Open mike 31/07/2023

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 31st, 2023 - 43 comments
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43 comments on “Open mike 31/07/2023 ”

  1. Jack 1

    Nice obituary.

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

    • weka 1.1

      Congratulations, you are now on my moderation radar.

      1. stop trolling.
      2. You can obviously write sentences and paragraphs, but you are starting to look like an astroturfer here to just slag off Labour (and the Greens). We expect people to bring coherent political arguments, so up your game.
      3. Read this post and the site Policy so you know how moderation works here
      4. understand that we are banning people until after the election if they continue to cause problems
      5. if you don’t understand anything I am saying, just ask
      6. please reply to this comment so I know you have read it. If you don’t, you will be put in premod, and if you continue to ignore moderation you will get banned
  2. SPC 2

    It began in 2018

    business case for the Whangārei to Auckland corridor in 2018.

    A National policy in 2020.

    2020 election policy to build a four-lane highway from Whangārei to Auckland, including a tolled tunnel under the Brynderwyns in the following decade.

    National and NZF are now proposing an alternative to the Brynderwyn hills route north, as it is flood prone.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/two-possible-bypass-routes-investigated-for-sh1-at-brynderwyn-hills-closed-for-weeks-after-summer-floods/Q2VAJUBJDRGN3C2VJGA3UULVOE/

    • Peter 2.1

      I get it, costs and funding systems and all that. And Northerners won’t mind a toll tunnel at Brynderwyn they’ll be so happy to have it.Like the Puhoi tunnel.

      But in Auckland, the Waterview tunnel? There’s no way Aucklanders would wear a toll.

      And just like that you get to see why some Northlanders think they’re still being treated like dumb shits. The best part of 100 years of being playthings in games of politics. Simeon Brown or whoever the latest little message boy is can join the legion of Nation Party scumbags whose only real interest in Northland is getting a tick on a voting form.

      • Sanctuary 2.1.1

        I've been up north (Auckland to Mangonui) thrice in the last month. There is absolutely no need for any additional massive road building now the holiday highway has been opened. Incremental improvements are needed in Dome valley, and the Brynderwyns are a mess so it may be worth considering bypassing them to the east should climate events make that road no longer feasible.

        If this proposal was for a high speed passenger (and freight) electrified rail corridor linking Whangarei-Auckland-Hamilton-Tauranga combined with a push to create a high productivity corridor alongside the rail then I'd be all in favour of it.

        • PsyclingLeft.Always 2.1.1.1

          If this proposal was for a high speed passenger (and freight) electrified rail corridor linking Whangarei-Auckland-Hamilton-Tauranga combined with a push to create a high productivity corridor alongside the rail then I'd be all in favour of it.

          This !

        • SPC 2.1.1.2

          NZ First wants to build a railway to Marsden Point from the Northern Main Trunk Line.

          And also a dry-dock in Northport and move Ports of Auckland, while also moving the RNZ Navy to Northport from Devonport.

        • Adrian 2.1.1.3

          High speed rail to Northland makes very little sense as it is only a short distance and once there one would need to rent a car to get to the myriad townships and beaches that rail or daily public transport will never ever get to. The other consideration is that within the next decade almost all transport will be electric and any presumed fossil fuel saving benefits will no longer apply. France has a very good TGV and other rail systems but you see very few buses.

          • Bruce 2.1.1.3.1

            I've always thought drive on , drive off rail flat cars would be an idea that could save congestion, lives and emissions on highways and provide a relaxing, comfortable journey without the need for hire cars.

            • Jilly Bee 2.1.1.3.1.1

              There are those types of wagons for cars on the Ghan and Indian Pacific trains, great for long distance travel without the hassle of driving. No reason why they shouldn't work over this side of the ditch.

          • Sabine 2.1.1.3.2

            You should go to cities then, the whole of the Cote d'azur Alpes Maritimes is connected with buses where you have no trains – mountainous areas for example. Cheap, effective, several times a day and evenings buses that go long distance.

            Lived in France for over a decade, never owned a car, always lived rural.

