Politics is like a Traffic Jam

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 9th, 2019 - 45 comments
Categories: Politics, transport - Tags: , , ,

It feels like we are enjoying a political lull right now. Of course, there always is noise and turbulence somewhere in the world, but Trump has not spilt his milkshake over a royal, Assange has not been extradited, and the British have not yet met the rock face they are facing called Brexit. Here at home, the dust is settling after Budgetgate and Mad Mike and Cantankerous Kate are still doing their raucous rants. All is normal in Middle Earth.

So, it begs the question has anything changed? To me it feels like we are stuck in a traffic jam. It is frustratingly slow and we are going nowhere anytime fast. We cannot do much about it and it seems completely (!) outside our control. We can swap lanes, from Right to Centre to Left and vice versa. Or stoically stay in the ‘safe’ Middle lane and pretend you cannot see the cars on either side – the convenient ‘blind spot’. Other drivers can drive us mad with their behaviour and we start to recognise behaviours too. In fact, we recognise certain cars by their license plates or other standout signage but almost never the drivers in them. Weird.

While we are crawling forward, motorbikes whizz past us risking life and limb. The odd self-entitled driver uses the bus-lane to get ahead because it is ‘pretty legal’ until caught and they always have a good excuse ready.

Nine out of ten times, there is no obvious reason for a traffic jam. There is no clear cause and there is no ‘leader’ unless it is the slowpoke in front. It seems to dissolve by itself and go where it came from. What was all the fuss about? We make up explanations and ‘rationalise’ it by blaming; stupid drivers, stupid roads, stupid whatever. If we had stayed at home, would there be a traffic jam? Of course! If we had all stayed at home or had taken public transport, would there be a traffic jam? Stop asking stupid little riddles, will you! Are you some kind of Zen quiz-master?

Traffic jams are bad for the economy and environment alike. Yet, five days a week, we sit in them and contribute to them. Because we have no choice. In the morning, on the way to work – another day, another dollar. In the evening, on the way home – one day less till the weekend.

Our cars are (our) status symbols. However, in a traffic jam it does not matter what car you drive. It does not matter who you are, what job you do or have – presumably you are on your way to or from work – how much you earn. Traffic jams, just like democracy, are a great equaliser, and they force us to follow the (s)lowest denominator. Nothing ever seems to change.

Oh dear, an accident on the other side of the motorway. It looks nasty so let’s slow down some more to have a bloody good look. Oh crap, the car in front of me stopped and I hit them. I hope they are insured …

45 comments on “Politics is like a Traffic Jam ”

  1. May be a little less ego, and a shitload more humility.

    "……..motorbikes whizz past us risking life and limb. The odd self-entitled driver uses the bus-lane to get ahead because it is ‘pretty legal’ until caught and they always have a good excuse ready"

    To which I'd add: some motorists plant their boot racing to the next red light; others thinking they're the world's best drivers try to be policemen; others just can't keep a constant speed; others have a complete inability to merge (like a zip) because it's all a competition and they have to get there first, etc., etc.

    Good analogy @ Incognito

  2. vto 2

    aint no traffic jams when walking ….

    free, clear head, clear air, birds twittering, insects buzzing, trees growing…

    why drive ?

    • satty 2.1

      Not too sure about that, in case you have to go somewhere the car drivers go. I work in a lot of bigger cities in Australia and New Zealand and none has “clean air” in the city centers and the “wildlife” is questionable, too.

    • aint no traffic jams when walking ….

      Having tried to walk down Oxford Street in London during a busy shopping period, I can assure you that there are traffic jams when walking. Lots of people wanting to use the same footpath has exactly the same effect as lots of people wanting to use the same road.

