Peters stands down

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 5:49 pm, August 29th, 2008 - 145 comments
Categories: election 2008, election funding, helen clark, nz first - Tags:

Peters has stood down. Clark has taken over his portfolios.

It’s good that Peters appears to have accepted that this is a necessity and hasn’t turned on the Government. Clever of Clark to take the portfolios herself too.

[we nearly had the scoop on this too but it took too long for me to get an internet connection, damn Herald got in ten minutes earlier]

145 comments on “Peters stands down ”

Comments are now closed

Anita 1

29 August 2008 at 5:54 pm

Everyone except The Herald is reporting “stands aside”.

The Herald was way after Stuff, and Stuff was way after Radio NZ broadcast it.
sweetd (The idiot dickhead) 2

29 August 2008 at 5:54 pm

“[we nearly had the scoop on this too but it took too long for me to get an internet connection, damn Herald got in ten minutes earlier]”

Makes sense, you have a direct feed from the 9th floor.

[lprent: You know that I’m a bit picky on that subject. I’ll just adjust your name a bit. Aren’t you lucky – I didn’t adjust all of your comments. Fortunately it took too long to fire up Navicat.]
r0b 3

29 August 2008 at 5:59 pm

This is good news. Both HC and WP must have handled the meeting well. Now I’ll be very interested to hear what the Serious Fraud Office come up with.
sweetd (The idiot dickhead) 4

29 August 2008 at 6:03 pm

r0b

Your comment seems to think that the SFO have an up hill case to prove. Really, what else could both (HC and WP) of them do?
r0b 5

29 August 2008 at 6:07 pm

sweetd the idiot dickhead, my comment meant no such thing. I think Winston has blown it this time, and I’ll be very interested to hear what the Serious Fraud Office come up with. But it is always possible that Winston is correct, and there is nothing nefarious to find, and we should keep that possibility in mind.
Felix 6

29 August 2008 at 6:17 pm

With Winston it’s always advisable to keep every possibility in mind.
sweetd (The ignorant dickhead) 7

29 August 2008 at 6:23 pm

What chance ,really, do you think there is nothing to find? It is too late for WP, and to some degree by association HC, the mood of the people has already shifted and WP is bad goods. Key outplayed Clark (dropping WP) on wednesday and it is all catch up from Clark’s point of view now.

If, and its a big if, WP is innocent of all charges, what worries me is that under MMP you only have to pander to 5% of the electorate and you stand a high chance of becoming a king maker.
Felix 8

29 August 2008 at 6:29 pm

sweetd the idiot dickhead:

Unless you have some special knowledge of the case then you don’t know anything more than what we’ve all heard so you can’t be sure of anyone’s guilt or otherwise.

What do you righties have against due process?
Tim Ellis 9

29 August 2008 at 6:30 pm

SP thank you for putting up this post. It would have been great to see you guys have the scoop on this. Roll on faster broadband!

I don’t think you’ve covered yourself in glory on this issue SP. I don’t like to rub things in, but this morning I wrote:

“Your responses so far have been: 1. National is lying. 2. There isn’t any evidence. 3. There is now evidence, but Winston hasn’t done anything illegal or immoral. 4. Winston has done a few immoral things, but look at how immoral the other guys are. 5. Winston deserves a fair trial, and everybody is colluding to stop him having a fair trial because they are immoral and corrupt. 6. This isn’t a major issue.</i.

I don’t like to put words in people’s mouths SP, but if you stay to form your post after the PM makes her decision today will be: 7. The PM made the right decision in the circumstances.

It turns out I was right. I am also disturbed by reports that Labour Party sources are currently going around smearing Owen Glenn. I would be surprised if these rumours turn out to be true, but if they are I would be really disgusted at the cynical way they’re behaving. Dail Jones really jumped the proverbial sycophantic shark this week when he insinuated that Owen Glenn’s evidence to the Privileges Committee was a forgery; I do hope the Labour Party don’t use such disgusting, disloyal tactics towards somebody they were so happy to take money from, celebrate with a new year’s gong, and celebrate with a business school.
GordonF 10

29 August 2008 at 6:34 pm

Julian Robins on National Radio praised Key on his “brave and principled stand” re Peters. Sorry Julian it was neither brave nor principled, as per usual Mr Key is just playing the polls and hoping like Hell that some of this stuff sticks to Peters.
Draco TB 11

29 August 2008 at 6:36 pm

This is good news and I’m going to be very interested in what the SFO comes up with as well.
sweetd (The ignorant dickhead) 12

29 August 2008 at 6:37 pm

Felix

“What do you righties have against due process?”

So, why isn’t Tito Philip Field still a Labour MP? He hasn’t been found guilty of any crimes? According to HC he was only guilty of helping his fellow constitutents.
Felix 13

29 August 2008 at 6:43 pm

sweetd the ignorant dickhead:

That’s got nothing to do with what I said.

You guys need to wipe the froth from your lips and let justice take it’s course.
sweetd 14

29 August 2008 at 6:47 pm

Iprent.

Tito Philip Field has not been found guilty of anything.

The only reason he was dumped from the Labour Party was when he dared to suggest he would stand as an independent against the Labour Party.

So, Iprent, why am I ignorart?

[lprent: Because you listen to Whale – who is technically incompetent. You suggested that Steve works on the 9th floor without any evidence (and he doesn’t). I consider that to be both idiotic and ignorant, and it offends me. So I’m making my opinion public. Read the About and consider why you don’t offend a sysop. Besides it is more fun than banning on a friday. ]
Tim Ellis 15

29 August 2008 at 6:50 pm

Felix, that’s a good question. The issue for me has always been not whether Winston Peters was guilty or innocent. The issue has been the credibility of his answers in public. Since the story broke he has been evasive with the media, and gone on the attack. He has done everything to create further problems for himself. The Prime Minister has known for six months that there was a “conflict of evidence”, despite saying the whole time that she had confidence in Winston Peters unless there was “evidence to the contrary”.

I am not making judgements about his guilt, but his credibility has been torn apart through his own behaviour. It simply isn’t credible to go about claiming that the media forged evidence, as he claimed. It simply isn’t credible to go about railing that the press gallery is full of liars, as he has. It simply isn’t credible to hold a ministerial warrant while claiming that the Serious Fraud Office is conspiring to do you in. The performance in the Privileges Committee shows that he was more determined to make a mockery of Parliament than answer direct questions.

Helen Clark has known about all this for a very long time. She will no doubt face the political consequences for that decision, because I think that dents her credibility as well.

The issue isn’t whether Winston Peters took bribes, fraudulently put money towards purposes it wasn’t intended, or broke the law to fail to declare donations that he was legally required to do. Due processes, in the form of the SFO and the Privileges Committee, will determine that.

The political issue is that throughout all this, Winston Peters has behaved in a way that did not just fail to enhance his integrity as a government minister; every time he played games over the issue, he damaged the integrity of his ministry, his coalition government, and Parliament as a whole. Helen Clark let that go on for far too long. He should have been stepped aside long ago.
dad4justice 16

29 August 2008 at 6:54 pm

Well, when is Clark stepping down? Clearly she has lost the plot big time. Mr Glen deserves another gong. When can I sing ding dong the wicked witch is dead? Is Trevor in the dock or Fatty Field?? How’s Dover and Panty Boy??
r0b 17

29 August 2008 at 6:57 pm

Julian Robins on National Radio praised Key on his “brave and principled stand’ re Peters.

I don’t think anyone could accuse Robins of a pro Nat bias (or a pro Labour one), and I actually think there is a germ of truth there. For better or for worse this is pretty much the only occasion on which I remember Key showing any kind of spine on anything. (Hmm – maybe supporting the repeal of S59 was another example).

I don’t think it was “brave and principled”, but I do think it was “risky” (after all, Peters may be back), and that’s unusual for Key. Much more his style to sell out his principles for the path of least resistance.
dad4justice 18

29 August 2008 at 7:00 pm

Would the chief justice principal smack some principles into Miss Clark?
Felix 19

29 August 2008 at 7:02 pm

Tim I agree, it’s about credibility (which is a perception).

In my eyes, Peters has always had very little and this affair does nothing to alter that perception. To his supporters this affair will probably boost his credibility a bit, especially if he plays it as “sticking it to the man” which is his favourite defensive position.

Of course if he is found guilty of serious wrongdoing he’ll be abandoned by all but his hard core supporters and probably won’t recover politically.

As for Helen Clark, I doubt very much that anything can be made to stick to her in any meaningful way except in the perceptions of those who don’t consider her credible already.
dad4justice 20

29 August 2008 at 7:04 pm

For six months Miss Clark has turned a blind eye too Winny the poohs blatant corruption.
My tummy tightens said Lickspittle Campbell tug muscle.I expect Labour to poll 15% come election time.
Felix 21

29 August 2008 at 7:06 pm

dad your lyrics are getting better all the time.
dad4justice 22

29 August 2008 at 7:10 pm

Sorry Felix I can’t sing for shit, but I do wonder what the voter thinks about Helen’s secret about Winston’s corruption. What party has the secret agenda Heather Simpson? Is it not in the public interest to have a Prime Minister that is truthful and does not withhold information. After all our taxes pay for the deceptive parasites.

This regime will make history for ALL the wrong reasons.
randal 23

29 August 2008 at 7:11 pm

Winston is not the victim here but the very basis of our law itself and that is due process. Keys and Wodney and the rest of his claques have shown just how much they care for the sanctity of the law. Their effort is the same one used by schoolyard bullies and persons addicted to short term gratification. Shame on the nats and their fascist criminal tendencies. Labour will be reelected just to make sure that this way of carrying out the law does not become a permanent feature of life in New Zealand.
lprent 24

29 August 2008 at 7:19 pm

What is going to be interesting with this whole topic is what happens if the SFO and PC finds nothing conclusive – which is what I’m half-inclined to believe is what is likely to happen.

While Peters has been a long way away from practicing the law – the other two people involved haven’t. Lawyers have a tendency to think through the downside of everything, and the old Electoral Act of 1993 has holes in it you could push a bus through.

If I was Peters and the scenario above is the case – then I’d be pushing both the PC and the SFO to work as fast as possible (but to drag things out for a few weeks). Great publicity if the allegations are unprovable or were quite legal. Winston’s practice is to go into elections being the underdog. He only needs 5%…….

I was so hoping that NZF would disappear this election from terminal respectability.

Felix: d4j has being waxing quite lyrical recently (as has randal).

Staying off-topic. I just realised that I could have used Search and Replace on sweeetd.. Oh well..
higherstandard 25

29 August 2008 at 7:21 pm

The SFO is a side show – regardless of what the find on WP, the Owen Glenn issue is completely separate and it is on this issue where he repeatedly lied to parliament, the NZ public and to the PM (although who knows if he did indeed lie to the PM perhaps they have been complicit in this fiasco since Glenn gave her the information on WPin February.

Interesting he’s instructed Peter Williams to run diversion for himself and the Prime Minister and to attempt to smear Key and the Nat’s.
dad4justice 26

29 August 2008 at 7:25 pm

Lawyers are showing their true colours, follow the money honey.Show me an honest lawyer and I’ll eat me hat.
higherstandard 27

29 August 2008 at 7:29 pm

d4j

I think your hat is safe barring a very thorough search of NZ.
randal 28

29 August 2008 at 7:29 pm

lprent..if you think this is a game then I advise you to change your occupation and re-think your commitment and obligation to the labour party and the proletariat.
mickysavage 29

29 August 2008 at 7:33 pm

Good comment Lynnp

I just saw Key on TV and he looked very nervous.

This (Winston attack) is a whole of the business bet by him. It obliterated the terrible week they were having, and attached Helen in one of her strengths, honesty. But it took out completely a potential ally and pissed off a portion of the population.

Helen has done something no one else has done, persuaded Winston to stand down. Bolger and Shipley failed to do this. Helen’s handling is masterful.

The real danger for national is if the SFO comes back and says that there is nothing to investigate. I suspect that this will be the finding. The only conspiracy that I can work out is that Helen conspired to aid and abet Winston to receive a donation from Glenn to pay costs to a national MP. Paradoxically Glenn’s money ended up in Clarkson’s pocket … Winston’s shenanigans with the signs do not help but I do not see that he has done anything illegal.

If Winston is exonerated then Key will be in trouble. His standing down has shown Helen to be in control. Exoneration by the SFO and the Privileges Committee will make him smell like roses. National’s tantrum before the committee had actually considered and ruled on the complaint makes them look cheap.

The winners will also be the EFA and the movement for state funding. How can national oppose it now?
dad4justice 30

29 August 2008 at 7:33 pm

Oh my, randal is giving Lynn a broadside, oh what fun this will be to watch. Can I be the ref with a hat on please vicious randal?
higherstandard 31

29 August 2008 at 7:37 pm

I’m sure Michael Savage would be delighted that the current Labour party both protects and relies on the likes of WP to maintain power.
lprent 32

29 August 2008 at 7:42 pm

I’m afraid that it has been a long week with too little sleep because of the campaigning I do for the NZLP on the data analysis side. Fitting this in with the 9-5 leaves too few hours for fun.

I’m pretty sure that I do not do it for the proletariat. More for making sure that my younger relatives don’t have to put up with kinds of lousy policy decisions from the Nat’s that I have.

Basically I do this blogging for fun. It has to be the cheapest entertainment around…

BTW: Has anyone else noticed that the stats department has released the census data down to meshblock level. Bloody great big database that I’ve been digging into for a while now. There are also the boundary maps as shp files – I’m having fun with those in the few spare minutes that I have available.
Concerned of Tawa 33

29 August 2008 at 7:49 pm

As Sweetd says Taito Philip Field has not been found guilty, yet he (and a pile of other Labour ministers before him) were never extended the favours from Clark that Winston has received. The double standards here are as credible as Winston. This will hurt Clark and you know it. Key has made the right call. For once.
Dean 34

29 August 2008 at 7:52 pm

“I’m pretty sure that I do not do it for the proletariat. More for making sure that my younger relatives don’t have to put up with kinds of lousy policy decisions from the Nat’s that I have.”

Would that be the failed policies of the 90s which Labour attack but have refused to reverse after 9 years in government?

Or would it be National NOT sending out fake eviction notices to state house tenants at the last election?
sweetd 35

29 August 2008 at 7:53 pm

Mickeysavage

What time frame has the SFO given? It could easily stretch beyond the election.

