Open mike 25/08/2014

Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, August 25th, 2014 - 178 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

openmikeOpen mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

178 comments on “Open mike 25/08/2014 ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. crocodill 1
    25 August 2014 at 8:00 am

    Hijinks and hilarity in Epsom yesterday. The Herald reports:

    “ Mr Peters told the crowd that he knew one Beijing-based property investor who owned 55 houses in Auckland. “Don’t blame the Chinese. They are renowned for not being stupid. They are renowned for being bright academically. They are renowned for long-term planning. “Don’t blame them, when they see a bunch of fools running the country, saying, ‘Come over here, you can make a fortune’.” ”

    So Peters told his audience that they shouldn’t harbour dumb cultural stereotypes and (maybe even racist) attitudes toward the Chinese… they can’t help being subject to greedy instinctual predatory urges… because they’re Chinese!

    Meanwhile, Cliff Lyon said Labour had lost touch with their working class roots:

    “If you have a look at their supporters they are really gays, lesbians, the unemployed who they throw heaps of money at, and what I might call the loony intelligent left who sit up in Auckland University.”

    Someone needs to ask Cliff which year it is now. I want to hear him say 1995. Hmm, let’s see if we can find out who was in the audience of NZ First supporters yesterday by inventing cultural opposites for those “demographics”.

    NZ First supporters in Epsom are really Hetero men, spinsters of unproved sexual orientation, people who gift all their income to the taxman, and the stupid unintelligent right who never went to school and now sit in the vacant basements of old office buildings. The place must have been packed out.

    Sometimes the ignorant venal malicious stupid goes so far into noise without intended effect that it becomes hilarious. By eclipsing National’s bizarre definition of low-income first home buyers and Labour’s almost honest but cute admission of support for “modest” incomes, NZ First have won the hilarity prize today – they will probably hold it for the rest of the week.

    • phillip ure 1.1
      25 August 2014 at 8:11 am

      and on a more serious note..

      ..those on the ‘left’ considering voting for peters should note he also said this at that epsom meeting:

      “..NZ First would hold the balance of power after the election – Mr Peters said.

      When one man asked him to not support National –

      • Mr Peters said any decisions would be made after the votes were counted and ‘we know what the cards are’.

      ‘It’s not going to be an easy decision..”

      ..are you clear on that..?..

      ..peters will decide who he will support..after the election..and could well go with national/key..

      ..wd it be too strong to call those on the left who consider peters a ‘safe’ vote for them..

      ..to call them totally-in-denial-dumbarses..?

      ..i don’t think so..

      • BM 1.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 8:29 am

        Peters will go National, it’s not a tough choice

        It’s ether making up the numbers with labour and the greens or having quite a bit of clout with National.

        It’s also works with his “Keeping the buggers honest” theme he likes to push.

        • phillip ure 1.1.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 8:37 am

          for once..bm..i agree with you..

        • Enough is Enough 1.1.1.2
          25 August 2014 at 11:09 am

          Yeah he almost said as much on Q & A yesterday.

          He was saying that some party’s spending plans were not acceptable to NZ First. Susan Wood repeatedly asked him if he was referring to the Greens. As always he would not answer the question but it was clear that is indeed who he was referring to.

          If Winston holds the balance of power he will do one of two things.

          1. Go with the Nats.
          2. Go with Labour on the condition the Greens are locked out.

          Both options are a disaster.

        • Puddleglum 1.1.1.3
          25 August 2014 at 2:43 pm

          But, hang on BM. I thought that the whole point of voting National (with its huge support) was to ensure that any coalition partners it needed would have little ‘clout’.

          But now you say that NZ First would have a lot of ‘clout’. Which is it?

          • BM 1.1.1.3.1
            25 August 2014 at 3:50 pm

            If Key can’t get over the line with Act,Dunne, Maori party but he could with only Peters, I’d say Peters has a lot of clout.

            Peters can then say, no Act,no Maori party, no Dunne, you want the numbers you deal with me and me alone.

    • Chooky 1.2
      25 August 2014 at 8:17 am

      @crocodill…actually I thought Winston Peters was rather good…anyone who has spent any time really travelling in China would agree with him!

      ie “ Mr Peters told the crowd that he knew one Beijing-based property investor who owned 55 houses in Auckland. “Don’t blame the Chinese. They are renowned for not being stupid. They are renowned for being bright academically. They are renowned for long-term planning. “Don’t blame them, when they see a bunch of fools running the country, saying, ‘Come over here, you can make a fortune’.” ”

      …however Cliff Lyon is way off the mark

    • Ad 1.3
      25 August 2014 at 10:29 am

      From doorknocking the last few weekends, I can see that the only European men over 45 voting Labour are all on this site. Because there’s fuck-all of them anywhere else.

      And even the ones on this site are dodgy 🙂

    • rhinocrates 1.4
      25 August 2014 at 10:42 am

      “If you have a look at their supporters they are really gays, lesbians, the unemployed who they throw heaps of money at, and what I might call the loony intelligent left who sit up in Auckland University.”

      Bigoted, ignorant and thinks everyone else is too. Ugh.

  2. tricledrown 2
    25 August 2014 at 8:14 am

    Milk prices due to plummet because of Russian sanctions and massive increases in production world
    wide!

    • Chooky 2.1
      25 August 2014 at 8:24 am

      Russian sanctions ( either against Russia or from Russia) do not apply to NZ….the smart solution is to make Russia our number one trading partner !

      • phillip ure 2.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 9:01 am

        our dirty/filthy/polluting dairy-industry is a sunset-industry..

        ..(and in the long run..for us..and for the planet..this is a good thing..)

        ..the twofer of a forseeable global-gut in that white-death for the next five years..

        ..plus the soon-to-be-introduced ‘milk’ made from yeast..(of all things!)..that will taste/be the same..

        ..be able to do everything milk from cows does..(cheeses..etc..)..

        ..that does not need to be chilled..and will cost a fraction of the costs of cows-milk to produce/needs no land/dirty-waterways..will be ‘clean’..environmentally..

        ..but just on price..it will kill the global marketthe/our dirty cow-milk industry..

        ..it’s gonna be a financial bloodbath..the transition…

        ..it will be britain joins e.u/stops buying our farm product redux..but worse..)

        ..(and of all people..james cameron is showing the way forward..with his purchases of big dairy-holdings..and his conversion of them back into farms growing real food..

        ..i guess that cameron is a vegan is at least a part-driver of that..)

        ..and the aspect of all this that really concerns me at the moment..

        ..is how so many iwi are pouring their treaty-settlement monies into what will be/end up a total financial disaster..

        ..i see all that only ending in tears..

  4. Chooky 4
    25 August 2014 at 8:21 am

    no definately NOT….i actually thought Lyon was talking about you!

    Peters is a poker player ….but imho he will join a coalition with Labour ….all his policies agree with Labour ….all his criticisms have been directed against National…and he cant stand John key or NACT!

    • phillip ure 4.1
      25 August 2014 at 8:26 am

      how..?..you are the resident peters-booster..

      ..would you vote for him..?..have you voted for him in the past..?

      • Chooky 4.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 8:45 am

        @ PU….nyb… the GREENS will probably get my vote this time …but I am sorely tempted by MANA/INT ….and Winnie is wonderful…and so is David Cunliffe!…so I am happy …i have plenty of choice

        …you dont seem happy …..who are you voting for? ….are you a closet NACT?…or just disillusioned Labour?…you attack Labour at every opportunity and Winnie…..the NACTs absolutely hate Peters….this could explain your attitude to him!

