With the new fresh water quality standards due out today, I have a very strong feeling that Minister Parker is going to walk it all backwards faster than a moonwalking Michael Jackson.
He will cite our dire economic conditions, and "listening", and "revised", and the need for "flexibility".
He will talk about trust, and progress, and metaphors about pathways.
There may even be extra powers to discipline regional governments for their regulatory failures.
But as Politik noted a few days ago, on behalf of our farmers New Zealand First played hardball, sidelined the Greens, and stared down Parker until he folded like origami.
Dairy NZ and HortNZ and Federated Farmers will moan like a stuck Spanish bull, but privately it will have almost fully neutralised the biggest-ever regulatory threat they've faced.
"Climate Change Minister and Green Party co-leader James Shaw said the reforms were the strongest protections a government has ever put in place for waterways.
“We all rely on clean water as part of our way of life; whether for drinking, for gathering freshwater kai, or for swimming on a well-earned summer break. However, our precious waterways have been in crisis for decades.
“Not only has this meant that people cannot swim in a lot of our rivers without risking their health, but many of the species that depend on clean rivers, lakes, wetlands and estuaries are now threatened with extinction.
“Today that changes. With mātauranga Māori – or Māori principles – for water management as our guide, we have developed a clear, robust and enforceable set of policies so we can all enjoy and benefit from healthy rivers and clean, safe water for decades to come.”
If you go onto Scoop's Politics section it looks like the nature advocates are aghast at the lack of nitrogen rules, and the farmers and irrigators are just fine with the whole thing.
I'd be keen to see a forecast map of the likely effects of these rules such as they are.
“Run-down of urban infrastructure is a key reason for urban water quality problems and I don’t see that highlighted in there.”
Reducing the pollution at source rather than cleaning up later should be the focus, he [Dr Mike Joy] says. The new rules flag $700 million for riparian planting.
“If you spent that money on reducing the pollution then you would have a permanent win, this is mopping up at the bottom while you’re polluting.
“So you can just keep spending money forever [on] that kind of thing.”
Why? It captures the high drama unfolding in real-time as she follows her keen instincts to get responses to the emerging political nuances. I bet they use it as a classic case study in journo school for years to come. "Hayden Donnell has watched it several hundred times."
"Newshub’s camera operator captures the distant gaze on Muller’s face as the inquiry is made. The shot reveals a painful cross-stitch of emotions. Fear. Regret. Resignation."
"“She’ll be needed in caucus more than I will,” Bennett says with palpable delight as Collins heads to the mics to be interviewed first. In the space of seven chilling seconds, O’Brien then shows Collins witheringly replying “oh Paula”, before asking media, “is there something wrong with me being white?”"
"O’Brien’s report is one of several humiliations for Muller over the last three days. He’s struggled in interviews with Jack Tame on Q&A and John Campbell on TVNZ Breakfast, often flapping his hands in response to tough questions as if hoping to levitate out of the situation."
"National MP Paul Goldsmith might not be Māori, but his heritage shows he has a lot of whānau on the East Cape – his ancestor regarded as becoming the "father of more children than any other early trader. Goldsmith's great-great-grandfather, Charles George Goldsmith, arrived in the area from Liverpool in the 1840s, and had four wives – two Māori (Ngāti Porou), and two Pākehā – fathering 16 children." https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12335229
Goldsmith: "That is the sort of spirit that built this nation." "That broad connection, thanks to his ancestor, include many Ngāti Porou whanaunga, who range from economics Rhodes scholars, iwi and business leaders, and even a famous film director."
"According to the book Historic Poverty Bay and the East Coast, N.I., N.Z., by Joseph Mackay, Charles Goldsmith was born in Liverpool in 1822. He had served on a trading vessel on the east coast of South America before he appeared in the Waiapu district in the early 1840s. He was a whaler, and kept a store at Waipiro Bay, before moving to Tūranganui-a-Kiwa – then known as Poverty Bay, and opening another store at Kairoro."
"It was there that tragedy struck, when in 1868 while he was in Turanganui, two of his children, who were at the store, were slain as part of the Matawhero massacre on orders of Te Kooti, and his store burnt down."
"He was later in charge of Kaiti native school, and some years later, kept an hotel at Muriwai. He even became a licensed interpreter." "Victor Goldsmith said it was very common at the time for European settlers to take on Māori wives – and vice versa – a time of great inter-cultural mingling. "Most people on the East Coast don't have Māori names, it was just how people assimilated. It's what Tā Apirana Ngata described as 'hybrid vigour'.""
"Most people on the East Coast don't have Māori names, it was just how people assimilated. It's what Tā Apirana Ngata described as 'hybrid vigour'.""
Indeed, something I've never mentioned before here is that my grandfather (on my father’s side) was from an East Coast iwi and I have a bunch of very brown cousins. And we all share a very Anglo name.
This whole race/culture based identity thing is needlessly divisive when you consider just how very intermingled the two peoples really are.
You use 'race' and culture like they are similar things. Just having some distant relatives who are Maori doesn't give you any insight into the distinct ways of thinking and experiencing that are Maori. You make this obvious with your stupid assertion.
Just as I don't claim to 'feel' and think as Maori do despite having a pakeha brother (since passed away a decade ago), educated at Te Aute, fluent in Te Reo, Christened in the Ratana Church and married to a Maori.
The best I can possibly claim is that its made me much more sympathetic (maybe empathetic) towards the way Maori continue to be treated
You use 'race' and culture like they are similar things.
Yes they are different, but they broadly overlap. They are not the same thing, but family heritage and culture are strongly correlated for most people.
Just having some distant relatives who are Maori doesn't give you any insight into the distinct ways of thinking and experiencing that are Maori.
And indeed it would be a stupid assertion if that's what I had claimed. But then again it gives you absolutely no grounds to erase what my family means to me either.
But then again it gives you absolutely no grounds to erase what my family means to me either.
I have no idea how this relates to what i said. Again it just looks like one of your attempts at diversion.
You said that the Maori identity politics thing was "needlessly divisive" because many Pakeha are related to Maori. I would have thought the example of Paul Goldsmith would have shown how this point is irrelevant.
Just having some distant relatives who are Maori doesn't give you any insight into the distinct ways of thinking and experiencing that are Maori. You make this obvious with your stupid assertion.
And I have no idea how that relates to what I said. It may be obvious inside your head, but it just looks like a bad faith argument to me.
You said that the Maori identity politics thing was "needlessly divisive" because many Pakeha are related to Maori.
