Open mike 25/03/2013

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 25th, 2013 - 127 comments
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127 comments on “Open mike 25/03/2013 ”

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  1. Morrissey 1
    25 March 2013 at 7:16 am

    America’s Willing Executioners
    http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/03/22/americas-willing-executioners/
    by ROB URIE

    Ten years after the invasion, occupation and widespread destruction of Iraq was set into motion the revisionist apologetics are flying fast and furious. These include the denial of culpability for crimes committed, the systematic undercounting of the innocents slaughtered and displaced and the conveniently forgotten hubris of empire in the high theater of technocratic carnage. They also wanly posit that the historical epic is behind ‘us,’ the 75 per cent of the populace reported in poll results to have supported the war before news began leaking that its murder and mayhem weren’t achieving their hypothesized results. So to this 75 per cent, AKA the American people, is the problem that we murdered too many or not enough? Put another way, what number of murdered Iraqis would be too many if today there were a Starbucks on every corner in Baghdad and Payday Lenders to bridge the cash flow shortfalls of the citizenry that remains?

    And whither the good old days? Once upon a time the decomposing corpses of those responsible for destroying an entire nation, murdering a million or more of its citizens, causing the premature deaths of a wee chunk of the home folk and costing it a few trillion of its national ‘product’ would be on display for all to see—a cautionary exhibit against future hubristic incaution. This, if for no other reason than to assure that before another such adventure is undertaken, as the Nazis about to be hung at Nuremberg had it, we are sure to ‘win.’ And as gestures of contrition for these and other transgressions and magnanimity toward those slaughtered and their friends and family who remain, fair trials followed by swift executions of those found guilty at gallows set within public view on the White House lawn for Messrs. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, Powell and Ms. Rice would place some distance between these architects of distant carnage and the other 75 per cent of this nation who at one point or another supported ‘their’ war.

    The culture and political economy of impunity and immunity from prosecution for crimes high—war crimes under legally agreed upon terms, is matched only by the absolute immiseration, persecution, incarceration, torture and purposeful and negligent homicide of those on the other side of this imperial power. No war criminals have yet been charged in the bungled plunder of Iraq and the torch of aggressive war, murder, torture, illegal surveillance and robotic murder have been passed from war criminals past to war criminals present. Likewise, the methods of imperial economic extraction intended for America’s client nations now place much of the same 75 per cent that at one time supported the war on the wrong side of the imperial divide. The murder drones tested on distant battlefields now carry surveillance and murder technologies ‘at home’ to assure phone bills are paid and for-profit prisons filled as the ‘other’ political party divides our collective wealth amongst its new owners.

    Read more….
    http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/03/22/americas-willing-executioners/

    • pollywog 1.1
      25 March 2013 at 10:07 am

      At least there’s no more Saddam in the world.

      Was that the catalyst for the Arab spring which may also see the downfall of Bashar ?

      That’s gotta be worth something in the long run…

      • Morrissey 1.1.1
        25 March 2013 at 11:05 am

        At least there’s no more Saddam in the world.

        Three million Iraqis dead since 1991, but according to this genius it was all worth it, because “at least there’s no more Saddam in the world.”

        Was that the catalyst for the Arab spring which may also see the downfall of Bashar?

        No, it wasn’t. And, although you probably don’t know, the United States and Britain, AKA “The West”, continued to support Mubarak until the very last moment of his dictatorship.

        That’s gotta be worth something in the long run…

        You’re either a halfwit, or are just trying to be funny. Why are you here, exactly?

      • aerobubble 1.1.2
        26 March 2013 at 10:47 am

        The arab spring? Dictators stopped inevitable progress, and was threatening food, water, energy outcomes for the populations, dictators held in place by cold war fears that no longer had merit.

  2. Saarbo 2
    25 March 2013 at 7:41 am

    The National Govt. are cutting more jobs from the Conservation Debt. Unbelievable.

    Conservation is critical to our NZ lifestyle.

    Conservation underpins our Tourism and Farming industry.

    How the hell does this atrocious government maintain its support, it is completely beyond me?

    • muzza 2.1
      25 March 2013 at 7:55 am

      Conservation Debt

      Appropriate slip.

      People need to understand the NZ govt is working for other entities, who do not give a toss about NZ or the people in this country.

      Perhaps once the bank accounts have been raided, people will begin to join the dots.

      The debt is growing exponentially, global GDP cant keep up fast enough to pay the interest bill, we know thats not possible, so nect they’re coming for the banck accounts, after which time , private property is not going to tbe off the table, but likely that will be after whats left on NZs support systems, have been sold off!

      • tc 2.1.1
        25 March 2013 at 8:18 am

        +1, yes Granny and the MSM in general are assisting the NACT keep the sheeple in the dark as to their real inentions which is flogging anything of value and making us tenants in our own country.

        Key’s desire to see wages drop is the tip of the iceberg NZ is being shafted with.

      • clashman 2.1.2
        25 March 2013 at 8:24 am

        I had an interesting conversation around the ‘OBR’ and it’s implications with a couple of people yesterday . we ended up agreeing (surprise, surprise) that now that our politicians, on both sides of the house, are advocating the confiscation of our private property that they were no longer doing the job they had been elected to do ie represent the people and need to be removed. all of them
        . but how do we do this?
        we are going to gave to take the power back through fair means or foul if necessary.

        time to stock up on piano wire, people.

        • Colonial Viper 2.1.2.1
          25 March 2013 at 8:37 am

          As expected, the Cyprus parliament has been forced by the international banksters to directly “haircut” savers bank accounts. If you have over Euro 100K in Cyprus biggest bank, expect to lose 20% of it, instantaneously.

          Many ATMs in the country now allow you to withdraw only Euro 100 a day. Capital controls. And this is just the start.

        • vto 2.1.2.2
          25 March 2013 at 9:04 am

          How do we do this?

          Vote Them Out

          The party whose elected representatives refuse to participate in the current system. Each seat won becomes a non-starter and effectively cancels out a seat. It is not a final solution – it is a kick-starter.

