RIP KGD ONZ

Written By: - Date published: 3:37 pm, September 15th, 2022 - 47 comments
Categories: Unions, workers' rights - Tags:

Ken Douglas was a big man, in every sense of the word, and a great man, deeply involved in his community right through his life, from the Drivers’ Union to the Porirua City Council.

He was a thinker, a reader and a leader, fully engaged in some of the most important turning issues of our time. Strong support for Labour’s Fair Play legislation now is the best way to remember Ken.

In recent years he regularly attended the Fabian Society, always with a suggestion, a proposition, or an amusing anecdote. We will miss him.

47 comments on “RIP KGD ONZ ”

  1. Anne 2

    He warranted only a tiny item tucked in the top right hand corner of one of the middle pages of today's Herald. After all, he only championed the rights and needs of ordinary working people. Nothing to see there. (sarc)

    • James Thrace 2.1

      Correct me if I’m wrong but I understood that Douglas was a sell out at the time of the Employment Contracts Act 1991 in that he decided that the past of least resistance was the best choice, and that led to the destruction of working conditions. Much later, Bolger confirmed that if there was widespread pushback there was a softer version of the ECA ready to go. As far as I’m concerned, Douglas was a sellout and helped foster in the relative death of the union movement and the low wage economy.
      So no, I’m not sad to see Douglas gone.

      • Visubversa 2.1.1

        Is there a citation for that assertion James?

      • KJT 2.1.2

        I don't know if it was him, but the Trade Union leaders, which he was one at the time, pushed back strongly against the motions from the floor at many meetings, for a general strike against the ECA.

        Saying "Wait until it is in".

        I was at one, as were many people I know.

        After it was in, of course, the right to strike for matters outside of individual Union conditions at one employer, was gone. Too late!

        Always wondered if they were bought?

        • Craig H 2.1.2.1

          I know from discussions with others about that time that one of the real concerns was that the government would just outlaw unions entirely, and possible deregister all of them and seize their assets (something Muldoon used to threaten for individual unions that annoyed him).

          • KJT 2.1.2.1.1

            That was more of a concern after the ECA, with provisions to sue personally, Union Organisers and organisers of strikes. Anyone advocating a general strike could be prosecuted.

            Which meant waiting until after the ECA was made law, was too late for concerted action. A very poor decision, if not a betrayal. At the meeting was at, those advocating for a general strike, which were most of the floor, were threatened and shouted down, by the Union bosses in the top table.

            After the ECA, for example, the person who organised our industrial action against Brierley stealing our company super, was threatened with personal prosecution, fines and siezure of his personal property..

            By the way, I will also never forgive some Unions and their members, who gave the Union movement a bad name, and the opponents of Unions, way too much ammunition.

            Muldoon, if memory serves me correctly, did deregister the Boilermakers, if not others.

  2. McFlock 3

    I don't know much about him, and never met him.

    But he was about the first non-parliamentary NZ political type whose name I heard and remembered as I grew up. He always seemed to have something reasonable to say, and was usually on the morally-good side of any obvious line that was drawn on an issue.

    And people I knew (better people than me, politically and intellectually) would pause and have a think when they were reminded of his position on a matter. Regardless of whether they aligned with him afterwards, they'd have to have a think.

    He leaves big shoes to fill.

  3. Ad 4

    I've only been to one full-on union funeral and it was utterly epic.

    Hope Ken gets an epic sendoff.

  4. Johnr 5

    I have always thought that the difference tween nz and au wages and conditions is because au still has a functioning union movement.

    I would really like to know the real reason why Douglas sold the union movement out. It was certainly the beginning of the end for working people. Does the name Douglas have any relevance.

    In my eyes he was an utter disgrace to the wellbeing of working people and his passing should not be honored in any way.

    • Stuart Munro 5.1

      I have often wondered whether Douglas was a Trojan horse, crooked from the off, or merely obliged to reconsider by the collapse of the despotic soviet regime, to which he might have given far too much credit for philosophical leadership. It does seem that Labour went astray pretty much as the soviet empire crumbled.

      • Tiger Mountain 5.1.1

        The venerable political enquiry–“do they go bad or were they always bad…”

        The formation of the NZCTU was one of the most significant class errors of the late 20th century. The NZCTU under Douglas, Foulkes, and the rest pursued Tri Partism, i.e. partnership with employers–“positive engagement” with the very people that wanted to destroy unionism–was never going to happen!

        As a site delegate and union exec member at the time I was a fence sitter–it felt wrong, but sounded good, uniting the private and public sector unions. A union organiser mate of mine was always against on the basis of “unity at all costs…costs the working class”.

        And so it has turned out.