      • bwaghorn 2.2.1

        When I first arrived in Aberdeen many years ago I found walking in the bus lane down the main street easier than weaving through the hoards . Very crock Dundee with out the big knife

      • Anne 2.2.2

        I went to the supermarket yesterday and it was bedlam. It seemed like every man, woman and child was there. I seriously contemplated the need for supermarket traffic lights both ends of the aisles. 😉 It would bring about order, calm frayed nerves (we hope) and everyone would get their turn to have a fair go.

        Bit like politics really.

        Create cohesion and a sense of order among the populace – a political version of traffic lights? Make sure everyone gets an opportunity to have a fair go. We had an egalitarian society a few decades ago remember? The principle of "the equality of mankind" inculcated into every law of the land?

        Then along came the neoliberal political craze and it's all gone. Now it's a dog eat dog world and to hell with those left behind through no fault of their own.

        We currently have a coalition government which is trying to recreate a modern version of that egalitarian society. But it is going to take a long time to achieve, and there are plenty of blue-hued nasties intent on undermining every effort for the sake of personal, individual power and political gain.

        It isn't going to be easy. Like the fictitious supermarket traffic lights, we need to be patient, stay calm and give this coalition government a fair go.

        Rome cannot be rebuilt in a day!

        • Kat 2.2.2.1

          Those "blue-hued nasties" certainly are the handbrake preventing our once was egalitarian society from being rebuilt. At this point in time the NZ voter is the hand hovering over that brake. The 2017 election was a catalyst for a change in direction, the 2020 election is shaping up to be a real test of where we are headed. Jacinda Ardern and/or the coalition needs a very clear majority to make it happen.

  3. Ad 3

    It only feels like a traffic jam to extremes of left and right, and to political obsessives.

    New Zealand popular mood is great, economy fine, stable scandal -free government, fresh funding in system, media games and shrinking, all is well.

    And no political drama anywhere in any major country except UK.

    • RedLogix 3.1

      Yes. That's commensurate with my customary and way more convoluted argument, that the centre is where the action is and where things get done. And in NZ we are fortunate that the centre, for all it's despised beige tones, is in reasonable health and we could a lot more damned grateful for this.

      • vto 3.1.1

        I don;t know if the centre is where the action is Red. Changes are usually pushed from the edges, into the centre, which eventually wakes up and smells the roses…

        either to vote Trump or Hitler, or to push the Monarchy out …

        they all start at the edge don't they?

        • RedLogix 3.1.1.1

          Yes and no. The edges are where we encounter the novel and unknown and I agree eventually the good ideas percolate inward. There is value in this.

          But we consistently underestimate the value of the centre. It's not the inert lump we denigrate it as. It is where the diverse elements of society meet and contend with each other, where they negotiate, compromise and sometimes reach consensus. And on this basis we can collectively take action.

          Even if the action is nothing more glamorous than to keep the astounding edifice of our amazing world tottering on for a bit more cheeky

          • vto 3.1.1.1.1

            "the astounding edifice of our amazing world tottering on for a bit more"

            Ha, well put

    • you're not angling to become the next State Services Commissioner are you @Ad?

    • Stuart Munro. 3.3

      It's a great story, but declining home ownership, burgeoning private debt and the gig economy have laid waste to our once comfortable middle class. Time was teachers were one of the happiest groups, but decades of ill-conceived meddling have driven many out of the profession and left the rest stressed out.

      Property inflation driven by foreign capital has imposed a dead weight cost on our economy double that faced by previous generations, and things like the winter energy payment are palliatives rather than long term solutions to the gross mismanagement that characterizes a neoliberal public service.

      The once comfortable and secure public service, having short-delivered the public increasingly feel a puckering sensation as they recognize that they, and not their no-longer-in-power political masters, are going to have to account for some of their transgressions.

      And then there's Amartya Sen's HDI notes on suicide – that it is a robust measure of societal dissatisfaction, and that societies with high rates cannot be characterized as happy. A larger mental health budget will likely not ineffably cure such an ill while the socioeconomic drivers remain.