          • Colonial Viper 2.1.2.2.1
            25 March 2013 at 9:12 am

            Does refusing to participate in the system also mean refusing the $145K salary…?

          • clashman 2.1.2.2.2
            25 March 2013 at 9:33 am

            vote them out and replace them with whom? even the greens response isn’t satisfactory afaiac. it’s time to start regulating the banks and restricting the way they operate so that they can never be ‘too big to fail’. ‘too big to fail’ is simply too big, full stop.
            there is going to be misery pain and suffering if we continue down the current path we are now clearly on to serfdom and virtual slavery to the moneyed elites. I’d prefer we go through the misery pain and suffering and destroy these barstards and ensure a fair and just world for future generations.

            • vto 2.1.2.2.2.1
              25 March 2013 at 9:48 am

              Well as I said clashman, it aint a final solution, it is a kick-starter to kicking the system.

              And yep – this entire global financial crisis is the result of charging for the use of money – interest, or usury. Ban usury, like many other societies do. Usury turns the system into a ponzi scheme. The world banking system is one gigantic ponzi scheme – the planets biggest ever.

              (ponzi scheme being one whereby further money needs to be brought into the system in order to pay for the costs of the system (the interest). This of course is completely unsustainable. Unfortunately the bozo right wingers and Nat party types refuse to see this)

              Cancel out interest and the risk and danger dissipates to near nil.

              • Colonial Viper …
                25 March 2013 at 10:17 am

                This of course is completely unsustainable. Unfortunately the bozo right wingers and Nat party types refuse to see this)

                Cancel out interest and the risk and danger dissipates to near nil.

                Centrist parties like Labour also tend to completely avoid the issue in favour of the status quo.

                • Draco T Bastard …
                  25 March 2013 at 11:03 am

                  +1

                  Which is why Labour is no longer a party for the workers or, even, for people and life.

                  • muzza …
                    25 March 2013 at 1:47 pm

                    None of the current listed MPs or Parties are addressing the monetary supply issue.

                    Which as I have said here many times, until its being address in a meanigful way, there is NO point in discussing anything else, forget it!

                    Monetary Supply is the most critical problem which needs to be sorted out, and currrently is hardly rating a mention!

              • mikesh …
                25 March 2013 at 10:37 am

                I agree. In disparaging the charging of interest Aristotl and the church fathers may have been onto something. It would be useful to ban the charging of interest on fiat money but in today’s world it is difficult to distinguish between fiat money and real money backed by debt, though about 95% of our money supply seems to start out as fiat money. Perhaps we should also get rid of fractional reserve banking.

                • Draco T Bastard …
                  25 March 2013 at 11:08 am

                  It would be useful to ban the charging of interest on fiat money but in today’s world it is difficult to distinguish between fiat money and real money backed by debt, though about 95% of our money supply seems to start out as fiat money.

                  All money today is fiat money and all of it is based upon debt. There’s nothing wrong with fiat money, the problems arise because it’s based upon debt and has interest charged upon it by the banks who created it meaning that the economy always needs to grow to cover the interest but it can still never be paid off.

                  • mikesh …
                    25 March 2013 at 12:26 pm

                    Given that virtually all money is fiat money a ban on charging interest on fiat money would be tantamount to banning interest altogether. However, if I receive money as wages, say, and decide to lend that money out, I would probably want to receive interest on it.

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      25 March 2013 at 1:26 pm

                      You need to ban interest on it’s creation and the only way to do that is to have the government create the money rather than the banks. People loaning out their money would still be able to charge interest – except that I’d also have the government making loans at 0% interest which would probably put paid to that idea.

                      Charging interest results in an exponential increase in income. As savings accumulate interest income increases thus increasing the rate that savings accumulate. The end result is that all the money will inevitably end up in the hands of a few (very few people have an income above subsistence) which requires an ever increasing amount of money to be created which feeds the ever widening gap between the haves and the have nots.

                      Having the government creating the money and loaning it out at 0% stops that cycle of accumulation and ensures a more equal society with all the benefits that brings.

              • Draco T Bastard …
                25 March 2013 at 11:02 am

                Usury turns the system into a ponzi scheme.

                QFT

                And like all ponzi schemes it results in a few people at the top with all the wealth and everyone else losing. That is a perfect description of capitalism though and it’s been that way throughout history.

                This of course is completely unsustainable. Unfortunately the bozo right wingers and Nat party types refuse to see this

                Some of them see it but they’re the ones at the top benefiting from it so they don’t want it to stop and everything they say about how great the system is is a lie.

            • ghostrider888 2.1.2.2.2.2
              25 March 2013 at 1:04 pm

              Greens-“disabled facing tougher work requirements under govt. welfare reforms, yet, funding for a placement programme-Mainstream-has run out of funding despite being opened up to the private sector; Demands for placements have increased, yet, funding has not risen since 2010-2011 financial year.”

        • mikesh 2.1.2.3
          25 March 2013 at 10:10 am

          I think more weight should be given to referenda, even citizen initiated ones. While I don’t think a CIR should be binding on a government, I think that once the necessary number of signatures has been collected and a referendum has become mandatory it would seem pretty unseemly for a government to act ahead of the ‘people’s voice’ being heard, even if they intend ignoring the outcome as is the case with asset sales.

          It may even be a constitutional matter since it affects the way democracy is conducted in this country.

          • KJT 2.1.2.3.1
            25 March 2013 at 11:21 am

            If a referenda is not binding. THEN WE DO NOT HAVE DEMOCRACY.

            All the arguments against BCIR and real democracy are the same ones that were made by those in power at the time against citizens, women, non-aristocracy or non-landowners having a vote, at all.

            There is absolutely no moral, or justifiable arguments against democracy.

            Just self serving bullshit from those who want their turn in Dictatorship.

            As NRT says. ” Even if they are wrong they are still our decisions to make”.

            Why should 160 odd marginally competent, power hungry, ill educated twits in Parliament rule the rest of us.

            We still let them do it despite constant reminders of how incapable politicians, of all stripes, really are.

        • pollywog 2.1.2.4
          25 March 2013 at 10:18 am

          It’s the future generations who will do something about it.

