Thankfully, the election isn’t tomorrow

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 11:05 am, February 19th, 2009 - 148 comments
Categories: john key, national, polls - Tags:

When John Key and Pita Sharples were jostled by two Maori men opposed to the National-Maori Party alliance, the thing that stuck in my mind was Key’s smile. Like Donald Trump’s hair, it was back in place immediately, covering whatever lies underneath.

That smile, and the intensive, expensive, extensive image management it represents, are the most powerful force in New Zealand politics today. Of course it is an image fundamentally divorced from reality – an image of a government that cares about the ‘underclass’ when, in fact it has risen taxes on the poor and taken away their work rights; an image of a government that cares about the environment when it has actually cancelled the ETS, is holding a select committee to question whether climate change is real and is moving to block environmentalists opposing development under the RMA; an image of a government tackling the recession when it has done nothing of any significance, just a slight reshuffling of spending that Labour had budgeted before the recession; an image of a conservative party that has learnt to not be anti-Maori when Maori are those who suffer most from the Fire at Will law, the low and middle income tax hikes, the RMA reforms, the abuses of human rights in its law reforms; and an image of a government that is bringing a ‘new age of accountabilty’ but has abused Urgency, cancelled Question Time, and voted for laws that violate human rights.

You’ve got to respect a PR operation that can turn a broken arm into a bigger story than the removal of the work rights of a hundred thousand New Zealanders. You’ve got to acknowledge the skill of a PR operation that can entrall the media, and the people, so completely and translate that into such impressive poll results (Roy Morgan: 48%, TV3: 60%).

Of course, we’ve seen huge popularity evaporate before (Bush once polled at 90%). I remain fundamentally convinced that governing is about more than smiles; ultimately, image can’t work forever. But, by God, it’s working now.

For the Left, well, we can at least be glad the next election isn’t tomorrow. 🙂

We’ve got nearly three years. Three years that will expose the hollowness of Key and National, and their inability to deal with the crises we face. And three years in which the Left, in particular Labour, needs to build a compelling narrative, one of positive, real change.

148 comments on “Thankfully, the election isn’t tomorrow ”

Comments are now closed

Tim Ellis 1

19 February 2009 at 11:15 am

Quite apart from the diatribe of your rhetoric SP, it’s good that you’ve provided a forum to discuss this. It doesn’t seem to me that Labour have a clue where to go. In Parliament, they are obsessed with such trivialities as how much money senior ministerial staff are being paid, what constitutes a quantified or unquantified fiscal risk in the Crown accounts, and whether Ryall was justified in sacking the ODHB chair.

I think Phil Goff will be hounded out of his leadership by the “Mr 3.7%” label, for the same reason that Bill English was hounded out of his leadership after getting 22% in the polls. Labour doesn’t seem to have any traction. I’ve been quite impressed with Cindy Adern and Phil Twyford, who seem to be knuckling down and getting on with it, but the old guard are floundering. Any hope of recovering within three years is in my view completely irrational.
Steve Pierson 2

19 February 2009 at 11:24 am

Goff’s here to stay. It’s perfectly understandable that his poll rating is low right now.

And you might argue those are trivial issues but they are just the most trivial examples you could find, in fact most of what Labour has been talking about have been important issues. they do need to learn to ask their questions better, though. And, given the issues National used to talk about in question time, I think it’s a bit rich to be attacking Labour.

Who calls Jacinda ‘Cindy’? Met her a number of times, never heard Cindy.
Pat 3

19 February 2009 at 11:31 am

What most NZers are discovering, despite the best leftist spin merchants, is that there is no wolf in sheeps clothing. Instead of decades of rapid left and right wing ideologies, we finally have a Prime Minister guided by common sense.

And those middle NZers, the productive, law-abiding, caring Kiwis now have a sense that their Prime Minister represents them. And middle NZ decide elections.
Steve Pierson 4

19 February 2009 at 11:34 am

Yeah, and I’m confident that in three years middle NZ will look at their do-nothing PM who passed laws favouring the rich and powerful and shuffled the cards while the recession rolled and say ‘that smile’s attraction has faded, time for competent government’
Kevin Welsh 5

19 February 2009 at 11:46 am

When most peoples idea of being current with politics begins and ends with a Duncan Garner soundbite, is it any wonder NACT and Key are polling as high as they are?

Considering the worst is yet to come, I think that behind the smiles they are quietly shitting their pants.
Brett Dale 6

19 February 2009 at 11:55 am

Key and Sharples were jostled by a man who opposed their alliance????

Is that what the left calls assault?

I can imagine what you would be saying about kiwiblog, if someone assaulted Aunty Helen, and kiwiblog wrote what you just wrote.
tsmithfield 7

19 February 2009 at 11:55 am

Perhaps the popularity is something to do with National moving as quickly as possible to keep their election promises; something voters aren’t accustomed to..
@ work 8

19 February 2009 at 11:58 am

Labour needs some better PR operators. National are massively abusing parliamentary process, trampling the BORA, and seem to have no concept of political independance. Any kiwiblogger will retort that “labour did it first”(which in most cases is questionable at best), if that makes it ok, you have to question whether it was really wrong for labour to do it in the first place (If they did it at all that is). National are getting a free ride on way way to many scandals, its just not on.
Brett Dale 9

19 February 2009 at 12:05 pm

National are passing laws, something they were voted into do.
Daveski 10

19 February 2009 at 12:21 pm

Fundamentally, SP, you simply can’t admit when you are wrong.

EFA – wrong
Nats and Maori – wrong
Cuts to wages – wrong

Moreover, for a supposed Greens supporter, your slant surprises me. Surely, given everything that you’ve said in the past, now is the perfect opportunity for the Greens to grow their support at the expense of Labour and become the defacto left opposition. From your position, this should be a celebration, not a funeral.

Sadly, the hollowness being exposed is from the left who can’t see how the world has changed. Moreover, the born to rule mentality now fairly sits with the left who still refuse to accept the election result and the changes since, as evidenced by this and other posts here.

I’m genuinely concerned that what was an open-minded forum that encouraged robust debate based on issues and analysis has become (or perhaps more kindly is becoming) a rabid left equivalent of KB where it’s spin, fixed positions, and denigration and abuse of whatever doesn’t fit your fixed views. Prove me wrong
Ari 11

19 February 2009 at 12:23 pm

National are passing laws, something they were voted into do.

Funny how they’re breaking all of their “conduct” promises to be a more efficient, consultative, more supportive of free speech, and less arrogant government.

Not to mention that Paula Bennet is over-managing MSD- National seems to be unclear on the difference between ministers and chief executives, meddling in departmental affairs directly instead of setting directives and policy.

No wonder the party and its ministries are leaking like sieves.
Ari 12

19 February 2009 at 12:31 pm

Fundamentally, SP, you simply can’t admit when you are wrong.

EFA – wrong
Nats and Maori – wrong
Cuts to wages – wrong

The EFA wasn’t wrong, it was just unclear, overcomplicated, and didn’t set the caps right. (Not to mention that it was too friendly to anonymous donations)

I’ll give you that he was wrong on Nats and Maori working together, but then again I was against him on that too 😉 I have to agree with SP though that the Maori Party is getting a pretty terrible deal so for. Where’s the co-operation? The only good thing thus far has been the whole Maori flag issue, and while it’s a nice symbol, it’s also probably pretty irrelevant for many Maori.

Cuts to wages- The minimum wage has pretty much stayed the same, (keeping in mind inflation and increased costs) true, but instead laws are much more friendly to employers and landlords, who already had a lot of power in their respective relationships. So instead of a paycut, National have exposed employees and tenants to potential abuse by their employers and landlords. Yay.
vinsin 13

19 February 2009 at 12:35 pm

@Work i totally agree with you, Labour do need some better Pr operators; however it’s certainly not time to panic yet, there’s still another 800 odd days for Labour to get a strong message out there.

I think the brand new smell of the current government is starting to fade, i’ve read articles on the herald by Fran and Armstrong that have actually surprised me in terms of how critical they were of the governments stimulus package and i imagine other journos will follow suit on a myriad of issues in the near future. There are a few possibilities i see happening in the coming years that fill me with glee: a smiling Key saying, ‘we’ll have a look at it,’ then not doing anything, the lunatic fringe of National’s party support realizing Key is fairly centrist and moving further right – just look over at kiwiblog, if you dare, to see the shock at Key dancing at the big gay out – and last but not least the Maori vote coming back to Labour after the Maori Party sells their supporters down the river to hold together a government.

Indeed it’s very lucky the election isn’t tomorrow.
Kerry 14

19 February 2009 at 12:42 pm

SP:- from your mouth to gods ears.
Daniel 15

19 February 2009 at 12:46 pm

New Zealanders seem spellbound by Key’s money and business success. That poll is scary. I suspect Key could do just about anything he wanted with New Zealand and the public would be ok with it. As a country we are very naive.
Brett Dale 16

19 February 2009 at 12:48 pm

Well the public seem to like what they are doing, they have the highest poll numbers in history.
Felix 17

19 February 2009 at 1:10 pm

Brett I used to think you were a bit thick but I’m starting to wonder if you’ve just been taking the piss all along.
Brett Dale 18

19 February 2009 at 1:18 pm

You dont agree?
bobo 19

19 February 2009 at 1:23 pm

Poll ratings can drop as fast as they rise, I suspect alot of Labour voters wouldn’t be bothered with answering a phone poll so soon after a loss.
Felix 20

19 February 2009 at 1:24 pm

I’m referring generally to your ability to wildly miss the point of a discussion in a way that seems humanly impossible. In this instance I don’t think you’ve even read the post.
Brett Dale 21

19 February 2009 at 1:27 pm

By missing the point you really mean, I disagree with your point of view.
Felix 22

19 February 2009 at 1:34 pm

No Brett, I mean you’re too thick to follow a discussion.

Like here for example where you’ve been arguing since 10.45 this morning against what you think you have.
northpaw 23

19 February 2009 at 1:41 pm

Brett Dale,

Civil question.. you wrote National are passing laws.. this appears to me as ‘National’ the absolute. Is this meant, if not what is ‘national’ to you?
Matthew Pilott 24

19 February 2009 at 1:42 pm

I’m genuinely concerned that what was an open-minded forum that encouraged robust debate based on issues and analysis has become (or perhaps more kindly is becoming) a rabid left equivalent of KB where it’s spin, fixed positions, and denigration and abuse of whatever doesn’t fit your fixed views. Prove me wrong

Prove yourself right first!
Brett Dale 25

19 February 2009 at 1:47 pm

northpaw:

A party that gets things done, you may not agree with the laws they are passing, but they are working.

Kinda like here at the local level, for too long we had do nothing Garry Moore as our mayor, now we have Bob Parker who is actually working, its great!!!

By the way, this was the first election I voted National in, I had always been a labour voter in the past.
Brett Dale 26

19 February 2009 at 1:48 pm

Felix:

I stand by everything I write.
Daveski 27

19 February 2009 at 1:52 pm

MP 🙂

If it comes down to a vote, I’ll lose.

My point is that issues that have been raised recently would have in the past been associated with some genuine attempt at analysis.

At least IMO, there is now too much simplistic, hyperbole and spin coupled with as I’ve noted a complete failure on behalf of some to acknowledge that they have been wrong with fundamental lines of attack.

I know – if I don’t like it I can go. And fair enough too. Yet this site was undoubtedly different when the left were in government.

Still, I can voice my opinion and argue semantics and still come back so that’s a positive.
Felix 28

19 February 2009 at 1:54 pm

Yes Brett, that’s why it concerns me that what you write is so riddled with contradictions of which I assumed that you were blissfully unaware, but I’m beginning to think that you’re actually quite pleased with them which makes me wonder if you’re just taking the piss and pretending to be a bit thick.
higherstandard 29

19 February 2009 at 1:57 pm

Ah everything becomes clear.

captcha deliverance territory … he he
Brett Dale 30

19 February 2009 at 2:01 pm

Felix

A little bit from column a and a little bit from column b.

I thought you guys on the left were against name calling and the such.
Matthew Pilott 31

19 February 2009 at 2:05 pm

daveski – we had a very open and robust debate about whether there had been a clampdown on workers’ rights just the other day.

I think you’re also posting from the position you’re protesting. Do you want an open apology from SP because some of his predictions or statements haven’t come true within the first 100 days of government? You’re asking a bit too much, and I reckon it’s fairly unreasonable. Plenty of us are waiting for the policies that will reduce wages in one way or another, and are looking at the NACT/MP relationship with interest – perhaps we have more patience!

