The decline of the Herald

Written By: - Date published: 10:03 am, September 27th, 2015 - 103 comments
Categories: journalism, Media, newspapers, spin, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags: , ,

The New Zealand Herald has always been essentially a cheerleader for the right.  Its right wing dominated pages were however subject to the occasional burst of clearness and light provided by the likes of Brian Rudman and Dita di Boni.  It also had writers capable of careful analysis such as John Drinnan and Fran O’Sullivan.  But judging by political commentary in the paper this morning the clearness and light and careful analysis is a thing of the past.

The word “bloodbath” has been used repeatedly to describe what has happened following NZME’s announcement of redundancies at the Herald earlier this year.  Apparently over 100 redundancies were expected from the restructuring NZME was putting the Herald through.  The proposal was to create a “world class integrated media room” involving NZME’s different media but the clear impression is that NZME is shedding some talented writers in an effort to save money.  Some of the major talent being lost includes Drinnan, Rudman, Michele Hewitson and Alan Perrott.  Over recent months other writers deemed surplus to requirements included Paul Casserly, James Griffin, Dita De Boni, Jock Anderson and Peter Calder.

News of John Roughan’s redundancy were apparently unfortunately premature.  Although the likes of Anderson will not be missed others made the Herald readable.

It is not a peculiarly Herald problem.  Fairfax Media has also recently lost some senior respected reporters.

If you want to see the repercussions look no further than this morning’s Herald.  The article initially purported to be written by Patrice Gaffaney who is a travel writer.  What a travel writer was doing writing about politics I do not know.  But then something amazing happened.  The article changed to record the author as being Heather du Plessis-Allan (h/t Maria Sherwood).

I really thought that a part time travel writer had written the article such was the quality of its analysis and this was to be the essence of this blog post.  If this is du Plessis-Allan’s writing we still have a problem because she is clearly amongst the large array of National cheerleaders we have in the midst of our media.

She starts off by accusing Labour of being sad sacks and that we should be all so proud because a right wing Australian leader thinks John Key is a great guy.  The depth of this social analysis I have not witnessed since I was a young teenager at school.  Being friends with the cool kid is clearly still important for some.

Then she blames Labour for the flag referendum fiasco.

Possibly [Andrew Little’s] biggest mistake though was playing politics with the flag referendum. Forget what Labour was saying publicly about wanting to get Red Peak on the ballot. They didn’t want that.

Sure, Red Peak being included was egg on Key’s face. The Prime Minister tried so hard to ignore it. But, it would have been much, much better for Labour if Red Peak was excluded. That way, more of us would have got angry, packed a tanty and voted instead to keep the current flag. It’d be a whole carton of eggs on Key’s face if his precious flag change failed.

That’s why Labour mucked around and that’s why the Greens and National outmanoeuvered it. Labour was more interested in embarrassing the Prime Minister than making sure we hand the right flag on to our grandkids.

So according to her Labour should have rolled over and agreed to what ever National demanded.  Although even then National would have found a reason to not agree.  If anyone was playing politics with the issue it was National.

Then she chips at Labour about pandas.

How do you turn a story about panda bears into something negative? Here’s how.

It sounds increasingly like our biggest trading partner might hook us up with a couple of cute – but admittedly expensive to keep – YouTube favourites.

If you’re Little, you don’t use this as a chance to show your sense of humour and crack a few panda puns or display your understanding of the tourism the bears generate.

Instead, you say there are better things to spend money on. There are always better things.

The reason lefties get grumpy about this sort of game playing is that being in charge of a country is an important task.  And there are many important issues that we face, some of them like climate change threaten our future.  And child poverty, the refugee crisis, the lack of a vision for our economic future, the housing crisis …

Our leader fluffing around trying to change the appearance of a particular flag and trying to get a couple of animals into one of our zoos for a photo opportunity  should be treated by ridicule by a political writer in our major daily newspaper.  It is a shame that it appears the Herald no longer has the calibre of writer who will say this.

