Open mike 30/06/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 30th, 2021 - 110 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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

Step up to the mike …

110 comments on “Open mike 30/06/2021 ”

  1. Ad 1

    When a standard small-l liberal conservative like Chris Finlayson can go full on-record slaying the entire National Party, you can bet the floodgates will open to more ex-Ministers going after them and forecasting their destruction.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300345221/national-party-is-selfdestructing-former-minister-says

    He's former Attorney-General, former law partner, now QC.

    This is a big signal for the legal establishment, let alone the party.

    • Jester 1.1

      Don't forget that Labour was down where National are now (22%?) until Andrew Little decided to relinquish the leadership. So it's highly likely they will survive but not be ready to govern until around 2029 or so.

      • Sabine 1.1.1

        And again, it seems to be forgotten that NZ is MMP and that even with only 22 % and a few other parties they could govern – as could Labour for that matter if they have enough friends left in the other parties to form a working coaltion.

        The current majority of Labour is unusual in that setting, and as far as i can see i don't see it repeated in 2023.

        And fwiw, lets see how housing, mental health, the health system, the public school system, our hospitals, etc will look come election day.

        • GreenBus 1.1.1.1

          I suspect Labour will get away with just tinkering as usual. Lots of deserved critisim about lack of progress on many of issues, but Labour/Greens/Maori would be feeling pretty safe because to vote them out would put who in power? Would National/Act do much to fix our problems? Nope.

          • Sabine 1.1.1.1.1

            As i said, the best this country can hope for is a Labour Party that must go into a coalition, even if only with their junior partner the green party.

            We will see how much are still happy to vote for the lot come 2023.

          • Sabine 1.1.1.1.2

            What problems have Labour fixed since they came about?

            Housing? That is an even worse problem now with a good decent mid sized town now housed at 100 of millions of dollars every few month.

            Health care? have you tried getting it atm? Waiting lists? No beds for ?Starship? Crumbling Emergency departments and nurses leaving for OZ cause better pay and houses?

            Schools ? Still underfunded unless for the very rich, still crumbling with unheated transportable class rooms and teachers eating lunch in the Gymnasium?

            cancelled roads and slow trains, and golden bike bridges etc?

            They can tinker, but it must be considered that if you constantly only cut the fraying edges one day you run out of edges to cut. And it seems that that is all they do, its easier and faster then to mend the edges properly. I can see Labour fall for their own arrogance and hubris.

            Oh and maybe a bit more flowing shit in Wellington, cause our infrastructure is awesome and the people in the towns don't need government help? Right? The ratepayer will fix it. Right?

            • Pete 1.1.1.1.2.1

              Schools still "underfunded unless for the very rich, still crumbling with unheated transportable class rooms and teachers eating lunch in the Gymnasium?"

              So what would you do?

              https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/442984/budget-21-2-billion-in-new-education-spending-to-target-future-changes-historic-payroll-mistakes

              I know of a school which has five “leaky building” classrooms which have to be replaced. It’s being handled.
              Impacted by availability of builders etc. of course because they’re all busy. Shall I attack the government and say they’re useless because kids are using a hall and corridors as classrooms?

              • Sabine

                let's do nothing, after all you provided us with handy excuses and leave it to the next government. Rinse repeat. Why have government at all?

                • Pete

                  Do nothing? Hell, I won't be doing nothing, I'll be going to Specsavers because I don't see nothing being done.

                  The attitude is all very roading.

                  "My road is crap. They're not doing anything about it. Why should ours be down the priority list?"

                  Cones. Road works.

                  "Bloody cones, bloody roadworks."

                  Done. "They should've done it ages ago."

                  Next road down the county, and the next, and the next? Same scenario.

                  • Sabine

                    Yes, and the Roads in Northland were crap already under National and Key who blamed it on Helen Clark, and now they are being blamed on John Key. See that rinse repeat in action.

                    And cones are living on the road as they too can't be housed. That is my story behind the cones. They are homeless, as whomever owns them finds it easier and cheaper to just keep them on the road – often as a hazard more then anything, rather then warehousing them after use.

                    And yes, you are right there, they should have done it ages ago, National or Labour, and you know what? They. Did. NOT.

                    But then maybe Labour is gonna be building some two laned bridges in Northland. 🙂 Or build some schools to replace the ones that fall apart, specifically those that are in the poorer areas of the country.

