The comical farce of Cameron Slater et al

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, November 20th, 2015 - 43 comments
Categories: humour, law, parody, Satire, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags: , , , , ,

Late yesterday a judgement from the Court of Appeal was released and promptly written about by David Fisher at the NZ Herald. The salient points from the article are

  1. An attempt by the blogger Cameron Slater to use a journalist’s legal protection for sources has failed.

  2. The Court of Appeal has now rejected arguments by Slater that new evidence should overturn Justice Asher’s ruling and allow him to engage source protection rules for journalists in the Evidence Act.

You can read the actual judgement at the end of this post or from here.

In essence Cameron Slater failed in his bid in the High Court to be forced to reveal his sources:-

[9] Mr Blomfield sought discovery, and that interrogatories be answered. The former referred to “all email correspondence between” Mr Slater and other persons who were allegedly involved in the supply of material to Mr Slater. Those persons were Mr Powell, Mr Spring, Ms Easterbrook, Mr Price and Mr Neil. The notice to answer interrogatories included a question about the source of the alleged defamatory material published on Mr Slater’s blog site. The question was:
Who supplied [Mr Slater] with the hard drive and other information referred to on the Whale Oil website?

Slater had been given an opportunity to appeal to the Court of Appeal and had failed to do so in the time given. So he subsequently appealed to be able to introduce new evidence to that court.

Now for anyone who knows how the courts operate in NZ, this seems like a tall order for a civil case. The Court of Appeal has a narrow brief. It monitors the judgements of the High Court for the soundness of their judgement, and usually only deals with what was presented to the High Court at trial. As the C0A said in its judgement (I dropped the references and reformated the quoted – read the judgement for the original):-

[17] The Court’s approach to applications under r 45 is settled. The position was explained in Erceg v Balenia Ltd:

[The] requirements are that the evidence be fresh, credible and cogent. It will not be regarded as fresh if it could, with reasonable diligence, have been produced at the trial …

[18] This approach reflects observations made by the Court in other cases to the effect that litigants have a duty to adduce at trial all their evidence, which is reasonably discoverable and evidence which is not fresh should only be admitted in exceptional and compelling circumstances and where it is credible and cogent.  As with any other evidence, the evidence must be admissible and relevant; this is part of the cogency test.

Cameron Slater had to produce evidence that could not have been heard at the High Court trial, or it had to be credible and cogent to the case heard at the High Court.

This was and should have been quite apparent at the outset of this appeal to get leave to introduce new evidence. But frankly Cameron Slater and his small remaining cohort of associates are what I call “legal idiots”. They clearly didn’t understand this was what they had to do. They tried to bullshit and bamboozle three Court of Appeal judges! FFS how stupid can they be?

Much of what they produced was hearsay and even double hearsay evidence (ie I heard that someone said) which was immediately discarded by the court as being irrelevant.  And they really produced a stinking pile of other irrelevant and unrelated crap that the judges looked at.

The C0A judges kindly described much of it as

[19] Before dealing with particular aspects of the affidavits, some general observations are appropriate. First, it is often not possible to tell from the content of the affidavits whether they are addressing matters that have arisen since the judgment in the High Court. It is Mr Slater who has the onus of establishing that the evidence is fresh or could not with reasonable diligence have been discovered so as to be adduced at the trial. Failure to discharge that onus means the evidence cannot be adduced. Second, the affidavits are full of hearsay statements which cannot be admitted. ….

followed by an striking example of double hearsay.

[20] This passage contains double hearsay and is therefore inadmissible. It is also unspecified as to the time when Mr Price is alleged to have had the concerns referred to and so the evidence is not cogent. Nor is any explanation provided as to whether or not the evidence could have been provided at the hearing in the High Court, and so it is not clear whether or not the evidence is fresh.

