The importance of party unity

Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, October 7th, 2020 - 83 comments
Categories: election 2020, jacinda ardern, Judith Collins, national, paula bennett, same old national - Tags:

If a party wants to become Government there are a few characteristics that is has to have.  Fiscal competence is one.  And unity is another.

Currently National has neither.  Its fiscal strategy is a $10 billion dollar joke.  And it is clearly factionalised and divided.

After yesterday’s incredible story about Denise Lee’s leaked email attacking Judith Collins for not understanding Auckland issues and for making policy on the hoof there was this extraordinary twitter fight between former chief of staff and occasional Standard reader Matthew Hooton and former Deputy Leader and pseudo westie Paula Bennett.

Newshub has the details in this video.

Believe me I know how this works.  I lived through the Labour experience in 2014.  Leaks are the weapons used by dissenters and if used properly can catch out and undermine leaders and make them look like fools.

But it is when the fight goes public that you know things are really bad.  I have not seen this level of public disruption from National for decades.  Here are the tweets for all to see.

Bennett’s tweet is astounding.  So National had has policy, benchmark polling and campaign work prepared but the previous leadership refused to share it.  Strong team eh.

Hooton is not showing signs of backing off.

This is very messy.  During Labour’s darkest times at least the dissent only erupted publicly after the election.

And it gets worse for National.  The only way to describe last night’s debate is Jacinda was ascendant and Judith was appalling.

The most important feature of a campaign is momentum.  Yesterday’s events have well and truly killed any momentum National may have had.

83 comments on “The importance of party unity ”

  1. Muttonbird 1

    Someone needs to ask the good Reverend at St Thomas Tamaki just how often Judy and her boof-head husband turn up to Sunday service.

    • Chris T 1.1

      It is interesting you throw personal abuse at both Collins and her husband and then make out they are the boof heads.

      • In Vino 1.1.1

        If one reeks of personal hypocrisy, one can expect some borax.

        • Chris T 1.1.1.1

          I haven't seen her husband spouting hyprocisy.

          • woodart 1.1.1.1.1

            do you spend much time with him?

            • Chris T 1.1.1.1.1.1

              No

              I just watch media.

              Wouldn't know him if I bumped into him.

              Just find it funny Muttonbird choses to slag the bloke off, because he doesn't like his wife.

              Personally would never slag off Ardern's partner, no matter how much he wastes police time pretending to smuggle eggs into countries.

              • solkta

                There is good reason to slag him off. Did you not see the national memes thing in the media you watch? Or on here:

                https://thestandard.org.nz/left-wing-twitter-is-the-worst/#comment-1747064

                • Chris T

                  Why

                  Are people now not allowed to voice their opinions on their own social media?

                  • solkta

                    Of course they are "allowed" to voice their opinions. But as mickysavage points out in the post i linked to:

                    As much as possible leaders’ spouses should be left out of the media gaze. But regularly and publicly attacking the opponent with racist misogynist material makes them fair game.

                    The guy is a boof-head. Fair comment.

                  • froggleblocks

                    So you're pointing out that Collins' husband is allowed to voice his own opinions on his own social media, while telling Muttonbird that they can't voice their opinions on (this) social media?

                    Do you not see a little bit of hypocrisy there?

                    • Chris T

                      I haven't said Muttonbird needs to do anything.

                      Just questioned his crass messages and slight hypocrisy.

                      If you can point out where I have feel free to post

                    • Tricledrown []

                      Chris T crying in your beersies when your party and leader are deeply involved in Dirty Politics and get caught out and then get caught time after time denying .

                      You can 't pathetically claim to be the victim all the Crap has come back and now sticking and being amplified as National tries more lowdown Dirty tricks to win at all cost's.

                      National has no one to blame but itself and its ingrained corruption.

                  • Rapunzel

                    Well that's a little creep down memory lane

          • Patricia Bremner 1.1.1.1.2

            He has put awful stuff up on facebook.

        • peter sim 1.1.1.2

          Exactly where did J Collins get the information that Samoa was a month ahead of NZ i in clovid lock down?

  2. Pat 2

    Appalling in personality, though I thought she had the better of the 'debate'…though it seems from reportage I'm very much in the minority and happy to be so.

    • Gabby 2.1

      No Sarrrrandar Pat!

    • ianmac 2.2

      Always interesting to know the reasons for the opposite view Pat. What do you think were the 3 top reasons for Judith's win?

      • Pat 2.2.1

        Only saw the second half but thought that collins scored a couple of telling hits on Ardern (and also revealed her character, which imo a negative)whereas aside from a couple of quips about Brownlee Ardern didnt manage to nail Collins on anything, though she came close once but Collins was quick enough with a good retort. All in all while some policy was broad brushed there was nothing there to change anyones mind but Collins got it on delivery, not content IMO….but as noted just about everyone else is calling it the other way so Im happy, not that it will make any difference…and nearly 400,000 had voted before it aired

  3. Andre 3

    Unity, huh?