103 comments on “The decline of the Herald ”

  1. tc 1

    Outlets such as granny now exist to sell the masters message having ditched jornalism many years ago. Note the management ranks and remunerations as a sign they arent serious about cost cutting.

    Murdochs leaked financials show how poor a viable business the mastheads are these days but they survive as they play a messaging role crucial in herding the masses.

  2. sabine 2

    why bother read the Herald, that paper is not even good enough to line a litter box.

    seriously, i pity the trees that are felled so that this type of rubbish can be printed.

    Do not buy the Herald. simple as that.

    • Paul 2.1

      I don’t.
      It has become the most dreadful rag, pimping for Key and his death cult.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.2

      +1

    • Visubversa 2.3

      I do find it is perfectly designed to line a litter box. However, that is its only function in this household and I never pay for it.

    • Hami Shearlie 2.4

      The Herald is a FANTASTIC newspaper – I mean all that newsprint is EXCELLENT to put under the bark in your new bark garden!! Why pay for weedmat when you can use the NZ Herald? And its also great to keep your fish and chips nice and hot and crispy!!

  3. sabine 3

    as for blaming Labour? Is that not a sort of Volkssport here in NZ, that no matter what, why, and whom Labour does it to, and did it first, so its all Labours fault?
    What else is new?

    • Keith 3.1

      Yep, its like last years “Tricky” campaign on David Cunliffe. Say the lie over and over enough and it becomes true!

  4. Grey Area 4

    I wasted several minutes of my life this morning skimming through this piece of appalling rubbish masquarading as political comment. (Interestingly initially on the Herald mobile app there was no byline). I expect nothing less from the National Herald these days but the degree of bias and shallowness in this piece were still gobsmacking.

    Little got it dead right in his comment about Turnbull’s estimation of Key. It is sick-making to be told we should have been fist pumping because Turnbull rated Key’s “achievements” so highly, and this particular comment is either cynical or shallow – or both.

  5. Keith 5

    It’s amazing isnt it. This shitty negative flag campaign is all John Key from start to finish, the flags chosen, the manipulation, the reason it is even happening but one thing is for sure, he can turn what should be a positive project (if it was run by anyone else but this government) and generate a blame game that somehow gets publicised as being anyone elses but his fault for its complete list of short comings.

    It has become the sum of everything that is wrong with the John Key National government, decitful and divisive!

    If Little had not mentioned a word on the subject he’d still be the medias strawman!

    And now its all Labours fault. Turn the record over!

  6. dukeofurl 6

    “News of John Roughan’s redundancy were apparently unfortunately premature”

    Whats the bet he called in a favour from his mate Key ?

    Hasnt Roughan been the ‘ deputy editor since’ way back when Clark was PM, hes been bypassed for the top job a couple of times, so hes not moving up in the hierarchy, and yet survives a culling of their senior writers ?

    Go figure ?

    • Sacha 6.1

      They have not made final decisions yet about who keeps their job.

      • dukeofurl 6.1.1

        Lucky for him then that he hes got’ digital future” written all over him and can write click bait stories with the best of them.- ? yeah nah !

        Then there was the recent MTV ‘restructure’
        “High-profile Maori Television executives Julian Wilcox and Carol Hirschfeld have been demoted from their jobs in a restructure process announced to staff at the station today.-” Herald facebook

        Funny isnt it how those critical of the government are the ones ‘restructured out’ yet the people who sunshine and joy in everything Key & co do survive?

        • tc 6.1.1.1

          Been quiet over at MTV as maxwell goes about nationals business, last ripple was Forbes departure from memory.

    • Paul 6.2

      Roughan’s hagiography of Key ensured he kept his job.

  7. Anne 7

    ‘Madame’ is a thirty-something married to the ZB News go to boy, Barry Soper. That’s an observation worthy of suspicion in the first place. Her political allegiance was suspect from the start.

    So, people who are concerned about child poverty, poor government economic performances, the ever-increasing chasm between rich and poor, honesty and integrity in government, being wise and worldly citizens and above all… tackling the looming disaster of Climate Change makes us sad sacks does it Heather? A judgement that highlights your profound ignorance and lack of mature intelligence.

