Open mike 30/03/2025

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 30th, 2025 - 37 comments
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Step up to the mike …

37 comments on “Open mike 30/03/2025 ”

  1. Kay 1
    30 March 2025 at 7:48 am

    If you missed this, well worth a listen. Interviewing Tabitha Paul about her police comments that have the other politicians clutching their pearls in dismay.

    Listening to this, I hear an intelligent young woman who can clearly articulate her case. Unlike, say, our PM, deputy PM, etc etc.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/focusonpolitics/audio/2018980899/politics-and-the-police

    Reply
  2. Kay 2
    30 March 2025 at 8:17 am

    Benefit rates, housing and social cohesion.

    He said the research showed that rich people thought that benefit levels were enough, but poorer people thought they were not.

    (Gee, no kidding.)

    "What that tells you is there is a perception we're doing enough. But those who are living in those conditions are telling us it's very hard to escape the poverty trap… have we got our welfare safety net right? Have we got the ability to climb out of poverty right? The wider social cohesion part is hard to answer."

    He said the fact that the JobSeeker basic benefit is $361 a week for single people over 25 without children, compared to $538 a week for people on NZ Super might surprise some people.

    (Especially those who end up having to receive it.)

    "If you're old you deserve more money than if you're young and poor? We have a very inequitable welfare system… I don't think people realise how little money is given. That's the stereotype thing.

    Followed by the pertinent question:

    "Are there ways we can connect with each other and have conversations across diverse groups of people?

    "Social cohesion can best be understood as the glue that holds our communities and society at large together,"

    "The opposite of social cohesion is polarisation. Without social cohesion, societies become increasingly unstable – from politics to business, to civil society, to day-to-day life in our communities. This is a pattern increasingly seen around the world, and New Zealand is not immune."

    I think polarisation is now ingrained, and the window has passed for us to connect across the divide. With regards to the position of beneficiaries in this country, a decades- long divide and rule campaign against us by successive governments and especially the media has been extremely successful.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/556587/do-you-know-what-people-on-benefits-actually-get

    Unfortunately, just 2 days earlier, RNZ published this article, while mostly useful reading, began with these lines, thus perpetuating the myth.

    James, a single parent to a 13-year-old son, says he's living quite happily on the benefit – but is worried about getting stuck.

    The Whangārei man, whom RNZ has agreed not to identify, has been on sole parent support and Jobseeker Support for seven or eight years.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/556428/benefit-struggle-i-ve-fallen-into-the-trap-of-being-100-percent-reliant-on-it

    Reply
    • Kay 2.1
      30 March 2025 at 8:18 am

      Mods, apologies, I'm still no good at formatting longer posts. I hope this isn't too much of a mess smiley

      Reply
    • weka 2.2
      30 March 2025 at 10:22 am

      The other thing that most people in NZ who've never been through it don't get is just how many barriers there are to earning money in addition to the benefits. The reason the dole is set so low is because there is an expectation that the person will also work part time. But the abatement rate on wages is high.

      As an example, someone on JS with no partner and not kids (because this is the simplest calculation to do), gets $405.59 gross/$353.46 net per week. The abatement rate currently above $160 (gross). At a living wage that's just under 6 hours/week. At minimum wage that's just under 7 hours/week.

      Once you earn over $160/wk, every dollar after that is taxed at 70%.

      so someone doing 7 hours a week on minimum wage will get around $570 per week gross. They may get accommodation supplement on top of that, depending on their situation and where they live. They might also be eligible for TAS, the hardship benefit, but TAS is taxed at 100% from the first dollar you earn.

      If they get 15 hours of work per week, they would get $701. That's the dole plus an hourly rate of $8.70. Once you factor in things like transport to work, it just becomes unviable.

      If that $701 was for a 40 hour week, the hourly rate would be $17. No-one in NZ is expected to live on that, because the budget just can't work.

      The only way to get out of poverty then is to get a full time job or do cash work.

      I've used gross figures, but the actual amounts might be different because I'm not sure how WINZ and IRD handle the various calculations (eg are wages taxed at the secondary rate?).

      The biggest thing that could be done to change poverty for people who can work would be to remove the abatement rates. This is too difficult politically because people who have low waged jobs and no benefit would probably see it as unfair, and there are definitely fairness issues here but imagine if we told workers that some of their wages would be taxed an additional 70%. The simplest way to resolve that is to pay all low income workers a universal benefit.