            • woodart 1.1.1.1.2.2

              Ive just spent a week in P.N. hospital. no complaints from me. nothing like as bad as you (constantly) moan about. maybe you need to get out into the real world ,to find that we have it pretty good here. when you have customers in your shop, are you this negative?

              • Sabine

                It is good that you had a good day in hospital.

                here is your average waiting list in Counties Manukau.

                https://countiesmanukau.health.nz/for-health-professionals/waiting-list/

                here is Auckland Central

                https://www.adhb.health.nz/assets/Documents/OIA/2020/12-2020/Wait-times-of-patients.pdf

                and here is PN http://www.midcentraldhb.govt.nz/HealthServices/Pages/Elective.aspx

                In addition the Elective Services Patient Flow Indictors (ESPIs) targets ensure people do not wait longer than four months for a First Specialist Assessment (ESPI 2) or wait greater than four months for certainty of treatment (ESPI 5).

                btw, that whinging you are hearing, its coming from Government. 🙂

                I am however pleased that you got the medical care you needed, and i hope you did not have to wait in agony for month on end for that to happen.

                • woodart

                  perhaps you should read my post correctly before rushing back with yet another moan. I was in hospital for a week, not a day. and perhaps you should also think about positive attitudes (unfortunatley you arent the only person with outrage as your default setting). talking to the nurses at the P.N. hospital(who were great along with ALL of the staff, the one thing they all agree on is that a positive attitude is more important than any amount of dollars. one definite thing I have learnt(many yrs ago) is that a positive attitude towards beauracracy and officialdom gets you much better levels of service…….or you could just whinge, your choice..

    • Incognito 1.2

      Stuff had briefly a Breaking News banner that Collins was going to respond; watch live.

      It has gone …

      I wonder where Collins is …

      Judith, the mike is here. Judith …??

      • alwyn 1.2.1

        I'm surprised that she bothers to talk to that silly woman on Morning Report.

        Why doesn't she talk to Judith about the subjects the interview was meant to be about. Covid vaccination progress, The clamp down on free speech, the shambles that is housing etc.

        Could it be that Radio New Zealand are under instructions not to embarrass the Government?

        Oh well, perhaps you can tell us why Jacinda refuses to talk to the more competent interviewers on New Zealand radio? Mike Hosking for example.

        • Muttonbird 1.2.1.1

          That's proper tin foil hat stuff there. Yes, media is massaged, but if people are concerned about the Covid vaccine, the clampdown on hate speech, and housing, they shit as shit don't want to hear from Judith Collins.

          She can't even run her own party, let alone a country.

          Judith's position is of Judith's making and if the media want to grill her on her fuck-ups in caucus then they should be free to do it, no?

          • Sabine 1.2.1.1.1

            Well i don't disagree with you on Judith (bring back Puckish! or maybe that was Judith?), it certainly will not be the Labour Party that will talk about those people that are not o n board with their 'reforms'. According to the Labour Party they have a 'man' date for that, and thus it is all kumbaya.

            And besides, National said exactly the same thing when Cunliffe spoke, or Andrew Little for that matter. And neither Cunliffe or Little 'ran' the Labour Party successfully for anything on anything.

        • Gabby 1.2.1.2

          What's Horeskin an example of?

          • McFlock 1.2.1.2.1

            How privilege can turn grown men into petulant man-babies?
            The way mass media has a constant temptation to cater to the dumbest segment of the population?
            How capitalism rewards people with confidence rather than competence?
            The ongoing problem of hairstylists exploiting the vulnerable conceit of the tasteless nouveau riche by charging them large sums of money in exchange for silly haircuts?

            So many things, none of which include "the more competent interviewers on New Zealand radio".

        • bwaghorn 1.2.1.3

          Your honor its speaks to the caricature of the defendant collins, its important that people know that collins is capable of killing off any opposition in her party using devious methods, so people can decide if the should believe the defendant collins on any thing else that dribbles out of her nasty twisted little mouth

        • KJT 1.2.1.4

          Hoskings is "competent".

          Thanks for the laugh this evening.

      • Morrissey 1.2.2

        Maybe she's temporarily absconded to Jacobabad, to escape the heat of the National Party imploding…

        https://twitter.com/i/events/1409526197537681412

    • Chris 1.3

      Bloody Findlayson. Wish he'd kept his mouth shut. This'll get Collins sacked and the nats will start their climb back. Honeymoon's over.

      • mac1 1.3.1

        That's possible.

