Shearer Says

Written By: - Date published: 3:47 pm, November 2nd, 2012 - 81 comments
Categories: david shearer, labour - Tags:

People are a priority for Labour.

This week, I went on a bit of a road trip in the South Island.

It started on the West Coast, talking to Spring Creek miners and their families about the impact of job losses on their lives and their community. Their response was grim. Some may end up losing their home. They can’t find new jobs and are worried they’ll have to leave the Coast. They blame the Government and Solid Energy for making false promises about how secure their future was at the mine.

Their stories are heart-breaking and I really appreciate their willingness to share their personal fears with me. We’ll be bringing you more details about this soon. They need our support and Labour will stand alongside them.

The next stop was Christchurch where I met with principals from schools slated for closure and spoke to a rally of hundreds of concerned parents led by NZEI. What hurts the most is that the community is not being given a say in their own future. After all they’ve been through, they deserve better than that.

I also spent a day in Blenheim and heard concerns that what’s happening to education in Canterbury is just the beginning of an agenda that this Government will roll out nationwide.

The message I’m getting from communities as I travel around the country is that people aren’t a priority under this Government. We’ve seen new evidence of that with the decision to remove protections for low-income workers. Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act gives thousands of workers the right to keep their jobs and the same pay and conditions if the business they work for is sold. That’ll be gone under National.

National is driving down wages and taking this country into decline. I have a very different vision for NZ. We need to change. We need to build wealth on the back of innovation and hard work so everyone benefits. That’s the way of the future under Labour.

Warm regards,
David Shearer
Leader of the Labour Party

81 comments on “Shearer Says ”

  1. Peter 1

    “We need to build wealth on the back of innovation and hard work so everyone benefits. That’s the way of the future under Labour.”

    Yes, so we need to take an existing object, tack some other gizmo or widget onto it, and sell it as if it’s new. Growth can and must continue, as long as we will it to.

    That, and I hear there are large untapped resources of hopium to mine, perhaps on the West Coast.

    • Jim in Tokyo 1.1

      I would want to ask whether hopium is going to be as much of a priority going forward, but I can see a role for unobtanium in transforming our economy.

      Cheers, DS.

    • thatguynz 1.2

      In fairness I’ve shared your cynicism but just off the top of my head consider this… We export logs by the shipload so that they can be melded from the raw supply that they are, into something usable. How beneficial would it be for example if we actually did that transformation in NZ and then exported the finished product?

      It seems to me that we would win on a twofold basis. Firstly we wouldn’t need to import the finished widget that we had originally provided the (or some of) raw materials for, and secondly surely basic economics suggests that the finished goods fetch a higher export price..

      I pass the vast quantity of logs that we export on the Wellington docks on a regular basis and all I see is opportunity lost…

      • Jim in Tokyo 1.2.1

        I’ve had a coffee and a sleep in, cynicism has passed for now. You’re dead right about the wasted potential for our timber products, I’m on the same wavelength as a few others on here who think a massive boost in well designed state housing is the way to go. Prefab radiata frame, insulated with a wool and recycled plastic fleece, aluminium double glazed windows, follow the Germans and Scandinavians. Architecture and Design school at Vic Uni could have a world class modular snap together design done inside a year, and if you don’t believe me check out firstlighthouse.ac.nz. Be selective with who can exploit the IP. You could tick quite a few boxes with the one initiative, not to mention break that building materials cartel that Rod Oram fingered on Nat Rad in Tuesday when asked to explain our ridiculous house prices.

  2. Captain Nemo 2

    Lots of comments here not

  3. Colonial Viper 3

    Would Labour re-open the coal mine? Would Labour buy back Solid Energy? Would Labour increase coal exports to China? Would Labour make all mine workers and contractors union members? And a hundred other worthy energy and coal related questions which this soft email doesn’t seem to answer.

    • McFlock 3.1

      Hmm.
      Are you suggesting he write party policy on the spot?
           
      If there’s existing policy that could be validly mentioned there, I agree he should have done so. But I thought most democratic parties had policy determined by national councils or conventions, not arbitrarily made up on the hoof by pollys.

      • Colonial Viper 3.1.1

        Are you suggesting he write party policy on the spot?

        I’m suggesting that he take a clear stance. Not just write a travel diary.

        But I thought most democratic parties had policy determined by national councils or conventions, not arbitrarily made up on the hoof by pollys.

        Labour is as democratic as Singapore is. You know it and I know it.