      Reply
      • Kay 2.2.1
        30 March 2025 at 10:49 am

        yesyes

        The cynic in me is sure those abatement rules are a deliberate ploy to a) keep people in the benefit trap, and b) cut down the benefit bill.

        Many moons ago when I could still work part/time my wage was $13.25 hr (this was higher than minimum wage at the time). I worked 20hrs a week, and after all the abatements and secondary tax, I came away with a whole extra $80, so $4/hr. While it was pathetic, I did actually like paying taxes that just went straight back to me via my Invalids benefit, and also ACC levies, which in subsequent years I've claimed back on.

        The only positive was, when I was unable to subsequently work anymore, I had the benefit fall back, and didn't need to go through all the reapplication nightmare. I don't know if that's the case anymore with SLP, or how it is for jobseekers.

        I can't say I'm looking forward to the annual April fools day joke that is the annual 'increase', and seeing just how much gets deducted from supplements because I've had the audacity to get an increase in income (another form of abatement even for non-workers.)

        Reply
        • Craig H 2.2.1.1
          30 March 2025 at 2:44 pm

          In theory, the abatement trap is to force people off benefits by making it uneconomical to stay on a benefit once the part-time work is above a certain level.

          I don't agree with that approach, but it's deliberate, not an unintended consequence.

          Reply
    • SPC 2.3
      30 March 2025 at 3:04 pm

      The impact is greater on those who receive support at a level above the main benefit.

      For those single on the main benefit without AS, older homeowner or person at home with their parent – they can earn up to $160 a week on top of the JSB without any impact.

      The current level ($160) is a doubling on a level frozen for well over 10 years.

      Reply
  3. PsyclingLeft.Always 3
    30 March 2025 at 9:23 am

    The cookers are cooking Amerika. Mis and DisInformation…rules.

    Top vaccine official forced out of US FDA

    The head of the US Food and Drug Administration department responsible for assuring the safety and effectiveness of vaccines has resigned, according to a resignation letter obtained by CNN.

    Dr Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Centre for Biologics Evaluation and Research, was given the choice to resign or be fired. Marks' resignation takes effect 5 April.

    "It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies," Marks wrote in his letter, referring to US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.

    WTAF ? "gold standard" ? "radical Transparency" ? RFK jnr cooker in chief : taking Amerika back to a very dark age…

    In an email, an HHS official told CNN, "If Peter Marks does not want to get behind restoring science to its golden standard and promoting radical transparency, then he has no place at FDA under the strong leadership of Secretary Kennedy."

    Medical Experts are alarmed..

    Marks' forced resignation and other recent moves by HHS drew a wave of warnings from health experts.

    "This is what happens when you hire a 20 year virulent anti-vaccine activist who continues to deny the science that vaccines don't cause autism, and put him in a position of influence," Dr Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Centre at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a vaccine adviser to the FDA, told CNN, referring to Kennedy.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/556579/top-vaccine-official-forced-out-of-us-fda

    RFK jnr…a very clear danger to Public Health.

    Organisations opposing Trump's Kennedy pick for US top health job urge senators to reject him

    consumer group Public Citizen and healthcare coverage advocacy group Protect Our Care co-wrote a letter sent on Friday to all 100 US senators, urging them to announce their opposition to Kennedy. They recruited 85 other non-governmental groups to join the letter, including the Union of Concerned Scientists, the NAACP and the National Organisation for Women.

    "If Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. takes command of the Department of Health and Human Services, we will face lies and disinformation at an unprecedented scale that are capable of unwinding a century of progress on fighting disease and promoting public health," the letter said, which has been seen by Reuters.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/539907/organisations-opposing-trump-s-kennedy-pick-for-us-top-health-job-urge-senators-to-reject-him

    And…Samoa. The RFK jnr toxic and deadly misinformation effect. Comment by someone well respected both medically, and otherwise.

    Sir Collin Tukuitonga criticises RFK Jr's measles claims, urges leaders to reject health misinformation

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/540756/sir-collin-tukuitonga-criticises-rfk-jr-s-measles-claims-urges-leaders-to-reject-health-misinformation

    Reply
    • weka 3.1
      30 March 2025 at 10:29 am

      so what's the plan? You obviously want to ostracise the group of people you call cookers. So you think they're deplorables? What do you think is going to happen with the next pandemic?