    Btw, intelligence and a ‘mature’ sense of humour are invariably bed-mates. Think on that dear before you go off half-cock again.

  8. RedBaronCV 8

    Looks like a preloaded set of positive comments were wating to be flooded against this story in waves. When lately, has the Herald really had any positive commnents underneath for this type of story

  9. Reddelusion 9

    Yes Ann “dear” your moralising, constant negativity and I know best is exactly why the average punter just turn off when your ilk including angry andy just humerously prattle on. I suggest why jacindern adern has some popularity as she at least comes across as happy, with a bit of humour and less grim, not much else however

    • Paul 9.1

      Whereas you can only speak in soundbites and catchphrases.
      Just the usual shallow pointless comment from you, adding nothing.

      • Draco T Bastard 9.1.1

        Whereas you can only speak in soundbites and catchphrases.

        And only C/T created ones at that.

  10. DC Sheehan 10

    It’s one of the most brazen pieces of spin I’ve read. It’s Foxian in its wilful ignoring of the truth. The difference is that Fox doesn’t purport to be anything but a right wing shill.

    Seriously, this reads like a National Party ad. All it’s missing is an ‘Authorised by’ statement.

  11. Mrs Brillo 11

    Don’t vent here – send your comment in to the Herald under the article in question.
    Then let’s see how many of them end up getting published.

    Tip: criticise the writer, not the paper. Few of my comments criticising the Herald ever get published.

    And sometimes they delay for a day (or in one case three days) before putting any comments at all under a piece which receives a lot of criticism.

    They are gaming their own comments system, but that’s no reason not to tell them exactly what you think.

    • Rae 11.1

      Ah so you’ve noticed the tardiness of publishing online comment as well. I have been suspicious for some time, as articles such as anything pointing out the downsides of the TPPA or land sales to foreigners etc. get buried somewhere in the middle of the day, so that those of us who work don’t see them till later on, then whatever comment you make never shows up. My last comment in the Herald according to my profile was made on Thursday. I have noticed this increasingly over the last couple of months.

      • Paul 11.1.1

        And comments are closed when there is almost universal dissent with the writer.

        • Death Row 11.1.1.1

          Bye bye green eye.

          When Blue Eye succeeds with the case – you are dead.

          Oh well…….happy days.

      • Mrs Brillo 11.1.2

        My comment has not been published. (Perhaps I should not have told her that this was a very shabby effort. )

        But some individuals have numerous comments published which are a lot worse written and reasoned than mine was. Several under the same story.
        And the ultra right wing commenters that look like part of a National attack squad are there every time, sometimes multiple comments of theirs published.

        A lot of new nicks turned up today under this story. I think the person who suggested the Herald (or Mr and Mrs Soper) had pre-prepared comments ready to publish as soon as the piece appeared, was right on the money.

        So I’ll make a remark here which if I sent it to the Herald, they would not publish:

        Heather DPA is an immature apology for a writer who does not understand politics and is in the wrong job. Her lack of judgement is an embarrassment. Once again TV3 have fallen for style over substance, but there is no reason for Granny to do the same.

        She would make a really cute weather girl, though – imagine, Heather on the Weather. Light as a feather.

    • Clemgeopin 11.2

      <i."Don’t vent here – send your comment in to the Herald under the article in question.Then let’s see how many of them end up getting published"

      I did, at 10 am this morning. It has been published now. Here is my comment there:

      “What is amazing is that Key has managed to fool so many people for so long and so very easily. Turnbull is the latest gullible fool who has fallen for his charm. I agree with the point Andrew Little was making”

      Clemgeopin – New Zealand – 12:36 PM Sunday, 27 Sep 2015

  12. Clemgeopin 12

    That appalling article shows one thing clearly : That the author has a very low IQ, childish analytical skills and an extremely poor grasp of issues.

    or that she is just another biased right wing rogue agent masquerading as a fourth estate ‘journalist’.