[21] Numerous other examples of similar difficulties with the proposed evidence could be quoted from the affidavits on which Mr Slater seeks to rely, but that is unnecessary. It will be sufficient if we focus on the principal points that he now seeks to derive from particular passages in the affidavits.

moransIn my words, this was something produced by legal moron(s) dropping irrelevant faecal matter in front of the court. It is a tactic that is well known to anyone who has read the stupid crap that Cameron and his associated morans regularly produce.

In essence this left just a few kernels of possible material the could possibly have some relevance. Like all conscientious members of the judiciary,  the three judges picked through the dripping fecal mess that Cameron Slater and his moran associates had surrounded them with.

The first was that Blomfield had made  and succeeded in obtaining a  restraining order against Marc Spring, one of the people whom he was seeking to find the “email correspondence” with Slater, because of continued vile and toxic text messages (I read Judge Dawson’s District Court judgement Blomfield v Spring [2015] NZDC 5882). The C0A judges found that (my notes in italics):-

[24] We note that the text messages on which Mr Blomfield’s application was based had various dates between 13 August 2013 and 20 September 2014. Mr Beresford [Blomfield’s lawyer] claimed that the application was only taken at a point when Mr Blomfield was not prepared to continue receiving the text messages having earlier requested that they desist. In any event, many of the text messages were before Asher J, and addressed by him in his judgment, which was delivered on 12 September 2014. As we have said above, Asher J characterised them as involving Mr Spring sending Mr Blomfield aggressive and abusive text messages to which Mr Blomfield adopted a relatively defensive position.

Basically that the majority of these texts had been part of the High Court trial, and that they were addressed there. Therefore they weren’t new evidence.

[25] The fact that Mr Blomfield chose to apply to the District Court under the Harassment Act does not in our view amount to cogent evidence in relation to any finding made in the judgment under appeal.

Which is completely valid.

For Marc Spring try to hide his obnoxious digital personality behind a court simply isn’t acceptable. I’ve had to boot the miserable arsehole off here after having to remove the defamatory and just plain vile comments he has left behind in many different pseudonyms (and no, I won’t say what those were – read our privacy policy). I have also threatened him with pursuing a restraining order after he started wasting my time with abusive and idiotic emails that just displayed to me just how god-damn stupid and out of control he was.

The second nugget the the court looked at was from several affidavits from a Shiv Mutta. There apparently relate to a business dealing that he had with Blomfield and several others as part of what looks like a routine pleading and provision of token restitution of a failed business (of which Mattu was the sole director) to the IRD and liquidators. This is apparently, from the judgement, part of Blomfield’s current profession.

Presumably Mattu was in a bind for unpaid taxes to the IRD and missing and/or disputed money to the liquidators. Shiv Mattu was claiming that after the deal was made that Blomfield was being intimidatory. Quite how never became apparent in the judgement, as the statements in the affidavit look like routine warnings from a professional to a client about drawing too much attention to himself from the IRD or liquidators. Either could drag him to court if they thought they could extract more from him than they got out of whatever was plead for on his behalf.

The only interesting thing was related to a recorded phone conversation, which really just displays the paranoid incoherence of Cameron Slater and his cohort of similarly deluded dickheads. I will put it out in full because it is just so hilariously stupid (my bold at the end).

[33] In his submissions, the main emphasis Mr Slater gave this second affidavit related to the fact that Mr Blomfield had telephoned Mr Mattu on Monday 5 October 2015. Mr Mattu recognised the caller’s number as that of Mr Blomfield and decided not to take the call. Instead, he telephoned Mr Slater to seek his advice. Mr Slater was unavailable, but an associate, Mr Nottingham, advised him to take the next call from Mr Blomfield and to record it. It was then arranged that instead Mr Mattu would telephone Mr Blomfield while Mr Nottingham remained on the line and both would record what was said. That then ensued, the discussion lasting for some 26 minutes. A little over an hour later, Mr Mattu again telephoned Mr Blomfield while Mr Nottingham was on the line. This time, the conversation lasted a little
under four minutes.

