Petition: It’s Not OK Prime Minister

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, November 13th, 2015 - 46 comments
Categories: human rights, john key, petition - Tags:

This petition at ActionStation is closing in on 5,000 signatures:

Dear John Key,

We call on you to stand up, apologise for the offence your comment has caused to survivors of sexual violence throughout New Zealand, and withdraw the statement.

We also call on you to show that you and your Government ‘back’ victims and survivors of sexual violence by committing to fully fund specialist sexual violence agencies to provide core services, especially kaupapa Māori services.

46 comments on “Petition: It’s Not OK Prime Minister ”

  1. Michelle Bunt 1

    I find your comments distasteful particularly after you were the one who closed christchurch’s rape crisis service. Who is supporting rapists now?

  2. weka 2

    That’s a well worded petition.

  3. Stuart Munro 3

    His hubris is costing him now – if he’d done his usual insincere withdraw & apologise he wouldn’t have had an issue – this one won’t make him any political capital.

    • sweetd 3.1

      Costing Key how?

      Haters going to hate, the left isn’t going to vote for him ever and this will push him further up with the right.

      Expect a poll boost from this for Key.

      Just like the ponytail campaign by the left, had no effect with actual NZers as reflected in the polls, but was considered a huge thing in the twittersphere.

      Meanwhile, the rest of the country goes about their business without taking offence and faux outrage.

      • RedLogix 3.1.1

        Expect a poll boost from this for Key.

        You may well be right.

        I note however you don’t defend Key; implicitly you know he’s playing a manipulative and deceptive game here. And that you believe a majority of the electorate will swallow it. Or maybe even approve of it.

        Which is all fine and good … but don’t you find living with such a cynical view of your fellow citizens just a little wearing?

      • weka 3.1.2

        “Just like the ponytail campaign by the left, had no effect with actual NZers as reflected in the polls,”

        Maybe not, but the culture is being changed which is actually more important. It’s probably good you aren’t noticing that.

      • Daniel Cale 3.1.3

        Agreed, and your comment about faux outrage is particularly pertinent. It is this penchant for taking offence at everything that is destroying the left because it is so alien to the way most NZ’ers think.

        • BM 3.1.3.1

          The left love being offended it’s what gives them purpose.

          • Tracey 3.1.3.1.1

            There is a reason you and Daniel ended up talking to and agreeing with each other. Cling onto each other boys so that you can find comfort in your stupidity

        • Paul 3.1.3.2

          You are rapidly becoming a unwelcome. And unsavoury bore with your ill educated hate speech.

      • Paul 3.1.4

        ‘Haters going to hate’

        Are people standing up for civil rights ‘haters’?
        Are people asking for rape not to be used by the PM ‘haters’?
        Or do you just describe anyone whose views you oppose a ‘hater’?
        Or do you just operate in slogans?

      • Stuart Munro 3.1.5

        There is little or no political capital to be made from this. As many or more people will be turned off Key by his treacherous desertion of New Zealanders in a concentration camp as might do the knee-jerk ‘ah… they’re all crooks anyway’. If he had to choose an issue on which to make an immoral stand, Key could’ve chosen better.

  4. Anne 4

    Michelle Boag adds her opinion:

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/74006095/mps-who-shared-sexual-assault-stories-paraded-their-victimhood–michelle-boag

    If anyone feels like ‘discussing’ the matter her work email is:

    michelle@boagpirie.co.nz

    This bitch (no, I don’t resile from calling her a bitch because that is exactly what she is) is attempting to equate low level offending such as inappropriate explicitly language, bottom patting and/or breast touching with the serious high end of the scale where women have been subjected to serial raping as children/teenagers and other horrific sexually related acts.

    i

    • veutoviper 4.1

      I agree with your last paragraph completely, Anne.

      The Stuff article is mild compared to Boag’s performance on RNZ National’s The Panel yesterday afternoon.

      Warning! Dangerous for those with blood pressure problems!

      http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/thepanel/audio/201778485/the-panel-with-brian-edwards-and-michelle-boag-part-1

      Discussion on this subject starts at 7.15 in; Boag begins at about 8.15.