Iprent, yeah search and replace me. Its a fine line between editoral content and censorship.

As far as I know Whale had a convincing arguement that hasn’t been rebutted yet. As this is your blog, I stand (and wait) to be corrected of my errors,

SweetD
lprent 36

29 August 2008 at 7:56 pm

Dean: Those daft policies of the 1960’s to the early 1980’s that caused all of the later problems. That was a hell of lot of wasted opportunities. We’re still climbing up to the point that we can afford to pay for what needs to be done. Of course if the Nat’s get back in, we can rely on them to fritter away the recent gains.

How young do you think I am?
Dan 37

29 August 2008 at 7:58 pm

My reading of Key on this one is that he dropped Peters on the advice of his Hollow Men advisors. He gave himself some wriggle room, and my reading of his interview tonight is that he is uncomfortable with the position he finds himself in. He would have preferred a more populist middle road with a dollar each way to the outcome. he also knows the Nats are vulnerable on questions of hidden money from interest groups.

The line between a brave man and a foolish one is often very small.
Some commentators have berated Peters for not being straight with the media, as if somehow that justifies the pack mentality that has ensued. When has the media been straight with Peters? It would be different if the Media were, without fail, objective, unbiased and fair. Many times Peters has enjoyed being the whipping boy to play the persecuted one to drum up his 5.1%. However, that is not carte blanche for the media to get even.
lprent 38

29 August 2008 at 8:06 pm

Sweeetd. It wasn’t a convincing argument – it was a few facts and a lot of speculation. To rebut it would require the anonymity of the posters would have to be violated. That wasn’t an option because of the reasons in our About.

Let me just say that the bloated one is a liar about in the conclusions he reached and is full of shit.

Ask rOb – according to the idiot, he is Rob Salmond – something that has been publicly refuted by both people. I know he isn’t because I know rOb. But it cannot be refuted because of the Privacy Policy.

Essentially Whale is relying on our following our stated policy to make sure he wasn’t shown up to be the complete blowhard that I know him to be.
Concerned of Tawa 39

29 August 2008 at 8:07 pm

Dan

“he also knows the Nats are vulnerable on questions of hidden money from interest groups.”

Clark and Wisnton have completely removed that vulnerability.
Hollow Women.
dad4justice 40

29 August 2008 at 8:08 pm

r0b and rob and my head hurts. Cheers Winston. Go the lawyers.

Clark’s credibility hits rock bottom (sorry no pun intended Judith) She sang, I did it my way while being taken away to the funny farm.
Macro 41

29 August 2008 at 8:12 pm

I would be surprised if the Serious Fraud Office finds anything! In fact Peter Williams on Campbell tonight stated that he had viewed the relevant accounts of the Spencer Trust and was completely satisfied that all was above board. Its not unknown for W P to give his detractors enough rope to hang themselves, and I suspect that that may well be what he has done again. Furthermore, those who believe that this latest round of fuss making by Rodney and John will count against W P may well find that the very people that they hope to turn against him will be backing him even more strongly than before!
The thing though that amazes me most is the utter HYPOCRISY of those who have lead the charge against these so called secret donations and their being undeclared!
I would be asking J K about the use of the private Helicopter by National in the last election, the Waitemata Trust Fund, etc etc… Heavens! N Hagar has written a whole book on it and its never been denied. How about removing the planks from their own eyes, before they try removing the splinter from others.
gobsmacked 42

29 August 2008 at 8:12 pm

The best part of this whole soap opera has been the entertaining spectacle of Key acting “um, decisive”, trying to remember his script but just not able to get in character.

It’s Rambo, played by Noddy.
sweetd 43

29 August 2008 at 8:16 pm

Bugger me

This excuse of a corrupt inept embarrassment of a pva glued held togethor government deserves to burn in the pyre of unfulfilled ambitions and undelivered promises.
randal 44

29 August 2008 at 8:20 pm

tell that to the families getting wff. Helen Clark will go down in history as one of New Zealands greatest prime ministers and the achievements of her government will live on long after she has gone.
Monty 45

29 August 2008 at 8:21 pm

A great week for National – John Key has looked to be the one in Control. Winston polling around 2% will not be able to recover to 5% at the election for two reasons – firstly his credibility is completely shot, and secondly because the only money he now has left in the bank is that which he did not pay to charities (thats right – It is no longer credible to belive the liar did pay all $158,000 to charities when he had nothing in the banks and secret trust accounts to fund his election campaign. No business wll now touch him. He has lied too many times.

But the good news this week is Clark’s protection of Winnie. She has aided and abetted (and gambled that the public would not find out) about his corruption.

I see the best result for National come 18 October 2008. (Clark will be forced to call an election on Wednesday after the ETS Bill has failed at the last hurdle.
sweetd 46

29 August 2008 at 8:26 pm

Iprent, TPP was removed from the LP becase he dared to becoeme an independent, not for any other reaon.
Anthony Blomfield 47

29 August 2008 at 8:27 pm

Oh. Deah I better be clear. Helen Clark is Awesome, She is a cool, caring a courageous lady. I am fairly clear on that. So what does this mean. I am sad that such a great cool person is in a left wing party, why can’t we have some talent like hers.

Helen has consistantley been polite professional and answered questions. John key has nothing on her.

National have often belittled and given personal attacks to her which have made me very upset

It has made me want to know more about the labour party beliefs.

Can Labour please answer:>>>

What does it take to grow an economy?

What is wrong with Free enterprise.?
dad4justice 48

29 August 2008 at 8:31 pm

“It’s Rambo, played by Noddy.”

It’s Wonderwomens’, played by Helen and Heather, filmed in Helengrad.
mickysavage 49

29 August 2008 at 8:34 pm

Sorry Monty

I was worried about the ETS bill. I think it is the most important piece of legislation this government has to pass. Climate change is not waiting and if we do not start to do something now it will be too late. Today’s events confirm that it will be passed. If you want a bet let me know …

Winnie has not been corrupt. He has been beligerent and stupid but what has changed?

Helen has not protected him. She asked the right questions. Why someone in charge of a $45b spend should ascertain what happened to a private $100k donation to another party is way beyond me. Don’t you think she should be more worried about our economy?

Election day will be November 1. LP and P and Green will be slightly ahead of N and ACT and NZF will not be there. Game over. Long live democracy and NZ will be better for it.
dad4justice 50

29 August 2008 at 8:35 pm

Level 9 Standard has gone to moderation mode Sir.
Over and out Batman.

[lprent: you’ve joined the guessing game about the spelling mistakes and strange words that I pushed into the moderation queue.. ]
Concerned of Tawa 51

29 August 2008 at 8:44 pm

Mickysavage. Wow!

“Why someone in charge of a $45b spend should ascertain what happened to a private $100k donation to another party is way beyond me. Don’t you think she should be more worried about our economy?”

Good, so Clark won’t be interested in a group of Exclusive Brethren businessmen spending private money either.

Glad we cleared that up. Move on.
johndoe 52

29 August 2008 at 8:47 pm

Spin is fine and even if anyone actually believed SP was writing all the stuff that comes out under his sig, it would still be fine. But delusional rants are not spin.
Prentice Moderates Like Gerry Brownlee eats pies 53

29 August 2008 at 8:48 pm

Gee, why won’t Helen call an election now and let her ‘court of public opinion’ decide?

Because the head like a foot minger wants to keep going as long as possible to try and wipe Peters’ shit off her. And you sad substandard fucks support her stance.

Your venal partisanship won’t get you any favours, you know. Clark is going to take the whole ship down with her.
dad4justice 54

29 August 2008 at 8:52 pm

What an unusual name you have. I must step down.

Edit – down goes the ship of fools Sir.
mickysavage 55

29 August 2008 at 8:57 pm

Concerned of Tawa

The EFA is about the money that parties spend. It will also increase transparency because parties will have declare election year donations. Glad to see the right wing agree that it is important.

If you agree that there should be no limits then we should give up now and let the multinationals take over. If you want a democracy then we should have electoral spend limits. if you want the richest to take over then oppose limits.

PMLAFB

I had a great deal of difficulty understanding your post. Are you on some sort of medication?
Concerned of Tawa 56

29 August 2008 at 9:04 pm

Mickeysavage.

Which part of Clark keeping silent for 6 months on Winstons (and Labours biggest donor) and the murkey donation trail increases transparency?

I thought the EF would stop the undue influence of big bad foreign money trying to buy policy or Honorary Consul positions with cold hard secret cash.

Apparently not.

Hollow.
Bill 57

29 August 2008 at 9:05 pm

On the assumption that the SFO finds Sweet FA, (I postulated a while back that WP was letting things run because, well like a wind-up, the longer it runs, the sweeter the end result.) John Key will either

a)successfully widen the focus and watch some mud stick to Labour

or

b) having been unsuccessful in regards to a) realise that it was about now when he became a pretty rotten fish hooked on a slowly reeled WP line. One that no-one was willing to swallow.

Winston’s only danger, going on the assumption above, is that his sense of timing was out and he let things run a little too long. But then, I guess most people would be quite happy to get two for the price of one as it were. No?
infused 58

29 August 2008 at 9:06 pm

Macro: WP lied to the public and got caught out. National didn’t. HC supported peters. Spot the difference.
Brett Dale 59

29 August 2008 at 9:15 pm

Peters will survive this.
coge 60

29 August 2008 at 9:21 pm

Sweetd has a point. Yesterday SP categorically said Peters would lose his portfolios as a result of the SFO investigation. Does SP have the power of divination? It would be better for everyone if such speculation was answered clearly in an upfront manner.
Bill 61

29 August 2008 at 9:22 pm

infused.
didn’t you listen to any of the tape from the Nat conference? National honest Joe…john, whatever. Uh-huh.

sitting in a dispassionate space here, I can’t see where HC supported Peters.

Maybe read my comment above.

Sling the mud then and widen the focus. You think it will work?

A truthful answer please.
Falafulu Fisi 62

29 August 2008 at 9:24 pm

lprent said…

…I do for the NZLP on the data analysis side.

BTW: Has anyone else noticed that the stats department has released the census data down to meshblock level. Bloody great big database that I’ve been digging into for a while now.

I haven’t looked at that myself, but if you’re looking for state-of-the-art data-analysis open source software that may help you do that task, then look no further than the most popular open source data-mining/machine learning project on the planet from University of Waikato called WEKA. It is geared towards inductive inferences/knowledge discovery/pattern recognition rather than deductive inferences in traditional statistical analysis (although data-mining/machine learning do overlap with statistics to some extent).

How big is that Stats Dept database? That is how many rows (records) & columns (variables) in there? Is it in the millions? I haven’t done any data analysis on a big dataset as that. The largest dataset that I have developed an engine for online live analysis on, was around 150,000 records by 82 variables, and it takes about 7 minutes to run (and that’s excluding the pre-processing stage such as data-cleansing, imputation, normalization, etc…).

If you have any further questions about any techniques/algorithms (such as what to use for a certain analysis), then you’re welcome to drop me an email.
Monty 63

29 August 2008 at 9:29 pm

I am prepared to bet anyone $1,000 that Winston will not be returned to parliament after the elction. The stench of corruption, lies and trying to be too smart will take him down. Hell he was only returned in 1999 because of 64 stupid people in Tauranga that gave hime an extra lease of life – and that was about an $89 pair of undies belonging to Tuku. This time he will not be returned byt he people of Tauranga who have woken up to his bullshit. Neither will there be enough people in the resthomes to give him the 5% he desperately needs. Hell over their bingo and bridge and over the next seven weeks they will all be talking about what a nice Prime Ministerthat John Key will make. Anf the few Maori that once supported Winnie now have the Maori Party. Winston will get 3% on election night.

Winston is gone for all money. He deserves to go. The next one to watch with interesat will be Clark – why did she protect Winnie for the past six months except to hang desperately onto power – Shame on her and her corrupt practice of protecting that parasite of NZ politics.
toad 64

29 August 2008 at 9:30 pm

Um, so Helen’s the Minister for Racing?

Surely she could have given that one (a minor portfolio that could be [was] held outside Cabinet) to Sue Bradford or Russel Norman. After all, Bradford and Norman did all the work in Parliament exposing the Vela donations to NZF (or whatever entity that eventually [mis?]appropriated them) – and Bradford was hot on the trail of the racing stakes deals from pub pokie trusts and Parliamentary appropriations for racing stakes well before that.

If Labour wanted to really bring the Greens onside before the election, now that Winston First is the proverbial packet of dog biscuits, that’s what they should have done.
rave 65

29 August 2008 at 9:46 pm

The rush to judgment is becoming frenetic. I note that the left blogs are getting carried along in the wash.
Another old battler, David Williams QC, spoke up for Winston on TV1 tonight. “Peters has nothing to answer to the SFO”.
I would bet on the battlers to go the distance against the crybabies Key and Hide. I would say Key and Hide will both lose theirs.
This is a showdown between the old fading white middle class cast adrift by Rogernomics, and the casino wide boys who think they own us. The populists have got a sting in their tail because its survival for them and not just bonuses.
You write Peters off at your peril righties. He did you twice in the 90s and the 00s. Peters may have to mortgage his trust account and Williams his yacht but don’t write him off yet.
lprent 66

29 August 2008 at 9:51 pm

FF: All up it is about 4.8 million rows across a number of 3rd normal form tables. It is in bloody access – took while to transfer into something useful.
dad4justice 67

29 August 2008 at 9:52 pm

“Um, so Helen’s the Minister for Racing?”

Oh Toady , $5 each way the greens sit on the fence on the Winny saga. Helen Rules should win Race 7,Bad Bradford has the blinkers on again in Race 8 and the bloody lawyers win the jackpot.
r0b 68

29 August 2008 at 10:04 pm

Can Labour please answer

Hi Anthony. Labour don’t run this blog, but there are a few Labour Party members about. I’m one.

What does it take to grow an economy?

Talented educated people. Investment. Time, luck. Enough regulation but not too much. Labour’s record on growing the economy is good, better than National’s, and better than several other countries over the last 9 years.

http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=2162
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=2657
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=1832

What is wrong with Free enterprise.?

Nothing. Why would you think it was?
randal 69

29 August 2008 at 10:13 pm

betta watchout d4j….you might not beat the ambulance….hahahahaha
Anita 70

29 August 2008 at 10:14 pm

lprent,

Has anyone else noticed that the stats department has released the census data down to meshblock level. Bloody great big database that I’ve been digging into for a while now. There are also the boundary maps as shp files – I’m having fun with those in the few spare minutes that I have available.

