
        I saw her face in a crowded place (parliament)
        And I don’t know what to do
        ‘Cause I’ll never be with you
        Yes, she caught my eye
        As we walked on by
        She could see from my face that I was
        Flyin’ high
        And I don’t think that I’ll see her again
        But we shared a moment that will last till the end
        Shes beautiful
        Shes beautiful
        Shes beautiful, it’s true
        I saw your face in a crowded place
        And I don’t know what to do
        ‘Cause I’ll never be with you
        La-la-la-la
        La-la-la-la
        La-la-la-la, la
        Shes beautiful
        Shes beautiful
        Shes beautiful, it’s true
        There must be an angel with a smile on her face
        When she thought up that I should be with you
        But it’s time to face the truth
        I will never be with you

        • alwyn 9.2.1.1

          Hm.
          I suppose you are trying but I’m not sure you should give up your day job to chase your dream of becoming Poet Laureate/
          Mind you, when very young, I used to feel much the same way about Sophia Loren. That young lady, for some strange reason, seemed to prefer that old, bald, short chap Carlo Ponti. Very odd of her when you consider all I had to offer.
          After all, when she said “I do” she would have been entitled to half my bicycle.

          ps. Is that suitably ageist, sexist and racist to satisfy you adam?

        • Anne 9.2.1.2

          lols.

          But I have to agree with alwyn. Don’t give up your day job.

        • AB 9.2.1.3

          This is what famous literary critic Harold Bloom said about never writing poetry himself:

          ” It must have had something to do with the enormous reverence and rapture I felt about poetry, the incantatory strength that Crane and Blake had for me from the beginning. To be a poet did not occur to me. It was indeed a threshold guarded by demons. To try to write in verse would have been a kind of trespass.”

          Advice worth heeding Pucky.

      • adam 9.2.2

        Jude is a big fan of casual racism and sexism, so I guess you’re right Robert Guyton – Gossy would not be a perfect fit.

    • cleangreen 9.3

      OT they are probably one of the same person; who knows?

    • mac1 9.4

      Yes. Felicitations to them both. They are well-matched.

      One has all the questions. The other has all the answers.

      And we get to critique both. 🙂

  10. saveNZ 10

    More hidden reports and zero action on industry from the Natz. But what is Labour going to do about it, give a free pass to industry?

    Fishing industry lies revealed in leaked report

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1805/S00160/fishing-industry-lies-revealed-in-leaked-report.htm

    • Cricklewood 10.1

      Labour wont do shit because Winston.

      Fisheries in NZ is a disgrace.

    • Bill 10.2

      But…but, Tony Hazlett (Head of Talley’s Nelson division) says the hoki fishery is healthy and will be for some time.

      They can still make money then. That’s nice. And they envisage making money “for some time” – that time being when the fishery is completely fucked which, as Hazlett has basically acknowledged, is what’s on the cards.

  11. cleangreen 11

    saveNZ,

    Now that National has declared on Labour the first casualty of this political war is truth.

    it seems that all Polititians seem to rush to cover themselves first and ignore the truth starring thwem in the face as we all see is there today,

    Labour so far have a better record onn admitting their faults than National ever had done.

    So we hope this increases and labour takes the ‘bull by the preverbial horn’ and gets in and fixes all these worrying issues so we can say “we did this”

    • saveNZ 11.1

      Yes Labour are better, but there is a massive mess left behind… like this one..

      More than 98,000 non-New Zealand citizens arrived in the April 2018 year. However, more than 30,000 non-New Zealand citizens left this country.

      The more important question might be, did the non NZ citizens leave after buying housing and assets in NZ and did they leave satellite families behind who qualify for government assistance?

      Should long term NZ residents and citizens be expected to pick up the welfare bill for asset rich people who have only been in the country for a few years?

      How will the government’s 1000 – 1600 new affordable houses help when 60,000+ new people arrived last year?

      Should there be an expiry date and controls on residency to people who are just using NZ as a cockoo lifestyle to raise their kids or care for their aged parents after gaining residency and heading back overseas to work?

      Should there be a minimum amount of time spent in the country (aka 75% of time spent in NZ over a lifetime of gaining residency) to be allowed access to free health care, education and super and voting if you come into NZ under the pretext of working or settling here permanently but then as increasingly the case, it’s leaving NZ after getting the paperwork through?

      Should there be a lot more safe guards with clearer controls on trusts and companies hiding assets like housing or small businesses which can then be used to mask or structure people’s wealth enabling rich people to legitimately claim welfare and accommodation benefits, tax write offs and WFF or straight benefits through loopholes and our very relaxed laws on companies and trusts holding assets.

      This is a serious issue facing the country as we have people who are born here or migrated here and working hard or just being a citizen who is also a beneficiary and genuinely poor and they are getting less opportunities.

      NZ is no longer the land of plenty, somehow we have gone from state houses to living in cars, as well as people who genuinely need secure work and opportunities at living wages… and the government is not doing enough to ensure to protect our system against abuse that has occurred under the National government’s decade reign of ‘rockstar economy’ aka widespread fraud and sell offs and trougher’s of all descriptions at the public purse.