        • phillip ure 4.1.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 9:10 am

          internet/mana..greens..labour..

          ..are my parties of choice..in descending order..

          ..i thought i couldn’t have been more clear about that..

          ..and you are in la-la land with yr ‘winnies’ wonderful’…

          ..no he’s not..he’s a con-man..

          ..just running his schtick for the final time..

          ..doing a classic ‘bait and switch’..

          ..(and the reply-function has had another meltdown..)

          • The Al1en 4.1.1.1.1
            25 August 2014 at 5:34 pm

            They keep giving you oxygen and you keep wasting it. More fool them.

            Peter’s won’t go with national unless the left vote splitting mip are somehow in the frame post election.

            To be sure you get a red/green government, you have to vote red/green. Don’t mess about with the minimal munters.

            • Chooky 4.1.1.1.1.1
              25 August 2014 at 5:44 pm

              @ the Allen…you have to say who yu are addressing your comments to because the order of the threads are not working

            • marty mars 4.1.1.1.1.2
              25 August 2014 at 7:45 pm

              @ allen – It is IMP not mip – not that hard to get the name correct although maybe the big letters are confusing you.

              I agree that people should vote for the party they want but relying on winnie – nah too risky.

              • The Al1en …
                25 August 2014 at 8:55 pm

                “@ allen – It is IMP not mip – not that hard to get the name correct”

                You mean like Al1en, not al1en?

                But no and somewhat incredulous having to answer such a weak whine, to me it’s always been mip ‘mana internet party’, but if you want to get all arseholey about it, all the better 😉

                “maybe the big letters are confusing you.”

                You’ll have to remind me why you’re acting butt hurt, again, but if it’s going to be a long list, which it probably might well be, you’re better off saving the poison from your pen for someone willing to play the victim, rather than waste it on me.

                You and your utu (the seeking of revenge) 🙄
                You’re still raging, yet I shat you out ages ago.
                The mirth of it all. 😆

      • greywarbler 4.1.2
        25 August 2014 at 9:40 am

        @phillip ure
        I think Chooky is assessing Winston’s likely choice of coalition if he gets that far, while you are arguing that he doesn’t deserve to be there because of low integrity and commitment to the people, only to himself. Both are relevant separate points which can’t be argued against each other.

        I’d vote for Peters in a contest on fashion style on the catwalk. But in politics his style changes with the wind. Labour would have to do an Alamein Kopu with him, and have a chat with him each morning to gauge his direction for the day.

        • phillip ure 4.1.2.1
          25 August 2014 at 9:49 am

          no warbler..i am saying a vote for peters is not a ‘safe’ vote..

          ..for anyone wanting a change of govt..

          ..it’s as simple as that…

          (wow..!..reply-function really has gone sth..this is reply to 8.1.2.1…)

          • Tiger Mountain 4.1.2.1.1
            25 August 2014 at 9:57 am

            Voting IMP, Green, Lab means little chance of a wasted vote. They all grow the left bloc.

            Winston First is a major chance of a wasted vote if you want not just a change of government but a left as possible one. He is so likely to go with the GodKey.

            ACT, Colon, MP and Hairdo are definitely wasted votes in any event and moreso if Epsom, Ohariu and Māori electorate left voters get strategic.

            Don’t vote Winston. Let someone else get him to 4.9%.

            • Rich 4.1.2.1.1.1
              25 August 2014 at 9:59 am

              What’s this GodKey stuff?

              • North …
                25 August 2014 at 11:08 am

                It’s the delusional rubbish pumped out by National saying that John Key has theistic qualities, that he’s a god. Whereas the truth is he’s a flakey wee rich man liar who’s produced not a thing in his entire life save immense wealth for himself. It’s all part of the dark stuff we see in Dirty Politics.

                • Man in a Barrel …
                  25 August 2014 at 11:24 am

                  …

                  Don’t overlook the fact that we have it on no less an authority than St. Lloyd Blankfein of that well-known altruistic institution the Church of the Holy Goldman Sachs.

                  “We’re very important,” Blankfein said in an interview with The Times of London. “We help companies to grow by helping them to raise capital. Companies that grow create wealth. This, in turn, allows people to have jobs that create more growth and more wealth. It’s a virtuous cycle. We have a social purpose.”

                  St. Blankfein said that he understood, however, that people were angry with bankers’ actions: “I know I could slit my wrists and people would cheer.” But he is, he told The Times, just a banker “doing God’s work.”

                  As is the Holier-than-thou John Key.

                • Rich …
                  25 August 2014 at 11:57 am

                  Yes I’ve always wondered where he got his money from, a week on here and I figure that I’ve worked it out. He stole it.

              • David H …
                25 August 2014 at 11:15 am

                Why that’s the Nats election campaign right there.

            • Bearded Git 4.1.2.1.1.2
              25 August 2014 at 9:59 am

              I’m dreaming of NZF 4.8, Colonservatives 4.8, ACT 1.5 with Goldsmith taking Epsom.

    • phillip ure 4.2
      25 August 2014 at 8:33 am

      yep..he’s got u well and truly suckered in…eh..?

      ..have you forgotten how the last time that peers went with national..

      ..polling afterwards showed some 70% of those who had voted for him..

      ..had done so..because of their fervent belief..going on his attacks on national etc.. that he wd go with labour..

      ..were you one of them then..?

      ..peters has run this con before..he knows how well it works..and what to say to make it work..

      ..how to suck in the gullible..

      ..fool you twice..more fool you…eh..?

      • Bearded Git 4.2.1
        25 August 2014 at 9:10 am

        Anyone from the Left who votes for Peters needs their head examined.

        But Phillip you say Peters will go with Key. I think he will go with Cunliffe.

        A small wager,say a bottle of our fine Central Otago Pinot Noir, on this?

        • phillip ure 4.2.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 9:15 am

          i don’t use alcohol b.g…

          ..but a bag of stinking-heads vs. a bottle of plonk..

          ..i’d be up for that bet..

          ..(if you don’t know where/how to get it..just ask the next teenager you see..

          ..they’ll be able to point you in the right direction..eh..?..)

          • Bearded Git 4.2.1.1.1
            25 August 2014 at 9:22 am

            Ha ha. Sorry I don’t use the heads any more, so we will leave it as a gentleman’s bet.

            I will vote Green, but it’s tricky as there are elements of Labour and IMP policies that I would prefer. For instance Labour’s using Kiwisaver to control interest rates and exchange rates, and IMP’s focus on poverty.

            • phillip ure 4.2.1.1.1.1
              25 August 2014 at 9:36 am

              it is the internet/mana focuses on the seemingly so different/disparate areas of ending poverty and economic-innovation/transition that draw me to them..

              ..and for those of a progressive bent it must be clear that the better the result for both internet/mana and the greens..

              ..the more the chances of them being able to demonstrate to labour..

              ..the mandate for those poverty-ending etc policies..

              ..and a ‘left’-coalition containing peters..i see more and more as being a trainwreck..

              ..especially in the area of getting any real progressive polices enacted..

              ..it will likely just limp along..doing not very much..

              ..and liable to be thrown out of office after just one term..

              ..whereas a lab/grn/int/mana govt..

              ..wd see some real ‘progress’ being made..

              ..to me..all that couldn’t be clearer..