            And fwiw, look up the feat of building a tram in Nice, something that was done in short time, and the ticket was initially at a 1 euro and is now something 1.5 euros. By a conservative deputee no less. Not a single greeny came help.

            NZ does not have public transport because neither the left nor the right actually wants to invest in that. The one wants to build roads, the other want to complain about building road. And here we are, no tram anywhere in Auckland – just been there today, nary a bus to see, the trains seem all being worked on, and well it was quite depressing actually.

            And hiring cars costs money, it is actually cheaper to have a non warrented non rego'ed car that one brings out when they need to go to town and cop the fine, specially when poor. If you even have a rental company anywhere near you to get too to pick up your car. Mind, a poor person could always walk there after all they have time to waste, right?

            But yeah, just another region of NZ that don't need roads, nor trains, just rent a car, the same car that the left believes the poor won't be driving soon and that will be banned cause fossil fuels.

            As for electric cars not being 'fossil fuel' dependent, what do you think electricity is? Where does that magic juice comes from? How do you recycle the batteries? What about the fossilfuel spend to create the car and the batteries and the shipping to our far flung corners? Oh yeah, thats cool and good pollution cause some rich guy can afford a car that makes him feel so green.

            Fuck that is just so tedious.

            • miravox 2.1.1.3.2.1

              Fuck that is just so tedious.

              Totally agree. The Nice tram went in so fast!

              And after living in Vienna (Euro365/year for bus/train/tram within the city limits) & and travelling around Europe car-free for eight years and bugger-all money, and trying to do the same in Wellington (now we're home) – NZ is ruined, it's a transport nightmare. Absolutely pathetic, it's like people cannot see an alternative. We've seen NZers on Danube cruises and city-to-city trains who rave about the experience and then 'oh no, we can't do that in NZ, it's not our way.'

              City-to-city by train $60 there and hundreds of dollars here, Wellington to Auckland by rail is twice the price of flying.

              But of course, I'm elitest.

              (otoh public transport is only for poor people) I give up.

          • Michael P 2.1.1.3.3

            "…within the next decade almost all transport will be electric…"

            yeah….nah.

      • SPC 2.1.2

        This time it's a 4 lane motorway (second tunnel under Mount Victoria – yeah toll free) to the airport and eastern suburbs (instead of a light rail system within Wellington and via a tunnel to the east, something users would pay for).

    • Sanctuary 2.2

      National's obsession with roads frankly goes beyond just a blinkered and antedeluvian world view and veers hard towards outright cronyism and culture war nihilism.

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 2.2.1

        Absolutely summed. Its a core belief obsession.

      • SPC 2.2.2

        They are still largely unchallenged in MSM over allowing heavier trucks on the roads – causing cracking and then the later potholes with the rain (and they did this while reducing funding for road maintenance).

        And the poseurs then this year announce a pothole fund policy to deal with the mess they caused, as if they have the answers.

    • Phillip ure 2.3

      How many of those new bridges national promised to build in northland…

      .. actually got built..?

      This motorway chimera might snag the biggest pile of electioneering bullshit award…

      ..(from/for the party (formerly) known as the tax cuts party..)

  3. Dennis Frank 3

    CNN reports on bilingual road signage, featuring this country along with Wales & Hawaii: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/29/asia/new-zealand-bilingual-road-signs-debate-intl-hnk-dst/index.html

    In 1847 (20 years before New Zealand’s Native Schools Act) a British government report into Welsh linked the language to stupidity, sexual promiscuity and unruly behavior, prompting a drive to remove the language from local schools.

    So the historical trend into monoculture was a result of imperialism.

    This led to the notorious punishment known as the Welsh Nots. These were planks of wood with the initials W.N. on them that would be hung around the necks of students caught speaking the language in school.

    James Griffiths, author of Speak Not: Empire, Identity and the Politics of Language and a former CNN journalist, said Wales was a prime example of how sound policies could revive a native language, but he noted that, as in New Zealand, there had been resistance from some quarters.