        My reading is that Finlayson's point about the inability of National to reconcile its urban liberal and rural conservative factions (with the added complication of religious conservatism) will continue. The party will falter further and two parties will emerge along with ACT who as libertarians occupy a different space on the right.

        If Muller was really pissed off, and could resist the inevitable repercussions, he would force a by-election and again show the poor candidate vetting and selection, organisation and campaign performance that is the current National party status.

        • woodart 1.3.1.1

          the many different groups that eye each other suspiciously at nat party conferences will keep on drifting apart. more interested in personal gain than benefits for the masses(as it should be, if they are ever honest). it will all come down to how unpopular the current gov has to get to be elected out . with the nats hemouraging voters to everybody else(even parties not in gov, what a hoot),its going to be a looong cold winter for the nats.

      • GreenBus 1.3.2

        Aunty Jude is a tough cookie. Findlayson isn't saying anything we don't all know. If the Nats change leader who would you suggest? The new fellow from Botany? To be thrown under the bus, against JA? Sleep tight Aunty Jude is firmly in charge, I hope.

        • Chris 1.3.2.1

          I'm not suggesting anyone. All I'm predicting is that Findlayson's remarks could easily be the straw that breaks things and that Collins will be rolled – not to get someone they think is good in there, but to get rid of Collins because the longer she stays the more damage they'll have to fix. They'll be looking to at least slow the clear run the government has down because it's Collins that's gicing it to them right now. The honeymoon could be over, unfortunately.

  2. lprent 2

    If you were up very early this morning and missed The Standard, it was because of a power cut at about 0400.

    The UPS'es woke us up, I notified Vector, and shut the system down. The whole of the K Rd area was out.

    Came back up sometime around 0600. When the cat woke me up, I started it up again and took some time to clean up a few nagging server issues.

    (yawn) It will be a later start to work today.

    I am getting a bit tired of being the Vector power outage alarm system for this area. I wish they’d just fix whatever the repeated problem is and return us to having power outages every few years rather than every few months.

    • Incognito 2.1

      You must be on your third coffee by now then 😉

      • lprent 2.1.1

        Went back to bed immediately after that comment. Got up just before 10. Fortunately I had planned to work from home today anyway because it was a cursing day (ie when I was debugging a block of code I wrote weeks ago and learning humility).

        Now I am on my third coffee.

    • Stephen D 2.2

      Gotta love the cat alarm!

      • lprent 2.2.1

        My partner has been treating it like a new born child and feeding her at inappropiate hours. Both a slowly learning the values of fast and break-fast.

  3. Incognito 3

    Some light reading for a cold morning. Of course, Dr Fauci will be vilified, as is already happening. Fair is fair, when fact is fantasy.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/125592098/facts-versus-fantasy

    • Jenny how to get there 3.1

      Facts versus fantasy

      Joe Bennett 05:00, Jun 30 2021

      …. Included among the beasts were both people and dinosaurs, who then lived cheerfully side by side until such time as dinosaurs for some reason died out.

      Joe Bennett

      The dinosaurs died out because there was no room for them in the ark. Joe Bennet should know this. Joe you need to check your facts, read the small print. between the lines, in the first book of chronicles.
      It's all there, at least I think it is. It was just left out in later reprints.
      Joe if you can't find it there, it is the work of the devil. And you had better get yourself to the nearest pentecostal revivalist meeting and fall to your knees and beg to save your soul, or else be horribly tortured in hellfire, FOR EVER

      • Incognito 3.1.1

        Incorrect.

        You don’t know anything about palaeontology, obviously. The dinosaurs died out before the Ark. By about 23 years. Look it up on Wikipedia or Google it. I cannot do the thinking for you.

      • Macro 3.1.2

        The dinosaurs died out because there was no room for them in the ark.

        Noah could have saved the world a plague and malaria too!

        https://youtu.be/4AT73jLE_5Q?t=421

    • Adrian Thornton 3.2

      Here is a more constructive analysis on the primary reasons why so many people rightly distrust MSM and by extension the way 'science' has been weaponized against any critiques that people may genuinely have…as usual Joe Bennett adds nothing to the conversation except his sanctimonious empty headed reactionary dribble.

      Why Has "Ivermectin" Become a Dirty Word?

      "At the worst moment, Internet censorship has driven scientific debate itself underground"

      https://taibbi.substack.com/p/why-has-ivermectin-become-a-dirty-7bd

      • Incognito 3.2.1

        I suffer from Apple phobia and I fear Mac tin.

