Police nurture a unwise form of direct democracy

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, January 7th, 2009 - 27 comments
Categories: activism, interweb, police, scoundrels - Tags: ,

 The Economist has an fascinating article “Rioters of the world unite“. It is partially about the demonstrations, protests, and outright riots in Athens and other parts of Greece at the end of last year. It is also partially concerned with a rising trend in new ways to not organize, and still be politically effective.  The underlying issue is that the fund of goodwill between the police and certain politically active parts of society is drying up. In New Zealand there is a growing lack of respect for peaceful political activism amongst some elements of the police. To me that looks like heading towards France 2005, Budapest 2006, and now Greece 2008 with net assisted uncontrolled outbreaks of anger. We’ve had them before, but these days they can spread fast, especially when assisted by annoyed activists tired of being persecuted and spied on.

For those who didn’t bother with the news at the time, here is a description from an earlier Economist article about what triggered the unrest and how far it went.

This week’s violence was on an unprecedented scale. It erupted after Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a 15-year-old schoolboy, was shot dead by a policeman in Exarchia, a scruffy central district of Athens known as the anarchists’ home base, on the night of December 6th. Shouting insults at police in their patrol cars is a weekend sport for some Athenian youths. The police are meant to stay cool: the last time a policeman killed a teenager was in 1985.

This time protests over the shooting quickly spilled into the main streets of Athens, and thence across the country. Roving groups of anarchists torched cars, broke shop windows decorated for Christmas and tossed in petrol bombs. Beyond the capital, demonstrators attacked police stations and public offices in a dozen cities.

What triggered the events is not that interesting – anything could have. What was startling is the speed that people could get out on the streets to show their displeasure and being in the same places – that is new. It wasn’t just the people who were affected, knew the kid, or even were involved in similar groups. It was a lot of people and down to the individual level who decided to get involved.

In the world of the net, it is incredibly hard to confine information through the techniques of the past with the MSM. There are simply too many channels and outlets. You can’t censor or put injunctions on information that isn’t even in the same country. When activists who know how to put information on the net get involved, it spreads even faster, as these days they have widespread networks of loose contacts.

In Greece some of the political shenanigans are corrupt to say the least, and the police are viewed by sections of society as a sort of occupation force. There simply wasn’t enough goodwill towards the police or the authorities or the ‘system’. So people decided largely individually and without much organization to find out what was happening and where. Then they went to  participate.  The effect as the Economist commented is:-

By definition, anarchy is harder to propagate than rigid Leninism. Whatever is spreading from Athens, it is not a clear programme for a better world. The malcontents of Greece include ideological class warriors, nostalgists for the protests against the junta of 1967-74 and people (including drug dealers and bank robbers) with a grudge against the police. Relations between police and the counter-culture have worsened recently; the police are accused (rightly) of bullying migrants, the bohemians of dallying with terrorism. A messy scene, with no obvious message.

But the psychological impulse behind the Greek protests—a sense of rage against all authority, which came to a head after a 15-year-old boy was killed by a police bullet—can now be transmitted almost instantaneously, in ways that would make the Bolsheviks very jealous. These days, images (moving as well as still) spread faster than words; and images, of course, transcend language barriers.

The “bohemians” in this case are likely to be activists. Activists don’t join groups as much now, because it is safer to work on the net. You’re far less likely to have the paranoid police deciding that you are potentially a terrorist and then acting if you were one now. Activists now know where to go on the net and have even wider networks than if they were involved in groups. They don’t have (or want) leaders that can be targeted for special attention and they don’t want to have nebulous bogus conspiracy charges against them.

But that is overseas, what are the implications for here? That gets quite interesting.

Rioters of the world unite” points out that this isn’t a brand new trend – the techniques and trends are spreading via the net. Similar but less concentrated non-organization behavior happened in France in 2005, and in Budapest in 2006. The problem for the police and the authorities is that it can happen anywhere. All it requires is enough disaffected people in society that do not respect the “authoritah of Cartmans”. Most people under the of 30 have the skills to communicate on the net. All activists have access to it these days.police_officer_cartman

In NZ, imagine if the police were still as much of a pain as they were after the ’81 tour and Muldoon. Then they managed to trigger the 1984 Queen Street Riot with a serious testosterone burst of stupidity. That is the NZ analogy to Athens but other things could cause similar disruption.

