Hipkins: "I've come to tell you that we've re-opened for business!"
Xi: "Really? I hadn't been informed that you had closed."
Hipkins: "Ah. Junior staffers – they're so unreliable."
Xi: "Here they tend to disappear."
Hipkins: "My cabinet ministers tend to do that."
Xi: "Ha ha ha! Very droll."
Hipkins: "So how's your bid for global domination going?"
Xi: "Well, actually, I've just dictated a new law to facilitate it."
The new law stresses its right “to take corresponding countermeasures and restrictive measures” against acts that violate international law and norms and that “endanger China’s sovereignty, security and development interests,” according to a copy of the text published by state media.
It “provides a legal basis for the diplomatic struggle against sanctions, anti-intervention and long-arm jurisdiction”.
The new law, however, doesn’t appear to add any additional anti-sanctions tools, according to Suisheng Zhao, director of the Center for China-US Cooperation at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies.
International law is something states make up as they go along, so Xi isn't doing anything unusual. If other countries tested his law in an international court, the outcome would be a legal charade whichever way it went…
When it comes to defence of one's country international "law" goes out the window. Biden says that his evil empire and China will be at war with each other within five years.
The Kiri Allan beat-up illustrates to me a worrying trend in NZ. Senior bureaucrats now appear to feel entitled to leak against and white ant elected officials who they don't think conform to their technocratic models of governance. They do this with the connivance of journalist like Andrea Vance – her contempuous cynicism for government drip through everything she write so she would have been the ideal journo to leak to.
As a comparison, let's review the language used – and the political teflon – when applied not to Ms Kiri Allan, but to the classic Alpha Male, such as Murray McCully …
McCully has a reputation among staff as well as officials as a hard taskmaster and Bennett says that was always the case.
"He was a hard man back then, which won't surprise anyone who knew him."
"He wasn't shy in his feedback, that's for sure. But it's because he had high standards and he knew what he wanted and he demanded it of you when you worked for him."
He is infamously intolerant with officials and staff.
That Minister did not resign, and Key didn't ask him to, not even when he squandered millions on the scandal of the Saudi sheep farm, a greater crime than anything Allan has touched.
But how do we describe his behaviour? Not bullying, only … "not shy" … "high standards" … "hard taskmaster" … etc.
Because blokes in suits have cojones. He’s a “Black Prince”. Cool!
Political journalists love stories like this. it makes them feel important. They are central characters to the plot – they are the gatekeepers of and conduits for the dirt. They imagine they are portrayed to the "rest" as savvy insiders, privy to courtier gossip and mini-scandals. They don't even have to leave their office, the drip-drip-drip is fed directly to them. They don't have to think. They just launder. And they can revel in the cynicism as sophistication court politics of the horse race narrative, endlessly interviewing each other and their keyboards for new angles and questions.
One way or another, too many useful idiots read and listen to those stories and give them more oxygen & fuel aka legs. And I’m not talking about Bryce Edwards here; Andrea Vance, Edwards, and all the other ‘pundits’ know which side their bread is buttered and DP orchestrators & players know how to make good use of this.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told Chinese Communist Party Secretary Chen Jining, a top official in Shanghai, he wished he could stay in China longer, instead of returning to New Zealand tonight.
A public servant with years of experience has told Stuff Allan "yelled and screamed" at her during a phone call and was so loud staff in the office could hear her.
I thought Andrew handled the situation well & his three-way with Ryan & Erica was nicely collegial. He made this interesting point:
Little added the situation was unusual, given the usual process was for such allegations to be reported to the Public Service Commission and the Prime Minister's office.
"It appears, from what everybody is saying – including the Prime Minister – that that simply hasn't happened. That's surprising in this situation," Little told AM on Friday.
One would have thought that a public servant with years of experience knows the system well enough to have laid a complaint a year ago if the claims had been true.
"Cabinet minister Kiri Allan is rejecting the description of events provided by the head of the Department of Conservation (DOC) over claims of a breakdown in the relationship with staff."
It ain't as simple as you're painting it, Louis. Departmental heads seem to the sources – not the actual victims. I've already pointed to why such victims get coerced by the system into silence unless a critical threshold gets crossed: they want to continue their careers.
However I do agree that the year's delay is suspicious. Looks like the thing got engineered by the Nats – exposure pre-campaign to maintain the corrosive effect on Labour poll support (that Labour ministers have caused). Viability of this theory hinges on public service collusion…
Victims? Isn't the person at the receiving end of unsubstantiated gossip and dirty politics a victim? Good to see you do acknowledge that dirty politics is at play here.
Most people believe those who get yelled & screamed at are victims of the abuse. Apparently the officials reported as being concerned share that common view. You lack the empathy to do so??
There is no proof that anybody got 'yelled & screamed at.'
"NEMA’s chief executive Dave Gawn, in a statement, said he “was aware of concerns regarding relationships in the minister's office, and that he understood action was taken to address these concerns.”
"relationships in the minister's office" could mean anything.
I am beginning to suspect that a public servant had their work criticized and took umbrage to that. The PM mentioned that accountability is a two way street, "will involve ministers giving feedback to the public service that they haven't met the expectations set of them." See from 22.30
I agree that obfuscation is a recourse popular with many as they flounder around trying to figure out what's going on in contentious situations. Copying them is unwise though.
Many of the people who comment here have had skin in the game and can correctly sense the game-playing that is occurring.
I have also been a witness to such behaviour in my past. In fact I was a target once, so give me and Louis – and others – the courtesy of… knowing what we are talking about eh?
As for the public servant who is claiming Kiri "yelled and screamed down the phone" at them… there is something just a little too well timed and pat about the claim. I suspect it is an over-hyped version of an incident that did occur. We have not heard from the staff members who are supposed to have witnessed this altercation. Not yet anyway.
I've been reflecting on the situation & feel I ought to make it clear that I share the suspicion around the timing of these reports – given that they seem designed to generate ample smoke without fire.
Four senior officials wafting the smoke around can't be dismissed as a coincidence so I expect folks to wonder why they are doing that. Nor really a good look, eh?
A pragmatist would point out that our system of democracy enables this shit to happen and believers in democracy continue to fail to apply pressure to correct the design flaw so the phenomenon will repeat and likely even escalate. So while it may indeed be dirty politics, so what? Impressions shift voters. The system empowers the diffusing of them. Contagion works, Nats exploit opportunities…
First complaint to the media.
Example of the NaCT justice policy working well. Public crucifixtion of the suspect, then follow probe to confirm after the fact.
Hipkins:"I am not going to comment on rumours… I understand that my office was alerted to the Official Information Act request that was released to the National Party a couple of weeks ago," he said. "I wasn't aware of the specifics of that request until it was raised a couple of days ago."
The Allan media beat-up stems from National Party muck raking. They didn't actually find anything, but why let that get in the way of a good slur story when you can make things up and quote anonymous sources?
Another former senior official with a long history of public service, has also spoken to Stuff to confirm they had concerns about Allan’s dealing with staff. “Basically low trust and respect of public servants was [the] issue,” they said.
From your link. “The minister strongly refutes these allegations. No complaints have ever been taken up with MBIE or myself and certainly nothing that resembles these allegations.”
That makes four senior public service staff who have spoken publicly about workplace relationships relating to Allan, who is minister for justice and regional development.
A good conspiracy ought to feature more players than that, eh? However, since conspire means breathe together and these four may have operated independently we ought not jump to premature conclusions…
She's just doing her job. Dismissing the four officials can't be done that easily, although I agree that formal collaboration on a united media statement from the four would validate their concerns more effectively. Ball's in their court, huh?
Presuming she did yell & scream at one or more staffers, that can't be proven unless someone recorded it or the testimony of one recipient is confirmed by others who heard it. Dismissing it as having been swept under the carpet successfully a year ago doesn't work: it establishes an unhealthy precedent.
