Stable government

Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, September 20th, 2010 - 44 comments
Categories: act, maori party, national - Tags:

Scanning the morning headlines and two caught my eye in The Herald. First:

Embattled Hide clings to leadership

Epsom MP Rodney Hide continues to cling to his leadership of embattled Act as a party insider and political opponents called for him to step down over his role in allegedly covering up MP David Garrett’s identity theft charges.

And second:

Harawira plans coup, warns Ngapuhi leader

Firebrand Maori Party MP Hone Harawira is considering a tilt at the party’s leadership over the foreshore and seabed legislation, claims Ngapuhi academic and leader David Rankin.

Both the Nats’ coalition partners are falling apart. John Key is failing to provide the stable government that New Zealanders require – and vote for. Time for John to start waking up every morning and doing the numbers…

44 comments on “Stable government ”

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  1. Carol 1
    20 September 2010 at 8:18 am

    I do think these shifts in the Nats partners in government could POTENTIALLY result in an unstable government. However, at the moment, the government still as the necessary support and stability.

    I see Dunne is hoping that the demise of ACT will mean a rise in suppport for United Future – according to Brent Edwards comment on Dunne’s statements on Mornign Report today (Dunne’s statement, not Edwards’ is here):

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/57277/national-will-want-act-saga-sorted-quickly-dunne

    Is he dreaming? But I can understand Dunne opportunitically stepping up to present him & his part as a reliable partner for the future.

    There’s a lot more to happen before the Key government is destabilised, much as I’d like to see that hapen as soon as….

  2. tc 2
    20 September 2010 at 8:49 am

    Wishful thinking maybe but as I see it, Hide and ACT are going nowhere till the stench of supercity pushes the nats into a decision one way or another.

    Sideshow needs his little monkey to keep grinding the organ so the likes of M.Fay and co can step behind the scenes and buy all the juicy public owned money spinning akl assets, leaving the nat’s an easy decision in the run up to election 2011.

  3. gobsmacked 3
    20 September 2010 at 9:24 am

    National have a wonderful relationship with the Maori Party. Everybody’s happy. What could possibly go wrong?

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/4144517/Act-opponents-expect-full-house

  4. pollywog 4
    20 September 2010 at 10:16 am

    Harawira plans coup, warns Ngapuhi leader

    Firebrand Maori Party MP Hone Harawira is considering a tilt at the party’s leadership over the foreshore and seabed legislation, claims Ngapuhi academic and leader David Rankin.

    Someone needs to call all the Maori MP’s together and explain to them how MMP works if you vote strategically, like how ACT did in Epsom to deliver more seats for the right

    Of course, if i got this wrong then someone needs to explain it to me too 🙂

    …but whatever

    If Hone and Parekura form a breakaway party. Do a deal with the Maori Party to not stand in the seats they hold and for them to do the same.They could hold their seats…no worries

    If they then took Shane Jones with them, convince Iwi leaders Forum to support them and put forward a candidate for list seats, on both parties, in exchange for cash and secure a high profile Pasifikan to campaign for them as well, in exchange for a list seat.

    Then both parties could campaign hard to give their party vote to the Maori party, or the new one, and convince voters to get more than a couple % and consequently more MP’s in parliament.

    No need to challenge for Maori party leadership. Hone gets to lead his own party and between them with more seats in coalition they could own either of the bigger parties.

    I reckon Pasifikans want another party option to vote for, in much the same way as the Maori party provided it for Maori, and i reckon they’d get in behind Hone if he got the right candidate and went after the young and old disillusioned Pasifika vote

    • Lanthanide 4.1
      20 September 2010 at 11:23 am

      While perfectly legal under the current framework, such a concerted effort at tactical voting to create a seriously overhung parliament in favour of a minority group would rightly anger the majority of the population and quickly lead to electoral reform, I think.

      captcha: manipulation (captcha system does it again!)

      • Bored 4.1.1
        20 September 2010 at 11:35 am

        All rather amusing seeing that the Nats will now have to front their extreme right wing minority positions themselves rather than through a proxy.

        As far as electoral reform goes I think it is more incumbent on the populace (electorate) to actually scrutinise the policies and promises of those they elect a little more rigorously rather than take a post event option of “electoral reform”. With regard to NACT the real agenda is now out in the open, if thats what the people want they will get re-elected.