If I’d heard about the rumpus in 1984 soon enough, I’d have gone down for a look, and probably got involved. In 1984, I was 24 and had little very respect for the police. They’d assaulted me in 1981 without sufficient reason. They made a habit of harassing my friends, especially if they were brown.

I’m not that happy with them now and that is a lot more of an issue than it was 25 years ago – then I was politically niave, now I’m definitely an activist. Their actions against activists over the last few years have been appalling. Rather than having a fund of respect amongst activists that the police could draw on, groups within the police like the SIG, TAU, and TPU have been frittering it away. It isn’t just the left, there is almost as much disquiet across the whole political spectrum for many reasons. Just read the blogs.

A decision to participate would be done individually by activists. There isn’t any point in talking it over with others and figuring out longer term factors. If we did that then we would become easy targets for police action. Periodically they’d descend with search warrants based on bogus nebulous conspiracy charges as part of their general intimidation policies. It is far safer to act alone and use the net to support each other anonymously. They spy on established groups like political parties and unions as well, so how long before they start using search warrants and conspiracy charges against them?

To be visibly involved is to become part of the wet dream of some lazy police with conspiracy delusions. In NZ, it is becoming simpler to be an anonymous activist cross-linked via the net. That is not a good model for nurturing democratic change in NZ – it is a suppression technique. In the end suppression just leads to explosions.

Yep, I can see why the riots in Greece happened. It only takes a few fuckwits in the police to squander the respect for their authoritah! Hell it may even be policy to increase police budgets – who can tell? The police are a opaque organization who often appear as if they are unsure themselves about what they are doing. But that is another post.

And now for your viewing pleasure… Cartman… The police don’t like us using their crest so Cartman will have to do.

27 comments on “Police nurture a unwise form of direct democracy ”

  1. Carol 1

    “nuture”? – easy slip to make ie in your headline.

    [lprent: Yep, it doesn’t spell check that. Fixed (I think)]

  2. Typical supercilious putdown of youth by the voice of finance capital.
    Aimless youth spontaneously rioting with no program for a better society.
    Tut tut. Have another gin and tonic dear. .. Oops is that a molotov cocktail dear?

    Coming from the mouthpiece of the ruling class that has demonstrated its total bankruptcy in creating a better society, from Athens to Gaza, why should we pay it any heed?

    Well because its a typical trivialising of the real issues which these radical youth are fighting; the system, the rich and the authority of the state which the rich use to pacify social unrest.

    The Economist tries to reduce their actions to individual anarchy, the psychology of hothead youth, but made more effective by modern communications. And what’s more insult youthful intelligence to suggest its only bad policing that gets them angry.

    Well, not so. It’s the old bogey of anarchy rising up that they fear. The youth trashed their malls, supermarkets, and luxury hotels. The flash cars are a favorite target. Its only a step from their to their prized mansions and clubs. That’s already a better social program than that offered by the class the Economist speaks for -the dole, jail, being shot or bombed.

    Then there’s the attack on authority. The youth trashed police stations, the symbol of the authority used by the rich to suppress dissent. That’s a sound program for social advance. Though its hardly a program to replace the police with another form of authority to express the will of the people, its a step in the right direction. That’s why the youth occupied the schools and universities so they could organise, educate and plan the next moves. Planning? horrors darling.

    Then there’s the call for Caramanlis to resign. Well that’s quite a social program. Fancy youth realising that the government is corrupt and oppressive imposing social austerity to bail out the banks and big corporates onto the backs of the youth unemployed. Fancy hotheaded youth being able to recognise the role of the bosses’ government for what it is. Some of them were even ahead of the opposition attempt to sideline them into new elections for a supposedly left Labour Party type government. So they occupied the Trade Union headquarters and demanded a general strike.

    Now that would really impress the Economist. A text message general strike. Wow! They can already imagine their system, its profits, its oppression, its wars, disappearing like the trillions that have already gone ‘poof’.

    What was it that someone said about the future belongs to our children?

  3. Bill 3

    So the economist follows the same old line that the unrest in Greece is a ‘riot’ with no accompanying demands or statements of desire…no underlying analysis/understanding on the part of the participants. That’s a crock. However.

