Sport, politics and equality

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, December 6th, 2017 - 88 comments
Categories: gender, sport - Tags: , , , , ,

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Ok, so I know I’m rather late to the party on this but I figured that equality is timeless and it would be a pity to resist using this bully pulpit I have access to now as a vehicle to advance my pet topics.

So here goes.

Back in October, Grant Robertson copped a little bit of flak for suggesting that the world champion Black Ferns should be paid more to recognise the fact that women are people too. It set off a chorus of predictable enough responses.

In my favourite sport, [real] football, this is a debate that has been super topical this year and one I have taken a keen interest in – as everyone who loves their sport should.

In February our women’s national team captain, Abby Erceg, announced she was retiring from international football in protest at the way women are treated by our national governing body – New Zealand Football.

Her main concern was that top female athletes were being brought into a simulated professional environment, known as the Football Ferns Development Programme, without being compensated at all outside of periodic national team camps. This was leading to intense financial struggles for players due to the time commitment involved and the difficulty of getting a real job that fitted the schedule.

Unlike most domestic female players, most male players at the highest tier clubs we have in this country are getting paid, despite their amateur status and despite the fact that very few of them are anywhere near international standard given our top male players are either playing in the Australian league or plying their trade professionally overseas.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Football Ferns are ranked in the world’s top 20, while the All Whites are currently ranked outside the top 120. The Ferns are regularly going to World Cups whereas the All Whites haven’t been since 2010, and yet anecdotally the men’s national team budget is many times that of the women’s.

I blogged on this at the time of Erceg’s retirement here, here and here, and debated the issue with a lot of otherwise good football people at the time.

In response, a lot of people took great pains to argue that if women don’t draw enough spectators, attract enough sponsors and most depressingly of all spend enough money over the bar at their local clubs then they don’t deserve the same respect as men. This seems to me a flat out refusal to see the sport as a whole rather than standalone men’s and women’s games. The two can and should cross-subsidise each other.

And popularity is a vicious cycle. Women’s football was effectively banned until 1971 and with little done to promote the game since then, inequalities have only been perpetuated.

When you look at a sport like tennis, where the women’s game often attracts higher TV ratings than the men and the major tournaments all offer equal prize money, there is a model that should have been emulated. Like women’s tennis, which has more finesse than the bash smash bash of the men, women’s football is arguably more entertaining to watch than the male equivalent.

Women tend to keep the ball on the deck more and there is no diving and no histrionics when refereeing calls go the wrong way. But unfortunately progress is held back by the men in charge. Men like Sepp Blatter, whose suggestion for improving the marketing of the women’s game was that they should wear tighter shorts.

But then, when all of the above is thrashed out, the goalposts eventually shift again to “LOOK, women are just different – OK? It’s nature!”

At the end of the day, the rebuttals are all just excuses and I suspect the real crux is that people perceive the pie as finite and so any increase in funding for women will take money away from men.

And one of the big obstacles is that in sports like football, decisions are overwhelmingly made by men. I was staggered to attend a meeting I was invited to at New Zealand Football HQ early this year, which was specifically called to discuss the implementation of the aforementioned Football Ferns Development Programme, only to find there was not a single woman in the room.

And I doubt football is the only sport where that would happen.

A lot of male sports administrators are well meaning, great people, who give a lot of their own time to sport for no financial reward and they are more often than not staunch supporters of women in sport in a lot of ways.

But the bottom line is women will never get a fair go in sport until they are meaningfully involved in decisions that affect them.

So I think there is a place for government intervention here.

I am not necessarily suggesting that the Black Ferns should be paid the same as the All Blacks, but in most sports the gap needs to be smaller than it is. Abby Erceg wasn’t asking for equality with the men’s professional game – that’s not possible when for example French club PSG paid an amount equivalent to the GDP of an actual country (Palau) for a player (Neymar) in the last transfer window. The appropriateness of THAT is another issue.

All Abby really wanted was a little bit more support so young Football Ferns wouldn’t run out of petrol on the way to training. For that, she got labelled as greedy and ungrateful. That’s the scale of the problem.

And if the sports’ governing bodies won’t at least try to close the gap a little bit then maybe they shouldn’t get any public funding until they do.