Again bad faith misrepresentation, what I said is that the two groups are now very intermingled, after all most Maori are closely related to Pakeha as well. And culturally the two groups have influenced each other enormously over the past 200 odd years.
Your post used the word intermingled but the only context you gave was a bunch of very brown cousins and a shared very Anglo name.
The reason that the race/culture based identity thing is unavoidably divisive is because most Pakeha have very little understanding of Maori ways of thinking and experiencing, or even of the history of this country. Being distantly related to a Maori is not going to help that.
And here you have publicly attacked a wonderful Maori man who whakapapas back to Ngati Porou. One has to wonder who the real racist in this conversation has actually been…?
That's quite funny, but no there is no question I grew up on the Pakeha side of the family and I cannot in good faith present myself as Maori.
But equally just before I came to Australia I made an effort to track down and meet up with the cuzzies. Cool people, we were all really happy to make up for a long broken connection.
I am currently involved in fighting against plans to cause irreversable environmental damage to very special places in our city. The places include areas of land that is owned by Maori. There are Maori and non-Maori fighting against these destructive plans (of a council funded entity). I have taken the time to 'understand the Maori ways of thinking and experiencing' so that I can stand alongside my Maori peers and together we can understand each others connections to these special places. And I have been joined in that journey by a large number of non-Maori supporters of our cause.
So unless you have surveyed 'most pakeha', don't pretend to speak for us.
I don't pretend to speak for Pakeha, i'm just saying how it is. If you personally have learned something since we last discussed the tree thing then that is great. You were looking very ignorant then.
1. You were purporting to speak for most pakeha. That is both ignorant and arrogant.
2. What I have learned through the tree thing is that the (ratepayer funded) Maunga Authority are ideologically misguided and morally bankrupt.
3. What I have come to better understand is how Maori view the whenua. More and more they are challenging the Maunga Authority’s warped view of governance of these beautiful places, including Ngati Whatua, who have openly challenged the Maunga Authority’s governanance of Owairaka.
No, you were saying how you think it is. Claining "most Pakeha have very little understanding of Maori ways of thinking and experiencing, or even of the history of this country." when you can't possibly knpow that is simply ignorant.
It's a pity that some here concentrate too much on dissecting and criticising the comments from people who are trying to have a reasonable discussion. The blog becomes didactic and a narrow-minded dictatorship rather than working to show how a more informed and collaborative democracy would work.
The PM may be looking at the big covid-driven picture, but political management has to be done by someone. Who's gambling that using the coalition agreement like a gagging order is good politics? If you don't let people inform the media & public, then the rumour mill takes over & the wrong impressions may form in the public mind.
Thus John Minto: "Behind the scenes now Labour MPs will be whispering to key people: “We didn’t want to do it this way but New Zealand First wouldn’t agree”, repeating the messages from Labour MPs in 2005: “We wanted to do more for beneficiaries but Helen and Michael (Helen Clarke and Michael Cullen) wouldn’t let us”. Gutlessness personified." https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/05/28/why-does-carmel-sepuloni-bother-to-get-out-of-bed-in-the-morning/
I see no strategic advantage in allowing the fudging of the issue to continue. It just looks like incompetence. Okay, the Nats are way ahead of the govt in demonstrating incompetence currently, true. Even so, not a good look.
Who is responsible for the two-tier meme achieving widespread circulation in the media? Answer: those who created the policy basis for that perception. Who did that? The coalition agreement is being used by the govt to prevent the Greens telling us. Blame Labour? I saw Willie Jackson telling a reporter he wasn't happy with it. He's running the Labour maori ship, right? If he's not on board, you'd reasonably suspect the other Labour maori feel likewise. Blame NZF? Not unless we get a good enough reason first.
Well cabbages are Green, right? But I note you didn't even attempt to address any of the substantive points. Tacit concession seems a tad wimpish. But I realise trying to defend the indefensible is too much of a challenge, so I sympathise.
generating the standard chatter of perpetual righteous losing
Yes, I've oft had to criticise that syndrome. But it is the inevitable consequence of trying to out-flank Labour on the left instead of representing the Green movement on an authentic basis. I originally expected them to learn from experience but no sign of that so far. Perhaps if the electorate flushes them out of parliament, the catharsis resulting may insert the learning through the concrete.
bash, bash, but still no explanation of how the Greens could get what they want, against both Lab and NZF, given they sit to the left of Labour and don't have the natural leverage that comes from being a centrist party like NZF.
At this point it's just boring. You know enough about how government works, but maybe you just prefer to put the boot in.
Until the Greens hold the balance of power they have no leverage. They might have after the September election, but someone has already ruled it out. The Greens have no leverage when National also rule it out.
The only leverage coalition partners have is to block something requiring legislation. There is no leverage to pressure coalition partners to go further than they are prepared to go.
I suspect their gamble is based on NZF not making the threshold. Unwise, that! However the electorate are giving the PM all the credit for pandemic management success. Winston will be peeved – but with Labour threatening to win on its own the Green caucus may believe Jacinda's goodwill extends to including them in her second term.
I'm actually ok at this point if the numbers mean the Greens are in opposition. Let them go hard against shitty Labour policy and see how Labour gets on with that.
A way better outcome for NZ would be L/G with lots more Green MPs. NZ will get the centre left government we deserve, it's really on centre lefties at this point.
don't hold your breath waiting for an explanation from people who want to blame the Greens for the positioning of Labour and NZF.
"There is no leverage to pressure coalition partners to go further than they are prepared to go."
If the voters give enough party votes to the Greens that Labour and the Greens could govern alone (assuming Lab would do that without NZF which is a big if, but it could happen if NZF drop below 5%), then the Greens will have much more negotiating power. How much will depend on how many MPs, I think there is a general consensus of fairness in relation to the vote (unless you are Peters, and you will expect more power than is your due).
This is a real potential this year, but it does depend on people who voted Labour last time voting Green, not just to keep them in parliament, but to give them some actual power. Labour supporters like Ad won't want that. They want the Greens in parliament and maybe even in govt, but they don't want them to have power, hence the bashing. Other Labour voters are saying they will vote Green this year, for a range of reasons, but we will have to wait and see how many.
Meanwhile the Greens do what they do, effect change rather than going for power for power's sake. And they don't buy into the macho politicking that Ad wants them to. There are good reasons for that, and NZ does seem to want such a party and expects the Greens to not play bullshit games.
I have been giving the Social Security Act some thought. There needs to be changes made to Commencement of Benefits and Ending of Benefits due to a pandemic.
Jacinda Ardern has already acknowledged there are anomalies showing up in the system, and that the Social Security Act needs an overhaul. She hasn't been more specific than that yet but at least we know the government is aware changes need to be made.