        The natzos were expecting national industrial action and could not believe their luck when it did not happen. The NZ working class has suffered from that first flush of the union busting ECA ever since. Membership plummeted in months as employers put the pressure on and organisers were denied access to members. Productivity and wages seriously parted company from 1991 if you look at Treasury graphs.

        It was not all down to Douglas though–there were plenty of other vacillating tops in the state sector unions and more right wing private sector unions that backed him, despite their members marching against the ECA. Mr Douglas apparently said 80% of member support was required for national action in 1991. A leader does not stand placidly by and bemoan the support level, they get out there and organise and fight and build it.

        I was on 1990/91 “Kill the Bill–ECB” marches and rallies and at the special affiliates meeting in Wellington where the sell out was narrowly endorsed by Union Secretaries. Mike Jackson and Bill Andersen from my then Union, the NDU, voted for a national stoppage. The vote should have been taken at mass meetings of members.

        I had the pleasure at Jim Knox’s memorial service in Auckland, to see ’51 Waterfront Lockout leader Jock Barnes lambast Douglas in the most excoriating manner for his class collaborationist behaviour. Some of the NZ Labour people praising Ken Douglas yesterday, could not handle Jock’s honesty on that day.

        Whatever good Ken might have done in earlier days in the Wellington Drivers Union and so on, was negated by his turning from marxism to Blairism basically, which he never had the courtesy to inform his SUP colleagues of. If he made a quiet contribution on his local Council good on him, but he was on a number of commercial Boards too.

        NZ workers need a class left fighting central labour organisation like the old FOL, a place that will encourage todays new gen workers to continue getting organised and robustly take on the employing class. Srikes in Auckland packaging the last several weeks, a nasty 6 week lockout of pulp and paper workers, pickets at Sky City and Union legal action against Uber on driver status show the boss never sleeps, so neither can the working class.

        • Stuart Munro 5.1.1.1

          Interesting – I had a little union involvement myself, through the Dunedin Deepwater Fisherman's Association. Unions had been explicitly banned in the fishing industry under Muldoon's wretched piece of urgency legislation, the fishing Industry Union Coverage ACT (1979) which they passed in response to the dispute over unloading the German research vessel Wesermunde in Bluff. That act goes a long way to explain the poor wages and conditions in the industry over the years – at least until the QMS decimated it.

        • yes Thanks Tiger Mountain.

        • PsyclingLeft.Always 5.1.1.3

          Ok Tiger Mountain. I read your comments (on other things too) with Interest. Always good to get a perspective from someone who was there !

          On similar…do you have any thoughts on Rob Campbell? TBH…I could never understand this :

          From picket line anarchist in the 1970s to chair of SkyCity today

          https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/13-03-2021/the-rob-campbell-paradox-corporate-juggernaut-with-working-class-heart

          If can thanks..allgood if not.

          • Tiger Mountain 5.1.1.3.1

            Rob was a charming, charismatic chap when I knew him in the late 70s to mid 80s. He was an academic that became a Researcher for the Wellington Drivers union for a bit and got attracted to the excitement of the working class cause–when Muldoon was at his peak (pique).

            He was part of the progressive “team” back then, commos and all, and was instrumental in the Distribution Workers Federation, an early attempt to unite logistics and retail workers nationally. A significant march or rally usually had Rob up in the front row in his leather jacket.

            Always remember attending a performance of Renee’s play on the ’51 Waterfront Lockout called “Pass it on” with Rob and Bill Andersen. At half time in the bar Rob said “I think they should go back to work” and I always thought he half meant it.

            He gave years of service to the union movement including negotiating key agreements etc. He did get frustrated with provincial unionists that were not into modern issues apart from battling the boss, but I really think it was his nasty run in with cancer that caused a personal reassessment of his life priorities. He chose to leave and enter the business world. He was seen around Devonport in an old Valiant and a bulging bank balance no doubt.

            Middle class people and Academics are well known in the working class movement for vacillating when the heat goes on, but Rob was just doing his own thing in my estimation. He has tried to make a comeback as various media pieces outline.

      • Tiger Mountain 5.1.2

        KGD was a big supporter of the ANZAC Frigate plan in 1988, which basically drove a great big old wedge into existing regional splits in the NZ Socialist Unity Party and hastened its demise.

        When the NZSUP was formally wound up there was a few grand ($40,000) left over which according to my two sources–a party member and a Wellington academic–was donated to NZ Labour.

        Does not answer your point Stuart conclusively but…

  5. Hmmm, John Minto says, Not a single fighting bone in his body when it was needed the most

    I know there will be some who say we shouldn’t speak ill of the dead and try to salvage something positive from his union work. Don’t bother. His betrayal of workers in 1991 was so dramatic and so stark that it eclipses anything else he ever did.

    Seems a bit harsh.

  6. He and Bill Birch did huge harm to Worker's hard fought for Rights.

    • Mike Smith 7.1

      It is a real pity that Ken Douglas’ life and contribution is reduced by some to a one-day caricature.