[34] Transcripts of the discussion were then drawn up and attached to Mr Mattu’s affidavit. The presiding Judge in this Court asked Mr Slater to identify the parts of the transcripts of the phone discussions which were of most concern. Mr Slater referred to the following passages attributed to Mr Blomfield:

[35]

(a) Your affidavit wasn’t even written by you Shiv. I, the affidavit …
I’ve matched it up with the previous stuff that [Mr Slater] and
[Mr Nottingham] have written. Those guys wrote this affidavit for
you, and what’s going to happen when you have to stand up in
Court, and the first question the lawyer’s going to ask you when they
cross-examine you is “Who wrote this affidavit?”

(b) But what you’ve gone and done with these boys, and getting
involved with them, I wanted to ring you and make it clear to you
that I have no issue with you, and I wish you all the best, and I’m
sorry for what happened. But I’m not going to talk to you again, and
I’m not going to have anything to do with any of this, for as long as I
possibly can. If I’m forced to be involved, I’ll be involved, but I
want to stay right away from this, the people you’re involved with,
everything to do with it. I’m going to stay as far away as …

(c) As far as I’m concerned, you’ve gone and partnered up with the
devil, and you’re asking me … I want to stay as far away from you
and these people as possible. All I wanted to do was make it clear to
you that I am not going to do anything mean to you. I feel sorry for
you for what’s happened, and I’m sorry that things haven’t turned
out.

Mr Slater invited us to infer from the language used that these comments by Mr Blomfield were in fact veiled threats, that the observations were intimidatory and effectively asking Mr Mattu not to stand by his affidavit. We are not prepared to draw those inferences.

Which since Blomfield essentially said that Shiv Mattu was working with Cameron Slater and his associates like Dermot Nottingham, is something that any rational person would have said.

After reading some of the crap that Cameron Slater and Dermot Nottingham have put in front of various courts, I can testify that they do have a rather distinctive ‘legal’ tone. It is paranoid, delusional, full of fecal irrelevancies (bullshit), and with an ‘interesting’ way of arguing legal principles. It is like trying to listen to Jimmi Hendrix playing a National Anthem at Woodstock and inferring the words (or legal basis) from the distortion. But like that version of the Star Spangled Banner, it is largely an appeal to people who like them have no frigging idea about the law or legal process.

Anyway, Blomfield in those passages  said in essence ‘we’ve done our business, and because of the arseholes that you’re associating with I want nothing further to do with you’.

Seems like a fair viewpoint to me when one of them is someone you are suing for defamation.

Anyway, that appears to be how the judges saw it as well.

[41] The application for leave to adduce further evidence is dismissed.

[42] The appellant must pay the respondent’s costs calculated as for a standard application for leave to appeal on a band A basis and usual disbursements.

In other words, no appeal, and the morans reading Whaleoil can expect to get a further demand for money to run “the server” and to buy tee-shirts. I wonder how long their stupidity will last on this constant barrage of failure and bullshit.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Cameron and his pack of delusional “justice campaigners” in their pursuit of  ineffective pursuit of of power and personal adulation for their stupidity try to get this to the Supreme court.  But I fail to see any grounds that court will accept. Certainly I’d enjoy to their comedic antics continue. It is enlightening just how amusing some dumb some undiagnosed paranoid megalomaniacs can be. I look forward to Mike Hosking trying to top this performance.

But I guess in the mundane and functional universe that I inhabit, that I will just have to look forward to Cameron Slater finally have to face the defamation hearing in the High Court that he has been avoiding for years. I promise to come and watch… Bringing surreptitious (and metaphorical) popcorn.


 

A word of warning. The words “Dermot”, “Nottingham” and the “laudafinem” website are all banned in this post. Because of the mechanism used, that means across the whole site. Anyone using them irrelevantly or anything that I think relates to them will receive an immediate 8 week ban. You may use the first two, but only related to this case. Since they go into spam, I’m on the other side of the world and about to go to bed, it may take some time for them to achieve visibility.