              • swordfish …
                25 August 2014 at 10:12 am

                @ Phillip Ure (9:36am comment) (damn reply button’s gone AWOL)

                And yet I’d argue that the only chance of there actually being a Left Government after this Election is with Winnie’s support. Unfortunate – deeply unfortunate – but true. The Left Bloc just aint gonna make it by itself. And no amount of Pollyanna wishful thinking will change that fact.

                I agree, though, that on balance he’s a little more likely to go with Key. But nothing cut and dried as yet.

                • phillip ure …
                  25 August 2014 at 10:26 am

                  @ swordfish..

                  ..at the launch yesterday..and i presume going on internal-polling as he was so precise..dotcom said 7.8% wd be the election-outcome..

                  ..(i have for some time picked just sth of 10%..that from more reading runes/straw-in-the-wind than internal-polling..)

                  ..so my ideal is lab 25-27%..grns 15%..int/mana just sub-ten..

                  ..and there you have it..

                  ..home and hosed…

                  ..and eminently do-able..

                  • phillip ure …
                    25 August 2014 at 3:23 pm

                    @ swordfish..

                    ..and don’t forget we still have the greenwald/dotcom spook-dump five days before polling day to look forward to..

                    ..and the fallout for key/national..and to a certain/lesser degree labour..is hard to predict from here..

                    ..but the conclusion can be that it will be good for neither of them..

                    ..and as that shitstorm goes down..there stand int/mana..and the greens..

                    ..promising to clean up all that..and presenting a new future..

                    ..instead of just more of what we have got here..from national..(and to a certain/lesser degree labour..)

                    ..and i can’t see that spook-dump hurting the int.mana and green vote-outcomes..can you..?

        • Chooky 4.2.1.2
          25 August 2014 at 9:26 am

          BG +100 “I think he will go with Labour”….. Winnie worked very well with Helen Clark….and once upon a time he was way to the Left of both Labour and National….Winnie would destroy himself for posterity if he went with the NACTS this time

          • yeshe 4.2.1.2.1
            25 August 2014 at 2:55 pm

            and that awful time he went with National and we all got so mad at him ( what year ?) ? Turns out, and it’s verified, that Jim Anderton refused to work with him in any coalition deal — Winston had absolutely no option but to turn to National or leave us with no government at all.

            Just my two cents worth ..

            • yeshe 4.2.1.2.1.1
              25 August 2014 at 2:58 pm

              this was supposed to a reply to Chooky .. can’t work out what;s happening today and LPrent said he maybe couldn’t fix it from his laptop … Sudoku on The Standard !!

            • Kiwiri 4.2.1.2.1.2
              25 August 2014 at 3:08 pm

              Interesting.
              I’d be keen to read a link to that.

            • Chooky 4.2.1.2.1.3
              25 August 2014 at 3:42 pm

              @ yeshe ……no Jim Anderton refused to work with Labour in any coalition deal

              ( remember Anderton was mad with Rogernomics and Labour…the Alliance was out to destroy Labour , even although his friend Helen Clark was leading Labour at the time?)

              …and Winnie had no choice but to go with National because a Labour coalition govt without the Alliance in just didnt have the numbers. ..

              Winnie was faced with the option of a new Election being called , where he may have had a backlash, or of going into coalition with National and seeing what he could get out of it…his bottom line was no asset sales

              …In the end Winnie (despite choosing to go with National) brought down the National govt over more proposed privitisation of state assets

              the NACTS have never for given him….and still want him destroyed …they also succeeded when they conducted a year long vendetta over the funding by Owen Glen

      • Man in a Barrel 4.2.2
        25 August 2014 at 10:04 am

        …

        This is the problem uncommitted voters such as myself face. I don’t trust either ‘main’ party with a majority in Parliament. “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

        I’ve a lot of time for Winnie going right back to the Winebox, and IMHO a Labour or a National Government forced to deal with NZF as a strong coalition partner is probably going to be the most honest Government we could hope for at the present time. I was even considering giving my party vote to NZF on this occasion but unless Peters comes right out and declares that NZF would not go into Government with a National Party still including proven sleaze-balls like Key, Collins, Brownlee et all I can’t risk voting for it.

        • Chooky 4.2.2.1
          25 August 2014 at 11:33 am

          +100 man in barrel….and for your previous comments on 13.1.2.3

          (btw… there is something wrong with the reply functions and also if one wants to start a new topic)

        • Kiwiri 4.2.2.2
          25 August 2014 at 3:06 pm

          unless Peters comes right out and declares that NZF would not go into Government with a National Party still including proven sleaze-balls like Key, Collins, Brownlee et all I can’t risk voting for it

          +1

  5. phillip ure 5
    25 August 2014 at 8:27 am

    for moderator..f.y.i..

    ..the reply-function is not working..

  6. TheContrarian 6
    25 August 2014 at 8:27 am

    Tama Iti standing for The Maori Party. Could be quite the vote winner

    • Rosie 6.1
      25 August 2014 at 8:36 am

      It’s Tame.

      And yes, he’s very influential, carries a huge amount of mana and might just revive a dying coalition partner. Damn.

      Not sure where he’s standing as yet.

      • TheContrarian 6.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 8:37 am

        His influence however might swing the Maori Party away from the Nat’s however. I can’t see Iti working with National

        • Rosie 6.1.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 8:55 am

          I heard on rnz this morning that he wanted to join the Maori Party as they are only party working with Government to benefit Maori. (my paraphrasing). I was quite surprised to hear it as his world view doesn’t align with the Right.

          I recall that when the Maori Party have been criticised for being sell outs they have said in their defence that is was “better to be at the table, than on the floor getting the crumbs”, meaning they were willing to compromise their own values in order to progress their agenda. For them it was purely a matter of practicalities. I wonder if this is simply how Tame Iti see’s it too.

        • Colonial Viper 6.1.1.2
          26 August 2014 at 1:27 am

          I can’t see Iti working with National

          Huh? Iti has been working closely with Chris Finlayson, and with National.

      • ianmac 6.1.2
        25 August 2014 at 9:01 am

        Not standing in an electorate – just the List.

    • Chooky 6.2
      25 August 2014 at 8:51 am

      that is a great pity …Tama Iti should be standing for Mana…the Maori Party are sellouts and have no mana

    • millsy 6.3
      25 August 2014 at 9:37 pm

      The goal of the Maori Party is to create a new aristocratic layer of tribal bearaucrats who will have their “people” under their control through iwi-owned state housing and charter schools.

  7. Pete 7
    25 August 2014 at 8:39 am

    Key was interesting on Morning Report today. One mention of Judith Collins and he GTFO. That’s going to be a festering wound for a while.

  8. Rosie 8
    25 August 2014 at 8:48 am

    Apologies if this has already been discussed. No surprises but horrifying all the same, it happens that Patrick Gower is in Slater’s contacts in his phone. (Dirty Politics, Nicky Hager) Is this not a real worry that a “journalist” is happy to compromise his credibility by being connected with such a despicable person?

    As we know, (and several Standardista’s have made formal complaints about it) Gower has been on a mission to destroy Cunliffe for a long time. Are tv3 willing puppets for Slater’s agenda? How can the connections and influences be investigated?

    • David H 8.1
      25 August 2014 at 10:30 am

      Come Rosie you should know by now that Patrick (I make shit up) Gower is a right wing stooge. That became very clear, when he attacked Cunliffe at the Labour Conference about mounting a challenge to Shearer. Hence I take everything he says with a huge pinch of salt.

      • Rosie 8.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 11:43 am

        Exactly David, that’s why he needs to be called out on it – and all the others in the contacts in Slaters phone.