I’ll be happy if the former never eventuate, and ambivalent about the latter, but I won’t be expecting published retractions.

You’ve been carrying this theme for some time now, but I just don’t see it – it’s BAU for everyone else while you’re tendering such ‘advice’…

You may have a point about the analysis side, I can’t really comment because my time has been somewhat limited in that respect – I am picking and choosing what I comment upon – perhaps The Standard is also adapting to ‘opposition’ blog. I haven’t considered analysis lacking though, perhaps your opposition to the views posted are becoming stronger.
Pat 32

19 February 2009 at 2:07 pm

“And three years in which the Left, in particular Labour, needs to build a compelling narrative, one of positive, real change”.

Does these mean a “change back”? Scrap Nationals tax cuts, reinstate the EFA, relax sentences and parole requirements, call the Maori party a cab etc

Obviously not, so what room for “positive, real change” is there if Key maintains a centrist approach?

The Left can’t spend 3 years hoping John Key is somehow a demon in disguise.
Ari 33

19 February 2009 at 2:16 pm

A party that gets things done, you may not agree with the laws they are passing, but they are working.

So you think more people are employed now thanks to the fire at will bill? We’ll just ignore those pesky extra unemployed kiwis in the recession, who aren’t helped by National’s lack of new stimulus spending (all that’s being done is speeding up some pre-committed spending and adding in some broadband cash and two new bloody roads) and approaching job cuts in the public service.

I think the fact that kiwis are pleased with our new PM shows how badly the news (both TV and papers) are doing their jobs of reporting on the government. Unless their jobs suddenly changed from “report all controversies” to “ignore all controversies” since the election. Kiwis are willing to trust people who haven’t got it wrong, and seeing we’re not being told about how badly this government is starting off, (after a few promising peeps before parliament got to business, I suppose) we’re still trusting Mr. Key. Sadly.
Daveski 34

19 February 2009 at 2:31 pm

MP

Points noted. I don’t intend to preach and will desist forthwith.

I’ve been prickly about the broad statements that I clearly disagree with. In particular, I’m positive about the Maori Party relationship (as are my Maori friends).

I’ll just take a can of HTFU.

Anyway, you realise your comments and Ari’s to an extent prove me wrong so perhaps i need to apologise and admit I was wrong 🙂
Policy Parrot 35

19 February 2009 at 2:34 pm

What is the te reo equivalent for bauble?
@ work 36

19 February 2009 at 2:36 pm

The main weekness of democracy is its potential for mob rule. This is basically what National has done, ignored the rights of every one but 50% + 1 vote, for the benefit of good news headlines and re-election.
Billy 37

19 February 2009 at 2:43 pm

@work,

Have you seen the poll? I think you mean 69% + 1%
Matthew Pilott 38

19 February 2009 at 2:43 pm

daveski – call out every broad statement you disagree with, each and every time they are made. Should you be right about them, the authors will probably stop making them so you can’t keep calling them out…but expect people to support those statements where they are percieved to be correct!
Redbaiter 39

19 February 2009 at 2:54 pm

Hey c*mmi*s, the Kl*rk government won in 1999 because the left had succeeded so marvelously over the preceding decade or so in controlling the debate in NZ. Sure sure sure, they weren’t the government, but they were still large part of the National Party and almost very public institution in NZ had gradually fallen into their grasp. The media, the education system, and public discussion revolved around issues the left wanted to be prominent. They almost fully controlled speech and thought and they attempted to pursue this even further once they were elected to government.

Then the left’s big downer- the internet. The middle class at last had a forum. No more having their letters to the editors rejected by sneering New York Time’s style liberals editing The Dominion and The Herald. No more could those liberals or their counterparts running other sectors of NZ’s mainstream media write endlessly leftist crap and not be challenged on it.

The internet has allowed the middle class to understand that its OK to think and speak in ways that the guardians disapprove of. They understand now that the emperor has no clothes. They see the left are helplessly mute when they’re challenged. But what can the left say anyway, when the Emperor is exposed as more naked everyday by the blogosphere and so many other sources of information that the left cannot control???

Rearguard actions like the Standard just don’t cut it. The leftist can’t hack the realism of a political state that has had its white underbelly ripped open by the sharp knives of the fed up long ignored middle class using the internet and other means to express their disgust and anger at what the left have brought this once fine country to.

Sure its a long way to the next election, but its only going to get worse for the left. And Hooray for that. The right say- “Let’s drive these troglodytes and their destructive religion back into the holes they crawled out of.”

There’s only one outcome for them and its oblivion. Unless they turn to Chavez style fraud and corruption and stand over tactics. And they could very easily choose this path. For myself, I can’t wait for them to try it.
Mike 40

19 February 2009 at 2:57 pm

Strange thing about the TV3 poll is they have changed polling company but they did not mention this at all in the televised news item.
So yes it is the “highest ever” rating for a party, but of course it would be as it’s the first ever TV3-Reid Research poll.
@ work 41

19 February 2009 at 2:57 pm

Billy
Have you seen the poll? I think you mean 69% + 1%

No, I mean exactly what I said.

But oh, only trampling the rights of 30% of people, thats all right then, carry on!
The Fox 42

19 February 2009 at 3:07 pm

now we have Bob Parker who is actually working, its great!!

Would this be the same Bob Parker who blew $17 million of rate payer’s money on a load of crap property to bail out a failed property developer when he could have waited for a mortgagee sale an got it all at a fraction of the price. And the same Bob Parker who paid a fortune for a flower show and decided to hold it in Autumn!!! If thats what you call getting things done then you must be having a laugh.
Matthew Pilott 43

19 February 2009 at 3:32 pm

Redbaiter, I see this time you’re the self-appointed spokesperson for ‘The Middle Class’. Who are they, whom do you purport to represent and speak for now?

You’re also generously speaking on behalf ‘The Right’. If you and I put forth our ideal Government, and then asked anyone commenting on this blog who considers themself to be ‘Right Wing’ which government model they’d prefer, what do you think would result?

As I asked you two days ago – what is this mysterious ‘Right’ you’re claiming to speak for?

It doesn’t seem to have much in common with those who consider themselves ‘Right’, Redbaiter excluded of course.
Redbaiter 44

19 February 2009 at 3:41 pm

Naughty naughty Mr. Pillock. Ignore is the command. Please comply. Of course there’s nothing to respond to in your post anyway other than a lot of infantile questions based on false premises. What is it that makes you believe people should freely subject themselves to interrogation by the likes of you?

Sure, over the last few decades you have succeeded in entwining socialism into NZ’s culture.

That’s what is changing.

Slowly but surely, you’re losing your grip.

Can’t you feel it?
Ari 45

19 February 2009 at 3:49 pm

I don’t think asking you to explain why you claim to be able to speak for people you don’t know is too much to ask, or in any way infantile 😉
jimbo 46

19 February 2009 at 3:59 pm

@ Work – what do you mean “trampling on the rights of” people? Do you have an argument or is it just empty rhetoric?

You guys need to get over your totally irrational belief that “left” policies are automatically good/kind/fair and right-leaning politicians are only interested in making themselves and their friends wealthy. You also need to let go some of the inflammatory language (e.g. “trampling”).

It’s a hopeless starting point for any reasonable discussion about policy.
Matthew Pilott 47

19 February 2009 at 4:00 pm

“What is it that makes you believe people should freely subject themselves to interrogation by the likes of you?”

Nothing at all. The beauty of blogs – you will be judged whether you answer or not. If someone considers my questions infantile and you don’t respond, then they will not think less of you, but will think that of me.

If they think the questions are worth a response and you don’t give one, the next time you comment they’ll remember and be less likely to listen.

The only thing as deafening as silence, by the way, is abuse heaped out to cover for it. Don’t presume this has been missed, Redbaiter.

What makes you assume I expect an answer? I can ask any question I want of you, and I will be judged based upon those questions, likewise you and your answers.

There is no presumption, apart from yours.

“Can’t you feel it?”

If anything, I feel the old forces of nationalism and protectivism creeping in as resources become more scarce, wars are on the increase and poverty and injustice spread. Is that what you’re referring to?

The entwining in our culture – you think this is unique to NZ? You think this is something new? What are these heady pre-socialist days to which you refer? You’re pining for the halcyon days in your mind that never existed in your lifetime or mine.
@ work 48

19 February 2009 at 4:01 pm

I mean they are proposing numerous peices of legislation which obviously go agaisnt the BORA, and cannot possibly be interpreted in a way consistant with it.
Redbaiter 49

19 February 2009 at 4:09 pm

“I don’t think asking you to explain why you claim to be able to speak for people you don’t know is too much to ask, or in any way infantile”

Wow, its such a damn knockout Ari that you would think that. Totally unexpected..!!!

I’m not speaking for anybody in the above text in any real sense. I’m describing a public groundswell of rejection of leftist attempts to control thought and speech, as exampled by the poll that is the subject of this thread, and simultaneously advancing what I think are the reasons for this groundswell.

Mr. Pillock’s questions are the usual incomprehensible rubbish, typical of the thinking you get from zealots whose views are blinkered by a stone age ideology and who have never managed to break free from that thinking.

That is the difference you see. There’s hardly a right winger that hasn’t at one time in their lives (usually when they were young and impressionable and easy prey for the predators of the left that stalk the education system) been ensnared in the stupefying ideas of the left. But we broke free. We grew up, We matured. we experienced different things. We changed.

The bottom line is tho, although most right wingers once saw things as a leftist sees them, very few leftists have ever been able to truly see things from a right wing viewpoint.

It is this partisan blindness that makes Mr. Pillock’s questions so insufferably idiotic.
jimbo 50

19 February 2009 at 4:10 pm

Ari,

If your only criteria for assessing a govt decision is whether “more people are employed”, then I ask you: Do you reckon more people are employed as a result of the minimum wage being increased?

Policy-setting involves analysis of different incentives and effects. The 90 day probation period will have an impact on employers’ willingness to “try out” new employees. Raising the minimum wage will increase employers’ costs and therefore make it LESS LIKELY that new jobs are offered.
Matthew Pilott 51

19 February 2009 at 4:13 pm

And yet you think National are virtually as bad as Labour, Redbaiter – National are an order of magnitude closer to Labour than they are to your idea of Small Government; the ‘groundswell’ of support for National hardly proves your theory.

Hence my questioning you of this mysterious ‘Real Right’, shall we call them, that you purport to speak for. They definitely aren’t where you’ve just described.
jimbo 52

19 February 2009 at 4:15 pm

Redbaiter is correct. Left-wingers who refuse to let go of the rhetoric and inflammatory slogans are effectively turning up at the debate with a big sign on their head saying “I’m not mature enough to approach this discussion is a proper way”.

Examples of the sloganeering include repatedly referring to the 90 day probation period as “fire at will”, or calling the National govt’s tax cuts “lowering wages” based on speculation about what a re-elected Labour government might have done.
Redbaiter 53

19 February 2009 at 4:17 pm

“The beauty of blogs – you will be judged whether you answer or not.”

Your problem Mr. Pillock is your presumption that I give a flying fuck for your “judgment”. I don’t. I merely want to defeat you politically, and in spite of your frequent attempts to inform me on the matter, I really could not care less concerning your opinion of Redbaiter.

It is the mainstream that has to be swayed. Not the extreme left school that you represent. NZers need to be warned about the approach of Chavezism here in NZ, and it looks like (going by the poll) they might be at last awakening to that danger.
Redbaiter 54

19 February 2009 at 4:26 pm

“the â€˜groundswell’ of support for National hardly proves your theory.”

Its not theory its opinion. You can take it or leave it. National are only like Labour because after the way you have surreptitiously integrated leftist thought into NZ culture, the only way out is by incrementally dragging things back to the right. Bit by bit by bit. Just as you dragged it to the left.

The difference I am trying to bring to your attention is that you no longer have the control of the sources of information that you once had. For one thing your media toadies have been exposed. For another thing your control of education is under threat and will eventually be wound back.

These are factors that will allow the return to sanity to be exponentially accelerated. The recovery will be much quicker than our blind descent into the chasm of socialism.
Tim Ellis 55

19 February 2009 at 4:28 pm

You really are a bore Redbaiter. All bluff and bluster. I especially enjoy how you have the courage from behind your pseudonym to make fun of somebody else’s real name.
Matthew Pilott 56

19 February 2009 at 4:34 pm

“Your problem Mr. Pillock is your presumption that I give a flying fuck for your “judgment’. I don’t. I merely want to defeat you politically, and in spite of your frequent attempts to inform me on the matter, I really could not care less concerning your opinion of Redbaiter. ”

Not my judgement (I think we can forget about that…another of your flawed presumptions, learn to comprehend a comment and you’ll see I am not implying such a thing), but everyone who reads your comments. And mine.