Once another 5% of "good old hard working kiwis " are on the dole the time will be right to fix the benefit system, go to early and the nats win in 2020.
Had Covid-19 not have occurred I feel that the last budget would have improved dental care even if the SNG rose to $500.
People tend to be able to scrape by using SNGs when the unexpected occurs. The SNG programme is where I would start first and if possible buy up some struggling motels to house the homeless.
So much needs to change with welfare that discussions need to occur between the government and benefit rights coordinators.
The country can only afford so much and unemployment has not yet peaked.
I saw that. He did indeed seem skewered. An adept would have finessed it by responding thus: "Whatever. The coalition represent the anti-business brigade. We have to balance that. Are you trying to suggest that business ought not to be represented in politics??"
Then Bomber gets to the guts of the primary issue: "It’s not that they selected a dozen white volk , it’s that they had no idea how that looked to everyone else." Elementary, my dear Watson! Was Hooton off sick?? If not, he has to own his share of that achilles heel.
Oh, just a pair of nuclear capable nations rattling sabres.
SRINAGAR, India — Indian and Chinese soldiers are in a bitter standoff in the remote and picturesque Ladakh region, with the two countries amassing soldiers and machinery near the tense frontier, Indian officials said.
The standoff began in early May when large contingents of Chinese soldiers entered deep inside Indian-controlled territory at three places in Ladakh, erecting tents and posts, the officials said this week.
Yes. Xi Xinping's CCP is doubling down on pissing off just about everyone at the moment. It's hard to see the purpose for it all beyond ramping up domestic ultra-nationalism.
Domestic stability would be the main priority, but it also doesn't hurt them to put a bit of stick about now dolt45 is trying to reassert (to deflect from his own domestic fuckups). e.g. the Taiwan thing was a slight backslide for CCP
Taiwan is a big concern; I'd rate the chances of a hard invasion this year at 50/50.
Just in case anyone wonders where I get my paranoid views of the CCP from, some years back I met a Chinese man (tramping of all things) here in NZ who was a retired very senior Taiwanese govt official. On our first trip together we had a close call with hypothermia and have remained good friends ever since.
One thing is absolutely clear, Taiwan has been a self-governing state since 1947 and the large majority of people do not want to be 'reunified' with the mainland regime. Especially under the CCP's 'President for Life' Xinping.
50/50 is a bit much – not sure what geopolitical conditions have changed to make it more likely.
And HK/uighurs could deteriorate further, so they'll need to hold reserves for that. As well as their other border disputes. So even assuming they can rule out direct US assistance, it might be an expensive move.
2. The withdrawal of the USA from global affairs is becoming increasingly obvious. US overseas troop deployments in total is now less than 100,000, lower than any time in the past century.
They're valid points, but most of them aren't particularly new. China's been progressively isolating Taiwan for 60 years, C19 is a blip in that. We could argue that foreign policy has become less planned as a result of Xi's concentration of personal power rather than the previous power of the state institution, but even so a transitory "loss of face" is a bit much to go to war over. They've been rattling the sabre for decades. Maybe we're just more aware of it, or maybe there's been a genuine culture change towards invasion. I don't know.
China's military tech advances are significant, but it's been another ongoing process. They still have notable deficiencies in jet engines, for example. Additionally, any invasion of Taiwan will require naval deployment (otherwise any airborne assault will wither on the vine), with generally known points of origin and Taiwan's long buildup of naval defenses of all types of bangbang. Sure, it might be like the Fall of Singapore, but somehow I doubt it. Getting your invasion force sunk in the Formosa Strait would be a massive loss of face.
The US retreat towards isolationism is a fair point, but it's one of those situations where the longer one waits, the rosier it gets. So maybe the invasion will be november/december if it happens, but I still think the odds are against it.
July 2021 is the 100th anniversary of the CCP. They want something to celebrate, perhaps a re-enactment of the cultural revolution and slaughter of 35 to 45 million.
“Keep in mind these guys [the CCP] regard New Zealand as part of their Third Island chain.” – RL
That's an interesting link, but note the Hawaii comes before Tonga and NZ in the 'Third Island Chain' (Amlia Island, Hawaii, Tonga, NZ). Also note that the Island Chain Concept was propounded by John Foster Dulles in 1951 for the strategic containment of the USSR and China. I'm not surprised that you would claim that the CCP regards "New Zealand as part of their Third Island chain", but perhaps you could provide some objective supporting evidence – oh wait, how foolish of me.
Tonga is a long way from China, NZ even further. Australia's foreign aid to Tonga was in decline, but dwarfed that of any other country in 2016 when Rear Admiral Dr. S. Kulshrestha's (Indian Navy, Retd.) opinion piece was written.
Which country gives the most aid to Pacific Island nations? The answer might surprise you
"Between 2011 to 2017, Australian governments poured at least $US6.5 billion ($8.76 billion) into aid projects across the region. The final figure will likely be even larger because Lowy is still gathering data for 2017.
That dwarfs the contributions of every other country."
"They have been doing it all day, ref". Its posturing and a mutual pissing off contest, that India’/China land border ( and it's the only common one they have ) is probably the hardest to cross with an invading army anywhere in the world.
It's a reminder from the CCP about the perils of cuddling up to the US.
For the first time since the Kargil intrusions of 1999, Indian territory is in the hands of foreign soldiers. Starting in the third week of April, more than 5,000 Chinese soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have intruded into five points in Ladakh – four along the Galwan River, and one near the Pangong Lake.
While patrol intrusions from both sides are routine in areas where the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the de facto border between India and China – is disputed, the LAC in the Galwan Valley corresponds to China’s official claim line.
That means that, in sending thousands of PLA troops three-to-four kilometres into the Galwan Valley, China has violated its own claim line and occupied territory that Beijing itself has traditionally acknowledged to be Indian.
This is not shaping up like a routing patrol confrontation, or even a temporary occupation of disputed territory of the kind that took place in Depsang in 2013, or in Chumar in 2014. This time the PLA soldiers are digging defences, preparing bunkers, moving in heavy vehicles and have reportedly even moved artillery guns to the rear (albeit in their own territory) to support the intruders, say the sources.
Keeping ourselves healthy may include lowering the toilet lid when you flush and then politely putting it up for the next person. And perhaps pulling a bit of toilet paper which is held over the door handle and the lock-knob before washing and drying hands.
Such improved practices may reduce much sickness particularly Covid-19.