      • prism 4.1.2
        20 September 2010 at 11:43 am

        Lanthanide – There is already an effort at reforming and taming MMP by the right which has learned to play with what we have now. Why shouldn’t the ‘brown faces’ that pollywog has written about do similar? The present parties are like pricked balloons and maybe some upward movement will be achieved with the new ideas that pollywog is floating.

        • Lanthanide 4.1.2.1
          20 September 2010 at 12:08 pm

          I think if the Maori party want electoral reform to the current system, it would be much more tasteful to the populace at large (and therefore more likely to stick) if they bring the idea through parliament, rather than exploiting the current rules to force the issue.

          I don’t particularly have a position one way or the other, I’m just pointing out that pollywog’s suggestion would likely make things worse in the medium-long term and create more division on this country than already exists.

          • pollywog 4.1.2.1.1
            20 September 2010 at 1:08 pm

            I don’t think Maori want electoral reform though and fuck parliament. They’ve been delivering ‘race’ based policies and shoring it up through the judiciary, to the populace at large, since day one.

            If what i suggest happened, it’d be to late to call for electoral reform ‘cos the power would have shifted into Pasifikan hands and theres no way we’d change it to suit others, just like successive eurocentric gov’ts have made nothing but token gestures to change the current system in our favour.

            Even now there’s gonna be big money spent on trying to change things back to the good ol’ days of, first boys club past the post runs the show.

            Sooner or later, Pasifikans inclusive of Maori are gonna wise up and start running things proper either this generation or the next…It’s inevitable

            we will assimilate you, resistance is futile 🙂

            • Loota 4.1.2.1.1.1
              20 September 2010 at 3:27 pm

              Now if you can get the South East Asian and East Asian vote on side, its all done and dusted…

              • pollywog …
                20 September 2010 at 4:05 pm

                heh…no sweat.

                They’re like long, lost distant cousins we haven’t had much to do with for a while.

                I figure we’ll cut ’em some sort of deal on fisheries, joint ventures on mussel farms that sort of thing, and they’ll be all chur…

            • Rex Widerstrom 4.1.2.1.1.2
              20 September 2010 at 6:09 pm

              we will assimilate you, resistance is futile

              Okay, I’ll surrender to a Pasifikan version of Seven of Nine.

              But I warn you… the assimilation probably won’t take first time and will need to be repeated. Regularly. And please, just ignore any strange sounds I may make.

      • pollywog 4.1.3
        20 September 2010 at 1:16 pm

        It’s no different to National putting up a patsy in Epsom and campaigning for ACT so they can pin more seats on Rodneys tail. If it’s within the rules then i say we go for it.

        Bill English has been claiming an out of town allowance for going on 15 years for living in his own house in Welli.

        And those in the know bought up gov’t guranteed bonds from a troubled finance company they knew was going under so they could pocket the interest.

        All legal, but morally repugnant.

    • Bored 4.2
      20 September 2010 at 11:42 am

      Under MMP a “Pasifikan” party might be a very appropriate option to a “Maori” only party. What worries me is that eventually with a “race” based party the exclusion of other races becomes a limiting burden. Sort of Catch 22, you have to stand united to get what you need but if you do so everyone else sees you as the enemy. No easy answers here except to stand strong in a broader coalition.

      • Lanthanide 4.2.1
        20 September 2010 at 12:11 pm

        I remember seeing lots of billboards around for Tito Phillip Field’s party before the 2008 election.

      • pollywog 4.2.2
        20 September 2010 at 12:57 pm

        It has to be based on culture and the values which underpin commonalities across differing ethnicities. I don’t even want to use the ‘R’ word.

        Back in the day, many an early whaler jumped ship, took up with a native wah, got moko’ed up and adopted Pasifikan culture.

        Thats how this would need to be pitched.

        By all means, never deny your ethnic origins, but choose which culture you primarily wish to identify with. For a lot of us, i reckon we’d choose Pasifikan, inclusive of Maori, based on values like respect, humility, compassion and honour rather than eurocentric capitalist consumerism and its greed based values.

        • Bored 4.2.2.1
          20 September 2010 at 2:18 pm

          Polly, Interestingly if we wait long enough the problems of ethnicity in NZ will get cured between the bed sheets and thats a long term wait…but the real issue as you point out includes any number of values which may or may not be attributed to ethnicity. The problem I see with a “race” based party that objects to “eurocentric” values etc is that it might polarise “eurocentrics” around a single party or coalition there of. Might not be very pretty, “rednecks incorporated” (was’nt that ACT)?