If you don’t care, why post here? If you think it will help defeat the Left politically, then you should care.

Otherwise all you’re engaging in is self-indulgent grandstanding.

“Its not theory its opinion. ”

That’s all I was after.
Redbaiter 57

19 February 2009 at 4:36 pm

“You really are a bore Redbaiter.”

Thanks for that opinion Mr Ellis. You know now I’m going to rush home, run a warm bath, sit in it and slit my wrists.

That you would so often waste time and bandwidth with such worthless crap is only proof of your inability to think logically and develop politically coherency.

Compliant suckholing little darlings like you are the reason the left have been winning for so long. Patronising shithead. Just keep kissing c*mm*e arse and leave me out of it.
Lew 58

19 February 2009 at 4:37 pm

Oh, look – the bÃªte noire du jour has changed from `Mugabe’ to `Chavez’!

L
Redbaiter 59

19 February 2009 at 4:37 pm

“That’s all I was after.”

Why would anyone capable of rational thought ever think otherwise??
Tim Ellis 60

19 February 2009 at 4:39 pm

Redbaiter I’ll take your word for it that you have managed to “develop politically coherency”.

You write:

I merely want to defeat you politically, and in spite of your frequent attempts to inform me on the matter,

And how’s that going for you then, RB? Do you find you win a lot of people over, politically, by abusing them and ranting furiously?
Redbaiter 61

19 February 2009 at 4:39 pm

“Oh, look – the bÃªte noire du jour has changed from `Mugabe’ to `Chavez’!”

Soon it will be Obama, who is clearly another Mugabe ( at last vanquished) in the making.
Matthew Pilott 62

19 February 2009 at 4:42 pm

“Why would anyone capable of rational thought ever think otherwise??”

It took you a while to admit it, so…
Ag 63

19 February 2009 at 4:45 pm

Why would the Labour Party say anything?

We’re at the beginning of what may be the most serious economic crisis since the 1930s. What used to be capitalist countries are now effectively nationalizing the financial system, including private banks. Political elites, to put it mildly, are operating on faith, as are the majority of citizens.

If I were Goff, I’d be using the next year to scope out a major reorientation of party policy, similar in scope to the neoliberal change of the early 80s.

If ever there was a good election to lose, it was the last one.
Redbaiter 64

19 February 2009 at 4:47 pm

“Do you find you win a lot of people over, politically, by abusing them and ranting furiously?”

Mr. Ellis, you need to learn to read and comprehend. It is not my mission to “win over” zealots like Mr. Pillock. It will never happen. They need to be shamed and brought into public ridicule. ..and I have succeeded well enough in those objectives over the time I have been pursuing them. Y’know, only as far back as 2000 it was considered impolite to even refer to “the left”, and at the time, I was subject to fierce and powerful criticism for doing so.

Whilst all you have ever done with your sappy need to show them respect is allow them to drag NZ further and further into the socialist mire. You go your way I’ll go mine. I don’t need appeasers.
Redbaiter 65

19 February 2009 at 4:50 pm

“If ever there was a good election to lose, it was the last one.”

Yep, that’s right. The electors are too damn thick as shit stupid to ever realise what is really going down right?? Typically arrogant ivory tower leftism.
Tim Ellis 66

19 February 2009 at 4:56 pm

RB, I’m sure you thought it was fierce and powerful criticism, and in that slightly unhinged little world that you inhabit, it must have been a curious mix of joyful megalomania and genuine anxiety about how the great forces of evil were determined to silence you. I suppose the true history of your courageous, and I repeat, pseudonymous endeavours to bring about an end to pinko-fascism is yet to be written. You might want to write that history yourself, since I suspect that the legions of academic historians are too cowardly or stupid to do so.

In the meantime, I don’t think you’re winning any favours from anybody by behaving obnoxiously. It is all very well to go around abusing people and their intelligence, but it speaks volumes that you don’t appear to have the social skills to engage people in rational debate. I am saddened that you have so little respect for your own intellect that you don’t believe you can convince others of your world view. I don’t profess to be very clever, but for one I do believe that if you speak civilly and have a good argument, you can convince some people. By jumping up and down and raving I think you’ll tend to be dismissed as a nutjob.
Santi 67

19 February 2009 at 4:58 pm

“If ever there was a good election to lose, it was the last one.’

Incredibly arrogant comment that assumes the voters are stupid and know little or nothing at all.

Unfortunately for the lefties the next two elections will be also very good to lose. The political wilderness awaits!
ak 68

19 February 2009 at 5:00 pm

Redbaiter: Slowly but surely, you’re losing your grip. My exact thought at your every comment. Fascinating, but: just how long can one individual carry on generating such vast amounts of hate-drenched inanity before the system breaks down under it’s own toxicity? Carry on Reddy, you’re a marvel.

Good post Steve, though a trifle pessimistic. If the RMA tinkering and Fire at Will (already de facto for most workers I would posit) are the worst of the First (100 days), then Bill and Ben’s “rolling maul” has Tinkerbell as hooker.

No real surprise in this poll: reportage from the privately-owned media has of course tended to justify their pre-election selection, and the honeymoon is extended for their paymaster-advertisers and captive audience.

At the same time, Kiwis naturally enjoy lower petrol prices, cheaper mortgages, gestures of inclusive leadership, retention of public assets, increased minimum wage and dole payments, willing govt intervention etc etc (as in fact they embrace most traditional Labour policies and progressive tendencies), and will reward whatever government enacts them – no matter what that govt may call themselves.

No wonder our righties are stirred: they’re shaken. Their “evil” hate-figure is about to assert our country’s proud progressive heritage astride the world stage where it matters, and their grinning messiah is stumbling towards an abyss created by his own ilk and chosen ideology – all the while paying for his “me-too” election bribes with a rousing rendition of what can only be called National socialism.

To re-quote the noted philosopher: “The ironing is delicious” (Simpson,B; c.2003)
Pat 69

19 February 2009 at 5:00 pm

“If I were Goff, I’d be using the next year to scope out a major reorientation of party policy, similar in scope to the neoliberal change of the early 80s”

This is the crux of what needs to be discussed (to get the thread back on track).

What exactly are the things Labour can do to be differernt, but not scare the electorate?

.
Tim Ellis 70

19 February 2009 at 5:02 pm

Goodness. I must have said something rude because my last comment is in moderation.
Lew 71

19 February 2009 at 5:04 pm

RB,

Soon it will be Obama, who is clearly another Mugabe ( at last vanquished) in the making.

The jokes, they write themselves!

L
Redbaiter 72

19 February 2009 at 5:14 pm

“In the meantime, I don’t think you’re winning any favours from anybody by behaving obnoxiously.”

So you keep saying, and as long as you keep saying it, I’ll keep responding the same way. I do not care what you think.

Why don’t you confront the real question here. What the fuck have your methods achieved?? I’ll tell you. Worse than nothing. You’ve been completely outflanked by the left. If you had some kind of track record, maybe I’d grant you an iota of credibility. You’ve got nothing but abject failure.

..and don’t keep telling me that rationale will win the day. If they had any regard for rationale they wouldn’t be fucken leftists (that religion that depends upon intimidation and silencing its critics for its success),in the first place.
jimbo 73

19 February 2009 at 5:19 pm

Ak, how on earth is NZ’s current economic situation “an abyss created by [John Key’s]” own ilk and chosen ideology?!

After 9 years, what would you say is the previous Labour govt’s level of responsibility?

50%
10%
5%
0%

Seiously – I’m fascinated by how you get to blaming John Key “and his ilk” over and above the people who governed for the previous decade.

(The comment I am expecting is “Helen Clark couldn’t have stopped the credit crunch”, as if that somehow settles it.)
Redbaiter 74

19 February 2009 at 5:22 pm

“Goodness. I must have said something rude because my last comment is in moderation.”

Rudeness???

Oh you’re such a naughty naughty fellow.

FFS..!!

These people want to enslave us, and rob us of our income, and take away our rights to own property, and stifle our political voice, and destroy our democracy, and you’re worried about being “rude” to them???

Jezuz H Christ on a bike- no wonder the left have been winning when the so called right has been represented for so long by panty waisted limp wristed lemmings like you.
Matthew Pilott 75

19 February 2009 at 5:27 pm

“The comment I am expecting is “Helen Clark couldn’t have stopped the credit crunch’, as if that somehow settles it.)”

Umm, presaging it doesn’t make it false, you know. let’s try this tack:

jimbo, what percentage of New Zealand’s current economic situation would you blame upon international, and not domescic, concerns.

100%
80%
65%
50%
10%
5%
0%
Matthew Pilott 76

19 February 2009 at 5:29 pm

“…no wonder the left have been winning when the so called right has been represented for so long by panty waisted limp wristed lemmings like you.”

Have you ever met someone like Redbaiter on the blogs or usenet, Redbaiter?

Has anyone else out there met another Redbaiter?

Wonder why not?

No?

Don’t blame you.
Kevin Welsh 77

19 February 2009 at 5:30 pm

Santi

“Incredibly arrogant comment that assumes the voters are stupid and know little or nothing at all.”

They are and they don’t.

Average Joe Punter only knows what hacks like Duncan Garner and that rednecked halfwit Mark Bennett on Radio Live, tell them. They, for the most part, do not actively seek out the information that will answer their questions. A casual conversation around the smoko table at work is enough to convince me that very few have a grasp of what is going on out there and what the ramifications of political decisions will be.

Sad, but true.
Ag 78

19 February 2009 at 5:38 pm

Incredibly arrogant comment that assumes the voters are stupid and know little or nothing at all.

They don’t. But it’s a separate issue.

But it has nothing to do with my point. Anyone who wants to be in government right now is obviously a masochist, because things look like getting really nasty, such that any government, no matter what it did, would end up pilloried and hated. I’d personally prefer that party to be the National Party and not the Labour Party.
Kerry 79

19 February 2009 at 5:38 pm

I fail to see what is so impressive with a government that strips away rights and rams through laws with no consultation……as we have seen in the past three months…oh sorry, 30 days since holidays finished….and righties think that Labour were anti democratic!
Ag 80

19 February 2009 at 5:42 pm

These people want to enslave us, and rob us of our income, and take away our rights to own property, and stifle our political voice, and destroy our democracy

No they don’t.

I know this because I am one of the few people who fits your description, and I am well aware the majority of the Labour Party and its supporters do not come anywhere close to sharing my unorthodox political beliefs. Fortunately for you, I would think.
Redbaiter 81

19 February 2009 at 5:46 pm

“Have you ever met someone like Redbaiter on the blogs or usenet, Redbaiter?”

You know that I’m winning Mr. Pillock, or it wouldn’t be an issue. I take credit for knocking down a large part of the wall that the left had built around freedom of expression in this country. You do not have anything like the control over political expression that you had in 1999, and everyday, more and more people are speaking out against your soft tyranny, and the voices of those people will grow louder and more impatient and will increasingly express the feelings and ideas that you and your cohorts have for so long succeeded in silencing.

An experiment for lurkers out there- just try calling them c*mme*s and see how good it feels..!!!
jimbo 82

19 February 2009 at 5:47 pm

Matthew,

My point was never to try and prove that NZ is immune from international events and circumstances.

A previous poster seems to believe that John Key and “his ilk”, who have governed for less than 6 months, will somehow have greater responsibility for the economic position this country finds itself in than the government that led us for 9 years up until November 2008.

I think that previous poster’s position is comical. Do you?
jimbo 83

19 February 2009 at 5:50 pm

Kerry – a lot of people don’t believe any “stripping away of rights” has occurred. Drop the slogans, mate. Try engaging on the substance.

[Tane: The right to a fair process in employment has been removed from more than 100,000 workers at any one time. That is a fact. The newfound insistence of right-wingers that there’s been no removal of rights is absurd and shows just how desperate they are to defend this indefensible law.]
gobsmacked 84

19 February 2009 at 5:54 pm

Shock! Horror!

The latest poll out (Morgan) reveals that National have lost an incredible 11.5% support in just 24 hours. “The worst disaster in political history”, says Our Resident Expert Who Gets Excited Easily.

The people have spoken: KEY MUST GO!