        • Adrian Thornton 3.2.1.1

          I have no idea what those things mean?..maybe science can help alleviate any discomfort you may be experiencing?

      • Andre 3.2.2

        Taibbi is misrepresenting again, as is becoming sadly common with him.

        Ivermectin skeptics are asking for one thing: for a credible, quality study that shows significant benefit.

        https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/ivermectin-is-the-new-hydroxychloroquine-take-2/

        At least one credible quality study has indeed been done – but the results were that ivermectin had negligible benefit.

        https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2777389

        Nobody is attempting to suppress studies of ivermectin. But I’ll take a guess actual experts capable of setting up and running a credible quality study mostly look at the limited benefit claimed in even the lowest quality and overhyped studies rife with known biases, and conclude there's better things to put their time and resources towards. Particularly since those with deep understanding of pharmacokinetics and cell biochemistry have lots of good reasons to believe ivermectin will be ineffective, as outlined in the sciencebasedmedicine article.

        Now let's consider places where ivermectin has been widely used. Brazil. Peru. Hungary. Czech Republic. India. Any of them look like covid treatment success stories?

        https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries (sorting by deaths per 1M population is useful)

        https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/ivermectin-covid-19-antiparasitic-political/

        And for a general look at where the false claims are coming from about ivermectin getting suppressed etc – this Vice piece is a good backgrounder:

        https://www.vice.com/en/article/wx5z5y/why-is-the-intellectual-dark-web-suddenly-hyping-an-unproven-covid-treatment

        • mauī 3.2.2.1

          "Ivermectin skeptics are asking for one thing: for a credible, quality study that shows significant benefit.".

          Obviously you're not looking very hard… there are dozens of peer reviewed positive studies – https://c19ivermectin.com/

          "Nobody is attempting to suppress studies of ivermectin."

          Yeah right… so why is even mentioning ivermectin censored on the largest social media sites in the world.

          • Andre 3.2.2.1.1

            Here's an exercise for you, maui.

            Pick any of the studies you want from that c19ivermectin site. Find the source paper reporting it, and explain why you think it's a credible, quality study. Be sure to look at aspects such as blinding, randomisation, controls, numbers of patients in the various arms of the study.

            Studies that have low numbers (which make it very difficult to tell if there's a "there" there amid the statistical noise), might not blinded or randomised or with any of a number of serious flaws can still get peer-reviewed and published. But they aren't actually good evidence, at best they might be pointers to what treatment to trial in a better larger study.

            These small, non-blinded poorly controlled, poorly randomised studies tend to be badly contaminated by confirmation bias, where the person conducting the study believes they have "the answer" and makes choices that bias the results. Such as one study I saw that had a total of 20ish patients, the control arm had only four patients, and the control arm patients were on average the oldest, highest BMI, highest co-morbidity score. They are also badly prone to publication bias – whereby only the positive results where the researchers can proudly trumpet their results actually get published, and the studies that don't generate positive results just get quietly shelved.

            As for censorship, that issue is discussed in the Vice piece linked above:

            What goes undiscussed here, of course, is that Big Tech isn’t suppressing science—as outlined above, ivermectin is being vigorously studied across the world—but is, rather, moderating promotion of and advocacy for an as-yet unproven cure for a serious disease. The alternative here—that YouTube, if it doesn't bar advocacy for the use of potentially dangerous drugs in potentially dangerous ways, will become a haven for the promotion of unproven and at times outright dangerous quack cures, in the same way that it was previously a haven for Sandy Hook and Holocaust denialism and other rather pernicious forms of misinformation including bleach drinking—goes undiscussed. …

            Youtube's actual policy is here:

            https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9891785?hl=en

            In particular:

            Educational, documentary, scientific or artistic content

            We may allow content that violates the misinformation policies noted on this page if that content includes context that gives equal or greater weight to countervailing views from local health authorities or to medical or scientific consensus. We may also make exceptions if the purpose of the content is to condemn or dispute misinformation that violates our policies. This context must appear in the images or audio of the video itself. Providing it in the title or description is insufficient.

          • Macro 3.2.2.1.2

            No worries maui. There is plenty of it around. If needed you can always get your dose here:

            https://www.iahp.com.au/animal-products/ausmectin-cattle-pour-on

    • weka 4.1

      Click on main text in Kristina’s tweet to open the thread

      • Rosemary McDonald 4.1.1

        Yet instead of fighting women’s oppression & demolishing a gender prison that also harms us, you try to demolish feminists, fight to strengthen the prison walls, assert male dominance over the female wing & add a new non-binary wing but the prison & the oppression still remain .

