Refreshing honesty from English

Written By: - Date published: 12:44 pm, January 13th, 2017 - 58 comments
Categories: bill english, International, spin, Spying - Tags: , , , , ,

Bill English yesterday – New Zealand faces ‘possible’ election hacking

US spies have found Russia ordered an ‘influence campaign’ during the US election, and President-elect Donald Trump has finally acknowledged Russia did hack Hillary Clinton’s campaign emails.

Mr English says our elections could be hacked as well.

“It’s possible I suppose – just why someone would want to interfere with our elections would be hard to imagine.”

Indeed.

However, Mr English doesn’t believe our involvement in this spying system makes us more vulnerable.

“I wouldn’t think so, no – it actually means we can work with others who can understand our systems and get the benefit of their expertise,” he says.

And Mr English doesn’t know if we face any specific danger from Russian spying.

“Look I really don’t know,” Mr English says.

“One of New Zealand’s benefits is because we’re a long way away and fairly small we don’t attract too much attention.”

A nice change from the Nats’ usual style of the big scary beat-up – who could forget the non-existant ‘Jihadi brides’ threat, and the ‘returning foreign fighters’ threat?

So let’s hear it for a bit of refreshing honesty. I guess there’s no need for all that domestic spying apparatus then?

58 comments on “Refreshing honesty from English ”

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  1. greywarshark 1
    13 January 2017 at 1:08 pm

    We need to attract attention to our country but the right sort of attention for us, not because of more political disasters and vicious and inhumane attacks.

    Maintaining the economy through continuing tourism and intriguing the world about our country’s products, and also the lasting effects of our efforts to produce a special culture that was humane and racially biased to getting on with each other.

    This is interesting – what art did for Bilbao’s (Spain) life.

    The Bilbao effect: How 20 years of Gehry’s Guggenheim transformed the city
    12 January 2017
    Twenty years ago, Bilbao was scarred by acts of terrorism and failing industry. The city decided to gamble on Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum. Not only did it help to save Bilbao, it also showed the world the transformative effect of art. WILLIAM COOK meets its director on its anniversary.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1HL3drXNNWQVq7tpC6pMRsJ/the-bilbao-effect-how-20-years-of-gehrys-guggenheim-transformed-the-city

    • Glenn 1.1
      13 January 2017 at 4:55 pm

      Bilbao Effect is working in New Plymouth with the opening of The Len Lye Centre. Fantastic way out building and unusual art from one of the masters. I don’t like the “art” and thought our council was nuts at the time it was suggested but it has certainly done wonders for New Plymouth tourism.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.2
      13 January 2017 at 5:28 pm

      We need to attract attention to our country

      Why?

      Maintaining the economy through continuing tourism and intriguing the world about our country’s products, and also the lasting effects of our efforts to produce a special culture that was humane and racially biased to getting on with each other.

      If you want the latter then you can’t do the former (ignoring the nonsensical construct of the latter part of the sentence).

      • greywarshark 1.2.1
        13 January 2017 at 5:55 pm

        Sorry DTB but you are so out of it. I have never heard anything from you that would produce any useful answer to our employment needs. Perhaps you could open a centre for the dissemination of left wing political thoughtfor international students.

        • Draco T Bastard 1.2.1.1
          13 January 2017 at 7:11 pm

          Ah, so, without being able to support your assertions you revert to ad hominem attacks.

          Got it.

          • greywarshark 1.2.1.1.1
            13 January 2017 at 9:23 pm

            DracoTB
            You spend all your time asserting your ideas and finding someone else’s authority to rely on.

            I actually spend time looking for something practical that can help now and prevent wipe-out in the future. And I look for others more informed than I am to see what ideas are being advanced.

            • Draco T Bastard 1.2.1.1.1.1
              14 January 2017 at 12:49 am

              You spend all your time asserting your ideas and finding someone else’s authority to rely on.

              No, I spend time looking at what’s happening in the world, thinking about it and then putting forward my ideas. I back those ideas with the research that I’ve found explaining how they interact.

              So, why do we need the world to notice us?
              Why do you think NZ can have a lot of tourism while maintaining our “special culture”?

  2. Clump_AKA Sam 2
    13 January 2017 at 1:50 pm

    Trump said words to the effect that there where 17 possible entities that hacked DNC servers and Russia was one of them. So every one does it, but it’s not election tampering, they just want to know who they will likely work with. We do it to, for Grossers bid to the UN (I believe happy to be corrected)

    So this is the pot calling the kettle black

    • aerobubble 2.1
      13 January 2017 at 2:27 pm

      Its not that Russia did or did not, its that Trump wants to get along with Russia, and Russia has a problem, well lots of them. Firstly the muslim percentage is rising… ..taking a chunk of Ukraine with the orthodoxy people… …also, the argument about NATO expansion has to seen in context that the internal borders of the USSR changed overtime during, so a rigged adherence to them two decades after they were set, when Russia was in no position to regard them properly.

