The Friday dump on Havelock North

Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, August 20th, 2016 - 68 comments
Categories: farming, health, water - Tags: , , , ,

The Havelock North gastro outbreak is big – Timeline: Havelock North’s water contamination crisis

More than 4000 people in Havelock North have been brought down with gastric illness – New Zealand’s worst-ever waterborne disease outbreak.

The outbreak might also have killed a person, after test results confirmed an elderly woman who died last week had contracted campylobacter.

The most likely cause comes as no surprise – Campylobacter most likely from livestock – Yule

The source of campylobacter found in Havelock North’s water is most likely to be cattle, sheep or deer, according to an interim report into the contamination crisis.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said it was likely the previous weekend’s flooding had swept faeces from livestock into the water supply.

“It’s very hard to explain it in any other way. I’ve been a farmer, I’m an engineer, and it looks likely that somehow that has occurred.”

Naturally this development was the subject of a classic Friday 5pm news dump. A government that has let our water quality deteriorate would rather we didn’t know about the consequences.

This is the first such major event, but it won’t be the last, unless we clean up our water!

68 comments on “The Friday dump on Havelock North ”

  1. save nz 1

    Great post. +100

  2. ropata 2

    That last tweet is unbelievable. Government by inaction and spin.

    Turns out the death *was* caused by the contaminated water
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/311361/dead-havelock-north-woman-had-campylobacter

    • weka 2.1

      Thanks for that link. It also has the story of the woman who had a campylobacter infection in July and has ended up with Guillain Barre Syndrome, a long lasting autoimmune disease with multiple serious effects. The woman, Kerry McIntosh, is in hospital and unable to work, and now unable to walk. Despite GBS being rare, the DHB there is now expecting multiple cases from the area. That is serious shit. The council won’t give her the test results either, but they’ve ruled out food poisoning so are thinking it’s likely to be water (she lives right in the currently affected area).

      She set up this FB page for people to network,

      https://www.facebook.com/haveyoursayhawkesbay/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf

      • Lanthanide 2.1.1

        Studies suggest that 1 out of every ~1690 people who get sick from campylobacter will end up with GBS.

        So there’s likely be at least 1 new case, possibly up to 3, from this event.

        • weka 2.1.1.1

          Ok, thanks. They’re also talking about reactive arthritis (around 10 – 40 potential cases).

    • It’s not a health emergency, it’s a “difficult health situation.”

      Gosh, where have we heard that spin before? I give it a week before they’re talking about their comprehensive water safety plan.

    • Leftie 2.3

      Ropata, the National government are being completely irresponsible and reckless with people’s lives.

  3. Sanctuary 3

    Meanwhile, that stalwart fortress of high browed fearless journalism the NZ Herald tells us today of the tragedy of a couple who just lost a son, why bananas are bad for breakfast, an American teenagers letter to bullies, and who Ryan Lochte got on the large with.

    You couldn’t make up such a steaming pile of banal bullshit if you tried.

    • ropata 3.1

      No mention of Havelock North but lots of tat about people shagging on a beach somewhere.

      FFS our ‘national’ newspaper is not even absorbent enough to be useful.

      • dv 3.1.1

        full page on the DomPost print front page.

      • alwyn 3.1.2

        Havelock North is south of the Bombay Hills.
        An Aucklander working for the Herald would probably have to use Google to find it on a map.
        And where did you get the idea that The Herald is our “national newspaper”?

      • mosa 3.1.3

        Ropata its time the” Granny” retired.
        You cant even get your fish and chips wrapped up with it anymore.

      • Philj 3.1.4

        I presume it’s suitable as a fire starter

        • whispering kate 3.1.4.1

          It works great as a liner for the cat litter tray too. I get the the weekend Herald delivered once a week from a neighbour in a supermarket bag solely for me to line the tray. We gave the paper up over 2 years ago and have never missed it – a load of tripe and a waste of money. I got a month’s supply recently as a teaser to get back on subscription but it was like pulling teeth just trying to read it – absolutely have given it up for the rubbish it is.

    • Leftie 3.2

      And don’t forget Sanctuary, how many ties John key has.

  4. dukeofurl 4

    I only knew about the source being identified because I checked RNZ website after 5PM
    I was expecting it to be covered on the TV news, even as an update. But nothing.