      Workers’ rights in New Zealand have always depended on the favour of the law, dating back to the 1894 arbitration and conciliation legislation. Ken Douglas was very aware of the fragility of unions in terms of being able to provide the widespread industrial and political organisation and action that would be needed for a general strike.

      I was working for the Engineers Union and a member of the Clerical Union when it went on strike in the 1980s, and the only people who took action were the union officials! The employers refused to bargain and Douglas and Rex Jones had to bail them out.

      He worked tirelessly in the 1980s to prepare unions for what he and others saw coming with a change in government. But he did not believe in pyrrhic victories, hence his call for 80% support in 1992 as referenced by others above. It wasn’t there.

      He wasn’t perfect but he packed a huge amount into a life working for the betterment of others, taking on some massive challenges along the way.

      • Visubversa 7.1.1

        You are quite right Mike. I was in the room at that CTU meeting – not representing a union but with another hat. There was not the widespread support needed for a general strike. Nobody "sold out" – everybody in that room wanted to do the best for the working people they represented – and that is what they tried hard to do. They had all been out canvassing their membership and they reported back what they found.

      • Tiger Mountain 7.1.2

        Your views are rather naive Mike. For example in South Auckland in the 70s and 80s strike action was a regular thing and many worksites, Engineers, Storeworkers and various other union members had a virtually permanent collection and donation regime going. Working class solidarity. Union strength delivered millions to families over many years via achieving and enforcing good agreements and conditions.

        Everyone has their personal favourites, those they hit it off with and those they do not, and fair enough, but lets be honest, most of KGD’s fans were South of the Waikato. I observed Ken close up at SUP party schools, internal meetings and in social settings and in repose, and in big meetings. He was a loud and blunt guy in style.

        Yes, he came up with plans for consolidating hundreds of small unions into 20 or so industry unions etc. which is still not a bad idea. Two would be good actually–Public and Private sectors. But promoting Tripartism in the peak neo lib 90s was a disastrous strategy, NZ employers wanted nothing less than the total de-recognition of unions which the ECA provided. We had to get the bloody ILO over here to do a special report on how bad it was.

        Be honest–he went from public communist to right social democrat, without informing the membership at large of the Socialist Unity Party while he was still in the party.

        • Mike Smith 7.1.2.1

          @ Tiger Mountain 7.1.2

          Naive am I? Possibly, but those strikes you mention in the 1970s and 1980s were only possible because the law allowed them. I was invited by Canadian Labour Council officials in the early 1990s to visit precisely to warn them of what happens when the law is changed so that employers are not required by law to negotiate. Unions then need strong powerful and widespread organisation, something not all recognised or realised.

      • swordfish 7.1.3

        yes Well said.

        Just to repeat my comment a day or two ago:

        Ken spent a great deal of his life fighting for the interests of working people in New Zealand, he was a leading figure in New Zealand industrial politics of the 70s & 80s … at the local level, he lived his politics by playing a central role in building the Titahi Bay community in which I grew up … in particular, a key figure in local rugby, golf, surf-lifesaving & rowing … and, of course, a local city councillor for several terms in later life.

        May well attend Ken’s funeral on Monday.

        • Tiger Mountain 7.1.3.1

          Good for you swordfish. It is fine to point out the good and ordinary stuff that well known people do. Ken’s colleague Bill Andersen, a friend, was similarly involved with Auck. City Newton Rugby League Club and many other community organisations.

      • Darien Fenton 7.1.4

        Totally agree Mike. This idea that a few days of action would have stopped the ECA and Bolger had a softer version ready to go is just nonsense. We would have to shut the country down for weeks to have any effect, and I don’t recall that being considered. National was the government. Bill Birch and the Employers Fed had the ECA ready to go when they were elected in 1990. There was a huge promise from National to their boss masters. Even if there was a "softer" version do people seriously think it would have been acceptable? The ideology of moving from compulsory unionism and national awards to individual contracts would not have changed because of the promise to the bosses and the National's election win. Blaming Ken Douglas for there not being a strike gets so tiresome. The CTU is made up of unions with their own rules and independence. Ken could never order a strike. My union supported a strike ; many other unions' leaders didn't because of the question around legal consequences (for one thing). I marched and I protested. And of course every worker paid the price for the ECA, but blaming Ken Douglas for a political hit job from Jim Bolger's government is shallow. The other question that is hardly ever considered is how the strength of the then union movement was based on compulsory unionism and state based awards. Both of these would have gone in any "softer version". We forgot how to organise and we've had to relearn that.

  7. Corey Humm 8

    He seemed like a nice enough guy

    However he and his peers cannot be forgiven for refusing to push back on the annihilation of workers rights and unionization in NZ by the Bolger government. It's utterly shameful. The one time the unions NEEDED to fight they didn't.