If she didn't, and the public servants are snowflakes over-dramatising whatever tone & language she did use, then I'm with you…
I am also inclined to see the situation as a beat-up.
If there is an issue, it is hard to know how much is due to Allan's behaviour, and how much is due to the recipient being a tender snow-flake. But, whatever it is, I don't see it as an issue that requires Allan to resign over.
But, the bigger question for me is how much support and training new ministers get in terms of staff management etc. A lot of incoming MPs may have little experience in this area. So, it seems to me that training and support should be mandatory.
Training of new MPs (and re-training of ones with ongoing issues) in staff management has been in place since at least 2018, following Mallard's reforms.
Each new set of MPs now get training on staff management and conduct expectations along with the numerous other skills they require.
…
“For example, we’ve had a number of [MPs] who have been required to do some training, exhibit behavioural change before they’re allowed to employ further staff.”
I am trying to be fair and objective here, given that I am from the right wing side of the fence. Assuming there is behaviour to be concerned about:
I think the key thing is, in the first instance, that the desired outcome is that the behaviour stops, and if necessary, some apologies and reconciliation if necessary.
We have to bear in mind that no formal complaints have been made. My approach is that I investigate and action formal complaints. Otherwise, there is nothing concrete to focus on.
However, if this alleged behaviour continued, and especially if formal complaints were made, then it would be approaching the point where it would be necessary to consider suitability for the role.
So, I do see this as quite different to say, the Wood resignation, or the Nash firing where the behaviours undermined the trust of colleagues.
In this situation, it seems more to do with performance management rather than fundamental trust issues.
It is puzzling that the staffer with years of experience went to the media with accusations that apparently had occurred over a year ago with no formal complaint to back up that claim, whilst the PM was overseas. Dirty politics.
Allan challenges opposition over 'fishing exercise'
"Speaking to reporters afterwards, Tremain said she was not aware of any concerns raised by MBIE staff seconded to Allan's office.
"We have a very functioning, highly functional relationship with Minister Allan's office," she said.
"At times we fall short of her expectations and that's communicated, that's absolutely fine – we expect that from any minister's office."
Head of Kānoa Robert Pigou said he had no concerns about Allan's managerial style.
"No. In fact we have a, you know, really good, open, relationship and I have had far more challenging ministers to deal with in the past – in fact I cut my teeth on them."
Justice Secretary Andrew Kibblewhite said he had not heard of any such concerns or complaints from his staff.
"No, I've got a very stable team in the office, it's been there since before Minister Allan arrived and we haven't had any turnover there."
My brother is one of the civil servants who from time to time has to work in a Minister’s Office. He is certainly not a snowflake, nor are any of his colleagues that work at his level. I believe that the civil servants all handle themselves professionally when meeting with Cabinet ministers and MP’s. So I’m absolutely sure they can handle a robust conversation.
However in this day & age shouting and screaming or yelling abuse at anyone in the workplace is not acceptable. If we expect good behaviour from Joe Blogs on the shop floor, then certainly it is to be expected from a highly paid Cabinet Minister. If she’s not up to the job, she needs to be exited from her position.
This has nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with getting rid of the bullies.
It’s been quoted in the news that a civil servant was shouted and/or yelled at over the phone and that other staff heard the Cabinet minister. Considering the wording of the story and who wrote it. This has either happened, or it’s a complete fabrication.
considering it’s a senior civil servant who is the source of the story, & told to a reporter, I’m guessing that it’s probably true.
As a Labour supporter, I’m not happy to have Labour MP or Cabinet Ministers in parliament, who are also bullies.
As for their being no formal complaint, we can see how that goes… You complain about the bad behaviour of a much senior manager, you might just as well just start looking for a new job.
Bullies don’t like being challenged and will undoubtedly ruin your career.
That's an assumption. There is no proof of that. A senior public servant knows the process that enables complaints to be laid, but instead, gossiped to the media a year later when the PM was overseas.
I think staff management comes naturally to some and not to others. The key is self knowledge and not putting yourself into situations where you have a weakness. I wonder if her training as a lawyer may have had some effect.
Young lawyers often get the most uncollegial intro to legal office life and certainly some of the tales of belittling and shouting I have heard from colleagues are anything to go by. When the lawyers come out the other side they often view it as a rite of passage not stopping to think that the tradition is bad. I see she interned for Hon Helen Clark. Now HC had Heather Simpson and so with a buffer between her and staff the situations got better.
In PS if you did some of this the system would be down on you like a tonne of bricks. (40 years service here incl 4.5 years as a seconded secretary in two Ministers offices Nat/lLab)
As I said earlier a key person in a Minister's office is the Senior Private Secretary or Office Manager and if she has an experienced one they will be able to say "hey Boss……' if need be. If she has an inexperienced one or a party political person in this key position then this could be a reason why her office did not run smoothly.
A 2IC with a firm hand is very useful, like the first mate on a sailing vessel who must command the respect of the crew. Apparently in Stalin's Russia, to get prompt action on something you just had to say "Beria wants this done … "
One claimed instance of such, without any formal complaint to record the event, is no basis for a case.
The real story is the amount of resources National is applying to "opposition research" and how media go along with it because its such a an easy story/narrative. It's just lazy.
Media report, 30 June 2023: In a statement, Allan said: “The minister strongly refutes these allegations. No complaints have ever been taken up with MBIE or myself and certainly nothing that resembles these allegations.”
She means she denies the allegations. To refute something is to prove it wrong, and she has not done that.
Like a lot of others, I'm bewildered about what is going on here.
It's too much to expect a minister of the Crown to have good relationships with every civil service staff member. Some ministers would be great to work with, others a good deal less so. The reasons for friction vary, from arrogance to a misplaced sense of entitlement.
This story is becoming a sideshow now. It hasn't altered my opinion of Labour one bit.
The important issue is NZ's future after the next election.
The tech-savvy commentator and former Computerworld journalist told his Twitter followers late on Thursday: “Just had the worst two hours of my life. Got convincingly scammed, locked out of our bank accounts, and more, crucially, Mum’s. “They’d started on ours – consolidating all the money into one account – by the time I twigged and changed the passwords. But I couldn’t change Mum’s. “Because the attached phone number was hers, and she’s seriously ill in hospital. Nurses wouldn’t let us access Mum’s phone, Police couldn’t help – and Westpac’s fraud line is slammed and took an hour to call back.
Russell Brown has written and done tons of work in the mental health and drug reform space. The only time that shit rag the Herald deigns to mention him is in a concern troll about his being scammed. A shitty newspaper happy to snactimoniously pursue petty vendettas through its pages.
The US Supreme Court continues its work to undo the civil rights work of the past century.
The latest work of the GOP southern strategy of the 1970's (to re-base in the south as a white race Christian identity Moral Majority party).
“The court subverts the constitutional guarantee of equal protection by further entrenching racial inequality in education, the very foundation of our democratic government and pluralistic society,” she said in her written dissent.
The decision all but ensured that the student population at the campuses of elite institutions will become whiter and more Asian and less Black and Latino.
A certain irony as to Justice Clarence Thomas – his entry to Harvard law School was because of affirmative action, but upon graduation he chose to be the GOP champion against it. And thus was favoured with placements on Capitol Hill before being fast tracked as a jurist onto SCOTUS. This is the culmination of his career. Now other black students will be denied places in colleges.
It's a bit like receiving a Training Incentive Allowance to get tertiary study here and then end this programme while Minister.
The decision casts the USA (at least the GOP) as a white race regime in both domestic and international politics – ultimately it is part of a further retreat from the wider world, except as an imperial military force (which is why a GOP led war over Taiwan is possible but little on GW – and the no regret over the abandoning of the women of Afghanistan).
It does however explain why some in the GOP are reluctant to confront Russia on Ukraine (a member of the UN with right to help when attacked), but are warriors on Taiwan (when even the USA recognises it is part of China).