        They need to do the decent thing, it’s not too late, and say they will disassociate themselves from him, but they never will because such an admission of association shows them up as having a questionable moral compass all along.

        • Olwyn 8.1.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 12:43 pm

          It looks to me as if, for political journalists, Slater has for some time been the prime source of information – I wouldn’t be surprised if most of them have his number. Basically, to get copy you have to be in the information loop, and the inner circle around Slater appear to largely control that loop.

        • David H 8.1.1.2
          25 August 2014 at 2:41 pm

          Do the decent thing? Why that concept is totally alien to them.

    • TheContrarian 8.2
      25 August 2014 at 10:58 am

      I wouldn’t be surprised if Whale Oil had a whole load of journalists telephone numbers

      • Puddleglum 8.2.1
        25 August 2014 at 2:48 pm

        Indeed, presumably because they were well aware that he was getting leaks and considerable ‘help’ from inside the PM’s office and from Judith Collins.

    • Blue 8.3
      25 August 2014 at 11:18 am

      One of the things you learn from the Whaledump is that there are plenty of MSM people circling Slater likes flies around shit.

      None of them seem to have any scruples about it.

  9. One Anonymous Bloke 9
    25 August 2014 at 9:23 am

    David Cunliffe:
    Labour believes in a clean, transparent political system. The revelations in Mr Hager’s book raise serious and disturbing questions about how the National Party has been conducting politics. The way to clean up the system is to change the government. Party vote Labour.

    On Stuff live chat.

    What a rubbish answer. No Royal Commission of Inquiry? No Serious Fraud Office probe?

    • Chooky 9.1
      25 August 2014 at 9:39 am

      ‘Why the Secret Intelligence Service feeding Cameron Slater information is so very, very, very serious’

      By Martyn Bradbury / August 25, 2014

      “Folks, it doesn’t matter if you are Right or Left, the issue of the Secret Intelligence Service being forced to feed a far right hate speech merchant like Cameron Slater with sensitive information is an ‘us’ issue…

      The SIS are ‘deep State’. We ‘trust’ in them to use the vast powers they have for the protection of NZ. I think we can all see, regardless of how we vote, that getting them to release information to a blogger with the ethical standards of a drug cartel are well outside what is acceptable.

      We know that the guidelines for the release of such information from the SIS requires consultation between Key, Ede and Eagleson for several days. The PM has stated in his video answer that he was briefed, he has since claimed that when he said “I was briefed’ he means something completely different, and that when public servants Tucker and Wakem both said he was briefed, they also meant something completely different.

      So that’s 3 people saying the same thing but all meaning something completely different, and this is the tissue thin defence being erected to shrug off handing Cameron Slater of all people information sensitive within one of our spy agencies?

      This just isn’t fucking good enough. This defence of “when I say me and I, I actually mean some faceless and anonymous ‘office’ where blame and responsibility can’t actually be established” isn’t a defence, it’s a declaration of incompetence that if true simply means all of them, the whole office, needs to go.

      The Prime Minister is either incompetent or lying through his front teeth. Neither of which helps explain why someone as toxic as Slater was given access to SIS information.
      Using the state spy apparatus to embarrass and smear political opponents is a dark and frighteningly dangerous moment in our political history, it can’t just be shrugged off with ‘my office was briefed’ as an answer.

      Such casual fascism must be challenged.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 9.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 10:02 am

        The Prime Minister is neither incompetent nor lying through his teeth. He is brazenly corrupt and openly challenging us to prove it, confident that we cannot.

        • Minarch 9.1.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 10:54 am

          +1 to this

          He strikes me like a successful mugger..

          and now hes giving the county a big fat

          “F**k you New Zealand, Ive all ready beaten you senseless, now im going to rifle you pockets and take all your shit”

    • anker 9.2
      25 August 2014 at 10:36 am

      I have to agree OAB. I think there needs to be a Royal Commission of Enquiry.

      After Election as a Labour Party member, I will be in touch with him/them once he is (hopefully) PM.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 9.2.1
        25 August 2014 at 10:41 am

        There needs to be something. If Blip is correct Cheryl Gwen and Ben Keith have serious conflicts of interest.

        • anker 9.2.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 2:06 pm

          OAB………..I have a great deal of confidence if Cunliffe is PM there will be a Royal Commission.

      • Rosie 9.2.2
        25 August 2014 at 11:50 am

        Oh hi anker. Reply to your helpful and kind offer on Yesterdays Open Mike. Sorry for the lateness.

        • anker 9.2.2.1
          25 August 2014 at 2:08 pm

          Rosie @8.2.2

          Thanks I will check it out. We are not in your electorate, doing work for Central, but husband has some time now and particularly dislikes Dunne!

          BTW I would vote for that cute baby if he or she was standing. Showing pics of the baby must increase Ginny’s chances.

          • Rosie 9.2.2.1.1
            25 August 2014 at 2:52 pm

            Thanks anker. We do have people from outside the electorate leafleting, as it’s in everyone’s interests that Dunne goes! We welcome anyone who can help out in any way 🙂

            And yes, baby Eliza is adorbz. It seems Ginny has put a lot of effort into meeting parents and women, very family focused, which is entirely appropriate for such a family orientated area. She would be a huge asset to Ohariu if she were the MP.

      • Draco T Bastard 9.2.3
        25 August 2014 at 12:36 pm

        I think there needs to be a Royal Commission of Enquiry.

        And heads need to roll.

    • Puddleglum 9.3
      25 August 2014 at 2:52 pm

      Whether or not it is a “rubbish answer” depends upon what follows from a “change in government” that will lead to cleaning up the system.

      A prerequisite to the implementation of any processes to ‘clean things up’ may well be a change in government because the present government (a) is compromised and has a conflict of interest in investigating the allegations and (b) the PM has already shown a distinct lack of interest in following any of this up.

  10. greywarbler 10
    25 August 2014 at 9:31 am

    I’m reposting this so it gets ‘noticed’. Put it on late last night and have to resurrect it I think. This Nicky Hager event is this Thursday if you are in Auckland and have time.

    PUBLIC NOTICE
    Nicky Hagar [Hager] – Auckland Public Meeting
    A public meeting meeting with Jesson Prize winner Nicky Hagar will be held
    Wednesday 27th August, 7.30pm,
    at the Mt Eden War Memorial Hall (Cnr Dominion Rd & Balmoral Rd).
    Chaired by Sir Edmund Thomas
    Hosted by the Human Rights Foundation & Equal Justice Project.

    Also here is link to Nicky Hager’s 2012 text http://www.brucejesson.com/?p=394#comment-305
    for his lecture to Bruce Jesson Foundation audience
    and Sir Edmund Thomas 2013 lecture http://www.brucejesson.com/?p=475.

  11. Puckish Rogue 11
    25 August 2014 at 10:20 am

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10418392/Tame-Iti-to-stand-for-Maori-Party

    • Well thats surprise

    Dotcom denies he’s the hacker behind Dirty Politics, but at the party’s campaign launch today said this.

    “I hacked our German credit rating system and put our Prime Minister’s credit rating to zero because I didn’t like the guy,” said Dotcom. “You have all figured by now there’s another Prime Minister I don’t like.”

    But he didn’t want to talk about his comments afterwards.

    • Thats not a big surprise

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11313619

    • Value for money?
    • phillip ure 11.1
      25 August 2014 at 10:39 am

      morning talking-points/briefing a bit late this morn..there..p.r..?