    As a committed atheist, I'm always amused by lines like:

    This distinguishes the one true faith from papists.

    • Pat 3.1

      I thought Hooton was only around fifty?…..that sort of rhetoric went out about the time he was born.

      • Gabby 3.1.1

        I'd like to hear from the photographer akshly. Must've been a very cunning stealthy one to get a snap from that angle and so nicely posed, without Codger's cooperation.

        • Muttonbird 3.1.1.1

          There was certainly more than one. She tacitly invited them in.

          • Gabby 3.1.1.1.1

            Did she ask the photographers, whom she didn't invite in, where they'd like her to sit? Or would kneeling look better?

        • JanM 3.1.1.2

          There is no doubt in my mind that that was posed for the camera. She has seriously resurrected 'truthiness' in the public eye.

        • Robert Guyton 3.1.1.3

          Monty Python's Black Knight was reduced to kneeling, but fought on, uber-confident of winning!
          Nek minnit!

      • Muttonbird 3.1.2

        It also highlights how far the political right have retreated to their core value – social division.

      • Anne 3.1.3

        What an arrogant and detestable creep Hooton is. The word papist is a disparaging term used by National Party-voting protestants who imagine they are superior beings. So, he went to Kings School and Kings College and thinks that gives him the right to look down his nose at others.

        I remember that attitude existed 60 plus years ago when I was growing up. It astonishes me there are people around who still think that way.

        • Pat 3.1.3.1

          guess I must move in the "wrong" circles

          • Drowsy M. Kram 3.1.3.1.1

            Hooton's 'God' moves in 'mysterious ways' laugh

            Ardern’s ‘moves‘ remain a mystery to English Bridges Muller Collins.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP8ZNekmxJQ

          • In Vino 3.1.3.1.2

            'Papist' was commonly used in earlier times – certainly at the time of Guy Fawkes – but only students of history and well-read people would use the word nowadays. I took the sentence as a nice piece of irony by Hooten, worrying about who kneels when praying indeed! He is at least reasonably literate by modern standards, and maybe some people are becoming a little too dependent on 'sarc' tags. Personally, I do not want to 'sarc' tags appearing in newspaper columns, thanks…

            • Matthew Hooton 3.1.3.1.2.1

              Thank you. Of course it was. Calling Anglicanism "the one true faith" would, I'd have thought, made that pretty clear.

              • Dennis Frank

                Ah, Nats doing irony? Many would not believe such a thing possible. Clearly you're a cut above the hoi polloi. Do they actually have a patrician faction? If so, would explain the friction at the divide.

                Collins saying on the radio earlier that they don't actually have a local govt spokesperson makes the screenshot of the title of the woman claiming to be it seem a tad fractional. Perhaps a fraction too much friction happening? Or perhaps one of the two was doing irony?

              • Pat

                Ah sorry Matthew….us poorly educated folk call them Catholics these days…if we think it's necessary to distinguish.

            • Draco T Bastard 3.1.3.1.2.2

              Personally, I do not want to 'sarc' tags appearing in newspaper columns, thanks…

              The problem being that sarcasm doesn't really come across well in text as it's missing a lot of the queues that would be available face to face such as tone and expression.

              In other words, to get sarcasm across in text requires very careful writing or /sarc tags.

              • Incognito

                The problem with face to face is that I cannot easily tell the difference between queues and cues, which is much easier in written language 😉

              • In Vino

                I never saw a 'sarc' tag in Oscar Wilde's written works. Maybe our readers need to sharpen up..

            • Incognito 3.1.3.1.2.3

              It was a tweet. Personally, I think MSM headlines resemble tweets more and more and my fear is that newspaper will be replaced by Social Media altogether. I think we’re almost halfway there.

        • Draco T Bastard 3.1.3.2

          It astonishes me there are people around who still think that way.

          Doesn't surprise me in the slightest. The only way to have multiple faiths is if people believe their one is better than all the rest.

        • RedLogix 3.1.3.3

          Agreed Anne. I was brought up in a middle class Anglican church, but I've never heard or used the term 'papist'.

          When my mother was a child she was off school for much a year with whooping cough (it was a big deal in those days), and no-one in her immediate family could or would care for her. Except for a fairly distant Catholic family who took her in and cared for her, despite already having numerous other children in the household.

          She took great care to explain this to me, and made it clear that in her mind these old denominational conflicts were an abomination.