        • McFlock 3.1.1.1

          fatty’s answer is more sane.

          • Colonial Viper 3.1.1.1.1

            Suggesting that Shearer, the Labour Leader, take a clear stance on something is not sane?

            INsane is seeing policy initiative after policy initiative put through conference and policy council, only for caucus to decide in the end that they want to do something almost completely, although usually not entirely, different.

            That’s the “democratic party” you and I are talking about here.

            Hence I thought Singapore was a very apt analogy. One where people can go put votes in a ballot box and everything.

            • McFlock 3.1.1.1.1.1

              Well, “clear stance” fails to address the “making up policy” issue. Fair call about caucus making policy (I’m not in Labour), but I still think Singapore is more hyperbolic and closer to an unprovoked Godwin than a relevant comment.

              So basically you through in one patially relevant statement and a lot of exaggeration. Well done.

              Fatty, otoh, addressed points I raised with a specific counter example, why it was a stupid incident, and more importantly specific avenues that would have been more beneficial to follow. A grounded and rational criticism.

      • fatty 3.1.2

        True…nobody is expecting policy, but he has to do much better than that.
        This is what Shearer has to say about the Chch schools:
        “What hurts the most is that the community is not being given a say in their own future.”

        What is the result of this lame statement?…
        National’s response is that they are involving the community through the consultation process. Look at the CBD plan for Chch – its ‘by the people, for the people’. National have been trumpeting the fact that they have involved the Chch community in the quake recovery. Chch has had a voice and will continue to shape their future.

        Now, we know that that is bollocks from National. We know that consultation means the people can have a moan and then National will close schools. We know that the CBD plan for Chch is by business, for big business.
        But Shearer does not create any debate here, his claims have already been shot down. Shearer is basically repeating what National have been saying about schools in Chch from the start.
        Shearer offers nothing again.

        • McFlock 3.1.2.1

          Actually, I agree to a certain extent.

          But I do like that he’s getting out and about around the country outside of an election year. And the fact that he’s letting people know what he’s up to.

          But fair enough, he could throw in some specifics about how labour policies would address the people’s worries that he mentioned.

          • Bob 3.1.2.1.1

            Have Labour released any solid policies since David Shearer became leader? Serious question, because I can’t recall having seen anything concrete in MSM (or on here), and I only ever visit party websites in election year to help me decide on where my vote will be going, but I don’t know if I would even bother looking at the Labour website at the moment because the last thing I want is for David ‘umm, ahh’ Shearer representing NZ on a global forum as PM. I would prefer to see Russel Norman, or dare I say it, Winston Peters as PM if they went into coalition (In case you cared, David Cunliffe would sit above both of these two, and Grant Robertson shouldn’t even be deputy leader in my opinion).

            I did see that David Shearer’s ‘Overseas Investment (Owning our Own Rural Land) Amendment Bill’ that he seemed to make up on the spot to capitilise on the Crafer Farm situation has now been pulled (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10791657), if this is anything to go by, definitely not a good idea for him to make up more policies on the spot, but at least some kind of stand on an issue would be welcome!

            I just read through this whole press release again, and at no point does he say anything Labour is going to do differently to National, is 11 months not enough time to come up with ONE key policy to start building from!

            Okay, rant over.

            • Colonial Viper 3.1.2.1.1.1

              Bob, please keep voting National.

              • Bob

                I have voted National twice, Greens twice, and NZ First once, I am not averse to voting for any party given they have what I deem to be sensible policy (in the NZ First vote case, there was no sensible alternative!). As it stands, Labour have produced nothing for swing voters like myself to vote for them, the fact that they are currently sitting around 30% in the polls should be something for them to be quite happy about, imagine where they could be if they actually took a firm stance on something!

  4. AmaKiwi 4

    Softly, softly. Don’t upset anyone.

    “What hurts the most is that the community is not being given a say in their own future. After all they’ve been through, they deserve better than that.”

    How about, “People have a right to democracy.”

    But he can’t say that because he doesn’t believe it. He became leader undemocratically, by overriding the party members. He is opposed to binding referendums.

    “We need to change. We need to build wealth on the back of innovation and hard work so everyone benefits.”

    No, we need wealth and income redistribution. But he can’t say that because he doesn’t believe it.

    Have to quit now. I’m about to vomit.

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1

      +1

      That’s the big problem with pretty much all political parties. They don’t believe in democracy and they don’t believe that wealth needs to be better distributed. And until they do we won’t get a better system.