Here in NZ some people believe that Maori get preferential entry to Medical School, and thus cause poorer quality of medical care. No. The process is that a few very promising applicants who have been disadvantaged by the limited educational opportunities, may get entry ahead of one who has had the advantages of superior schooling.
The few still have the first year to prove that they are equal to the task or they are dropped off.
Sure, Thomas did OK – middle of the class, when given the opportunity.
The universities did not have a problem with it. There have been campaigns for "meritocracy" in the past – but this principle is premised on a society where there is equal opportunity, rather than any disadvantage.
While Clarence Thomas seems to have been sponsored by the GOP onto SCOTUS as their guy against affirmative action, another – now Chjef Justice, John G Roberts is was the one against the Voting Rights Act.
Under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the court had a nearly unbroken record of weakening the protections of the landmark Voting Rights Act.
And the justices had already taken two big swings at the Voting Rights Act. In one, they ruled that state and localities that discriminated against minority voters in the past no longer must have election laws cleared by federal officials. And in the other, the court said the threat of election fraud can justify voting restrictions that could fall heavier on minority voters. Such decisions have favored conservative states with Republican majorities, while civil rights organizations have been the losers. Roberts said federal courts have no constitutional role in policing partisan gerrymandering.
At his confirmation hearings in 2005, senators questioned memos that Roberts wrote as a young lawyer in the Reagan administration objecting to racial considerations and arguing that it should not become “too easy to prove” certain violations of the Voting Rights Act.
I believe such things were said of Nick Smith as well as Murray McCully.
Some people are quick and brusque. Nasty bullying or toxic is different, and would be recorded.
All the way through it appears some Ministry people have quibbled delayed or down right obstructed, using their "longer tenure". Some seem to link with media as "informed sources".
12 months ago Gisborne had a large long earthquake??? Just wondering??? Kiritapu Allan had also finished 3 months of treatment for Cervical cancer.??? But there is no real evidence offered, just the usual swirling rumours and back room chat to journos. So believe who you will, as some here have.
This has all the hall marks of find something on each Minister, fact or rumour, and give it to the press to prove the current meme "The Government is in Chaos"
Two Ministers self destructing, one leaving, and now pressure on Minister Allan, while her personal life is causing her huge grief and her PM is overseas on a successful Trade and Diplomatic visit to China.
Some here seem to prefer "trial by Media". Let us see if the Nact backroom have over reached and the Public are less tolerant of the mud slinging. imo Dirty Politics appears to have reared its ugly head again, and will smear true or not. Journalists hide behind protected sources.
This has all the hall marks of find something on each Minister, fact or rumour, and give it to the press to prove the current meme "The Government is in Chaos"
That is precisely what it is. And Kiri Allan was always going to be a prime candidate. As a gay Maori woman, it plays handsomely to the red-neck corner of the population who are their prime market.
The anticipation and fever with which the media have welcomed these unsubstantiated stories says a lot about their populist psyche, and a large section of the public who lap them up with such gusto.
Kick a person when they are down could almost be a Kiwi catch-cry.
Last night on TV1 News the political reporter was asked to comment on the Kiri "problem." He said dismissively that she did not know what the complaint was but she could find out in 10 seconds if she wanted to. Therefore she must be hiding something and must be guilty.
As for the vicious nastiness from that weasel Woodhouse on Morning Report regarding Ginetti….
Why is anybody listening to Woodhouse after the toilet seat debacle? He showed his misogynist colours and therefore cancelled himself from any higher ground I would’ve thought.
That was the point last night I switched over to TV3 which was no better. Benedict [whatever his surname is] is a cynical little s**t who loves socking it to the government at every opportunity. Occasionally he has a go at National (to give the appearance he is even handed) but usually over something innocuous.
Well if I had a relationship break up and someone was using the media as first port of call for the story they were hawking I’d probably tell them to f- off too.
This is just nasty.
Though you have to wonder. Most of the names that were potentially floated to replace Jacinda or spoken of as future PMs seem to have come cropper of late. Those with a bit of media profile or an independent power base as we were told Nash had built up with his popularity in his electorate and with some in business.
Am I being too cynical? The only name that was in the papers at that point who hasn’t was Megan Woods and she’s campaign manager and seems to be very much in the core team. Of whom Grant and Andrew Little are assumed to have done their leadership dash and McAnulty is too green, and perhaps not core, core.
Or would that be assigning too much competency to Labour?
To be honest polls wise things are going about as well as can be expected. It’s frustrating to look at the climate change policy bonfire.
It’s also frustrating to look at this about Te Atatu and think that it needs rapid ferries going in several directions and a light rail line. Urgently. Yesterday.
Density can be done, but we shunt it to places without the infrastructure or where the infrastructure is slow to catch up. Or gets nimbied by muppets. And then people get flooded out to boot.
Still looks like light rail is going to be a hunted species with Mrs Brown’s boys leading the charge too…
Still looks like light rail is going to be a hunted species with Mrs Brown’s boys leading the charge too…
Aucklanders are still scarred from the (apparently unending) disruption and huge cost over-runs of the CRL. Combined with the closure of much of the existing train network for line reconstruction over the next 18 months.
Most are highly dubious over any benefits from light rail; and highly wary of the ability of the government/Council to roll it out with minimal disruption and within budget.
Light rail is popular in polls. Hence why it hasn’t been canned.
The City rail link is despite over runs still very popular.
You look at the complaints from Chris Schultz on the Spin-off about Te Atatu. Enormous congestion every time the system comes under stress and no end in sight. With the two projects mentioned above they will both achieve a positive effect on congestion.
All construction projects go through cost overruns that are forgotten when they open. No one remembers that about the Shinkansen which went over budget. Once the service is available all the delays are forgotten.
A large number of the people they’re unpopular with are people who likely won’t be around to see their completion. And that’s a commentary in itself- on a selfish generation that’s clawed all the wealth to itself and done little in the way of long term investing, particularly in housing and climate change preparation and other policy.
It’s a mischief to link the bizarre maintenance failure which requires an enforced shuttering of the network with construction projects that provide for necessary future capacity.
Imagine if a highway system had to be shut for a similar time. Heads would roll. It’s not business as usual. It’s a failure which is somehow being blamed on the mode of transport instead of the people running it.
I mean unpopular with people who are going to use it. Not unpopular because there has been a large number of negatively focused news stories quoting Simeon Brown and Wayne Brown.
For example there has been a lot of dissatisfaction from Albert road businesses about the CRL, some from people who bought in well after the construction plans were in place, but the Auckland business community overall has been behind it for well, decades. You’re fairly emotive on this issue. What would your plan be? No public transport? Or just not any of these options , for now. That’s the right wing climate change position for 50 years.
Yes a busway for now would be a minimum.
But looking at the ferry map and given the issues Chris has mentioned, work on getting ferries linking the North Shore and the city seem like a no brainer. All cars off the road right?
So, um, yeah. Some inquisitive soul has put in an OIA to Te Herenga Waka concerning two large chunks of funding—$800k—that Bryce Edwards has received (one by himself, one with another academic) to research lobbying and political integrity in New Zealand.
[…]
Under the progress report for the $433,000 he received to "The political influence of vested interests via lobbying and political donations", the response cites a long list of glorified blog posts. https://fyi.org.nz/request/22806/
…
Sorry, make that $487,000. Also, given his regular appearances on the Wright family right-wing megaphone The Platform, I guess he has decided to map this particular problem from within.
Reminds me about the jokes about Weapons of Mass Destruction- how do we know he’s got them? Well we checked the receipt, but just as soon as that cheque clears, we’re going in!
Makes interviewing a type writer for a living another reality…
Hopefully though Chippy might reflect on the support he’s had on his China trip from the media, the complaints raised by NEW ZEALAND farmers to the EU trade deal and decide that he doesn’t need either group and the best way to get them onside is not to do everything they say we should be doing but sting them with a small amount of the bill for their climate inaction and threaten to come back for the rest if they keep their BS up.