          There’s not even any need to foment unrest amongst the slackers. They’ll have their revolution cos we, of generation x, were to gutless and apathetic to.

          I see these times and events as the last days and futile power grab of a generation looking to see out their days on the back of ill gotten gains.

          It won’t take much to level the playing field. By wiping out debt/profit and cracking ‘free’ energy resets the game to start over again but with new rules.

    • ghostrider888 2.2
      25 March 2013 at 12:58 pm

      DoC Cuts Put Wildlife At Risk
      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10873425
      -laying off 100 front-line staff to be replaced with volunteers
      -budget cut by 25M
      -Fonterra becomes a corporate “sponsor” / funder of DoC; water quality conflicts you think?

      • marty mars 2.2.1
        25 March 2013 at 2:11 pm

        + 1 Only time before corporate sponsors come in to DOC I think – after all the capitalist exploiters are so much better at looking after everything – but only for them and their obscene profits.

  3. chris73 acualy is Dolan 3
    25 March 2013 at 8:10 am

    I’ll admit I didn’t know this:

    http://www.youtube.com/embed/9RABZq5IoaQ?feature=player_embedded

    • joe90 3.1
      25 March 2013 at 10:05 am

      I’ll admit I didn’t know this:

      Because it’s just another attempt to re-write history although the stupidity of people who swallow that sort of revisionist bullshit never ceases to amaze me.

      Prior to the National Rifle Association being organised in 1871, with the goal of improving American civilian marksmanship in preparation for war, the southern states instituted The Black Codes with severe restriction on black possession and ownership of firearms.

      .http://www.newrepublic.com/article/112322/gun-control-racism-and-nra-history

      This too.

      http://guns.periscopic.com/?year=2013

      Deaths since Sandy Hook.

      • chris73 acualy is Dolan 3.1.1
        25 March 2013 at 12:18 pm

        You tell them they’ve got it wrong, I wouldn’t.

      • joe90 3.1.2
        25 March 2013 at 1:13 pm

        I’d have thought that a video bracketed by nut in chief Alex Jones clips and fronted by born again loon and world nut daily columnist Star Parker and would have given it away.

        But then idiots will persist in swallowing the revisionist tripe that’s dished up.

  4. chris73 acualy is Dolan 4
    25 March 2013 at 8:26 am

    I don’t like to admit my mistakes but I’ll man up and admit one here. I said yesterday gun deaths attributable to rifles in the USA was around 2% . I was wrong.

    This guy looked at the stats, shows the web sites and has a higher number:

    • Colonial Viper 4.1
      25 March 2013 at 8:30 am

      I haven’t checked the link out yet, but I presume that the majority of US gun deaths are ones where a handgun are used.

      • chris73 acualy is Dolan 4.1.1
        25 March 2013 at 8:49 am

        Probably correct. He gets stats from the FBIs website and the UKs website. 3.5% of deaths attributed to rifles .

        If people don’t want to view it:

        The murder and violent crime rate in the USA has decreased over 50% since 1992.

        Also the UK is a lot more violent then the USA (3.5 times more!).

        Its just when you go to metropolitan centers over 250 000 is when the violent crimes and murder rates jump up.

        He does have some good ideas on how to solve the crime rates in those centers, you’d probably agree with it.

        • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1
          25 March 2013 at 9:03 am

          Also the UK is a lot more violent then the USA (3.5 times more!).

          Sure. The Brits love their pub punch ups.

          But the per capita kill rate in the US is 4x higher than the UK. The difference is that in the UK they use fists, bottles and knives. In the US they use firearms.

          More guns = more people dead.

          Global UNODC homicide data here.

          http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/oct/10/world-murder-rate-unodc

          added: NZ has a 15% higher murder rate than the UK. Something that I find quite curious.

          • chris73 acualy is Dolan 4.1.1.1.1
            25 March 2013 at 9:17 am

            Not saying the USA doesn’t have problems but we know prohibition doesn’t work so banning weapons won’t work. Mexico has way stricter gun laws then most countries yet theres a few gun deaths there. Also note that the USA rates are dropping.

            The recent ban was for military style semi-automatics which make up less than 3.5% of all deaths.

            If you want to stop gun deaths why target a gun that is used in less than 3.5% of all deaths?

            Also on a separate note check out Greenland, double the rate of the USA. That surprised me.

            • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1.1.1
              25 March 2013 at 9:34 am

              There’s no civilian or sporting use for military style convertible to full-auto assault weapons. Greenland…those guys need to get more daylight hours.

              Not saying the USA doesn’t have problems but we know prohibition doesn’t work so banning weapons won’t work.

              Sorry mate you used the legal term for an alcohol ban which is what doesn’t work in this context.

              In terms of banning these weapons, unfortunately for the US that horse has well and truly bolted.

              • vto …
                25 March 2013 at 9:50 am

                Children should be taught in the use of machine guns and rpg’s at the pre-school stage so they can defend themselves.

                This is the usa way.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  25 March 2013 at 9:52 am

                  I can’t believe that you would consider a ban on RPGs. I have my Constitutionally guaranteed Second Ammendment rights, damnit!

              • chris73 acualy is Dolan …
                25 March 2013 at 10:16 am

                “There’s no civilian or sporting use for military style convertible to full-auto assault weapons”
                – I agree but the 2nd amendment isn’t about sporting or hunting (as I understand it)

                – Yes I concede prohibition wasn’t the right choice of words.

                “In terms of banning these weapons, unfortunately for the US that horse has well and truly bolted.”
                – I agree and thats why I think banning is just pointless, all it does it make a few people fell good about themselves because they’ve made a difference whereas the reality is they’ve made no difference at all except make previously law abiding citizens potential criminals.

                Check this guy out, hes got quite reasonable views (if you can get past the semi-incoherent ramblings of Piers Morgan) and some ideas of what to do

                • Colonial Viper …
                  25 March 2013 at 10:27 am

                  – I agree but the 2nd amendment isn’t about sporting or hunting (as I understand it)

                  Sure, it was about the use of rifled muskets within the context of a well disciplined, well regulated state run citizens militia.