    “I think for a lot of people, if they speak the language of the majority, they don’t appreciate the type of recognition and representation of having it on road signs,” he said. Across the Irish Sea, bilingual signs bearing both Irish Gaelic and English have existed in the Republic of Ireland dating back to the start of the 20th century.

    Whereas the trend towards inclusion is good politics, there's a problem with impact on driver cognition that has design implications:

    Research by the University of Leeds suggests road signs consisting of four lines, or more, are likely to slow drivers’ response time significantly.

    You may need to pull over & stop to read the sign for this place…

    Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, a hill near Hawke’s Bay which prides itself as the world’s longest place name.

  4. Dennis Frank 4

    Alternatives to the msm are helpful. This one seems to have emerged from an aussie university: https://360info.org/about-us/

    360 operates as a “wire agency” supplying contextual and explanatory news features ready-for-publication on other publisher’s outlets at no cost under Creative Commons.

    It provides this review of China's BRI: The future of the Belt and Road Initiative is uncertain, but regional cooperation could secure its future.

    China now navigates an inward-looking economic policy, and the outcomes of this reassessment will shape not only Belt and Road infrastructure projects but the economic and geopolitical landscape in the Pacific and beyond.

    https://360info.org/ten-years-on-chinas-grand-scheme-faces-hurdles/

    • SPC 4.1

      China would need to proffer a Taiwan within China deal, reassure ASEAN as to the SCS atolls being claimed as islands, and assist with a Korean Peninsular peace (guarantee South Korean security and thus allowing US forces to leave) to gain Japanese and Korean confidence.

      Then there is this. Italy wondering about how to withdraw.

      https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66354362

    • Phillip ure 4.2

      That 360 is a useful link/resource..

  5. SPC 5

    Labour is proposing a change to its rent to buy scheme.

    The Government has tweaked its rent-to-buy type schemes for first home buyers, opening it up for existing homes and not just new builds.

    About time.

    Housing Minister Megan Woods announced on Sunday the progressive home ownership scheme – where the Government helps first home buyers through rent-to-buy, leasehold, and shared equity arrangements – would be opened up to existing homes for buyers, with an increased income cap of $150,000.

    Rising wages since 2020.

    The $400 million progressive home ownership scheme was started in 2020 with the aim of helping low-to-median income households, particularly Māori and Pacific whānau with children, who might lack a sufficient deposit or financial support for a deposit, into their first home.

    The Government is also “increasing the flexibility” and speed of the application process, and extending the timeframe that rent-to-buy of shared equity schemes have to be paid off by from 15 to 20 years.

    This is hardly surprising given the increasing cost of new builds since 2020.

    Now, if only they would do an adjustment to Kiwibuild and allow those owning flats and apartments to buy (those seeking better quality or a small family home) or those empty nesters downsizing (to encourage this path to quality new builds). This would help provide impetus to the wider construction market.

  6. dv 6

    The new hiway

    Simple calc cost is 17 b not 6b

    Distance 380

    Based on the Tranmission gulley
    27k, 1.2 b cost

  7. PsyclingLeft.Always 7

    Study suggests New Zealand is the most car-dependent country in the world

    The study suggests this is because transport funding is more skewed towards roading projects rather than a focus on buses or trains.

    https://www.autocar.co.nz/study-suggests-new-zealand-is-the-most-car-dependent-country-in-the-world/

    How or when will this car dependency end? Seemingly never. Well, not while morons are still planning to build 4 lane "highways".

    We must get Rail back on track !

    As late as 2002, services operated between Auckland and Hamilton, Tauranga and Rotorua, Wellington and Napier, as well as Christchurch and Invercargill.

    20 years later just a handful remain and New Zealand is one of the most car-dependent countries in the world.

    https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/03/06/road-to-rail-can-nz-get-back-on-track-with-rail/

    Regional rail: What is, what was and what could be

    https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/10-05-2023/regional-rail-what-is-what-was-and-what-could-be

    • Sanctuary 7.1

      I don't know about trying to restore regional rail. it's been run down for almost fifty years now. My view is we should start with a clean sheet of paper, build a standard gauge high speed electric rail network in the above mentioned Whangarei to Tauranga route, and then expand that South over 20-40 years. Then, a spur to Rotorua. Then to Taupo and from Wellington to Palmerston North. Then complete the link between Palmerston and Taupo. Then maybe an East Coast link, Palmerston North-Napier-Gisborne-Whakatane-Rotorua.