      • OnceWasTim 3.3.1

        +1 @ Stuart. I can't quite figure out if @Ad was being serious or not with that

        "New Zealand popular mood is great" bit.

        I guess it could be if everyone is kept medicated in one form or another – either the piss, pot, 'P' or Prozac, or by way of shopping therapy – KMart at those lower forms of life, or Kaaren Walker and World at the top end

      • feijoa 3.3.2

        +1

        +1

        +1
        Exactly Stuart

  4. Formerly Ross 4

    Take it easy, take the train.

  5. Jenny - How to Get there? 5

    Freedom!

    http://farefreenz.blogspot.com/

  6. Jenny - How to Get there? 6

    Free Public Transport becomes mainstream, (almost).

    THE NORTHERN ADVOCATE | Opinion

    Vaughan Gunson: A tourist tax could help fund free public transport in Whangārei

    1 Aug, 2018 10:30am

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503447&objectid=12098325

    …..

    The Government's tourist tax, otherwise known as the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, will be introduced in 2019.

    The $25 to $35 levy (the amount is still to be decided) will raise up to $80 million. Some of that money will find its way back to Whangārei to maintain public facilities near tourist attractions.

    The tourist tax is a necessary move, but there's a strong case for a more direct route between tourism money and the people living in a region…..

    ……One way would be a tax on accommodation, a "bed tax" paid to local councils rather than central government. Auckland Council has already voted to introduce one. Other councils are seriously looking at the idea.

    It would be good to know what Northland's councillors think and if there are plans to follow Auckland's lead.

    What I'd like to see, is any tax levied on tourists enjoying our harbour and publicly supported assets like the Hundertwasser, going towards helping us to fund free public transport.

    Fare-free public transport now exists in around 100 cities and towns worldwide (with the list growing). The benefits are many: reduced private transport costs, greater freedom for younger people, less road congestion and a meaningful way of reducing net carbon emissions.

    This bold idea could be sold to tourists by saying that their travel – one of the most carbon-polluting things you can do – will be offset by a levy that goes directly towards lessening the carbon emissions of the region they are visiting.

    Tourists would, of course, be able to take advantage of the free public transport themselves – an attraction in itself……

  7. RRM 7

    A "LULL"???

    How many Labour ministers are going to be implicated in LYING to the people of NZ about the budget "hack"?

    Will the public notice road safety has been slashed by $10 million as part of their WELLBEING BUDGET after all of Genter's grandstanding about "our goal is a zero road toll"?

    Will Kiwibuild even reach 1% of its targets? (What will happen when people start asking how much of the funding has been spent?)

    Capital gains tax is buried.

    The teachers still aren't happy.

    The nurses still aren't happy.

    Child poverty has gone up, not down under Labour.

    The Labour youth drinking camp sexual assault trial verdict won't make anybody look good.

    This is the lull before Labour starts circling the drain. A really long, really bad metaphor can't fix that.

    • Jenny - How to Get there? 7.1

      Right wing memes get a Sunday morning airing.

    • WeTheBleeple 7.2

      You need to dig deeper, surely you could write a longer list with more faux outrage.

    • SPC 7.3

      The arrogance of those on the right, is they think they can deceive people into voting against their own interest, because of their vanity that they are the smarter and therefore more deserving than others.

    • Thoughtful of you to drop off all those Kiwiblog talking points here, but there are insufficient grumpy old white men and obnoxious dumbasses here to pick them up and run with them.

      • RRM 7.4.1

        I'm getting more and more of it from Facebook these days. People are starting to wake up and see the stardust and the identity politics for what it is. The left doesn’t control the message any more. It is great to see.

        • SPC 7.4.1.1

          Talk about tunnel-vision, your face book pages are designed to reinforce your viewpoint and you think therefore that is reflective of popular opinion. You either understand nothing about social media, or you are just trying to con other people about what is, or is what is not, popular opinion.

        • mpledger 7.4.1.2

          It's only identity politics because it's not your identity.