          My partner of many decades grew up in a Catholic family, and while both of us hold many strong views about the failings of that Church as an institution, we both deeply appreciate her extended family and get together with them whenever possible.

        • tc 3.1.3.4

          Don't forget the behaviour that copped him a life ban here by placing someone in danger.

          A man at home on the right with all his mates shilling for a living.

  4. Enough is Enough 4

    Love the concern trolling almost as much as I loved Paula taking the bait- in public.

    What a shambles

  5. Muttonbird 5

    Collins either has zero control over her staff or she's lying:

    Stuff reported on the day one of Collins' handlers actually checked with church staff whether it was okay for the media pack to follow her into the church.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/10/nz-election-2020-judith-collins-blames-the-left-for-criticism-of-church-photo.html

    And she’s now in full cornered John Key mode:

    Despite the leaders of the Labour and Green parties having nothing to say publicly about Collins' prayer session, she said "the left" had been "really obnoxious" about it. It's not clear who she was referring to.

    It’s all a left wing conspiracy!

  6. Ad 6

    I'm looking forward to three more years of a Labour led country.

    So fun to see the right going through what we went through in the late 1990s.

    • Stunned Mullet 6.1

      I'm not looking forward to the next three years.

      At present National are utterly woeful and will make an appallingly weak opposition…that wouldn't be so concerning if the economy was booming and the current Labour lineup included more than a handful of competent ministers.

      • Draco T Bastard 6.1.1

        Having a strong opposition doesn't really make for better government.

        For that a better democracy is required rather than the elected dictatorship that we have.

        • Stuart Munro 6.1.1.1

          I think it's more of a veiled oligarchy – Muldoon was the last one that really dictated. But they've certainly made a fine mess of things.

  7. Incognito 7

    A ‘leader’ who does have no confidence in their ‘team’ doesn’t receive to trust and respect in return. This rag-tag shambolic collection of MPs fearing for their political lives needs to sort their shit. If you cannot work as a team with your own people, how on Earth can you expect to be able to work with coalition partners or the State sector? Judging by the last three years, National will need at least two more terms to clear out dead wood and re-invent itself. In the meantime, they will suffer from a thousand cuts from competing parties. Lowering the electoral threshold would increase National’s agony.

    • Pat 7.1

      lowering threshold is a double edged sword so both major parties will fight it tooth and nail

      • Incognito 7.1.1

        Yes, which is a pity. In the current climate [no pun], I think National is more vulnerable.

        • Pat 7.1.1.1

          in the current climate Im not sure its a good idea to facilitate fringe groups….but then i guess that depends on the definition of fringe

          • Incognito 7.1.1.1.1

            I’d call them “minor parties” and, IMO, they serve a purpose in a (our) democracy. If the Greens and NZF don’t make the cut, we might end up with just three parties ‘representing’ the people in NZ Parliament. Maybe that’s a good thing in the current climate?

            • Pat 7.1.1.1.1.1

              as said…it depends on your definition of fringe…will we lament the fact that Advance NZ wont have a seat at the table?

              • Incognito

                Only if you’re a supporter and voted for Advance NZ, in which case your vote doesn’t count the way you’d like to and you won’t necessarily feel represented in Parliament in the same way as others. But hey, that’s ok, because we live in a democracy 😉

      • Phil 7.1.2

        Yeah. If the threshold was drastically lowered (or completely removed) NZF would be back, but so would TOP, the Maori Party, The New Conservatives and potentially even Advance NZ. On balance that's probably a national-leaning gaggle of small parties.

        • Pat 7.1.2.1

          Its more the fragmentation of purpose thats a concern…parliament dosnt function terribly well as a melting pot of ideas and if the electorate breaks up into ever increasing factions where does the discussion occur?….having said that no threshold is more democratic.

      • Ed1 7.1.3

        I believe it is sometimes worth taking the high ground. Labour and the Greens would I believe benefit from having the integrity to accept the recommendation of the last review of the electoral system and to lower the threshold – from memory 3.5% was recommended. If a political party gains enough party votes to elect over 3 MPs, then I believe they deserve to be in parliament. On the other hand, the "coat tailing" provision which waives the threshold requirement for a party than gets an electoral seat should be removed, as it distorts the proportionality of parliament. If the results are what we expect it is possible that these changes could be made with a true statement that they would not have affected seats allocated at the 2020 election.

  8. Stephen D 8

    Looking forward to the January BBQ season. The fight for the heart and soul of the National Party will be at stake. Will the Christian Right prevail? The Farmers rump?Business men for sale? What’s left of the urban liberals?

    My popcorn futures are looking good.

    • woodart 8.1

      think it will be taken over by a nth shore farmer looking for a quick do-up, so a combo of what you suggest.