      • Observer Tokoroa 11.1.1

        @Save NZ
        An excellent article !

        Lend me your Ears
        We simply cannot admit any or every passport into NZ until we have housing, plumbing, sewerage, health, education and work for the owner of the Passport.

        National, namely John Key and Billy English and their handmaids being of low IQ, did not understand that. And they have created chaos. National will never rise again for what they did not do.

    • alwyn 11.2

      “National has declared on Labour”.

      For those who follow the great game of Cricket I shall tell you the score at the time of the declaration.
      When they declared National had reached 987 runs for 3 wickets.
      Labour went into bat and when stumps were drawn due to bad light Labour had reached a score of 16 runs for the loss of 7 wickets.

      • mac1 11.2.1

        National’s score of course took four days to compile; from 450 overs.

        At the end of the drawn game, National declared themselves the winner as they were the team that had scored the most runs.

        The series had of course been decided with Labour winning three of the five matches.

        National attacked the match umpires for obvious bias, and besides they had more players in their team.

        Team vice-captain, MS Bennett, who retired early, frustrated at not scoring any runs, alleged the umpires’ decisions were “dangerous for cricket”. Later cautioned for ball-tampering with the heavy roller, she said “Their decisions had become personal.”

        When the after-match commentators pointed out that the great majority of the National wickets that fell were either due to hit wicket or were bowled middle stump and obviously out, MS Bennett said that the decisions were flawed and anyway they hadn’t been quite ready.

        “The pitch was too green and the opposition’s ball was red,” she said.

  12. Herodotus 12

    Next week we could see the end of Kiwibuild and the NZ dream for all of Home Ownership. If Auckland Council has its way lifting development contributions from $20-$25k/house to $70k/house for Greenfield developments. You can argue from both positions as to the justification of who incurs the financial cost of infrastructure.
    https://www.interest.co.nz/property/93235/auckland-councils-economists-argue-full-development-contributions-are-unlikely-result
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12043072
    “And a separate proposal could see developers on future greenfields sites paying as much as $70,000 per dwelling.”
    And would not the Unitec development be considered Greenfields as its current use is not housing ?
    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/353359/mt-albert-kiwibuild-homes-private-sector-needs-help-twyford
    “Forty percent of the houses will be part of KiwiBuild – available to first-home buyers at between $500,000 and $600,000.” Unfortunately there is even more pressure on the cost to construct and still be considered “Affordable”
    How sad for the young that owing a house is fast vanishing more most 🙁

    • saveNZ 12.1

      The question is also ‘where has all the money going” that has been collected by Auckland council. They have outrageous water bills, actually not the water apparently which is free but for the pipes which actually seem to be a mess still after years of Metrowater, we have 54% of rates going to Auckland Transport which is also a mess and takes 5 times longer than a car for a 2 stage journey and costs 5 times the cost of petrol, while many areas have little to zero public transport at all, then we have our infrastructure and development costs which seem astronomical but somehow also seem to need to go up to $70k per development and not much sign of all the infrastructure being put in by council for all the new developments they took the contributions for over the past decade of contributions. And now a petrol tax, actually two taxes, a regional one and an Auckland one.

      All this while reducing library services, making people mow their own berms and thinking we need a billion dollar stadium and giving themselves salary rises and new premises, more marketing people, more lawyers, more of everyone pushing paper around at great cost and with little practical reality coming out of it.

      Prior to having his heart attack Phil Goff was in China. This is an interesting article about how a Chinese strategy is to get countries to borrow money that they can’t pay back. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/15/warning-sounded-over-chinas-debtbook-diplomacy.

      Sounds like Phil and the Auckland council are hoping to bankrupt the city to join the government in borrowing money as fast as possible to put in development, which seems to be for the Ponzi scheme of importing in low skilled people needing welfare to top up their meagre wages, the higher skilled who leave after a few years to work after obtaining residency, while leaving behind children to be educated and the elderly to be looked after by tax paying Kiwis who now struggle to afford a house, or even to drive to work with the petrol taxes to pay for the folly.

      Prior to the last decade we had a normal level of people migrating here who stayed and made a life here, we did not have floodgates of people buying up assets and then leaving with non working family members living here in million dollar houses or with small businesses losing money while employing more and more overseas people into the country!

      What is going wrong with this picture?

      • saveNZ 12.1.1

        Remember this, nobody held to account and the ratepayers forced to pay 25% rises of rates for the folly which mean’t many lost their houses….

        http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1208/S00196/commissioners-at-kaipara-council-a-sign-of-things-to-come.htm

        Detroit city council approves bankruptcy related water authority deal

        http://www.jurist.org/paperchase/2014/09/detroit-city-council-approves-bankruptcy-related-water-authority-deal.php

      • Gabby 12.1.2

        Unfair, savey, unfair. The widespread misunderstanding of Goffles’ socalled secretiveness highlights the need for a massively expanded PR campaign. Obviously more management will be needed and managers cost money. Ratepayers will appreciate the effort and the jump in their property values.