(for the super-saddoes who actually take this stuff seriously, here’s the latest real poll of real voters: Beach 50% Black Caps 25% Other summer activities 24% All politicians combined 1%).
Ag 85

19 February 2009 at 5:55 pm

I take credit for knocking down a large part of the wall that the left had built around freedom of expression in this country.

You are widely regarded as a lunatic, even by supporters of the National Party.

All you have accomplished is a slight lowering of the online standards of debate about New Zealand politics. This is, and has been, a pattern with you for at least ten years now.

Captcha: Old Eggers (!)
northpaw 86

19 February 2009 at 5:57 pm

Brett Dale,

Excuse me, but again.. with some further explanation since I don’t believe you answered my question at all..
I wrote: “Civil question.. you wrote National are passing laws.. this appears to me as â€˜National’ the absolute. Is this meant, if not what is â€˜national’ to you?”

Politics.. government is about passing laws… the functional. Whereas my request related to structural and/or representational. I could hardly leave the context out of asking the question. Couldn’t say National are for instance.

The name Labour OTOH says what it is.

So, and perhaps the moreso significant for your change of personal views as you declare what is/are National to you. More than a promise for action surely. Given that we all have a huge external economic problem refracting through us the quality of action is most important.

Care to tackle this now….
Matthew Pilott 87

19 February 2009 at 5:57 pm

“You know that I’m winning Mr. Pillock, or it wouldn’t be an issue.”

What, that you claim to be part of a groundswell of opposition to leftist ideas, if not instigating and propagating that groundswell with your very actions and ideas, yet you’re also a one-man army and people who consider themselves Right-wing have no discourse with you?

I await with baited breath the vast numbers of people speaking out against Leftist oppression. Shall we re-visit this discussion in six months or even six years to see what’s changed?

You’re paradigm isn’t on the fringes of reailty for ‘Mainstream’ NZ and you know it – it’s the source of your anger and dysfunction.

jimbo, you clearly have no idea what that comment was referring to. Nothing to do with National, but speculators in the financial market. I can see why you thought the comment was comical, given your laughable interpretation of it.
Redbaiter 88

19 February 2009 at 6:06 pm

“even by supporters of the National Party.”

Hahahah. Its a demonstration of how fucked your own thinking is that you can’t understand that pissing the National supporters off is not something that I’m going voluntarily into rehab over. Pack of useless pricks most of them. Who the fuck lost this country??

Mr. Pillock- “What”

What is correct. What the fuck is that mish mash of leftist double speak meant to say?? The inescapable point is this. If I was as ineffective as you claim, there is no way you (and other leftist dickwads) would be putting such effort into discrediting me.
Matthew Pilott 89

19 February 2009 at 6:17 pm

“If I was as ineffective as you claim, there is no way you (and other leftist dickwads) would be putting such effort into discrediting me.”

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this.

In case you still don’t get it, you’re sport, Sport. You’re like a marlin – ever gone sport fishing, Redbaiter? If so you might understand.

Work on the comprehension, though, it’s not as much fun when I lose you (or you pretend to be lost, like you did with that last comment. Cut a bit too close to the bone?)…
Ag 90

19 February 2009 at 6:18 pm

Pack of useless pricks most of them. Who the fuck lost this country??

More insane drivel. No-one needs to discredit you, as you do a fine job of it yourself.

You annoy people, but the only opinion that changes is the one people have of you.
Redbaiter 91

19 February 2009 at 6:35 pm

“In case you still don’t get it, you’re sport, Sport. You’re like a marlin – ever gone sport fishing, Redbaiter?”

So lame. The only sport here is shoals of reef fish like you and AG.
Matthew Pilott 92

19 February 2009 at 6:41 pm

“Lame?”, Redbaiter? …pretending not to understand what I said:

“What the fuck is that mish mash of leftist double speak meant to say??”

That was lame, Sport.
jimbo 93

19 February 2009 at 6:53 pm

Tane – more than happy to engage on the “workers rights” issue as I was doing on the other thread. You’re picking and chosing your forum now (marking up an edit on one of my comments here) so you don’t have to respond to any of the substance of my arguments.

YES – the process for dismissing a worker has changed for people who are within the first 90 days of employment. Unless your concept of “workers’ rights” is ludicrously wide, how is that “taking away workers’ rights”?

Was the “anti-smacking” law a case of “taking away workers rights”? Each time the speed limit goes up, are we “taking away workers rights”? (Workers used to be able to smack and speed more, you know).

Society forms (and adjust) rules for the benefit of society as a whole. You guys keep sloganeering (“WORKERS’ RIGHTS! FIRE AT WILL!”) because you cannot be bothered to argue the merits of the change properly.

It is a totally “defensible” law and is commonplace is many countries around the world. Once there was no employee protection at all (i.e. everything was “fire at will”). Then came “due process”. Now “due process” has been amended for the first 90 days because society belives that we’ve gone too far down that path and some adjustment is needed.

Stop frothing at the mouth about this law because you demean your arguments by overstating your position. Which of you are prepared to state on the record now that the next Labour government will repeal 90 days probation periods when it next gets into government…?
Andrew B 94

19 February 2009 at 6:54 pm

Has anyone seen this: http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/big-rise-in-nationals-support-post-election-2493982. Listen to this:

“Since it won power, the National-led government has spent most of its time dealing with ways to soften the impact of the international recession.

It has announced several initiatives to help businesses survive and it is keeping its promised tax cuts which come in on April 1.

The government has brought a batch of law and order bills to Parliament as well as it fulfils its campaign promise to get tough on crime.”

(Complete with spelling mistakes too!) I knew reporting was bad, but not this bad! TVNZ is often slightly better than granny, but WTF?! where did this one come from? They’ve spent jack all time doing anything about the recession and anything they did “do” was already on its way through the house or in the pipeline. We all know this, so where the hell are TVNZ getting their reporters from? The national party caucus? Or are they lapsing into copying and pasting press releases?
Redbaiter 95

19 February 2009 at 7:07 pm

“You’re paradigm isn’t on the fringes of reailty for â€˜Mainstream’ NZ and you know it – it’s the source of your anger and dysfunction.”

@#%$^@&@^@%$@#@…???????
Tim Ellis 96

19 February 2009 at 7:13 pm

Let me get this right, Redbaiter. For the last eight years you have been a legend in your own time, on the interweb, verbally trolling, harassing and abusing other people into intellectual submission.

Yet it took a mild-mannered, polite, civil, middle-of-the-road man like John Key to get rid of Helen Clark.

Change your methods, buddy. They don’t work, and really I’m afraid you’re not as important to stamping out socialism as you think you are.

[lprent: Surely you mean “legend in your own mind”]
Brett Dale 97

19 February 2009 at 7:17 pm

northpaw:

HUH???????????????
Andrew B 98

19 February 2009 at 7:25 pm

Jimbo – I’ve used this analogy many times, particularly with fellow high school students as it applies to us.
Imagine you get a part time job at a local cafe. You’re close to the end of your third or fourth shift and your boss has had a particularly hard and bad day. Close to the end of the day, you are carrying a tray of cups of coffee. You trip and fall into him, breaking all the cups of coffee down his front. He gets angry at you.
Now, what does he do?
Under the new law he could fire you without a sufficient reason, simply just because you made a mistake. You would’ve caused limited financial damage and the cafe patrons would be most likely to understand. So at the end of the day, you’re left without a job. Now extend this analogy further – perhaps you are a single parent with three or four kids. Where does this leave you?
jimbo 99

19 February 2009 at 7:28 pm

Brett Dale – that is both correct AND funny.
mike 100

19 February 2009 at 7:32 pm

“Three years that will expose the hollowness of Key”

Gee I hope the left share your fantasy Pierson.
Keep attacking and name calling and watch his popularity grow like it did in 2008.
Roll on 2011 – labour under 20% I’d say
jimbo 101

19 February 2009 at 7:32 pm

Andrew,

Your analogy leaves you designing a whole system of legal rights and remedies to deal with what I’m sure you will agree is an “outlier” – an employer who is so irrational that he will fire an employee (with the consequent inconvenience and financial costs of finding a replacement) all because of an accident.

You’re giving far more weight to your outlier case than it deserves. The economic incentives of running a business work against it happening (I’m not saying it never would, just that it’s not a circumstance you need to design laws around).
Andrew B 102

19 February 2009 at 7:56 pm

Jimbo – Indeed. I forgot to tag on the end “However, the chances of this exact analogy happening are quite low.” Often cafes have a very high staff turnover, so the loss of one employee won’t effect them much.
But do you see how this could affect employees? It gives employers the right to fire, when they like, without giving a reason. The ramifications of this are huge – you could be fired for a personality clash or something as petty as that. Another example comes to mind: what if you have been working in a job for two months and you and another employee (who has been working there for much longer than you) do not get on. The other employee reports that you have been doing something illegal/against company policy or whatever to your boss. Your boss fires you. Hopefully a boss would see through this, although I personally know people who have been fired because another employee said something malicious to their boss (and under old law, claimed compensation for it). Now in these current economic times, unemployment is going to rise and has already risen. The government needs to balance workers rights with the economic problems faced by business. I vaguely recall Key (or someone in the government) saying that the way out of the recession was to stimulate the economy by everybody spending. (ah, I remember Gareth Morgan opposing this on TVNZ, so someone must have said it.) Therefore, for people to spend, they must have money and if they don’t have jobs, they don’t have money, so they can’t spend. (tagged on to this could be: and more people without jobs, means more crime, which means work for the police which means more government funding and less government money means fewer infrastructure and “stimulus” plans (not to mention additional strain on the kit bag where the benefit is dished out because of rising unemployment) the government cannot cut working for families anymore, as this would mean less money for low-middle income NZers, which means less spending. (Not that national haven’t already increased tax on low/middle income families))
Can anyone else see a vicious cycle developing here? Really the government is saying something and creating a law to oppose it. Interesting huh?

However, this does not mean that I agree with National’s Spend Spend Spend plan.
Travellerev 103

19 February 2009 at 8:01 pm

Jeez RB,

Why don’t you take a chill pill, I worry about you. You sound like your going for a heart attack.

I know this one will end in moderation and possibly quit rightly so and I most certainly don’t want to equate John Key with the man I’m going to mention next but there was a period in time when, while hundreds of thousands of civilians died in air raids, the corporately and governmentally owned news outlets still spoke of the then FÃ¼hrer as their dearly beloved infallible leader and told the dying and wounded Germans that they where winning.

Later, when interviewed, German citizens said, “the radio kept telling us that we where winning and that the FÃ¼hrer was in control and every thing would be alright but everyday we heard that we where winning a little bit closer to home and when the Russians/Americans (depending on which side of Germany your lived) came the radio’s still told us that we where winning.”

At this moment the global economy is collapsing due to the greedy actions of a small group of bankers. Here in New Zealand 9 out of 10 people still thinks that we’re going to be sweet and that someone who smiles all the time is a nice guy.

All the crappy laws signed today don’t mean shit to Average Joe because he ain’t doing anything bad but when the shit hits the fan and Average Joe the middle class dork becomes the hungry street bum with his wife and his kids that’s when he will understand that what you wish on others will come back to bit you in the ass.

Perhaps it dawns on him when his son just kicked out of the house he bought a year ago against inflated prices while his wife just had a baby daughter gets caught stealing a loaf of bread because he lost his job and he did not want his child to go hungry and while he promises not to do it again perhaps he gets caught stealing some more food and after the third time bingo the three strike rule kicks in and he gets send to jail for 25 years.

Perhaps it will dawn on that Average Joe the angry middle class Pakeha that John Key was smiling for all the wrong reasons and maybe my dairying friend will finally understand that John Key really is not his friend.

What was that again? That thing that Jesus said again? Don’t do to others what you would not have done unto you. Well, you never know when life puts you in the position where that what you wished on others is applicable to you.

In the same time that the media kept saying that the leader was infallible and winning, some 65 years ago someone concluded:

When they first came for the Jews, I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t Jewish, when they came back and took the Socialists I said nothing because I wasn’t a Socialist and when they came back to take all the Gypsies I kept Schtum because I wasn’t a Gypsy but when they came back to take me away there was nobody to speak up for me because there was nobody left to speak.

First it is the young crims to boot camp, than it is the activist Maori’s, than the lefty Greenies and after than it’s the suckers who bought into the “we’ll make it right for the upstanding, angry, middle class pakeha”.