      If we keep ostracising people, we will keep losing. Best case scenario atm is we get a change of government next year, with Hipkins as leader. He's already positioning himself as leading a centrist government. Maybe Labour last more than one term, but by the end of this decade, the polycrisis will have deepened and there will be more people struggling who are even less likely to be persuaded by a sanctimonious left who keep telling them Labour will make things better.

      Reading Kay's comment above where she believes that it's too late to resolve the social divides in NZ, is that what you think too? If not, why is ostracising people seen as a useful position or strategy?

      Reply
    • Drowsy M. Kram 3.2
      30 March 2025 at 10:53 am

      "It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies," Marks wrote in his letter, referring to US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.

      The cookers are cooking Amerika. Mis and DisInformation…rules.

      yes Sadly, the persuasive power of evidence is weak compared to the power of belief.

      Suppose an individual believes something with his whole heart; suppose further that he has taken irrevocable actions because of it. Finally suppose he is presented with evidence, unequivocal and undeniable evidence that his belief is wrong. What will happen? The individual will frequently emerge not only unshaken but even more convinced of the truth of his beliefs than ever before. Indeed he may even show a new fervor for converting other people to his view. – Brooke Gladstone

      Federal Government’s Growing Banned Words List Is Chilling Act of Censorship [21 March 2025]
      A growing list of words and materials are being scrubbed from government websites and documents in an attempt by the Trump administration to remove all references not only to diversity, equity and inclusion, but also to climate change, vaccines, and a host of other topics.

      Robert F Kennedy Jr and his ilk now also have the power to censor existing evidence (think Trump 2.0 and climate change), and undermine the capacity of expert researchers to generate new evidence – don’t take future research for granted.

      Outcry as Trump withdraws support for research that mentions ‘climate’

      Reply
      • PsyclingLeft.Always 3.2.1
        30 March 2025 at 7:16 pm

        Aye DMK. RFK Jr and ilk are indeed dangerous people. Now unimaginably more so, with the vast power gifted him by his fellow nutbar, Pres trump. I dont have a thumbs-up emogi on my PC, but have a virtual one !

        The only possible silver lining (which I still see) are those beacons who will still speak out.

        "This is what happens when you hire a 20 year virulent anti-vaccine activist who continues to deny the science that vaccines don't cause autism, and put him in a position of influence," Dr Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Centre at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a vaccine adviser to the FDA, told CNN, referring to Kennedy.

        "So what you're about to see is studies done, presumably under the imprimatur of the CDC, showing that vaccines cause autism. That's what you're about to see, because he will put in place people who will shoehorn data to make it look that way, which will create more fear, will create likely more people who will choose not to be vaccinated, and you'll just see more and more in the way of these outbreaks."

        Dr Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and Covid-19 response coordinator during the Biden administration, said on X that Marks is a brilliant scientist who "helped usher in scientific rigor and transparency into the FDA."

        Pushing him out makes "the FDA dramatically weaker, less effective," Jha wrote. "This is not how we make America healthy."

        https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/556579/top-vaccine-official-forced-out-of-us-fda

        Reply
    • Obtrectator 3.3
      30 March 2025 at 11:54 am

      All I could say to Mr Secretary Kennedy is what was once allegedly said to another prominent Catholic, many years ago: "e pur si muove". (Very loosely translatable as "ultimately the science can't be denied".)

      Reply
      • tWig 3.3.1
        30 March 2025 at 1:53 pm

        While it's about the validity of the science, it is also important to understand the emotions at the heart of misinformation. I have found the BBC podcast 'Things fell apart" by Jon Ronson a great place to understand the emotional context and factual nuance in the development of conspiracy theories. Ronson teases out the roots of many that have swept across the US and percolated into NZ since the pandemic. Left and right ideologies are both represented in his two series.

        These two podcasts, They're coming for you, Honey and You'll own nothing and you'll be happy are excellent entry points. The podcasts are very listenable, and very human. The format has Ronson interviewing a range of people at the heart of each issue.