Imagine if a blue rosette was attached to this EU deal. My gosh.
Bloody brilliant re: Te Atatu- they’re taking over the haggling geese and allowing more density along the light rail route to Mangere.
Yes it is a bombing run. Your council runs policy for a few old folks left behind on an island in the 1950s. Christine Fletcher blamed the flooding on intensification fairly quickly. That doesn’t seem like someone who you should consult when asking how to fix a housing and lifestyle crisis.
Labour with its over 50% of the vote should have had the courage to do a few more of these. But better late than never. Should have got the physical work well and truly started. Should have two lots of light rail almost done and electricfied heavy rail to Tauranga.
So it's now beyond question the fossil fuel industry is on track to kill us. In a day and age when we need transition, they have let their avarice run amuck.
Maybe I missed it. Have the public services people who have accused Kiri of ‘shouting and screaming’ at them been named. And have they made a public statement with proven factual evidence. Or are they citing privacy? She has been judged and found guilty by media and therefore by gullible public, without a skerric of solid and verified evidence. witnesses anyone ? Our media is so predictable they are embarrassing. ………..I stand for Kiri.
People who make claims anonymously, as we are told happened in this case, should never be taken seriously. From personal experience, the motivation is nearly always jealousy and malice. Someone with a genuine axe to grind will always complain in person.
The media know this of course so I have to presume they are allowing themselves to be party to the story for personal gain – either for themselves or their employers. And they call themselves professionals.
Agree Floyd. On reading the screaming front page headlines in today's Post my first thought why are these accusers' names not published. Somewhat cowardly. If they are wanting to have their issues aired they should be courageous enough to give their names.
Whatever the facts, Kiri Allan has not had an easy few years with her serious cancer diagnosis, personal issues and the weather ravaged East Coast where she has been confronted with such widespread devastation.
Very strange these issues are being brought up a few months before an election. Perhaps the public should be reminded of some of National's problems of fairly recent times which were not subjected to this media glee. Let's not forget Uffindell, Collins, distasteful National candidates' attitudes towards women. Uffindell particularly has been treated with kid gloves by National. In my book very hypocritical.
While I think the Kiri story is a storm in a tea cup, Labour supporters in 2023, are increasingly sounding like National supporters in 2020.
The constant attacks, accusations of bias and insults on the media and journalists, is a surefire sign of an imminent defeat.
Its concerning, gross, Trumpian and extremely hypocritical from the left who since 2020 have been attacking the right for attacking journalists and spreading disinformation.
It seems when the media is reporting on ones opponent the media can do no wrong, but when the media is reporting on our side they are nasty right wing bastards.
Enough of this.
After two terms, all governments are creaky and ministers often become arrogant, lazy and play fast and loose the longer a govt is in power.
This govt is no exception, the difference I feel, is that there's been remarkably low turnover in the 6th labour govts cabinet.
Key and Clark refreshed their cabinet every six months and sacked ministers every other month. It was a blood sport and instilled fear, Ardern kept the same core cabinet for two terms and appears to have given ministers a very, very long leash and a LOT of leeway and that appears to have made some ministers arrogant, entitled and lazy.
Now we have a new pm, more like Clark/Key in management style, and he's having to deal with the fallout of his predecessors management style, a bunch of errant, arrogant ministers.
I like Kiri and if the allegations are true,.I would be surprised if she feels overwhelmed, she spent the first year or so of this term fighting terminal cancer, she's a second term mp, a first term electorate mp in a region which has suffered multiple natural disasters in 4 years and she's a young mum, add to that multiple gigantic ministerial portfolios and I'd be totally overwhelmed.
Nash was a lazy, entitled, arrogant idiot and to put it politely, was extreme fast and loose. Wood was an idiot and extremely lazy in terms of registering conflicts of interest. Meka is an arrogant careerist.
Kiri seems like someone who is just overwhelmed and I can't think of a person who wouldn't be …
One of Hipkins biggest mistakes has been to overload portfolios onto ministers who perform well, drowning them in work and overwhelming them.
He should have just brought new blood in to replace the underperforming ministers, party politics and factions be damned.
A new pm should have created a mostly new cabinet rather than inheriting the cabinet and problems of his predecessor.
It is big news when these ministerial scandals happen, stop attacking the media for reporting the news.
What's more concerning? The media reporting on events of national significance….OR…
LESS THAN A HUNDRED DAYS BEFORE AN ELECTION AND LABOUR HASNT ANNOUNCED A SINGLE ELECTION POLICY.
Labour keeps telling us how close this election is going to be, Hipkins spent his entire political honeymoon dumping ideas and not coming up with a single new idea.
Labour is giving noone any reason to vote for them and the longer they wait, the worse labour looks.
If they wait til parliament dissolves to release their first policies it'll be too late.
Labour needs to announce polices now to change the narrative from cabinet dysfunction to the election battle.
Every week labour doesn't announce a single policy, I become more convinced Labour doesn't want to win this election and as devoted free marketeers, secretly prefer a National/Act govt to a Labour/Green/Maori party govt.
It actually makes sense that a free market party like labour would prefer a free market nat/act govt than be forced by greens, tmp, or even top to seriously reform the neoliberal state.
It actually makes sense that a free market party like labour would prefer a free market nat/act govt than be forced by greens, tmp, or even top to seriously reform the neoliberal state.
Yes, i would agree with this in particular and the rest in general.
LESS THAN A HUNDRED DAYS BEFORE AN ELECTION AND LABOUR HASNT ANNOUNCED A SINGLE ELECTION POLICY.
Surely we start some where soon with some policies?
One of Hipkins biggest mistakes has been to overload portfolios onto ministers who perform well, drowning them in work and overwhelming them.
The more we get embroiled and reactive to 'he said, she said' or 'she said, she said' etc stuff the more our eyes divert from the ball. The ball in this case is the lack of policies and the feeling that I have, that we have missed our time to roll back some of remaining neo-lib junk as you say.
It actually makes sense that a free market party like labour would prefer a free market nat/act govt than be forced by greens, tmp, or even top to seriously reform the neoliberal state.
One of the biggest helpful parts of the neo-lib reform was that key state agencies such as Treasury and SSC were loaded with supporters. It is a while ago now but I wonder if there is a rump of 'neo neo-libs' still in some agencies. perhaps spouting their 'wisdom' to Ministers who know no other way and so who may be trapped with no alternatives.
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
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 ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
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Hipkins: "I've come to tell you that we've re-opened for business!"
Xi: "Really? I hadn't been informed that you had closed."
Hipkins: "Ah. Junior staffers – they're so unreliable."
Xi: "Here they tend to disappear."
Hipkins: "My cabinet ministers tend to do that."
Xi: "Ha ha ha! Very droll."
Hipkins: "So how's your bid for global domination going?"
Xi: "Well, actually, I've just dictated a new law to facilitate it."
International law is something states make up as they go along, so Xi isn't doing anything unusual. If other countries tested his law in an international court, the outcome would be a legal charade whichever way it went…
When it comes to defence of one's country international "law" goes out the window. Biden says that his evil empire and China will be at war with each other within five years.
The Kiri Allan beat-up illustrates to me a worrying trend in NZ. Senior bureaucrats now appear to feel entitled to leak against and white ant elected officials who they don't think conform to their technocratic models of governance. They do this with the connivance of journalist like Andrea Vance – her contempuous cynicism for government drip through everything she write so she would have been the ideal journo to leak to.
As a comparison, let's review the language used – and the political teflon – when applied not to Ms Kiri Allan, but to the classic Alpha Male, such as Murray McCully …
McCully has a reputation among staff as well as officials as a hard taskmaster and Bennett says that was always the case.
"He was a hard man back then, which won't surprise anyone who knew him."