      Russia aint the enemy, stupid Muslim dictators rigged aligned to fundamentalism, or worse, desperate to keep fundamentalists under control justifying their own existance and so keep fuelling a small fundamentalist fringe. aka Saudi

      • Clump_AKA Sam 2.1.1
        13 January 2017 at 2:37 pm

        What? No, I don’t even know where to start with this. Those points you raised are perfectly fine democratic behaviour ie Ukrian and Crimea voted for it, and Putin accepted that process. I see where your trying to go with a kind of imperial expansionist land grab. But the empires are being built in the digital real ie finance/fraud/and scandal which has nothing to do with ethnicity

        • greywarshark 2.1.1.1
          13 January 2017 at 5:58 pm

          Digital is world wide but we still live within geographical boundaries and nation concepts to which we adhere despite digital flashes attempting to break us into nothing units with almost subliminal messages that irritate our synapses more than they enrich our minds.

        • aerobubble 2.1.1.2
          17 January 2017 at 3:06 pm

          i disagree obviously. Isis, Syria, had all the hallmarks of the US, Russia, Turkey, EU working with events to maximize the destrucion of Islamic terror. aka fight Isis in Syria, Iraq, not more in the west. Russia is a western nation. Sure its militrary, secret services, civil elites chose Putin to lead, but is this any more oxymoronic than the US choosing Trump, or the UK choosing Thatcher all those years ago. The trends today require more than nanny liberal cum-bi-ar-isms.

          As for imperialism, the Russia interests in Crimea, and so eastern Ukraine cannot be imperial grab, since they were once two decades ago, part of the same entity. You are not suggesting if a surgeon reataches your leg that it wasn’t your leg?

  3. aerobubble 3
    13 January 2017 at 1:59 pm

    Talk about hysterical, Trump mania wall to wall, like it has anything to do with anything. Obama was checked by Congress, and Trump aint no Republician so Congress aint no friend.

    We’re part of a spying network coz its necessary for security to know whats going on. Its not like the grey power member who watches their neighbor twenty four seven and dobs their benefitary neighbor into rubbish control as they cleanup their yard to comply with the new fire law about to pass government and so have lots of rubbish bags, and no car or funds to pay for the refuse station charges. Govts have no infinite time resource like grey power members, aren’t demented in their adherance of local bylaws, and too authoritarian to have forgotten how civil society checks itself.

    Councils, like government have a duty of care to respect, not out of some do good sensiblitity, but because its the abuse of processes that threaten our way of life, wheather a grey power member, a terrorist, or whomever is dimminishing the collective peace. New fire rules will mean conscientious citizens with limited means will need extra temporary refuse options.

  4. Glenn 4
    13 January 2017 at 5:08 pm

    When the world goes to shit be it Climate Change or some other effect then I think “safe place” New Zealand situated bang in the middle of the goldilocks zone will be attracting unwanted attention from bigger States and greedy slimeballs. Not to mention masses of desperate people arriving at our borders.’ more than we could cope with.
    NZ should be planning for this possibility.

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1
      13 January 2017 at 5:30 pm

      +1

      • Rob 4.1.1
        13 January 2017 at 7:57 pm

        So whats that , bigger coastal defence, larger stock piles, greater survivalist skills, introduction of the home guard?

        Compulsary military training? What sort of planning are you wanting to undertake?

        • Clump_AKA Sam 4.1.1.1
          13 January 2017 at 8:29 pm

          I wonder what my great grandfather would say, probably you’re a dam fool

        • Glenn 4.1.1.2
          13 January 2017 at 8:30 pm

          As far as planning I have no idea, I guess that’s what the people we elect are supposed to do however on past and current performance good luck on that.

          We have too big a coast to defend and are to small to stop any bigger nation from making us a “protectorate”. We can’t “build a wall”.
          Perhaps we should declare neutrality while we are ahead. Fat lot of good that did Belgium (twice).

          Stuffed if I know what we can and could do.
          It would be nice to know that if and when the shit hits the fan our “peers” in government have a Plan A,B and C.

          • Rob 4.1.1.2.1
            13 January 2017 at 8:47 pm

            Well what about this Glenn, its risky and untried , but it might just protect our sweet assholes.