          • pollywog 4.2.2.1.1
            20 September 2010 at 4:41 pm

            We’ve been playing the long game since you fullas first turned up on our collective shores.

            The values i’m hoping people adopt aren’t so much ethnic based, as culturallly based, with the culture being native Pasifikan as opposed to transplanted Eurocentric capitalist.

            Its possible to continue cultural practises rooted in selfish capitalist tradition while espousing nobler values just as it was for us to value altruism while being cannibals.

            The forced assimilation of our highest ideals to breed lasting peace will take a generation or so to sort out and in the meantime, the redneck and savage instincts of both our cultures have to play out their respective roles.

            captcha : lifetime ( it’ll happen in mine for sure 🙂 )

    • Bill 4.3
      20 September 2010 at 1:07 pm

      The Maori Party splitting into its respective socio/economic left wing and socio/economic right wing would be good regardless.

      But to suggest that the two then do a deal to up the overall parliamentary presence of Maori (or more broadly, Pasifika) not only renders any split redundant, but makes as much sense as the Nats and Labour conniving to up the Pakeha presence or some such.

      Having said that, Shipley did once suggest that the Nats and Labour should form a ‘grand coalition’….and Goff is seemingly quite happy to hand complete control of NZ’s second largest city (and more) to a National member of parliament….

      …which all goes to interrupt my initial point which was to suggest that it would make more sense for a socio/economically left leaning Maori/Pasifika grouping to connive with a socio/economically left leaning Pakeha grouping.

      But now I’m not too sure insofar as it could be argued that there doesn’t appear to be any reasonably viable Pakeha dominated…or traditional if you prefer…socio/economic left any more.

      • pollywog 4.3.1
        20 September 2010 at 1:36 pm

        The Maori Party splitting…

        …to suggest that the two then do a deal to up the overall parliamentary presence of Maori (or more broadly, Pasifika) not only renders any split redundant

        Me thinks it would just be too easy for the eurocentrists to ‘divide and conquer’ if they didn’t cut a deal to watch each others back.

        By doing a deal based on ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’, would ensure they have a greater chance of educating Maori/Pasifika voters to cast their ballot strategically.

        It would definitely be a coming of age for Pasifika politics. A big move that requires big balls to make but now is the time to make it, otherwise it’ll be the same ‘ol same ‘ol voting for the status quo…i reckon

  5. burt 5
    20 September 2010 at 12:16 pm

    You are right rOb, time for a snap election.

    • r0b 5.1
      20 September 2010 at 12:34 pm

      No rush Burt, no rush. I think the electorate needs a bit longer contemplating the true nature of this government as the masks drop away and the greedy incompetent rabble is revealed.

      Must be a difficult time to be an ACToid though. Perk lusters, back stabbers and grave robbers. Nice party you support there Burt, very nice indeed.

      • burt 5.1.1
        20 September 2010 at 1:22 pm

        rOb

        Did you not see this:
        http://thestandard.org.nz/key-admits-mistake-tolley-and-groser-shuffled-out/#comment-186457

        I suspect you probably did but the same short memory that allows you to continue feeling proud of being a Labour supporter means you didn’t recall that I don’t support ACT at this time.

        Unlike some half thinkers, my support is based on what they do rather than the colour of their flag.

        • burt 5.1.1.1
          20 September 2010 at 1:51 pm

          God you’re a desperate muppet rOb. Having supported Helen using parliament to cancel a court case for herself it is no surprise you take any chance you can get to swipe at others. Grow up bully boy… I stopped supporting “my lot” when they turned out to be self serving muppets, you just dug yourself in deeper… You’re a blood lemming and a spiteful one at that.

      • r0b 5.1.2
        20 September 2010 at 1:47 pm

        Sorry Burt – the fact that you used to support these hypocritical lunatics, when it has been obvious to anyone with half a brain for many years that hypocritical lunatics is exactly what they are, does not speak well to your powers of perception or reason.

  6. Thomas Beagle 6
    20 September 2010 at 12:17 pm

    Just thinking about the subject on this post.

    Did anyone ever make jokes about Winston Peters delivering “stable government”?