There have been some promising developments since Erceg’s shock retirement. The most exciting of which is the players’ union – the NZ Professional Footballers’ Association – raising an equal rights claim in collective bargaining that is supported by our best male players and will be a world first if implemented.

But in the meantime, thank you Grant Robertson for saying what you said and please keep on it.

88 comments on “Sport, politics and equality ”

  1. One Anonymous Bloke 1

    [real] football

    Don’t kick it, pass it.

    The Black Ferns winning percentage is 88%. The All Blacks, 77%.

    Don’t ask about pay though.

    • Morrissey 1.1

      Don’t kick it, pass it.

      ???????

      What a ridiculous statement.

      In rugby football, kicking is the primary skill. If you don’t believe in kicking the ball, follow American football, where hardly anyone is allowed to even TOUCH the ball, leave alone kick it.

      • tracey 1.1.1

        Pretty sure OAB is alluding to the Ad a few years ago for rugby which had people calling “kick it dont pass it” and others saying

        “Pass it dont kick it”

      • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.2

        *whoosh*

        What Tracey said. And the fact that in soccer (as distinct from footy), passing is kicking.

        • Morrissey 1.1.2.1

          Idiot, it’s rugby football. Only imbeciles say “footy.” And in rugby as in soccer, kicking is the ONLY way to pass the ball forward.

          So it’s not only politics: you don’t have a clue about football either, it seems.

  2. Zorb6 2

    Don’t know much about Soccer, but alot of your conclusions are very debateable.Womens Tennis having more ‘finesse’?You do realise that men play the best of 5 sets,yet women only the best of 3.It is commonly accepted that any man ranked in the top 500 would beat the top woman player in the world.Professional sport relies on sponsership,sponsership relies on viable returns.Returning to the amateur days,where the ‘love of the game’ and the satisfaction of participating were the motivators ,well,not going to happen.

    • Enzo 2.1

      You lost me at “Soccer”. 😉

      • Professor Longhair 2.1.1

        Soccer is not the [real] football, as you so arrogantly decree, it’s one of the several kinds of football that grew out of the unruly mob football games of the eighteenth and ninetheenth centuries.

      • Marcus Morris 2.1.2

        Me too

    • One Anonymous Bloke 2.2

      men play the best of 5 sets, yet women only the best of 3

      Yeah, because women have much less stamina than men.

      No, wait…

      Not sure what the connection between viable returns and the topic is. I’m sure you had something in mind though.

      • Zorb6 2.2.1

        Heres a hint about ‘viable returns’-pay.As for your reference to stamina,you don’t appear to have made any relevant point at all.

        • weka 2.2.1.1

          tbf, you didn’t make a point about finesse either, and instead compared implied stamina.

          • Zorb6 2.2.1.1.1

            to be even fairer,the onus on making a case for ‘finesse’,falls to Enzo.

            • Enzo 2.2.1.1.1.1

              I guess it’s subjective. I prefer to watch longer rallies and feel there is more finesse in that than a million mile an hour serve either blocked back for a smash or smashed back for a winner repeat ad infinitum. But it’s not really a crucial pillar of my argument. It’s just one aspect that might explain why women’s tennis is so marketable.

              • Tracey

                50% of most cricket or rugby audiences in NZ are women. Marketing to that audience is as profitable as focusing only on the men. A trick is being mixed.

                But mostly we need a couple of decades of women being valued as athletes to see if once that happens audiences increase.

                That Val Adams and Lydia Ko had to be far far better than any male counterpart before them before getting sponsorship and accolades speak volumes.

              • Morrissey

                You claim that men’s tennis does not have long rallies and finesse? That’s a statement almost as ridiculous, and almost as arrogant, as your refusal to accept the popular term “soccer”.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 2.2.1.2

          The point is that if tennis matches were all ten sets long the men might struggle to beat the women, if ultra-marathons are anything to go by.

          Here’s a hint about pay: equal pay legislation.

          • Zorb6 2.2.1.2.1

            When you introduce ‘if’ and ‘might’ into a discussion of this nature you know you are on shaky ground.

            • Tracey 2.2.1.2.1.1

              And how does it change your argument that only the grand slams do men play 5 sets at other tournaments only 3 and yet those tournaments pay men more than women for 3?

              • Zorb6

                It doesn’t change it.I believe the men deserve more.

                • tracey

                  Obviously but you used this as a reason you believe men deserve more and your premise was wrong.