                  • chris73 acualy is Dolan …
                    25 March 2013 at 12:20 pm

                    Muskets which was the technology of the day. Since its the United States of America not simply America it still holds true today.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      25 March 2013 at 1:05 pm

                      The constitution was written with the thought of ,and applied to, the common military firearm of the day chris73.

                      Muskets and rifled muskets, usually with bayonets.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      25 March 2013 at 1:07 pm

                      Bear in mind that the modern equivalent of a standard infantry primary weapon is a fully automatic AR-15, M-16 or AKM/AK-74 with 30 round clip with anti-personnel or armour penetrating rounds.

                      Surely that’s the modern corollary Second Amendment would apply to today, right?

                • joe90 …
                  25 March 2013 at 10:30 am

                  Quite reasonable views

                  …. from a deeply stupid person who reckons people need assault rifles in case the gubmint decides to start rounding them up…with tanks, bombers, F-35 joint force fighters and drones armed with hellfire missiles…oh, and he’s a victim too…

                  http://www.newshounds.us/breitbart_s_ben_shapiro_pretends_to_be_bullied_by_the_left_01092013

                • KJT …
                  25 March 2013 at 11:29 am

                  Yeah. Because we should never have let the horse bolt in the first place.

                  We could have stopped it in NZ by continuing the strict registration and licensing of firearms, but of course the gun nuts want open slather.

                  Real sports people and pro hunters don’t need semi-auto’s or auto’s. You get into position and get it right, with the first shot.

                  I’ve always been against guns for “self defense”. The USA shows that it doesn’t work. The most common gun casualty is the family members of gun owners.

                  However with our police assaulting legal protesters with impunity, maybe the yanks have a point!

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    25 March 2013 at 11:34 am

                    We could have stopped it in NZ by continuing the strict registration and licensing of firearms, but of course the gun nuts want open slather.

                    NZ firearms users tend to be highly responsible and serious about abiding by the law and good safety practices. There are almost 1M firearms in this country, with only very few non-suicide deaths resulting.

                    • KJT …
                      25 March 2013 at 12:21 pm

                      Yes agreed. Mostly!

                      However it was not very responsible opposing gun registration.

                      Not to mention, the ‘so called hunters” who don’t identify their targets

                      And in NZ Mostly rifles. Which are a bit hard to routinely carry around, and keep in the bedside cabinet..

                      I suspect we would have a lot more gun deaths if we had more handguns, like the USA.

                    • Jackal …
                      25 March 2013 at 3:21 pm

                      Actually, around 50% of reported family violence incidents where a firearm was involved are committed by gun license holders. That indicates that any legislative changes should target licensed and unlicensed gun owners.

                      1.1 million guns is an old estimate from around 2006… We simply don’t know how many guns there are in New Zealand because they aren’t registered. Also, around 79% of gun deaths are from suicide, with the remaining 21% from criminal endeavour, legal intervention or by accident.

                      As far as I’m aware, there is no proper database of recent statistics on firearms deaths, however between 1995 and 2004 there was a mean annual number of deaths by firearm of 79 (62 were suicide). This number has nearly halved whereby 38 of the 558 suicides in 2011 were committed using a gun or explosives.

                      Even with that reduction, casualties arising from firearm misuse in New Zealand are considered to be high.

                      As an aside, an in-depth government funded 1997 review of firearms control concluded that registering guns is required. However the government has ignored that recommendation, mainly because of pressure from the Police and gun lobbyists.

                      Personally I don’t see the point in undertaking costly studies if the government just does whatever they want to anyway.

                  • chris73 acualy is Dolan …
                    25 March 2013 at 12:26 pm

                    We don’t need restrictive laws as the ones being proposed in the USA. We don’t have a problem with them now and we haven’t had a problem with them in the past.

                    The difference between the USA and NZ is that the laws in NZ are enforced. I personally will be buying certain military rifles and machine guns when I have the spare money to buy them (so a wee way off) and I’ll be following the laws to allow me to do that.

                    “I’ve always been against guns for “self defense”. The USA shows that it doesn’t work.”
                    – I’ve posted many examples of women using guns for self-defense successfully, I’d suggest that the people with the guns are trained properly to use them.

                    I’d say anyone owning a firearm should (as part of obtaining a license) be made to get proper training and be part of a gun club (so as to have regular practice)

              • Colonial Weka …
                25 March 2013 at 11:27 am

                Greenland… as well as sunlight issues it probably has a similar problem to NZ ie colonisation trauma.

        • One Tāne Huna 4.1.1.2
          25 March 2013 at 9:16 am

          The decrease in violence and murder has been convincingly attributed to the removal of lead based additives from petrol. This pattern is not confined to the USA.

        • prism 4.1.1.3
          25 March 2013 at 9:50 am

          chris73 ..
          This is a good example of how to present stats in a confusing way that tends to reinforce one’s argument.

          The murder and violent crime rate in the USA has decreased over 50% since 1992.

          Also the UK is a lot more violent then the USA (3.5 times more!).

          The first statement seems to be connected with the use of guns which was being discussed.
          The second seems to be connected also but is not just related to guns.
          How can we get a clear line of reasoning to comprehend the argument when the references are being shifted?

  5. mickysavage 5
    25 March 2013 at 8:57 am

    I have been rereading Chris Trotter’s “No Left Turn” recently and came across this wonderful comment by Bill Sutch about the first National Government. He described National’s approach to education as being founded on a conviction “that the main thing needed in education was to insult the Education Department …”

    How times (and the Nats) have not changed …

    • prism 5.1
      25 March 2013 at 9:58 am

      Is that Bill Sutch, NZ national hero? Who I think was not made a Sir William Sutch because he had a scenario for NZ’s progress that required intelligent judgment. So Sir Roger Douglas got the knighthood and Goodnight Nurse to NZs aspirations to a modern, well-balanced, well-run economy with stability, effective enterprise and innovation plus good living standards for all.

      • mickysavage 5.1.1
        25 March 2013 at 10:03 am

        Yep prism one and the same.