        I still reckon that Triter and Faceache are largely stinking pits of superficial and vile narcissistic venting, but now and again there are pearls cast.

        An uplifting read, and somehow hopeful….thanks weka for braving the Dark Places and returning with this.

        • weka 4.1.1.1

          it's all about the curation of one's account. On TS, moderators do it, on twitface it's up to the individual.

    • Gabby 4.2

      Is that a joke definition?

      • weka 4.2.1

        It's hard to tell with Lavery, maybe they're shitposting or trolling. But the response/analysis of the position is valid IMO, because Lavery is part of the hard core queer culture that wants to restrict women's rights. Even if Lavery was joking, they're still pouring fuel of the fire of misogyny and sexism.

        • weka 4.2.1.1

          This came out around the same time. Lavery is a one of the editors. Lavery claims the cover is satire, GCFs say the fuck it is when images of guns and other weapons are aimed at feminists online all the time in the gender/sex war. It's trolling and direct messaging imo, as well as normalising violent imagery within trans activism. One of the things happening is trying to demolish the perception that most violence is done by men (males).

  4. Incognito 5

    The country may almost run out of vaccines but Chris Bishop will still be jabbing a dead horse called Pfizer.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/445806/national-criticises-government-for-dwindling-covid-19-vaccine-supplies

    • mpledger 5.1

      Vaccine distribution is definitely when there should be "just in time" allocation.

      • Janice 5.1.1

        I agree, 'just in time' is what all good businesses try to do. Chris B really showed his nasty nat colours this morning when he stated on Morning Report that Chris H should offer an incentive to Pfizer to get further up the queue. Obviously he believes bribery is not illegal if he does it.

        • Sabine 5.1.1.1

          actually that is what Israel did in order to get the vaccine, and i would not consider it a 'bribe' – that is something that really involves giving moeny to a private person / entity to receive a personal benefit, while Israel simply outbid others, and in a free market world that would be par for the course. Highest bidder wins.

          https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-said-to-be-paying-average-of-47-per-person-for-pfizer-moderna-vaccines/

          The sum means the average price for each dose of vaccine from both companies is about $23.50, slightly higher than the amount that Pfizer had initially said the shots would cost, according to the report. The higher price is because Israel has pushed to buy large numbers of the vaccines and to have them delivered quickly to keep the vaccination drive in high gear.

          Vaccine prices reported by the Washington Post and the BBC in December indicate Israel is paying significantly more for the Pfizer vaccine than either the US or the European Union.

          The Washington Post reported at the time that the US was paying Pfizer/BioNTech $19.50 per dose while the EU 27-country bloc was paying $14.76. It cited Moderna vaccine prices as $15 per dose for the US and $18 per dose for the EU.

          The figures were based on EU prices that were tweeted — and then deleted — by a Belgian government official as well as calculations from Bernstein Research, an analysis and investment firm.

          The BBC reported a day earlier that Pfizer was marketing its vaccines to countries at a price range of $10.65 to $21 per dose, while Moderna’s range was $25 to $37 per dose.

          Israel was late joining the line for the Pfizer vaccine behind the US, Canada and Japan.

          • woodart 5.1.1.1.1

            so, in your world(?)

            bribery only exists for personal gain?

            • Peter ChCh 5.1.1.1.1.1

              Yeah, Sabine is well out there. Just look at the Belt and Road Initiative of China. Massive bribes (low interest loans to countries with bad credit and similar) all offered in the national interest of China, not personal gain.

            • Sabine 5.1.1.1.1.2

              actually again, this is not a bribery. Not done in the dark. Not done hush hush. Not done at all. Just simply ' how much do you want to get it too me'. Fwiw, that is not bribery, that is capitalis. A bit like selling and / or buying a house in NZ. Highest bidder wins.
              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bribery

              Bribery is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty.[1] With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corrupt solicitation, acceptance, or transfer of value in exchange for official action."[2] Gifts of money or other items of value which are otherwise available to everyone on an equivalent basis, and not for dishonest purposes, is not bribery. Offering a discount or a refund to all purchasers is a legal rebate and is not bribery. For example, it is legal for an employee of a Public Utilities Commission involved in electric rate regulation to accept a rebate on electric service that reduces their cost for electricity, when the rebate is available to other residential electric customers. However, giving a discount specifically to that employee to influence them to look favorably on the electric utility's rate increase applications would be considered bribery.