            How about we sign some agreements with some really big dudes who have some pretty serious kit. Maybe the US and Aus may be keen! I have an idea that if we do our little bit (as we don’t have too much to bring to the party , except some really solid people) they may help us out as well.

            I know, i know , its wacky and I’ll get flammed, but we could even call it ANZUS!

            • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.2.1.1
              13 January 2017 at 9:27 pm

              How about we sign some agreements with some really big dudes who have some pretty serious kit.

              How about we don’t?
              I like having our own independent foreign policy that’s not dependent upon kissing arse.

              I know, i know , its wacky and I’ll get flammed, but we could even call it ANZUS!

              And look where kissing arse got us before – into two world wars fighting on the other side of the world. Which meant that we couldn’t fight in our own backyard when we actually needed to. Never mind the pressure to invade innocent countries when one of those big boys decides that they don’t like the leader because he’s selling oil in Euros instead of US$.

              • Rob …
                13 January 2017 at 9:43 pm

                Ok , fair enough comment, so when did we need to fight in our backyard when we were unable to ?

                • Clump_AKA Sam …
                  13 January 2017 at 9:45 pm

                  Amateurs talk tactics, pros talk gear

                  • Rob …
                    13 January 2017 at 10:00 pm

                    Nice one Clump, thanks for your input on that one.

                  • exkiwiforces …
                    14 January 2017 at 12:10 am

                    Amateurs talk about kit and tactics and us pros talk logistics among other stuff.

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      14 January 2017 at 12:43 am

                      It’s the logistics that has me saying that we need to build up our manufacturing and resource extraction capabilities.

                    • Clump_AKA Sam …
                      14 January 2017 at 1:09 am

                      Well we and I mean New Zealand will have a kind of tariff put on us sone. What I mean is it will be cost effective to target some niche manufacturing products in fisher&pickle brown group (happy to be corrected as its there medical division) provide some subsidies in this sector along with ten others in the mechanical/fabrication/engineering sector, scale them up. These skills takes time to grow. These sectors don’t need a whole lot of land so water and carbon foot print can be shrunk so we won’t have to dig giant holes.

                      Considering the average wage is about $70k, and each skilled worker generates 3 times the average ($210k) with ten workers a piece, we could generate $21 million per annum of useful work, those sectors would be marked up on the retail end, raising the national average wage, that wouldn’t immediately be redeployed to produce commercial of the shelf & military off the shelf systems.

                      In New Zealand. It’s really important to choose your design team 1st. Far to often a buyer will assume he can fit a hundred units on a section, then the design team comes in and say, “sorry, you can only fit 40 units on that section.”

                • Draco T Bastard …
                  14 January 2017 at 12:42 am

                  WWII

                  We went to Europe and fought the Nazis rather than staying here and fighting the Japanese.

          • exkiwiforces 4.1.1.2.2
            13 January 2017 at 9:13 pm

            Glenn,

            New Zealand is easy to defend, it all comes down to money. What are you prepare to sacrifice for a strong Navy, Airforce , reintroduce Nation Serivce to bring back TF back to within 80 to 100% CE and those who refuse NS goes into Civil Defence. BTW, if that means New Zealand Scottish RNZAC is reformed i’m coming home.

            Finland, Sweden and Swiss are good examples for armed neutrality not those western Europe nations.

          • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.2.3
            13 January 2017 at 9:29 pm

            We have too big a coast to defend and are to small to stop any bigger nation from making us a “protectorate”. We can’t “build a wall”.

            We’ve already got one – the Pacific Ocean.

            Actually preventing anyone from landing is actually quite easy. If we built reasonable defence capability no one would be considering trying to invade us.

            • exkiwiforces 4.1.1.2.3.1
              14 January 2017 at 12:33 am

              Just need a strong Navy and Airforce to deny , delay aand defend the Air/ Sea gap. Reintroduce National Serivce to bring back the TF units back to within 80 to 100% of CE and those who refuse NS goes into Civil Defence.

        • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.3
          13 January 2017 at 9:37 pm

          A reasonable defence force capable of actually defending us against invasion.
          The manufacturing capability to support that.
          The extraction and processing industry to support that.

          Of course, that would mean developing the economy which all political parties seem to be against these days as they focus simply on producing more of what we already do for trade thus making us weak and vulnerable.

          • Clump_AKA Sam 4.1.1.3.1
            13 January 2017 at 9:41 pm

            Well said

          • Rob 4.1.1.3.2
            13 January 2017 at 9:58 pm

            Funny, I do know a little about manufacturing.

            One thing I have learnt is that to be pretty good at it you need to specialise in the particular industry , ie chopping and changing does not create great results.