        The first gives the story of Judy Mikovits, the medical researcher at the heart to the Plandemic disinformation video. The second is the background to the evolution of the "15 minute cities" theory: they'll lock you down in your suburbs and you'll be barred from stepping out.

        Re-listened to a number of them last night while jigsawing, and in the best way you come out well-informed while being drawn into the personal stories of those involved.

        Reply
      • PsyclingLeft.Always 3.3.2
        31 March 2025 at 7:07 pm

        Obtrectator, I was not familiar with that particular phrase… again you have broadened my word/phrase knowledge. Re reading it renewed my respect for Galileo and others who tried (even facing torture and worse : ( , to bring Rationality to the world.

        Cheers.

        Reply
  4. Dennis Frank 4
    30 March 2025 at 10:50 am

    Sir Ian Taylor (founder and managing director of Animation Research) seems to have released an open letter to the grouch who's straining at his leash: https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360632590/deputy-prime-ministers-war-woke-and-what-champion

    [To me,] being woke is not about ideology. It’s about responsibility. It’s about understanding the past so we can do better in the future. It’s about listening, learning, and acting with purpose. […]

    […]

    Mike Casey, through his own cherry orchard in Central Otago, has shown what’s possible. He replaced all fossil-fuel machinery with electric alternatives – and is now saving up to $60,000 a year on energy costs. Multiply that across every sector, and you begin to see the true economic power of going electric.

    Electrification is not just an environmental solution—it’s a national savings plan. One estimate from Rewiring Aotearoa’s Investing in Tomorrow report puts that saving at $11 billion a year by 2040 if we electrify all our homes and cars. We keep more money in the country, create future-focused jobs, and reduce our dependence on imported energy we don’t control. $11 billion a year is a lot of hospitals, and we also reduce our carbon footprint. By 2040 the savings would accumulate to $95 billion.

    Those would be great numbers to deliver to the Paris Accord don’t you think?

    So, e hoa, here’s my question: Why don’t you champion this?

    Winston: "Because I'm a conservative. That futuristic thinking is for liberals. If they can make it work, I'll go along with it but my natural way of engaging the future is to live in the present with a perpetual focus on the rear-view mirror. Fortunately my chauffeur looks ahead for me, so it all works really well."

    [I’ve edited your copy-pasta to adhere to the original narrative and show where you left out large shreds of text.

    Your semi-satirical swipe at Winston Peters is just that and doesn’t address anything of the Ian Taylor’s very good opinion piece in a meaningful and constructive way – Incognito]

    Reply
  5. Tony Veitch 5
    30 March 2025 at 11:22 am

    Austerity, as we know, is a political choice, and makes absolutely no sense!

    Richard Murphy explains – 8 mins long.

    Reply
  6. joe90 6
    30 March 2025 at 12:40 pm

    Molotov-Ribbtrop 2.0 with Ukraine as the new Poland.

    /

    Donald Trump is holding a gun to the head of Volodymyr Zelensky, demanding huge reparations payments and laying claim to half of Ukraine’s oil, gas, and hydrocarbon resources as well as almost all its metals and much of its infrastructure.

    The latest version of his “minerals deal”, obtained by The Telegraph, is unprecedented in the history of modern diplomacy and state relations.

    “It is an expropriation document,” said Alan Riley, an expert on energy law at the Atlantic Council. “There are no guarantees, no defence clauses, the US puts up nothing.

    “The Americans can walk away, the Ukrainians can’t. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

    The text leaves little doubt that Mr Trump’s chief objective is to incorporate Ukraine as a province of America’s oil, gas and resource industries.

    It dovetails with parallel talks between the US and Russia for a comprehensive energy partnership, including plans to restore West Siberian gas flows to Europe in large volumes, with US companies and Trump-aligned financiers gaining a major stake in the business.

    […]

    The US will control infrastructure linked to natural resources “including, but not limited to, roads, rail, pipelines and other transportation assets; ports, terminals and other logistics facilities and refineries, processing facilities, natural gas liquefaction and/or regasification facilities and similar assets”.

    Three of the five board members on the new fund will be chosen by the US. It will have “A” shares and golden shares. America will receive all the royalties until Ukraine has paid off at least $100bn of war debt to the US, with 4pc interest added – less than the $350bn floated earlier by Mr Trump but still half of Ukraine’s GDP, and unpayable.