      ..and do try a bit harder to ‘keep up’..eh..?

      ..you are so far off the mark..you aren’t even in the stadium..

    • tricledrown 11.2
      25 August 2014 at 10:48 am

      John Key will do another 3 way hand shake with the Maori Party!

      • Puckish Rogue 11.2.1
        25 August 2014 at 12:24 pm

        Heres the thing, I’m ok with National in power with anyone (Conservatives last) I’m also ok with Labour in power as long the GIMPs are out so basically Labour/NZFirst in power is ok by me (not my first choice of course but the best of a bad situation)

    • tricledrown 11.3
      25 August 2014 at 11:01 am

      PR he is just baiting you guys winding you up !
      Giving you something to hold onto!
      Whaledump is playing with the Corruptors of our democracy letting them think they have got away with their treasonous crime and exposing the lengths these corrupt cronies will go to to usurp democratic processes in our country!
      The more Key Collins and Slater Deny the Worse they look!

    • Draco T Bastard 11.4
      25 August 2014 at 12:40 pm

      They were told before hand that KDC wouldn’t be giving interviews so WTF did they go in there pestering for interviews? The whole thing comes across as the MSM looking for a distraction from the IMP campaign launch. Trying hard not to cover the news.

  12. joe90 12
    25 August 2014 at 10:34 am

    The facade is cracking.

    I no longer respect John Key. Not even a bit. And that’s why John Key’s problem is Waikato voters’ dilemma.

    National’s election strategy has long depended on Key’s immense popularity. That’s why his face is on every billboard just as big as your local candidate’s. The visual message is compelling. You’re voting for Key, you see. The nice man. The smiler. The good bloke, the one you’d drink a beer with, and all the usual banalities that I’m so sick of and which should be, by now, unmasked as the untruths they’ve always been..

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/opinion/10420033/PMs-nice-guy-image-gone-forever

  13. Ad 13
    25 August 2014 at 10:35 am

    Cunliffe and Twyford seriously need to relaunch their housing policy this week. Got to gain back the momentum on housing fast.

    • Colonial Viper 13.1
      26 August 2014 at 1:32 am

      Relaunch – and up the ante.

      And what is all this rubbish about cutting back on Labour commitments to spending. Spending needs to go up, not down.

  15. Man in a Barrel 15
    25 August 2014 at 11:03 am

    …

    This might stir a few hearts amongst Standard readers:

    https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/08/the-good-kings-return

    • Bill 15.1
      25 August 2014 at 2:14 pm

      Who says workers are thick, unable to organise and need to be led?

      An old IWW cartoon came to mind when reading the link where there are workers gathered outside two doors. One is marked “union” and the other marked “boss”. The question the workers are asking among themselves is “Which one do we negotiate with first?”

  16. Rosie 16
    25 August 2014 at 11:58 am

    How did I miss this brilliant song from 2011?

    John Key Pack Your Things by Trillion:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiPbw_q5uUA

    And how about this brand new gem! DJ Pups with “At the end of the day”, Guyon Espiners legendary interview with John Key last Monday sampled into a dance track. Ha! Didn’t I say someone needed to do that!

    https://soundcloud.com/dj-pups/at-the-end-of-the-day-bassnectar-version

    Both songs getting airplay on Radio Active, one of the stations that was sent a warning from the electoral commission about playing Planet Key by Darren Watson.

  17. anker 17
    25 August 2014 at 12:26 pm

    A COPY OF THE DRAFT LETTER I HAVE WRITTEN TO TVNZ BELOW…………….OTHERS MAY WANT TO DO THE SAME. HO

    RE: Mike Hoskings moderating the Leaders Debates.

    I wrote to you about this issue on 24 July. To date I have received no response. This is unacceptable.

    This needs a bit of editing, but below is my draft letter to TVNZ re Mike Hosking moderating.
    Would encourage others to do same

    “Mike Hoskings moderating the leaders debates is unacceptable and frankly a disgraceful display of our tax payer funded broadcaster showing unacceptable levels of bias.

    You will be aware of the recent disclosures in Nicky Hager’s book, Dirty Politics, clearly illustrating the links between Cameron Slater and the National Party, that goes to the highest level, the Prime Minister in running on-going smears against the past Labour Leader, Phill Goff. Hager also produces strong evidence of Slater being involved in the attempt to smear David Cunliffe over the Dong Liu letter

    Mike Hoskings recently hosted an item on 7 Sharpe about Cameron Slater. This item is mentioned in Dirty Politics (refer page 134 – 5). To quote from the book “the item ended with the host Mike Hoskings saying (about Slater) “Love it”. Hosking adds,” I do note he (Slater) quotes from my editorials quite a lot, so clearly a man of taste”. Clearly Mike Hoskings, Cameron Slater and the Prime Minister (who is in contact with Slater regularly, are aligned in their (right wing) political beliefs.

    I am requesting that you replace Mr Hoskings as mediator on the Leaders debate, if you havenot already done so given the relevations in Dirty Politics. I suggest someone who appears less biased (possibly Rachel Smalley). Please advise me as soon as you have done this.”

    • Puckish Rogue 17.1
      25 August 2014 at 12:34 pm

      Wah wah wah, how about you quit yer whining and see how the debate plays out?

      • adam 17.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 5:22 pm

        PR pathetic again. Attack the man not the ball.

        If Hoskings as half way decent we’d give him a chance, but again and again he has proven he is a twit. An ideological racist tool.

        But please PR keep living in lala land – it suits you.

    • Chooky 17.2
      25 August 2014 at 3:11 pm

      @ anker +100….That is a very good letter.!..i would like to protest and use it too…Kim Hill would be far better than the shallow , NACT biased , Slater friend, ‘fruit and vege reporter’ Mike Hoskings….a choice for political chair which is a disgrace to TVNZ editorial and management! ( there must be a review and cleanout after Labour/Left wins the Election)

      Is there any way it could be a petition /form letter ?…(so i just have to sign it and press a button)?

      …if not , what is the address to write to ….and I will use your letter as a basis

  18. yeshe 18
    25 August 2014 at 1:06 pm

    testing .. my post keeps defaulting to a #17 !!

    • yeshe 18.1
      25 August 2014 at 1:08 pm

      LPrent …problems ? have tried six or seven times to post re TPPA … will not let me post. It defaults to this #17 and the replies below do not belong to my post which I have deleted and replaced with the test#117 above. Thx !

      • lprent 18.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 1:31 pm

        It happens after a reply is posted to a comment that is deleted. If I give people long edit times and include an ability to delete, then there is a structural issue if they delete as someone is adding.

        There is a process that runs about every 20 minutes to clean them up the unparented comments that get left over. Obviously not running at present.

        I don’t think that I have the tools to fix this remotely on this laptop. Umm I downloading them.

  19. Minarch 19
    25 August 2014 at 1:10 pm

    Wonder how long until we see this here in NZ ?

    ‘Panic Selling’ In London Drives Fear That The UK Housing Bubble Is About To Burst

    UK homeowners start to panic sell in the face of house price uncertainty

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/11015301/UK-homeowners-start-to-panic-sell-in-the-face-of-house-price-uncertainty.html

    http://www.businessinsider.com.au/panic-selling-in-london-and-uk-housing-bubble-2014-8

  20. Lanthanide 20
    25 August 2014 at 1:14 pm

    Looks like you might have been right after all, Karol, re: National tax-cuts before the election: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10421122/Nationals-tax-cut-mixed-message

  21. crocodill 21
    25 August 2014 at 1:46 pm

    Pam Corkery popping her cork at the IMP launch deserves a gold star. Sure it wasn’t helpful, but at least it was honest. Good to see she has mellowed with age. Can’t say the same for KDC, though. He gets Worst Timing Ever Award for getting up on stage and admitting to personal hacking vendettas. In the absence of IMP leadership making sure he never speaks publicly again until after the election, they could track down Jamie McDonald, Senior Press Officer (The Crossest Man in Scotland) and have him discuss the basics with him.