      • blue leopard 4.1.1

        +1
        Distribution being the operative word.

        “We need to build wealth on the back of innovation and hard work so everyone benefits. That’s the way of the future under Labour.”~D Shearer

        This does not address one of the most pressing issues that NZ (and the rest of the Western nations face).

        We have been building wealth on the back of innovation and hard work; this wealth is not being distributed fairly. We can work as hard as we like and politicians can crack the whip like slave masters, yet unless this issue of distribution is addressed the large majority will not be reaping the benefits of such hard work and innovation.

        Incentive as well as fairness are major factors that this issue will improve when addressed.

        So get to it Labour.

        • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1

          Gonna have to do better than wealth redistribution. Because the same old shit head sociopaths are going to be back at it the next day trying to hoard it all for themselves once more.

          Need a system which keeps the control of that wealth fair and square in the hands and control of the community. Remember, the New Deal was merely 80 years ago. Savage was not even 80 years ago. Just 3 generations. And in 80 years those capitalist assholes have systematically weakened laws, weakened regulations, weakened democratic institutions, and taken back control of the game and of the wealth.

          A system has to be set up where not only wealth redistribution occurs, but this same old rort is never happening ever again.

          • McFlock 4.1.1.1.1

            So Labour should not only redesign out entire economic system in 3 years, but then replace democracy with a dictatorship of the proletariat?

            Shit, drop labour: go straight to the international socialists.

            • blue leopard 4.1.1.1.1.1

              McFlock,

              You exaggerate; addressing wealth redistribution issues is not redesigning the entire economic system; it is an integral issue that is required to be addressed for the current system we have to work.

              **Remember that one of capitalism’s weaknesses is that wealth tends to get concentrated in fewer and fewer hands.**

              • McFlock

                Ask CV what he meant then. It seemed to me they feel that Savage-Kirk didn’t go far enough.

                • Colonial Viper

                  Look around you mate. Much of what Savage envisioned lasted less than 3 generations. Much of what Kirk envisioned lasted less than 2.

                  Within 40 years, less than 2 generations, the US went from an expanding, better off middle class, to 46M on food stamps.

                  If we don’t learn better ways to make lasting changes to the political economy, all we are setting ourselves up for is a repeat of the above.

                  “All this has happened before, and will happen again.”

                  As Blue Leopard implied, you need to learn about the dynamics of capitalism in a deep fashion.

                • I thought CV was referring to wealth redistribution with added protections to ensure that the imbalances won’t just re-occur.

            • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1.1.2

              but then replace democracy with a dictatorship of the proletariat?

              A little nervous about ordinary workers and members of the underclass making decisions for themselves McFlock? As opposed to an elite class of highly educated petite bourgeoise like yourself?

              Don’t blame ya. They can’t really be trusted, can they.

              • McFlock

                Who do you think elected the tories? The 1%?

                The assumption that a majority will vote the way you want if you just explain to the people why your idea is the best is the ever-present liberal conceit, a peril we have to look out for in the same way that tories need to remember to look like they care about kids & puppies & shit so the affable mask doesn’t slip away.

                As individuals, most people are pretty good. But crowds and groups can become atavistic, impulse-driven animals at the drop of a hat. Oh, and I learned that lesson walking through puddles of piss and blood and puke trying to keep people safe – in the days when I wasn’t “petite bourgeoise” (if I am today).

                • Colonial Viper

                  And you wonder why they decide to stay at home and not vote for you any more.

                  • McFlock

                    vote for me? I work for a living.

                    Who elected Muldoon or Key? Everyday normal NZ workers, not the business roundtable. The same workers whom you think will infallibly maintain community ownership in perpetuity if they were placed in charge.

                    • McFlock,

                      I don’t think you are taking all the pressures on voters into account. Did you read Nicky Hagar’s speech? He addressed some of the issues of this matter very well.

                      “The art of political leadership should be about recognising and appealing to the best of people. The art of political management is often about appealing to the less worthy parts we all have.” ~From Hagar’s “Bruce Jesson Speech” [my emphasis]

                      I seriously think it needs to be taken into account that people’s lesser natures are being manipulated to the hilt by well resourced people for personal gain.

                    • McFlock

                      No.

                      People are either rational custodians of public assets in perpetuity, or they are vulnerable to base or vacuous manipulations. One excludes the other.