              A bribe is an illegal or unethical gift or lobbying effort bestowed to influence the recipient's conduct. It may be money, goods, rights in action, property, preferment, privilege, emolument, objects of value, advantage, or merely a promise to induce or influence the action, vote, or influence of a person in an official or public capacity.[3]

              It may have not been ethical, or moral, specifically in regards to poorer nations who can not outbid Isreal on the free market, but it was not a 'bribe'. It was simply a higher bid that was accepted by Pfizer.

              It is equally not ethical or moral by Pfizer to not share the patent so as to provide other nations that have vaccine producing abilities to make their own generic but again this is the free Market.

              And just be cause you don’t like or approve of China and its actions, i.e. the offering of cheaper loans to countries that would otherwise / or have been other wise fleeced by the west is also just good business. The building of infrastructure in Africa by China, the west could have done that, but did not.
              The west could have done a great many things over the last few decades/hundreds of years in Africa, the Stans, Asia, etc, it choose to invest little and create a whole lot of war and then plunder and pillage a lot. Go figure.

          • Peter ChCh 5.1.1.1.2

            The price differences most likely represent the size of the orders – the larger the order, the lower the unit cost.

            Isreal is a very small market. The EU and the US are very large markets. I expect NZ will pay even more than Isreal for the same reasons. Where does bribery come into it?

            Just the free market at work.

        • bwaghorn 5.1.1.2

          bishop is from the party that built an Arab chap a sheep farm in the desert dont forget

  5. Patricia Bremner 6

    Everyone now knows Pfizer to be the most efficacious so is now most in demand.

    Fortunately we ordered early. We also ordered other vaccines, and now it appears a mix may be our best defense, much as it is with influenza.

    • Sabine 6.1

      Everyone knows. Right? Here is a nice article comparing the available vaccines.

      https://www.statnews.com/2021/02/02/comparing-the-covid-19-vaccines-developed-by-pfizer-moderna-and-johnson-johnson/

      Vaccine efficacy

      The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have shown astonishing — and essentially equivalent — degrees of efficacy, at least in the early stages after vaccination.

      The Pfizer vaccine showed efficacy of 95% at preventing symptomatic Covid infection after two doses. The vaccine appeared to be more or less equally protective across age groups and racial and ethnic groups……….

      The J&J one-dose vaccine was shown to be 66% protective against moderate to severe Covid infections overall from 28 days after injection, though there was variability based on geographic locations. The vaccine was 72% protective in the United States, 66% protective in South America, and 57% protective in South Africa.

      But the vaccine was shown to be 85% protective against severe disease, with no differences across the eight countries or three regions in the study, nor across age groups among trial participants. And there were no hospitalizations or deaths in the vaccine arm of the trial after the 28-day period in which immunity developed.

      So please define '"everyone".

  6. Joe90 7

    @ PB

    From earlier this year – the fuckery surrounding acquisition of the pfizer vaccine.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-03-04/pfizer-pfe-has-a-moral-dilemma-deciding-where-the-vaccines-will-go

  7. weka 8

    A bit of light relief. To me the funniest thing here is the girl asking knock knock dude if he wants a key. I guess that's me put in my place.

    https://twitter.com/KiffinEileen/status/1409995781252075528?s=20

  8. weka 9

    Write a diatribe against capitalism or patriarchy in a right-wing publication and some readers will generally accuse you of being a fool. But write anything heterodox for a progressive publication and you are sure to be told, not only that you are wrong, but that you are a bad person who needs to shut up.

    The old saying that “the right looks for converts, while the left looks for traitors” is much older than cancel culture, and it ­remains as true as ever.

    https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2021/06/jess-de-wahls-debacle-shows-you-can-only-really-be-cancelled-your-friends

  9. lprent 10

    OMG: I just had an amusing time responding to a query from my partner when she ran a across something out of her (?probably) physiotherapy treatment.

    She was wondering 'what the hell' when a paper started out describing the effects of the "sonic hedgehog (SHH)".

    Turns out that Wikipedia has a page on it. It leads off with

    Sonic hedgehog is a protein encoded for by the SHH gene.[1] This signaling molecule is key in regulating embryonic morphogenesis in all different types of animals. SHH controls organogenesis and the organization of the central nervous system, limbs, digits and many other parts of the body. Sonic hedgehog is a morphogen that patterns the developing embryo using a concentration gradient characterized by the French Flag model.