    They are directly responsible for the drop in living standards and wages and workers rights.

    Australias living standards are so much higher due to the unions of Australia, who are still powerful and fight like hell.

    Nz unions are as meek as mice and too often side with employers.

    This man and his peers are directly responsible for gen x, gen y and gen z having lower living standards than previous generations.

    I'm sure he was a great man, I'm sure most of the union leaders of the time were great people, but great people screw up and boy did they screw up.

    • Tiger Mountain 8.1

      What hat was that may we ask? I have been up front about my involvement as a supporter of a National Strike when an NDU Executive Member.

      Thousands of union members and supporters were on the streets in 1990/91 opposing the Employment Contracts Bill. Including Engineers Union, PSA and other State Sector unions and associations. Decisive positive leadership is what was lacking to defeat the Bill.

    • Craig H 8.2

      Muldoon used to threaten to outlaw unions that annoyed him, and one concern of the time was that the government would just outlaw unions entirely, and potentially seize their assets while they were at it.

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 8.2.1

        I have sometimes thought,reading about…and comments here on the Standard… was Muldoon the closest we got to a fascist leader ?

        • Stuart Munro 8.2.1.1

          He's a curious fellow, certainly he had the style of a dictator, but he had a better understanding of economics that any Gnat since. Moreover, he genuinely wanted NZ to uplift or develop – too many of his successors only want to sell off the pieces.

          • PsyclingLeft.Always 8.2.1.1.1

            Stuart Munro, yep Muldoon….Ive read a bit about him..and a strangely conflicted character for sure.
            (Drove him to drink….if not madness)

            Went to Italy WW2, fought against Musso….and came back thinking HE could get the trains running on time. All he had to do was….a LOT of bad things. But the trains !

        • hetzer 8.2.1.2

          Hmm well he had the folksy community, common man, socialist views of the Fascist, but not the green and nationalism and race views of the Fascist.

          • PsyclingLeft.Always 8.2.1.2.1

            lol..wtf are you on… about?

            • hetzer 8.2.1.2.1.1

              You posed the question about Muldoon possibly being our first Fascist leader. I replied with some thoughts on what he shared that philosophy and what he did not. Comprehension an issue?

              • PsyclingLeft.Always

                AH.."green", "socialist" =fascist.. I comprehend. You're a troll.

                Fuck. Off.

                • CrimzonGhost

                  Fascist/Nazi

                  =Nationalist Socialist

                  Green "Blood & Soil" …Vegetarianism/Veganism …many leaders were.

                  Italian Fascists & Fellow traveler Falangists in Spain, France, Lebanon etc weren't necessarily racist as for example in Spain they included Moroccans and Algerians and even Jews had a Falangist/Fascist organisation. Mssolini believed that it didn't matter whether Jew, Greek, Albanian in Italy etc as long as you served the collective Nation loyally.

                  Hetzer's not a troll, you're just a bit dumb.

                  • hetzer

                    Thank you Crimzon. I was going to reply to him, but its not my interest to teach him history, or that the abomination that was 30's Fascism was also the greenest of political philosophies.

  8. swordfish 9

    .

    Several media outlets over recent days have referred to Ken Douglas as 'Red Ken' … as if that were his widely-used nickname … but, like Karl du Fresne, I can't ever remember anyone in the media or elsewhere (even Muldoon) calling him that in the 70s or 80s.

    Could be wrong … it was a long time ago … but …

    Have journos managed to get the man mixed up with former London Mayor 'Red' Ken Livingstone ?

  9. Sanctuary 10

    The bottom line is we'll never know how a fight with Bolger's government would have panned out. Maybe it would have resulted an unlikely victory to rank with the Russia’s defeat at Kyiv. Or a defeat as abject as Scargill's miners. But the thing is "Red" Ken, and all his bombastic SUP mates who strutted around those days loudly calling each other comrade turned out to be stuffed shirts and defeatists who took counsel of their fears. History will record they were rewarded for taking the King's shilling with comfy sinecures and gongs.

    I am reading a lot of excuse making for Douglas here. Recollections of doubt, post facto self-justication manifested as scorn by insiders – the savvy "realists" in this drama – and people who only ever talk of their weaknesses. It seems to me to amount to a meta of a complete failure of leadership when it counted. An airline pilot can fly his aeroplane for thirty plus years with a stellar record of consciencious flying in service of his employer, but his career will only be assessed on the airmanship displayed during that fifty minutes he landed his damaged aircraft and saved 350 lives.

    Ken Douglas was the guy at the controls when the crisis struck, and he displayed awful airmanship and he crashed the aircraft. The rest counts for nothing.

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    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
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    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
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 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
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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  • Government lowering building costs
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
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    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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