                    • People may be rational and vulnerable to manipulation.
                      And it may be some people are rational and some vulnerable to manipulation
                      and it may be we can be rational at different points of our lives and more vulnerable to manipulation at other times.

                      i.e I don’t accept your framing there McFlock

                      Please explain why so much is expended at election-time on advertising etc?
                      Please explain why something like 70% of New Zealanders are against asset sales and yet Nat could get 47% of the vote?(something like 47%)?

                      Both these questions address issues involved with people’s ability to be influenced.

                    • McFlock

                      My framing is simply to point out the naivety of CV’s line “A system has to be set up where not only wealth redistribution occurs, but this same old rort is never happening ever again.” (my emphasis). The only finality in history is humanity’s eventual extinction: the economic system will always change.

                      Just like people die, even good political systems end. But on the plus side the bad ones go, too.

                    • Yes, I question the bit about trying to protect something from ever happening again; I don’t think one can stop something changing (as can be seen by our government currently reversing legislation left right and centre), yet perhaps some attempt at protecting good policies (benefit public interest) would have merit, it could have the effect of slowing down negative (self-serving) moves.

                      lol re the plus side you mention!

                    • Colonial Viper

                      My framing is simply to point out the naivety of CV’s line

                      Fuck mate, you mean as opposed to the naivety of YOUR line i.e. support Labour because they are at least a tad bit better than National. And then having done that, in 3 or 6 years time the Blue Team will be in again wrecking havoc. How long lasting will your approach be McFlock? Not even 1/3 generation?

                      Look, if you guys have no idea how to Tory-Proof NZ society for the long term (a century or two, say), please just say so and ask, instead of assuming that it cannot be done.

                    • McFlock

                      My solution is to kick the pendulum left when it’s going left.

                      Your solution is to kick it so it stays on the right simply because the middle ground isn’t left enough to make you happy.

                      But please, give us your steps to prevent tories ever getting a majority again.

                    • Colonial Viper

                      Nah mate, you and your officers in Labour know best. You get it done. Just ignore the fact that everything you achieve will be undone within 6-12 years.

                    • McFlock

                      lol

                      so you’re pulling the “I know the answer I’m just not telling” gambit, eh?

                      And the thing I realy love is that I don’t even have an interest in who happens to be Labour leader, whereas you are adamant about which one would be better and what he should be doing. My interest is in the broader “left” and anti-neolib vote, which is progressing slowly but surely in our favour. And yet now you seem to think that I’m in Labour.

                      Here’s the thing – I’m happy for Labour to be the sponge filling on a leftist cake, with icing from Greens and Mana. But then someone like you comes along and says “ooh, I only want icing”, gorges themselves on it and then pukes up. At the moment you’re fucking up the cake more than Shearer’s bland icing ever will. Get over yourself and go Mana.

                    • Colonial Viper

                      so you’re pulling the “I know the answer I’m just not telling” gambit, eh?

                      uh, just look over my last thousand or so posts this year, I think you’ll see that I haven’t been holding out any secret formula on you mate.

                    • McFlock

                      Well, you’ve been pretty short on specific steps that will ensure that tories will never again be elected by a majority of voters.

                    • Colonial Viper

                      Well I only meant 100-150 years or so. OK “never” is a slight exaggeration, so sue me.

                      Plus I didn’t say anything about National not getting back in during that time.

                    • McFlock

                      So you want neolibs to be able to be elected, but not in any position to change anything substantial?
                             
                      Basically, it’s a security problem, but here’s the thing: one of the basic maxims of security is that “anybody can design a security system that they can’t compromise themselves. That doesn’t mean it’s a secure system”.
                             
                      The fact is that your claims to be able to prevent the neolib rort happening again (in any timescale) are utopian dreams that fail to account for human frailty. As such they are more dangerous than the neolibs themselves.

                    • Colonial Viper

                      Sure have it your way mate.

                      The neolibs have had it their way last 35 or so years, neo-feudalism is on the rise in Europe and the US, but whatever, I’ve nothing invested in this enterprise that I can’t walk away from.

                      The fact is that your claims to be able to prevent the neolib rort happening again (in any timescale) are utopian dreams that fail to account for human frailty.

                      Sure mate, because the Right Wing always claim that true and lasting egalitarianism and social equity is “utopian” and idealistic. Why even bother trying, they reckon. (Did you notice that the Tories always try and put in place systems which ensure deep seated, lasting inequity and social division? Of course, they are more far-sighted and generational in thinking than the average Lefty).