      Boag must have watched a different video of what happened in the House to what I saw.

      She starts by trying to defend Carter’s hearing deficit; puts down Marama Davidson suggesting that she does not yet know the rules of the House; goes on to belittle the women who stood up in the House; and totally misleads by implying that they were making personal statements rather than points of order; and also maintains that they all walked out – denying that any of them were thrown out.

      Brian Edwards makes some feeble attempts to intervene and put some differing views, BUT in effect agrees that the women MPs walked out rather than some being ordered out of the House. Mora is useless as usual.

      I am still angry at the complete spin offered up by Boag.

      • Anne 4.1.1

        Yes I heard it veutoviper – an attempt to provide cover for Key by attacking those whom she perceived to be a threat to him. The C/T ‘dead cat on the table’ routine is not confined to just the Nat politicians but their “Dirty Politics” acolytes as well.

        I have never forgotten her reaction 15 plus years ago when I was attending a function in Auckland. I happened to arrive at the bottom of the stairs to the entrance at exactly the same moment as Madam Boag. She gave me the most demeaning and contemptuous look I have ever experienced from anyone even though she had no idea who I was. She is a vain, vicious woman who will stop at nothing to get her own way – something that has been amply demonstrated over many years.

        • RedLogix 4.1.1.1

          Anne I read this article a few hours ago – and when I came to add a comment on it, I found I had to delete it.

          Like you I found I couldn’t do it without including the b-word; and I didn’t want to start a distraction with that.

          And secondly I was struck by the fact that the Nats have deliberately wheeled a woman out to do this knife work. I can’t quite put words on it – but there is something degenerate going on I can’t quite name properly.

          • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1.1

            Similar rationale to why the NATs put a woman in charge of Social Welfare to do the “knife work” on benes and those on the DPB.

            • weka 4.1.1.1.1.1

              Yes all the way back to Shipley.

              Red, I agree, there is something really off about this whole thing. Seriously off. I felt like that the first time I watched Key in the house the other day. Something very fucked up is going on here, and I think they are playing with fire.

          • BM 4.1.1.1.2

            You seem to view women as weak and pathetic creatures, this may come as a shock but women can have their own thought and ideas.

            Boag spoke how she spoke because these women pissed her off, not because she was forced to do so.

            • sabine 4.1.1.1.2.1

              Trigger Warning:

              BM you have absolutely no idea what weak or strong means.
              And it seems this women does not either.

              But you know what, fondling/touching/groping without consent is sexually violating someone, cat calling is harrasment, having your hair pulled without your consent is assault and could be considered to be sexual assault, having someone shove a penis – or any other tool or instrument up your bodily orifices without your consent is rape.

              And survivors of such treatment, by they male or female, young or old, regardless if they reported the crime, regardless if they went to the hospital for a rape kit, regardless of any of what ever you want have mentioned and talked about, are strong.
              They are strong because in most cases they survive without medical attention of any kind, they survive often without any moral or spiritual support, they survive not because society offers help and compassion – and clearly this National Government has been excellent in cutting the funds for help, and for compassion, it could be said that this National Government embodies the lowest common denominator – but despite it, or maybe in spite of what society has to offer.

              You know why these women where thrown out of parliament? Because they stood up, because a long time ago they stopped being afraid. They looked at teh bully and told him that they knew him, they had met him, and he does not frighten them any more. , They made clear that they don’t stand for being accused to ‘support murderers, rapists, and child molesters”, by someone who has more that a shoddy record on dealing with sexual abuse other then shrugging the shoulder and mumbling “Boys will be Boy”

              As for rape not being rape when it is not reported to the family, I was raped at an age I did not even have the vocabulary to voice what had happened to me. By the time i fully understood what was happening to me I believed that this is what happened to all the girls at a certain age, by the time I ran away from home I knew it did not happen to all the girls from a certain age onwards.