    • dukeofurl 12.1

      From her 7 Sharp days

      “On Seven Sharp du Plessis-Allan did some pretty dreadful stuff. There was the time she dressed up as a park ranger and pretended to stop people entering a park in Wellington for a story that made no sense at all. She was sent to chat up old men in a pub to make a non-newsworthy point about the pension age. She jogged around the capital with the speaker David Carter. She introduced the world to John Key’s office toilet.”

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/70857862/The-real-Heather-du-Plessis-Allan

      I understand these sort of shows, the reporters mostly bid their own story ideas for the producers. What was she thinking ?

      • Clemgeopin 12.1.1

        Don’t these idiot journalist even realise how embarrassingly inept and hollow they are?

        • Paul 12.1.1.1

          They don’t care as long as they can acquire the trappings of success.
          Money, fame, stuff…..

          • Puddleglum 12.1.1.1.1

            Bingo – sadly I think that’s pretty much the sum of it.

            The ability to think seems to get you nowhere in mainstream political journalism today.

            The only ‘analysis’ allowed seems to be over a politician’s ‘image’ (never analyse policies or important social issues – a big ‘no-no’). And even that analysis has to be trivial, caricatured and simplistic in order to pass muster.

            Have you noticed how any in-depth analyses (e.g., feature articles) are never written by these ‘prominent’ political journalists?

            I get the distinct impression that the Garners, Gowers – and, now, du Plessis-Allans – of the journo world are simply there to do the intellectual equivalent of prancing about making god-awful spectacles of themselves.

            Perhaps they really don’t understand how incredibly shallow what they do is? Maybe the saddest interpretation is that they really think they’re doing something substantive.

            On the evidence of this column it seems that that week surfing with Key’s Press Secretary has either had the desired effect or was simply a case of birds of a feather:

            The couple [Soper and du Plessis-Allan] have just spent a week surfing in Hawaii with Sia Aston, the Prime Minister’s new chief press secretary.

            • Paul 12.1.1.1.1.1

              Literally and metaphorically embedded journalists.

            • Draco T Bastard 12.1.1.1.1.2

              Perhaps they really don’t understand how incredibly shallow what they do is? Maybe the saddest interpretation is that they really think they’re doing something substantive.

              I suspect that they probably think that they’re being sophisticated but are actually too stupid and shallow to realise that they’re being arses.

              • ropata

                Agreed, I can’t imagine how anyone with a smattering of intellect or self-awareness could possibly lower themselves to such a trivial sideshow. Unless they are a smug narcissist who is star-struck by wealth and glamour, and thinks they are a part of it…

                http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/20/broadcasters-mouthpieces-of-elite-balanced-news-journalists

                Those entrusted to challenge power are the loyalists of power. They rage against social media and people such as Russell Brand, without seeing that the popularity of alternatives is a response to their own failures: their failure to expose the claims of the haut monde, their failure to enlist a diversity of opinion, their failure to permit the audience to see that another world is possible. If even the public sector broadcasters parrot the talking points of the elite, what hope is there for informed democratic choice?

  13. Ad 13

    I went to a funeral in Dunedin last week.
    200 people.
    Mostly good bourgeoisie, small business people, farmers, late middle aged, reasonably well off.

    Not a positive thing to say about Key, the flag, the economy, the government, farming, the military, Dunedin, the regions.
    Nothing.

    • BM 13.1

      Christ, what did you expect.
      it’s Dunedin the home of Labour and the misery guts capital of NZ.

      • weka 13.1.1

        Did you get divorced in Dunedin BM, or went to uni or something? Such a downer on the place.

      • lprent 13.1.2

        And also the only independent large newspaper in NZ. It is still as reactionary as it was when I was there decades ago. But unlike the NZ Herald, it is still worth reading because it still tends to concentrate on reporting news.

        Besides, there are two seats in Dunedin. Hardly a large voting population.

    • infused 13.2

      Dunners is a cold shit hole. No wonder people are unhappy. Fuck my life if I ever have to live there.