    • Georgecom 8.2

      Can I order a very large carton please

      delivery day before national party summer caucus bbq

  9. mac1 9

    Sorry, Stephen D, I grow my own. But you're right. The BBQ season will show more singed eyebrows and reputations than caused by errant gas lighters. The sound of spitting will be more than just the lamb. There will be little noise of champagne corks popping; rather the muted conversations of huddled green-beer-bottle-supping men and panic amongst the canapés.

  10. NZJester 10

    National has never had either, it has only ever had the illusion of both.

    They always leave the county in a bad state. A lot of the underfunding from their previous time in the treasury benches is still being cleaned up. The health system still needs a lot of repair that will take another term or more. The environmental impact of their policies will take decades to fix
    Ops on my phone and put in the wrong name. Should have been NZJester not TheNZJester

    [Fixed error in user name]

  11. observer 11

    This is very funny …

    Party unity in Ponsonby!

    (clue: Hamish Price. If National are still using him, then they really are divided and lost).

    • Gabby 11.1

      Hammish must've been taking a break from leading opinions up the garden path.

      • observer 11.1.1

        I honestly was feeling a bit sorry for Emma Mellow. She stepped into a mess, created by National's caucus, not her.

        But then she chose Hamish Price as her campaign manager. If she's happy to embrace the toxic, then she deserves the consequences.

    • Robert Guyton 11.2

      This is the best lead-up to an election, ever!

      • Incognito 11.2.1

        For some, it might end with a sickening thud and a shattering of dreams in the wind of oblivion. I just hope (!) I won’t be among those.

  12. Georgecom 12

    News today that National is struggling to find people who actually want to meet Collins out on the streets and are needing to “plant” supporters amongst the populace to make it look like Collins is liked and supported. Rent a supporter.

    • Incognito 12.1

      She could use her hubby. Vernon Tava used that trick and didn’t think it was misleading.

      • woodart 12.1.1

        no. collins has already admitted she has no control over her husband, so , hard to make him wander the streets, pretending to be a fan.

  13. weka 13

    "Bennett’s tweet is astounding."

    Incredible. Do you think it's true, or PB being vicious?

    • Peter 13.1

      Good for Bennett telling it as it is. (was)

      Of course she always tells the truth. I won't look at the calendar but I'm happy to think about a timeline.

      Hooton goes to to work in a 'role in National Party leader Todd Muller's office.'

      Muller was trying to be the leader of the party and lead them into the election to see them the next Government. Hooton clearly worked very closely with Muller and was a 'personal friend of Muller's for 30 years.'

      They worked so closely together that Hooton was not trusted with information about policy, benchmark polling, campaign themes and or a campaign grid.

      Maybe they were distinctly party business so not in Hooton's realm. No, can't be that, the leader makes the policy and announces it as we've seen this week.

      The unified party with the high calibre and ability on board were to rise like a phoenix after the Bridges debacle. Remember the photos?

      All that though was bathing in a sea of bitchiness and back-stabbing. Ah, Paula Bennett.

      It is so appropriate that Collins is the leader now and gets a chance to flaunt the bitchiness. Someone's obviously told her that's what will sell her, people like it. Trouble is she listened to someone who said that or relied on her true practised and innate self and came up with it herself.

      No-one actually told her there is a world out here. Basing your behaviour on the way the National caucus operates and just is, is slightly misguided. Bitchiness, nastiness, lack of trust, back-stabbing, arrogance and incompetence are not what people want and don't reflect what most people and communities are.

  14. Georgecom 14

    The last 2 odd days has echoes of Don Brashes last days on the election hustings back in 2005. A carefully constructed election campaign coming apart at the seams. For brash of course it was his duplicity. For Collins it is her caucus lack of respect and for her and dislike of her. Nevertheless in the final few days when the leader should be gaining momentum a series of events come along to tarnish them, cause people to question them and force them to be continually defend their position. Karma is returning to Collins at the worst possible moment for her.

  15. Really ? Photographers stalk church visitors?

    That was a very carefully pre arranged photo op by JC (?).

  16. Uncle Scrim 16

    What amazes me is why National, under 3 different leaders, has consistently thought there are votes to be gained from undermining and trashing NZ's Covid response success story. For months it was Australia had the best approach, then Taiwan was great (yay, one country in the world did better than us, good on them), then Collins tried Australia if you don't count Victoria, now it's Samoa. Sure they've wanted to tarnish Ardern and Labour, but NZers are very attuned to international news/comparisons and warmed by punching-above-our-weight stories; at worst, it risks appearing unpatriotic – why would anyone think that was a good tactic?

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    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
  • 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
    4 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
    5 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    12 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
    14 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
    14 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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 ...
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  • 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. ...
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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