    Ukraine has only “B’ shares and will receive 50pc of the royalties only once its arrears are paid off.

    The fund is registered in Delaware but under New York jurisdiction. The US has the first right of refusal on all projects. It has authority to examine the books and accounts of any Ukrainian ministry or agency whenever it wants during working hours.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/03/27/revealed-trump-plan-force-ukraine-restore-putin-gas-empire/

    Reply
  7. Stephen D 7
    30 March 2025 at 1:02 pm

    Dr Bryce Edwards doesn’t always get it right, (IMO.) But this is on the button.

    https://democracyproject.substack.com/p/integrity-briefing-nzs-trust-crisis?r=aax0&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

    “For the first time in the 25 years of the Edelman Trust Barometer being published, New Zealand’s overall trust index has fallen into outright distrust territory – dropping to 47%, below the global average of 56%. Perhaps most telling, a full 67% of New Zealanders report moderate to high levels of grievance toward institutions, believing that government, business and “the wealthy” actively disadvantage ordinary people. Such findings point to a country “divided by mistrust,” where scepticism has deepened into a pervasive sense that the system is rigged in favour of an elite few.”

    “That fight is now underway in New Zealand, in town halls, on talkback radio, across social media, and in everyday conversations. It’s messy and fraught, but it signals an engaged citizenry. In raising their voices, New Zealanders are asserting ownership of their democracy. This rising political awareness and demand for change may be just what the country needs to renew its social contract – to ensure New Zealand remains not a playground for the wealthy few, but a society where everyone has a stake and a say. The path forward is clear: heed the calls for reform, address the grievances, and in doing so, begin to restore the trust that is so vital for a healthy, functioning democracy.”

    Reply
    • joe90 7.1
      30 March 2025 at 1:15 pm

      Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa:

      .

      The 2025 Acumen Edelman Trust Barometer (AETB) makes for very grim reading. As the AETB starts off by noting,

      “A sense of grievance is taking hold in New Zealand, with 67% of New Zealanders expressing a moderate or higher sense of grievance, a figure that surpasses the global average of 61%. This is defined by a belief that government and business harm them and serve narrow interests, and ultimately the wealthy benefit while the regular people struggle.”

      And goes on to stress,

      “This year, the Trust Barometer showed New Zealanders are feeling overlooked by those in power and disillusioned as a result,” Adelle Keely, Acumen Chief Executive says. “While business is still our most trusted institution, its trajectory is not going in the right direction. This year’s results should be a major wake-up call to all leaders. The New Zealand public expect more from our institutions. Grievance is accompanied by three core psychosocial components, a lack of hope for the next generation, a lack of trust in business leaders, and worry that key institutional leaders are purposely lying to us.”

      […]

      My reading focussed less on business, and more on the broader captures of society, sense-making, trust, social cohesion, and media, and information ecologies.

      Key points

      The full slide deck of the AETB report is only available for free after registering on the website, and worth the effort. It’s data heavy, but the infographics make for interesting, if not downright disturbing reading.