  22. joe90 22
    25 August 2014 at 2:25 pm

    David Fisher: My history with Cameron Slater.

    .
    But when I started writing stories on issues which went against Slater’s interests, I became someone he wanted to “smash”. At that point, I was away from the tent and out in the wilderness.

    He launched a personal assault with what I believed were threats of violence and created an atmosphere in which I was personally and professionally denigrated. Those who post comments on his website made awful slurs. It is as horrible an online environment as you will find anywhere.

    Among the slurs were claims my behaviour showed I was suffering withdrawal symptoms associated with alcohol and drug addiction. On one occasion, when I rang a minister’s spouse for comment on an issue he was involved in, he ranted at me that I was “a drug addict” and would not talk to me. The only place such an idea had been floated was on Slater’s Twitter feed.

    In almost two years, he has published about 120 posts in which I am featured. Some are extremely unpleasant. I am called a “shill” in the context of being a corrupt reporter.

    Slater has invented nicknames for me. He called me “Gurnard”, then sent me pictures of dead “Gurnard”. He called me “Tainted” in relation to my coverage of the Kim Dotcom affair.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11313962

    • Karen 22.1
      25 August 2014 at 2:41 pm

      This article by David Fisher is very enlightening and hopefully will appear in the print section of the Herald and not just online. Interesting that Fisher says that John Key kept Slater at arms length until April 2012. Did Key just get careless or had he realised he needed Slater’s support and that would only happen if he fed Slater’s ego with much closer contact?

    • Chooky 22.2
      25 August 2014 at 2:47 pm

      @ joe90 …that article by David Fisher is REALLY SHOCKING!

      …and Slater won the Canon journalist award?…given to Slater by the judge Deborah Cone-Hill?( who was winner for a BNZ creative fiction writing award) …and Slater has the support of the Israeli Embassy (Slater is a “spiritual person”?)…. and Slater was invited to Israel? ( for what?)…and Slater was a good friend of John Key’s ?( see the lovely smiling photos, along with David Farrer’s smiling visage)…and Slater had many friends including Cactus Kate ( who is also a shocker)

      David Fisher is a brave man!

      • ianmac 22.2.1
        25 August 2014 at 3:12 pm

        David Fisher stands above many journalists. He is fair and evenhanded and reports facts rather than wild Paddy type fantasies. Sent an email to David last week telling him of my respect for his work. (He replied to acknowledge.)

    • MrSmith 22.3
      25 August 2014 at 5:27 pm

      Interesting listening to Michele Vogue attack David Fisher on Radionz this afternoon, Michele and Co won’t be very happy with ‘their paper’ at the moment going with the whaledump scoop etc and basically doing their job, Michele may be a little disappointed at finding her friends are only fair weather ones I guess, get over it Shell it’s only business baby!

      • Puddleglum 22.3.1
        25 August 2014 at 6:11 pm

        Yes, she just couldn’t resist engaging in a bit of dirty politics herself. She’s basically implied Fisher’s involvement in the book on no evidence other than a comment apparently on The Nation to the effect of “as we said in the Hager book”.

        I haven’t found the clip but can imagine it may have been a bit of ‘mishearing’ on Boag’s part. Less a Freudian slip from Fisher than a case of hearing what she wanted to hear from Boag. (e.g., perhaps mishearing “as was said in the Hager book”.)

        • Anne 22.3.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 6:21 pm

          Turned it off as soon as I heard Lady Boag was on the show. Guessed what was coming. It’s part of the panic reaction to [Hager’s] book. We can expect all manner of wild accusations from the “hard right” through to election day.

          Btw, interesting that she and Brian Edwards are no longer appearing together on that programme.

    • Pascals bookie 22.4
      25 August 2014 at 5:34 pm

      Also this one from the SST;

      http://t.co/qNUAU5BV8K

      Although some of the material has been covered in Dirty Politics, significant chunks refer to matters yet to be reported. Hager concluded a nexus existed between Slater, Graham and Food and Grocery Council chief executive Katherine Rich, that was used to surreptitiously attack opponents of corporate members of the council. New evidence shows:

      An email from Slater in January 2014 in which the blogger wrote “December hits coin” and invoiced Facilitate Communication $6555.

      A series of emails the same month from Graham to Slater, headed “Hit” and sometimes including “KR,” including draft posts savagely critical of council members’ commercial rivals or political opponents. Shortly afterwards Slater posted articles – nearly identical to Graham’s draft – on Whale Oil.

      An unreported email exchange between Graham, Slater and Rich discussing the political leanings of the Generation Zero climate-change lobby group, concluding with Graham saying: “That’s our job. They’re on the target list.”

      Countdown,the subject of more than a dozen critical blog postsin the months following the hack, was concerned but guarded when approached for comment. Following a wave of negative publicity earlier this year, the supermarket giant is now the subject of a Commerce Commission investigation into its business practices.

      Countdown managing director Dave Chambers said of the hacked emails: “If these claims are correct this is not only disappointing but very disturbing given the subsequent impact on our business.”

      • Murray Olsen 22.4.1
        26 August 2014 at 9:06 pm

        I wonder if this explains why Sealord Jones was so happy to begin a campaign against Countdown?

  23. yeshe 23
    25 August 2014 at 2:59 pm

    (Been trying to post this all day .. apologies in advance if it intrudes somewhere by accident !)

    The TPPA is one of the biggest battles we will ever need to win imho. Please take some moments to read this and follow through if you can .. we are literally done for otherwise; we will be 100% owned by US corporates ( well, more than we are now even!) This is the dirtiest of politics.

    http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2af728ed394d2e3c92f383cd5&id=b359144860&e=0663fc3518

    • Kiwiri 23.1
      25 August 2014 at 5:04 pm

      Take heart.

      Laila Harre has committed to the Good Cause as she promised yesterday, saying:

      “I tell you that after Sep 20, your work will not stop because everyone in this hall, led by Internet Mana, and with communities around the country, will be launching a campaign on the 21st of Sep to stop the TPPA”

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f19D0jnM-N4

      at 4:20 – 4:43

      • yeshe 23.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 7:33 pm

        @Kiwiri .. thx for your post on Laila Harre and TPPA … thank goodness !

        • Tautoko Viper 23.1.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 10:04 pm

          Let’s hope there is a good showing at this march.

          “Join It’s Our Future at the ‘March against the Government” in Auckland, 30 August, 1pm, Aotea Square. Bring your placards and voices to tell the government: No TPPA – No Way!”

          TPPA Trans Pacific Partnership is not a free trade agreement.
          It is a signing over of part of our sovereignty to large corporations.
          We cannot allow this to happen.
          I want to hear the Labour party saying that they will not commit to any agreement which includes an investor-state dispute settlement system. ISDS
          Read the following- it will make your hair stand on end. http://www.itsourfuture.org.nz/th_gallery/investor-state-dispute-settlement-isds/
          ISDS stands for INSIDIOUS!!