            So I can only speculate that when you wrote that you require a manufacturing capability to support defence against invasion (your words), that means you would like to start building a NZ arms and munitions industry big enough to defend NZ against any threat.

            • Clump_AKA Sam 4.1.1.3.2.1
              13 January 2017 at 10:03 pm

              Where are you going to get the certified wielders? Korea/Germany/US/UK/NZ?

              • Rob …
                13 January 2017 at 10:08 pm

                You know Clump in a very small way (if you do think welding is the only issue in NZ manufacturing) you agree with the point.

                This is one of the reasons why we have engaged in international agreements for defence.

                • Clump_AKA Sam …
                  13 January 2017 at 10:14 pm

                  Quote from Draco “these days as they focus simply on producing more of what we already do for trade thus making us weak and vulnerable”

                  Before you continue, votedefence scheduled a boost of about 20 billion over the next 20-25 years. so it’s not worth exploring further.

                  • Rob …
                    13 January 2017 at 10:34 pm

                    Not too sure how I reply to that one Clump.

                    Just a kind suggestion in regards to your response.

                    Perhaps if you re-read it tomorrow morning, “before you get engaged in the weekend”, you may critically assess it as not your best work.

                  • Glenn …
                    13 January 2017 at 10:46 pm

                    Perhaps NZ needs to learn from Switzerland. They have mountains as a barrier. As Draco said, we have the Pacific (and Tasman).
                    Switzerland has a strong armed force and militia and makes much of it’s armaments..
                    Although whether it would work with our population who knows?

                    ” Switzerland has the second largest armed force per capita after the Israeli Defence Forces.[6]
                    Switzerland has long held a posture of neutrality regarding war and conflict. To maintain a strong defense, the Swiss instead focus on maintaining a strong well-regulated militia.
                    Gun ownership is high in Switzerland, at approximately .5 guns per person. About 30% of Swiss citizens own guns. Military issued firearms must be purchased from the government after service, and then the gun is converted to a non-assault weapon. Restrictions can be placed on both the firearm and its ammunition.
                    In Switzerland, you don’t need a permit for hunting weapons, but you do for other firearms and ammunition.
                    Every time you buy a non-hunting weapon you need to get a background check (you can get up to 3 guns at one time).”

                    http://factmyth.com/factoids/switzerland-requires-citizens-to-own-guns/

            • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.3.2.2
              14 January 2017 at 12:40 am

              One thing I have learnt is that to be pretty good at it you need to specialise in the particular industry

              For research many technologies cross many fields. The microwave came out of defence research for example.

              So I can only speculate that when you wrote that you require a manufacturing capability to support defence against invasion (your words), that means you would like to start building a NZ arms and munitions industry big enough to defend NZ against any threat.

              Yes but I think you’ll find that such industry is really quite small. I tend to think of a missile shield that can stop things getting close rather than dreadnoughts to go out and pound things so doesn’t require millions of people nor a vast array of weapons and weapons platforms. In other words, research and manufacturing within a very tight focus.

              You use welders as an example of where we don’t have enough of something but that’s not really a problem – if you have automated welders. I’m a great believer in researching and implementing more automation.

    • greywarshark 4.2
      13 January 2017 at 6:10 pm

      Glenn
      I read a short story about this scenario in the Listener in 1970s. Everyone in NZ had to live on hills so the flat could be farmed. Each country had its quotas of foreign people that had to be settled.

      Animals could not be farmed and the hero of the story got looks on the train because of him wearing an old sheepskin jacket. Even chooks were in short supply, meat of any kind was not allowed, and he had travelled a distance to a friend in the country and been given a secret, precious egg to transport home.

      • Rob 4.2.1
        13 January 2017 at 8:01 pm

        Reads like a communist wet dream, be careful, you may end up with some stuck down keys on your key board!

  5. Sacha 5
    13 January 2017 at 6:45 pm

    Russia would be spying on Fonterra here. That’s about it.

    • Rob 5.1
      13 January 2017 at 8:30 pm

      Well, obviously you are the spy expert Sacha, so you would you know!

      • Clump_AKA Sam 5.1.1
        13 January 2017 at 10:07 pm

        Because GCSB is spying on every one else

        • Rob 5.1.1.1
          13 January 2017 at 10:29 pm

          Sorry, I should rephrase my response.

          Obviously Sacha & Clump are experts in the world of spies, its also sits nicely alongside Clumps expertise in international certified welding.

  6. mosa 6
    13 January 2017 at 10:06 pm

    Bill English does refreshing honesty.. Yeah right !

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    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago

  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago

  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago

  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    1 week ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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