        • Psycho Milt 7.4.1.3

          I'm getting more and more of it from Facebook these days.

          As SPC says, there's a reason for that, and it's called "Facebook's business model." Facebook is telling me that ancient punk music, obscure movies and left-wing politics are becoming more and more popular, mostly because I keep telling it via clicking on things that that's what I like. Start following lefty politicians on Facebook and clicking on the lefty stories they link to, and you'll soon find Facebook telling you there's been a sudden sea change in politics and the left is rapidly gaining popularity.

  8. Jenny - How to Get there? 8

    Auckland slowly, (and painfully), inches its way towards Free Public Transport

    Newshub
    9 June 2019

    Auckland Mayor wants to make public transport free to under 15s on weekends, public holidays

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/05/auckland-mayor-wants-to-make-public-transport-free-to-under-15s-on-weekends-public-holidays.html

    Auckland Mayor Phil Goff is announcing a proposal today that children under 15 travel on public transport free of charge on weekends and public holidays.

    The proposal aims to encourage more families and young people to use public transport, helping to reduce traffic congestion……

    This measure is being sold as a way to reduce traffic congestion?

    It’s a start, in the right direction.

    But for those of us who drive around Auckland for a living, know for a fact, that traffic congestion in Auckland is almost absent during periods of school holidays!

    Even the one day student strike for the climate, made getting around Auckland noticeably easier for that day.

    The obvious next step, is to make public transport free to under 15s all the time.

    Now that really would make a difference to traffic congestion, especially at peak times.

    • RRM 8.1

      "Free" just means somebody else pays.

      Usually a third party who won’t be paying, offers on behalf of those who will be paying, without even asking them.

      Public transport would probably get a lot more bipartisan support if it wasn't so blatantly captured by political socialists using it as a vehicle for their own ambitions.

      • WeTheBleeple 8.1.1

        Free means getting loads of cars off the road. This improves air quality, water quality, travel times, maintenance budgets, productivity…

        You need to learn proper accounting.

      • Jenny - How to Get there? 8.1.2

        Public transport would probably get a lot more bipartisan support if it wasn’t so blatantly captured by political socialists using it as a vehicle for their own ambitions.

        RRM

        Oh no!

        A sinister left wing plot to ease congestion and pollution, has been revealed by RRM.

      • SPC 8.1.3

        You mean public transport funding would be more bi-partisan if right wing parties stop promoting car driver selfishness as a vote winner – it's the politics of the tobacco industry and coal fueled power station age.

      • Jenny - How to Get there? 8.1.4

        Free public transport, just like free healthcare is not free…

        Bernie Sanders explains…..

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV60Q8-B808

      • Psycho Milt 8.1.5

        "Free" just means somebody else pays.

        Uh, duh-uh. Any other pointless truisms to post, while you're here? "Free" has various meanings, but everyone on this thread, including you, knows that "free" in this context means users of a service are not charged for it and it is instead funded by other means.

      • Stuart Munro. 8.1.6

        Now turn around and apply that logic to the egregious thefts of our water resources.

      • Brigid 8.1.7

        ""Free" just means somebody else pays."

        No. It means everybody pays. It's called socialism. It's the opposite of greedy, Ayn Rand, 'I'm fine Fuck the rest of You-ism.

        Ask any Scandinavian how well it works.

        • Rosemary McDonald 8.1.7.1

          ""Free" just means somebody else pays."

          No. It means everybody pays. It's called socialism. It's the opposite of greedy, Ayn Rand, 'I'm fine Fuck the rest of You-ism.

          That kinda sums it up at a fundamental level, no?

          Those who agree 100% with Brigid go Left….