Cool eh! 🙂 I’ve always used the street address to meshblock mapping not the boundary maps – how easy are they to plot?

I do find the rounding-for-privacy rules make the data look lumpy tho.
gazzaj 71

29 August 2008 at 11:03 pm

Just thought it might be worth pointing out that a “scoop” usually refers to an exclusive – not a story that almost every journo in the country has literally been chasing all day.

Being the first to hit “post” does not a scoop make.

cheers
gazzaj 72

29 August 2008 at 11:10 pm

The next one to watch with interesat will be Clark – why did she protect Winnie for the past six months except to hang desperately onto power

I think she’ll get away with it… teflon skin and all that. Sure, the people who wouldn’t vote for her anyway will be pissed off, she’ll lose a handle of swing voters, but labour have lost most of them already. The 35% they are polling at are diehard labour and it’ll take a lot more than this for them to change their minds.
burt 73

29 August 2008 at 11:57 pm

Plan G, Version 5.2

Winston steps down, election is called before Owen Glenn testifies quashing the privileges committee hearing. The question of misleading the house is dead and the only problems that might remain are legal and if they surface they will be after the election. These are Winston’s problems and as far as accountability to the rules of parliament go Helen Clark and Trevor Mallard also walk free.

It’s actually not a bad exit strategy from such a tight corner. So much damage could have been avoided had decision priorities been different.
ak 74

30 August 2008 at 12:56 am

(Ritalin, burt, dangerously close to overload there. You’ve been doing so well darling, don’t spoil it all by reverting to that pathetic early election call you’ve been spouting for three years – not long to go now baby, just relax and hang in there, soon be over)
Jon 75

30 August 2008 at 8:13 am

Sweetd. I was wondering if you were offering to join the Labour Party by your 8.16pm comment
dad4justice 76

30 August 2008 at 8:44 am

Silly Jon, Why would Sweetd want to join a Party that has a track record of inappropriate behaviour by Minsters of the Crown? Nobody likes liars and cheats. It’s so obvious the Labour Party is run by a despicable untruthful corrupt women who is a power tripper, which has severely clouded her judgment.
She will destroy the Labour Party as we know it. Bad luck girls and eunuchs.
burt 77

30 August 2008 at 8:45 am

ak

Want to put a beer on it that the election is called before next Thursday and there is no final determination from the privileges committee ?

Or like most of NZ would you think that was a diabolical use of parliamentary process to opportunistically shut down the process of maintaining the integrity of parliament?

It would be like shutting down a court case wouldn’t it – no govt that believed in the principles of democracy and integrity would do that would they, so I might loose my beer but I’m willing to take that risk.
monkey-boy 78

30 August 2008 at 8:56 am

It’s a series of cynical moves, by Helen and Winston indeed. The question is, will the people swallow it?
I wonder how Winston feels now that Helen has him by the baubles? Or is it the other way round?
It may depend on how much Helen and Mike Williams knew about the Owen Glenn/Winston issue before the actual payment of the money, to Winston mightn’t it?
It has already taken since February for Helen to fess up about the Owen Glenn donation ‘Because nobody asked me’.
Would it be worth asking her in the House if she, Williams and Simpson knew that Owen Glenn was going to back Winston BEFORE February, because they were complicit in the coalition arrangement, and the ‘carrot’ of a consulship for Glenn?
Does she really imagine Owen Glenn is finished on this matter? Or is the only course left now to smear Glenn and attempt to completely discredit him?
I await with interest.
the sprout 79

30 August 2008 at 9:00 am

gee you’re right burt, the privileges committee should totally timetable its actions according to your perceived political expediencies. if it didn’t it’d be ‘corrupt’, right?

what i wonder is how Simon Power could possibly act independently as its Chair when his party leader has already decided the verdict for him.

oh and apropo your previous response about how Owen Glenn couldn’t possibly have been acting to set Peters up, i guess you’re right. you must have misread me. i’m sure he was only meaning to help Peters out with that letter to Power. Glenn, Jones and Simunovich have clearly only ever tried to clarify things in the best interests of democracy, right Burty?
the sprout 80

30 August 2008 at 9:05 am

still, you’ve got to admire the bravery of Key and Hide to be picking a fight with someone with as comprehensive a closet full of other people’s skeletons as Peters.

good for them. i look forward to the impending consequences of such bravery.
dad4justice 81

30 August 2008 at 9:06 am

Privileges Committee, Serious Fraud Office and a drooling Lickspittle media all tied up in more political corruption within the Clark regime.
When will we have a government that can focus solely on the welfare of its constituents and running the country along the lines of integrity and honesty? Clark should be in a prison cell.
r0b 82

30 August 2008 at 9:08 am

Got to love your wacky conspiracy theory Burt! Guess what – the SFO was due to be disbanded. Clark has delayed that process so that the SFO can complete it’s enquiry into Peters. If she wanted to shut it down, or cover up for Peters, she didn’t need to deliberately act to allow the SFO enquiry to go ahead…
the sprout 83

30 August 2008 at 9:13 am

r0b now you’re just obscuring Burty’s brilliant theory with like… facts and stuff
dad4justice 84

30 August 2008 at 9:13 am

r0b of course the SFO is due to be disbanded, just like access to the Privy Council .The Labour Party fear Natural justice and the police are just slimy lap poodles for Aunty Helen.
monkey-boy 85

30 August 2008 at 9:14 am

WEll r0b if you want ‘wacky conspiracy’ look at my ‘monkeyswith typewriters’ post ‘The Ego Has Floundered’ You’ll love it.
http://monkeyswithtypewriter.blogspot.com/2008/08/ego-has-floundered.html
Felix 86

30 August 2008 at 9:22 am

No thank you monkey, burt’s little brain has me laughing so hard I probably won’t be able to read for a couple of days.
r0b 87

30 August 2008 at 9:27 am

Dad – the functions of the SFO are to be absorbed by some new organisation, I forget the exact details.

Sorry – love to stay and play, but I have an appointment with a big trailer and a recycling centre…
dad4justice 88

30 August 2008 at 9:45 am

Oh yes r0b, the “new organisation”, silly me, undoubtedly headed by the new Minister of All Justice Ms King? I have a bad taste in my mouth as the judiciary is tainted by Labour. Ouch that hurt but justice is my game MADam speaker.

Edit – must go and hang the washing out because I got shit loads as its been raining for a fucken month.
Anita 89

30 August 2008 at 9:50 am

r0b,

Dad – the functions of the SFO are to be absorbed by some new organisation, I forget the exact details.

The Serious Fraud Taskforce within the new Organised and Financial Crime Agency of New Zealand, a department of the New Zealand Police – taken from the call for public submissions on the Serious Fraud Office (Abolition and Transitional Provisions) Bill.

Clearly an attempt to give it to an insignificant agency with no competence or history in law enforcement or investigation, with no public consultation 😉
dad4justice 90

30 August 2008 at 9:55 am

Agreed Anita, dangerous stuff and I do wonder when they find a Chairperson (no sexist comment Chairman) for the innocence project and when the Minister of courts is going to reply to questions raised by the United Nations regarding malicious gender bias in the De Femily Kangaroo Court?

edit – TAB paying evens that the hot shot cocksucker lawyer cons the keystone cops again.
Bill 91

30 August 2008 at 10:09 am

If you thought having WP around was a bad idea, then consider this.

http://www.palinforvp.com/3.html

Poor bastards.
dad4justice 92

30 August 2008 at 10:17 am

Ill Bill, What a great Iron lady who like me, HATES CORRUPTION in GOVERNMENT!!!!
Bill 93

30 August 2008 at 10:32 am

I’m just waiting for the bikini shots campaign. Issues? What issues?

Nice woman. Looks good in a bikini, has a nice smile and…

“The polar bear should be removed from the endangered species list because its protected status will hamper drilling for oil and gas in Alaska, the state’s Republican Governor has demanded.

Sarah Palin is suing the Bush Administration over its decision last week to place the animal under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, claiming that climate models predicting the continued loss of sea ice – the main habitat of polar bears – are unreliable.”

(May 23, Times Online)

captcha paying 1917 !!!

Bloody Bolsheviks put us back about 100 years
roger nome 94

30 August 2008 at 10:45 am

SweetD:

“Your comment seems to think that the SFO have an up hill case to prove.”

A comment can’t think, you illiterate numskull. Really, just stop embarrassing yourself, it’s too painful to watch.
roger nome 95

30 August 2008 at 10:50 am

“Privileges Committee, Serious Fraud Office and a drooling Lickspittle media all tied up in more political corruption within the Clark regime.”

lol D4J – just for you …
randal 96

30 August 2008 at 11:11 am

yesterday was a very black day in the history of New Zealnd as the creepy faction managed to deny natural justice and due process to Winston Peters. New Zealand will be a very ugly place to live if they ever gain power. there will be none of this malarky of idiotes waffling on trying to prove how smart they are. any opposition willbe crushed immediATELY by the crypto fascists in waiting.
burt 97

30 August 2008 at 2:02 pm

randal

Might pay to ask your mother if she ever had a fling with D4J a little while before you were born. It might give you inner peace to know who your father is.
randal 98

30 August 2008 at 2:07 pm

are you another kreep burt?
Tim Ellis 99

30 August 2008 at 3:33 pm

I think irrespective of the outcome of the SFO investigation, Winston has shown himself yet again to lack the credibility and accountability required to hold a ministerial warrant.

Just a few weeks ago, Winston publicly said he knew nothing about the Spencer Trust, and that it had nothing to do with New Zealand First. The SFO investigation is into whether money intended for New Zealand First, paid to the Spencer Trust, was used for New Zealand First purposes. If it wasn’t used for NZ First purposes, then there is the real possibility of serious and complex fraud, which the SFO is determining. If the money paid to the Spencer Trust was used for NZ First purposes, then Winston lied about it, and it should have been included on NZ First’s donation return, and New Zealand First filed a false return.

I love it how some people continue to maintain that National should allow due process to follow suit. Winston has avoided due process at every step. He has trifled with due process at the Privileges Committee, and on Thursday by claiming that the SFO was on some weird conspiracy to do him in.

The issue isn’t about due process. It is about Winston Peters making a mockery of parliament for the last six months for no other reason than wanting to hold onto power, and Labour doing their best to knowingly cover for Winston’s contempt for public accountability.
Robinsod 100

30 August 2008 at 3:36 pm

I loath Winston but after this I could almost be convinced to vote for him. A whole lotta people I know are feeling the same way. Good old right – always too willing to jump the shark…
Robinsod 101

30 August 2008 at 3:38 pm

Oh and does anyone but the hacks at the Herald really believe John Key and Rodney Hide have suddenly become desperately concerned about the moral implications of secret trusts?
Matthew Pilott 102

30 August 2008 at 3:48 pm

Hi all. At work on a Saturday. Just wanted to say this was the best thread I’ve read in quite some time.

And dad, I just pissed myself with “Edit – must go and hang the washing out because I got shit loads as its been raining for a fucken month.”

Amazing how much Peters hates National isn’t it? He didn’t even have the decency to pick a fight with Clark for their benefit.

Monty, I won’t go in for a grand, but if someone did I’m fairly confident you’d be shouting the beers come Nov 8. Remeber – just because you hate him doesn’t mean everyone else does!

On a completely unrelated topic my cap was ‘fruits asylum’. Made my day, that did.
Tim Ellis 103

30 August 2008 at 4:51 pm

That’s an interesting point Robinsod and even though I’m a nat I do agree that John Key wouldn’t have made the stand he did over Winston unless he believed it would give him a bit of a boost. His decision was more about politics than principle, but what do you expect of politicians?

I also agree that the issue isn’t about the secret trusts and John Key and Rodney Hide aren’t on some big moral campaign to open them up. The issue is Winston has built his entire political career on being squeaky clean and holier than thou. I’m not very liberal but the way he dog-whistles to conservative voters and panders to their prejudices is just disgusting. That’s a separate point, but the real issue again is how much Winston has proven to be a hypocrite and a liar for the last six months. He has had so many opportunities to set the record straight and tell the whole truth and has blustered and bluffed his way through it.

There does seem to be a proportion of the population that will adore Winston and never disbelieve anything he says. There also seems to be a group of people, quite a separate group, I think, who quite like the idea that he goes to Wellington and throws sh*t around at everyone and causes chaos.

I doubt those two groups combined will make five percent this election, though. Still, stranger things have happened, especially concerning Winston, haven’t they?
burt 104

30 August 2008 at 5:12 pm

The SFO have already had more than ‘a few minutes’ meeting with Winston’s new Lawyer. Given Winston’s repeated claims that he can explain it all in a few minutes the whole thing must be over by now.

Was Winston cleared in the few minutes he keeps telling us is all it will take or is Winston full of shit ?
Matthew Pilott 105

30 August 2008 at 5:18 pm

Burt – don’t hold your breath, we’d like to have you around a bit longer!
Tim Ellis 106

30 August 2008 at 5:20 pm

Burt, I don’t know much how the SFO operates, but I expect if they take the very serious decision to use their statutory powers, then they would do much more than just one interview with the subject’s legal representative. I note that both Winston said he would put the story straight, and Peter Williams QC said Winston would be exonerated this afternoon. That strikes me to be simply fairy-land stuff.

No doubt others involved in the Spencer Trust, such as Wayne Peters, will need to be interviewed. Roger McClay, who supposedly solicited several of the donations to the Spencer Trust, will need to be interviewed. So too would Ross Meurant, Doug Woollerton, Dail Jones, the respective Treasurers of NZ First, among others. Not to mention the donors themselves: Bob Jones, the Vela brothers, and anyone else they find along the way. I wouldn’t be surprised if Brian Henry himself is interviewed, which might explain why he wasn’t representing Winston at the SFO.

It really does astonish me how these supposed lawyers can look journalists in the eye and say that the SFO will close its investigations the same day they opened them.
burt 107

30 August 2008 at 5:25 pm

Tim

Yes it’s funny isn’t it. They make absurd claims like that which they can never deliver on then claim they are fit to run the country.
higherstandard 108

30 August 2008 at 5:32 pm

burt

In answer to your question.

Yes WPs is virtually bursting at the seams.
higherstandard 109

30 August 2008 at 5:34 pm

Sod

“I loath Winston but after this I could almost be convinced to vote for him.”