Not long now, RB, Not long and you’ll wish there was somebody left to speak up for you.
Matthew Pilott 104

19 February 2009 at 8:11 pm

Normal discourse for Dummies One: what Redbaiter wants isn’t what everyone else (viz. ‘mainstream NZ’ ) wants, and that is why Redbaiter is angry and can’t communicate properly.

It’s not that hard, Sport.
Pascal's bookie 105

19 February 2009 at 8:25 pm

I think the baityboy has knocked off for the day. Mum wants the computer back, so our demented hero has retired once again to his attic to reread The Turner Diaries and watch his archived news reports about the Murray building.
higherstandard 106

19 February 2009 at 8:53 pm

Eve

….. no I can’t be feckin bothered……
northpaw 107

19 February 2009 at 9:28 pm

Brett,

Slow down.. take a breath.. try.. Else we shall conclude you do not know why you “changed” to National.. Not that I’d want to, y’follow, but that inane responses leave no alternative..
Daniel 108

19 February 2009 at 9:41 pm

The new Roy Morgan poll makes much more sense- their numbers show results similiar to the election night results. I think TV3 need a new polling company.
jimbo 109

19 February 2009 at 9:55 pm

Andrew –

Understand your concerns but all your examples are basically predicated on employers acting in a way that is “wrong”. If you had a cafe owner who regularly fired people over spilt drinks, the word would get out and no one would accept his offers of employment UNLESS he was paying heaps to compensate you for the risk of being unfairly fired in the first 3 months…

Employers have massive incentive effects to act sensibly when it comes to new employees – the incentive effect is the time and monetary cost of hiring a replacement and the consequences of being short on employees until the replacement is found. As explained above, over time the cost of being a jerk during the 3 month trial period will be greater difficulty in filling positions and eventually an increased labour cost.

Again, that’s not to say there aren’t some d1ckhead employers out there or that morally unsupportable dismissals can and do happen. It’s just not the right thing to design your policy for the outliers (i.e. the employers who do things that are stupid, irrational, financially irresponsible, etc.)

Here’s another example for you:

What in your view are incentive effects that affect candidates when they apply for a job? Do you think a potential applicant is ever incentivised to “over-sell” themselves in order to get a particular job…? If the applicant “oversold” themselves (meaning that another honest – better qualified – applicant missed out), should the employer have to expend time and money on training that person (or “managing” their dismissal and replacement)? In my view, such overselling by candidates happens a lot. Sometimes it’s intentional, sometimes it’s not, but in all cases why should the employer suffer?

I don’t disregard your examples of potential problems at all. I don’t lack sympathy for people who are unjustifiably dismissed or who miss out on getting jobs because another candidate has “oversold” themselves during the interview. I just believe my example is more likely to happen than your ones (because of incentive effects at work), and also my problem has a bigger negative impact on the wider economy than yours does.

Hence, I like this law. It balances the position better and is therefore fairer to everyone. The policy is consistent with the incentive effects that exist in the real world.

Andrew – you are clearly an economic conservative at heart… You are right about the need for employment to move an economy out of recession, but that’s only one small part of the equation. You don’t get employment by “forcing” it on people though. A law saying “everyone must hire an additional 4% staff” or “redundancy is temporarily outlawed until the recession is over” would not magically fix the economy. Economies grow because entreprenuers take risks – that is the essential ingredient that can never be “conjured up” by government policy. Entrepreneurs borrow money (paying the bank an interest rate), build factories (paying for land and buildings and equipment), take on employees (creating jobs and GUARANTEED income source for Joe Public) and sell products that other people want. They do all this for the CHANCE to earn profits – their own reward is not guaranteed and many of them lose the shirt off their back.

This recession will pass only when enough business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs step back out into the world like blinking newborn lambs and start taking business risks again… Some of them will succeed, some of them will fail, but all of them will create jobs and economic activity at far greater rates than you or I could by buying a new Chinese flatscreen TV from Harvey Norman.

When a right-winger likes me argues in favour of pro-business policies, it’s not because I have no sympathy in circumstances where an individual employee is poorly treated by their boss. It’s also not because I’m concerned for the plight of specific rich business-owning mates (I wish I had some). It’s because I understand that successful ENTREPRENEURS are essential for all of the rest of us – occasionally they need and deserve a little bit of love!
mike 110

19 February 2009 at 10:02 pm

“I think TV3 need a new polling company.”

lol…thats before TV1 was bad and TV3 “made more sense” keep running kids
haiku dave 111

19 February 2009 at 10:39 pm

redbaiter’s comments
are like a Big Mac, read one
and you’ve read them all
haiku dave 112

19 February 2009 at 10:46 pm

Redbaiter: “I take credit for knocking down a large part of the wall that the left had built around freedom of expression in this country.”

ha ha ha ha ha!
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
ha ha ha ha ha !
Andrew B 113

19 February 2009 at 10:50 pm

Sorry, unfortunately I don’t have the time this evening to reply to all of your reply. However, I understand where you are coming from in relation to employment only being part of the equation of ‘getting out of the recession’ and I completely agree with you. It would be ridiculous to ban redundancies etc., as then the economy would be in a much much worse shape. However, it does not make it right to not go through ‘due process’ when firing an employee. If anything, it makes sure that no one is being fired for unjust reasons. This is important as everyone has, or should have, the right to work regardless of anything that could cause discrimination – which is one of the serious risks involved with passing a law like this. It law allows employers to effectively fire at will, which seems to me could, in certain circumstance, be a breach of s19 of the Bill of Rights Act 1990 (I know that it is not in BORA anymore, but in HRA 1993, but I can’t find which section in the HRA). However, this is most likely to be limited to a few cases. To me it seems like a sort of double dealing, whilst it does allow employers some liberty to move with employees, it seems to make no sense that an employer would be able to fire someone without a reason and without the right of appeal to that dismissal. That just doesn’t seem fair, especially not being able to appeal.
In regard to my extrapolation over National wanting the public to spend – I was just demonstrating what could happen if that was the way that the public and government went. Hence, I am not suggesting that we go to Harvey Norman and spend up!

On to my next point, (which I had forgotten about!): You hit the nail on the head Jimbo, when you effectively talked about how entrepreneurial and business confidence is low. A lot of blame lies in the media’s camp for creating so much hype, if there wasn’t so much hype, business would be more confident and the economy would be stronger. I’m led to understand (although I have done no personal research on the topic) that confidence dropped when the credit began to crunch, if you will, in America and that affected the rest of the world (although there was also the obvious affect of the American housing crisis etc). I’m hypothesising here and feel free to critique: The media, therefore, have the power to pull us out of the recession, as news (especially here in NZ) is so sensationalised, as soon the media get bored of “the recession” and “the credit crunch” and stop reporting on it, it will leave the worlds collective consciousness and we’ll get back to business. We saw similar things happen with the avian flu. Everyone was out buying tamiflu and stock piling food like Armageddon was on its way, yet as soon as the media stopped talking about it – everything went hush and back to normal. The problem of avian flu stayed the same however. Whilst this example is radically different from the credit crisis/recession, it does demonstrate how influential the media is.

The government also appears to be going in a radically different direction to the rest of the major politicians in the world. Whilst Obama is pouring a trillion dollars into his economy, we’re pouring just under $500million in (most of which was already planned and not part of any stimulus package). That works out to (I lost the calculations that I did last week somewhere on my desk and I can’t find them) roughly NZD$3000 per American and less than NZD$100 per NZer. Whilst NZ does not have the financial capacity (especially after tax cuts for the rich(I know I’m bitter)) to pay for $3000 per capita – we could at least come up with something better! Obama, Rudd and Brown are all taking pro-active steps to ensure the stability and growth of our economy by investing in such things like R&D, little ol’ NZ is taking a hands-off approach and waiting for our big siblings to fix the problem for us. Instead, the government takes away tax credits for resource and development – one of the sectors that will pull us out of the economy. As you said, once the entrepreneurs come out of the dark…., but hang on, the National government is keeping the closet door shut.

(I’d like to apologise for my lack of economic knowledge – I am only 16 and have never studied economics. However, I do understand the way in which small business works as my family owns several of them)
haiku dave 114

20 February 2009 at 12:06 am

curse of false named scribe
on blog, smash the state but get
no credit for it
Redbaiter 115

20 February 2009 at 12:59 am

What kind of uneducated dumbfuck says “baited breath”. Some kind of air breathing reef fish?
expat 116

20 February 2009 at 1:53 am

Another bitter hollow diatribe from Mr Pierson.

Labour hate being less relevant than the Maori Party.

[lprent: Ok that is offensive to me because it attacks the poster rather than the opinions in the post. So I’ll undertake a bit of toilet training for this puppy……

Added you to auto-moderation. I’ll let the acceptable ones through, enhance others with probable explanations for your behaviour, or add them to the anti-spam bot in the morning. ]
haiku dave 117

20 February 2009 at 4:23 am

Redbaiter: “I take credit for knocking down a large part of the wall that the left had built around freedom of expression in this country.’

best redbaiter quote
since he said whaleoil was fat,
thinking it r nome
haiku dave 118

20 February 2009 at 4:25 am

shine on you crazy
righty, caught in crossfire of
childhood and bedtime
Clint Heine 119

20 February 2009 at 6:02 am

Travellerev, Godwins law at its worst! Jeez. NZ is not even close to it, nor has, in its oh so short history. Calm down… although I demand I get my 20 seconds back from reading that silliness!
Andrew B 120

20 February 2009 at 7:03 am

Hey – Where did my post go? I spent forty minutes writing that and its not here…?

[lprent: Can’t see it anywhere on this end. Most likely you didn’t get the recapcha correct.]
Travellerev 121

20 February 2009 at 7:05 am

Tell me Clint,

You huntsman you, you still think the US is Democracy? LOL
tsmithfield 122

20 February 2009 at 7:42 am

A whistling woman and a crowing hen, Is neither fit for God nor men
rave 123

20 February 2009 at 7:44 am

Andrew its probably in quarantine because you used a naughty word by mistake. Keep up the good work. As one old enough to be your grandfather I enjoy reading thoughtful stuff from one so young.
Tim Ellis 124

20 February 2009 at 8:36 am

I can’t help thinking that this thread has turned into a total train-wreck, caused by trolls who have nothing constructive to say about the principal topic.
Redbaiter 125

20 February 2009 at 9:07 am

“trolls who have nothing constructive to say about the principal topic.”

That’s rich considering most of your drivel, like some demented hen pecking school teacher, is focused on admonishing Redbaiter for his language and attitude.

For the dipshits who still don’t get my point- its never going to be the same again. 1999 was easy because socialism held all the propaganda cards, the opposition was lame, but more importantly, the left held a large part of the culture.

Since the internet, the left have suffered considerable damage to their flagship operation- that being their mainstream media propagandists posing as objective journalists, and have also suffered because people have finally rebelled against their attempts to control thought and speech (most often referred to as political correctness).

The left’s objective is to make a country’s culture and leftism inseparable. A large wedge has been driven in to this plan, and NZ is at last on the way back to freedom and choice, and away from totalitarianism. Its a long voyage, and the ship is only moving slowly and steadily, but it will eventually get up momentum, and the left that won the election in 1999 will soon recede over the horizon for ever.
vidiot 126

20 February 2009 at 9:18 am

And the 2009 Labour Party Anthem is now officially – “The only Way is Up by Yazz”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lwlr5ZAoQ4

ReCAPTCHA: were kicked – now what is that trying to say ?
echspat 127

20 February 2009 at 9:47 am

[deleted]
[lprent: expat being an idiot. I’ve deleted all of his subsequent comments and added all previously used IP’s to moderation.
A crude form of outbreak protection…]
northpaw 128

20 February 2009 at 10:02 am

Do I take it correctly that Andrew’s comment has appeared.. certainly the length of what appears above looks 40minutes in the making..

touching on employment issues mentioned therein I think, will conference next week attempt benchmarking – pro tem at least – employment status.? Will this or can conference additionally consider the extent of under-employment in enzed..?

States-wise I have it from ML’s (respectable) economist Rosenberg that unemployment at 13.2 percent is the more likely figure for the administration to be looking at and that an included under-employment summation in the order 2-3 percent ranks consideration.

Should such significance be given here then can we rely upon subsequent government (or its agency) monitoring so as to relate actual figures etc..
northpaw 129

20 February 2009 at 10:12 am

lprent, webbies @ thestandard blog..

On my screen just now an ad or advice re Internet protest at (I’m guessing) some intended statute or clause or whatever..