                  • Zorb6

                    Not at all.If you look at what I said you will know that my ‘premise’ is that the skill level of men is way,way better,than that of women.

                    • tracey

                      I did look at what you said. One of which is

                      ” You do realise that men play the best of 5 sets,yet women only the best of 3″
                      And I pointed out your factual error. Why not just admit you were wrong on that point?

                      A forehand well executed is a well executed skill. You are confusing power with skill.

                      A woman who plays a technically lerfect cover drive in cricket or overhead smash in tennis is as skilled as the male who executes it the same. One may hit the ball harder but that is not related to skill.

                    • Zorb6

                      Staying with your argument about skill and execution.If a ‘well executed’ serve of 30 k.p.h is easily returned as opposed to a serve of 100k.p.h which is not, do you seriously contend that the skill levels are equal?

                    • Tracey

                      Yes, as I answered you elsewhere. You and I are now just repeating ourselves.

                • Cinny

                  The men have had more for eons, meanwhile woman grow and nurture the next male inside their bellies, while putting their lives on hold, unselfishly.

                  What was your point again zorb, about stamina and men deserving more?

                  Go and put your life on hold zorb and grow a child and then tell me who deserves more.

                  • Zorb6

                    Nature ‘wired’ men and women,that way.Most people accept and understand that,apart from a few who retain ‘penis envy’ throughout their entire life.

                    • Cinny

                      Are you saying that females who ask for equal pay/recognition have penis envy? ROFL LMFAO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                      That’s like saying that men who are against gender equality have vaginal fear.

                    • Zorb6

                      What I said is quite clear ands needs no translation.

                    • Cinny

                      I know and I still can’t stop laughing re penis envy, because it’s the typical come back when a man has run out of excuses.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      a few who retain ‘penis envy’ throughout their entire life.

                      That sounds terrible. Will you be ok?

            • Tracey 2.2.1.2.1.2

              You realise when you make inacurate comments to support a view you are on shakey ground?

              “You do realise that men play the best of 5 sets,yet women only the best of 3”

              Only in 4 grand slams and 1 masters tournament…

              • Zorb6

                So what.Heres something for you.Men in sport do not get equal pay-i.e Kieran Reid earns more than Liam Squire,Shaun Johnson earns more than Ken Maumalo and so on.

              • Zorb6

                You are picking part of what I said in isolation to attempt to dilute my premise.’is commonly accepted that any man ranked in the top 500 would beat the top woman player in the world.’

                • tracey

                  If that is your sole reasoning then there is no point discussing this with you further because you do notunderstand the difference between skill and power

                  • Zorb6

                    ‘ because you do understand the difference between skill and power’.Too funny,I hope its not because I don’t have a vagina.

                    • tracey

                      No. It is because you are struggling to intellectually grasp the difference between “skill” and “power”.

                      Serena Williams might not beat the male world 200 because he outpowers her, it will not be because he has superior skill.

                    • Tricledrown

                      But your a twat with a 1950’s attitude.

              • Marcus Morris

                With you totally Tracey. I enjoy watching the game of either sex with equal enthusiasm. At the Grand Slams is there any differential between prize money for men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles? Just asking.

      • Tracey 2.2.2

        Thats why men carry babies… oh wait.

    • red-blooded 2.3

      “Returning to the amateur days,where the ‘love of the game’ and the satisfaction of participating were the motivators ,well,not going to happen.”

      …and yet that’s what you seem to be defending as the model for women’s football..?

      • tracey 2.3.1

        In addition until they got Gold medals most of our Olympic successes came from unpaid athletes. It is only in the last 15 years or so that financial support has resulted in winning a gold medal. Spirts are constantly in a precarious position regarding funding. Men and women. Even in some sports where there is apparently low interest in watching, the men get higher financial allocation than their female counterparts.

        Sport NZ has evened this up in recent years.

        But the attitude of many running our sports, charged with fostering sport for women and girls is still that of Zorb6. Fortunately the numbers are decreasing but there are still quite a few in the power corridors of sport in NZ

    • tracey 2.4

      Only in the 4 majors and maybe one masters tournament…

      Golf? Prizemoney is WAY lower but they play 18 holes and over 4 days…

    • mauī 2.5

      Professional sport relies on sponsership,sponsership relies on viable returns.