                      Best to go round and round with basically centrist political parties who want a bit more tax, a bit less tax; a bit more social spending, a bit less social spending; a bit larger government, a bit smaller government.

                      Somehow we’ll muddle our way along I suppose.

                    • McFlock

                      Yeah, right. Going for realistic objectives with no delusions about how long they might last is sooooo like saying we should do nothing because neolibs will win sometime in the future. 
                          
                      BTW, are you seriously suggesting that this government is thinking in the long term? I’d be surprised if they’re even thinking 5 years out.

            • thatguynz 4.1.1.1.1.3

              Fuck that. What CV was proposing as an end game has no relationship to either globalism (internationalism) nor socialism..

          • blue leopard 4.1.1.1.2

            Agree, yet better to keep it simple.

            Better to let their little anxious overly-lobbied-by-moneyed-interest minds focus on 2 words wealth distribution

            and once they finally get it into their thick little heads that we won’t stand for this issue being ignored; then we include the details….

            • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1.2.1

              In terms of political and public framing, that’s the way you would want to approach it.

  5. QoT 5

    Labour will stand alongside them.

    That’s the way of the future under Labour.

    Hate to be sounding like a broken record / duplicate CV’s comment above when it comes to these fluff pieces, but HOW, David? HOW???

  6. Dear Labour Party.

    I am observing a Government that is failing on huge areas of governance and what do I hear from you? Silence

    You cannot be silent on issues with the level of seriousness that are being imposed on NZers without sending a message that you condone the disrespectful way that New Zealanders are being treated by our current Government and that you plan to do much the same when you get into power again.

    1.Our Secret Service appears to be in a chaos

    2.There have been huge privacy issues in many important departments indicating that these departments are in chaos too.

    3.There has been an [unwidely reported] warning from the ombudsmans office that members of our Government are not relating with the OIA in a proper manner and intend to restrict the power of this very important act in order to protect moneyed interests over those of the public interests.

    4.There was a democratically elected body fired and not reinstated in the time that was promised and documents made available recently indicate clearly that the motivation for this was much the same as the previous point, money over any other important interest including democratic principles.

    5. Our country is clearly being readied for big money interests in the oil and mining areas; an area well known to be unpopular with the majority of New Zealanders.

    6 Wages and working conditions are being eroded for large swathes of NZers, there are job losses while welfare recipients are being pressured at a time when there are no new jobs on offer.

    To all of the above and plenty more all I hear are ministers in high office responding by making schoolboy-style remarks and stating clearly that its not their responsibility.

    This Government is ripe for criticism.

    And what do I hear from Labour?

    Jack shit.

    Why are you more interested in squabbling amongst yourselves than speaking out, as it is your duty to do while in opposition?

    That you are squandering your salaries on such self-serving trivialities while NZ burns makes you as bad as this Government.

    Cheers for taking the innumerable and very important matters being breached currently so very unseriously.

    I do so sincerely hope noone votes for you in next election.

  7. We need to build wealth on the back of innovation and hard work so everyone benefits.

    Is it just me or does that sound like nothing other than ‘trickle down’ theory?

    If it isn’t then there’s a step missing in there – somewhere between wealth being generated and everyone benefitting. 

    • Yes I had a similar reaction

      We have already been building wealth “on the back of innovation and hard work” and not everyone is benefitting; his comment doesn’t address the pressing issue of wealth distribution in this equation.

      (Made a similar comment at 4.1.1)

    • Draco T Bastard 7.2

      Is it just me or does that sound like nothing other than ‘trickle down’ theory?

      No, it’s not just you. All we’re getting from Labour is a promise of more of the same even though the whole damn lot has just proven itself a failure – again.

    • Olwyn 7.3

      In a nutshell Puddleglum; the trickle-down that dare not speak its name. It seems as if someone or other has decided that Labour needs to be “more modern” meaning “more right wing.” Except they don’t want to tell anyone. So we have a “leader” who lacks authority, supported by a front bench who have rank but no authority, giving speeches that sound like telemarketing spiels from an NGO employee.

      Where would you look to find out where authority lies in the Labour Party at present? You could be forgiven for thinking that it might lie with David Farrar or Matthew Hooton.

      And to McFlock: It is not exactly that Shearer fails to announce policy. It is more that everything he says comes across as duplicitous. And there is only a point in hoping that Labour will win the next election if we are assured that it is still meaningfully Labour.