An inkling of how economies will be transformed by covid-driven geopolitical realignment: "Washington is not alone in feeling that Chinese consolidation of supply chains for many essential goods was exposed by the coronavirus as an intolerable threat. In early April, Japan unveiled a $2.2 billion funding package to shift key supply chains away from China, and Germany has called for an EU-wide effort to bolster continental manufacturing of essential health care goods. Meanwhile, alternative low-cost manufacturing hubs are waiting with open arms. India, for example, is reportedly courting more than 1,000 U.S. firms in China and setting up special economic zones twice the size of Luxembourg to house them." https://geopoliticalfutures.com/china-is-still-the-next-china/
"White House-backed legislation that would give subsidies to U.S. manufacturers who leave China." Subsidies! By Trump! Roger Douglas will be spinning in his wheelchair.
So "the change from competition to confrontation between the U.S. and China has been a long time coming. The launch of the U.S.-China trade and tech wars in 2017 merely announced its arrival. COVID-19 kicked it into overdrive."
"The pandemic did this, in part, by exposing just how much China had become a single point of failure in supply chains of essential goods in critical sectors like pharma. For example, China produces around 80-90 percent of the global supply of active ingredients for antibiotics. Chinese export restrictions and bottlenecks led to shortages of personal protective equipment, test kits and vital medical equipment, including products made by U.S. firms in China. The pandemic also exposed chronic quality control problems in China, with several embattled countries having to discard much-needed shipments of faulty Chinese masks and test kits. (To be fair, the global rush to source pandemic supplies has created a profiteer’s paradise just about everywhere.)"
NZ companies have been regularily pulling out of manufacturing in China when they find quality and supply failures. An Oamaru ? sock manufacturer has bought production home and quality has gone up and costs have gone down. interestingly they are able to do it with new Italian machinery something the Italians are still world leaders at.
You could sit there and wait for a government tethered to hard right economics to make a change in your life – or you could organise. The choice is yours.
Agree. A General Strike would sit Trump on his arse.
Some direct action here is needed now in respect of getting the Labour Caucus attention on the matter of finally retiring Rogernomics and its neo liberal structural elements throughout the public sector. The Govt. has transferred $billions to the capitalist class and petit bourgeois of this country and little to the working-class in the C19 bailouts. The likes of Fletchers, AirNZ and CHH are going to sack 1000s regardless! One man band self employed have taken loans they will likely never repay from other taxpayers. It will be time for action soon enough as rents go unpaid and people unfed.
The class nature of NZ with hundreds of thousands of self employed and SMEs and provincials stuck in the 1950s, makes it difficult to organise–including a non fighting central labour organisation–NZCTU, a failure since its 1987 inception. But nonetheless a way can always be found.
Uniting all who can be united around some immediate goals should be priority of all leftists.
It is a beautiful plan! When Steven Joyce has fact-checked it for hidden holes, I will personally tweet it, at 3:00 AM, wearing my MAGA National Party hat and nothing else.
well wow 2 out of it to speak sensibly- such is my life -oddly i have faith in the country's direction – the national party seems to have borked itself so funny good fortune to all standanista's good fortune for the future
How can an organisation that made only a few months ago ONLY made $929m in 6 months ($155m/mth)!!! Now find this acceptable ??? Perhaps banks should as a solution NOT pay TAX times are tough for these banks 😢
The National Party have had weeks if not months to produce their plan. To be very critical of the Government actions they must prove competence with credible alternative plans.
Surely the GST "refund" could only be on recent purchases and not the GST collected on customer sales.
In any case would the taxpayers get upset that they would still pay 15% while business get a 15% discount?
When I protest about the price of milk, beef or lamb in NZ I am told I have to pay the price of the overseas market. When overseas farmers have a potato glut and we might get cheaper chips, NZ farmers ask us not to buy them! It sounds like, “farmers way always” and bugger the consumers. If I see cheap chips I will fill my boots. They want the right to pollute waterways and the right to rip us off too!!!
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Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
With the new fresh water quality standards due out today, I have a very strong feeling that Minister Parker is going to walk it all backwards faster than a moonwalking Michael Jackson.
He will cite our dire economic conditions, and "listening", and "revised", and the need for "flexibility".
He will talk about trust, and progress, and metaphors about pathways.
There may even be extra powers to discipline regional governments for their regulatory failures.
But as Politik noted a few days ago, on behalf of our farmers New Zealand First played hardball, sidelined the Greens, and stared down Parker until he folded like origami.
Dairy NZ and HortNZ and Federated Farmers will moan like a stuck Spanish bull, but privately it will have almost fully neutralised the biggest-ever regulatory threat they've faced.
Goobye Galaxids.
From Stuff.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/121652598/government-pumps-700m-into-cleaning-up-waterways
"Climate Change Minister and Green Party co-leader James Shaw said the reforms were the strongest protections a government has ever put in place for waterways.
“We all rely on clean water as part of our way of life; whether for drinking, for gathering freshwater kai, or for swimming on a well-earned summer break. However, our precious waterways have been in crisis for decades.
“Not only has this meant that people cannot swim in a lot of our rivers without risking their health, but many of the species that depend on clean rivers, lakes, wetlands and estuaries are now threatened with extinction.
“Today that changes. With mātauranga Māori – or Māori principles – for water management as our guide, we have developed a clear, robust and enforceable set of policies so we can all enjoy and benefit from healthy rivers and clean, safe water for decades to come.”
If you go onto Scoop's Politics section it looks like the nature advocates are aghast at the lack of nitrogen rules, and the farmers and irrigators are just fine with the whole thing.
I'd be keen to see a forecast map of the likely effects of these rules such as they are.
“Run-down of urban infrastructure is a key reason for urban water quality problems and I don’t see that highlighted in there.”
Reducing the pollution at source rather than cleaning up later should be the focus, he [Dr Mike Joy] says. The new rules flag $700 million for riparian planting.
“If you spent that money on reducing the pollution then you would have a permanent win, this is mopping up at the bottom while you’re polluting.
“So you can just keep spending money forever [on] that kind of thing.”
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018748371/ecologist-responds-to-new-water-rules
Please let us know what you don't and do like about the actual decision.
I didn't see it, but this Spinoff review of Tova's story makes a good case for it being front-runner for news story of the year: https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/27-05-2020/a-frame-by-frame-analysis-of-tova-obriens-hall-of-fame-national-shambles-story/
Why? It captures the high drama unfolding in real-time as she follows her keen instincts to get responses to the emerging political nuances. I bet they use it as a classic case study in journo school for years to come. "Hayden Donnell has watched it several hundred times."