        The whole book gives a really good oversight of how opportunity after opportunity for improvement of the country was missed because of the stupidity of the right. And New Zealand has often verged on doing the right thing but this has been frustrated by reactionary forces and stupidity.

        It should be compulsory reading for the current cabinet not to mention the opposition front bench!

        • Colonial Viper 5.1.1.1
          25 March 2013 at 10:09 am

          opportunity after opportunity for improvement of the country was missed because of the stupidity of the right.

          And has that made either the Greens, Labour or National tack further to the left, in recognition? Nope. We’re as blind as ever.

        • prism 5.1.1.2
          25 March 2013 at 10:27 am

          ms
          I watched Sir Humphrey and PM Jim in Yes Minister on youtube recently. The one about only getting honours if they have been earned.
          PM Jim trying to pierce Sir Humphrey’s rhetoric says something like ‘So you don’t want to do the right thing now, because it creates a precedent for the next time’.

          I guess that explains National’s behaviour and why they stick to the status quo, which usually produces results that suit them and their supporters, ie ‘If it ain’t broke (for us NACTs) why fix it.’ I don’t like this idea, it is very depressing to me. We seem to be doomed to this downward slide.

        • Olwyn 5.1.1.3
          25 March 2013 at 12:06 pm

          I am very interested in this movement in the UK. I think that the only way we are going to get a return to anything resembling social justice is for people to unite, independently of political parties. I just had a chat on Skype with a friend in Athens, who is just staggered by the EU’s abandonment of democracy for the sake of the banks.

          http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/05/people-assembly-against-austerity

          • Draco T Bastard 5.1.1.3.1
            25 March 2013 at 3:55 pm

            I’m not. It’s been obvious for awhile now that governments are only there for the rich, to keep the wealth pump from the poor to the rich going.

      • North 5.1.2
        25 March 2013 at 10:27 am

        Sutch was booted to the sideline because he committed the heresy of scandalous interest in secondary industry

        • mikesh 5.1.2.1
          25 March 2013 at 10:57 am

          I thought it was because he was a part of some think tank on monetary reform during Norm Kirk’s time in office. Gerald O’Brien was also on that think tank and was later beaten up in a Courtenay Place public toilet. O’Brien was later arseholed out of the Labour Party by Bill Rowling, though perhaps justifiably since he had written a letter to Bruce Beatham, then leader of the Social Credit party, behind Rowling’s back. Sutch was later prosecuted, though unsuccessfully, for having contact with someone in the Russian embassy. He may well have been set up.

          • prism 5.1.2.1.1
            25 March 2013 at 12:06 pm

            Yes Sutch was a bigger thinker than the little crackpots in and around government. He remained silent on the Russian clandestine meeting for which he was arrested in 1974. I thought he probably just was trying to keep up with his background knowledge of political thought and movement in that part of the world. But it appears that he may have been responding to a request for political asylum.
            See stuff – http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/477347/Sutch-case-Russian-got-chance-to-defect

            At the time of course we were strongly anti-communist. However we pragmatically managed to overlook that barrier by the 1980s to do some bartering with Soviet Russia by swopping our butter for their Lada cars and the NZ Dairy Board was distributor for them. (Australia was bartering with bauxite ore, so we of course weren’t trail-blazing.)

            From Wikipedia –
            Ladas were briefly popular in the 1980s. Meat, dairy and fertiliser exports to Russia were wholly or partly paid for with Belarus tractors, Stolichnaya vodka and Lada cars. The New Zealand Dairy Board were distributors for Lada vehicles.[10] Some Ladas, even those of the 1970s, can still be seen on New Zealand roads (especially in rural areas and offshore islands) but are increasingly rare.

            • mickysavage 5.1.2.1.1.1
              25 March 2013 at 12:20 pm

              It was a funny time.

              Kirk’s death was thought by some, including Bob Harvey, to be a case of poisoning.

              Certainly Sutch’s treatment was strange and had the feeling of hatchet job about it.

              • Colonial Viper …
                25 March 2013 at 12:54 pm

                Gough Whitlam.

                • mickysavage …
                  27 March 2013 at 9:11 am

                  Yep. Two leaders of progressive governments brought down in very unusual circumstances. I must admit harbouring a few conspiracy theories about what happened.

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    31 March 2013 at 7:55 pm

                    And once you read up on how Salvador Allende was dealt to and how Pinochet was installed, also the 2002 coup against Chavez, you realise that “conspiracy theory” doesn’t even begin to cover it.

          • North 5.1.2.1.2
            25 March 2013 at 12:26 pm

            My schoolboy recall of the time says Sutch was Secretary of Trade and Industry, or the equivalent, under the ’57-’60 Labour government. Phillip Holloway was the minister I think.

            Sutch was booted and marginalised when Holyoake took power in 1960. He had no opportunity to lobby for anything meaningful until ’72 when Labour returned. By that time he was probably regarded as a bit old hat. Accordingly he spent years as a private consultant.

            He was a remarkable individual whose influence commenced as early as 1935. He accompanied Walter Nash to Britain when Nash went there as finance minister to give comfort that the first Labour government was not about to nationalise all and sundry, inlcuding the interests of British bondholders.

            The talk around Wellington at the time of his trial an afterwards was that the Russian Embassy officer Razgovoroz whom Sutch met surreptitiously was indeed planning to defect.

            It was a strange case with, it was privately said, the Sutch home having been entered and searched in the course of the trial. Tin foil liner in the base of a tea caddy of a morning was found in the evening on top of its contents, with remnants of those contents spilt on a kitchen bench. Nothing stolen.

            One can see the SIS of the day (for which Rowling as PM after Kirk was minister) being much exercised by Sutch – Cold War, reds under the bed and all that. It was even said that at his funeral a matter of only months after his acquittal, people were observed in the upper floors of a building opposite the church in Taranaki Street, photographing those emerging.

            Interesting times the real fabric of which will probably never emerge.