    On acting individually (which is what you seem to propose) rather than acting as an individual is an interesting topic…one I’ve commented on previously in other standard posts. Organisation is a necessity….organisations that allow the individual to act and retain their autonomy work and work rather well.

    Many people, many voices. High degree of organisation but no centralisation. No ‘party lines’. An ever increasing constituency that happily accommodates all levels of resistance/protest….from the letter writer to the editor to the revolutionary. It’s been done here (post 11/09 invasion of Afghanistan) and will doubtless happen again.

    The problem is the old habit of people seeking to invest leadership in others. I was pleasantly surprised that this habit afflicted the middle class liberals far less than it did the tired old Trots and Leninists. However, while the liberals were comfortable to work and organise with no centralised command and control structure, they couldn’t identify the danger signs when elements of the left attempted to impose such a centralise structure.

    While those elements were successful in stamping their mark/ their authority, the result was the constituency that had been building and spreading dissipated when confronted by the reality of a party line….a many people, one voice scenario.

    It’s possible to organise in ways that confound the police. It was done. Next time around I’d like to think the people who were hoodwinked by the authoritarians will be a bit wiser and able to preserve the integrity of their organisational structures.

    We’ll see.

  4. Quoth the Raven 4

    Many of the rioter in Athens know exactly what they want. They are anarchists. You don’t fly a red and black flag without knowing what it’s all about – an end to capitalsim and all illegitimate authority, ie complete emancipation of humanity.

  5. Greedy Pig 5

    “What triggered the events is not that interesting – anything could have. What was startling is the speed that *people* could get out on the streets to show their displeasure and being in the same places – that is new..[blah blah… anti authoritarianism… again]

    Some people… the loose headed.

    [lprent: Talking about yourself in the third person? Bad habit that, makes people think that you’re an egotist]

  6. Greedy Pig 6

    Maybe every municipality should have an approved rioting place. After the rioting the rioters could rebuild it*.

    *if works not against the culture of the rioter.

  7. Ag 7

    I don’t know why the Economist should act all surprised. I guess more people are realizing that the Emperor has no clothes.

  8. Rex Widerstrom 8

    Using the net in a way invisible to the police assumes a reasonable degree of knowledge about encryption, using proxies and the like. I’m sure this information is disseminated amongst activists but whether it’s done quickly enough and whether it’s secure enough to exclude police infiltration, I wonder?

    The police regularly claim to have infiltrated “highly sophisticated online pedophile networks using high-tech methods to hide their activities”, implying they have the technology to penetrate even highly secure networks. Assuming that’s true (and I don’t, necessarily, given that data is very easy to plant on someone’s computer – just ask any 12 year old L337 |-|4><0r3r) then I doubt activists have the level of personal security you seem to imply – but you’d be a far better judge than I of such things, I guess.

    Having been the subject of more than 20 years of unwanted police attention I carefully considered the issue of anonymity net-wise, considering I figured that much of what I would write would be critical of the police and the whole “justice” system.

    In the end I concluded it’s better to be out in the open. At least that way if I’m dragged off in the night on yet another trumped-up charge (that’d make seven) someone might make the connection between my perfectly legal opinions and activities and their unpalatableness to certain power structures, and the continuing list of ever-more-bizarre “crimes” with which I’m charged.

    The problem with remaining underground is that, when you’re dragged off for interfering with livestock, it’s a bit late to creditably claim it’s really because you’re a pain in the establishment’s arse. Even though it’s true, the police can say “Well he would say that, wouldn’t he?” and the unknowing public will nod and move on, nothing to see here…

  9. lprent 9

    Rex: It’d be easy for the police to penetrate any particular persons systems, especially if armed with a search warrant. It is a lot harder when you multiply that by a larger number of people. Say at a low level, just  a hundred for NZ.

    However they’d be faced with the same type of issue that I have keeping some people off this site. Multiple ISP access accounts, internet cafes, dynamic IP’s and no requirement for logins (or multiple logins). Not to mention siblings, parents, freinds, and work accounts.

    You have no idea who people are some of the time – for instance d4j has used at least 6 dynamically allocated IP ranges. The only reason you know it is him is because of his style.

    Who needs encryption? The problem for any security systems in the days of the net and the amount of traffic running around is pretty damn high.

  10. Greedy Pig 10

    Can we have an opt out of rioting arrangement if we don’t want our property damaged?