"Newshub’s camera operator captures the distant gaze on Muller’s face as the inquiry is made. The shot reveals a painful cross-stitch of emotions. Fear. Regret. Resignation."
"“She’ll be needed in caucus more than I will,” Bennett says with palpable delight as Collins heads to the mics to be interviewed first. In the space of seven chilling seconds, O’Brien then shows Collins witheringly replying “oh Paula”, before asking media, “is there something wrong with me being white?”"
"O’Brien’s report is one of several humiliations for Muller over the last three days. He’s struggled in interviews with Jack Tame on Q&A and John Campbell on TVNZ Breakfast, often flapping his hands in response to tough questions as if hoping to levitate out of the situation."
Collins' oleaginous "Oh, Paula!". A softer variation on venomous, I suppose.
"National MP Paul Goldsmith might not be Māori, but his heritage shows he has a lot of whānau on the East Cape – his ancestor regarded as becoming the "father of more children than any other early trader. Goldsmith's great-great-grandfather, Charles George Goldsmith, arrived in the area from Liverpool in the 1840s, and had four wives – two Māori (Ngāti Porou), and two Pākehā – fathering 16 children." https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12335229
Goldsmith: "That is the sort of spirit that built this nation." "That broad connection, thanks to his ancestor, include many Ngāti Porou whanaunga, who range from economics Rhodes scholars, iwi and business leaders, and even a famous film director."
"According to the book Historic Poverty Bay and the East Coast, N.I., N.Z., by Joseph Mackay, Charles Goldsmith was born in Liverpool in 1822. He had served on a trading vessel on the east coast of South America before he appeared in the Waiapu district in the early 1840s. He was a whaler, and kept a store at Waipiro Bay, before moving to Tūranganui-a-Kiwa – then known as Poverty Bay, and opening another store at Kairoro."
"It was there that tragedy struck, when in 1868 while he was in Turanganui, two of his children, who were at the store, were slain as part of the Matawhero massacre on orders of Te Kooti, and his store burnt down."
"He was later in charge of Kaiti native school, and some years later, kept an hotel at Muriwai. He even became a licensed interpreter." "Victor Goldsmith said it was very common at the time for European settlers to take on Māori wives – and vice versa – a time of great inter-cultural mingling. "Most people on the East Coast don't have Māori names, it was just how people assimilated. It's what Tā Apirana Ngata described as 'hybrid vigour'.""
"Most people on the East Coast don't have Māori names, it was just how people assimilated. It's what Tā Apirana Ngata described as 'hybrid vigour'.""
Indeed, something I've never mentioned before here is that my grandfather (on my father’s side) was from an East Coast iwi and I have a bunch of very brown cousins. And we all share a very Anglo name.
This whole race/culture based identity thing is needlessly divisive when you consider just how very intermingled the two peoples really are.
You use 'race' and culture like they are similar things. Just having some distant relatives who are Maori doesn't give you any insight into the distinct ways of thinking and experiencing that are Maori. You make this obvious with your stupid assertion.
/Agreed @Solkta
Just as I don't claim to 'feel' and think as Maori do despite having a pakeha brother (since passed away a decade ago), educated at Te Aute, fluent in Te Reo, Christened in the Ratana Church and married to a Maori.
The best I can possibly claim is that its made me much more sympathetic (maybe empathetic) towards the way Maori continue to be treated
You use 'race' and culture like they are similar things.
Yes they are different, but they broadly overlap. They are not the same thing, but family heritage and culture are strongly correlated for most people.
Just having some distant relatives who are Maori doesn't give you any insight into the distinct ways of thinking and experiencing that are Maori.
And indeed it would be a stupid assertion if that's what I had claimed. But then again it gives you absolutely no grounds to erase what my family means to me either.
But then again it gives you absolutely no grounds to erase what my family means to me either.
I have no idea how this relates to what i said. Again it just looks like one of your attempts at diversion.
You said that the Maori identity politics thing was "needlessly divisive" because many Pakeha are related to Maori. I would have thought the example of Paul Goldsmith would have shown how this point is irrelevant.
Just having some distant relatives who are Maori doesn't give you any insight into the distinct ways of thinking and experiencing that are Maori. You make this obvious with your stupid assertion.
And I have no idea how that relates to what I said. It may be obvious inside your head, but it just looks like a bad faith argument to me.
You said that the Maori identity politics thing was "needlessly divisive" because many Pakeha are related to Maori.
Again bad faith misrepresentation, what I said is that the two groups are now very intermingled, after all most Maori are closely related to Pakeha as well. And culturally the two groups have influenced each other enormously over the past 200 odd years.
Your post used the word intermingled but the only context you gave was a bunch of very brown cousins and a shared very Anglo name.
The reason that the race/culture based identity thing is unavoidably divisive is because most Pakeha have very little understanding of Maori ways of thinking and experiencing, or even of the history of this country. Being distantly related to a Maori is not going to help that.
And here you have publicly attacked a wonderful Maori man who whakapapas back to Ngati Porou. One has to wonder who the real racist in this conversation has actually been…?
Sorry, who is this wonderful Maori from Ngati Porou? I don't think RL was claiming to be Maori.
That's quite funny, but no there is no question I grew up on the Pakeha side of the family and I cannot in good faith present myself as Maori.
But equally just before I came to Australia I made an effort to track down and meet up with the cuzzies. Cool people, we were all really happy to make up for a long broken connection.
I am currently involved in fighting against plans to cause irreversable environmental damage to very special places in our city. The places include areas of land that is owned by Maori. There are Maori and non-Maori fighting against these destructive plans (of a council funded entity). I have taken the time to 'understand the Maori ways of thinking and experiencing' so that I can stand alongside my Maori peers and together we can understand each others connections to these special places. And I have been joined in that journey by a large number of non-Maori supporters of our cause.
So unless you have surveyed 'most pakeha', don't pretend to speak for us.
I don't pretend to speak for Pakeha, i'm just saying how it is. If you personally have learned something since we last discussed the tree thing then that is great. You were looking very ignorant then.
1. You were purporting to speak for most pakeha. That is both ignorant and arrogant.
2. What I have learned through the tree thing is that the (ratepayer funded) Maunga Authority are ideologically misguided and morally bankrupt.
3. What I have come to better understand is how Maori view the whenua. More and more they are challenging the Maunga Authority’s warped view of governance of these beautiful places, including Ngati Whatua, who have openly challenged the Maunga Authority’s governanance of Owairaka.
1. You were purporting to speak for most pakeha.
No i was not. I was just saying how it is. That is not speaking for them but speaking about them.