    • Jenny - How to Get there? 8.2

      Auckland slowly, (and painfully), inches its way towards Free Public Transport II

      Sinister plot uncovered

      Lacking the boldness of the leftist conspirators in overseas hives of communism, like Luxembourg and LA, Leftist police here, engage in a sinister plot to lower the road toll

      More free public transport being considered for Auckland

      Todd Niall11:55, Feb 11 2019

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/110498483/more-free-public-transport-being-considered-for-auckland

      Aucklanders could get more chances to travel free on public transport following a pilot just before Christmas.

      Auckland Transport said it was considering suggestions, such as New Year's Eve and Auckland's Anniversary weekend, after a surge in patronage during the fare-free evening in December.

      The agency, at the request of Police, made public transport free after 4pm on the last Friday before Christmas, largely to reduce drink-driving…..

      Oh no!

      • Jenny - How to Get there? 8.2.1

        From his secret communist bunker in Mangere East, (otherwise known as the Mangere East Community Centre). Queen Service Medal winner and former bus driver, Roger Fowler publishes his blog advocating for free public transport.

        Fare-Free New Zealand

        Thursday, December 13, 2018

        By Brittany Martin, Los Angeles Magazine, 10 December 2018

        LA Metro CEO proposes free public transport for all in Los Angeles

        Last week, Metro CEO Phil Washington endorsed a bold proposal: implement congestion tolls on drivers to make public transportation free. If the proposal moves forward, it would fit into a number of projects Metro has in the works, which all aim to turn Los Angeles into a seamless public transportation utopia before the Olympics come to town…..

        http://farefreenz.blogspot.com/2018/12/la-metro-ceo-proposes-free-public.html

  9. SPC 9

    Yeah sure, there are road congestion constraints on the affording of transformation to where we would like to get to.

    1. We have the constraint of 30% of GDP as government spending Lanbour and Greens decided on in their pre-election agreement.

    2. the second contraint of the 20% debt to GDP by 2021/2022

    3. The constraint of no new revenue stream CGT.

    Thus we have slowed the journey down.

    And those on the right would add

    4. indexing tax thresholds, to reduce money for new (transformational) spending.

    It seems that conservative means reducing government capacity to change – based on a fear that any change involving more (capability of) provision to the public is bad for those who have more private resources than others.

    So while that attitude persists, government capability in health, education and state/social housing diminshes – as people (and councils) face rising insurance costs if they can afford property at all (from earthquake risk and flooding/coastal erosion).

  10. Marcus Morris 10

    Great piece by Simon Wilson in the Weekend Herald on lowering the accident rates on our road – https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12238283. There is a clear reference to Nationals Radio loudmouth Mike Hosking – wonder what RRM has to say about it – he will no doubt have a FB reference.

  11. Jenny - How to Get there? 11

    Auckland slowly, (and painfully), inches its way towards Free Public Transport III

    Auckland's free buses and trains has released a genie out of the bottle

    Todd Niall12:10, Dec 19 2018

    The biggest surprise was not that Aucklanders could ride public transport on Friday evening for free for the first time.

    The surprise was that the initiative will cost only $120,000 in lost fare revenue…..

    ….Fare-free public transport after 4pm on Friday wasn't even Auckland Transport's idea, but an optimistic lob from police……

    …..The question of whether this can become a benchmark against which other spending is measured is more intriguing.

    An annual programme of "First-Friday Free public transport afternoons" would cost around $1.5 million.

    That's not much more than was spent on two reports commissioned unilaterally by the mayor Phil Goff, and which now lie in filing cabinets.

    One, paid for by council-owned Ports of Auckland, didn't tell the story which Goff wanted, on the value of the vehicle import trade to Auckland.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/109460592/aucklands-free-buses-and-trains-has-released-a-genie-out-of-the-bottle?rm=m

    The decrease in road accidents is a social good. (which was the police motivation).

    Other social goods for fare free public transport that need to be explored:

    Decreasing traffic congestion during peak times.

    Decreasing air pollution

    Decreasing carbon emissions

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    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
    2 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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    3 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
    8 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
    10 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
    11 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
  • 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 ...
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  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
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