              Now at a much different age, I can assure you that many if not most girls of a certain age onwards will encounter sexual harassment (touching of hair, legs, butt, breast – smile baby you be prettier, I’d hit that – to name just a few) to outright rape. They will be raped by their fathers, stepfathers, brothers, cuzzies, oncles, mates, boyfriends, husbands and strangers. It is that fucking normal. And we have a PM, and a spokes person that wants to make it normal, “It is just feel good about that phrase? BM – assuming you are a man? Do you feel good about this particular phrase? Are you a boy that will be a boy? )
              But there is nothing normal about someone forcing another someone into intercourse. Absolutely nothing. Rape is not normal and our PM should know that, and behave accordingly.

              Now, I understand that you support John Key and the national party. Good for you. You know what you like and you stand up for it.

              I just want you to understand that women, men, boys and girls get raped. Every day, while I type this someone somewhere is getting raped. And most will never speak up, because of people like John Key, and Michelle Boag. And one of these boys, girls, women, men could be your spouse, daughter, son, friend, mother, father.

              So, no, rape is never ever a fucking excuse to score political point.
              At long last have you no fucking shame.

              • Tracey

                Bravo. I wonder if BM read my post about the opposition is the enemy… he hadnt read it before he posted to you.

              • BM

                What the hell has any of that have to do with what I wrote?

                My point was , Boag, disagreed with what these women said and voiced her opinion, she wasn’t trotted out to voice the “opinion” of the National party and it is incredibly sexist and demeaning to think that she was.

                • sabine

                  And that is where you are wrong.

                  She was trotted out, and she did ‘voice’ the opinion of the national party.

                  And no it is not. if it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck it is.

                  You know what I find interesting, that you seem to have no issues with a Prime Minister who would accuse the opposition party of being ‘supporters of rapists, murderers, and child molesterers’.
                  It does not offend your good manners or your sense of civility.
                  It does not offend you that instead of answering a straight forward question, the Prime Ministers accuses a group of Men and Women of a certain standing, representing New Zealanders in Parliament, of being ‘supporters of rapists, murderer, and child molesterers”.

                  But then, your support for John Key and the national party makes all this ok.

                  Btw. Do you like being a boy? Cause we all know Boys will be Boys. Have you ever been that “boy”?

                  Ooh, opps, just horsing around and having a bit of fun, ey, no harm done. The Prime Minister does it too.

                  • BM

                    For some reason I always thought you were a man.

                    • sabine

                      i am not, never was, never pretended to be.

                      I am just one of those uppity women that would have walked out of parliament in protest of John Key.

                      and other then that, any comment on what you feel/think about the comments of the Prime Minister? Do you think that he was just horsing around again, and that those women that were offended did over react? Come BM, boy or girl, who cares, got any comment on anything other then National all good, Labour all bad?

                    • RedLogix

                      BM your original comment has merit; women are indeed not weak and helpless creatures. But equally they also experience vulnerability and powerlessness in many situations.

                      And until just the last generation or so, this experience went mostly ignored and suppressed. Now it is getting articulated, and it is not a comfortable nor pleasing voice to listen to.

                      And for many men, no longer having the dominant voice (even for a time) is something we find even less pleasing. Respectful listening does not come naturally to many men.

                      At the same time this does not imply men must always remain silent, and I believe eventually we will find our own voice on this. There is much more to be said, much more to be negotiated before we find our path through this.

                      But what happened in Parliament on Wednesday belongs to those women who had the guts to stand up to the unacceptable. And no man (or woman) has any business diminishing that.

                    • BM

                      I’d say the driver of John Keys comment would have been Kelvin Davis getting in his face.

                      Like any guy, Key would have been really fucked off about that, Davis got in his personal space and disrespected him, so he gave Labour a broadside in return.

                      Personally I thought there was a lot of truth with what Key said, lefties seem to be all about crims.

                    • mickysavage []

                      Kelvin did not get in Key’s face and his tone of voice was quite muted. If Key gets that upset by what Kelvin did then Key needs to be removed from his office ASAP.

                    • RedLogix

                      lefties seem to be all abut crims.

                      Mainly because we believe human rights are universal and inalienable. This was the lesson we learnt largely in the wake of WW2.

                      By contrast righties all too often are happy to divide society into the deserving and undeserving, the insiders and outsiders. It’s an ancient, animal instinct, but regressive.