          • Kiwiri 23.1.1.1.1
            25 August 2014 at 10:12 pm

            Top lawyers urge the rejection of ISDS in an open letter:

            http://tpplegal.wordpress.com/open-letter/

          • Kiwiri 23.1.1.1.2
            26 August 2014 at 10:30 am

            Hi Tautoko Viper, yeshe and all

            There are events taking place at the same time in other centres (looks like more info posted on Facebook):

            Wellington
            Saturday 30 August, 1pm, Te Papa Museum (55 Cable Street, Wellington)

            Christchurch
            Saturday 30 August, 1pm, Hagley Park (Corner of Riccarton Road & Deans Avenue, Christchurch City)

            Dunedin
            Saturday 30 August, 1pm, The Octagon (Dunedin)

  24. phillip ure 24
    25 August 2014 at 3:11 pm

    on nat-rad there was a discussion about our national anthem..

    ..and a txtr has suggested ‘anchor me’ at as a new anthem..

    ..i think that is a great idea..

    ..if only bcause how cool wd it be to have a national anthem that citizens of other countries wd like to sing/grove along to..?

    ..instead of the neo-militaristic/pompous bullshit most are..

    .and if not ‘anchor me’..(which would be perfectly adequate..)..how about an online ballot to draw up a shortlist of contenders..and then a final vote..?..

    ..i wd like to nominate the underdogs:..’sitting in the rain’..

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoxAc7gXtT0

    ..(i know john mayall wrote it..but i’m sure a deal cd be done with him..)

    imagine footage of our sports-people/officials etc..at international forums/w.h.y..

    ..grooving along to what wd be the coolest-national-anthem-in-the-world..

    (f.y.i…moderator..i attempted to post this at the end of the thread..it ended up here..)

  25. Draco T Bastard 25
    25 August 2014 at 3:25 pm

    What do we do when automation takes all the jobs?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pq-S557XQU&feature=share

    • phillip ure 25.1
      25 August 2014 at 3:46 pm

      @ draco..maybe we cd return to what i view as an almost idyllic time..

      ..and this was the life of the early european settlers in northern nsw…

      ..they were all sustained by the potato-economy..they all grew potatoes..

      ..and the cycle of the potato..namely plant…then go back and dig up..

      ..some time later..

      ..meant that as a society..they had an inordinate amount of spare time..

      ..and what grew up around that was a vibrant social life..involving much partying/sports-tournaments..and all things cultural..

      ..the arrival of sheep and the like..ended that idyll..

      ..but it has been done before..

      ..and as long as people are fed and housed..and able to live a life..(a universal basic income of sorts..?..perchance..?

      ..what’s to be afraid of..?

      ..life is meant to be lived..not to be a fucken wage-slave..

      .to an ever-increasing age..

      ..bring on the automation..!

      ..and of course society will have to work differently than it does now..

      ..but that is not insurmountable..

  26. ianmac 26
    25 August 2014 at 4:53 pm

    Just heard that delightful Michele Boag attack David Fisher on the Panel. She said that he was a left wing non journalist who only looked at the faults in the Right wing.
    The she made a huge leap. She says that on the Nation David said in relation to Nicky Hager’s book that “We wrote…!” Aha. She reckons David was involved in the writing of the book. “We.”
    There was no one to balance her spite. Not Jim. Not Duncan ??
    Smear anyone?

    • Karen 26.1
      25 August 2014 at 5:03 pm

      I think Michelle claimed David Fisher used the words “What we said in the Hager book…” and then goes onto to infer that because Fisher has written about Dotcom then that means Dotcom is involved in the material in Hager’s book. Crazy stuff.
      I haven’t had time to review the Nation interview but my suspicion is that Fisher said “What we see…”
      I suspect Boag is trying to blacken David Fisher’s name after his piece today in the Herald today. Hopefully he will take this up with Radio NZ.

  27. North 27
    25 August 2014 at 5:00 pm

    Where’s Ms Boag ? She’s on Mora’s panel on RNZ now and the unctuous Mora has made it a benefit for her and the National Party the whole last hour. Including shutting down a guy from Demographia ready to give some solid stuff about the puffery of National’s housing policy. Sickmaking.

    • phillip ure 27.1
      25 August 2014 at 5:55 pm

      @ north..comment 26..

      ..yep..!..it was particularly gag-inducing..

      ..when she started doing her white-persons’-burden number pontifications/handwringings on the woes in the middle east..

      ..i was outta there..off to the park with the dogs..

      ..and yep..!..mora just lets her run..no matter how batshit-loony it gets..

  28. joe90 28
    25 August 2014 at 5:14 pm

    Yet the whack jobs insist that generating electricity using nuclear fission is a safe and viable alternative.

    .

    Three and a half years after the most devastating nuclear accident in a generation, Fukushima Daiichi is still in crisis. Some 6,000 workers, somehow going about their jobs despite the suffocating gear they must wear for hours at a time, struggle to contain the damage. So much radiation still pulses inside the crippled reactor cores that no one has been able to get close enough to survey the full extent of the destruction. Every 2½ days, workers deploy a new giant storage tank to house radioactive water contaminated after passing through the damaged reactors. We wander past a forest of some 1,300 of these tanks, each filled with 1,000 tons of toxic water, some of which was used to cool the reactors.

    http://time.com/worlds-most-dangerous-room/

  29. logie97 29
    25 August 2014 at 5:14 pm

    Jim Mora’s panel on RNZ

    Time to start a movement to get Bryan Gould on there as a regular guest?

  30. Paul 30
    25 August 2014 at 6:02 pm

    Six years of mismanagement ….. ‘Rock star no more?’
    This is what happens when you don’t have a plan.

    ‘NZ economy could hit the rocks – economists

    Westpac chief economist Dominick Stephens said New Zealand’s recent growth had been fuelled by the Canterbury earthquake rebuild, low interest rates and a surge in net migration, which hit a 10-year high in the year to June.
    ”When the Canterbury rebuild ends people will be quite surprised by the size of the downturn,” he said.
    Stephens said the strong net migration, which has been largely due to fewer New Zealanders moving to Australia and greater numbers returning from across the Tasman, is unlikely to continue at current levels for long.
    ”Australia will one day make a comeback. We are forecasting zero net migration for 2018. And one day interest rates will get big enough to crush the housing market,” he said.
    ”My fear is all three of those things will happen at the same time.”’

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/10421920/NZ-economy-could-hit-the-rocks-economists

  31. Paul 31
    25 August 2014 at 7:43 pm

    The NZ Herald asked its readers their views on the Nats housing policy.
    Seems like the only people who like it are the Nat MPs and their media puppets…..

    Here’s a sample of the most popular comments…

    “So, after years of telling us that there is no housing crisis, here comes National at election time telling us how they can fix the ‘problems’ that exist in the housing market.
    Their solution is laughable. Making a little more credit available will just increase prices. And besides, the top amount you can get – if you meet all their criteria – is $550K. That gets you two-thirds of sod all in the Auckland housing market.
    New ‘starter’ homes at the much-heralded Hobsonville Point development start at $770K.
    Why don’t they just promise to do what Labour is promising – to actually build affordable new homes.
    This policy is a lot of noise with no promise of real results. Fail.”

    “It wont address the issue. It will just push the house prices up, and still be a haven for property speculators. Once again, this government is just tinkering around pretending to do something to address the real issue.”