"He wasn't shy in his feedback, that's for sure. But it's because he had high standards and he knew what he wanted and he demanded it of you when you worked for him."
He is infamously intolerant with officials and staff.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/black-prince-to-spin-the-wheel-again/I57DPKDW6ULWKAGBVSAS23Y3XQ/
That Minister did not resign, and Key didn't ask him to, not even when he squandered millions on the scandal of the Saudi sheep farm, a greater crime than anything Allan has touched.
But how do we describe his behaviour? Not bullying, only … "not shy" … "high standards" … "hard taskmaster" … etc.
Because blokes in suits have cojones. He’s a “Black Prince”. Cool!
Political journalists love stories like this. it makes them feel important. They are central characters to the plot – they are the gatekeepers of and conduits for the dirt. They imagine they are portrayed to the "rest" as savvy insiders, privy to courtier gossip and mini-scandals. They don't even have to leave their office, the drip-drip-drip is fed directly to them. They don't have to think. They just launder. And they can revel in the cynicism as sophistication court politics of the horse race narrative, endlessly interviewing each other and their keyboards for new angles and questions.
One way or another, too many useful idiots read and listen to those stories and give them more oxygen & fuel aka legs. And I’m not talking about Bryce Edwards here; Andrea Vance, Edwards, and all the other ‘pundits’ know which side their bread is buttered and DP orchestrators & players know how to make good use of this.
Understandable he'd rather stay there than hose down another cabinet fire…
Media are shitstirring. The PM was being polite and courteous, his comment had nothing to do with the Minister.
You reckon you can read his mind? You ought to hire that skill out. Nat pr gurus would pay you plenty for it.
Media acknowledged that the PM was just being polite, yet weaponized it. Dirty politics.
Beat-up may not be effective framing:
I thought Andrew handled the situation well & his three-way with Ryan & Erica was nicely collegial. He made this interesting point:
One would have thought that a public servant with years of experience knows the system well enough to have laid a complaint a year ago if the claims had been true.
"Cabinet minister Kiri Allan is rejecting the description of events provided by the head of the Department of Conservation (DOC) over claims of a breakdown in the relationship with staff."
"She said she had never shouted at staff."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/492831/kiri-allan-rejects-claims-she-treated-staff-badly
It ain't as simple as you're painting it, Louis. Departmental heads seem to the sources – not the actual victims. I've already pointed to why such victims get coerced by the system into silence unless a critical threshold gets crossed: they want to continue their careers.
However I do agree that the year's delay is suspicious. Looks like the thing got engineered by the Nats – exposure pre-campaign to maintain the corrosive effect on Labour poll support (that Labour ministers have caused). Viability of this theory hinges on public service collusion…
Victims? Isn't the person at the receiving end of unsubstantiated gossip and dirty politics a victim? Good to see you do acknowledge that dirty politics is at play here.
Most people believe those who get yelled & screamed at are victims of the abuse. Apparently the officials reported as being concerned share that common view. You lack the empathy to do so??
There is no proof that anybody got 'yelled & screamed at.'
"NEMA’s chief executive Dave Gawn, in a statement, said he “was aware of concerns regarding relationships in the minister's office, and that he understood action was taken to address these concerns.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300917291/kiri-allan-yelled-and-screamed-at-me-senior-public-servant-says
"relationships in the minister's office" could mean anything.
I am beginning to suspect that a public servant had their work criticized and took umbrage to that. The PM mentioned that accountability is a two way street, "will involve ministers giving feedback to the public service that they haven't met the expectations set of them." See from 22.30
I agree that obfuscation is a recourse popular with many as they flounder around trying to figure out what's going on in contentious situations. Copying them is unwise though.
As mentioned, what's going on is called dirty politics.
Many of the people who comment here have had skin in the game and can correctly sense the game-playing that is occurring.
I have also been a witness to such behaviour in my past. In fact I was a target once, so give me and Louis – and others – the courtesy of… knowing what we are talking about eh?
As for the public servant who is claiming Kiri "yelled and screamed down the phone" at them… there is something just a little too well timed and pat about the claim. I suspect it is an over-hyped version of an incident that did occur. We have not heard from the staff members who are supposed to have witnessed this altercation. Not yet anyway.
I've been reflecting on the situation & feel I ought to make it clear that I share the suspicion around the timing of these reports – given that they seem designed to generate ample smoke without fire.
Four senior officials wafting the smoke around can't be dismissed as a coincidence so I expect folks to wonder why they are doing that. Nor really a good look, eh?
A pragmatist would point out that our system of democracy enables this shit to happen and believers in democracy continue to fail to apply pressure to correct the design flaw so the phenomenon will repeat and likely even escalate. So while it may indeed be dirty politics, so what? Impressions shift voters. The system empowers the diffusing of them. Contagion works, Nats exploit opportunities…
Yet other officials have a different view from the ones in Vance's article, as mentioned in a previous post.
"dirty politics, so what?"
So it is ok for media and others to mislead the public to create a false perception in the hope it would give political advantage to the right wing?
First complaint to the media.
Example of the NaCT justice policy working well. Public crucifixtion of the suspect, then follow probe to confirm after the fact.
NACT Housing policy = private prison policy.
From your Newshub article Frank
Hipkins:"I am not going to comment on rumours… I understand that my office was alerted to the Official Information Act request that was released to the National Party a couple of weeks ago," he said. "I wasn't aware of the specifics of that request until it was raised a couple of days ago."
The Allan media beat-up stems from National Party muck raking. They didn't actually find anything, but why let that get in the way of a good slur story when you can make things up and quote anonymous sources?
And another one:
Amusing, all this denialism. If a Nat had done it, you'd get the usual pile-on here. Non-aligned kiwis just roll their eyes at left-wing hypocrisy.
From your link. “The minister strongly refutes these allegations. No complaints have ever been taken up with MBIE or myself and certainly nothing that resembles these allegations.”
MBIE has said no formal complaints have been made by staff about Allan's conduct and no staff were removed from the office because of concerns"
So you reckon a conspiracy theory applies here, huh? All these public servants are conspiring against Labour?
How many?
Good question.
Andrea Vance only counted four:
A good conspiracy ought to feature more players than that, eh? However, since conspire means breathe together and these four may have operated independently we ought not jump to premature conclusions…
Who’s jumping to conclusions and dreaming up all sorts of narratives here, with associated commentary??
Without the names of these people and formal complaints from them all of this is meaningless drivel. Andrea Vance should know better.
She's just doing her job. Dismissing the four officials can't be done that easily, although I agree that formal collaboration on a united media statement from the four would validate their concerns more effectively. Ball's in their court, huh?
Presuming she did yell & scream at one or more staffers, that can't be proven unless someone recorded it or the testimony of one recipient is confirmed by others who heard it. Dismissing it as having been swept under the carpet successfully a year ago doesn't work: it establishes an unhealthy precedent.
If she didn't, and the public servants are snowflakes over-dramatising whatever tone & language she did use, then I'm with you…
Didn't Andrea Vance cut her reporter's teeth on that defunct rag News of the World? She is into gutter reporting.
Against Kiri.
Stuff today with a beauty- Why it is so hard to complain (outside of the media when the PM is getting good press overseas) about ministers.
Smear and walk away. Smear and walk away. No due process required.
Stuff behaving almost as badly as the Herald.
Journalism? I don't think so.
I am also inclined to see the situation as a beat-up.
If there is an issue, it is hard to know how much is due to Allan's behaviour, and how much is due to the recipient being a tender snow-flake. But, whatever it is, I don't see it as an issue that requires Allan to resign over.
But, the bigger question for me is how much support and training new ministers get in terms of staff management etc. A lot of incoming MPs may have little experience in this area. So, it seems to me that training and support should be mandatory.
Training of new MPs (and re-training of ones with ongoing issues) in staff management has been in place since at least 2018, following Mallard's reforms.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/the-house/audio/2018836630/managing-mps-the-staff-you-can-t-fire
That is good to know.