Report to Billy for a tasering – you know that you deserve it.
dad4justice 110

30 August 2008 at 5:38 pm

Sod wouldn’t mind a few volts up the backdoor, Howard doesn’t mind as he is Broad minded. Report to Ms King Super Justice Minister.
Swampy 111

30 August 2008 at 6:12 pm

“Felix
August 29, 2008 at 6:29 pm

sweetd the idiot dickhead:

Unless you have some special knowledge of the case then you don’t know anything more than what we’ve all heard so you can’t be sure of anyone’s guilt or otherwise.

What do you righties have against due process?
”

It’s nothing to do with “due process” or even the current investigation. It’s simply down to the fact that this has been rumbling along for months and no one in their right mind could possibly accept that Winston can just carry on and ignore all the allegations swirling around. In the first term of Labour such allegations would have been grounds enough to drop Winnie like a hot potato.

However Clark and by implication a great many lefties such as one of the authors of this blog apparently think they can steamroller on because the ETS has to be passed before the election at any cost. I can think of much more important things than the ETS that should be happening right now.
Felix 112

30 August 2008 at 6:29 pm

Who is ignoring “all the allegations swirling around” Swampy?

Not the Privileges Committee. Not the SFO.

But at least you recognise them as allegations which is a lot better than many of the foaming righties here.

Due process kiddies, look it up if you have to.
dad4justice 113

30 August 2008 at 6:36 pm

False allegations hurt more than a Howard animal farm taser up the anal passage.
Tim Ellis 114

30 August 2008 at 8:57 pm

Felix:

Is the foreign minister able to properly do his job while there are allegations that he failed to declare a donation to his party, or a gift to himself, as he was required to do under the Electoral Act and the register of pecuniary interests? Is the foreign minister able to properly do his job while the serious fraud office is investigating him for serious or complex fraud?

Is it acceptable for the prime minister to allow the foreign minister to wage a war with the media, defame them, and claim they forged evidence against him, when she knows that a genuine “conflict of evidence” exists between her foreign minister’s statements, and the statements of the prime minister’s party’s biggest financial donor? Is it acceptable for somebody to hold a ministerial warrant while accusing the serious fraud office of corruptly conspiring against him?

Is it acceptable for a person holding a ministerial warrant to claim in the House, to the media, and to the public that he will provide all the information exonerating him, and yet continue to withhold that information for six months?

Is it acceptable for a person to hold a ministerial warrant while continuing to change his previous statements to the House, to the media, and to the public (e.g.: “I know nothing about the Spencer Trust, it has nothing to do with New Zealand First, I have nothing to do with it,” and claim to the Serious Fraud Office that all the money that went to the Spencer Trust was spent on NZ First activities, while not declaring the Spencer Trust income as a donation on NZFirst’s electoral return?

Winston Peters has had plenty of time to face due process. The Prime Minister knew that there were major inconsistencies, and failed to act for six months. This is not about due process. Due process will assess whether Winston Peters did anything illegal. The Prime Minister should have acted earlier to ensure Winston Peters acted appropriately. He didn’t. She didn’t. She should have sacked him long ago. He’s made a mockery of parliament and government in general. Once again, he’s shown he can’t be trusted to hold a ministerial warrant.
randal 115

30 August 2008 at 9:45 pm

yes to all the above. wiinie is sui generis.. a thing unto himself and by the way who is making al these rules you speak of. where is it written that any one must do all that crap just to conform to your idea of the perfect politician. this is real life not some silly little text book you may have read. be careful dude you might strangle yourself with your own underpants if you pull them right up tight.
gobsmacked 116

30 August 2008 at 10:17 pm

Once again, he’s shown he can’t be trusted to hold a ministerial warrant.

Tim, at what point did this become true?

Was it when the Foreign Minister opposed the trade deal with China, or when he attacked various minorities in speeches pandering to prejudice, or when he walked out of the Cabinet in 1998, or when he was a talkback hero in 1996, or … when?

Winston Peters today is Winston Peters of the last 15 years, since NZ First was formed. Throughout those 15 years, National have NEVER said that Peters was beyond the pale. Never said that he could not be a minister in a National-led government. Not once. The warrant was up for auction, and National were bidding. And you know it.

Until last week. Until it was, finally, seen as politically advantageous to do so. Until it could be spun (absurdly) as principle, when of course it was just another move in the game. It is the same Winston Peters, except now he’s at 2 or 3% in the polls.

That high horse you and John Key are on is nothing more than two National Party strategists in a pantomime costume. So spare us the dramatic monologue, because the audience can see this show for what it is: a comedy.
Tim Ellis 117

30 August 2008 at 10:18 pm

Sigh, I feel like I’m feeding a troll by even engaging with you Randal. But can you honestly say, and let’s just try and get a little bit of perspective here, that if any of these circumstances had gone on with Winston as a senior minister in Jenny Shipley’s government, that Helen Clark wouldn’t be jumping up and down calling for his resignation?

Because I seem to remember that much less significant allegations were swirling around Winston’s behaviour Winston was a senior member of Jenny Shipley’s government, and Helen Clark called for him to be sacked then. I don’t remember you lining up defending Winston then.
r0b 118

30 August 2008 at 10:24 pm

Is the foreign minister able to properly do his job while there are allegations that he failed to declare a donation to his party, or a gift to himself, as he was required to do under the Electoral Act and the register of pecuniary interests?

Yeah silly Winston. He should have used a shell “Trust” like the National Party did to legally sanitise his donations.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/politics/2008/02/22/time-to-tell-us-about-your-donors-national/

Is it acceptable for the prime minister to allow the foreign minister

You Nats are just desperate to pin something on the PM aren’t you! HC is quoted in The Herald as follows:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10529610&pnum=0

11.45AM: Helen Clark admits knowing about Owen Glenn’s donation in February this year. “He [Owen Glenn] stated his view then that he had contributed money – whether it was to New Zealand First or to some other fund that’s lost in the mists of time.’

Contributes to NZF or some other fund? That’s not exactly a smoking gun when Peters denies it.

Is it acceptable for a person holding a ministerial warrant to claim in the House

Is it acceptable for the leader of the opposition to use shell trusts to anonymise donors that should be publicly known? Is it acceptable for the leader of the opposition to collude with a third party to circumvent electoral law and then lie about it to the public? (Oh wait – no – we know the answer to that one – it isn’t, Brash got caught and had to resign). Is it acceptable for the leader of the opposition to tell porkies to the people about what his party will do if they get elected (thank you Secret Agenda taper!)? Is it acceptable for the leader of the opposition to develop “policy” in such secrecy that even his spokespeople don’t know it so he has to keep correcting them? Ho humm, what a silly game.

But you did actually say something interesting upthread: Just a few weeks ago, Winston publicly said he knew nothing about the Spencer Trust, and that it had nothing to do with New Zealand First.

That would be very interesting if true – source please?
Tim Ellis 119

30 August 2008 at 10:25 pm

Gobsmacked that is a good point. I don’t know what high horse you think I’m on. I have thought for the last fifteen years that Winston is poison for anybody who associates with him. You may be confusing me with somebody who has ever defended him. I haven’t. You may also be confusing me with somebody who thinks that it is purely for reasons of principle that John Key has made the decision he has not to allow him in any future government. I don’t. I agree there is an element of strategic convenience, but I’m glad that’s been made.
gobsmacked 120

30 August 2008 at 10:36 pm

Tim

OK, I accept that you would prefer opposition to being in government with Peters “inside the tent”. There are people on both left and right who believe that, but they are certainly quiet in public.

Here’s how it used to be, lest we forget:

Audrey Young in the Herald, May 16, 2005

“A power-sharing scenario in which New Zealand First leader Winston Peters becomes Prime Minister in a coalition Government with National is being discussed informally among some MPs of both parties.

Such an outcome would be possible if NZ First held the balance of power after the next election. Recent polling suggests that possibility cannot be discounted.

Until now, the assumption had been that Mr Peters and his small party (13 MPs at present), could again be kingmakers after this year’s election, as they were in 1996, deciding whether the larger Labour or National led a coalition Government.

But there is another scenario in which Mr Peters could be Prime Minister for half, if not all, of a three-year term of a National-New Zealand First coalition, even if he wins fewer MPs than National.

The talents of National leader Don Brash, the former Reserve Bank Governor, would be turned to the finance portfolio.”

…

The idea has been widely enough discussed for the weekly National Business Review to endorse it on Friday in an editorial saying: “Peters as Prime Minister with Brash and [John] Key on the finance front could be the potent mix the country needs.”
Tim Ellis 121

30 August 2008 at 10:43 pm

rob, on your first point, National declared on its donation returns money received from its trusts to the National Party. There was never a secret that the trusts existed. They go back many years. You won’t find the Spencer Trust on any of New Zealand First’s election returns. There is a difference between legal activities and illegal activities. If the money received from Bob Jones went to the Spencer Trust, and was spent on New Zealand First, then the Spencer Trust had to be declared as a donor.

Contributes to NZF or some other fund? That’s not exactly a smoking gun when Peters denies it.

Peters flatly denied receiving any money from Owen Glenn. Whether it went to his legal fund, the Spencer Trust, or the New Zealand First party is just playing cute with the public. He held up the sign, NO, got that sunshine? He further accused the Herald of forging the email. That is essentially dishonest. I agree, rob, Brash did get caught, and did have to resign. He didn’t get to face due process: public credibility shot, so he stepped down. Peters’ public credibility shot, and the prime minister protects him.

It took a while to find the Spencer Trust quote, but here it is: “Mr Peters said he had not solicited the donation, as Sir Robert claimed. He said he had no involvement with the Spencer Trust, that he did not know what the trust had used the money for, and that he had not spoken to his brother about the trust.”

Now, to me that looks like that statement to the Herald on 26 July is in direct conflict with Peter Williams’ statement to the SFO and the media today that all the money that was donated to the Spencer Trust was spent on NZ First activities. Or is there another interpretation?
r0b 122

30 August 2008 at 10:44 pm

gobsmacked – that’s like some spooky alternative time line story from an old episode of Star Trek. Scary! Now how am I going to get to sleep?
lprent 123

30 August 2008 at 10:54 pm

Tim:

I don’t remember you lining up defending Winston then.

No blogs at the time? By that stage the usenet forum alt.politics.nz etc were pretty unusable as well. There are also the age issues.

I actually a bit annoyed that this thing with Winston and NZF has flared up. The problem is that he works best politically when he is the downtrodden underdog. He is now in a good position (assuming that the SFO and PC don’t find anything particularly damaging) to play that game again this election and head for 5%…

I was hoping for terminal respectability to remove NZF from the political landscape. But if they do get back then I have no doubt that they will be in negotiation with the NZLP during coalition forming. Effectively the voters will have put them back in for that purpose.

In the end what the Labour members are concerned with is getting their policies into action. Most would probably prefer doing that with the Greens. However you don’t get policy enacted while you’re on the opposition benches, so we’d expect negotiation with whomever the electorate throws up for us to work with to achieve our objectives.

Ultimately the voters give the coalition choices under MMP, not the politicians. Key’s stance just makes it apparent to me that the National politicians still haven’t grasped that essential fact. Probably why he is wanting to change the electoral system.

captcha: invested reserves
r0b 124

30 August 2008 at 10:55 pm

rob, on your first point, National declared on its donation returns money received from its trusts to the National Party.

Yes – very clever – to keep the letter of the law while circumventing the intent. Go to this page here Tim:
http://www.elections.org.nz/parties/donations_summary.html
See all the donors listed? As they should be? Check out 2005 in particular. See National’s donors? Why no – it’s the “Trusts”. We are supposed to know who donates to our politicians Tim, and we don’t know who donates to National, because they did so via shell Trusts to launder the money. It stinks. Wake up.

Peters flatly denied receiving any money from Owen Glenn.

So he did, and it appears that it went to his legal defence fund. Same shell game as National play with their “Trusts”. See how it stinks?

Peters’ public credibility shot, and the prime minister protects him.

How? By having him stand down? Or by waiting for the due process of the SFO and the Privileges Committee? You’d prefer what exactly – the lynch mob that some have been calling for?

It took a while to find the Spencer Trust quote, but here it is:

Well then you misrepresented what he said Tim. What he said was usual politician speak, it sounds like it says something, but it doesn’t. Read it carefully and compare it with your incorrect claims about it.
Tim Ellis 125

30 August 2008 at 11:20 pm

Rob, the National Party trusts were not illegal before this year. They operated for many years without legislative change. Labour operates a legal defence trust fund as well, which anonymises donations. The SFO looked into National’s trust arrangements in 2002, and declared them lawful. It took five years for Labour to enact legislation to make them unlawful.

So he did, and it appears that it went to his legal defence fund. Same shell game as National play with their “Trusts’. See how it stinks?

Again there’s a difference rob. National declared its funding from the trusts on its donations returns, as required by law. Nick Smith declared his pecuniary interest as a beneficiary of a legal defence fund, as required by the registry of pecuniary interests. Winston Peters did neither. I have never seen any National Party leader flat-out deny National receiving money from a large donor, when subsequently proven to do so. Winston flatly denied receiving money from Owen Glenn. He did so, after the Prime Minister had informed him that Owen Glenn was certain that he did donate money.

How? By having him stand down? Or by waiting for the due process of the SFO and the Privileges Committee? You’d prefer what exactly – the lynch mob that some have been calling for?

Neither. The PM knew there was a conflict of evidence way back in February when Owen Glenn informed her of it. For six months she said she would not take any action against Winston Peters unless she saw evidence that he was being untruthful. I’ve never been prime minister before, and I never will, but I’d like to think if I were in her job, and my largest donor tells me that he’s made a substantial donation to another party, I’d do a little more than accept the foreign minister’s blind assurance that nothing of the sort took place.

Helen Clark’s record is not to allow due process to follow. She has stood down more ministers than any other prime minister in New Zealand history. She did so on the basis of political expedience. Lianne Dalziel never faced due process for lying to the media: she got stood down. Taito Phillip Field was sacked before he faced a serious fraud inquiry. Dover Samuels was dumped from cabinet because of “rumours”. The test for Helen Clark has been whether there is a public scandal, and if so whether that public scandal is preventing the minister from properly carrying out their job. This scandal has been going on for the last six months, and Helen Clark hasn’t done her job, to fire him, until now. Even now, he hasn’t been sacked. He’s on full pay, with full perks, as a Minister. The only thing he’s been relieved of is his portfolio responsibilities. That’s a pretty comfortable spot to be in, when you’re fighting for your political survival eight weeks from an election, and you’ve still got all your ministerial staff, ministerial perks, ministerial allowances, ministerial housing etc to fight with.