This ad’s bg panel is too big. The reverses could say their thing in less space.. suggest you cut 15px or so from the bottom..

Reason for my protest being: â€” chopping off the definite article ‘The’ to the blog title is not on.. not really.. Whereas resize is so simple..
echspat 130

20 February 2009 at 10:15 am

northpaw is on drugs – philu?
northpaw 131

20 February 2009 at 10:21 am

RB,

you don’t know what my point is

Why not cut all yo’ crap and tell us upfront about M3 and RP.

You don’t know about M3 and RP?â€”says YOU don’t know what yo’ point is..

Nice weekend everyone.. could be some interesting listening along the way..
Travellerev 132

20 February 2009 at 10:23 am

I agree with Redbaiter, it’s never going to be the same again.
northpaw 133

20 February 2009 at 10:25 am

echspat,

(with contempt) Which ones, dude?
Redbaiter 134

20 February 2009 at 10:31 am

“I agree with Redbaiter, it’s never going to be the same again.”

Left political views are fine. Just stop trying to weave it into our culture, and stop trying to use government as a means to impose socialism. This is a corruption of democracy, and as more and more people come to realise this, and fight with all their might against this corruption, you will lose to a much greater extent than you’re losing now.
northpaw 135

20 February 2009 at 10:34 am

repeat:

(with contempt) Which ones, dude?

no answer makes technical k/o.. thort yo’ should know..
Alain Bonard 136

20 February 2009 at 10:47 am

Ah, that might explain John Key’s sunny dispositon in the face of increasingly hard times for many New Zealanders .. and that enigmatic Mona Lisa smile.
Brett Dale 137

20 February 2009 at 12:07 pm

Travellerev

You dont think the US is a democracy? They have just elected African American liberal to president and the house and senate is controlled by the liberals.

I guess you think, Cuba is more democracy.
jimbo 138

20 February 2009 at 2:32 pm

Andrew – A couple of points in response:

Re: probations periods – again I think the reason we disagree is because you are still building your policy response around an assumption that employers, if given the “freedom” to do so, will abuse the 90 day probation period and fire workers for the fun of it. It’s interesting that your family is involved in small businesses – do your family members hire and fire based on personal prejudices?! You might have had one or two bad experiences already in your part-time jobs, but the caricature of “evil bosses” is exactly that, a caricature.

What is an employer doing each time they hire a new worker? They are taking a risk. The risk could either help their business (making them wealthier), or it could hurt their business (making them poorer). Even without ANY employee protection laws, employers have an incentive to “get it right”. Sadly, too many abuses were happening so “due process” rules for hiring/firing now exist (which is a good thing). However, the government now believes that the “due process” rules and they way some employees are “gaming” them have dampened small business owners’ appetite for risk. So the adjustment has occurred for (1) small businesses only; and (2) 90 days only.

Despite the inflammatory rhetoric on this site, it’s a SMALL change and a good one. It is commonplace overseas (indeed, I’ve twice been emplyed in places where I had to “survive” a 90 days probation – I can tell you it focuses your attention pretty sharply! That said, its not a keep-you-up-at-night concern.)

Of course there are some stupid/cruel/irrational small business owners out there, but most of them can be “trusted” by the government to act reasonably and sensibly. The business owners face large financial disincentives if the decide to act irrationally during the 90 day probation periods. If you refuse to introduce a probationary period law because you are worried about *some* employers acting irrationally, you are throwing away the baby with the bathwater.

Look at this way – some small business owners out there might make “wrong” decisions about their business which will cause the business to fold, meaning that all their employees are out of a job and the government no longer earns tax revenue from the business or the employees. That’s a fact of life. It could happen. No one suggests that the government should pass laws whereby the government checks every business decision to make sure it is “right”. Why not? (1) Because the business owner is already massively incentivised to make economically sensible decisions; and (2) because the government would not necessarily know the “right” decision anyway.

A stupid/cruel/irrational decision during the probation period will cost the business owner money. In the long run, even if the NEW employee loses his job (which, of course, is a bad thing), at least he’s no longer working for a stupid/cruel/irrational employer.

It’s a balancing act. “Due process” has changed for someone in the first 90 days of employment. I think the re-balancing works fine and will help the economy.

Re: Obama/Brown spending – I wouldn’t be picking sides on this one yet! A lot of people have jumped on the word “stimulus” and now use it instead of “spending”. Taking on debt and spending it on goodies is not a magic proescription for ending a recession. Again, the government cannot “create” confidence from no-where. NZ has almost no manufacturing so even if we all bought new cars, appliances, TVs etc, the money will go to offshore enterprises. Yes – NZ needs more infrastructure but for years that type of spending has been ignored for political reasons (roads?). Spending/stimulus carries a cost – the interest payments that the government will have to meet (out of yours and my taxes) to pay off the debt. When the debt/interest payments get too high, govts have to raise taxes which discourages future entrepreneurs from going into business. What the Australians have done is crazy – giving people cash lump sums to spend on (usually Asian) imported goods helps confidence how…?! When people are worried about the future, they SAVE and wait for opportunities to emerge. I’m not saying our govt shouldn’t spend at all, just that I don’t mind being cautious at this stage because it is the sensible and natural approach.

I suggest each time you hear the word “stimulus”, you replace it with “spending borrowed money”, and see if the solution sounds quite so good then!

Finally, Andrew, I’d say definitely take some economics at uni. You’ll find it fascinating and far less “academic” than you might expect (as long as you don’t take microeconomics for too long because it suddenly turns into pages and pages of calculus at about year 3!).
Travellerev 139

20 February 2009 at 5:44 pm

Go Redbaiter go,

You fight corruption dude. Jihar, See that corruption go.

Brett,

Black men can get bought and paid for too. Most of his money came from the big financiers and all his advisors and secretaries for money business are ex CEO’s from the privately owned Money Masters.
Andrew B 140

20 February 2009 at 6:35 pm

Jimbo – a (hopefully short) note on your comment regarding Obama/Brown/Rudd “spending” policies. Whilst I’m not saying that what they are doing it correct, all three will have the best economic advice in the world, ever. NZ does not have this. Therefore, this means that some of the best economic brains in the world, ever, are advising these governments to spend spend spend. Whilst we don’t see this economic advice being given (as it does not filter through in the media) governments are not going to spend a trillion dollars on a whim. Especially if its borrowed money. Therefore, whilst I don’t think we should spent $3000/person on stimulus, a little more than $100 would be good. ( I use these ratios as a way of demonstrating the amount of money spent, not how much each person is given or whatever…) I think we should really be following the lead of countries who are being proactive in dealing with the recession, not sitting and waiting for someone else to do something about it. This action is advised by some of the best economic brains in the world who have a plan, unlike NZ’s supposed top economist, Gareth Morgan (who only sees doom and gloom).

Whilst I don’t want to imply a sort of doomsday prophecy, we don’t know what could happen – so its better to do something now, rather than wait until there is a need for an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

I am very aware Jimbo, of how stimulus is the buzz word for spending.

Btw, I still do not see how roading will stimulate the economy… Moving goods from A to B a little bit faster doesn’t seem to make that much sense from a stimulus perspective. The govt seems to be repackaging roading (and other infrastructure) into an “economic stimulus” plan – however a lot of this stuff will not directly impact the economy, merely it will gain kudos for the govt.

Also, I was thinking today about the role of the government and what their job is. The government is the people’s elected representative, therefore it is their job to enact policy/law that is for the benefit of most, if not all, people. 90-days only benefits a certain percentage of the population (although there are obviously economic considerations here). Its the same with the tax cuts for the wealthy – it benefits a minority of the population, whilst disadvantaging the low/middle income families (whilst I believe in the redistribution of wealth, unfortunately people get up in arms about the government taking away their money, even if it doesn’t impact their economic prospectives (from an investment/FOREX perspective) or their luxuriated style of living). Don’t get me started on how the Nats fooled the nation into voting for them (even people in parliament have been saying this) and how they haven’t delivered.

Yes, I almost wrote down about spending on imported goods does not stimulate the economy in the last post, (only helps the retailers and distributors in NZ).

Now a proposal:
Why does the government not invest in local manufacturing? Maybe they could help save business that are about to close down because of cheaper imports – maybe subsidise their costs or something. To help them compete for a share of the local (and perhaps international market). Sure this does seem a bit like economic protectionism, but it would help stimulate the local economy.

Another idea: why doesn’t the government utilise the unemployed by employing them to build roads/help with infrastructure improvements etc? That would keep people employed as well as helping the country. I don’t have time to discuss the ramifications of this now, but there are various problems involved. But its better to have people in work than not.
jimbo 141

20 February 2009 at 8:20 pm

Andrew – I hear what you’re saying about “best economic minds”, but ask yourself what got the world into this mess…?!

Some of the best financial and economic minds in the US and Europe dreamt up fancy structures for dealing in sub-prime loans. Somehow those brilliant minds convinced themselves, and investors, that loans to people who could not afford them could be bundled together and sold with AAA ratings! Those people (and famously, Gordon Brown) believed that they had re-engineered risk so that it no longer existed and “boom and bust” would not occur.

The US and Britain are still working our their reponse to the credit crunch. It is by no means a “consensus” of everyone whose opinions matter. Don’t make the mistake of following the herd on matters to do with money – that’s exactly how bubbles and crashes occur. If you take the shortcut of saying “this is what everyone else is doing”, then you are accepting you will also crash and burn when they do.

There are smart people with sensible opinions on both sides of the debate. Even amongst the fire and brimstone on this site, you’ll notice people “talking sense” from both ends of the political spectrum. Good leaders listen to well-argued and often contradictory advice, then they make decisions that consistently turn out to be right. Key is not automatically wrong just because he is not following the path of the (socialist) governments of Britain, USA and Aus.

Deficit spending to “stimulate” growth is not a guaranteed solution to anything. It is part of the equation, but definitely not all of it. Too much deficit spending would create problems in the future (i.e. too great a debt burden so that when the good times return internationally, NZ misses out because we’re too tied up paying out interest bill). Caution is fine at this point.

There’s no point in trying to turn NZ into a manufacturing nation. We are a tiny island miles away from the rest of the world (meaning high transport costs). We have a high standard of living and a high cost of labour. It’s simply not where our skills and natural advantages lie. It would be like asking a 6ft 10 inch 130 kg man to become a ballerina – sure he *might* eventually be able to do it after lots of training, but it’s just not worth the wasted time and effort when you can throw him a rugby ball in the lineout.

As to your spending proposals, the only one that I’d agree with is to spend on infrastructure.

This is the same rule you should apply to your own financial planning. Don’t borrow for consumption, instead borrow only to buy income-producing assets or assets which increase your ability to generate income (with one exception – explained below). Despite what some people believe, some basics will ALWAYS be true – you get wealthy by spending less than you earn and, if you borrow, you’d better be earning more than the interest rate or else you’ll go bankrupt.

Applying this rule to personal spending – you’d always pay your credit card off each month. Want a new car and the cap company offers hire purchase? You ignore it – you can’t afford the car. Nice big TV but too expensive right now? Save another couple of months.

On the other hand, if you want to go to university but can’t afford the fees? OK to borrow because the study (should) directly improve your income-earning capacity. Want to borrow money to become a landlord? Fine, so long as your business analysis shows that you can turn a profit (your reward for taking the risk of home ownership).

(The one exception on borrowing for consumption is borrowing to buy your own residence/house. If you want to own a house, then obviously you need to borrow. You should simply pay it off as fast as you can because it’s tax-paid dollars that pay the interest.)

Applying this philosophy to government, I would much rather have the NZ government spending on schools, bridges, roads, internet cables etc than giving away cash gifts to the citizens. The projects themselves will keep people occupied while we wait for private businesses to regain their appetite for risk. When private business confidence returns, they will be more productive (because of the better roads, internet, bridges, etc).

I don’t care if Rudd is the smartest economic mind in Australia, he is simply wrong with what he’s done. It is irresponsible and foolish and I would be thoroughly p1ssed off with our government if it decided to do something similar.

My posts seem to be getting longer and longer…!
northpaw 142

20 February 2009 at 9:16 pm

Jimbo,

There’s no point in trying to turn NZ into a manufacturing nation. We are a tiny island miles away from the rest of the world (meaning high transport costs). We have a high standard of living and a high cost of labour. It’s simply not where our skills and natural advantages lie.