"I was just saying how it is. "
No, you were saying how you think it is. Claining "most Pakeha have very little understanding of Maori ways of thinking and experiencing, or even of the history of this country." when you can't possibly knpow that is simply ignorant.
It's a pity that some here concentrate too much on dissecting and criticising the comments from people who are trying to have a reasonable discussion. The blog becomes didactic and a narrow-minded dictatorship rather than working to show how a more informed and collaborative democracy would work.
It sure as shit stops a clunky thinker like me from trying to put my 2 cents in on race relations in nz.
I know some of those East Coast Goldsmiths, they are a talented lot. Enjoyed Paul G's forthright responses and wry smiles
The PM may be looking at the big covid-driven picture, but political management has to be done by someone. Who's gambling that using the coalition agreement like a gagging order is good politics? If you don't let people inform the media & public, then the rumour mill takes over & the wrong impressions may form in the public mind.
Thus John Minto: "Behind the scenes now Labour MPs will be whispering to key people: “We didn’t want to do it this way but New Zealand First wouldn’t agree”, repeating the messages from Labour MPs in 2005: “We wanted to do more for beneficiaries but Helen and Michael (Helen Clarke and Michael Cullen) wouldn’t let us”. Gutlessness personified." https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/05/28/why-does-carmel-sepuloni-bother-to-get-out-of-bed-in-the-morning/
I see no strategic advantage in allowing the fudging of the issue to continue. It just looks like incompetence. Okay, the Nats are way ahead of the govt in demonstrating incompetence currently, true. Even so, not a good look.
Who is responsible for the two-tier meme achieving widespread circulation in the media? Answer: those who created the policy basis for that perception. Who did that? The coalition agreement is being used by the govt to prevent the Greens telling us. Blame Labour? I saw Willie Jackson telling a reporter he wasn't happy with it. He's running the Labour maori ship, right? If he's not on board, you'd reasonably suspect the other Labour maori feel likewise. Blame NZF? Not unless we get a good enough reason first.
What crap you talk.
NZFirst break ranks whenever they want – and did so yesterday.
The fact is these Green MPs are just cabbages.
Well cabbages are Green, right? But I note you didn't even attempt to address any of the substantive points. Tacit concession seems a tad wimpish. But I realise trying to defend the indefensible is too much of a challenge, so I sympathise.
This is a Labour-led government doing precisely what it wants, with brio and popularity.
Minto proposing minor conspiracies is just so fanciful.
The Greens are nowhere. Their supporters are generating the standard chatter of perpetual righteous losing.
generating the standard chatter of perpetual righteous losing
Yes, I've oft had to criticise that syndrome. But it is the inevitable consequence of trying to out-flank Labour on the left instead of representing the Green movement on an authentic basis. I originally expected them to learn from experience but no sign of that so far. Perhaps if the electorate flushes them out of parliament, the catharsis resulting may insert the learning through the concrete.
Still being heard unlike the left in the Labour Party.
bash, bash, but still no explanation of how the Greens could get what they want, against both Lab and NZF, given they sit to the left of Labour and don't have the natural leverage that comes from being a centrist party like NZF.
At this point it's just boring. You know enough about how government works, but maybe you just prefer to put the boot in.
Red cabbages Winston has put the handbrake on the Greens because he can form a coalition with National the greens can't because of their stance.
It's going to keep happening until the Greens grow some balls.
Where's the CGT?
Exactly
Really?
Until the Greens hold the balance of power they have no leverage. They might have after the September election, but someone has already ruled it out. The Greens have no leverage when National also rule it out.
The only leverage coalition partners have is to block something requiring legislation. There is no leverage to pressure coalition partners to go further than they are prepared to go.
I suspect their gamble is based on NZF not making the threshold. Unwise, that! However the electorate are giving the PM all the credit for pandemic management success. Winston will be peeved – but with Labour threatening to win on its own the Green caucus may believe Jacinda's goodwill extends to including them in her second term.
I'm actually ok at this point if the numbers mean the Greens are in opposition. Let them go hard against shitty Labour policy and see how Labour gets on with that.
A way better outcome for NZ would be L/G with lots more Green MPs. NZ will get the centre left government we deserve, it's really on centre lefties at this point.
don't hold your breath waiting for an explanation from people who want to blame the Greens for the positioning of Labour and NZF.
"There is no leverage to pressure coalition partners to go further than they are prepared to go."
If the voters give enough party votes to the Greens that Labour and the Greens could govern alone (assuming Lab would do that without NZF which is a big if, but it could happen if NZF drop below 5%), then the Greens will have much more negotiating power. How much will depend on how many MPs, I think there is a general consensus of fairness in relation to the vote (unless you are Peters, and you will expect more power than is your due).
This is a real potential this year, but it does depend on people who voted Labour last time voting Green, not just to keep them in parliament, but to give them some actual power. Labour supporters like Ad won't want that. They want the Greens in parliament and maybe even in govt, but they don't want them to have power, hence the bashing. Other Labour voters are saying they will vote Green this year, for a range of reasons, but we will have to wait and see how many.
Meanwhile the Greens do what they do, effect change rather than going for power for power's sake. And they don't buy into the macho politicking that Ad wants them to. There are good reasons for that, and NZ does seem to want such a party and expects the Greens to not play bullshit games.
Under NZ First's heel.
Grow the votes is the way
I have been giving the Social Security Act some thought. There needs to be changes made to Commencement of Benefits and Ending of Benefits due to a pandemic.
Jacinda Ardern has already acknowledged there are anomalies showing up in the system, and that the Social Security Act needs an overhaul. She hasn't been more specific than that yet but at least we know the government is aware changes need to be made.
Once another 5% of "good old hard working kiwis " are on the dole the time will be right to fix the benefit system, go to early and the nats win in 2020.
Had Covid-19 not have occurred I feel that the last budget would have improved dental care even if the SNG rose to $500.
People tend to be able to scrape by using SNGs when the unexpected occurs. The SNG programme is where I would start first and if possible buy up some struggling motels to house the homeless.
So much needs to change with welfare that discussions need to occur between the government and benefit rights coordinators.
The country can only afford so much and unemployment has not yet peaked.
Sometimes a little bit can go a long way.
Australian states bought motels to house singles and couples years ago. They also provided fully planned communities, something we are just beginning.