            • Anne 5.1.2.1.2.1
              31 March 2013 at 7:49 pm

              Having had pc trouble this past week, I’ve only just seen your comment North. Be assured that back in the 1970s… interest in NZ politics and related matters was not confined to the NZSIS. In 1992 a lengthy article appeared in the Australian Womens Weekly (I still have a copy in my possession) about a woman by the name of Wendi Holland who went public about her former job as an ASIS spy. She spent a large portion of her time in the late 1960s and 1970s in NZ spying on NZ politicians and certain organisations and individuals suspected of links to communist activity. She would certainly not have been their only spy in the country either.

              There is no doubt in my mind that off-shore intelligence services were interfering in New Zealand’s affairs at that time and a lot of innocent people were being fingered for no other reason other than they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I had a close family member who was one of them, and the fallout even had an affect on my life and career opportunities.

              In light of the above I agree with you mickysavage. It is unlikely to be coincidence that both Kirk and Whitlam were brought down in unusual circumstances.

  6. Penny Bright 6
    25 March 2013 at 10:28 am

    FYI.

    25 March 2013

    Press Release – Housing Lobby Spokesperson Sue Henry ” Don’t fast-track the Auckland Unitary Plan!”

    “The Unitary Plan should not be fast-tracked and signed off this side of the local body elections, with so much dissent from communities, who do not want unfettered property developers intensifying their suburbs beyond recognition,” says Housing Lobby Spokesperson Sue Henry.

    “The ‘tiff’ between Mayor Len Brown and Housing Minister Nick Smith is a diversion from the fact that there is already an alignment set in concrete between Wellington and the Auckland Mayor. ”

    “Three east Auckland suburbs, Panmure, Point England and Glen Innes, have already been signed off between the Mayor and the previous Housing Minister, Phil Heatley, into a company, implementing the ‘Tamaki Transformation Programme’, through a ‘Heads of Agreement’ which was signed off behind closed doors, excluding the residents.”

    “Which suburbs will be next?
    What other communities want to be turned into a ‘company’ without their consent?”

    Sue Henry
    Housing Lobby Spokesperson

  7. prism 7
    25 March 2013 at 10:53 am

    A tick for Winston. He has revealed the NACTs siphoning money that should be going direct to regional development initiatives in NZ, to an overseas oriented agency. He has found that the smarmy ones are paying it to some outfit called KEA that operates overseas to keep in touch with the people that are already doing well there and perhaps to entice them back. Now them being encouraged to come home is okay – let us have a register of interested ex-pats to be referred to.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport
    08:23 Winston Peters says regional funding diverted to expat group
    The New Zealand First leader, Winston Peters, says money from a Government fund aimed at boosting regional economic development has been given instead to the organisation Kiwi Expatriates Abroad, or Kea. (4′10″)

    But the money being paid to KEA we need HERE to support the regions to find and support healthy and risk-free business initiatives that will provide employment for semi-skilled people in particular. The idea has grown that it is Bad and Lazy to be ‘semi-skilled’ ie not to be a lawyer, or a techology type etc. Trouble is when there is growth in employees in any of these specialist jobs, the pay will go down – so self-defeating for the upwardly mobile aspirants. There must be jobs for all so we are all enabled to have a good live and the respect of our country for each person, something the unemployed don’t receive.

    And with the growth of computer generated physical objects this still leaves many people in a work-oriented society out of the loop. This is surprising in a country with such advanced education and understanding about everything. We must do better at balancing the economy and work opportunities.

  8. Penny Bright 8
    25 March 2013 at 11:38 am

    ‘DEMOCRACY FOR DEVELOPERS’?

    WHO EXACTLY IS RUNNING AUCKLAND COUNCIL AND IN WHOSE INTERESTS???

    Council sees no conflict in belonging to property body – Property – NZ Herald News

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=10873340

    Penny Bright
    ‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
    2013 Auckland Mayoral Candidate

    • muzza 8.1
      25 March 2013 at 12:41 pm

      Council chief executive Doug McKay said he saw no reason to change the arrangement, which he had decided under delegated authority, as did managers of five council-controlled organisations.

      Tells you who the puppets are eh!

    • Draco T Bastard 8.2
      25 March 2013 at 1:39 pm

      The same people as always – the businessmen.

  9. Morrissey 9
    25 March 2013 at 12:09 pm

    “From the Left and From the Right”: trivializing serious public debate
    Radio NZ National, Monday 25 March 2013
    Kathryn Ryan, Matthew Hooton, Mike Williams

    The always on-message, relentless and very clever Matthew Hooton is clearly the Alpha-male in nearly all these Monday morning match-ups. Only Andrew Campbell and Laila Harre have had the presence of mind and integrity to consistently counter Hooton’s antics and consistently get the better of him. Mike Williams does occasionally get aroused and actually puts Hooton in his place, but all too often Williams is just like he was today: passive and over-eager to please. First part of this program was a run-of-the-mill discussion, mostly about David Shearer’s bank account, with Williams as usual bending over backwards to agree with everything Hooton said. Then it was time to face up to a very unpleasant elephant in the room….

    KATHRYN RYAN: The other matter that took a PREPOSTEROUS amount of time in my humble opinion was the appointment of Dame Susan Devoy as Race Relations Commissioner.

    MATTHEW HOOTON: Have we still got a Race Relations Commissioner? Ha ha ha! No, really, she is no worse than anyone else! I mean she’s a perfectly nice person. She belongs to the Climate Science Coalition….[He rambles on for a considerable time, simultaneously pouring scorn on the very idea of a Race Relations Commissioner and asserting, incredibly, that Susan Devoy has written and said nothing to disqualify her.]

    KATHRYN RYAN: That all sounds reasonable to me. Mike, what’s your problem with her?

    MIKE WILLIAMS: [carefully] She’s clearly not a rocket scientist, let’s put it like that.

    KATHRYN RYAN: [suddenly not so congenial] I-I-I-I-I’m not going to put UP with that! What is your objection?

    MIKE WILLIAMS: She lacks the capacity to do the job.

    MATTHEW HOOTON: You need to be able to conciliate, and not just swallow everything from the Treaty grievance industry!

    MIKE WILLIAMS: Actually there is quite a lot to the job. Joris De Bray— or De Brayze, is it?