    Its been clear from the very first that Yule has been following spin management to the letter. And I wondered when they found results, my guess the answer would be ‘inconclusive’ as they would politically the best result for the spin doctors and council.

    What doesnt make sense is that ‘cattle, sheep and deer’ havent caused this sort of problem before ?

    • Sanctuary 4.1

      The problem is the growth of Havelock North, which is encroaching on the bores, and the growth of intensive farming, neither of which has been properly planned for in the usual, slack arsed NZ way of waiting for a Cave Creek to happen before fixing it. Now whenever it rains heavily it seems run-off full of cow – sorry, “livestock” – shit is contaminating the bores Havelock North draws it’s water from.

      God knows what Hastings District Council spends it’s money on, it is sixty eight million dollars in debt and has higher rates than Napier. Napier has been run (down) by a succession of do-nothing mayors selected by the local wannabes who prefer to keep rates down and preside over the cities decline. Yule has not really been that spectacular a mayor, although he seems to believe his own press releases more and more as time goes by.

      The whole story of Hawkes Bay since it was economically gutted in the 1980s and 90s and lost it’s local media is a case study in the decline of effective governance in the face of economic stagnation and the absence of proper democratic checks and balances like a local media and the rise of a third world social structure with the attendant poor and ignorant electorate and a local ruling class which routinely practices cronyism, nepotism, and nod and wink corruption.

      • weka 4.1.1

        Is there farming intensification in the area of the bores? The pictures I saw were all of vinyards etc, not animals.

        • b waghorn 4.1.1.1

          i’m getting a sneaky feeling that where they say the water comes from (50 year old deep aquifer) and where it’s really coming from might be two different things.

          topping up out of the tuki tuki or some such would be a good way of getting nasties in your water.

          • weka 4.1.1.1.1

            If they are testing at the tap end, or the reservoir, they will have no idea where the contamination is.

            Do you mean intentionally topping up?

          • dukeofurl 4.1.1.1.2

            The ’50 year old water’ would only apply at the deepest parts of the Heretaunga aquifer, maybe 150m +
            So you go nearer the surface the ‘newer’ the water gets, so its only weeks old just below the confined layer.
            These bores are at 20m

            • weka 4.1.1.1.2.1

              How do you know it’s only weeks old?

              Where is that top level water coming from?

              • b waghorn

                In the link I put up for the bottling plant if you click the ‘water’ at the top it has a supposed diagram of the water aquifers.
                I note they are selling the deepest and probably cleanest , while the locals get the leavings.

                • weka

                  This one?

                  http://www.nzmiracle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/water_image2.jpg

                  This one from the HDC seems to imply that the town supply is coming from the second aquifer. Nobody has explained how that could get contaminated (or if it even is, can they even test from the bottom of the bore?).

                  http://www.hastingsdc.govt.nz/files/all/property/water/Aquifer.jpg

                  And this is the council’s description of the water supply,

                  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11693935

                  Still a lot of information not being provided by the MSM. If flooding (and effluent) is a possible source, how would it get into the bore? or the aquifer? etc.

                  Someone said this the other day,

                  It would be unusual for a town’s bore to be contaminated but there is the possibility of contamination from a connection to the town’s water which is not protected by a Backflow Preventor. There was the case of Darfield’s water being contaminated but I do not know what the source was.
                  There is also the possiblity of the aquifer being contaminated by a irrigation set up spreading effluent and is also connected to the same aquifer and not having a proper Backflow Preventor at the head of the bore the effluent can flow into the bore. Ecan has allowed the installation of a Backflow Preventor that does no comply with NZ regulations but that is another story.

                  http://thestandard.org.nz/shit-in-the-water/#comment-1219173

                  • Mad Plumber

                    In addition to my initial comments on Backflow Prevention, from the Picture’s of the Council Bore heads there does not seem to be any Back Flow Device.
                    The other possible source of contamination could be a decommissioned bore that the Regional Council know nothing about.
                    The other source could be a farm effluent pond that is leaking. Again hard to find especially if it is a clay lined pond. Most of the newer ponds are plastic lined.
                    The District council are taking all the flak at the moment but the Regional Council could also be to blame especially as the contamination seems to be from livestock. They are the ones that usually make the rules about ponds, bores and effluent disposal.

              • Lloyd

                If it is traveling 300m per day, it was probably in the Tukituki River four days earlier.