      1. Overall trust is stagnant, and neutral: New Zealand’s overall Trust Index score remains at 51, placing it in the “neutral” category. This is unchanged from 2024, which can be read as a representative indicator on the quality of government, and governance since the 2023 general election. The country lags behind the global average (56) and many other surveyed nations.
      2. The erosion of trust: While still the most trusted institution (54%), trust in Business saw a significant YoY drop (-6 points). More importantly, trust also declined for Government (45%, -3 points) and NGOs (53%, -4 points). Mainstream media (MSM) remains the least trusted (35%, -1 point). New Zealand trust levels for all institutions are below the global averages.
      3. The rich(er) trust less: The trust gap between high-income (58%) and low-income (44%) New Zealanders has narrowed. This is primarily driven by a sharp decline in trust among high-income earners, particularly towards Business (-13 points) and Government (-9 points), rather than a rise in low-income trust (which actually rose slightly for Business).
      4. Deep pessimism about the future: There is a significant lack of optimism for the next generation in New Zealand. Only 19% believe the next generation will be better off, far below the global average (36%) and typical of developed nations.
      5. A growing distrust of traditional meaning-makers: Worry that leaders (Government, Business, Journalists) are purposely misleading the public has reached record levels in new Zealand. This fear is highest concerning journalists and reporters (67%). This decline is inextricably entwined with the seemingly inexorable deterioration in New Zealand’s media, and information ecologies, studied below.
      6. A “Crisis of Grievance” is pronounced: A significant majority (67%) of New Zealanders report a moderate or high sense of grievance against business, government, and the rich – notably higher than the global average (61%). This grievance is fuelled by economic anxieties (job security fears related to trade, competition, offshoring, recession), perceptions of inequality (68% believe the wealthy don’t pay fair taxes), and widespread worries about discrimination.
      7. Grievance imposes a significant “Trust Penalty”: Higher levels of grievance strongly correlate with lower trust across all institutions. Those with high grievance actively distrust Business (35%), Government (25%), NGOs (45%), and Media (25%). Interestingly, grievance also fuels suspicion towards AI, and erodes trust in business leaders (CEOs).
      8. Grievance fuels zero-sum thinking, and demands for corrective measures: Individuals with higher grievance are much more likely (2x) to adopt a “zero-sum” mindset (“what helps others comes at my cost”). They are also significantly more likely to believe business is not doing enough to address societal issues like affordability, climate change, retraining, misinformation, and discrimination.

      https://sanjanah.wordpress.com/2025/03/28/trust-in-freefall-what-2025-acumen-edelman-barometer-reveals-about-new-zealands-future/

      Reply
    • Dennis Frank 7.2
      30 March 2025 at 1:26 pm

      He hits a note of optimism. "There are signs that politicians are beginning to get the message." Someone gave him an extremely powerful microscope?

      His analysis also displays a lack of focus on the way political parties fail to represent the voters on an authentic basis. Perhaps one could argue that they default to representing partisans instead of the common good because democracy was designed to be oppositional instead of forming common ground.

      Funny how he goes back to a rerun of Corbyn/Sanders instead of learning why they failed. Grievances producing reformers only works as causal influence when folks become motivated by common interests. You'd think he'd have intellect sufficient to grasp this – but he seems to get the global trend of subsiding trust in the establishment.

      Reply
    • tc 7.3
      30 March 2025 at 2:06 pm

      They're unconcerned about appearing trustworthy or giving a toss.

      It'll be double down on the BS, media poodles in tow outgunning the opposition resources by multiples.

      That new sth akl hospital after the absolute kicking they've given the health system one of many cynical plays to come no doubt.

      Reply
    • Phillip ure 7.4
      30 March 2025 at 3:28 pm

      That is a very good piece from Edwards..a coherent explanation of where we are..

      …and where we need to go..

      ..and soon…

      And it must be a wake-up call for labour..

      ..and a blueprint for what they have to do..

      (I recommend going to the link..and reading the whole piece..)

      Reply
  10. SPC 10
    30 March 2025 at 2:42 pm

    Corporation capital and provision of services within nation states – a case study.

    Sky knows NZR has an internal problem with the management of the professional game and working with the provincial unions (who manage the amateur club game), so makes a low ball offer for Super Rugby that excludes coverage of the NPC and FPC games. As one "professional" body to another.

    It is also considering selling out to DAZN (who have bought FOXTEL in Oz), who are the other known bidder for Super Rugby coverage.

    It is likely the locally owned Sky would perceive loss of the Super Rugby coverage as providing a reason for selling to the foreign DAZN (to reduce reaction from their customers).

    On 12 August 2020, Sky announced it had sold Outside Broadcasting to NEP New Zealand, part of American production company NEP Group. As part of the transaction, NEP will be Sky's outsourced technical production partner in New Zealand until at least 2030. The sale was cleared by the Commerce Commission on 5 February 2021.

    It would appear Sky has this issue to consider. It does not seem to have a long term capacity to provide outdoor sports coverage. The five year contract is only to 2030.

    Options might include working with government and TVNZ to restore domestic outdoor sports coverage capability for the provincial game – with a view of providing domestic capability for Super rugby (maybe with an Oz based partner, such as STAN) beyond 2030.

    Another factor is TVNZ is no longer providing free to air broadcast from 2027. On line service only, or otherwise via cable/satellite provider.

    Reply
  11. SPC 11
    30 March 2025 at 2:58 pm

    There is currently legislation before a Select Committee on stalking.