  14. Ralf Crown 14

    It is not only a peculiarly Herald problem, no, it is a problem of arrogance, stupidity and navel gazing. I know for sure that the Herald has repeatedly been offered services from very competent and skilled kiwi journalists stationed overseas, for instance in China. They could write with highest competence about China as it really is, but the Herald could not be bothered to even answer. Besides that, The Herald don’t want to publish unless they are allowed to snoop around in the writers private life and register his home address and other personal data. If the journalist is living in China for instance, that is now a criminal offense. You see the same media arrogance in for instance EU, and journalists are wholesale dumped as a result. Don’t buy the Herald, don’t patronize their advertisers.

  15. mac1 15

    How can you give credibility to a serious opinion piece or to its publisher when they write this about her?

    “Heather du Plessis-Allan is a thirty something year old trying very hard to avoid growing up. So far it’s working, except for the husband, the mortgage and the proper job. Since moving to central Wellington, she’s doing all she can to act more metropolitan than a girl who grew up down the road from an onion field outside of Auckland.”

  16. maui 16

    Here there do Panda see Sellin

  17. Tory 17

    It’s a privately owned company, they can write anything they fuckin like. Shouldn’t you be reading the Socialist Worker for your daily dose of propaganda rather than reading Fairfax?

    • Paul 17.1

      Settle down.
      You need to take your angry pills, Tory.

    • Reddelusion 17.2

      Spot on Tory, if there is such a thirst for a socialist left wing rag why don’t the likes of Paul and friends simply put their money where their mouth is and get publishing Pent up demand is huge by their reckoning, they can’t loose, instead we get them demanding a private company do their bidding ( Should not be a surprise I guess as socialist MO) If they don’t like the herald, stop fkn reading it, simple. I suspect sub consciously they love the herald as they love bleating and moaning as a distraction from their own inadequacies.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 17.2.1

        The only way you can get ahead is by lying. It’s pathetic.

      • Peter 17.2.2

        ….. fine if the Herald owned up publicly to its own right wing tag tendencies ….. but they don’t preferring to mislead the gullible with a veneer of balance as New Zealand’s most awarded publication ……. what we really need is two national papers whose left and right bias is known and accepted ( Guardian v’s Times)

    • One Anonymous Bloke 17.3

      They are (allegedly) journalists, and can no more write “anything they fuckin like” than you can write anything substantive.

      I appreciate the only way Dear Leader can get elected is by lying, and journalism still isn’t your toy.

      Choke on it.

    • Draco T Bastard 17.4

      It’s a privately owned company, they can write anything they fuckin like.

      Actually, they can’t. They’re not allowed to publish lies for instance and that article does appear to be a bunch of lies.

    • half crown 17.5

      “It’s a privately owned company, they can write anything they fuckin like. Shouldn’t you be reading the Socialist Worker for your daily dose of propaganda rather than reading Fairfax?”

      We are all fully aware that the bourgeoisie media can write what they like Comrade Tory, but it is the insult to one’s intelligence when they expect us to believe the shit.
      Personally I don’t read any of the excuses for shit house paper that are out there
      Ah, come back The Daily Worker all is forgiven.

    • Paul 17.6

      The airwaves that they use are in the public arena and have been stolen.

  18. Im Right 18

    Well looks like my posts are deleted?, typical ‘democracy’ and ‘discussion’ that the left love ohhh wait!, am I deleted? I did discuss the post theme, but not your side of the fence eh?

    [lprent: Nope. It is most likely that because at some point in time you were a behavioral arsehole on this site. So you got a ban and were put into autospam. Obviously if there was an expiry on it, that hasn’t happened yet.

    Looking at the auto-spam list, it appears that you made an assertion here. You were challenged on it, and then you promptly disappeared like a child caught deliberately piddling on the carpet because it was “funny”. Clearly you didn’t like that little spanking. You didn’t want to “discuss” that did you?

    It is apparent that you are clearly gutless, inaccurate, and way way too stupid to comment on this site.