      • Colonial Viper 7.3.1

        It seems as if someone or other has decided that Labour needs to be “more modern” meaning “more right wing.”

        It’s so sad, neoliberalism is just so 1980’s, and Labour hasn’t yet realised.

        • blue leopard 7.3.1.1

          Yeah, perhaps we should all go back to mullet hairstyles, hair-gel, shoulder-pads and fluoro apparel while we are at it; it could become our national costume. Kinda something like clowns wear.

    • xtasy 7.4

      “Wealth and innovation”, well sounds so nice, but how is it ever dealt with in Aotearoa?

      I remember a few geniuses featuring on headline news over the years, with innovative car batteries, with alternatively powered cars, flying engines and the works. Where does it ever end up though?

      Some overseas company, often larger corporations, come and make an offer that cannot be denied, sign a deal, pay the person off and take over the patent, copyright and whatever, and they make real, real big money out of it.

      It even happened with Kiwifruit, which was exported to flourish all over the globe, in Italy, Chile, South Africa and so on, to create real “lively” and “lovely” competition for local growers.

      That tends to be the end result of NZ innovation and investment.

      Now Haier is going to buy the majority and controlling stake in F + P too. So go on, Shearer and others, just more empty words and verbal diarrhea.

      What NZ needs is a solid government managed and initiated strategy, in cooperation with private enterprise that plays the game (for NZ and NZers), to invest, offer opportunities and develop, build and grow products here, to stay here, and if they are out-sourced, only to do so under majority NZ share-holder stake controls. All else will just be more sell-out, sell-off and NADA for NZ and the last that bother to stay here. I am afraid Shearer has NO plan, the in-fighting or internal competition for leadership, possies and so in Labour is sabotaging any progress, and it may be better to have a real revolution from the lower ranks within (young generation) to throw the old guard out once and for all, and to start afresh, by rediscovering their roots.

  8. irascible 8

    The best response to those who disparage the Labour Party and its leadership in their keen anticipation of keeping the current maladministration in power.

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/400335_10151139558706305_515801726_n.jpg

  9. tc 9

    Waffle, fluff and warn fuzzy nothings, no cut and thrust about as visionary as a bank ad.

    This is why the polls don’t see a credible alternative, convince the middle swingers DS not fulfill your obligation for emitting some empty rhetoric in an ‘e’ form to show your down with the kids.

    Oh and the kids turned off you awhile back, they’re looking for change not another tired looking trougher as you come across as Enthusiastic as a cow at the freezing works.

  10. Bill 10

    A backpacker passing through or the leader of a political party?

  11. PlanetOrphan 11

    Well David Shearer …..
    Everyone hears ya M8! …..
    If Opposition is all you’ve got, then how bout telling us idiots what we’re in for at least?
    We’d appreciate that, thanks M8!

    Yours Sincerely
    AnOrphan
    Aoteoroa, Hell

    • xtasy 11.1

      Thank you Orphan –

      Your words are so consoling.

      I know now: I am not alone in hell here.

      Thanks and keep it up!

      Maybe the sun will shine again upon us one day.

  12. Rhinocrates 12

    I’m reminded of organisations that have “People are our greatest asset” in their “Mission Statements”. It’s always bullshit that cops out of offering any substantial set of policies and is a sure sign that the organisation will treat its staff like shit.

    David Shearer has turned into a character out of Dilbert.

  13. WasLabour 13

    Just vote GREEN. The only true alternative.

    • Captain Nemo 13.1

      If the Greens were genuinely green I, and many I know, would vote for them, but sadly they are not green to the core

      • Colonial Viper 13.1.1

        And if you were genuinely a submarine captain I would vote for you.

      • felix 13.1.2

        What a load of bullshit Nemo. You’ll never vote for a truly environmental party because it is impossible for a truly environmental party to support or promote your greedy, selfish ideology.

        • weka 13.1.2.1

          And it’s impossible for a truly environmental party to tell the truth and get enough votes to have MPs.