The money-part of the last quote is Winston telling the media he didn’t know what the Spencer Trust money was used for. He has now given an outright assurance that the Spencer Trust donations were all spent on New Zealand First party activities. You might be happy write that off as politician speak, but he knew about the Spencer Trust and trifled with the media to avoid exposure.
r0b 126

30 August 2008 at 11:49 pm

Rob, the National Party trusts were not illegal before this year.

I didn’t say they were at illegal, I said they broke the intent of the law, and you haven’t denied that. Once again, the public is supposed to know who the donors are and they don’t. As per The Hollow men there is evidence and accusation of National Party policy for sale to for example the insurance industry. We would know a lot more if we knew who donated and we don’t. It stinks.

Winston Peters did neither.

Act and National have already had their best shot at Peters over this issue. They didn’t lay a glove on him:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0808/S00223.htm
I will not be at all surprised if one of the ongoing investigations into Peter’s turns up evidence of real impropriety. But as far as I am aware there is no smoking gun yet.

I have never seen any National Party leader flat-out deny National receiving money from a large donor, when subsequently proven to do so.

Well no, no one asks the Nats – though Colin Espiner almost worked up the nerve:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/politics/2008/02/22/time-to-tell-us-about-your-donors-national/
But they have effectively listed their donors as anonymous via the Trusts, when they are well known to the National leadership, which is perilously close to a corrupt electoral practice.

Neither. The PM knew there was a conflict of evidence way back in February

If The Herald quote above is correct then than it is by no means clear. The PM has not protected Peters as you claim, Peters has been stood down and is being investigated. The PM actually delayed the dissolution of the SFO so that the enquiry into Peters could go ahead. How exactly is that protecting him?

She has stood down more ministers than any other prime minister in New Zealand history.

Yes, it’s a bugger having high standards.

Lianne Dalziel never faced due process for lying to the media: she got stood down.

And it is not yet clear that Peters has lied to the media. Read the Scoop Link above. He may have lied, lots of people are assuming he’s lied, but it is not yet proven.

The money-part of the last quote is Winston telling the media he didn’t know what the Spencer Trust money was used for.

Oh come on. He may well not have known in specific detail what it was used for. Accusations came up, he has looked until it, and now he does know. I’m sure that would be Winston’s story, and it may even be true. You said “Winston publicly said he knew nothing about the Spencer Trust, and that it had nothing to do with New Zealand First” – both your claims are not supported by what he actually said.
Tim Ellis 127

31 August 2008 at 12:20 am

This really is a very interesting debate rob, and no doubt although everybody else is probably either out clubbing or asleep, it probably doesn’t do much for either of our reputations to be considered the two political geeks arguing away at the points on a Saturday night.

As per The Hollow men there is evidence and accusation of National Party policy for sale to for example the insurance industry. We would know a lot more if we knew who donated and we don’t. It stinks.

Hang on a moment. You’re criticising me, and the Nats, for rushing to judgement on Winston Peters’ behaviour, and not allowing due process to follow its course, and relying simply on media speculation as what might have happened. I haven’t heard anybody in the National Party say that there’s no point in the SFO completing its investigations. But here you are rushing to judgement on the National Party’s activities, based solely on Nicky Hagar’s speculation, after the National Party faced an SFO inquiry into its trusts (in 2002), and cleared the trusts of financial impropriety. The due process has been followed, and cleared the National Party. Yet you’re happy to form a contrary view.

As for the insurance industry stuff, there hasn’t been any evidence put before any law-enforcement body in New Zealand to the effect that National committed a corrupt act by being bribed by the insurance industry. That’s the basis of what you’re saying. If there were, I’m sure it would have been done by now. What is it, two, three years since the Hollow Men came out? Still no bribery charges.

I don’t know what you mean by the intent of the law. National Party trusts have been known about for many years, investigated, and cleared. It isn’t clear to me that the intent of the 1993 electoral act, supported by Labour, was to identify the end donor. It was intended to identify the last source of the funds. I’m not a lawyer, and you might have a better legal brain than me, but legislative intent goes to the heart of legislative interpretation. A judge’s job is to identify the intent of the law and apply it. No judge has ever found the National Party to have broken the intent of the law. Conversely, the SFO investigated and found that the National Party had specifically not broken the intent of the law.

Meanwhile, it took five years for the Labour Party to change the intent of the law, to identify the original source of the donation. I actually agree with that change in the electoral act. In all this time, the New Zealand First Party has failed to comply with either the “intent”, or as you put it, the “letter” of the law. Money that came through the Spencer Trust was spent on New Zealand First purposes. That’s what we heard uncategorically from Peter Williams today. It wasn’t declared as a donation to New Zealand First. That’s what we’ve understood from every New Zealand First electoral donations return.

Oh come on. He may well not have known in specific detail what it was used for.

Oh come on! He said he didn’t know what it was used for. He didn’t say: “I don’t know the specific line items of expenditure that the donations were applied to. Is it credible for a leader of a political party that receives large sums of money from trusts, to say: “I don’t know what the money was used for.”? Clearly he knows. He doesn’t have to know the detail. The truthful answer is: “The money came to New Zealand First. I don’t know what specific items it was used for.”

Lying to the media isn’t a criminal offence, either. No inquiry is investigating whether he did lie to the media. Helen Clark did not make her decision solely based on due process. Winston got too hot for her to handle.
r0b 128

31 August 2008 at 1:30 am

This really is a very interesting debate rob, and no doubt although everybody else is probably either out clubbing or asleep, it probably doesn’t do much for either of our reputations to be considered the two political geeks arguing away at the points on a Saturday night.

On those terms my reputation here was shot long long time ago. I like to work at night, it’s quiet (but I do let The Standard distract me). And I’m well past the age where I’m even remotely interested in clubbing.

I haven’t heard anybody in the National Party say that there’s no point in the SFO completing its investigations.

Well then listen up, because here is John Key rushing to judgement and claiming that the outcome of the SFO enquiry doesn’t matter:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/feature/story.cfm?c_id=1502733&objectid=10529783

If the SFO cleared Mr Peters, it “doesn’t matter”, Mr Key said. It also did not matter if Parliament’s privileges committee cleared him as well.

“The reality is that Winston Peters faces investigation not only by the SFO, but he also has to pass the test from the parliamentary privileges committee, and then go on and answer all the other many and varied allegations, which I would have thought if any of them are true would also be ruling him out as suitable to hold a [ministerial] warrant,” Mr Key said.

As for the insurance industry stuff, there hasn’t been any evidence put before any law-enforcement body in New Zealand to the effect that National committed a corrupt act by being bribed by the insurance industry.

No there hasn’t, though evidence is presented in The Hollow Men. The point is not that I’m interested in a judgement on this, the point is that donations are supposed to be public so that there is less risk of this kind of thing happening. National’s donations are not public because they are laundered through “Trusts”.

It isn’t clear to me that the intent of the 1993 electoral act, supported by Labour, was to identify the end donor. It was intended to identify the last source of the funds.

Ahh, no. Read the Act:

214G Return of party donations
(1) Every secretary of a political party registered under Part 4 must ensure that the Commission receives by 30 April in each yearâ€”
(a) a return (which must be on a form provided by the Electoral Commission) setting outâ€”
(i) the name and address of each person who made a party donation in the year ending with the immediately preceding 31 December and the amount of each such donation

That’s the person who made the donation, not “last source of the funds” – pardon me that is a rather desperate clutching at straws.

Conversely, the SFO investigated and found that the National Party had specifically not broken the intent of the law.

2002? Sounds like another issue entirely – references please?

In all this time, the New Zealand First Party has failed to comply with either the “intent’, or as you put it, the “letter’ of the law. Money that came through the Spencer Trust was spent on New Zealand First purposes. That’s what we heard uncategorically from Peter Williams today. It wasn’t declared as a donation to New Zealand First. That’s what we’ve understood from every New Zealand First electoral donations return.

It may well be that Peters, like National, has kept the letter of the law while evading its intent – you are rushing to a judgement that neither the SFO or the PC has made yet. And we are going round in circles at this point.

Oh come on! He said he didn’t know what it was used for … The truthful answer is: “The money came to New Zealand First. I don’t know what specific items it was used for.’

Sorry, I still think Peters has wriggle room there. He can know the purpose of the trust without knowing what (specifically) it used the money for.

Helen Clark did not make her decision solely based on due process. Winston got too hot for her to handle.

Winston has been too hot to handle for days, and HC resisted incredible pressure to stand him down sooner that this. But she followed due process.

Anyway, Goodnight.
Rex Widerstrom 129

31 August 2008 at 3:21 am

gobsmacked:

It’s Rambo, played by Noddy.

On the assumption you didn’t steal that from someone else, that’s a classic quote that’s worth inscribing on something (even if only the plinth of a camoflage-wearing John Key bobblehead doll) 😀

I, on the other hand, will be stealing it, and recycling it in a campaign somewhere (probably via a candidate of whom you’d heartily disapprove *evil laughter*).

randal:

the creepy faction managed to deny natural justice and due process to Winston Peters.

Well boo hoo. You mean like using Parliamentary privilege to impugn the reputations of dozens of people throughout your career? And then never having the guts to repeat anything where you can be sued?

Robinsod:

I loath Winston but after this I could almost be convinced to vote for him.

Of course, because what NZ really needs is effective, principled, liberal MPs and Ministers with the country’s best interests at heart. As toad points out above, if the PM had any respect for those qualities she might have tossed the Greens a bone. But instead she’s ensured Winston keeps his Ministerial salary, perks and large staff who – with no Ministerial work to do – can now devote themselves to spending your money and mine on NZF’s relection campaign.

Yes, let’s vote for more of that, shall we?
higherstandard 130

31 August 2008 at 8:29 am

Another day and still Winston’s supporters on this site cling to the due process excuse and query whether he has in fact lied.

Assuming their is nothing out of order with the Spencer trust why has NZF declared no donations?

Assuming Winston genuinely didn’t know that he’d been helped out by Owen Glenn why did he categorically deny that he had and during those denials demand the resignations of several reporters ?

The man is a prevaricating poppinjay.
Anita 131

31 August 2008 at 8:42 am

hs,

Assuming their is nothing out of order with the Spencer trust why has NZF declared no donations?

The electoral finance rules in play at the time allowed a donation to be split into multiple $9,999.99 chunks and not declared.
randal 132

31 August 2008 at 8:42 am

and you sir have your ears painted on and your fingers on 10. if you think that anyone in their right mind is going to read any of the screeds you have so laboriously cut and pasted in here then you are a biggger fool than I thought.
Anita 133

31 August 2008 at 8:53 am

randal,

I’m going to assume that isn’t directed at me (due to my lack of sir-ness), but that doesn’t tell me who you are insulting 🙂
higherstandard 134

31 August 2008 at 8:54 am

Anita are you saying that he’s got payment from parties laundered it through the Spencer trust and they’ve then put them through to NZF in sums lower than $9999 is that legal ?

Why don’t any of the larger parties do the same thing ?

While not liking Ralston that much I though he summed up the overall situation with Peter’s well.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10529821

“it promises to be great theatre if nothing else.”

Pretty much sums up what WP has become – a publicly paid prevaricating poppinjay

mmmm nice alliteration
Anita 135

31 August 2008 at 9:15 am

hs,

Anita are you saying that he’s got payment from parties laundered it through the Spencer trust and they’ve then put them through to NZF in sums lower than $9999 is that legal ?

Under the old rules it was legal, yes. The rule was any “anonymous” donation $10k or below did not need to be declared, so big donations were split into mutiple “anonymous” donations (you can check out the old rules here).

Why don’t any of the larger parties do the same thing ?

They did 🙂

Have you read The Hollow Men?
Darren Rickard 136

31 August 2008 at 9:21 am

It seems though that Mike Williams has been on his knees to Owen Glenn, not 2 months ago, for more money!

http://darrenrickard.blogspot.com/2008/08/labour-begs-for-more.html

That defies belief considering Labour’s public criticism and embarrassment of the man.

It shows just how disparate and desperate Labour now is.

Meanwhile the Labour Party Blog is talking about an irrelevant self constructed and self important “social report” like it is accurate or an issue.

What a joke this government has become.
higherstandard 137

31 August 2008 at 9:23 am

Aniat

I think we might be talking at cross purposes again I was referring to the register here.

http://www.elections.org.nz/record/donations/

Are you suggesting that Labour and National have more money in $9999 lots that hasn’t been declared.
higherstandard 138

31 August 2008 at 9:25 am

Bugger still can’t edit.

Darren I find this very hard to believe do you have any links to the story in the MSM ?
Darren Rickard 139

31 August 2008 at 9:33 am

It is on Stuff HS:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4675544a11.html

Captcha “Con”
higherstandard 140

31 August 2008 at 9:43 am

Ye Gods …… clearly they have more cheek than GB’s bottom.

I suppose it explains why they were happy to suggest he was confused and deluded about the WP issue in the house – he’s obviously not going to be giving anymore donations to the present government.

I wonder if they promised him an honorary consulship if he donated just one more time ?
Anita 141

31 August 2008 at 9:44 am

hs,

I think we might be talking at cross purposes again I was referring to the register here.

http://www.elections.org.nz/record/donations/

Are you suggesting that Labour and National have more money in $9999 lots that hasn?t been declared.

I don’t think we’re talking at cross purposes 🙂

If you look at pre EFA returns (e.g. 1996-2006) you will see that there are no amounts of $10k or less declared.

So yes, one can cheerfully assume that all the major parties had $10k and lower donations which they did not put on their return.

One can also find evidence that at least National and their backers washed their donations in the same way that NZ First seems to have done (by using trusts and by playing threshold and donation splitting games).
higherstandard 142

31 August 2008 at 10:12 am

Anita

Just to get this clear are you suggesting.

1. that National and Labour have large numbers of non-declared donations of $9999 or less over and above those that are included on the register ?

2. that like NZ First the Nats and Labour have taken donations of more than 10k and put them into a trust and broken the donations down to chunks of less than 10k to avoid declaring them.

3. or are you suggesting both scenarios ?
bill brown 143

31 August 2008 at 12:44 pm

What’s this bunch of opinionated crap on the front page of the SST this morning?