    Your habit of making defamatory comments that appear to have been picked out of your arse (because they have no substantiation) makes you a liability for this site. Reading you chewing on your dick head doing all of those strange comments in auto-spam, I’d have to say that you add nothing to the political debate apart from being a good example of someone acting like a idiotic parrot repeating other peoples lines. Looking at their content, I will put you on a preventative and preemptive permanent ban.

    Bye bye idiot troll. ]

  19. Gemma 19

    Du Plessis Allan’s Herald article is unbelievably shallow. Micky, you’re right – she’s functioning like someone in the schoolyard who wants to be in with the “cool” kids at any cost.

    Media have repeatedly criticised Labour for supposedly being a weak opposition… yet the media also criticise Labour for speaking out against National’s cynical, manipulative actions and decisions. It’s a no-win situation. We have a complicit media who are National lapdogs not watchdogs.

  20. stigie 20

    If you lot think Heather du Plessis-Allan is a National cheerleader, there must be some full on arguments in the Soper household then, because i reckon ole Barry is a full on cheerleader for Labour…?

    • Gangnam Style 20.1

      ” Barry is a full on cheerleader for Labour” ahh, no he is not.

    • Paul 20.2

      You are kidding, right??!!!

      • stigie 20.2.1

        Soper, always known as the leftie hack.

        • maui 20.2.1.1

          Yeah thats why the country’s most conservative radio station newstalk employ him lol.

        • Paul 20.2.1.2

          Du Plessis’s hatchet job at the Moment of Truth.
          Quite the right wing puppet, serving her corporate masters.

          http://nzagainstthecurrent.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-insulting-behaviour-of-mike-hosking.html

          And Soper works at Newstalk ZB.
          A hot bed of left wing views.

        • Sanctuary 20.2.1.3

          Soper is another well past his use by date NZ journalist that in any other country would have long ago been put out to pasture in a regional publication. Here however they use the dearth of competition to cling to their jobs well past the age that they should get out. Soper is completely embedded into the Wellington political circus, AKA the “establishment” and sees everything through the lens of everyone having fat salaries and horse race reporting. That automatically makes him an in lockstep neo-liberal cheerleader, since that is what makes up our establishment.

          Another example is that dreadful Listener columnist Jane Clifton, a cynical, simpering idiot whose best work was done 20 years ago. Soper, Clifton – they are part of the system, deeply embedded, cynical hacks in a circus they think is a giant leg pull on the public and completely devoid of any ideology or values beyond the “game”.

          Oh and could someone PLEASE tell Brian Edwards that everytime he is on the radio he diminishes his legend and he sounds like an dottery, complacent and rather absent minded old out of touch old man who appears to think it is funny to be bullied by Michelle Boag? JUST RETIRE YOU STUPID OLD BASTARD.

          • Paul 20.2.1.3.1

            Yes, these people are all either pillars of the neoliberal establishment or are NZ’s equivalent of the Fox News ‘token Democrat.’

            Josie Pagani does this job as well.

    • Naki man 20.3

      “If you lot think Heather du Plessis-Allan is a National cheerleader, there must be some full on arguments in the Soper household then, because i reckon ole Barry is a full on cheerleader for Labour…?”

      Have you listened to the women, she is left of John Campbell.
      What I don’t get is why she would marry someone more than twice her age.

  21. infused 21

    I don’t think I ever read one thing positive on the standard. The article is pretty spot on with the left in general. bunch of winging, complaining, sad fucks.

    I thought whaleoil was bad with his bullshit, but this place is taking the cake these days.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 21.1

      That’s a positive comment. Or perhaps it’s some lame whining from a flaccid hypocrite. Who can tell?

      • ropata 21.1.1

        The Herald will publish any old crap so that RW simpletons can drool over all the fawning JK articles and flag trivia and ignore what’s really happening to NZ.

        But dare to criticise the holy scripture of the NZH and the FJK mob will be attacking you like a horde of furious gnats.

        Is this the brave new world of media freedom and technology? A flood of mindless dross? Jesus wept.

    • Paul 21.2

      So don’t come here.