I had to google SNG urk
There already have been changes made. E.g. the 13 week stand down is not applied at the moment
Bomber: "Bridges challenged Muller on his claim that National are the Party for small businesses by pointing out the startling fact that barely 20% of his Cabinet have any Business experience, watching Muller drown during that question is almost too much pain for even a masochist to endure." https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/05/28/how-has-national-become-a-white-supremacist-party-in-less-than-week/
I saw that. He did indeed seem skewered. An adept would have finessed it by responding thus: "Whatever. The coalition represent the anti-business brigade. We have to balance that. Are you trying to suggest that business ought not to be represented in politics??"
Then Bomber gets to the guts of the primary issue: "It’s not that they selected a dozen white volk , it’s that they had no idea how that looked to everyone else." Elementary, my dear Watson! Was Hooton off sick?? If not, he has to own his share of that achilles heel.
Thanks for the link, Bomber's polemics are epic when he gets a head of steam up
Oh, just a pair of nuclear capable nations rattling sabres.
SRINAGAR, India — Indian and Chinese soldiers are in a bitter standoff in the remote and picturesque Ladakh region, with the two countries amassing soldiers and machinery near the tense frontier, Indian officials said.
The standoff began in early May when large contingents of Chinese soldiers entered deep inside Indian-controlled territory at three places in Ladakh, erecting tents and posts, the officials said this week.
http://archive.li/AgulB
Yes. Xi Xinping's CCP is doubling down on pissing off just about everyone at the moment. It's hard to see the purpose for it all beyond ramping up domestic ultra-nationalism.
Keep in mind these guys regard New Zealand as part of their Third Island chain.
Domestic stability would be the main priority, but it also doesn't hurt them to put a bit of stick about now dolt45 is trying to reassert (to deflect from his own domestic fuckups). e.g. the Taiwan thing was a slight backslide for CCP
Taiwan is a big concern; I'd rate the chances of a hard invasion this year at 50/50.
Just in case anyone wonders where I get my paranoid views of the CCP from, some years back I met a Chinese man (tramping of all things) here in NZ who was a retired very senior Taiwanese govt official. On our first trip together we had a close call with hypothermia and have remained good friends ever since.
One thing is absolutely clear, Taiwan has been a self-governing state since 1947 and the large majority of people do not want to be 'reunified' with the mainland regime. Especially under the CCP's 'President for Life' Xinping.
50/50 is a bit much – not sure what geopolitical conditions have changed to make it more likely.
And HK/uighurs could deteriorate further, so they'll need to hold reserves for that. As well as their other border disputes. So even assuming they can rule out direct US assistance, it might be an expensive move.
What I think has changed are:
1. CV19 has done two things; one is that the exemplary Taiwanese response (they actually warned WHO of CV19 human to human transmission on Dec31) is a major loss of face for the CCP, and also obviously it has caused a major distraction in the USA.)
2. The withdrawal of the USA from global affairs is becoming increasingly obvious. US overseas troop deployments in total is now less than 100,000, lower than any time in the past century.
3. The Chinese military has dramatically expanded it's capacity in the past few years. In particular they may well believe their new hypersonic missile capacity gives them the ability to keep the US Navy aircraft carriers at a safe distance.
4. They keep on saying that they are preparing for war.
5. Their military are in the middle of major invasion landing exercises on Hainan Island. Also in their sights are an invasion of the Dongsha Island group .
No single factor is conclusive of course, but none of them point to a reduction in the odds.
They're valid points, but most of them aren't particularly new. China's been progressively isolating Taiwan for 60 years, C19 is a blip in that. We could argue that foreign policy has become less planned as a result of Xi's concentration of personal power rather than the previous power of the state institution, but even so a transitory "loss of face" is a bit much to go to war over. They've been rattling the sabre for decades. Maybe we're just more aware of it, or maybe there's been a genuine culture change towards invasion. I don't know.
China's military tech advances are significant, but it's been another ongoing process. They still have notable deficiencies in jet engines, for example. Additionally, any invasion of Taiwan will require naval deployment (otherwise any airborne assault will wither on the vine), with generally known points of origin and Taiwan's long buildup of naval defenses of all types of bangbang. Sure, it might be like the Fall of Singapore, but somehow I doubt it. Getting your invasion force sunk in the Formosa Strait would be a massive loss of face.
The US retreat towards isolationism is a fair point, but it's one of those situations where the longer one waits, the rosier it gets. So maybe the invasion will be november/december if it happens, but I still think the odds are against it.
can we get the TAB to offer odds? I'd be betting against fyi
July 2021 is the 100th anniversary of the CCP. They want something to celebrate, perhaps a re-enactment of the cultural revolution and slaughter of 35 to 45 million.
They can celebrate one year since Judith Collins released her book.
Gnats really have no principles do they? One hand funded by the CCP, other hand promoting alt right memes.
I had hoped the ascension of Toad Muddler meant a clean out, but it’s gone pear shaped pretty quick.
That's an interesting point about the anniversary.
That's an interesting link, but note the Hawaii comes before Tonga and NZ in the 'Third Island Chain' (Amlia Island, Hawaii, Tonga, NZ). Also note that the Island Chain Concept was propounded by John Foster Dulles in 1951 for the strategic containment of the USSR and China. I'm not surprised that you would claim that the CCP regards "New Zealand as part of their Third Island chain", but perhaps you could provide some objective supporting evidence – oh wait, how foolish of me.
Tonga is a long way from China, NZ even further. Australia's foreign aid to Tonga was in decline, but dwarfed that of any other country in 2016 when Rear Admiral Dr. S. Kulshrestha's (Indian Navy, Retd.) opinion piece was written.
"They have been doing it all day, ref". Its posturing and a mutual pissing off contest, that India’/China land border ( and it's the only common one they have ) is probably the hardest to cross with an invading army anywhere in the world.
It's a reminder from the CCP about the perils of cuddling up to the US.
For the first time since the Kargil intrusions of 1999, Indian territory is in the hands of foreign soldiers. Starting in the third week of April, more than 5,000 Chinese soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have intruded into five points in Ladakh – four along the Galwan River, and one near the Pangong Lake.
While patrol intrusions from both sides are routine in areas where the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the de facto border between India and China – is disputed, the LAC in the Galwan Valley corresponds to China’s official claim line.
That means that, in sending thousands of PLA troops three-to-four kilometres into the Galwan Valley, China has violated its own claim line and occupied territory that Beijing itself has traditionally acknowledged to be Indian.
This is not shaping up like a routing patrol confrontation, or even a temporary occupation of disputed territory of the kind that took place in Depsang in 2013, or in Chumar in 2014. This time the PLA soldiers are digging defences, preparing bunkers, moving in heavy vehicles and have reportedly even moved artillery guns to the rear (albeit in their own territory) to support the intruders, say the sources.
http://ajaishukla.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-new-and-worrying-chapter-ladakh.html
"wave after wave of screaming Chinese" – about time they won a foreign war.