  11. Rex Widerstrom 11

    lprent:

    I’d have thought so. But they seem to have no trouble rounding up these international child porn rings. I imagine they troll chat rooms till they find someone who’s not following the group’s security protocols (in terms of being indiscreet, I mean… we both know the weakest link in any network’s security is, to quote the old saw, the nut behind the keyboard).

    Once they’ve got an in I guess they start distributing material which can be traced (are trojans) and send the patsy something which logs all his connections.

    The alternative is that they’re telling fibs, which could quite easily also be the case.

    They seem to like solving cyber crime… presumably because it’s “sexy” at present and they can do it at their desk while eating donuts and surfing porn.

    captcha: ex-Editor 😯 Is it trying to tell me they’re on to me already?!

  12. jbc 12

    lprent: a very interesting point you make. I find it easy to agree with the sentiment and motivation for these organised protests but [as much as I’d feel anger towards authority] I can’t help feel that the methods used in these protests (torching cars, destroying things) is not the best way to act. Collateral damage does not win sympathy. On top of that the police are probably energised by riots rather than put off by them. Putting out fire with gasoline?

    A co-worker of mine once remarked (more than a decade ago) that the Internet was the “world’s largest stupidity amplifier”. That remark comes to mind with this Economist article.

    Now, what your niece [correct if wrong] Rochelle did over the police spying was far, far more intelligent. That’s the type of action that earns respect. A series of intelligent, carefully designed acts that hit your target can be much more effective than torching random cars and letting anger run wild.

    Consider an unwarranted parking fine. You get angry. Do you:

    A. Follow the warden home and torch their house and car.

    B. Follow the warden, note their licence plate, copy it, ensure they get sent many tickets for parking and other traffic offenses. 😉

    ?

  13. Ag 13

    Can we have an opt out of rioting arrangement if we don’t want our property damaged?

    No. One of the great pleasures of rioting is annoying people like you.

  14. lprent 14

    jbc: That is why Rochelle did that way. However the police in that case had given her a gift.

    Almost all activists including the moderates (like me) are now using this to have a bloody good go at the police. It is a good way to work some of the frustration out of the system. It is also a good opportunity to get the police to review their actions and policies over recent years.

    For example (using Rochelle as the example). You have to remember that this is after the police have pulled Rochelle up on close to 10 charges, that they either dropped when it came to trial, lost or lost on appeal on all but two of those charges.

    One was deliberate and she pleaded guilty in youth court. She chained herself to the front of a store. Her mother and I helped ramp up the sentence because it was only fire exit.

    They’d have lost the other one as well. Rochelle was working in Tauranga and the court was in Auckland. The police managed to move the court dates about 2 or 3 times without informing her (she was representing herself). So she organized to be in Auckland with witnesses to be informed that date had changed. Eventually she lost because she was out of holiday time and couldn’t organize witnesses or an appeal.

    This is not uncommon, any activist will tell you that this is the norm – to protest mens that you get charged on all sorts of crap that usually doesn’t stand up in court.

    Abusing the legal system and their position in it like that doesn’t exactly endear the police to any activist, moderate or otherwise. But in all of those cases what the police did was ‘legal’ and there is bugger all that could be done about it.

    It was also bloody stupid in terms of wanting any activist to trust them or to cut them any slack. That is what they are reaping now and for the next year or so.

  15. Many of the rioter in Athens know exactly what they want. They are anarchists. You don’t fly a red and black flag without knowing what it’s all about – an end to capitalsim and all illegitimate authority, ie complete emancipation of humanity.

    But who will run Facebook for you then?

  16. Whoops. I was about to complain about my comment being deleted. But now it’s back! How odd …

    [lprent: Just the usual caching problems would be my bet.]

  17. jbc 17

    But who will run Facebook for you then?

    Precisely.

    Note to Internet organised rioters: when you send that burning bus careening towards a sinister-looking building – make sure it does not contain the datacenter that hosts (or routes) your favourite blog. When tipping cars in the suburbs be careful not to disturb the roadside cabinet that patches the DSL to your home or the homes of your online friends.

  18. Quoth the Raven 18

    Russel – I don’t use facebook. It’s a stupid thing for teenagers and adults with nothing better to do. Maybe you use facebook. I would have thought something better from you, like a cogent argument about why people can’t organise themselves without hierachies, rather than a facetious little comment. Have you tried gettting a job in the MSM?