    At this point I am still suspecting a spoof… Eventually I find this…

    Two of these genes—i.e., desert hedgehog and Indian hedgehog—were named for species of hedgehogs, while sonic hedgehog was named after Sonic the Hedgehog, the protagonist character of the eponymous video game franchise.[15][16] The gene was named as such by Robert Riddle, who was a postdoctoral fellow at the Tabin Lab, after his wife Betsy Wilder came home with a gaming magazine containing an advert for the Sonic the Hedgehog video game.[17][18][19]

    Apparently the structure of the protein encoded from the genes looks spiky… like a hedgehog.

    As a sub-note

    A potential inhibitor of the Hedgehog signaling pathway has been found and dubbed "Robotnikinin"—in honour of Sonic the Hedgehog's nemesis, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik.[88]

    The rest of the article explains exactly how important these genes and the signalling proteins are in body development.

    A very effective way to make something obscure to something that I'm going to remember. Also a hint that scientists often grab jokes from popular culture.

    For instance how the Thagomiser made its way into the description of dinosaur morphology.

    • woodart 10.1

      as a student of gary larson < I can attest to the fact that the real world is getting more and more like larsons cartoons . my cat doesnt agree……

    • McFlock 10.2

      I have a suspicion the quantum physics crowd started it when they started naming things "strange" and "quarks".

      • Andre 10.2.1

        My fave is WIMPS – weakly interacting massive particles.

      • bwaghorn 10.2.2

        I've been spotifyng "The infinite monkey cage' there a baffling lot those physicists, hoping some of it's getting lodged somewhere.

    • Incognito 10.3

      There are quite a few gene names that make you laugh out loud. Scientists do have a sense of humour and don’t always go for the high-brow jokes.

      Unfortunately, the party poopers cancel culture PC brigade was on to it.

      https://www.nature.com/articles/news061106-2.pdf

  10. Matiri 11

    More on facts versus fantasy. Concerning that so many New Zealanders struggle with the truth out there!

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/445828/false-facts-mistaken-for-reality-by-about-half-of-new-zealanders

    • RedBaronCV 11.1

      Well it would help if the government and councils stopped promoting false and slanted facts.

      – All water supplies need fluoride to stop tooth decay. Now this is not anti- fluoride but conflating the two issues over the whole country comes pretty close because there is tooth decay in fluoride areas as well.

      – Wellington will grow by 80,000 people over the next 30 years. About a 40% increase.It wasn't labeled a high projection scenario, middle was about 30,000 but we are expected to plan on a figure that is dodgy at best

      -The IRD ran a trial on 644,000 taxpayers for six months around their employer contributions. Really? Umm if you made a mistake on a system changeover maybe admit it?

      • McFlock 11.1.1

        Dunno about the other two, but you're overegging the fluoridation claims from what I can find.

        The usual line is along the lines of "Fluoride is a natural substance that helps protect our teeth by making them stronger and by reducing tooth decay."

        I have to look at this issue every few years and don't recall any categorical promises it will eliminate the problem by itself. And such a phrasing would inspire quite the rant from a particular colleague who has a definite obsession with precision in language

        Not saying it never happened, but would love to know which council made that statement (if only to throw red meat at said colleague lol).

        • RedBaronCV 11.1.1.1

          The fluoride claim was advanced in this which conflates the 6500 children needing hospital dental care with no fluoride supplies Were they all from those areas? or a large proportion. The claim further down about better dental health rests on some evidence work. Invoking Bloomfield was to try for the golden halo effect I imagine.

          https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300254800/water-fluoridation-powers-to-be-taken-off-councils-giving-control-to-dr-ashley-bloomfield

          • McFlock 11.1.1.1.1

            From your link, Verrall said:

            “Around 6500 children under the age of nine were admitted to hospital for tooth decay and associated infections in 2019. The Fluoridation Bill as a whole recognises water fluoridation is a health-related issue. Right now only around 2.3 million New Zealanders have access to fluoridated drinking water.”

            That doesn't read to me like all 6.5k admissions would be stopped if everywhere was fluoridated.

    • Incognito 11.2

      I don’t believe it.

  11. Ad 12

    Minister Mahuta's water reforms to amalgamate all the nations' water entities from 67 into 4 have been announced.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300345516/water-services-of-67-councils-to-be-amalgamated-into-4-water-entities-in-massive-shakeup

    The safeguards against the potential for privatisation will be important.