Global adulation of **OUR** Prime Minister continues. No you can’t have her!
https://twitter.com/umairh/status/1265774537523769344?s=20
https://twitter.com/meladoodle/status/1265075406790516737?s=20
She's good, but she'd better watch out. The National Party is full of brilliant candidates, led by the dynamic and charismatic Todd Muller.
https://sayingimages.com/wp-content/uploads/just-kidding-meme.jpg
Keeping ourselves healthy may include lowering the toilet lid when you flush and then politely putting it up for the next person. And perhaps pulling a bit of toilet paper which is held over the door handle and the lock-knob before washing and drying hands.
Such improved practices may reduce much sickness particularly Covid-19.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018747730/how-covid-19-could-change-public-toilets-forever
Nope, lift it yourself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilet_plume
An inkling of how economies will be transformed by covid-driven geopolitical realignment: "Washington is not alone in feeling that Chinese consolidation of supply chains for many essential goods was exposed by the coronavirus as an intolerable threat. In early April, Japan unveiled a $2.2 billion funding package to shift key supply chains away from China, and Germany has called for an EU-wide effort to bolster continental manufacturing of essential health care goods. Meanwhile, alternative low-cost manufacturing hubs are waiting with open arms. India, for example, is reportedly courting more than 1,000 U.S. firms in China and setting up special economic zones twice the size of Luxembourg to house them." https://geopoliticalfutures.com/china-is-still-the-next-china/
"White House-backed legislation that would give subsidies to U.S. manufacturers who leave China." Subsidies! By Trump! Roger Douglas will be spinning in his wheelchair.
So "the change from competition to confrontation between the U.S. and China has been a long time coming. The launch of the U.S.-China trade and tech wars in 2017 merely announced its arrival. COVID-19 kicked it into overdrive."
"The pandemic did this, in part, by exposing just how much China had become a single point of failure in supply chains of essential goods in critical sectors like pharma. For example, China produces around 80-90 percent of the global supply of active ingredients for antibiotics. Chinese export restrictions and bottlenecks led to shortages of personal protective equipment, test kits and vital medical equipment, including products made by U.S. firms in China. The pandemic also exposed chronic quality control problems in China, with several embattled countries having to discard much-needed shipments of faulty Chinese masks and test kits. (To be fair, the global rush to source pandemic supplies has created a profiteer’s paradise just about everywhere.)"
Perhaps a little shortsighted
The next pandemic could start in a Kansas hog farm, or a Vietnamese wet market or a Japanese or Indian factory farm .
http://www.alive-net.net/english/en-farm/factory.html
https://www.firstpost.com/india/inhumane-unregulated-animal-agriculture-practices-in-india-extract-a-heavy-toll-on-us-and-the-environment-6961421.html
NZ companies have been regularily pulling out of manufacturing in China when they find quality and supply failures. An Oamaru ? sock manufacturer has bought production home and quality has gone up and costs have gone down. interestingly they are able to do it with new Italian machinery something the Italians are still world leaders at.
Good to hear that! I'm old enough to have grown up when kiwi-made clothes were the usual. The market is the test, of course…
Horrible, horrible, horrible
Watch these "journalists" and autocue readers pushing Amazon's cynical propaganda….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrgrp72vcV8
Just in case your in denial about the real world – there are wild cat strikes and direct action all across the USA as their economy melts.
Because the left is waking up to the reality, that organising on class grounds is the only answer.
https://industrialworker.org/organize-the-class-not-just-the-workplace/
You could sit there and wait for a government tethered to hard right economics to make a change in your life – or you could organise. The choice is yours.
Agree. A General Strike would sit Trump on his arse.
Some direct action here is needed now in respect of getting the Labour Caucus attention on the matter of finally retiring Rogernomics and its neo liberal structural elements throughout the public sector. The Govt. has transferred $billions to the capitalist class and petit bourgeois of this country and little to the working-class in the C19 bailouts. The likes of Fletchers, AirNZ and CHH are going to sack 1000s regardless! One man band self employed have taken loans they will likely never repay from other taxpayers. It will be time for action soon enough as rents go unpaid and people unfed.
The class nature of NZ with hundreds of thousands of self employed and SMEs and provincials stuck in the 1950s, makes it difficult to organise–including a non fighting central labour organisation–NZCTU, a failure since its 1987 inception. But nonetheless a way can always be found.
Uniting all who can be united around some immediate goals should be priority of all leftists.
https://www.twitter.com/NatsLeader/status/1265801987683041280
And very "Bigly " hands- quote “Todd Conehead”
It is a beautiful plan! When Steven Joyce has fact-checked it for hidden holes, I will personally tweet it, at 3:00 AM, wearing my
MAGANational Party hat and nothing else.Todd Muller finally announces the Nats plan for economic recovery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l91ISfcuzDw
well wow 2 out of it to speak sensibly- such is my life -oddly i have faith in the country's direction – the national party seems to have borked itself so funny good fortune to all standanista's good fortune for the future
"Get real"
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018748311/coronavirus-adrian-orr-confident-nz-financial-system-can-handle-virus-blow
RNZ going to have to up their game if they want to continue to interview Mr Orr.
How can an organisation that made only a few months ago ONLY made $929m in 6 months ($155m/mth)!!! Now find this acceptable ??? Perhaps banks should as a solution NOT pay TAX times are tough for these banks 😢
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12226800
New Zealand's largest bank, ANZ, has asked its contractors to take a pay cut of 20 per cent until the end of September.
“The economic environment has changed, and we are responding by making changes across the business,” she said.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300022941/anz-asks-contractors-to-take-a-pay-cut
The National Party have had weeks if not months to produce their plan. To be very critical of the Government actions they must prove competence with credible alternative plans.
Surely the GST "refund" could only be on recent purchases and not the GST collected on customer sales.
In any case would the taxpayers get upset that they would still pay 15% while business get a 15% discount?
When I protest about the price of milk, beef or lamb in NZ I am told I have to pay the price of the overseas market. When overseas farmers have a potato glut and we might get cheaper chips, NZ farmers ask us not to buy them! It sounds like, “farmers way always” and bugger the consumers. If I see cheap chips I will fill my boots. They want the right to pollute waterways and the right to rip us off too!!!
Cringeworthy Muller moments.
https://www.twitter.com/D00m95/status/1265645303748628485
Brutal
What matters most? According to scientific proof , climate change. Or 100 times 1939. Yet and yet. Disagree with me please.