Thanks for extended response.. As to the above whatever happened to the high-value export manufacturing sector..?
Andrew B 143

21 February 2009 at 10:04 am

Again Jimbo, how is spending money on roads going to stimulate the economy? Spending money on schools is a very long term fix (20+ years at least), internet has advantages (however, the advantages to high speed internet do not out way the importance of keeping unemployment low i.e. its better to spend that money on keeping businesses afloat and therefore keeping their employees than having faster internet (I agree this is necessary, but fast-tracking it isn’t)). I am not proposing in ANY way that we GIVE money to people. That would be ludicrous and really would be a waste. However, the government could give money or loan (perhaps with no interest) to some of our largest employers if they need to start making people redundant.

I wasn’t agreeing with your ideas on spending on infrastructure. I was proposing that we take people who have become unemployed and the government employ them (sorry to sound a bit conservative here, but perhaps at a lower hourly rate (having a job is better than being unemployed!)) to do infrastructural work. i.e. to create a government employed work force. Not to mention the greater societal benefits of having people work in a job contributing to society:
1. Greater sense of community within the work force – “we’re all in the same boat mentality”. This would create a greater sense of community within society in general which would contribute to a more peaceful, less violent etc nation.
2. Sense of Pride with the work you’ve done. Whenever you or your family drove over a road that you worked on, there would be a sense of pride in what you’ve completed. (I have a personal example of this: it gives me some sense of pride to know that my great-grandfather worked on digging the hill out where Wintec now sits in Hamilton).
4. It keeps people (and more importantly, families) off the streets – which means that there will be even less crime etc.
5. It will give previously untrained people skills. Or even trained people new skills. That can only be a good thing.
An example of this would be in pre-Nazi Germany (yes, fault me on using a Nazi example, however this has nothing to do with Nazism – also the idea was not concieved by Nazis – look it up on wikipedia) where they took unemployed (ignore the use of slaves, please!) and set them to work on the autobahn. Now look what they’ve got. Whilst that is a terrible example, the Germans were able to build the autobahn amazingly quickly (i.e. faster time = less government expenditure on roads).
You may argue that the cost of getting this skilled workforce up and running would be impossible and preventative – however, it is likely that the cost of getting this team up and running would be less than the extra time it would take to build these roads with the current size work force. I guess one would have to set up a whole new department at Transit to manage and train all the new workers (not to mention all the new office jobs created by this new department), but maybe this could be a longer term solution to unemployment full stop.
Please note, however, that I am using the example of roads as that, an EXAMPLE. I’m sure that the government would be able to find places for most unemployed people – anyone from lawyers and accountants to tool manufacturers and welders. (but, of course, we would rather have people unemployed and poor than employed by the government. Think of all those bureaucrats! gosh!)

I don’t propose that we turn NZ into a manufacturing nation – I’m saying that the government should give incentives to local manufacturing businesses to stay open and to help them expand. Wouldn’t it be great if “Made in NZ” was seen on more locally available products? Anyway, we did once do a great deal of manufacturing – before the world was as globalised as it is today. My prediction for the future is that as warfare spreads, climate change destroys massive populations and we cannot move between continents as easily – nations will move back to a more local system of production. Therefore, we need to think ahead and start developing, not only strategies, but methods of coping with this. We need to experiment with different crops that we can grown in NZ, with renewable energy, with local manufacturing etc. If international trade suddenly falls because of some global problem (perhaps climatic), we need someway in which to sustain the population. You mentioned it yourself: we are a small island nation, far from anywhere (except Aus, which could become entirely desert and therefore be of no use to us anyway as a trading partner), therefore we need to develop systems that will be ready for use in as little as 50 years. We really need to start thinking that far ahead. I.e. building and staffing factories for everything from canning food to making clothes. Sure, we have some of these, but not enough to sustain 4.2 million people (well in 50 years, maybe 5 or 6 million people) Here, perhaps, is where the necessity to improve infrastructure comes in. However, the intention of the government is not to plan for the future, it is to improve its ratings in the polls and to fulfill their election promise. Well, at least that’s what it seems like.

(Btw, please don’t give me financial advice. When I say I do not know much about the economy, I mean I don’t know the formula for GDP etc.)

Anyway, I have spent far too much time discussing this, so this will be my last post for a while. Thank you jimbo for this conversation – We certainly brought up the standard of comments on this post!
logie97 144

22 February 2009 at 10:49 pm

wait up – is this the first banana skin? Remember Ashcroft’s visit and Key having difficulty in fielding reporter questions… seems the UK are investigating Ashcroft now

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7904033.stm
jimbo 145

24 February 2009 at 11:58 pm

Andrew – you are instinctively an economic conservative/libertarian, I reckon! I don’t think any of your more dramatic concerns will come to pass in our lifetimes. Trade will not collapse totally. NZ won’t have to be economically self-sufficient. The capitalist system has not irretrevieably failed and the world will go on spinning.

There is plenty to debate in the plans you support, but in most cases I think my respose would draw upon three themes (1) the “government” is highly unlikely to have the skills needed to simply start running big high budget businesses at the drop of a hat; (2) there is not an unlimited pot of money – the govt has to borrow or raise taxes OR it has to encourage private sector economic growth so that the tax base increases (I know which one I prefer); and (3) many of the policies have very negative incentive effects.

In a nutshell, having dealt at various times with MPs and other political leaders, I simply don’t have anywhere near your level of belief in the “government’s” ability to PLAN a big business or economic undertaking.

Since you’re interested in history, you’ll know that previous efforts by state governments to guarantee employment for all tend to end up with a lot of people hungry or killed. It’s an idea that sounds great but does not work!

(ps. No intention of giving you lessons in personal financial management – more trying to show how illogical it is to deal with a credit crunch (caused by people/companies borrowing and spending more than they could afford) by … borrowing and spending more. It’s not what we’re each going to do personally, so why should government do it at a macro level?)
Andrew B 146

28 February 2009 at 2:10 pm

I said I wouldn’t reply – but here we go:

Firstly, what have I suggested that would convince you to think that I have conservative economics? Most of the stuff I’ve said has been quite socialist (excluding examples I’ve used) – particularly in the last post.

I’m not proposing the government create a big business at the drop of the hat – merely it might be a good idea to start thinking ahead now. We do need to have the ability to become completely self-sustainable in the next 50 years, if not shorter. When one looks at how fast ice-shelfs in Antarctica can break because of Climate Change, it brings home how such a little change in temperature can do. Anyway, that is beside the point. The government and the next government in three years (because it WILL change!) and into the future, need to develop serious plans to become able to be self sustainable. NZ is lucky, cause we can become self sustainable, whilst other countries can’t (which is why, maybe, we need to build up a military to keep invaders out (that sounds a little immature, however, we will need to work out a maximum population that we can sustain and then keep everyone else out, just to be realistic). We have the opportunity now to create a significant labour force to create some of the infrastructure needed during this recession, so why not? Of course, it would be expensive and it isn’t exactly high priority (as people only ever think about the here and now, particularly NACT), but regardless, it needs to be done.
Andrew B 147

28 February 2009 at 2:14 pm

By the way, your attack on Stalinism and Maoism is a bit false – the majority of state employment schemes work. They certainly do in NZ – KiwiRail, NZ Post, the government, TVNZ plus all the other state run organisations/companies. You seem to have limited knowledge of communism if you would call Stalinism and Maoism communism – they have different names for a reason.

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8 mins ago

Submission on “Fast Track Approvals Bill”
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
1 hour ago

The Case for a Universal Family Benefit
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
PunditBy Brian Easton
2 hours ago

A who’s who of New Zealand’s dodgiest companies
Submissions on National's corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law are due today (have you submitted?), and just hours before they close, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has been forced to release the list of companies he invited to apply. I've spent the last hour going through it in an epic thread of bleats, ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
4 hours ago

On Lee’s watch, Economic Development seems to be stuck on scoring points from promoting sporting e...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
5 hours ago

New Zealand has never been closed for business
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
6 hours ago

Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
8 hours ago

Melissa Lee and the media: ending the quest
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
10 hours ago

The Hoon around the week to April 19
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
10 hours ago

The ‘Humpty Dumpty’ end result of dismantling our environmental protections
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
11 hours ago

Nicola's Salad Days.
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
11 hours ago

Study sees climate change baking in 19% lower global income by 2050
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
12 hours ago

Weekly Roundup 19-April-2024
It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Simms on some lessons from Texas. AT’s ...
Greater AucklandBy Matt L
13 hours ago

Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
14 hours ago

Clearing up confusion (or trying to)
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
PolitikBy Richard Harman
16 hours ago

How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log iPhone Without Computer
How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
17 hours ago

How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
Skeptical Science
1 day ago

Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Climate Change: Turning the tide
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
1 day ago

How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
1 day ago

Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
1 day ago

Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
1 day ago

Despair – construction consenting edition
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
1 day ago

Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
1 day ago

An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
1 day ago

What happens after the war – Mariupol
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Open ParachuteBy Ken
1 day ago

Babies and benefits – no good news
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
1 day ago

Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
1 day ago

Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
1 day ago

Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
2 days ago

Meeting the Master Baiters
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
David FarrierBy David Farrier
2 days ago

How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
Skeptical Science
2 days ago

Backbone, revisited
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
2 days ago

Ministers are not above the law
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
2 days ago

What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
2 days ago

Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

A TikTok Prime Minister.
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
2 days ago

Texas Lessons
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
3 days ago

Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
3 days ago

Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
PolitikBy Richard Harman
3 days ago

Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
3 days ago

At a glance – Is the science settled?
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
3 days ago

Apposite Quotations.
How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
Bowalley Road
3 days ago

What’s a life worth now?
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
3 days ago

Howling at the Moon
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
3 days ago

Newshub is Dead.
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
3 days ago

Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
3 days ago

Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
3 days ago

Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
3 days ago

PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
3 days ago

Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
3 days ago

Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
3 days ago

Long Tunnel or Long Con?
Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
Greater AucklandBy Matt L
4 days ago

Smoke And Mirrors.
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
4 days ago

What is Mexico doing about climate change?
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
Skeptical Science
4 days ago

State of humanity, 2024
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
4 days ago

Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
4 days ago

The case for cultural connectedness
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
4 days ago

Useful context on public sector job cuts
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
4 days ago

Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
4 days ago

Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
5 days ago

True Blue.
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
5 days ago

Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
PolitikBy Richard Harman
5 days ago

2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
Skeptical Science
5 days ago

Fast-track submissions period must be extended
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
Greens
4 hours ago

Release: Progress on climate will be undone by Govt
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Labour Blog
4 hours ago

Release: Dark day for Kiwi kids as a third of Govt cuts affect them
News that 1000 jobs at the Ministry of Education and Oranga Tamariki could go is devastating for future generations of New Zealanders. ...
Labour Blog
2 days ago

Release: Alarm as Government signals further blow to school lunches
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Labour Blog
2 days ago

Release: Quick, submit – stop Govt’s dodgy approvals bill
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Labour Blog
3 days ago

Government throws coal on the climate crisis fire
The Government’s policy announced today to ease consenting for coal mining will have a lasting impact across generations. ...
Greens
3 days ago

Release: Public transport costs to double as National looks at unaffordable roading project instead
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Release: Cost of living in Auckland still not a priority
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Greens look to fast-track submissions on harmful law
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Release: Govt should stop making people’s lives harder and build more homes
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Melissa Lee missing in action on media
The action Melissa Lee promised to protect democracy and the media sector is missing, Media and Communications spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Landlord Government leaves little hope for renters
The Government’s announcement on tenancy rules prove that it does not care about renters. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Opportunity to build a more sustainable economy
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Significant step forward in fixing cruel and unjust past
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Missed opportunity but NZ will surely one day recognise the right to a sustainable environment
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Release: Don’t cut our lunches – clear message sent to Government
Tens of thousands of people are demanding the Government commits to fully funding free and healthy school lunches. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Govt makes U-turn on Suicide Prevention Office
Labour welcomes the Government’s U-turn on the closure of the Suicide Prevention Office, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

CCC issues warning over further climate delay
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Luxon targets lame and lousy example of leadership
If talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Luxon targets are lousy example of leadership
If talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Commitment to disability communities missing from Govt priorities
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Methane target review is dangerous duplication
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Government must commit to school building project for disabled students
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Release: National must take mental health seriously
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Referendums for Māori wards a racist step backwards
The Government's imposed referendum on Māori wards is a racist step backwards for Māori representation, and disregards Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Job losses at Health not worth it for tax cuts
New Zealand will feel the harm of the National Government’s reckless cuts to jobs at the health ministry for generations, says Ayesha Verrall. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Press release: No Māori initiatives in Government’s nothing plan
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Thirty six point PR spin
The Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Thirty six point PR spin
The Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Thirty six point PR spin
The Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Social housing off Government’s to-do list
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Release: Less money in most people’s pockets this April
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
Labour Blog
3 weeks ago