                    • BM

                      Nah, Righties tend to be more about you’re in purgatory until you’ve proven you’ve made amends and shown you’ve learn’t from whatever you’ve done and won’t do it again.

                      Lefties seem to be all about finding excuses to why someone did what they did, personal responsibility seems to be an anathema to left thinking people.

                    • RedLogix

                      Yet curiously enough, while you believe these things, you never deliver on them.

                      Nations like the USA that run it’s prison’s as purgatory, seem to just keep on needing more of them. Nations like the Netherlands (which try to seek out and fix the root causes of crime) are having to close them.

                      Everywhere you look, the solutions righties insist will work, keep on failing. And yet oddly enough none of you ever seem to want to take any personal responsibility for this.

                • weka

                  My point was , Boag, disagreed with what these women said and voiced her opinion, she wasn’t trotted out to voice the “opinion” of the National party and it is incredibly sexist and demeaning to think that she was.

                  How do you know she wasn’t running NACT’s lines?

                  The idea that she is isn’t a comment about her so much as a comment about how National do dirty politics. Boag fronting for National in the way she did yesterday is exactly what we would expect at this stage of things. Makes sense that people would speculate on that.

              • left for deadshark

                Great post sabine, and as weka said this is very dark.
                Boag lied an deceived on natrad and I will use the links weka put up, an remonstrate will her and complain bitterly every time she re-appears on that show.
                but I have to say, the likes of Boag, Edwards etc have made a lot of money out of political games an that wont be changing any time soon, sadly.
                Best we support those members of Parliament that will stand up for us.

          • Anne 4.1.1.1.3

            – but there is something degenerate going on I can’t quite name properly.

            Well, Redlogix I think it has a lot to do with Labour’s very successful conference. I wasn’t there but everything I read about it suggests Andrew Little has shown himself to be a strong and principled person who genuinely cares about this country and the democratic rights of it’s citizens. Even the MSM were impressed with him and were not backward in saying so. I think the Nats and JK in particular were rocked by their response. They didn’t see it coming. Hence the ‘dead cat on the table’ reaction. We can look forward to many more “dead cats” as Andrew’s star begins to rise and I’m certain in due course it is going to happen.

      • Paul 4.1.2

        Edwards has spent too long in Herne Bay.
        The complete failure of ‘liberals’ to stand for anything has been wedlock documented by Chris Hedges.

        • greywarshark 4.1.2.1

          Edwards is Brian Edwards. And this refers to 4.1 written by veutoviper. (For the benefit of anyone reading from the middle of the comments.)

      • Paul 4.1.3

        Thanks – another reminder never to listen to Mora.
        The invitees to the Panel some dire reactionaries.
        Mora is mediocrity personified.

    • Paul 4.3

      It’s amazing how vicious and degenerate some people can be to defend their privilege

    • veutoviper 4.4

      I have been in ‘time out’ for a few hours and have just come back online a short while ago. I am sad (kia kaha, Sabine) but at the same time hopeful at the reaction that Boag’s response to the brave actions of the Opposition MPs in calling out the actions of Key and Carter has sparked.

      Too tired to say any more tonight, but I wanted to post this excellent and from the heart response by Alison Mau, also on Radio Live, to Boag’s interview on the same radio station.

      https://t.co/vA4nDRNbDx

      The voices will not be silenced.

  5. NZJester 5

    If they want an apology they can change their name to Cameron Slater just like every other person the PM has ever apologized to.

  6. Paul 6

    Our culture is gradually being corrupted.
    A sad time to be living in this once progressive country.

  7. Jenny Kirk 7

    ShonKey has escaped out of the country – for about 10 days. He’ll be hoping the furore will have died down by the time he gets back.

    This petition will help keep it alive, as will Andrew Little’s visit to the Australian select committee meeting.

    By the way, Sabine – terrific statements up above @4.1 – wish I was as articulate as you.

    And Anne – I regret to think you may well be right about why this degeneration from ShonKey is happening : looks like we’re all going to be in for a rough ride to the end of 2017. The Nats will try everything they can think of to retain power. Yuck.

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    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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