  22. stigie 22

    Once you think and talk doom and gloom, you will never get to Government.
    Talking down the economy day after day like Robertson does and some of the people on here, no wonder Labour are still in the late 20s or early 30s and Little with the charisma of a cardboard box with no address !

    • Paul 22.1

      So says a neoliberal puppet.

    • Anne 22.2

      And what do you think the Nats did between 2005 and 2008? Talked down the economy big time and the irony is the Labour govt. recorded surpluses every year they were in office. In English’s own words after the 2008 election “they left the books in good order.”

      Contrast that with the Nats deficits for the past 7 years which don’t look like they’re going to change any time soon. So much for the mantra National know how to manage the economy. Biggest con in the history of this country!

      • Clemgeopin 22.2.1

        So much for the mantra National know how to manage the economy. Biggest con in the history of this country!”

        +1

        These nincompoops have accumulated a massive amount of debt, over106 billion dollars, ($106,000,000,000) in JUST 7 years of their misrule, for our kids and grand kids to pay off sometime in the future or to quietly become the economic slaves of USA, China, the World Bank, the IMF etc. The INTEREST alone on that debt is over $160 per second or $9,700 per minute or $586,600 per hour or over $14 million per day or $5 billion per year!

        We have a stupid government with sweet talking, dodgy, lying and cunning leaders in charge.

        Here is a prediction :
        This particular Government masterly manipulated by Key, English, Joyce and Crosby Textor will go down in the history of New Zealand as a vile, dishonest, inept, expensive, wasteful, untrustworthy, pro-wealthy, pro-corporate, anti-worker, unpatriotic, corrupt, harmful, valueless and a dirty one.

        Oh, by the way,
        KOF FOR NOW

  23. stigie 23

    Anne, so much money sloshing around in the mid 2000s, probably once in a generation that a Bill and John party could have made surpluses and then the GFC hit our economy pretty hard along with other issues. We are slowly coming right and back on the right track as long as we stay focused and positive which this Government is doing.

    • Paul 23.1

      Just another neoliberal puppet.

    • dukeofurl 23.2

      All is lost then , since they are doing none of that:

      The PM seems to be some sort of retro Jumping Jack Flash.

      The finance minister has failed every goal he has set for himself, since 2008.

      The housing minister has made a fool of himself over land he doesnt own or has been promised to someone else, fat chance of affordable home s there.

      The economy outside Auckland and Christchurch is in decline and national will pay dearly when the NZ Country …. ops NZ First party cranks up its publicity machine.

      Per capita GDP is still stuck below what it was in 2008, and will likely decline as the best seems to have passed.

    • Clemgeopin 23.3

      @stigie
      Cool story bro. Tell us another.

      Key had signaled tax cuts BEFORE the 2008 election and BEFORE the GFC and had also made a PROMISE not to increase GST.

      Then, IN SPITE of the recession, the idiots gave 2 BILLION dollars PER YEAR (and every year) of tax cuts that primarily and hugely helped the wealthy, while also increasing the GST to 15% that primarily and disproportionately hit the poor the most.

      The Christ Church earthquake cost the government about 15 billion dollars.

      How do you explain the 106 Billion dollars of accumulated debt for YOUR and ALL OUR future generations to pay off easily, and if they ever can?
      Think about it a little and wake up! Don’t fall for their porkies, stigie.

      And by the way,
      KOF FOR NOW

  24. ropata 24

    “Think positive”, I guess that’s what John Key and his mates on Wall street told the suckers as they sold them shitty derivatives and whatnot that crashed the world economy. Somehow I find it hard to trust the empty suits and their empty promises.

  25. Henry Filth 25

    So with the demise of the NZ Herald, what am I to read? Is there a decent NZ online newspaper?

    Please don’t tell me “Stuff”.

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  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 27

    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 min ago
  • Ticket To Anywhere

    You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    43 mins ago
  • Stories of varying weight

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • Balancing External Security and the Economy

    New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    18 hours ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: The unravelling of the offsets

    The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • What makes us tick

    This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    24 hours ago
  • Foreshore and seabed 2.0

    In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

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