Anyone related to the laudafinem or Marc Spring is unwelcome here. You will receive an immediate 5 year ban if I suspect your handle is related to them. This is because of their widespread abuse of the right to comment across several sites in recent days. Clearly they are upset about this judgement, but I don’t want that to impact on this post. There are other blogs that welcome paranoid delusions.

 


43 comments on “The comical farce of Cameron Slater et al ”

  1. Molly 1

    Interesting post lprent. Just a quick edit may be required – Shiv Mattu is referred to as Mutta several times in your post.

    • lprent 1.1

      Cool doing it. It is later here than there. And I’m tired when I write these morning posts.

      Oh for a spell checker for real names.

      • Grant 1.1.1

        *”In essence Cameron Slater failed in his bid in the High Court to be forced to reveal his sources:-

        Shouldn’t this read along the lines of: “..Slater failed in his bid in the High Court to be a able to protect his sources:-” ?

  2. Ad 2

    That Defamation Hearing will now turn into a slow celebrity roast for Slater.

    My hope is that a successful and high profile Hearing will permanently damage his noxious website.

  3. James 3

    The more I learn about law – the more I know to leave it to the professionals. Else you will lose.

    Bush lawyers can bluster and bullshit, and there is a place for it – in the pub, with mates, or even online. As soon as you head to court – you have to realise that there are a lot of people that know it a lot better than you. Always.

    • lprent 3.1

      That is why I listen to lawyers and then instruct them, and then listen to them, and then re-instruct them to get what I can get from my wants.

      But I always like to know how the legalities work, I suppose that comes from being forced through the law degree that my partner was doing while I was doing my MBA. The key thing I learnt was the limits and limitations of the inherent conflicts that were displayed in the case law.

      FFS: I can’t believe I’m agreeing with you James.

    • Tracey 3.2

      I also agree with you, and have had a sit down before posting this 😉

      Clients who think they know more than their lawyer are aright royal pain in the arse and usually dispute the last BIGGEST bill.

      I can see why Slater decided to turn to the Police/Crown and Key to fight his battle against Hager, it “only” costs us poor taxpayers, not him or his donating dupes at WO.

      • Anno1701 3.2.1

        in my experience the collective “lawyers” of Auckland are a pretty motley crew at best , amd just downright freaky deek at worst

        Ive been to court a lot of times tho, which says more about me than anything else i guess 🙂

        • Tracey 3.2.1.1

          Like any career, there are good ones and bad ones. I haven’t noticed that this profession has any more freaky deek than any other profession. Criminal lawyers have idiosyncracies… and sometimes, like dogs, lawyers reflect their clients 😉

  4. Paul Campbell 4

    rats – I was going to ask if D-N was a real name, it seems made up

    • Old Tony 4.1

      It is a real name. He appeared in Gisborne about 30 years ago with his brother (from memory) did some deals, got into strife and left town. Has appeared on TV from time to time as a crusader including (I vaguely recall) something about the issues involving importation of used vehicles. Seems to see conspiracies everywhere. My source is a long memory and too much reading of the news….

  5. Tom Barker 5

    And to think that the PM once paid attention to this thuggish oaf.

    • mary_a 5.1

      @ Tom Barker (5) –

      I wouldn’t mind betting FJK still uses and pays attention to Slater, when there’s some advantage to be gained! It’s what parasites do.

      • NZJester 5.1.1

        Not to mention that Slater is also the only person to receive an apology from the PM. There is a long list of others that have deserved an apology from him far more than Slater ever did yet have not received it. Not even the women who the PM claimed he would apologize to if he knew who she was and then refused to after she bravely reveled her name to the public.

    • Tracey 5.2

      and issued his only public apology to one of them… things that make you go hmmmmm

  6. Tracey 6

    Slater has confused the process of OIA’s under the current government witht he Judiciary and the Evidence Acts. Sureunder this government he can both get and delay information flows but now he is up against the Judiciary. His pals in Government can’t help him with retrospective legislation either, cos it might get their arch nemesis off the hook too 😉

    This would be funny if it were not wasting court time, costing Blomfeld heaps of money… and were not in such contrast to the police actions against Hager.