    Also she will have her work cut out showing how this corporatisation is different from Max Bradford taking away all the electricity gentailers from local government 20 years ago.

    Or how it is different from any other smashing of local government in previous years like the removal of social housing from Councils by stealth.

    Thank God there's a review being conducted in parallel about the future of local government. They look like they are about to become as useful as community boards.

    • mac1 12.1

      "Or how it is different from any other smashing of local government in previous years like the removal of social housing from Councils by stealth."

      Tell us more. You see, if it's done by stealth then we don't know about it!

      • Ad 12.1.1

        Councils banned from applying for funds to assist with public housing.

        So they do the math, and then sell them off.

        • mac1 12.1.1.1

          What councils, what houses where, how many?

          At the moment it's more assertion, Ad. You may be right, but we still don't know anything about these stealthy moves.

    • Robert Guyton 12.2

      “They look like they are about to become as useful as community boards”.

      Yikes!

      🙂

      • greywarshark 12.2.1

        Possibly the whole problem relates back to confusion about what were 'community boards' – free-for-all house cladding?

      • RedBaronCV 12.2.2

        Do nooot laugh about community boards. Aren't Mickey Savages chickens back in Titirangi? The community board has my complete sympathy on that unsolvable issue.

    • Robert Guyton 12.3

      "The safeguards against the potential for privatisation will be important."

      This.

    • RedBaronCV 12.4

      And this solves what exactly? And delivers what to local communities? Why not form a Ministry of Works – water division – that has some decent engineers and goes around councils sorting out the technical problems of water delivery and implementation and maybe there is a subsidy per head/ by location to put it in and continue delivery and then leave it with the council ownership.

      We need engineers on this not overpaid CEO's and potential privatisation.

      Maybe I need to put a tank supply in for moi and get my drinking water from a stand pipe at the end of the street.

      • greywarshark 12.4.1

        RedBaroncv Your idea sounds practical and effective governing. I predict it won't fly – everyone will say it sucks. So no water division – just the division as usual.

    • McFlock 12.5

      Was talking to a local councillor who went to the briefing they gave down south.

      They were unimpressed. It's called "three waters" but wastewater and stormwater were barely mentioned in their briefing documents, the focus was almost entirely on drinking water. And they were also unimpressed with the guy in charge's attitude to the legislative requirement for dealing with Mana Whenua – the councillor felt it was regarded as token consultation, rather than the required "giving effect" to their te Mana o te Wai statements.

      We'll see, I guess.

      • RedBaronCV 12.5.1

        A briefing says it all doesn't it really! Do what we say, don't bother about a democratic community discussion.

      • Ad 12.5.2

        Mana whenua have to be half of each Board. Detail in the Cabinet papers released on appointment processes.

  12. Treetop 13

    5th state in Australia to have Covid community transmission. A family in South Australia.

    Source 9 news Australia.

    Yeah right tui when it comes to having a partial reopening of the trans Tasman bubble.

  13. greywarshark 14

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/445820/resource-management-act-replacement-could-be-a-catastrophic-disaster-planning-expert

    ..The idea is to consolidate about 100 RMA plans and policy statements down to about 14 – but details of the committees will work is still forthcoming.

    The government said the new system will be less complex and more efficient – but Massey University Associate Professor of Planning Caroline Miller rejects that.

    She said the proposal contains a massive new set of overly complex and centralised rules and procedures – and is too much change in one go…

    "I'm not trying to be ageist but they'll take on a lot of bright new young things who have no idea – and they will be shoved in at the deep end."

    Miller said the whole process could easily come grinding to a halt.

    "I think there's a potential for a huge, real catastrophic breakdown….

    Another Great Leap Forward by a modernising, vital, fast-acting Labour Government dealing with all the big and little problems, going further than other governments ever tried to reach.

  14. gsays 15

    In case of winter blues, Covid fatigue or the desire for a distraction, I heartily recommend Talkback.

    A new show on TVNZ on demand. Created by Mike Minogue and Jason Hoyte. Ginette McDonald and Morgana O'Reilly also feature in the cast.

    Well written, incisive and funny. Most of the characters in the show are recognisable.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    5 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  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 show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    8 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    8 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    9 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    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 show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    10 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    10 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    14 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    15 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    16 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    18 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    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, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    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,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    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. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    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. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T11:09:55+00:00