The “journalist” who wrote it obviously has a bee in her bonnet about something – intoning “…a turning point for this government”.

I wonder what proper news story had to be pulled at the last minute meaning they needed to fill the blank space with this – was this why it was delivered late this morning?
jaymam 144

1 September 2008 at 9:34 am

If it took only 25 hours for the SFO to investigate the 2,500 Winebox documents, it should take less than a day to investigate the few transactions involved with Winston Peters.

The SFO cannot be trusted and should not be doing the current investigation about the person who has quite rightly caused their imminent demise.

Clearly the structure of the SFO as set up originally cannot produce an accurate result.

http://wysiwygnews.com/1997_News/1997February23.html

In the commission of inquiry into various tax matters (known as the winebox inquiry) it was revealed that the Serious Fraud Office officers who were understood to have done the work, spent no more than 25 hours investigating the more than 2,500 documents which relate to the extremely complex schemes. Things got worse when Susan Pilgrim, a former senior prosecutor testified that when staff asked what was happening to the investigation, and which lawyer was assigned to the case, Director, Charles Sturt got angry and announced that he was looking into the matter himself. Under oath, Ms Pilgrim testified that the reaction of other staff was one of ridicule since Sturt was not believed to be competent to undertake an inquiry into complex financial transactions.
…
Director of the Serious Fraud Office, Charles Sturt has conceded to the Winebox inquiry that his office made no full investigation of the Winebox documents. This apparently lays him open to charges of having caused parliament to be misled. He advised the then minister, Paul East who subsequently told the house, that an investigation of the winebox documents revealed no evidence of any criminal activity. Sturt said at the time that his investigators had examined hundreds of documents. He now concedes that the assertions were “not strictly correct.” Winston Peters who was then a lone maverick alleging dirty deeds responded at that time with disbelief, and said that if they had examined the documents and found nothing, Sturt should be fired for incompetence. In an attempt to determine Sturt’s ability to understand the documents, the commission asked him to explain the transactions at issue. Sturt failed miserably.
jaymam 145

1 September 2008 at 11:05 am

I thought the name Gib Beattie, the SFO’s acting director, sounded familiar. How come he is still in the SFO at all, let alone in such a high position?

He was involved in the original Winebox fake investigation and should NOT be involved in any way in investigating Winston Peters.
Check the index of The Paradise Conspiracy for all the Beattie references.

e.g. page 2:

Gib Beattie couldn’t make up his mind whether to gloat or snarl, so he mixed the two expressions, his ears and nose appearing to twitch in the battle for facial control. His eyes, however, glittered with hate.

“Wishart, you bastard. You bastard! We’ve got you now!”

I barely had time to react – Serious Fraud Office investigator Steve Drain, a former cop, chose that moment to lunge across the seat in a bid to grab the camera and rip the film out. We fought briefly as I lashed out to stop him gaining a secure grip on the Olympus.

“Back off pal!,” I warned as menacingly as I could muster, “You don’t have any authority down here.” Perhaps realising that entering my vehicle and attempting to snatch the camera had overstepped the mark, Drain beat a retreat from the interior. Beattie, too, was backing away by now, the sneer appearing permanently etched on his face.
“We’ve got you, you bastard. Your day is coming soon, boy!,” he threatened.

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Sabin 33 #3 – Solar panels generate too much waste and will overwhelm landfills

On November 1, 2024 we announced the publication of 33 rebuttals based on the report "Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles" written by Matthew Eisenson, Jacob Elkin, Andy Fitch, Matthew Ard, Kaya Sittinger & Samuel Lavine and published by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia ...

Skeptical Science

3 days ago
What’s the time Mr Seymour?

Mr David Seymour crawling up to the ceilingThe sun don't shine the sun don't shine the sun don't shine at allMamma Pappa say you should go to school, I don't know what forNow that I've grown up and seen the world and all its liesSong: Southside of Bombay"Ake, ake, ake" ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

3 days ago
Submit to defend te Tiriti!

The Justice Committee has called for submissions on National's racist and constitutionally radical Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. Submissions can be made at the link above or by post, and are due by Tuesday, 7 January 2025. But I'd get in quick, in case National grows a spine ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

3 days ago
We need to talk about Kevin

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family has a Drunk Uncle Kevin in there somewhere. If your Kevin is anything like the ones I know, he was getting along happily enough without having to think too much about the Treaty Principles Bill apart from bloody good job, onya guys ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

3 days ago
The hikoi

Like everyone else (everyone who wasn't there, anyway), I've spent the morning watching the hikoi march on Parliament. The pictures are astounding: parliament grounds and the surrounding streets are full, and there are still people backed up along Lambton Quay. The police are estimating 35,000 people, and that's a floor ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

3 days ago
Why Govt & NZ Inc should boycott & regulate Facebook

The CEOs of Westpac NZ and Kiwibank say Facebook is rife with fraud but reporting scam ads gets no response. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, November 19: The ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

3 days ago
How should we talk about change?

A better world isn’t just possible, it’s desirable. And that’s how we should frame a lot of our conversations around making a greater Auckland. As an example take urban climate action. A climate friendly Auckland: Is free from congestion Enables people to travel how they choose Is filled with ...

Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp

3 days ago
AMA + Holiday Webworm Merch!

Hi,It’s AMA time again — so anything that’s on your mind that you wanna ask, ask away in the comments. This is one of my favourite things to do with full Webworm members, who are the heart of this community of Worms. Journalism? Documentary making? Short Poppies? Cats? Podcasting? What ...

David FarrierBy David Farrier

3 days ago
Discount Code for Webworm Merch!

Hi,So there’s a bunch of new stuff on the Webworm store (www.webworm.store) — just in time for the Holidays. Read more ...

David FarrierBy David Farrier

3 days ago
Trying to defuse the tension

There were urgent moves yesterday at Parliament to try and defuse the tension building up over ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill. The Bill’s author, ACT leader David Seymour, told reporters that he understood the Justice Select Committee met yesterday to discuss how long it should take to consider submissions on the ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

3 days ago
An Irritable NZ Pawn – David Seymour Admits Treaty Principles Bill will clear the way for deve...

This morning I discovered a post I’d written 10-11 months ago, lamenting how New Zealand’s ACT Party and their foreign and local surrogates would play out anti-Māori propaganda - which I believe they have long prepared for.At the time, it was a plea for action and readiness from my fellow ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

3 days ago
Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Arrival, And Tyler Childers

Politicians like to bang on all about the need to heal society’s racial/economic divisions, but in their actions they’re more keen on stoking those divisions, with the Treaty Principles Bill being the classic example. The Bill seeks to dilute the Crown’s responsibilities to Māori at the same time as it ...

WerewolfBy ScoopEditor

3 days ago
Socially Backwards and Fiscally Forwards: the False Ideological Divide and the “Conservative” Li...

Nearly two weeks on from the US election, and we are still mentally wrangling with the results. How did this happen? Which voter demographics went where? What did the Democrats do wrong? Meanwhile here in New Zealand, we’re left wondering how this will apply to us and what this means ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

3 days ago
Kaamos: Accepted

I appreciate that A Phuulish Fellow has been fairly quiet recently. That’s a combination of two things – comparatively little in the way of relevant material to discuss (at least until The War of the Rohirrim comes out next month), and my general work on The Secret Non-Fiction Writing Project. ...

A Phuulish FellowBy strda221

4 days ago
Here’s how governments could fix their Paris climate commitment failures

This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Governments around the world face a conundrum. Virtually none are on track to meet their Paris climate commitments. That includes the United States, which committed to cut its emissions at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 but is only on track for 32-43% cuts ...

Skeptical Science

4 days ago
Unstoppable.

Too Big To Fail: Forty-three years after the 1981 Springbok Tour protests, Maori defenders of te Tiriti, by their own efforts, and using their own resources, are poised to descend on the capital with upwards of 100,000 followers at their back, and no force in front of them even remotely ...

Bowalley Road

4 days ago
Katherine Trebeck – An Alternative Economic Narrative

The era of neoliberalism has been destructive on so many levels, with a huge growth in wealth and privilege for the one percent. A hollowing out of the state; fraying of the safety net; inadequate government investment in infrastructure; and continued environmental degradation has resulted in damage on a vast ...

Fabians

4 days ago
In a Manner of Speaking

In a manner of speakingI just want to sayThat I could never forget the wayYou told me everythingBy saying nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me everythingSongwriter: Winston TongNext Tuesday, the subscription price for Nick’s Kōrero will ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

4 days ago
Monday 18 November 2024

The NZNO have announced a nationwide strike for December over its pay dispute with Health NZ, who have put a 1 per cent cap on pay rises. The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti and Treaty Principles Bill remain front and centre in the media, with the impacts of the Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke-led ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

4 days ago
Shipley warns Seymour’s bill is ‘inviting civil war’

The divisive Treaty Principles Bill is not just a risk for the National Party, it’s a risk to civil order and unity, warns a National Party grandee. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

4 days ago
A clearer network for the City Rail Link?

This post was originally published on Linked In by Nicolas Reid. It is republished here with permission. Auckland is now just a year or so away from having the keystone of its urban rail network complete. As I wrote about here, the City Rail Link will be a literal game changer for ...

Greater AucklandBy Guest Post

4 days ago
National’s support base is wobbling

If ACT leader David Seymour intended the Treaty Principles Bill to drive a wedge into National’s support base, he may well already be succeeding. By midnight on Thursday after the Maori Party haka in Parliament, National MPs were being deluged with emails and messages from their members calling them out ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

4 days ago
2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #46

A listing of 33 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, November 10, 2024 thru Sat, November 16, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is completely "meta" (no, not that Meta). It's about our exploring how ...

Skeptical Science

5 days ago
Grifter Eftpos Tamaki at it again

..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Self-appointed “Bishop” and proto-fascist, Brian Tamaki was at it again on 16 November, blocking Auckland’s southern motorway, SH1.This time, the target of his ire wasn’t the Civil Unions Act; covid lock-downs; mask mandates; or ...

Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy

5 days ago
Rip up a bill, lead a haka are words to live by

I cannot stop grabbing people by the lapels, or shoulders, or similar, and raving at them about the tiny miracles in my ears.I can hear again! There could not be a more satisfied customer in all the world.In a noisy cafe I am even catching words that Karren cannot, she ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

5 days ago
Unintended Consequences

Take the baitYou pay the priceIt's much too lateFor good adviceYou know and I know that our good things' throughBecause there's consequences for what we doConsequences for me and youWriters: Kevin Robert Hayes, David Nagier, Bonnie Adele Hayes.Fallout from the first readingOne News began last night by saying that tens ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

6 days ago
Thank you, driver!

Today, Saturday 16th of November, is Auckland Transport’s Bus Driver Appreciation Day! Saturday 16 November marks the third annual Auckland Transport (AT) ‘Bus Driver Appreciation Day’, and this year we are encouraging all of New Zealand to thank their driver or let the bus go first if you are in ...

Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland

6 days ago
Totally Normal: Holiday Edition

Hi,If I was to accurately sum up my mental state over the week, I’d just say that I got a huge fright from my own shadow.I’d nipped out for an 11pm neighborhood stroll, just to calm down after a day of stress and screens. The Cure and Fazerdaze’s new record ...

David FarrierBy David Farrier

6 days ago
We Are Not Listening

The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...

PunditBy Brian Easton

7 days ago
More lawlessness from National

On Tuesday, sick of government stonewalling, the Waitangi Tribunal issued a rare court order, ordering the Minister of Health to release unredacted documents within 48 hours showing its reasoning for disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. The government's response to the lawful order of a court? Yeah, ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

7 days ago
National’s tyrannical “foreign interference” law

Yesterday, under cover the the biggest political fight of the year, National quietly - covertly, even - introduced anti-foreign interference legislation. The bill is the product of a years-long work-program aimed at countering shit like this and this, and there's unquestionably a need to do something to counter foreign states' ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

7 days ago
The Haka Represents The Best Of Us

A few months ago, I was in an audience watching a Haka-Kapa and as I watched children dance and sing and sway and shout and beat, I couldn’t help but think “The Haka represents the best of us.”Yes, yes - there will be a thousand voices that rush forth to ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

7 days ago
Adding up the climate cost

St Mary’s Bay housing left hanging: Climate risk is systemically underestimated in the climate scenarios used by central banks, and a new report warns 10,000 houses are set to become uninsurable in Aotearoa. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

7 days ago
Auckland chafing at Bishop’s housing intensification orders

One of the major problems the Government has in implementing its ‘going for housing growth’ strategy is that it isn’t giving much funding help to councils. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

1 week ago
Friday 15 November 2024

The Treaty Principles Bill continues to dominate political news, with it passing its first reading in the House. Parliament was briefly suspended and Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke suspended for 24 hours after leading a haka that was joined by opposition MPs and the public in the gallery. Willie ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

1 week ago
Weekly Roundup 15-November-2024

Happy Friday, welcome to another round-up of interesting stories about what’s happening in Auckland and other cities. Feel free to add your links in the comments! This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers ...

Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland

1 week ago
Are We The Waiting?

And screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingAnd screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingForget me nots, second thoughts live in isolationHeads or tails and fairy tales in my mindAre we we are, are we we are the waiting unknownThe rage and love, the ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

1 week ago
The Hoon around the week to November 15

The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including from COP29 this week; on the US Presidential elections, Israel vs Gaza/Iran/Lebanon, Ukraine/Nato vs Russia/North ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

1 week ago
First Tea and Toast, now Milo — why do NZ’s best beverages need so much defending?

Only two months ago, Nicola Willis had to step in to stop Health New Zealand cutting tea and toast for post-birth parents, and now Lester Levy is riding to the rescue with a welcome message for all: our health workers can once again drink Milo, and will no longer need ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

1 week ago
Gordon Campbell on the folly of making apologies in a social vacuum.

Day One of the Treaty Principles Bill…and everyone got what they wanted, and did what they liked. Heated words were exchanged. Culturally appropriate acts of outrage were performed. David Seymour got to play the victim card. Willie Jackson got kicked out of class. A comically red-faced Mr Speaker bellowed “Order, ...

WerewolfBy ScoopEditor

1 week ago
Skeptical Science New Research for Week #46 2024

Open access notables Microbial solutions must be deployed against climate catastrophe, Peixoto et al., Nature Communications [comment]: The climate crisis is escalating. A multitude of microbe-based solutions have been proposed, and these technologies hold great promise and could be deployed along with other climate mitigation strategies. However, these solutions have ...