    I presume Slater is off to the Supreme Court now?

    • Grindlebottom 6.1

      I know he’s an fwit but, honestly, surely he’s not that stupid.

      • Tracey 6.1.1

        tongue in cheek

        People who think “I could have been a lawyer” and then behave like they are are, in my experience, bright in some areas and woefully dopey in others (the law being one of them – usually they try to make the law what they think it should be, rather than ging to Court based on what the law IS).

      • NZJester 6.1.2

        It’s Slater, has this illogical court case he just lost not already answered your question.

  7. Tracey 7

    [27] is also worth a read in relation to the substantive hearing of defamation

    • lprent 7.1

      Yep, bearing in mind where the burden of proof lies in defamation, and that these ignorant bozos putv their faith in bloody hearsay – I suspect that Slater will wind up on the wrong end of the defamation case.

      • Tracey 7.1.1

        They do have on their side that Damage awards are historically low BUT are offset by a tendancy to award full solicitor-client costs.

        I presume Slater would have no compunction about declaring bankruptcy to avoid paying someone he clearly hates, or is hating on behalf of others?

        • Paul Campbell 7.1.1.1

          that could be fun, anyone want to buy a slightly used blog site?

          • Sacha 7.1.1.1.1

            ‘Soiled’

          • Trey 7.1.1.1.2

            Ewww even if they brought in one of the decontamination units that clean up meth labs who would want to go anywhere near that used blog site. I shudder just thinking about what vile things might lurk there.

            • Paul Campbell 7.1.1.1.2.1

              I’m sure there could be creative ways to deal with such a cess-pit: I’m kind of thinking one could auction off the user list to spammers, that would get rid of the worst part of the toxic waste. The business records and the email archive could go to Nicky, I bet there’s another book in there.

            • NZJester 7.1.1.1.2.2

              Well if he sold it the most vile thing of all will have already been removed.

        • Draco T Bastard 7.1.1.2

          I’m assuming that Slater, like many others ordered to pay by the courts, simply won’t pay. He’ll probably also keep saying that he was in the right and the courts wrong.

          Accepting responsibility for their actions isn’t what RWNJs do.

        • Sacha 7.1.1.3

          Someone presumably funded his QC to keep Dirty Politics out of the media for the couple of weeks before the election. Has anyone ever fessed to that? Or are we to expect that a silk saw this as a deserving pro bono case?

  8. AsleepWhileWalking 8

    It’s a predictable outcome.

    PS good call on the ban.

  9. linda 9

    are there other court cases lined up against whale blubber
    is there any chance we could celebrate a jailing

  10. Daniel Cale 10

    Oh to be a lawyer, now that Slater’s here!

  11. Guerilla Surgeon 11

    It’s moron, not moran – which is something else entirely. (Unless I’m missing something) Might want to change that.

  12. Jeff 12

    This is my first time on a left-wing blog – I followed Slater’s one for a long time (cue a barrage of insults!), but discarded it when I learned first-hand that if you express even the mildest disagreement with the bloggers, then you’ll have your comment (and all previous ones) deleted and you’ll be banned. So much for free speech.

    So the comments you read on Slater’s blog are probably only a tiny sample of the comments he gets – anyone disagreeing with him is instantly banned.

    Reminds me of the South Park episode when Butters was hired to delete all Cartman’s negative comments and only leave the positive ones.

    One comment on this blog though – the blogger here should probably learn how to spell “moron” correctly if they want to retain their credibility.

    • r0b 12.1

      Welcome. Hope you find your time on a left-wing blog challenging and interesting.

      On the spelling thing read comment 11.1 just above.

    • Guerilla Surgeon 12.2

      Hell, I was banned from Slater’s blog for correcting facts. Still, I regarded as a badge of honour really.

    • Guerilla Surgeon 12.3

      Hell, I was banned from Slater’s blog for correcting facts. Still, I regard it as a badge of honour really.

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  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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