      Valerie Adams, Sarah Walker, Sarah Ulmer, Barbara Kendall, Irene van Dyk.

      Some examples of women who I think are much more marketable than many of their male counterparts. Providing more of a viable return to sponsors than men.

      • Tricledrown 2.5.1

        Zorb a the creep.Women only play 3 sets because men make the rules yet women can run marathons super marathon across death valley.
        Women are still portrayed as delicate and the weaker gender in many sports but in sports where women are given the same opportunity it shows this is pure mysoginy.
        Many NZ women have proven this myth wrong time and time again.

        • Zorb6 2.5.1.1

          Well peed your own pants,what evidence can you provide to back up your opinions that only men make the rules and also overturn the fact that men are as a rule physically stronger then women?

          • Tracey 2.5.1.1.1

            Is that why care workers were poorly paid? Cos tgey are weaker than men? How DO they lift and turn the male patients?

          • Tricledrown 2.5.1.1.2

            So it must be a surprise that Beatrice Feaumina was able to bench press more than any All black .
            You would not say that to any of my children wife or grandchildren.
            or my niece who played soccer association football in a boys team of 17 years old at 13 years old.
            My daughters were stronger than all the boys in their cohorts.
            Better as sports as well.

            • tracey 2.5.1.1.2.1

              He is confusing power with skill. Your comment will add to that confusion.

              • Zorb6

                The only one confused is Tracey-‘Staying with your argument about skill and execution.If a ‘well executed’ serve of 30 k.p.h is easily returned as opposed to a serve of 100k.p.h which is not, do you seriously contend that the skill levels are equal?’

                • tracey

                  Yes. The difference is power not the technical execution of the shot. Which is why men play men and women play women. Because the power advantage overrides any ability to technically execute the skill.

                  Am boarding a plane now. The circles are making me dizzy. You too I suspect.

                  • Zorb6

                    I suggest you buy a birch twig and beat yourself with that.Try just lightly at first, to get your’ technique’ right.

                    • You_Fool

                      I think Tai Chi might prove you wrong… power != technique.

                      If it helps you, most sports people (professional, serious or casual) will practice actions slowly at first then build up power. This is because the technique is the same whether you do something at 10% power or 100% power. It is easier to see where you went wrong at low power, but doesn’t mean that the 100% power means higher technique. I mean, Roger Federer hits his warm up serves not at full power for a reason right? Or is he less skillful during warm-up somehow?

                      So yes, the 30km/hr serve is just as skillful as the same serve at 100 km/hr as the technique to hit them is the same.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      power != technique.

                      Well if you want to get technical, power = speed + timing + technique.

                    • Tracey

                      Agree You Fool.

            • Zorb6 2.5.1.1.2.2

              Exceptions to the rule are certainly no surprise to me.

    • You do realise that men play the best of 5 sets,yet women only the best of 3.

      So, what you’re saying is that, in the same amount of time, people watching women’s tennis would get better value?

      • Zorb6 2.6.1

        No I’m not saying that at all.If you knew anything about tennis you would realise that a set takes how ever much time…it takes.

        • tracey 2.6.1.1

          And if you knew more about tennis you would know men only play 5 sets in the grand slams (4) and 1 other tournament which refutes your position that male tennis players get paid more cos they play 5 sets to womens 3.

  3. savenz 3

    It seems unbelievable that female players are not being paid the same as men in this day and age!

    Of course female players should be paid the same equivalent as men if male players are getting paid, despite their amateur status.

    Good luck with the equal rights claim – I’m sure it will be successful!

    • DoublePlusGood 3.1

      The women’s football team are highly ranked internationally and expected to be of professional standard. If NZF wants that to continue, they need to pay their players as pros.

      The same goes for the Black Ferns, although there isn’t professional women’s rugby yet.

      The White Ferns went backwards because NZ Cricket was far too slow to make them professional. Given that there are professional leagues overseas, not having the domestic leagues at least be semi-pro dooms NZC to having a small pool of elite players that sustain themselves by overseas contracts instead of the larger pool of pro players that other Australia, England and others have.

      • tracey 3.1.1

        And therein lies the rub. NZF ZNR AND NZC dont want them to continue and no amount of words from them overrides their actions or inactions

  4. Stephen Doyle 4

    The majority of male sports revenue comes from TV ratings. My guess is that until women’s’ sport rates as well, there will always be an excuse not to pay them equally. Having said that , it behooves the various sports governing bodies to find alternative was to fund women’s sports adequately.