    “It is a typical answer from a market/growth driven Government. This solution is still avoiding the market driven problem of overvaluation that has caused finance collapse all around the world – of course it is good for banks and merchant bankers – another boost to ponzi economics.”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11313862

  32. Inky 32
    25 August 2014 at 7:48 pm

    Interesting stuff about Cactus Kate — who sounds about as pleasant an individual as Slater — and her motivation for wanting Hager to feel some serious heat from a few Chinese she knows:

    http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/08/new-zealand-prime-minister-john-key-the-whale-oil-blog-and-international-organized-crime.html

  33. Dont worry. Be happy 33
    25 August 2014 at 8:07 pm

    David Fisher is a brave man. Who else stand with him?

    • sockpuppet 33.1
      25 August 2014 at 8:23 pm

      Kim dot com

    • Colonial Viper 33.2
      25 August 2014 at 10:11 pm

      Nah, not brave, simply a man of integrity who refuses to back down to Whaleoil’s threats. Lots of people will stand by him just as they will stand by Hager.

  34. Mark Derby 34
    25 August 2014 at 9:12 pm

    Somewhat surprisingly, it’s Rodney Hide who has supplied by far the best description of Cameron Slater I’ve read so far (and he should know). Hide says Slater is “like a pig in mud”. Damn, that’s spot on.

    • Murray Olsen 34.1
      26 August 2014 at 9:20 pm

      I think that’s very unkind to pigs. They are quite intelligent and can be trained. One of my friends had a Captain Cooker that he’d raised from a piglet after shooting its mum 🙁 It would do anything most dogs do, except for not being very good at jumping or climbing over things. It guarded his section, often bailing up the poaka at the gate. He went off it a bit after it moved a concrete slab and ate the pound of heads he’d hidden underneath it, but it survived that. In the end it started killing his neighbour’s chooks and he turned it into roast pork 🙁

  35. the voter 35
    26 August 2014 at 6:04 pm

    The latest attack on John Key by a contemporary musician is what he deserves, any one in public office who has been found to have spent the country’s money and time promoting the shite that has turned up in Hager’s book has laid himself open for all that comes his way and he is not entitled to any more legal protection than the rest of us
    He, who thinks he can do what hes done over the years he has been in politics in this country deserves to be held up in public by whatever the public feel individually or collectively that is democracy

    ‘

  36. appleboy 36
    26 August 2014 at 9:20 pm

    One thing I’d love to see put to Key:

    Cameron Slater was roundly condemned by his hateful comments about a youth being “feral”, and the world was better off him,. “Dirty Politics” reveals Slater’s description of a call you made referring to the dead boy’s mother as being a woman who screamed at you at Pike meetings. You told the public today you rang Slater at this time just to say ‘” recognised her”.

    Yeah fucking right. You total bare faced liar! Do you think for one moment ANYONE would believe you rang Slater at this time just to say ‘I know here” that and nothing else.

    What sort of PM rings Slater at any time let alone this time. There’s no reason to believe Slater’s reporting of the essence of your call was anything but accurate.

    What a deceitful horrid man you are John Key. My god what you must be like behind the bullshit image scares me.

    • RedLogix 36.1
      26 August 2014 at 9:37 pm

      You told the public today you rang Slater at this time just to say ‘” recognised her”.

      Does anyone have a link or reference to Key making this statement today?

      I’m strongly in agreement with the sentiments above; that this incident alone – regardless of what Key actually said to Slater in that conversation – should be the cause of Key’s resignation at 8:30am tommorrow morning.

      It’s completely unconscionable on every level.

      • Ergo Robertina 36.1.1
        26 August 2014 at 9:57 pm

        http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/pike-families-dissatisfied-with-pms-visit-2014082618

        He’s previously confirmed the call, including that he told Slater Jo Hall was at Pike meetings. It’s the one issue on which he’s been citing Hager for support from the day after the story broke, because Hager did not agree with Slater’s characterisation of the phone call.
        I don’t know why it hasn’t had more attention. He’s abused his position in order to give Slater context about the family who had been attacked on the WO blog.

        • RedLogix 36.1.1.1
          26 August 2014 at 10:05 pm

          Thanks ER.

          Yesterday I wrote this.

          The next commenter threw me off the thread a little because I’m not living in NZ at the moment and I’m not up to speed with things. But now it’s clear Key did have a conversation with Slater to support and validate what he had done – it’s game over.

          Think about it. There is absolutely no context in which Key can have made that call and remain Prime Minister. None.

          • Colonial Viper 36.1.1.1.1
            26 August 2014 at 11:01 pm

            And yet our media and commentators remain compliant lapdogs, perhaps going so far as to say that it’s “not a great look” but missing the point that Key remaining as PM finally turns NZ into the South Pacific equivalent of a banana republic.

            • RedLogix 36.1.1.1.1.1
              26 August 2014 at 11:15 pm

              The only thing John Key could have legitimately done over Slater’s actions – was to publicly condemn him and privately insist that his Office, staff and all National Party figures cease all contact with him immediately. Anything less would have been an unacceptable validation and support.

              But what Key actually did was phone Slater personally (remarkable in any context) and pass on more details about Slater’s victim.

              Is the New Zealand media ALL so compromised that they cannot see what is wrong here?

Recent Posts

  • What is the Hardest Sport in the World?
    Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • What is the Most Expensive Sport?
    The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • Pickleball On the Cusp of Olympic Glory
    Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • The Origin and Evolution of Soccer Unveiling the Genius Behind the World’s Most Popular Sport
    Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • How Much to Tint Car Windows A Comprehensive Guide
    Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • Why Does My Car Smell Like Gas? A Comprehensive Guide to Diagnosing and Fixing the Issue
    The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • How to Remove Tree Sap from Car A Comprehensive Guide
    Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • How Much Paint Do You Need to Paint a Car?
    The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • Can You Jump a Car in the Rain? Safety Precautions and Essential Steps
    Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • Can taxpayers be confident PIJF cash was spent wisely?
    Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    8 hours ago

  • EGU2024 – An intense week of joining sessions virtually
    Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
    Skeptical Science
    10 hours ago

  • Submission on “Fast Track Approvals Bill”
    The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    11 hours ago

  • The Case for a Universal Family Benefit
    One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    12 hours ago

  • A who’s who of New Zealand’s dodgiest companies
    Submissions on National's corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law are due today (have you submitted?), and just hours before they close, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has been forced to release the list of companies he invited to apply. I've spent the last hour going through it in an epic thread of bleats, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    14 hours ago

  • On Lee’s watch, Economic Development seems to be stuck on scoring points from promoting sporting e...
    Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    15 hours ago

  • New Zealand has never been closed for business
    1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    15 hours ago

  • Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    18 hours ago

  • Melissa Lee and the media: ending the quest
    Chris Trotter writes –  MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    20 hours ago

  • The Hoon around the week to April 19
    TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    20 hours ago

  • The ‘Humpty Dumpty’ end result of dismantling our environmental protections
    Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    20 hours ago

  • Nicola's Salad Days.
    I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    21 hours ago

  • Study sees climate change baking in 19% lower global income by 2050
    TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    21 hours ago

  • Weekly Roundup 19-April-2024
    It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Simms on some lessons from Texas. AT’s ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    22 hours ago

  • Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  The data is from February this ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    1 day ago

  • Clearing up confusion (or trying to)
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago

  • How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log iPhone Without Computer
    How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
    Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
    Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
    Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 days ago

  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 days ago

  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 days ago

  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 days ago

  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    2 days ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    2 days ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 days ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

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

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    4 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research.   “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-04-19T18:23:29+00:00