    One thing this nation does not have is case law on this. Because we may be the only first world democratic nation state without such legislation.

    Thus the identification of stalking and gaslighting behaviour as criminal or sociopathic behaviour has yet to occur in case law. Only tenuously in the defence made by counsel representing those who have abused women. Or in the practice of police who profile a person as the type who might be guilty, because their evidential case is so weak.

    The absence of stalking legislation is one reason why we are land safe for predators and those who protect them.

    This is not just about individual behaviour, but also group behaviour against individuals.

    Reply
  12. SPC 12
    30 March 2025 at 4:16 pm

    The Housing Minister says he doesn't believe tightened eligibility rules for emergency housing have led to more homelessness, despite reports the move has led to a rise in rough sleeping.

    He is totally correct, all the policy was designed to achieve was to reduce the waiting list for emergency housing.

    National always designs policies of this sort, such as reducing waiting lists in health care without providing more treatment to those in need. That is also not a policy designed to make things worse, only to make National look better without doing anything.

    https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/03/30/bishop-denies-emergency-housing-policy-leading-to-homelessness/

    Reply
    • Incognito 12.1
      30 March 2025 at 5:26 pm

      It doesn’t matter what he believes or doesn’t, it’s a distraction; what matters is what he wants us to believe or not. Pierce through the smokescreen of seven veils and see what he’s really done.

      Reply
  13. joe90 13
    30 March 2025 at 6:19 pm

    Chan kiddies with nukes.

    /

    https://x.com/HouseForeignGOP/status/1906008542382879094

    The Gleeful Cruelty of the White House X Account

    Welcome to the 4chan administration.

    On March 18, the official White House account on X posted two photographs of Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, a woman who was arrested earlier this month by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The post described her as a “previously deported alien felon convicted of fentanyl trafficking,” and celebrated her capture as a win for the administration. In one photograph, Basora-Gonzalez is shown handcuffed and weeping in a public parking lot.

    The White House account posted about Basora-Gonzalez again yesterday—this time, rendering her capture in the animated style of the beloved Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, who co-founded the animation company Studio Ghibli. Presumably, whoever runs the account had used ChatGPT, which has been going viral this week for an update to its advanced “4o” model that enables it to transform photographs in the style of popular art, among other things. The White House did not respond directly to a request for comment, instead referring me to a post by Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr that says, in part, “The arrests will continue. The memes will continue.”

    […]

    Beyond the fact that this kind of shitposting is so obviously beneath the office, the posts are genuinely sinister. By adding a photo of an ICE arrest to a light-hearted viral trend, for instance, the White House account manages to perfectly capture the sociopathic, fascistic tone of ironic detachment and glee of the internet’s darkest corners and most malignant trolls. The official X account of the White House isn’t just full of low-rent 4chan musings, it’s an alarming signal of an administration that’s fluent in internet extremism and seemingly dedicated to pursuing its casual cruelty as a chief political export.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/03/gleeful-cruelty-white-house-x-account/682234/?

    https://archive.li/99aUW

    Reply
  14. Dennis Frank 14
    30 March 2025 at 7:44 pm

    On a positive note, there's progress being made in the general direction of using carbon dioxide as fuel. Nature invented plants for that purpose, but industrial level high tech systems could stabilise atmospheric carbon dioxide.

    1. https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Novel_material_holds_promise_for_tech_to_convert_CO2_into_fuel_999.html
    2. https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/03/12/1113150/this-artificial-leaf-makes-hydrocarbons-out-of-carbon-dioxide/
    3. https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/solar-powered-device-captures-carbon-dioxide-from-air-to-make-sustainable-fuel
    4. https://scitechdaily.com/breakthrough-tech-converts-carbon-dioxide-into-methane-fuel/

    There may be other options but these give us an idea of scientific progress happening nowadays. Someone oughta tell Elon to stop being Trump's bloodhound trying to nose out Deep State agents, and put his money behind one of these development projects. Even if he finds them, they will likely tell him they receive their orders anonymously and folks will then assume the control system is extraterrestrial. Yeah I know plenty already do but we don't need to multiply them…

    Reply
  15. aj 15
    30 March 2025 at 10:24 pm

    Up the Wahs

    Reply

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