    • tracey 4.1

      Interesting. When TVNZ had rugby and cricket they justified not covering minor sports cos they said people werent interested. Yet when they lost those sports to SKY they took on basketball and hockey to name 2 (and in NZ they were minor sports and the NBA was not yet big here) and hey presto people watched.

      It is dangerous to conflate “I am not interested in watching that” with “most people do not want to watch it”.

      Most of SKYs revenue used to come from subscriptions not advertising and yet…

  5. tracey 5

    Many of our most successful athletes through our history have been amateur.

    A study in the 80s show NZ produced more female workd champions and olympic and commonwealth medals than men and did it on substantially less funding. IF NZs high performance focus is on producing winners it would have, following that study piled suppirt into women athletes to extend/expand the trend.

    In the 1990s Sport NZ ( Hillary Commission as it was then) push mens and womens sports to amalgamate. With almost no exceptions the administration and decision making of womens sport was made by men in these new amalgamated Associations.

    Cricket is an example of where this form of chauvinism has almost killed the game. A report by Sarah Beaman documented this neglect. Note the the White Ferns have won a world cup. The Black Caps have not. Between now and the next World Cup in 3 years from Feb 2018 NZC has provided the white ferns with only 18 One Day Internationals. The men will probably play that many before the end of April 2018!

    Under Chris Doug Test cricket was halted for our women. Every other nation plays womens test cricket including nations who did not have a womens team when NZC canned it here. Pakistan and Sri Lanka come into that category.

    The Aussies have sailed past us in womens cricket from pay to televising to female commentators.

    TVNZ employed a female commentator the last 18 months it had cricket rights. When SKY took over that commentator applied to SKY to continue. Letters and phone calls were not returned.

    NZR needed the black ferns to get 7s accepted as a commonwealth sport and Olympic sport. It did pour money in BUT it cut womens provincial 15 competition and the team suffered in tge 15s for some years.

    The Maori, 7s, Juniors are all now called All Blacks. The women are not.

    Men routinely coach women but if a woman seeks to coach men suddenly the dressing room becomes a focus of comment. This was highlighted in tge 90s when a woman applied to coach the Auckland Cricket Team (men).

    Netball already has male umpures at international level. I believe they were selected when the silver ferns played england and australia this year?

    This is a problem that goes well beyond money. It is about the value we place on womens high level participation. Sure it gets disguised by various arguments, strength, ability, desire to officiate, administer, be on a Board but those are all smokescreens put up by people who lack the courage to say they think womens sports is lesser, nothing more than a sideshow to “real” sport.

    • savenz 5.1

      +100 – totally agree in particular ” This is a problem that goes well beyond money. It is about the value we place on womens high level participation. ”

      Maybe the answer is to go back to mens and womens being separated again and giving them the same amount of funding.

      At the same time put a quota on equal gender sports time on NZ taxpayer funded media.

      • tracey 5.1.1

        Savenz

        That is a very interesting idea.

      • Antoine 5.1.2

        The gender equality in taxpayer funded media idea is intriguing.

        (But how much sport is actually watched on public television these days?)

        • Tracey 5.1.2.1

          SKY is dying. Or dead but doesnt know it yet. What replaces it remains to be seen.

          In Oz certain sports events have to be free to air. They passed a law.

    • adam 5.2

      Have to say the Aussies are kicking us to death with women’s sport. Like you said, women’s cricket is watched, by even the most conservative.

      http://www.cricket.com.au/teams/Southern%20Stars/KOd9yvUE8EK_NXjRgeG1Pw

      The winter code over there is AFL or aussie rules, they launched a women’s competition nationally last year. They got a wage increase before they start again this year. Yes a pay rise, whilst here they argue a professional rugby game will kill the women’s game.

      http://www.afl.com.au/womens

      They even listened to the women in charge and did not race to expand the competition. Instead they are committed to build up the skill base going forward, and slowly expand the game to get the best competition. The downside in NZ is I had to watch the replays online – I’ll get one game live on AFL web site.

      That said, I’ll be supporting Purple again. http://www.fremantlefc.com.au/afl-womens

  6. Pete 6

    Some think womens sports is lesser, nothing more than a sideshow to “real” sport.