So, it seems to me the worst that should happen so far as Allan is concerned is that she gets some more training and mentorship support etc.
So, if you were the public servant who got "yelled and screamed" at by her you would respond that she ought to get more training & mentorship, right?
What's the chances of her coming back with "don't you condescend to me, you xyz@***!"
I am trying to be fair and objective here, given that I am from the right wing side of the fence. Assuming there is behaviour to be concerned about:
I think the key thing is, in the first instance, that the desired outcome is that the behaviour stops, and if necessary, some apologies and reconciliation if necessary.
We have to bear in mind that no formal complaints have been made. My approach is that I investigate and action formal complaints. Otherwise, there is nothing concrete to focus on.
However, if this alleged behaviour continued, and especially if formal complaints were made, then it would be approaching the point where it would be necessary to consider suitability for the role.
So, I do see this as quite different to say, the Wood resignation, or the Nash firing where the behaviours undermined the trust of colleagues.
In this situation, it seems more to do with performance management rather than fundamental trust issues.
Yeah, fair enough. Something dodgy in their process, perhaps, and Andrew Little pointed to that as puzzling on AM this morning.
It is puzzling that the staffer with years of experience went to the media with accusations that apparently had occurred over a year ago with no formal complaint to back up that claim, whilst the PM was overseas. Dirty politics.
Allan challenges opposition over 'fishing exercise'
"Speaking to reporters afterwards, Tremain said she was not aware of any concerns raised by MBIE staff seconded to Allan's office.
"We have a very functioning, highly functional relationship with Minister Allan's office," she said.
"At times we fall short of her expectations and that's communicated, that's absolutely fine – we expect that from any minister's office."
Head of Kānoa Robert Pigou said he had no concerns about Allan's managerial style.
"No. In fact we have a, you know, really good, open, relationship and I have had far more challenging ministers to deal with in the past – in fact I cut my teeth on them."
Justice Secretary Andrew Kibblewhite said he had not heard of any such concerns or complaints from his staff.
"No, I've got a very stable team in the office, it's been there since before Minister Allan arrived and we haven't had any turnover there."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/492831/kiri-allan-rejects-claims-she-treated-staff-badly
My brother is one of the civil servants who from time to time has to work in a Minister’s Office. He is certainly not a snowflake, nor are any of his colleagues that work at his level. I believe that the civil servants all handle themselves professionally when meeting with Cabinet ministers and MP’s. So I’m absolutely sure they can handle a robust conversation.
However in this day & age shouting and screaming or yelling abuse at anyone in the workplace is not acceptable. If we expect good behaviour from Joe Blogs on the shop floor, then certainly it is to be expected from a highly paid Cabinet Minister. If she’s not up to the job, she needs to be exited from her position.
This has nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with getting rid of the bullies.
"She said she had never shouted at staff."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/492831/kiri-allan-rejects-claims-she-treated-staff-badly
It’s been quoted in the news that a civil servant was shouted and/or yelled at over the phone and that other staff heard the Cabinet minister. Considering the wording of the story and who wrote it. This has either happened, or it’s a complete fabrication.
considering it’s a senior civil servant who is the source of the story, & told to a reporter, I’m guessing that it’s probably true.
As a Labour supporter, I’m not happy to have Labour MP or Cabinet Ministers in parliament, who are also bullies.
As for their being no formal complaint, we can see how that goes… You complain about the bad behaviour of a much senior manager, you might just as well just start looking for a new job.
Bullies don’t like being challenged and will undoubtedly ruin your career.
That's an assumption. There is no proof of that. A senior public servant knows the process that enables complaints to be laid, but instead, gossiped to the media a year later when the PM was overseas.
I think staff management comes naturally to some and not to others. The key is self knowledge and not putting yourself into situations where you have a weakness. I wonder if her training as a lawyer may have had some effect.
Young lawyers often get the most uncollegial intro to legal office life and certainly some of the tales of belittling and shouting I have heard from colleagues are anything to go by. When the lawyers come out the other side they often view it as a rite of passage not stopping to think that the tradition is bad. I see she interned for Hon Helen Clark. Now HC had Heather Simpson and so with a buffer between her and staff the situations got better.
In PS if you did some of this the system would be down on you like a tonne of bricks. (40 years service here incl 4.5 years as a seconded secretary in two Ministers offices Nat/lLab)
As I said earlier a key person in a Minister's office is the Senior Private Secretary or Office Manager and if she has an experienced one they will be able to say "hey Boss……' if need be. If she has an inexperienced one or a party political person in this key position then this could be a reason why her office did not run smoothly.
Interesting comments about Helen Clark's office.
A 2IC with a firm hand is very useful, like the first mate on a sailing vessel who must command the respect of the crew. Apparently in Stalin's Russia, to get prompt action on something you just had to say "Beria wants this done … "
One claimed instance of such, without any formal complaint to record the event, is no basis for a case.
The real story is the amount of resources National is applying to "opposition research" and how media go along with it because its such a an easy story/narrative. It's just lazy.
It has been taken to a ridiculous level against Allen but no smoke with out fire comes to mind,
She should front up and say she's sorry for getting bolshie and is working on her communication skills.
Why should the Minister say sorry for something she may have not done?
As I said no smoke without fire,
No smoke, but a dust cloud from old skeletons that were dredged from the bottom drawer and rattled around.
Incognito
Yip probably but if it really is just that front up say sorry , work to improve how you interact with staff.
Based on what and what for?
Soya reckon there's no smoke ? 100% fabrication of the head of doc getting involved,
The seconded staffer that left didn't exist?
I hate bosses who through their weight around.
Yes No No Noted
There is no proof.
Media report, 30 June 2023: In a statement, Allan said: “The minister strongly refutes these allegations. No complaints have ever been taken up with MBIE or myself and certainly nothing that resembles these allegations.”
She means she denies the allegations. To refute something is to prove it wrong, and she has not done that.
Like a lot of others, I'm bewildered about what is going on here.
It's too much to expect a minister of the Crown to have good relationships with every civil service staff member. Some ministers would be great to work with, others a good deal less so. The reasons for friction vary, from arrogance to a misplaced sense of entitlement.
This story is becoming a sideshow now. It hasn't altered my opinion of Labour one bit.
The important issue is NZ's future after the next election.
Another snowballing problem hits Russell Brown:
He replied to an 0800 no from a txt msg
DUH
while he was trying to deal with his presumably elderly mother being very ill in hospital.
Russell Brown has written and done tons of work in the mental health and drug reform space. The only time that shit rag the Herald deigns to mention him is in a concern troll about his being scammed. A shitty newspaper happy to snactimoniously pursue petty vendettas through its pages.
The US Supreme Court continues its work to undo the civil rights work of the past century.
The latest work of the GOP southern strategy of the 1970's (to re-base in the south as a white race Christian identity Moral Majority party).
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/29/us/politics/supreme-court-admissions-affirmative-action-harvard-unc.html
A certain irony as to Justice Clarence Thomas – his entry to Harvard law School was because of affirmative action, but upon graduation he chose to be the GOP champion against it. And thus was favoured with placements on Capitol Hill before being fast tracked as a jurist onto SCOTUS. This is the culmination of his career. Now other black students will be denied places in colleges.
It's a bit like receiving a Training Incentive Allowance to get tertiary study here and then end this programme while Minister.
The decision casts the USA (at least the GOP) as a white race regime in both domestic and international politics – ultimately it is part of a further retreat from the wider world, except as an imperial military force (which is why a GOP led war over Taiwan is possible but little on GW – and the no regret over the abandoning of the women of Afghanistan).
It does however explain why some in the GOP are reluctant to confront Russia on Ukraine (a member of the UN with right to help when attacked), but are warriors on Taiwan (when even the USA recognises it is part of China).