                • weka

                  Is that river connected to that aquifer?

                  • Many aquifers are. Many.

                    • weka

                      Some aren’t I think. If it was as simple as a polluted river contaminating an aquifer, wouldn’t that be more obvious?

                      See http://www.hastingsdc.govt.nz/files/all/property/water/Aquifer.jpg

                      http://www.nzmiracle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/water_image2.jpg

                      That appears to be saying that the rivers are not connected to the second or third aquifers (town supply is the second one down, commercial bottled water is the third one down).

                      Also, the report from the last contamination suggested that a possible source was the earth works done nearby having disrupted the impervious layer (they were speculating).

                      Which doesn’t mean teh rivers aren’t the source, but I’d like to see an explanation of how that could happen given the known geology. They chose that source for a reason.

                      (and needless to say, we should stop polluting the rivers anyway, because they will be affecting their own aquifer in addition to the river ecology).

                      It does beg the question of where the aquifers are being recharged from though.

      • weston 4.1.2

        what have the respective rates got to do with it then sanctuary ?Youre saying napier is badly run because it has low rates and presumedly less debt but hastings has got high rates and enormous debt which particular point are you driving at ?

    • weka 4.2

      “What doesnt make sense is that ‘cattle, sheep and deer’ havent caused this sort of problem before ?”

      The woman in the video in the link above got sick in July, same area. She can’t get the council’s water test results from when she was first ill. I’m guessing she was the first.

      AFAIK they still don’t know how the contamination got in. Not sure if they even know where it’s happening. Is it in the aquifer? Or in the bore? (when the MSM say ‘bore’ I hope they mean the infrastructure and not the aquifer, but it’s hard to tell). How does that work? Someone commented yesterday that it is possible for contaminants to go down the bore and then be taken back up with the water supply.

    • jcuknz 4.3

      It was animals plus a flood …..I heard John Campbell i/v a Mushroom farmer who had a copy of the report that was not [apparently ] released to radio [RNZ]

  5. Siobhan 5

    Craig Foss is the National Party MP for Tukituki, Hawke’s Bay, and is seen as being very much ‘their man’ by the large proportion of Havelock North residents.

    He is also very much a proponent of the Ruataniwha Dam, which is on the shitty, stinky (in summer anyway) Tukituki river behind Havelock North.

    Apart from increased water usage the dam will involve massive intensification of all the activities that relate to this outbreak ie intensive farming.

    This is an important issue during the last election. This and Nationals policies to water management.

    He was elected bringing these policies to the table.

    I am so looking forward to the next election to see how this plays out. It is a perfect example to bring up in the old argument we have at home..
    “Why DO people Vote against their own best interests??”

    • Sanctuary 5.1

      I remember swimming in the Tukituki river when I was a kid. 🙁

      • b waghorn 5.1.1

        I was at the tuki tuki 6 years ago at Patangata it was crystal clear and brimming with trout. Don’t know if it still is.

    • nom 5.2

      I look forward to the spin this to frame the the dam as a ‘positive’ – backup drinking water supply?

      • Siobhan 5.2.1

        Yes, I had thought of that too, infact I think they had earlier(pre this crisis) mentioned the dam being used like a toilet flush for toxins in the river. Maybe they could instal a giant Glade Toilet Cleaning Perfume thingy(with Blue colouring) just to make the whole situation perfect.

        • te reo putake 5.2.1.1

          Heh! It could be Hasting’s equivalent to the L&P bottle or Ohakune’s giant carrot. I can just see tourists flocking to take selfies before their latte’s come back up on them.

          I can also see another business opportunity. Hawkes Bay could be marketed as the weight loss capital of NZ. Just one glass of Waipuk water and you’ll shit yourself thin. Everyone’s a winner!

          • gsays 5.2.1.1.1

            i heard a rumour havelock north is using feilding’s redundant tourism slogan-

            ‘would it kill you to visit?’

  6. ropata 6

    People vote in the short term interest of their wallets, not thinking of *potential* risks like shit in the water supply

    Guess who opposed protecting the Cooks Beach aquifer bores from penetration from septic tanks, and the beach water too? Yes, ratepayers.— Alasdair Thompson (@ajthompson13) August 19, 2016

  7. dv 7

    Ultra Violet treatment of water for individual houses appears to becoming viable- Seem to be about 2-3k per installation.