    MATTHEW HOOTON: Who cares?

    MIKE WILLIAMS: Well, I was tangentially involved in the Cheeky Darky business and Joris did a very good job taking the heat out of that. He called off the Auckland University people who wanted to hang, draw and quarter Paul Holmes.

    KATHRYN RYAN: I like the cartoon over the weekend which showed her whacking a squash ball at people and saying “You lot make up!” He he he he!

    MIKE WILLIAMS: Ha ha ha ha ha! Let’s give her a chance!

    More light-hearted and jocular comments on another topic, then it’s time to wrap it up…

    KATHRYN RYAN: Hey thanks guys! That is Mike Williams and Matthew Hooton, our political commentators! Coming up: today’s recipe and wine match from John Hawkesby!

    • karol 9.1
      25 March 2013 at 1:14 pm

      I listened to some of that while on the exercise machine. Williams managed to say “no problem” to Shearer’s UN bank account, and to say nothing when Hooton added in a smear to TS as a site of conspiracy theorists re-shearer being a plant for overseas wealthy interests.

      I got fed up, and switched onto Maori TV for a Te Reo learning session – was much more useful way of engaging my mind while exercising.

      • Rhinocrates 9.1.1
        25 March 2013 at 4:28 pm

        Hooton added in a smear to TS as a site of conspiracy theorists

        Amusing – as he’s tried to influence opinion here and found himself the object of ridicule instead. I suppose that’s “Plan B”.

    • phillip ure 9.2
      25 March 2013 at 5:11 pm

      i thought an interesting bit was during the shearer-discussion..

      ..when williams called those unhappy with shearer ‘the far left’..

      ..and that ‘there is only about three of them’..

      ..(i reckon ryan/nine-to-noon should be done for false-advertising..

      ..for describing that neo-lib apologist/enabler/promoter/defender mike williams..

      ..as being speaking for ‘the left’..)

      ..the only time williams turns/does anything ‘left’ – is when he goes out of his driveway..

      ..and then only because he has to..

      ..as he lives in a right/one-way street..

      phillip ure..

  10. North 10
    25 March 2013 at 12:50 pm

    The regular spots in Afternoons with Borer are so facile I’m now more or less dependent on Morrissey. Seems Mornings in that safe pair of hands Kathryn is going the same way.

    In fact, everything seems to be relatively dumbed down now. Not surprising since that was always part of the modus operandi on the road to the nirvana of New Zealand as a playground for international money games.

    Trivialise formerly trusted institutions as someone said. Have people give up and stop listening. Logistically, institutions and thinking which formerly defined us, is all the easier to throw away as inefficient and ultimately expendable froth on a body politic which is distinctive for its corruptness.

    • prism 10.1
      31 March 2013 at 8:29 pm

      North
      I hope you complain to Radionz with definite examples. It is important to try and keep a crisp coverage of our daily serial news.

  11. ghostrider888 11
    25 March 2013 at 1:20 pm

    RNZ-“House Insurers shifting the onus (and cost) of maintaining up-to-date cost of rebuild figures on to home owners; do not expect market value payouts unless you keep (annually) up to date valuations (at your expense); Insurers slipping more risk back onto owners.”

    Dom-
    CHINESE SUCCESSFULLY TEST “CARRIER KILLER MISSILE”; (anti-ship DF21D)(yanks developing “highly classified defensive measures).China shifting ballistic missile batteries nearer Taiwan; Americans rushing Raptors and U-2 spy planes to Asia-Pacific region.

    time for an end to “romantic pacifism” and to begin “full preparation” for war.
    -Liberation Army Daily. (that is some fairly strong rhetoric, right there)

  12. Colonial Weka 12
    25 March 2013 at 1:33 pm

    Is Lynn fiddling with the pipes again? Comments list links are in a bit of a time warp.

    • lprent 12.1
      25 March 2013 at 2:21 pm

      Nope. And they are up to date on my screen. Ummm. I did fiddle with the database query caching at the end of last week. I’ll have a look at what implications that has.

      • Colonial Weka 12.1.1
        25 March 2013 at 7:14 pm

        Just had it happen again. Tried opening a new tab on Pascal’s Bookie’s comment in the Labour’s Three Factions thread and went here instead

        http://thestandard.org.nz/tizard-not-coming-back/#comment-609446

        The problem doesn’t seem to last long though and then the links go back to normal if I try another page. But if I try and open links from the original page (the FP in this case, that I still have open), all the comments go to the Tizard thread, but different comments.

  13. ghostrider888 13
    25 March 2013 at 1:51 pm

    “Man has gained power over the world by turning it into symbols-by turning real men into matchstick men and so on. But he has often gained this mastery at the expense of losing touch with reality and spending far too much time in an unreal world of symbols. In effect modern man spends most of his time inside a sound-proof room inside his own head, staring at a computer screen ;). This enables him to handle reality with far more efficiency than a child or a savage, but it also means he tends to forget that there is a ‘real’ reality out there. And when he grows tired and bored with the computer, he thinks he has grown tired and bored with life…”

    The psychologist J.Silverman found that for “convicts who had been in prison for a very long time that their perceptions became blurry and they tended to notice far less.Their consciousness had shifted from the ‘active’ mode to the ‘receptive’ mode (i.e.passive mode).”

    “A Zen parable tells how a common man asked the Zen Master Ikkyu to write down for him some maxims of the highest wisdom. The Master wrote one word: ATTENTION.”Will you not write something more?” asked the man, whereupon Ikkyu wrote, ATTENTION.ATTENTION.The disgruntled man said he couldn’t see much wisdom in this, whereupon the Master wrote, ATTENTION. ATTENTION.ATTENTION.” What does attention mean?” asked the man, whereupon Ikkyu replied, “Attention means attention.” 🙂

    “There is a big
    A big hard sun
    Beating on the big people
    In the big hard world…”
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4uTEhDqa_s
    (Living Stone Seagull)

    The Only Sound That Matters
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObRY1ZA8hfY
    (Planted) 😉

    • Colonial Viper 14.1
      25 March 2013 at 2:10 pm

      Odd, it didn’t say that the US killer flu strain that they reported on is included in the 2013 Kiwi vaccination formula.