Here in NZ some people believe that Maori get preferential entry to Medical School, and thus cause poorer quality of medical care. No. The process is that a few very promising applicants who have been disadvantaged by the limited educational opportunities, may get entry ahead of one who has had the advantages of superior schooling.
The few still have the first year to prove that they are equal to the task or they are dropped off.
Sure, Thomas did OK – middle of the class, when given the opportunity.
The universities did not have a problem with it. There have been campaigns for "meritocracy" in the past – but this principle is premised on a society where there is equal opportunity, rather than any disadvantage.
I guess you mean private education when you say advantages of superior education
There is also the class interest of the Epsom school zone, unrelated to private schooling,
While Clarence Thomas seems to have been sponsored by the GOP onto SCOTUS as their guy against affirmative action, another – now Chjef Justice, John G Roberts is was the one against the Voting Rights Act.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/12/voting-rights-supreme-court-history-alabama-roberts/
As Paula did?
I googled Paula "my, not your TIA" benefit and found this
https://thehandmirror.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-dont-care-what-paula-bennett-got-when.html
I believe such things were said of Nick Smith as well as Murray McCully.
Some people are quick and brusque. Nasty bullying or toxic is different, and would be recorded.
All the way through it appears some Ministry people have quibbled delayed or down right obstructed, using their "longer tenure". Some seem to link with media as "informed sources".
12 months ago Gisborne had a large long earthquake??? Just wondering??? Kiritapu Allan had also finished 3 months of treatment for Cervical cancer.??? But there is no real evidence offered, just the usual swirling rumours and back room chat to journos. So believe who you will, as some here have.
This has all the hall marks of find something on each Minister, fact or rumour, and give it to the press to prove the current meme "The Government is in Chaos"
Two Ministers self destructing, one leaving, and now pressure on Minister Allan, while her personal life is causing her huge grief and her PM is overseas on a successful Trade and Diplomatic visit to China.
Some here seem to prefer "trial by Media". Let us see if the Nact backroom have over reached and the Public are less tolerant of the mud slinging. imo Dirty Politics appears to have reared its ugly head again, and will smear true or not. Journalists hide behind protected sources.
That is precisely what it is. And Kiri Allan was always going to be a prime candidate. As a gay Maori woman, it plays handsomely to the red-neck corner of the population who are their prime market.
The anticipation and fever with which the media have welcomed these unsubstantiated stories says a lot about their populist psyche, and a large section of the public who lap them up with such gusto.
Kick a person when they are down could almost be a Kiwi catch-cry.
Last night on TV1 News the political reporter was asked to comment on the Kiri "problem." He said dismissively that she did not know what the complaint was but she could find out in 10 seconds if she wanted to. Therefore she must be hiding something and must be guilty.
As for the vicious nastiness from that weasel Woodhouse on Morning Report regarding Ginetti….
https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018896534
Yes ianmac I was shouting at the radio when listening to Woodhouse this morning. So devious.
Surely the NZ public are smart enough to see through this?
Why is anybody listening to Woodhouse after the toilet seat debacle? He showed his misogynist colours and therefore cancelled himself from any higher ground I would’ve thought.
That was the point last night I switched over to TV3 which was no better. Benedict [whatever his surname is] is a cynical little s**t who loves socking it to the government at every opportunity. Occasionally he has a go at National (to give the appearance he is even handed) but usually over something innocuous.
A cynic might call it a pre China, during the China visit and then a post the China visit play (Mahuta, Allan and …. ).
To highlight Mahuta not being in China, Allan taking a break and …
An extreme cynic might wonder which Labour Maori MP/Minister is the next on the list.
We could of course have a site sweepstake on who is next.
I'll go with Carmel Sepuloni.
When she was a high school student she kicked some snotty nosed brat in the you- know-where after he tried to run her down on his bicycle.
No, No. It didn't happen. I made it up. 😮
Well if I had a relationship break up and someone was using the media as first port of call for the story they were hawking I’d probably tell them to f- off too.
This is just nasty.
Though you have to wonder. Most of the names that were potentially floated to replace Jacinda or spoken of as future PMs seem to have come cropper of late. Those with a bit of media profile or an independent power base as we were told Nash had built up with his popularity in his electorate and with some in business.
Am I being too cynical? The only name that was in the papers at that point who hasn’t was Megan Woods and she’s campaign manager and seems to be very much in the core team. Of whom Grant and Andrew Little are assumed to have done their leadership dash and McAnulty is too green, and perhaps not core, core.
Or would that be assigning too much competency to Labour?
To be honest polls wise things are going about as well as can be expected. It’s frustrating to look at the climate change policy bonfire.
It’s also frustrating to look at this about Te Atatu and think that it needs rapid ferries going in several directions and a light rail line. Urgently. Yesterday.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/29-06-2023/te-atatu-peninsula-isnt-coming-back-from-this
Density can be done, but we shunt it to places without the infrastructure or where the infrastructure is slow to catch up. Or gets nimbied by muppets. And then people get flooded out to boot.
Still looks like light rail is going to be a hunted species with Mrs Brown’s boys leading the charge too…
Aucklanders are still scarred from the (apparently unending) disruption and huge cost over-runs of the CRL. Combined with the closure of much of the existing train network for line reconstruction over the next 18 months.
Most are highly dubious over any benefits from light rail; and highly wary of the ability of the government/Council to roll it out with minimal disruption and within budget.
Light rail is popular in polls. Hence why it hasn’t been canned.
The City rail link is despite over runs still very popular.
You look at the complaints from Chris Schultz on the Spin-off about Te Atatu. Enormous congestion every time the system comes under stress and no end in sight. With the two projects mentioned above they will both achieve a positive effect on congestion.
All construction projects go through cost overruns that are forgotten when they open. No one remembers that about the Shinkansen which went over budget. Once the service is available all the delays are forgotten.
A large number of the people they’re unpopular with are people who likely won’t be around to see their completion. And that’s a commentary in itself- on a selfish generation that’s clawed all the wealth to itself and done little in the way of long term investing, particularly in housing and climate change preparation and other policy.
It’s a mischief to link the bizarre maintenance failure which requires an enforced shuttering of the network with construction projects that provide for necessary future capacity.
Imagine if a highway system had to be shut for a similar time. Heads would roll. It’s not business as usual. It’s a failure which is somehow being blamed on the mode of transport instead of the people running it.
Yes, I've read the article. What he actually asks for is for the existing busway to be put into use- rather than sit idle, as it does at the moment.
Can you provide a recent link to support your assertion that CRL is still popular?
You didn’t provide any to the contrary?
I mean unpopular with people who are going to use it. Not unpopular because there has been a large number of negatively focused news stories quoting Simeon Brown and Wayne Brown.
For example there has been a lot of dissatisfaction from Albert road businesses about the CRL, some from people who bought in well after the construction plans were in place, but the Auckland business community overall has been behind it for well, decades. You’re fairly emotive on this issue. What would your plan be? No public transport? Or just not any of these options , for now. That’s the right wing climate change position for 50 years.
Yes a busway for now would be a minimum.
But looking at the ferry map and given the issues Chris has mentioned, work on getting ferries linking the North Shore and the city seem like a no brainer. All cars off the road right?
Ah, no. If you make a claim, it's up to you to provide evidence, if called upon to do so.
I'm calling on you to provide evidence that "The City rail link is despite over runs still very popular."
A serious amount of money there Brycie boy.
@gtiso
So, um, yeah. Some inquisitive soul has put in an OIA to Te Herenga Waka concerning two large chunks of funding—$800k—that Bryce Edwards has received (one by himself, one with another academic) to research lobbying and political integrity in New Zealand.