        • saveNZ 12.1.2.1

          Ok I agree a bit unfair for Goffles, he inherited the problem, but he is going in the wrong direction by adding in more managers and listening to those already there who seem to have misdirected the money collected so far.

          Nope, ratepayers who actually work in Auckland are not happy unless they are cashing up and leaving, those left are paying more rates and now petrol taxes, but have nothing working ain’t happy. Even in 2015 it showed over 80% of ratepayers were not happy with the council. (The stopped public polling after that result).

          You can’t go to the beach because of sewerage, you can’t drive across town because of congestion, you can’t catch public transport because it doesn’t go there or takes even longer to get there…. nothing really being done about that, even though in places there are train tracks that the experts don’t want to use, You can’t even get a decent meal these days and in the legacy of having chefs and burger managers considered a ‘essential skill’ McDonalds has been in the news when pills have been found in the Sundaes and the famous French cafe has apparently been bought out and the joke being is it going to be renamed the French curry? Now that’s capitalism and globalism at work or maybe the fall of it, I’m not sure!

          Auckland council and COO thinking is from a money grab perspective, and still adding in more people. The poorer citizens are being advised by MSM to leave the city and go to the provinces, essentially surrender and just leave the neoliberals to sell off the city.

          What a legacy, bankrupting the city and purging it of poor and middle class people and leaving the rich, the rich who claim benefits, more and more fake, illegal or misleading businesses and a few refugees left. How Rogernomics.

  13. ianmac 13

    Lip Reading the Royal Wedding. Very clever and very funny.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=211&v=SKV6h_5XFbk

  14. eco maori 14

    It’s a beautiful day in Putaruru Aotearoa at the minute.
    Io gave us another big bouncy baby boy yesterday and it our mokos birthday today she’s 3 our mokos in Auckland are all good here’s a link to some music ECO MAORI likes below.

    https://youtu.be/papuvlVeZg8

    Ka kite ano P.S Its Mataraki

  15. UpandComer 15

    Hi standardistas. I know you have differences with people in New Zealand. But today a man in England was sentenced to death by the Tory government run by the Israeli interests in England for standing up for the working class girls of England.

    This is bipartisan issue. If a Tory government can arrest people and sentence and imprison them within the hour for speech in the United Kingtom for standing up for British working class girls who were raped under Labour we are in dire straights.

    Please stand up for free speech. Stand up for Tommy Robinson, defending the working class girls who were sacrificed to diversity.

    The working class in England should be marching in the streets. This is bipartisan, genuine fascism. You want to see real fascism? Here it is.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irhQtamQ6Mo

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRt-iFANWKg

    If Tommy Robinson dies in prison because he’s murdered by muslims, it’s time for bad things to start happening to the British ruling classes.

    The man was imprisoned over nothing, and then sentenced and imprisoned within the hour. No jury. No trial.

    https://www.menofthewest.net/the-murder-of-tommy-robinson-how-britain-became-the-kebab-archipelago/

    I’m going to be doing daily posts on Tommy Robinson.

    The British government and the overall British ruling class have no mandate by the British people. They have suspended their relations with the British people. They should be regarded as an illegitimate government ruling by force and their supposed authority should be suspended and they should be regarded as adversaries of the British people.

    The people of England need to start arming themselves with anything they can find. This is real. This is terrifying. And justice needs to be served.

    The rape of 1 million girls by the English ruling class deserves justice.

    I hope that justice comes for the English ruling class, whatever form it takes. The English ruling class are aliens to England. I won’t state why, but they are not English. They are of another group of people who have a different agenda to the English.

    Every day, I’m going to start writing about the English government and what it is doing.

    New Zealand needs to put pressure on this regime and start divesting ourselves of the relationship until they restore the rule of law and the freedoms of western institutions to England.

    God bless the English

  16. Eco Maori 16

    Good evening Newshub Lloyd looks like Ireland is going to catch up with the times and give Lady’s the right to have a abortion the Mana Wahine = rights movement is strong. Lloyd do you miss Winston.
    Judge Andrew Becroft is a good fair Kiwi who ECO MAORI backs 100 %. Off topic my view is that Judith Collins the – – – – – – is at her worst paying someone to spy on Phil Twyford and slowly leak the the bad habits of Phil that’s is how nasty people like Judith Collins behave .
    Does that show te tangata what tech can be use for the tracking of visit to farms with the bovine virus is a good thing but there are many bad things that people can use tech for even the state.
    ECO MAORI Says there should be a total set net ban around the endanger Mauri dolphins habitat come on there are less than 60 of these beautiful creatures of Tangaroa left these fishmen can use long lines some how I think NZF are slowing down the process of a set net ban – – – – – – you Ka kite ano P.S people like Judith Collins can’t win fairly so they cheat

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  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 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
    13 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
    13 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
    16 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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 ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    4 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
    9 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
    11 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
    12 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
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
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    5 days ago
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