    • mcflock 6.1
      20 September 2010 at 1:52 pm

      not so sure about Peters, but comments were made when Shipley fucked up the coalition so quickly after ousting Bolger.

  7. rich 7
    20 September 2010 at 12:27 pm

    Key wouldn’t need to worry if he lost the numbers. He could simply suspend Parliament and rule by edict using the Earthquake Act. That’s what Labour and the Greens voted for.

    • Lanthanide 7.1
      20 September 2010 at 12:30 pm

      That would guarantee they would not win the next election, which they don’t have the power to overturn. Then Labour could use the same earthquake provisions to undo everything National had done.

      Hopefully National will go down this path. No pain no gain.

  8. Jum 8
    20 September 2010 at 12:44 pm

    Found this on Dictionary.com (hope they don’t mind me quoting from them).

    If this doesn’t say it all about Act and the political disease that is NActMU…

    “jactation jak-TEY-shuhn, noun:
    1. A restless tossing of the body.
    2. Boasting; bragging.

    As Denis sat alone in the silent, cabined space of his compartment, tossed this way and that by the jactation, he felt suddenly that the grinding wheels of the train spoke to him.
    — A. J. Cronin, Hatter’s Castle

    There are crises of convulsions, violent shouting, loud weeping, violent jactation, fainting, and semi-coma.
    — William Gilman Thompson, The occupational diseases:

    their causation, symptoms, treatment and prevention
    Jactation derives from the Latin jactatare, “to throw.” “

    • mcflock 8.1
      20 September 2010 at 2:03 pm

      it also nicely verifies to myself as a Latin illiterate (illanguanite?) that Julius Caesar’s line upon crossing the Rubicon “Alea jacta est” is literally, not merely approximately or “in the spirit of” translated as “the die is cast”.

      Complete digression, of course. But I found it nice the way it fell into place.

  9. Scotty 9
    20 September 2010 at 5:04 pm

    “John Key is failing to provide the stable government that New Zealanders require”

    So Rob, you were equally disappointed at Helen Clark’s inability to provide stable government when the Alliance fell apart in 2001?

    • lprent 9.1
      20 September 2010 at 5:17 pm

      From memory it fell apart at the end of 2001. An early election was announced after the house came back in 2002 had a couple of months of problems and it became apparent that government was going to be unstable. Didn’t Labour increase their seats because they took the decisive action required?

      I wonder how long it will take John Key is going to realize that his house of cards is falling over? Just at present it looks like disintegration in Act and schism in the Maori Party.

  10. The Voice of Reason 10
    20 September 2010 at 6:57 pm

    I pondered the other day on whether Hide would take the party down if he was rolled as leader by resigning from Parliament and forcing a by-election in Epsom. An unlikely scenario, but mutually assured destruction would certainly be a useful bargaining posture for Hide in the upcoming Act leadership vote.

    Does anybody know the situation if Hide resigns the seat and National inevitably win the by-election? Do the other 4 Act MP’s limp on till the next election despite no longer having their mandate? Like a quartet of Alamein Kopu’s, with even less dignity?

  11. IanG 11
    20 September 2010 at 7:11 pm

    “Act Party debacle could hurt MMP, hopes Key” – slightly modified headline from NZ Herald

  12. IanG 12
    20 September 2010 at 7:13 pm

    Act Party debacle could hurt MMP, says (read “hopes” ) Key
    NZ herald headline

  13. grumpy 13
    20 September 2010 at 7:42 pm

    Still not too late for National to do a deal with ACT and abolish the Maori seats – end of Maori Party.

    Then, MMP gets chucked out in the referendum – end of Greens.

    As a tradeoff give ACT a couple of uncontested seats – stable government!

    • Armchair Critic 13.1
      20 September 2010 at 8:45 pm

      As a tradeoff give ACT a couple of uncontested seats – stable government!
      Stable government? Perhaps, but the horse would have bolted.

  14. Lanthanide 14
    20 September 2010 at 8:03 pm

    “Then, MMP gets chucked out in the referendum – end of Greens.”
    Yeah, that kind of requires the populace to agree to it. If NACT go ahead and abolish the Maori electorates, I don’t think the populace in general would be too keen to see MMP follow after.

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  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago

  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago

  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

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

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    7 days ago

  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    7 days ago

  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 week ago

  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

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

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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