      In the South Island, the maintrunk from a new ferry port at Clifford Bay to Christchurch. Forget about the rest of the old narrow gauge network.

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 7.1.1

        No argument with Rail North. But meanwhile, heavy truck/trailers are rooting South Island roads.

        Clifford Bay to ChCh could be a start…but we who are actually in the South need much more Rail service and use to put a stop to that.

        Heres an Opinion piece from Duncan Connors.

        While stating the case strongly for Dunedin..and our South Island IMO he has many valid points.

        https://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/all-aboard-passenger-rail-south

        Duncan Connors, no mere enthusiast…he is also Senior Lecturer at University of Otago Business School

        • Sanctuary 7.1.1.1

          The small populations and lack of economic dynamism makes modern rail hard to justify south of Hamilton except on the hope of induced demand and I can't imagine you'd ever come up with a good case to spend the money required ofor upgrade rail in Otago/Southland.

          Far better accept the dynamic “virtuous circle” of growth in NZ will occur north of Taupo, and aim to create a zone with good, high-skilled jobs, a large, skilled population, and good communications that will attract more private investment and new, high-skilled jobs. Leave Otago and Southland to the penguins, fur seals and Royal Albatrosses.

  8. Mike the Lefty 8

    National's default policy position: build more roads.

    That's all you get from National.

    Shameless populist vote buying, so their mates can drive their Ford Rangers at 130 km/hr between Whangarei and Auckland along ludicrously expensive King's highways.

    Who will pay for that?

    The poor, the homeless, the hungry and the sick.

    National's pandering to the Kiwi car culture for votes at the expense of the general welfare of the country is the product of calculated minds who don't give a f.. about anything but the buzz of power.

    They should be ashamed of themselves, but being National they will think they are the best thing since sliced bread.

  9. Jack 9

    Yet another week starts with National releasing policy and Labour again talking about themselves – today their party list.

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

    • observer 9.1

      About a month ago Jack was on here claiming that National had released their tax policy. When I pointed out that was incorrect, and (politely) asked for a link to this policy, Jack resorted to abuse.

      That doesn't bother me, but deliberate misinformation does. Where is National's tax policy, Jack?

  10. Dennis Frank 10

    Public health controversy continues to swirl around my local dioxin site: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/494823/ministry-of-health-cuts-access-to-flawed-data-in-paritutu-serum-dioxin-study

    You'll see a nice aerial view of the Ivon Watkins-Dow plant in 2001. Demolition was completed earlier this year and all those buildings within that large green-belt quadrangle are now gone. Just below the bottom of the picture is the Tasman coastline. I live in that fringe suburb above the top right corner, less than 300m from the boundary, but I'm not paranoid about any contamination.

    After months wondering why developers haven't moved in to start subdivision of what could become a highly-prized market opportunity, I've gleaned that the NPDC isn't satisfied with the owner's decontamination process, so the thing has stalled.

    Meanwhile this report suggests things are even murkier for locals closely affected.

    Jimmy Stoppard grew up on Marama Crescent in Paritūtū, and later worked at the IDW agrichemicals plant. His mother Susan Stoppard Raynor recorded the highest level of dioxin exposure in the 2005 study. But she was incorrectly grouped as a long-term resident, despite living in Paritūtū for just seven years. Stoppard feared the study's results had been skewed by wrong information about his mother and others who lived in the area in the 1960s.

    Can't do basic science if you fudge the data. Gross negligence? Anyone ought to be able to grasp that the period of exposure is proportional to the effects, right? Should public health officials be deemed to thick to grasp that principle? No. How come they don't just get it right? Pandemic, obviously. The universal feeble excuse.