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    Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    12 hours ago
  • Your mandate is imaginary
    This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    17 hours ago
  • 14,000 unemployed under National
    The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    20 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Discontent and gloom dominate NZ’s political mood
    Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    20 hours ago
  • Taking Tea with 42 & 38.
    National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    21 hours ago
  • Beware political propaganda: statistics are pointing to Grant Robertson never protecting “Lives an...
    Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”. As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    21 hours ago
  • Winding back the hands of history’s clock
    Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    22 hours ago
  • Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
     Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    22 hours ago
  • Business confidence sliding into winter of discontent
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the coalition’s awful, not good, very bad poll results
    Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
    1 day ago
  • New HOP readers for future payment options
    Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
    1 day ago
  • 2024 Reading Summary: April (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
    2 days ago
  • At a glance – Clearing up misconceptions regarding 'hide the decline'
    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 ...
    2 days ago
  • Road photos
    Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
    The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago
  • NZDF is still hostile to oversight
    Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Winding Back The Hands Of History’s Clock.
    Holding On To The Present: The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
    2 days ago
  • Sweet Moderation? What Christopher Luxon Could Learn From The Germans.
    Stuck In The Middle With You: As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
    2 days ago
  • A clear warning
    The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Poll results and Waitangi Tribunal report go unmentioned on the Beehive website – where racing tru...
    Buzz  from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example.  This shows National down ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Listening To The Traffic.
    It Takes A Train To Cry: Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
    2 days ago
  • Comity Be Damned! The State’s Legislative Arm Is Flexing Its Constitutional Muscles.
    Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
    2 days ago
  • Ending The Quest.
    Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
    2 days ago
  • Will political polarisation intensify to the point where ‘normal’ government becomes impossible,...
    Chris Trotter writes –  New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Tuesday, April 30
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:30am on Tuesday, May 30:Scoop: NZ 'close to the tipping point' of measles epidemic, health experts warn NZ Herald Benjamin PlummerHealth: 'Absurd and totally unacceptable': Man has to wait a year for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Worst poll result for a new Government in MMP history
    Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Pinning down climate change's role in extreme weather
    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
    2 days ago
  • Serving at Seymour's pleasure.
    Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Webworm LA Pop-Up
    Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • “Feel good” school is out
    Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 6 Months in, surely our Report Card is “Ignored all warnings: recommend dismissal ASAP”?
    Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic plan, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy. Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    3 days ago
  • Bread, and how it gets buttered
    Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Justice for Gaza?
    The New York Times reports that the International Criminal Court is about to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over their genocide in Gaza: Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • If there has been any fiddling with Pharmac’s funding, we can count on Paula to figure out the fis...
    Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • FastTrackWatch – The case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Monday, April 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Iran killing its rappers, and searching for the invisible Dr. Reti
    span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
    3 days ago
  • Auckland Rail Electrification 10 years old
    Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
    3 days ago
  • Coalition's dirge of austerity and uncertainty is driving the economy into a deeper recession
    Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Disability Funding or Tax Cuts.
    You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Of the Goodness of Tolkien’s Eru
    April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
    3 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
    4 days ago
  • Pastor Who Abused People, Blames People
    Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
    The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Winston remembers Gettysburg.
    Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • 25
    She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8.  The universe was ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Fact Brief – Is Antarctica gaining land ice?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
    5 days ago
  • Policing protests.
    Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
    Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: FastTrackWatch – The Case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago
  • Luxon gets out his butcher’s knife – briefly
    Peter Dunne writes –  The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • More tax for less
    Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Real News vs Fake News.
    We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Another way to roll
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Simon Clark: The climate lies you'll hear this year
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
    5 days ago
  • Cutting the Public Service
    It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s demoted ministers might take comfort from the British politician who bounced back after th...
    Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:  we live in a troubled ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • This is how I roll over
    1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Waitangi Tribunal is not “a roving Commission”…
    …it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition   NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes –  The High Court ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Is Oranga Tamariki guilty of neglect?
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same? Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Three Strikes saw lower reoffending
    David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s ruthless show of strength is perfect for our angry era
    Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • 'Lacks attention to detail and is creating double-standards.'
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • One Night Only!
    Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • What did Melissa Lee do?
    It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2024
    Open access notables Ice acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment: In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
    7 days ago
  • Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Wa...
    Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • Who’s Going Up The Media Mountain?
    Mr Bombastic: Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
    7 days ago
  • “That's how I roll”
    It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • “Comity” versus the rule of law
    In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Streamlining Building Consent Changes
    The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says.      “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
    New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
    Good evening –   Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • Accelerating airport security lines
    From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Community hui to talk about kina barrens
    People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
    Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Mining resurgence a welcome sign
    There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
    The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government to boost public EV charging network
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure.  The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Residential Property Managers Bill to not progress
    The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Independent review into disability support services
    The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Justice Minister updates UN on law & order plan
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