  19. jbc 19

    QTR: From the Economist article

    A similar tribute group on Facebook has attracted more than 130,000 members, generating thousands of messages and offering links to more than 1,900 related items: images of the protests, cartoons and leaflets.

    You linked to YouTube in your own post.

    Seemed clear to me that Russell was referring to how these “anti-capitalist anarchists” rely on services (Youtube, facebook, second life, the Internet, etc) provided by the capitalist organisations they wish to see the end of.

    Seems hypocritical to me – but then I don’t actually believe that rioters are smart enough to understand that.

  20. jbc – there’s an old saying – “capitalism will sell you the rope you use to hang it.”

  21. Rex Widerstrom 21

    If activists are using Facebook then they might as well hand themselves in to the police and save them the trouble of coming round to arrest them.

    In fact, come to think of it, they don’t even have to bother doing that any more, since courts are now allowing service via facebook.

    That’s what I mean about the supposed anonymity of activists on the net. Yes, there’s all those factors lprent mentions which make it hard for police. But they’re determined to use the online world to capture real world “criminals” and the courts and the lawmakers seem ready to oblige by making it easier for them to do so.

  22. jbc 22

    Robinson – yep I’m aware of a similar saying, but I don’t think it really applies here.

    I just find it a stretch to believe that that the riot fans who inhabit Second Life (for example) really understand the implications of the “end of capitalism” and have it as their end goal.

    As QTR stated about Facebook: “It’s a stupid thing for teenagers and adults with nothing better to do.”

  23. Quoth the Raven 23

    jbc – How is that hypocritical? You don’t have to live in a hovel like a monk to be a socialist. You can be rich and be a socialist in my mind without being a hypocrite. There is nothing wrong with using the tools at hand to better organise. It would be hypocritical if they were the bosses of some business exploiting people. Anarchists try to build the shells of a future society within the old one, through organising themselves, through democratic reforms (even if they don’t wish there to be governments) through unions etc, For example the woblies are thought of as an anarcho-syndacalist union. One could use the same stupid argument against free market supporters, are they hypocrites for using public healthcare and education? Just as with socialists it may seem slightly contradictory, but they cannot avoid these contradictions anymore than a socialist in current society, but they can work using governments for reforms and organise themselves, as socialists do, to make society better in the way they see it. Providing information for free on the internet does seem like a good way for an anarchist to get his message across, but that doesn’t mean these social netoworking sites aren’t silly. In this video Chomsky talks about that sort of thing (near the end somewhere).
    He was 15 I’m sure he did use facebook. Second life now that would be an idiotic waste of time no matter what your beliefs.

  24. Pascal's bookie 24

    Second life now that would be an idiotic waste of time no matter what your beliefs.

    google this

    libertarians “second life”

    QED. 🙂

  25. Quoth the Raven 25

    LPrent – There is a good article here: Greece rises in rebellion. I especially recommend you read the second half as to the views of people involved.

  26. Anita 26

    To go off on a slight tangent, one of the effects of excessive Police action against activists is that they no longer feel that they can go to the Police (or other similar authorities) for help. When an activist is attacked or burgled, they won’t go to the Police, domestic violence and rape are even less likely that usual to be reported.

    So by behaving unfairly the Police not only drive that group towards more extreme action, but they also remove the protection our society provides to everyone.

    The Police’s history of unbalanced enforcement stripped Māori and PI of their faith in the protection of the State. They’ve tried to rebuild that faith (with some massive srcew-ups along the way), will they try with activist communities?

  27. killinginthenameof 27

    Haven’t got time to go over the whole thread but there’s something I’m starting to notice. Conservatives (or classical liberals to keep DPF happy) carry on about anarchists and how they are just angry at nothing in particular. There’s an interesting, almost mirror like response to this from the conservatives (Brett dale is almost a text book example of this). They are just angry at any one questioning their white male authority and implied superiority. You see it in Brett’s case over his anger against taggers, but it’s not really about the paint on the wall. It’s that someone who may be, not white, not male, not heterosexual, not old, not Christian, not conservative, not rich, daring to question his, and everyone else like him’s superiority. And I guess a bit of paint on a fence shows how flimsy it really is.

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    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 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
    5 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
    10 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
    12 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
    13 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
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  • 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 ...
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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