  11. Craig H 11

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300939162/live-the-day-in-politics-monday-july-31

    Labour List is currently being released but a standalone link not available yet. To quote the top 60 from that link:

    1. Chris Hipkins
    2. Kelvin Davis
    3. Carmel Sepuloni
    4. Grant Robertson
    5. Megan Woods
    6. Jan Tinetti
    7. Ayesha Verrall
    8. Willie Jackson
    9. Willow-Jean Prime
    10. Damien O'Connor
    11. Adrian Rurawhe
    12. Andrew Little
    13. David Parker
    14. Peeni Henare
    15. Priyanca Radhakrishnan
    16. Kieran McAnulty
    17. Ginny Andersen
    18. Barbara Edmonds
    19. Jo Luxton
    20. Duncan Webb
    21. Rino Tirikatene
    22. Deborah Russell
    23. Rachel Brooking
    24. Jenny Salesa
    25. Tangi Utikere
    26. Camilla Belich
    27. Tracey McLellan
    28. Shanan Halbert
    29. Glen Bennett
    30. Vanushi Walters
    31. Georgie Dansey
    32. Dan Rosewarne
    33. Naisi Chen
    34. Anahila Kanongata'a
    35. Angela Roberts
    36. Tāmati Coffey
    37. Ibrahim Omer
    38. Neru Leavasa
    39. Toni Boynton
    40. Anna Lorck
    41. George Hampton
    42. Rachel Boyack
    43. Angie Warren-Clark
    44. Liz Craig
    45. Michael Wood
    46. Terisa Ngobi
    47. Helen White
    48. Arena Williams
    49. Phil Twyford
    50. Steph Lewis
    51. Sarah Pallett
    52. Ingrid Leary
    53. Lemauga Lydia Sosene
    54. Parewhati Taikato
    55. Estefania Muller-Pallarès
    56. Fleur Fitzsimons
    57. Reuben Davidson
    58. Nick Ruane
    59. Fesaitu Solomone
    60. Mark Hutchinson

  12. newsense 12

    What have the twenty extra MPs been doing for 3 years? Has there been any benefit to having this huge caucus?

    • Mac1 12.1

      I would expect that they were representing constituents, voting in Parliament, sitting on Parliamentary committees, dealing with constituent problems and local issues.

      If they were National MPs they'd be finding potholes, mingling with anti-mandate protesters, putting up protest hoardings, putting out press releases and newsletters full of words like "shambles", "crisis" and "woke".

    • observer 12.2

      People often complain there are too many MPs, but under our system there is no other talent pool for Cabinet. We can't create peers (UK) or appoint Senators (Australia) or other officials (USA). New Zealand is unusual in that regard.

      The first MMP government (National – NZ First) was an object lesson in what can go wrong if jobs outnumber available talent.

      • newsense 12.2.1

        That’s it?

        Trainer wheels cabinet ministers who we haven’t seen, have no profile and who are going to lose their seats anyway?

        Could at least have been some guest posts for the Standard expressing their political philosophy or political goals if those are allowed in the Labour Party these days…

        @Mac yep all NaCT backbench stuff. What’s the Labour alternative? It seems like a lot of wasted opportunity at the moment.

  13. Drowsy M. Kram 13

    According to RNZ's Midday Sports News [@ 0:59 min], "New Zealand crushed Singapore"!

    Crushed! Humiliated! Destroyed! – it's all good (entertainment), if a little juvenile.

  14. Mac1 14

    The Labour alternative is to understand that potholes not on SH1 are the responsibility of the local authority, not the government; that anti-mandate protesters who deny the power of the police, the courts and reason are dangerously deluded; that protest hoardings that call for the banning of something that does not exist are in similar intellectual territory; that words used wrongly and overused lose their meaning; and finally that 'woke' is a term of praise.

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    Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the irony
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
    It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
    3 days ago
  • Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
    Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • The Prime Minister's Dream.
    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    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). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    3 days ago
  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    3 days ago
  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    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 ...
    4 days ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    5 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    5 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    5 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    5 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    6 days ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    6 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    6 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    6 days ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    1 week ago
  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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