      Is it in the NZ vaccine formulation or is it not in the NZ vaccine formulation?

      • ghostrider888 14.1.1
        25 March 2013 at 2:27 pm

        interesting, yet i would suggest text implies it is; from my experience, the available vaccinations covers the national and international strains of concern per year of release.

        • Colonial Viper 14.1.1.1
          25 March 2013 at 3:12 pm

          Possibly, but I’d be far more comfortable with a piece containing that factual statement rather than a between the lines implication.

      • freedom 14.1.2
        25 March 2013 at 3:14 pm

        Breakfast this morning covered it and it sounded like all the necessary evils are present and accounted for. (I think it was just before Toni Timefiller asked the PM about the DOC job losses then sat back as the PM spun a long line about National’s ongoing ever-growing world saving job creation programme whilst avoiding the question in its entirety. Did you know that according to the PM over a hundred thousand jobs a month are lost or created in NZ? Someone please tell me I heard it wrong)

        folk have to understand many of the useful predominately safe vaccine programmes of thirty forty years ago are very different beasties than the pick’n’mix petridishes of today.

    • muzza 14.2
      25 March 2013 at 3:28 pm

      Must be commission payments time again!

      What a load of utter DROS!

  15. freedom 15
    25 March 2013 at 3:04 pm

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/rebuilding-christchurch/8469811/EQC-leak-much-larger-than-realised

    Gee, I wonder how King Gerry and Queen Shonkey are going to spin this one ???

  16. muzza 16
    25 March 2013 at 4:26 pm

    http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/could-cyprus-happen-here

    Josie Pagani, shows why certain subject matter, are best left to those who have an ounce of understanding, Josie is not one of those, in this instance!

    Some gems:

    Does anyone really understand what the hell just happened in Cyprus?

    Russian money in particular had flooded in, taking advantage of its tax-haven status. The financial system grew, and soon out-weighed other productive parts of the economy, like natural gas. The banks had to invest all that Russian money somewhere, so they brought up Greek bonds. Bad decision.

    It’s a shame that the financial crisis hasn’t been used as an excuse to clean up tax havens across the world. If global leaders focused on that as much as they focused on multilateral trade deals, we’d go a long way to stop Cyprus type chaos happening again.

    According to development economist Paul Collier, if you stopped corrupt African leader syphoning off the proceeds of oil and natural resources into Swiss bank accounts, developing countries would be better off by many millions of dollars.

    The legacy of the Cyprus crisis is unknown. The Economist magazine has argued that the Cyprus crisis should be used as a excuse to introduce a united European banking system, which would create more confidence across the region, and therefore more investment

    What is alarming for countries like New Zealand is the lack of a strategy from the EU to deal with situations like Cyprus.

    More awful writing, on pundit!

    • freedom 16.1
      25 March 2013 at 4:31 pm

      “should be used as a excuse to introduce a united European banking system”
      Quelle surprise!
      http://unhypnotize.com/attachments/nwo-new-world-order-globalization/465d1247255964-sample-coin-new-world-currency-unity-diversity-coin-00021ace.jpg
      they don’t just make these things for fun

      • Colonial Viper 16.1.1
        25 March 2013 at 4:38 pm

        Did Josie just miss the fact that the Eurozone is a key part of the problem, yet she wants even broader multinational banking systems???

        And did she just equate Cyprus to some tin pot corrupt African country?

        OMG.

        Geeezus the international bankster and corporate cartel want their tax havens and infinitely unrestricted control over capital movement. She needs to get with the programme.

        Maybe start with watching some Max Keiser.

        • muzza 16.1.1.1
          25 March 2013 at 5:09 pm

          Josie is clueless on this subject, and a terrible writer by looks of it, the article is atrocious in all respects!

          Of course she has no idea that the Russian money is long since removed from Cyprus, if it were ever actually there in the first place (the avergae cyprian will wear 100% of this, and what when they need another bailout, another round of account theft of course), and Josie seems to not understand that the people writing the compliance regulations, also use the *tax havens*, she muses about *being cleaned up*

          Its no wonder Josie has no idea the Eurozone/EU/IMF/ECB at al, are tools used to reek havoc on the worlds populace! – NZ has been owned by the IMF since 1961, it started with our gold, and it will end with (who knows what),and we still owe, undisclosed amounts, to undisclosed creditors

          Josie exposes herself again!

          • ghostrider888 16.1.1.1.1
            25 March 2013 at 5:57 pm

            Date Returned From Overseas.
            Night John-Boy…Night Mary-Ellen… 🙂

  17. phillip ure 17
    25 March 2013 at 8:47 pm

    i see shearer was on the telly reassuring the swinging-voters that ‘no..!..don’t worry..!..i also won’t do anything about poverty’..

    ..he has ditched the no gst on food..and the first five grand tax-free policies..

    ..saying we ‘can’t afford them’..

    ..and that labour ‘must focus on job creation-policies’..

    ..isn’t that the same pile of stinking bullshit key has been shovelling our way for so long now..?

    ..(is farrar advising shearer now..?..’can’t afford it/job-creation’ has been what he has been pushing since before national came to power..)

    ..phillip ure..

  18. aerobubble 18
    26 March 2013 at 10:56 am

    Q&A. Guest argued that Australia laws are its own business, but then decried that Australia would return welfare rights to kiwis in OZ, and this would hurt Australia because so many kiwis over there are so hard working – what will they do? return to NZ. The guest was unnerved by the whole direction of the move. NZ just doesn’t deserve better highly motivated skilled kiwis working here.
    But then, to cap his blather off, after missing the obvious disproportionate treatment (that is know to destabilizes a nation), he went on to demand that the same policy should be introduce here.
    Now editors at Q&A may feel the dumb arse opinions of don’t-know-don’t-want-to-know-heres-my-definitive-conclusion types makes great television, but I don’t, its just lazy filler for the time slot.
    Q&A is not quality current affairs when it can’t debunk such nonsense.

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    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

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