[…]
Under the progress report for the $433,000 he received to "The political influence of vested interests via lobbying and political donations", the response cites a long list of glorified blog posts. https://fyi.org.nz/request/22806/
…
Sorry, make that $487,000. Also, given his regular appearances on the Wright family right-wing megaphone The Platform, I guess he has decided to map this particular problem from within.
https://twitter.com/gtiso/status/1674283497782153217
Interesting. Best wait & see if he produces anything worthwhile. It's not as if taxpayers are dead keen to fund academic research.
Reminds me about the jokes about Weapons of Mass Destruction- how do we know he’s got them? Well we checked the receipt, but just as soon as that cheque clears, we’re going in!
Makes interviewing a type writer for a living another reality…
This is interesting indeed. Was he awarded the money because they liked his consistently anti-Left commentary one wonders?
Edwards should start by investigating his own political integrity.
Comment of the day BG
Rope and Hang come to mind!!
Surely, they were peer-reviewed blog posts. Just like Bryce ‘peer-reviewed’ his competition …
Hopefully though Chippy might reflect on the support he’s had on his China trip from the media, the complaints raised by NEW ZEALAND farmers to the EU trade deal and decide that he doesn’t need either group and the best way to get them onside is not to do everything they say we should be doing but sting them with a small amount of the bill for their climate inaction and threaten to come back for the rest if they keep their BS up.
Imagine if a blue rosette was attached to this EU deal. My gosh.
Well maybe NZ farmers (not all of course!) are the "very negative, whiny " characters Chris Luxon was disparaging.
Kinda apt.
And even…if NAct get back …they will still whine. Its in their DNA.
IMO : )
Bloody brilliant re: Te Atatu- they’re taking over the haggling geese and allowing more density along the light rail route to Mangere.
Yes it is a bombing run. Your council runs policy for a few old folks left behind on an island in the 1950s. Christine Fletcher blamed the flooding on intensification fairly quickly. That doesn’t seem like someone who you should consult when asking how to fix a housing and lifestyle crisis.
Labour with its over 50% of the vote should have had the courage to do a few more of these. But better late than never. Should have got the physical work well and truly started. Should have two lots of light rail almost done and electricfied heavy rail to Tauranga.
Matey…absolutely. Ive said before : If not now, when? I hope NAct dont get control. As it will be …Never. : (
Anyway. Keep up the fight. Have to.
So it's now beyond question the fossil fuel industry is on track to kill us. In a day and age when we need transition, they have let their avarice run amuck.
Maybe I missed it. Have the public services people who have accused Kiri of ‘shouting and screaming’ at them been named. And have they made a public statement with proven factual evidence. Or are they citing privacy? She has been judged and found guilty by media and therefore by gullible public, without a skerric of solid and verified evidence. witnesses anyone ? Our media is so predictable they are embarrassing. ………..I stand for Kiri.
100% Ffloyd.
People who make claims anonymously, as we are told happened in this case, should never be taken seriously. From personal experience, the motivation is nearly always jealousy and malice. Someone with a genuine axe to grind will always complain in person.
The media know this of course so I have to presume they are allowing themselves to be party to the story for personal gain – either for themselves or their employers. And they call themselves professionals.
Agree Floyd. On reading the screaming front page headlines in today's Post my first thought why are these accusers' names not published. Somewhat cowardly. If they are wanting to have their issues aired they should be courageous enough to give their names.
Whatever the facts, Kiri Allan has not had an easy few years with her serious cancer diagnosis, personal issues and the weather ravaged East Coast where she has been confronted with such widespread devastation.
Very strange these issues are being brought up a few months before an election. Perhaps the public should be reminded of some of National's problems of fairly recent times which were not subjected to this media glee. Let's not forget Uffindell, Collins, distasteful National candidates' attitudes towards women. Uffindell particularly has been treated with kid gloves by National. In my book very hypocritical.
While I think the Kiri story is a storm in a tea cup, Labour supporters in 2023, are increasingly sounding like National supporters in 2020.
The constant attacks, accusations of bias and insults on the media and journalists, is a surefire sign of an imminent defeat.
Its concerning, gross, Trumpian and extremely hypocritical from the left who since 2020 have been attacking the right for attacking journalists and spreading disinformation.
It seems when the media is reporting on ones opponent the media can do no wrong, but when the media is reporting on our side they are nasty right wing bastards.
Enough of this.
After two terms, all governments are creaky and ministers often become arrogant, lazy and play fast and loose the longer a govt is in power.
This govt is no exception, the difference I feel, is that there's been remarkably low turnover in the 6th labour govts cabinet.
Key and Clark refreshed their cabinet every six months and sacked ministers every other month. It was a blood sport and instilled fear, Ardern kept the same core cabinet for two terms and appears to have given ministers a very, very long leash and a LOT of leeway and that appears to have made some ministers arrogant, entitled and lazy.
Now we have a new pm, more like Clark/Key in management style, and he's having to deal with the fallout of his predecessors management style, a bunch of errant, arrogant ministers.
I like Kiri and if the allegations are true,.I would be surprised if she feels overwhelmed, she spent the first year or so of this term fighting terminal cancer, she's a second term mp, a first term electorate mp in a region which has suffered multiple natural disasters in 4 years and she's a young mum, add to that multiple gigantic ministerial portfolios and I'd be totally overwhelmed.
Nash was a lazy, entitled, arrogant idiot and to put it politely, was extreme fast and loose. Wood was an idiot and extremely lazy in terms of registering conflicts of interest. Meka is an arrogant careerist.
Kiri seems like someone who is just overwhelmed and I can't think of a person who wouldn't be …
One of Hipkins biggest mistakes has been to overload portfolios onto ministers who perform well, drowning them in work and overwhelming them.
He should have just brought new blood in to replace the underperforming ministers, party politics and factions be damned.
A new pm should have created a mostly new cabinet rather than inheriting the cabinet and problems of his predecessor.
It is big news when these ministerial scandals happen, stop attacking the media for reporting the news.
What's more concerning? The media reporting on events of national significance….OR…
LESS THAN A HUNDRED DAYS BEFORE AN ELECTION AND LABOUR HASNT ANNOUNCED A SINGLE ELECTION POLICY.
Labour keeps telling us how close this election is going to be, Hipkins spent his entire political honeymoon dumping ideas and not coming up with a single new idea.
Labour is giving noone any reason to vote for them and the longer they wait, the worse labour looks.
If they wait til parliament dissolves to release their first policies it'll be too late.
Labour needs to announce polices now to change the narrative from cabinet dysfunction to the election battle.
Every week labour doesn't announce a single policy, I become more convinced Labour doesn't want to win this election and as devoted free marketeers, secretly prefer a National/Act govt to a Labour/Green/Maori party govt.
It actually makes sense that a free market party like labour would prefer a free market nat/act govt than be forced by greens, tmp, or even top to seriously reform the neoliberal state.
Yes, i would agree with this in particular and the rest in general.
You protest too much.
The 'overloaded' ministers are the ones performing well still.
Policy isn't going to win 2023 much'n'all as that would be so sweetly 1972.
It's down to forces outside of Labour control namely:
inflation, house prices, Luxon's performance, and the Maori Party getting 5 seats.
Labour's die is otherwise cast.
Good points Corey.
Surely we start some where soon with some policies?
The more we get embroiled and reactive to 'he said, she said' or 'she said, she said' etc stuff the more our eyes divert from the ball. The ball in this case is the lack of policies and the feeling that I have, that we have missed our time to roll back some of remaining neo-lib junk as you say.
One of the biggest helpful parts of the neo-lib reform was that key state agencies such as Treasury and SSC were loaded with supporters. It is a while ago now but I wonder if there is a rump of 'neo neo-libs' still in some agencies. perhaps spouting their 'wisdom' to Ministers who know no other way and so who may be trapped with no alternatives.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/08/nz-election-2020-labour-s-first-campaign-policy-revamped-national-policy.html
Date: 8 August 2020
What’s most concerning is that you cannot count; it is 106 days until Election Day.
Please stop with the SHOUTING, thanks.