  8. HDC and Health Care HB will have us all drinking our own shit for ever more and a day know the water supply has been clorinated.

    They are incapable of doing anything else but push paper around and talk and have more talks anything but action.

    They will increase rate rates so we can all pay for our own compensation and pay for the inquiries into what is not any mistry at all, shit is in the water how is that a mistry?

    Shit has been in all our rivers and streams and dams for generations only a fool would think it was a mistry to find it in our water supply?

    • ropata 8.1

      the word is “mystery”

      and no, we have never seen this level of disgusting effluent in our water before. tragedy of the commons, irresponsible farming, and lax governance at all levels.

  9. dv 9

    Herald reporting 50 mins ago.

    An interim scientific analysis indicates contamination from cattle, sheep and deer may have been present in Havelock North’s water supply, which in normal times is not disinfected with chlorine.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11697827

  10. Keith 10

    Listening to Foss on the news speaking in parliament I smelt a dirty big rat. He was spouting bullshit about community team spirit and everyone pulling together, wa, wa, waa. Then the Nats, full well knowing this is going to be caused by agricultural run off, launch one of their damage control enquiries, one assumes in an educated guess, is to bury the truth. All round their reaction is becoming all too familiar.

    What must happen is a fully independent fact finding enquiry, not a Nat whitewash.

  11. mosa 11

    Its only political considerations that they are having an enquiry.
    This issue is not going away but they ” dont do fully independent fact finding” its not in the dna.
    They will be assessing the damage and its all spin from there or Key has had a blow to the head and has a rapid conversion to all of a sudden having enquiries when he has always resisted on all the other issues that proper process would have demanded one.
    As usual there is more to this than meets the eye, lets hope it gets sorted.

  12. Rae 12

    Breaking news, Hastings and Flaxmere water contaminated.

  13. righty right 13

    the government has done nothing to clean up the water system its not good enough they have had 8.5 years bulling and threatening academics head in the sand isn’t leadership its the mark of a coward and thats is all key is.

  14. dave 14

    its right wing voters who bullshited all over the place pricks like BM and infused in a chorus of national party bullshit have caused this contamination key should meet an equally turdy end to his disastrous reign as prime shiter.

    • mosa 15.1

      GOD that mans face is everywhere , it should be put too good use like a cure for constipation.

  15. Ad 16

    Both the Hastings Mayor and the Hastings Council Chief Executive are reporting that they still have no idea what the cause is.

    They’ve failed to prevent it, failed to front for it to the sick, failed to find the cause.

    Thankfully the local hospital is saying that the worst is over in terms of patients.

    Since it’s clearly beyond Council’s power to solve it, central government should appoint a Commissioner over the Council.

    This next year looks like being the longest year in National’s political life for many, many years.

  16. Neil 17

    Maybe intensive dairying etc., has something to do with it?, surely not because John says so

  17. Philj 18

    The media information released has been confusing and at odds with itself. One day we are told that the number afflicted had peaked, next day we are told that it is greater than the day before. One day we told the water tanker is contaminated the next day we told that the water tanker wasn’t contaminated. Clearly, this is a toxic situation that the ‘authorities’, local and National, have failed in their duty Do you believe in anything that we are being told? As awful as the situation is, especially for the afflicted, the official response has been even worse. No wonder the publics trust in our politicians and democratic processes is rapidly diminishing.

  18. righty right 19

    are the farmers going to be made to pay clean up the mess they have created(fat chance) or is it gen x and y who cant even afford a home going to be made to pay while dairy farmers get off free take the profit and dump costs on to the community farmers created this bloody mess they should clean it up. national are going to lie bullshit cover up do nothing. if the tourist stop coming the newly unemployed should nail the dairy industry to the wall. the dairy industry is playing loose and fast with our health economy and ultimately our lives and that isn’t fare they have to be made to pay!these bastards don’t even pay tax and tax payers are subsidizing intensification while these farming wankers wreak our environment

  19. Observer Tokoroa 20

    .
    . Just in case you don’t know who is running our Parliament, it is:
    .
    The Maori Party, United First Party, The Act Party, The National Party.
    .
    . Not a single one of them is competent. They work on the twin basis of “Spin” and Loading up the very wealthy with more assets and more “Wealth”.

    .

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    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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours 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
    9 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
    11 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
    12 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
    1 day 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
    6 days ago
  • 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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