$41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 hours ago

Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
6 hours ago

Judicial appointments announced
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
7 hours ago

Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
8 hours ago

Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
8 hours ago

Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
8 hours ago

Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
11 hours ago

Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
22 hours ago

Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Taupō takes pole position
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Government backing mussel spat project
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Government focused on getting people into work
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Inflation coming down, but more work to do
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 days ago

New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 days ago

Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Roads of National Significance planning underway
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Navigating an unstable global environment
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Joint US and NZ declaration
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Eugene Doyle: Helen Clark on why AUKUS isn’t in New Zealand’s national interest
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
18 mins ago

Government releases list of organisations shoulder-tapped for fast-track consents
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 hours ago

The Week in Politics: Job cuts surge and Waitangi Tribunal trouble
Analysis - It's been a grim week for public servants, while trouble is also brewing between the government and Waitangi Tribunal. ...
Radio NZ – political
3 hours ago

It never rains but it pours: intense rain and flash floods have increased inland in eastern Australi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
3 hours ago

Watch: Christopher Luxon speaks to media in Manila
The PM has defended how he's talked up NZ trade on his trip to Southeast Asia, after criticism from his own delegation. ...
Radio NZ – political
3 hours ago

‘It could be the death of the museum’: why research cuts at a South Australian institution have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
3 hours ago

Government signs off $41m clean energy deal with Asian Development Bank
The government has committed $41 million to clean energy transition at the Asian Development Bank's Energy Transition Mechanism. ...
Radio NZ – political
4 hours ago

Are 2 mid-career AFL retirements a sign Australian athletes are taking brain health more seriously?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
6 hours ago

Luxon: Waitangi Tribunal comments from coalition parties 'ill considered'
Comments from ACT and NZ First ministers about the Tribunal were "ill considered" and "that message will be underscored" to them, the PM says. ...
Radio NZ – political
6 hours ago

Mental Health Foundation Facing Staff Cuts From Govt Funding Squeeze
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Scoop politics
6 hours ago

I wholeheartedly recommend The President: a brilliant revival of a play of decay, terror and revulsi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
6 hours ago

How the coolest little capital is shrinking
It's not the first time a government has targeted public servants for job cuts, but this time Wellington is really feeling it. ...
Radio NZ – political
7 hours ago

Many prisoners go years without touching a smartphone. It means they struggle to navigate life on th...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
7 hours ago

Ministers accused of Cabinet Manual breach with threats to Waitangi Tribunal
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
NewsroomBy Marc Daalder
7 hours ago

Good news: midlife health is about more than a waist measurement. Here’s why
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
7 hours ago

The Friday Poem: ‘Mitochondrial Problem’ by Evangeline Riddiford Graham
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The SpinoffBy Evangeline Riddiford Graham
7 hours ago

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending April 18
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38) Hot off the press, this debut ...
The SpinoffBy The Spinoff Review of Books
7 hours ago

Department of Conservation closing Dunedin centre, but no jobs lost
Visitor habits are changing and DOC needs to adapt in a financially sustainable way, its operations director says. ...
Radio NZ – political
7 hours ago

Unions Collaborate With Thousands Of Job Cuts
With New Zealand officially in recession, a swathe of mass sackings is currently sending shockwaves through the entire working class. ...
Scoop politics
7 hours ago

Watch live: Christopher Luxon speaks to media in Manila
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is speaking to reporters in Manila after pledging greater defence cooperation with the Philippines. Watch live. ...
Radio NZ – political
7 hours ago

Government sent please explain letter to Wellington City Council over transport disagreement
The contents were revealed in correspondence from Simeon Brown and Chris Bishop to Wellington's Mayor. ...
Radio NZ – political
7 hours ago

Some families push back against journalists who mine social media for photos – they have every rig...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
8 hours ago

Mental Health Foundation staff cuts loom, with funding falling behind rising costs
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
Radio NZ – political
8 hours ago

The ‘devil comet’ 12P/Pons-Brooks has finally become visible from Australia. What can we expect?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Pons–Brooks visible from Utah, March 9 2024. James Peirce/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND If you’re a fan of all things space, you’ve doubtless heard about the “devil comet”, which has been captivating keen-eyed observers in the ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
8 hours ago

Rugby stadiums are sold as an economic asset – but NZ needs to ask if they’re really worth it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Hamlin, Senior Lecturer in Marketing , University of Otago A multi-billion dollar stadium precinct has been proposed for Auckland, one of three proposals in front of Auckland Council for a new stadium in the city. The council is also considering revamping ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
8 hours ago

Auckland dog attacks: Callouts for attacks on other animals going up
Roaming dogs are responsible for more than a thousand attacks on animals each year, and the number is growing. ...
Radio NZ – political
9 hours ago

What access to puberty blockers means for trans young people and their whānau
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
The SpinoffBy Julia de Bres
9 hours ago

NZ and Philippines pledge defence cooperation amid rising tensions
The commitment came after a sit-down meeting between Christopher Luxon and President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr overnight. ...
Radio NZ – political
10 hours ago

How superblocks can help reimagine city life
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
The SpinoffBy Ellen Rykers
10 hours ago

Fire engineering expertise may take a big hit with job cuts at MBIE
The public sector cuts are poised to take out a big chunk of expertise at the country's building regulator. ...
Radio NZ – political
11 hours ago

“Fast-track Law To Kill Kiwi”: Students Say Fight Against Anti-democracy Legislation Is Only Jus...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Scoop politics
11 hours ago

‘We have thousands of Modis’: the secret behind the BJP’s enduring success in India
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
12 hours ago

Online schooling is not just for lockdowns. Could it work for your child?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
12 hours ago

Hear me out: You can shove your reusable period products
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
The SpinoffBy Kristin Kelly
12 hours ago

Rip It Up And Start Over – Fast-Track Approvals Bill Needs To Be Scrapped
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
Scoop politics
12 hours ago

Maori Authority Warns Government On Fast Track Legislation
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Scoop politics
12 hours ago

Why the government’s haste in changing the health system could come back to haunt it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
12 hours ago

Many suicides are related to gambling. How can we tackle this problem?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
12 hours ago

Things that go buzz in the night – our global study found there really are more insects out after ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
12 hours ago

Why don’t Australians talk about their salaries? Pay transparency and fairness go hand-in-hand
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
12 hours ago

‘Character’ And Its Impact On Immigration Status
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
Scoop politics
12 hours ago

20,000 more on jobseeker benefits than this time last year
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
The SpinoffBy Catherine McGregor
13 hours ago

All of the Raglan Roast cafes in Wellington, ranked from worst to best
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
The SpinoffBy Zoë Mills
16 hours ago

Auckland uni students threaten rent strike over rising accommodation fees
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously. The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
The SpinoffBy Stewart Sowman-Lund
16 hours ago

Financial literacy should be on all of us
Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Bryce Marsden
16 hours ago

Missy rustles to stardom in Canada
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
NewsroomBy Aiden McLaughlin
16 hours ago

Emissions fall again – now NZ needs to up the pace
Official figures confirm New Zealand produced less climate pollution in 2022 than in any other year in the 21st century The post Emissions fall again – now NZ needs to up the pace appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Marc Daalder
16 hours ago

Warning of death from a million cuts as Oceans Secretariat dissolved
Shane Jones says people voted for change, but opponents say small cuts such as ending a special oceans secretariat are starting to add up The post Warning of death from a million cuts as Oceans Secretariat dissolved appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Andrew Bevin
16 hours ago

Defence deal to counter Beijing’s aggression in South China Sea
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
NewsroomBy Laura Walters
16 hours ago

Wellington’s ebb and flow of public servants
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
NewsroomBy Tom Kitchin
16 hours ago

New Zealand transport planning has gone off the rails
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
NewsroomBy Dr Timothy F Welch
16 hours ago

Daily crossword, Friday 19 April
The post Daily crossword, Friday 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles
16 hours ago

Brakes on transport and logistics sector as demand for freight slows
The transport sector is currently in the slow lane The post Brakes on transport and logistics sector as demand for freight slows appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Emma Hatton
16 hours ago

Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 19 April
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles
16 hours ago

Grattan on Friday: Ethnic tensions will complicate the Albanese government’s multicultural policy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
21 hours ago

Group plans work to improve safety of female MPs
New research shows harassment of elected officials - especially women - is on the rise. ...
Radio NZ – political
23 hours ago

Ukraine warns of WW3 ahead of long-stalled Congress aid vote
Ukraine's Prime Minister says his country desperately needs the US to approve long-stalled security assistance. ...
Radio NZ – political
24 hours ago

PSA astonished Education Minister expects hiring of contractors to review curriculum
Hiring contractors is an appalling solution when people who could do the work are losing their jobs, the PSA says. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Crown lawyers attempt to block Waitangi Tribunal summons to Minister for Children
The Tribunal had called on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence at an urgent inquiry into the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Luxon refuses to guarantee public consultation on AUKUS Pillar 2
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says it's "far too premature" to be confirming whether the public would be consulted on joining AUKUS Pillar 2. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Visualising the 1800s or designing wedding invitations: 6 ways you can use AI beyond generating text
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Falls, fractures and self-harm: 4 charts on how kids’ injury risk changes over time and differs fo...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nicole Sharwood, Injury epidemiologist | Expert Witness, UNSW Sydney Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock Injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among Australian children and adolescents. At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related. Injuries can ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Choice and control: will NDIS reforms mean people with disability don’t get to decide who they liv...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, Living with Disability Research Centre, La Trobe University Shutterstock/Ground Picture Many Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Asbestos in playground mulch: how to avoid a repeat of this circular economy scandal
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salman Shooshtarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Salman Shooshtarian Asbestos has been found in mulch used for playgrounds, schools, parks and gardens across Sydney and Melbourne. Local communities naturally fear for the health of their ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Could Albanese’s bet on homegrown green industries be the boost our regions deserve?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeline Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University Cloudy Designs/Shutterstock Right now, there’s a global race underway. The goal: bring back manufacturing and energy jobs as the energy transition speeds up. In 2022, America launched its mammoth Inflation Reduction Act and the ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Watch: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon won't say if government will consult public on joining ...
Asked multiple times if the public will be consulted on joining the defence pact, Luxon repeatedly said that was yet to be worked through. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Watch live: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks in Philippines
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is speaking to reporters on the third leg of his Southeast Asia trip, from Manila in the Philippines. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Māori lawyers call Shane Jones' Waitangi Tribunal comments 'inappropriate'
The Māori Law Society says his comments breach the principle of the separation of powers and the Cabinet Manual. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Abortions Increase 25% Since Law Change
Family First says that the latest abortion statistics make grim and upsetting reading, with a 25% increase in abortions since the decriminalisation of abortion in March 2020. According to an Official Information Act request received by Right to Life ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Over Half Of New Zealanders Feel That The Country Is In Decline And That Our Society Is Broken
Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study on populism reveals a pervasive sense of societal and economic decline among New Zealanders. MORE DETAILS AND FULL REPORT HERE Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Australia’s new defence strategy is big on ideas, but lacks one key ingredient: well-trained soldi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University There have been a lot of defence announcements recently about buying new equipment, building up Australia’s manufacturing capabilities, creating local jobs, new legislation to support AUKUS and even a new defence chief. In ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

What does Steve Smith’s Stateside signing mean for cricket in the US – and Australia?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney Steve Smith, one of this generation’s finest batters, has conquered much of the cricketing world during his career, and he now has set his sights on a new frontier: the United ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

A love letter to Wellington: when i open the shop by romesh dissanayake, reviewed
Madeleine Ballard reviews the debut novel from romesh dissanayake. when I open the shop, the debut novel by Naarm-based Aotearoa writer romesh dissanayake (Sri Lankan, Koryo Saram), is a narrative of grief. Devendra loses his mother, opens a noodle shop on The Terrace, grieves, and emerges changed. But just as ...
The SpinoffBy Madeleine Ballard
1 day ago

Minister Concedes Contractors Will Be Hired To Do Work Of Axed Ministry Of Education Staff
The PSA can’t believe that the Minister of Education is happy for her ministry to hire contractors at the same time it is dismissing 565 workers. ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Attempt to bar diplomat from Myanmar military junta fails
Myanmar community members applied to the courts to bar the diplomat from attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Thankfully, the election isn’t tomorrow

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