    Like some think some sports are lesser, nothing more than a sideshow to “real” sports.

    The discussion in recent months about equality prompted some increased coverage of female rugby. In doing that the inequality of coverage of sports was highlighted. The criticism simply saw more coverage of rugby. (I am a rugby person.)

    • Tricledrown 6.1

      Golf has embraced the Women’s game and marketed it to the point where it pays very well.
      It’s should be more sports take a leaf or 2 out of sports but where women are treated equally.

  7. Bill 7

    The commercialisation and corporatisation of sport was such a good idea.

    Sportspeople have been reduced to the role of mere marketing tools meant to entice punters…the shiny wrapping, the bauble or tinsel that pulls people in, and rather crucially, pulls cash out.

    I guess sport really was once about sportspeople/teams and fans – as opposed to being about products and consumers. But that was back when sport was embedded in communities and belonged to those communities; was an expression of community spirit wrapped up in pride (and sometimes) genuine philanthropy.

    Long gone.

    If business gets a better financial return from its sale pitch of “these” sportspeople than it does from “those” sportspeople, or from “this” sport as opposed to “that” sport, then the laws of financial return determine where the money and highest incomes will be found.

    • Tracey 7.1

      The inventor of the modern olympics excluding tradespeople and women.

      Ancient greeks put money into training up athletes and land and money were rewards for winning.

    • Tricledrown 7.2

      Bill if I could turn back time reality is that everything is commercialized these days.
      That’s the reality.

  8. Aaron 8

    I’ve got two daughters who play soccer/football and I can assure everyone that sexist attitudes exist from the top all the way down through coaches to the little boys who play soccer treat girls with dismissive attitudes.

    To be clear, I’m not criticising little boys here – in fact their natural honesty helps us see what their father’s attitudes are.

    In some ways this will be a difficult one to fix because sexist attitudes are endemic but hidden – but on the other hand at the junior club I’m involved in we increased our percentage of girls from 10% to 40% in the space of 5 years.

    It came about simply because a couple of fathers started to treat the girls like they mattered and the popularity just exploded amongst the girls in our area. They absolutely love playing soccer but had always been put off by the treatment they received. Now we have older girls who play and they inspire the younger girls – and the sport has very quickly become a commonly accepted option for girls around here.

    To summarise: as soon as we removed the oppressive sexism the (real) natural order quickly asserted itself.

  9. Antoine 9

    The Govt should set the rules of the game, not run onto the pitch and intervene.

    Put good pay equity legislation in place, then sportswomen can negotiate or go to court to get more pay equity. Just as in any other profession.

    A.

    • tracey 9.1

      All Sports Orgs in NZ get full or part funding from Sport NZ through lottery funding. In the 1990s a women in sport group asked the Sport NZ equivalent to tie funding to orgs to gender equity requirements.

      They decided to do it through education and coaxing…

      Nearly 30 years later…

      • Antoine 9.1.1

        I see, so the Govt should be involved in its role as the funder.

        So like for instance the NZRU… do you think it would be better for:
        (a) the Govt to direct Sport NZ to make funding conditional on NZRU putting in place some form of gender equity, or
        (b) female rugby players to take the NZRU to court to get better pay?

        I suppose ‘both’ is an option.

        A.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 9.2

      The government has set the rules of the game already.

      I suspect this is why our football team with the best winning percentage (see comment 1) is an amateur outfit: if they were employed by the NZRFU equal pay legislation would apply.

      • Antoine 9.2.1

        Oh I see, the Black Ferns are amateur! That does rather cut down on the scope for equal pay claims in court!

        (Sorry, should have read your link at #1)

        A.

  10. David Mac 10

    I ‘m reluctant to say I’d watch more women’s soccer if they wore tight skimpy shorts, but I would. When did it become wrong to feel that there is nothing more beautiful than the female form? Sorry girls, I’d be lying to express otherwise.

    Stand 2 Ferraris belly to belly, it’s Venus de Milo without arm stubs. We love the female form, I’m growing a bit tired of not feeling comfortable in saying so.

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    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    7 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    21 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    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
    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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Funding hole for tax cuts growing by the day
    The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s brave climate change promise
    The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles  and that ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days 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
    3 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
    5 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
    5 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
    19 hours 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
    23 hours 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
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  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
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