Skeptical Science

1 week ago
The PM gets some extremely valuable legal advice for free

You can pay a great deal of money for the services of a KC. So just what would some peerless legal writing from 40 or so of them be worth, do you reckon?Priceless, that’s what. It’s not even the half of it, but this is my favourite part of the ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

1 week ago
D-day for the government

The government's Treaty Principles Bill is up for its first reading today - bought forward in a rush in a desperate effort to avoid the hikoi which is currently marching on Wellington. But the Prime Minister won’t be there for it – he’s literally running away to Peru! But he ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

1 week ago
97% of submissions did not want no-cause evictions, Trump chooses a Russian spy for US Intelligence ...

Good morning, and I’m sorry I’ve been away for a couple of days.I’ve been focusing on the Hikoi, and also testing out sentiment on the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s complicated, and the Treaty Principles Bill will be debated in the House today. The Government’s own lawyers have told them the ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

1 week ago
Government must vote down ACT Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to vote down an ACT Party Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights by making it easier for employers to fire workers. Last week ACT MP Laura Trask’s Employment Relations (Termination of Employment by Agreement) Amendment Bill was ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

1 week ago
Seymour causes thousands of unjustified absences by forcing kids to fight for their rights instead o...

The State would like to remind you that they are in control. They manage your employment prospects, and can destroy the job market you and yours rely on by mass-cancelling construction projects, cutting funding, and firing a good chunk of our public servants. They wield the mechanisms that provide scrutiny ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

1 week ago
The Weight of the World

As the weight of the world Hangs on your shoulders The weight of the world Starts to take over again And over again All that you once loved, now you hate So slowly relearn how to meditate To have and to hold And never let go Can you feel it ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

1 week ago
Thursday 14 November 2024

The Treaty Principles Bill is set to have its First Reading in the House today, as the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti continues. More than 40 KCs have written to the Prime Minister and Attorney-General outlining their “grave concerns” about the substance of the Treaty Principles Bill, while an academic and ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

1 week ago
Trump’s return to White House brings the climate’s ‘find out’ phase closer

As we absorb the news of Trump's victory in the US Presidential election, here’s a wrap compiled just before the result of what it might mean for climate action: The UN Secretary General says the prospective departure of the United States would cripple the Paris Agreement, likening it to the ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

1 week ago
Time and Space in the City Centre

Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the City Centre Advisory Panel. The header image is from Walthamstow, London The city centre now has a few stretches of street where the space has been repurposed to a people and place focused design from full time traffic use. These are a great ...

Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds

1 week ago
An opportunity for a pro-growth tax switch

As the Hikoi against it swells into the tens of thousands, KCs call on National to kill off ACT’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 14: The ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

1 week ago

Release: Government should be transparent on live exports

Targeted consultation on reinstating live cattle exports by sea won’t allow the New Zealand public to have their say. ...

Labour Blog

2 hours ago
NZ’s global climate rankings plummet as Govt removes agriculture from ETS

The Government has passed legislation to remove agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) while Aotearoa’s reputation on climate action plummets. ...

Greens

17 hours ago
Failed boot camp experiment must end

As legislation to set up boot camps passed its first reading, the Green Party urged the Government to abandon this failed policy experiment for the good of our rangatahi. ...

Greens

17 hours ago
Gender-affirming care must centre evidence and health needs, not political posturing

The Ministry of Health has today released an evidence brief regarding the use of puberty blockers in gender-affirming healthcare, amid moves by the government to limit access. ...

Greens

18 hours ago
Release: National doesn’t care about manufacturing

The National Government is walking away from our manufacturing sector with constant reports of closures and job losses. ...

Labour Blog

19 hours ago
Release: David Parker speech – Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change

David Parker's speech from the University of Auckland's forum on Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change in September 2024. ...

Labour Blog

20 hours ago
Release: Youth mental wellbeing no longer a priority for Child Poverty Minister

Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty. ...

Labour Blog

21 hours ago
Release: National’s lack of climate action taking NZ backwards

National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured. ...

Labour Blog

21 hours ago
Release: Simple reason for drop in emergency housing

When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place. ...

Labour Blog

24 hours ago
Govt’s child wellbeing strategy ‘shallow and shameful’

The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a priority focus in their Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. ...

Greens

1 day ago
Release: A historic win for Samoan communities

Labour warmly welcomes the Restoring Samoan Citizenship Bill as it passes its third reading, before becoming law. ...

Labour Blog

1 day ago
Government plan to reinstate live animal exports a “national disgrace”

The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. ...

Greens

2 days ago
Pasifika justice as Member’s Bill passes final reading

Teanau Tuiono’s Member’s Bill, the Citizenship (Western Samoa Restoration) Amendment Bill, has passed its third reading and will become law. ...

Greens

2 days ago
Release: Minister of Education thinks New Zealand ends at the Bombay Hills

The Minister of Education has shown complete disregard for rural communities and their school bus routes in Question Time today. ...

Labour Blog

2 days ago
Economists sound alarm on Government’s slash-and-burn approach

A group of prominent economists has released an open letter to the Government, raising grave concerns about the far-reaching consequences of its fiscal policy. ...

Greens

2 days ago
Release: Smoking numbers up under Costello’s watch

National’s repeal of Labour’s smokefree legislation has taken New Zealand further away from achieving a Smokefree 2025 and a smokefree generation. ...

Labour Blog

2 days ago
Release: Call for Palestine recognition by NZ, Australian and Canadian MPs

Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have written an open letter to their respective Prime Ministers calling on them to recognise Palestine. ...

Labour Blog

2 days ago
Justice Select Committee opens floor for Treaty Principles submissions

Today, the Justice Select Committee has decided to officially open submissions for the controversial Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

3 days ago
Power of the people on full display as hīkoi approaches Parliament

Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

3 days ago
Hypocrisy as Te Whatu Ora contractor bill balloons

Te Whatu Ora’s bill for contracting and consulting staff has ballooned by nearly 20 percent under the National Government, breaking a promise they made during the election campaign to cut contractors. ...

Labour Blog

4 days ago
Release: Growing pressure to scrap Section 7AA Repeal Bill

The newly released Section 7AA Repeal Bill's select committee report is further evidence that the Government should scrap it. ...

Labour Blog

5 days ago
Government’s move to monetise access to nature a slippery slope

The Green Party is voicing serious concerns over the Government’s proposal to charge for access to public conservation land, released today. ...

Greens

7 days ago
Green Party condemns the passage of Treaty Principles Bill

The Green Party condemns the passing of the Treaty Principles Bill at first reading, and is clear that the fight is not over. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Stand Up for Te Tiriti

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Release: Over 15,000 sign Labour’s open letter to Luxon

As the hīkoi to Parliament continues, Labour has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a last-ditch attempt to get him to kill the Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Fast Track Bill threatens environment, climate and reputation

The fast-track legislation passing its second reading in Parliament is another step towards environmental ruin. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Greens join King’s Counsel in calling for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned

The Prime Minister must answer the call from a group of senior lawyers of the King’s Counsel to abandon the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Chris Hipkins’ apology statement to state and faith-based care survivors

...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Release: Labour formally apologises to state and faith-based care survivors

Labour joins with the Government in unreservedly apologising for the abuse, neglect and trauma including torture in state and faith-based care and for ignoring the voices of survivors for too long. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Green Party stands in support of survivors of abuse in care

Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Green Party calls for conscience vote on Treaty Principles Bill

The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Govt move to exclude journalist risks chilling effect

The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Without action, an apology will be empty air

For tomorrow’s apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care to hold any water, the Government must not pursue the same policies that drove the abuse in the first place. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Release: Concerns remain over tobacco interference

Concerns about the tobacco industry’s ability to interfere in government policy making remain, despite the inability of the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate the Government’s decision to halve the excise tax on heated tobacco products. ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago
Urgent wake-up call on climate

The Climate Change Commission’s latest advice indicates Aotearoa needs to be stepping up on climate action. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Green MP’s Meme-ber’s Bill set to save the world

Break out the punchlines and dust off your meme folder: Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Ballot yesterday. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies

Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago
Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill

The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...

The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago
NZ must pursue independent foreign policy

The Green Party says the need is greater than ever for Aotearoa New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago

New facility in Christchurch will improve the lives of young New Zealanders

Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey today opened Kahurangi, an innovative and much-needed facility for Canterbury’s Child, Adolescent, and Family Mental Health Services. “The new state of the art outpatient facility opened today will be a gamechanger for the way mental health is delivered for young people in Canterbury,” says Mr ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

29 minutes ago
Driver safety screens to be installed on Auckland buses

Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news from the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) that bus driver protection screens will be installed across Auckland’s bus fleet by 2026.“The Government is committed to improving the safety of working environments for bus drivers, and Budget 2024 allocated $15 million of Crown funding over ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

58 minutes ago
Government action provides Southland farmers more time to meet plan requirements

The Government is taking action to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard say.“Cabinet has agreed to provide more time for farmers and growers to comply with regional rules ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

18 hours ago
Bill reaffirms Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending

The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Bill had its first reading at Parliament today. The Bill reaffirms the Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending, Minister for Children Karen Chhour says. “In recent years we have seen an unacceptable spike in youth offending. “This Bill makes ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

18 hours ago
Critical milestones for earthquake buildings review

Fairer, more sensible rules about managing earthquake risks are a step closer with the passing of legislation and the appointment of an independent chair to provide expert advice, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The Government is committed to reinvigorating our cities and regions to support economic growth, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

19 hours ago
State of the art radiology machine for Auckland

People in Northland and Auckland will benefit from a new machine for cancer treatment installed at the Regional Cancer and Blood Service at Auckland City Hospital. The MV5 linear accelerator, or LINAC machine, officially opened today targets cancer tumours with pinpoint accuracy. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says this new, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

19 hours ago
Foreign Minister to visit Europe

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Europe for high-level talks with France, Germany and the United Kingdom next week. "Since taking office almost a year ago, the Coalition Government has emphasised the importance we place on New Zealand's traditional and likeminded diplomatic and ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

19 hours ago
First arrests made under gang patch ban

Police have made their first arrests under the new gang patch legislation, with two gang members arrested, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “Just before 11 this morning, Police in Wairoa apprehended a gang member for wearing a patch to the supermarket. He has been arrested and will now face enforcement ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

21 hours ago
Better support for victims of sexual violence

The Government is proposing two major changes to name suppression laws that will put the views of victims of sexual violence first, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “We are committed to restoring law and order and these two proposed changes will help ensure the victims of crime are put at ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

22 hours ago
Government moving forward with Regional Deals

Cabinet has agreed to invite all regions to submit proposals for Regional Deals between central and local government that drive economic growth and deliver the infrastructure our country needs, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop say. Inviting all regions to propose a Regional Deal that boosts ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

22 hours ago
MSA pilot participant update

One of the ten young men selected to participate in the Military-Style Academy Pilot has allegedly reoffended. Children’s Minister Karen Chhour is disappointed but says it would be naïve to think that none of these young men would reoffend. “I’m saddened that this young person has not taken this opportunity ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

23 hours ago
Fighting for Kiwis in Trade

Delivered at Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School Good morning and thank you Deputy Vice Chancellor Lithander for your warm welcome and for inviting me to open Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School today. A Special thanks to the University of Auckland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

24 hours ago
Attendance rates increase, again

Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that school attendance is continuing to rise. In Term 3 of 2024 51.3 per cent of students attended school regularly, an increase of 5.3 percentage points from 46 per cent in Term 3 of 2023. “This Government has prioritised student attendance and it is ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

1 day ago
Improving the lives of young New Zealanders

Ensuring New Zealand is the best place in the world for children and young people is the vision at the heart of the Government’s new Child and Youth Strategy, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says. “Childhood represents a huge opportunity to set people on a positive path towards living ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

1 day ago
Government continues work to reinstate livestock exports by sea

The Government is reinstating the trade of livestock exports by sea while ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare, says Associate Minister of Agriculture Andrew Hoggard.“The Government will introduce legislation changes to reinstate the trade, enhance oversight, and strengthen requirements for exporters to identify risks and manage the welfare of ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Speech to the National Quality Forum 2024

Tēnā koutou katoa – it is a pleasure to be here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the important leadership role you all play in ensuring a quality health system New Zealanders can trust. There is enormous clinical expertise in this room covering a wide range of disciplines. ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
New Zealand’s COP29 National Statement

Tēnā koutou katoa. Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. New Zealand, and all nations represented here today, are already dealing with the impacts of climate change. Our households, businesses, and economies are bearing the costs of its effects. The choices we make now will shape the severity of these impacts for generations ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Latest Quarterly Investment Report released

The Government has released its second Quarterly Investment Report (QIR) which shows substantial work still to be done by agencies to improve investment reporting and meet the Government’s expectations, Infrastructure and Acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “New Zealand has significant infrastructure and investment needs. The Government is determined to get ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
New Zealand supporting loss and damage fund

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced New Zealand will contribute NZ$10 million to the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage while at the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. “New Zealand is joining the global effort to address the significant challenge of responding to ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Gang crackdown begins at stroke of midnight

The free ride for gangs is over when the clock strikes midnight tonight, with tough new laws officially coming into effect, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say. “Gang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. To earn the right to wear a ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
LGFA increases borrowing capacity to support high growth councils

The Government is welcoming the decision by the Local Government Funding Agency to increase access to financing tools for fast growing councils to support greater investment in critical infrastructure, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.“Communities across the country are facing an infrastructure deficit and significant population growth is projected in ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Temporary Traffic Management costs revealed

The Government has revealed that over the past three years, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has spent an eyewatering $786 million of taxpayers’ money on road cones and temporary traffic management (TTM), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“When I became Minister, I was surprised to learn that that NZTA did ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunal to double

Legislation that will double the financial jurisdiction of the Disputes Tribunal from $30,000 to $60,000 has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. “We need to improve court timeliness and access to justice so that Kiwis and get on with their lives. Court delays affect everyone, the ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Protecting New Zealand from foreign interference

Legislation that will specifically criminalise foreign interference and strengthen espionage offences has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “It is normal and appropriate for states to interact and work to influence one another. This encourages cooperation and can have mutually beneficial outcomes. “However, the reality ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Significant milestone for Canterbury Road of National Significance

Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news that the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board has approved funding towards pre-implementation and early works on the State Highway 1 (SH1) Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass Road of National Significance (RoNS). “Reaching this significant milestone is a reflection of our Government’s ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Health survey results to help drive change

Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says findings from the annual Health Survey highlight the need to continue driving better health outcomes for New Zealanders. The New Zealand Health Survey is an annual snapshot of key metrics measured from July 2023 – July 2024. Findings released this morning include: In 2023/24, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Final push needed to get to Smokefree 2025

A renewed effort to get people to quit smoking will build on what has worked to date and target the groups who most need support, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said today. “The latest New Zealand Health Survey results show the daily smoking rate at 6.9 per cent and we ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
New diplomatic appointments

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced four new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Next steps for Regulatory Standards Bill

Regulation Minister David Seymour has today announced the next steps in the Government’s plan improve the quality of regulation by opening consultation on a proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. “New Zealand's low wages can be blamed on low productivity, and low productivity can be blamed on poor regulation,” says Mr Seymour. ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Red Tape Tipline goes live

Minister for Regulation David Seymour has today announced that the Ministry for Regulation’s Red Tape Tipline is now live. “We want to hear about your red tape horror stories. From today, New Zealanders will have a say on how they are regulated through an online portal,” says Mr Seymour. The ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Youth Parliament 2025 announced

The Minister for Youth Matt Doocey has today announced the eleventh Youth Parliament will be taking place in 2025. “Youth Parliament offers a unique youth development opportunity to young people from across New Zealand to experience the political process and learn about how government works,” says Mr Doocey. “The two-day ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Police stats show promising change

After nearly a year in Government, Kiwis have seen significant change across law and order with promising early results shown across some Police statistics, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “In August 2023, I told New Zealanders that if they had not started to see a change in public safety within ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Better coordination of anti-scam efforts

With the launch of Fraud Awareness Week, the Government is committing to new coordination efforts across industry and government to combat online scams, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Online financial scams are a growing problem for New Zealand. New data released today shows that Kiwis lost nearly ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Minister to consider 7AA select committee report

Minister for Children Karen Chhour will consider the recommendations made by the Social Services and Community Committee in its report back to Parliament on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill. “I want to thank the people who made submissions and those who appeared before the committee in ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Defence Minister to attend ASEAN meeting

Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Vientiane, Laos. “We need to take every opportunity to engage with our international partners, given the increasingly unstable geo-political situation,” Ms Collins says. “New Zealand has a long-standing commitment to this ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Launching the White Ribbon Ride

The Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour, was on hand to wish riders well at the start of the North Island leg of the White Ribbon Ride in Whakatāne this morning. The ride helps mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

5 days ago
Construction to begin on next stage of Papakura to Drury

Construction on the next stage of the SH1 Papakura to Drury project will begin early next month, with the contract for works awarded to Fulton Hogan, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. "SH1 Papakura to Drury is a key project that will drive economic growth and productivity, reduce congestion, and enable people ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
NZ signs trade deal with Costa Rica, Iceland and Switzerland

Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has signed a pioneering trade agreement that prioritises New Zealand’s sustainable exports at a ceremony during APEC in Peru today. “The Agreement on Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS), between Costa Rica, Iceland, and Switzerland was concluded in July of this year and opens up significant ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
Government and iwi work together on aquaculture

Five new Aquaculture Settlement Areas will help ensure Ngāi Tahu shares in the opportunities aquaculture offers for Southland’s economy, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. “The Aquaculture Settlement Areas (ASAs) I’m announcing today set aside space so the Crown and Ngāi Tahu can assess their potential for aquaculture development. ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

7 days ago
Government launches review to ensure electricity market is fit-for-purpose

The terms of reference for a review of the performance of the electricity market have been released. The review, initiated by the Coalition Government during the power crisis in winter will look at whether current regulations and market design support economic growth and access to reliable and affordable electricity, Energy Minister ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

7 days ago

RNA editing is the next frontier in gene therapy – here’s what you need to know

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flora Hui, Research Fellow, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Honorary Fellow, Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne IoanaB/Shutterstock The United States Food and Drug Administration has just approved the first-ever clinical trial that uses CRISPR-Cas13 RNA editing. Its ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

2 hours ago
Yes, you still need to use sunscreen, despite what you’ve heard on TikTok

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Lee, PhD Candidate, Dermatology Research Centre, The University of Queensland Karolina Grabowska/Pexels Summer is nearly here. But rather than getting out the sunscreen, some TikTokers are urging followers to chuck it out and go sunscreen-free. They claim it’s healthier ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

2 hours ago
Humans are killing off the old and wise animals that hold nature together. Here’s what must change

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keller Kopf, Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Charles Darwin University Laxmikant Ameenagad, Shutterstock In humans and other animals, ageing is generally associated with a decline in biological function. But scientists are now discovering older animals perform vital roles in populations and ecosystems. ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

2 hours ago
A man scouring Google Earth found a mysterious scar in the Australian outback – and now scientists...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matej Lipar, Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University Author provided/Google Earth Earlier this year, a caver was poring over satellite images of the Nullarbor Plain when he came across something unexpected: an enormous, mysterious scar etched ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

2 hours ago
Design as a movement: how First Nations people take ownership of their cultural stories through fash...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Treena Clark, Chancellor’s Indigenous Research Fellow, Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, University of Technology Sydney Once located 250 metres to the east of the Art Gallery of South Australia, the grand beaux-arts style Jubilee Exhibition Building was constructed to house the ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

2 hours ago
‘We need more doctors’ – Support for new Waikato medical school

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says a third medical school and more students in Auckland and Otago are both needed. ...

Radio NZ – political

2 hours ago
Cricket balls can concuss and even kill batters – at all levels, helmet use must be taken seriousl...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Annette Greenhow, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Bond University Linda George/Shutterstock The ten-year anniversary of the death of much-loved Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes falls on November 27. The 25-year-old’s life was tragically cut short in 2014 when a bouncer ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

2 hours ago
Hold the roosters, no economic dawn yet

Treasury likely to downgrade economic forecast while Chris Bishop says the government won’t be ‘a slave to a surplus’, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Recession will be deeper and last longer — Treasury At a recent Spinoff ...

The SpinoffBy Anna Rawhiti-Connell

3 hours ago
Knowing superstitions aren’t real doesn’t stop us behaving superstitiously – why?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Gomes-Ng, Senior Lecturer of Psychology, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Former New Zealand prime minister John Key has three white rabbits painted on his helicopter, a nod to his “massively superstitious” habit of repeating “white rabbits” three times at ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

4 hours ago
Government slammed for pushing ahead with boot camps while trial still under way

The coalition has "absolutely no intention of listening to the evidence that comes out of their experiment", Labour MP says. ...

Radio NZ – political

5 hours ago
Smoke and mirrors in tobacco debate

Labour claims Government is ‘cherry-picking’ smoking trends data to hide decade-first increase in daily smokers The post Smoke and mirrors in tobacco debate appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Fox Meyer

5 hours ago
Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate

Labour claims Government is ‘cherry-picking’ smoking trends data to hide decade-first increase in daily smokers The post Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Fox Meyer

5 hours ago
Treasury bangs the drum on ‘unsustainable’ superannuation

The Government’s economic adviser is sending a message it doesn’t want to hear – superannuation is increasingly unaffordable The post Treasury bangs the drum on ‘unsustainable’ superannuation appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Tina Morrison

5 hours ago
Victims of sex offending welcome shift on name suppression laws

A man abused by a former political figure is "immensely relieved" at a government proposal to end secrecy around sex offenders' identities. ...

Radio NZ – political

5 hours ago
This week three parties stood together – can they withstand the storm to come?

There is plenty yet to play out, but the next election is at this rate shaping up as trio versus trio, writes Toby Manhire. A subplot of this week’s historic hīkoi mō te Tiriti has been the sight of the three opposition parties presenting a unified front. Te Pāti Māori ...

The SpinoffBy Toby Manhire

5 hours ago
All 33 malls in Auckland ranked from worst to best

From the low lows of abandon empires to the high highs of a mall done just right. This is the second in the Malls of New Zealand series, where we rank the malls in major centres. Next week: Wellington. A note from the editor: This is the hardest ranking we’ve ...

The SpinoffBy Group Think

5 hours ago
The cost of being: A clothes-mad 20-something who walks everywhere

As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a 27-year-old apartment-dwelling marketing exec explains her approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 27. Ethnicity: Pākehā. Role: Marketing exec at ...

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5 hours ago
Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 22 November

Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 22 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles

5 hours ago
Daily crossword, Friday 22 November

The post Daily crossword, Friday 22 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles

5 hours ago
China likely to strengthen regional relationships in response to another Trump term

Opinion: Recent discussions in Shanghai provide some insight into what’s likely to be on the table The post China likely to strengthen regional relationships in response to another Trump term appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Jason Young

5 hours ago
Nuclear winters know no borders

Opinion: The immediate horror of nuclear weapon explosions – the blinding flash, crushing blast wave, and radioactive inferno – is well documented.But what nuclear-armed nations either don’t grasp or won’t admit, is far more chilling: how their weapons could devastate even countries thousands of kilometres from any mushroom clouds.The collapse ...

NewsroomBy Nick Wilson and Matt Boyd

5 hours ago
This week’s bestselling books – November 22

FICTION1 Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)Sample dialogue, all from one chapter:“That can’t be,” replied Taona doubtfully.“You were right. The pā is unnervingly quiet,” Taona murmured.“The Hākuwai,” Motukia breathed. “Our grandfathers told us they rarely saw the Hākuwai in daylight,” Motukia muttered.“Their fight would have been futile ...

NewsroomBy Steve Braunias

5 hours ago
Burma the flying elephant

After about two and a half years of planning and waiting, New Zealand’s last elephant has moved to her new home at Monarto Safari Park in South Australia.Burma and her “human herd”, that is, her keepers, arrived last week, and she’s settling in well, according to Auckland Zoo’s Andrew Coers.“Something ...

NewsroomBy Gwen McClure

5 hours ago
NZ’s membership of Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance in jeopardy

Senior ministers in the coalition suggested NZ’s membership will be re-evaluated if it restarts offshore oil and gas drilling The post NZ’s membership of Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance in jeopardy appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Marc Daalder

5 hours ago
Raw Politics: Six months in a leaky Bill

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon did not meet the Treaty Principles Bill hikoi crowd, sees “nothing” of merit in the Act-proposed law but the Parliament his Government dominates will spend six months debating a “divisive” measure.That’s because he has accepted there needs to be “aeration” of people’s views on the Treaty, ...

NewsroomBy Newsroom Staff

5 hours ago
Taken to the brink, Govt is now close to selling big Whakapapa ski field

Bidder Whakapapa Holdings walked away from the sales process last year, but says it’s now ‘95% there’ on a purchase agreement – so who blinked first? The post Taken to the brink, Govt is now close to selling big Whakapapa ski field appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Andrew Bevin

5 hours ago
Watts nears a landmark deal on global carbon trading

A framework for global carbon trading under the Paris Agreement is finally nearing completion at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan after years of halting talks.Climate Change Minister Simon Watts is one of two ministers tasked by the COP29 hosts with landing a long-sought deal on Article 6 of the climate accord, ...

NewsroomBy Marc Daalder

6 hours ago
Grattan on Friday: Marles plays a defensive bat on nuclear as the government rushes to get though la...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Richard Marles is an ambitious man who hasn’t given up the dream of one day reaching the top job. But, despite being deputy prime minister, his profile is much lower than that of Treasurer Jim ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

11 hours ago
Fears Māori will pay heaviest price if police carry guns

"Overwhelmingly, those people who die will be young Māori men," the spokesperson for People Against Prisons Aotearoa says. ...

Radio NZ – political

12 hours ago
NEW POLL: Kiwis Overwhelmingly Support MPs’ Expenses Transparency Law Change

62% of respondents support the extension of the OIA to cover MPs’ spending, compared to just 13% opposed and 24% were unsure. ...

Scoop politics

13 hours ago
The House: Meanwhile, a week of passing law

The political week has been packed with worthy distractions, but all week Parliament has focused on passing new laws. Here are the highlights. ...

Radio NZ – political

13 hours ago
The biggest difference between Hīkoi mō te Tiriti and past hīkoi: More support from non-Māori

Analysis - The diversity of voices during the hīkoi was noticeable - from tangata moana to young immigrants to elderly Pākehā from the South Island. ...

Radio NZ – political

14 hours ago
The House: Samoan citizenship restoration – ‘It means we belong to this land’

When the bill to restore NZ citizenship to some Samoans passed this week, Parliament's galleries were full to the brim with members of the community. ...

Radio NZ – political

15 hours ago
More Delays In Action On Use Of Puberty Blockers With Children

Women’s Rights Party Co-leader Jill Ovens says the Ministry has put New Zealand children at risk by continuing to allow “off-label” prescribing of puberty blockers at far higher rates than other similar countries. ...

Scoop politics

16 hours ago
Police Minister adamant he wasn’t aware of gang members training at gun clubs

That is despite two papers from police that raised the matter with him. ...

Radio NZ – political

16 hours ago
Shorten declares himself ‘a proud moderate’, saying Australians ‘in the middle’ shouldn’t ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Bill Shorten has declared himself “a proud moderate” in a valedictory speech declaring parliament has the responsibility to ensure the extremes of left and right do not set the terms of political debate. Shorten, ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

16 hours ago
New ‘best practice’ principles for superannuation products are coming. We asked a panel of exper...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer Studio Romantic/Shutterstock We all know how important it is to save enough money for retirement – but what about spending it wisely when we get there? Even for those who have built up a suitable ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

16 hours ago
Government accused of betraying Kiwis’ trust over lack of consultation on live exports

The government has always vowed to reinstate live exports by sea, which was banned by the previous Labour government. ...

Radio NZ – political

17 hours ago
7 things you can do if you think you sweat too much

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Freeman, Associate Professor of Dermatology, Bond University ERIK Miheyeu/Shutterstock Sweating is our body’s way of cooling down, a bit like an internal air conditioner. When our core temperature rises (because it’s hot outside, or you’re exercising), sweat glands all ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

17 hours ago
Phenergan for under 6s is now banned due to hallucination fears. Here’s what to use instead

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Macquarie University Australia’s drug regulator has issued a safety warning over the medicine Phenergan and related products containing the antihistamine drug promethazine. The Therapeutic Goods Administration said the over-the-counter products should not be given to children ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

17 hours ago

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