The Politics of Impartiality

Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, November 23rd, 2010 - 41 comments
Categories: broadcasting, democratic participation, Media, Politics, tv, uk politics - Tags: , , ,

George Galloway has never been known for pulling his punches.

In 2005 he travelled to  US Senate Committee hearings to answer charges that he had accepted bribes from Saddam Hussein in a food for oil scam. By simply speaking truth to power, he wiped the floor with them. (Part two here, if you’ve never viewed his testimony before, or if you are reminding yourself of some salient facts from recent history.)

By the time he appeared before the Senate Committee, he had already been expelled from the Labour Party (2003) for calling on British soldiers to not fight in Iraq.

In short, George Galloway doesn’t mince his words and is a man of conscience.

Now-a-days, he hosts a one hour phone in TV political programme broadcast from London.  The show has been criticised by ofcom (the British broadcasting watchdog) for failing to be objective. ( You can link to web based links of the show ‘Comment’  here. )

Would the same criticism be levelled at broadcasts that failed to display an objective balance but that fell in line with ‘correct’ or orthodox political thinking?  Or would similar criticism be levelled by the authorities at broadcasts displaying a rabid right wing bent?

I ask the question because the ofcom criticism of George Galloway’s TV slot reminded me of a piece I read the other day by Chris Hedges titled The Origin of America’s Intellectual Vacuum, based on an interview with Chandler Davies who was sent to prison for refusing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee in the late 50’s, was subsequently jailed, then blacklisted from academia and who has spent the rest of his life in exile in Canada.

Writing in 1959, Davis noted that  “Repression does not target original thought. It targets already established heretical movements, which are not experimental but codified. If it succeeds very well in punishing heresies, it may in the next stage punish originality. And in the population, fear of uttering such a taboo word as communism may in the next stage become general paralysis of social thought.”

As we move forward 50 years it seems that he was correct.

Now when he says that; “Ideas which were on the agenda a hundred years ago and sixty years ago have dropped out of memory because they are too far from the new centre of discourse.” , we can see how that applies as much in  NZ today as it does in the US or the UK or elsewhere.

That’s the  broader context from which to view the criticism of Galloway.  The criticism of Galloway is a dynamic that has precious little to do with objectivity and a whole lot to do with establishing and maintaining a skewed range of orthodoxy. An orthodoxy where the centre ground is occupied with right wing bias and the right wing balance to that new centre is rabid shock jocks while anything beyond a  counterveiling soft, moderate and safe left is way outside the ballpark of acceptable discourse.

41 comments on “The Politics of Impartiality ”

  1. Colonial Viper 1

    Ah well, I’ll bring up an idea from the past:

    The wealthy can afford to contribute by far the most to the running of a fair and decent society (while still being able to afford all the luxuries in life), therefore it is the wealthy who shall be taxed the most.

    Or another:

    People are not here to work for the economy. The economy is here to work for the people.

    Or another:

    Capital shall be used to benefit the people, not the other way around.

    Or another:

    No person shall be required to work more than 40 hours a week in order to generate a livelihood able to provide themselves with a comfortable standard of living.

    • Vicky32 1.1

      All excellent points, CV….
      Deb

      • Carol 1.1.1

        Yes, very good points about the economy serving people, not the other way around.

        Tonight on TV3 news, there was a moment of providing a little implied criticism of business interests (ie profits) being put above people. A report was mentioned that was begun under the last Labour-led government, and shelved by the current government. Andrew Little was interviewed about it, and says the report was critical of the level of safety checks. The report was critical of the health & safety oversight (or the fact that there wasn’t enough of it) in NZ mines. Apparently overseas/Aussie mines have a safety expert on hand to check conditions each shift. Such checks only happen a few times a year in NZ.

        Kate Wilkinson didn’t sound good on it. Mind you, they didn’t re-show clips of Key saying yesterday, that the safety standards in NZ mines were as good as anywhere else… as far as he knew.

        • ianmac 1.1.1.1

          And the down grading of the safety rules was done in the early 1990s when guess who was carrying out a cost saving exercise. The NAct chose to ignore the report in 2009.

  2. Carol 2

    Well, I’m puzzled by some of the responses by Patrick Gower & a TV3 spokesperson, on the gender bias & political bias in TV3 political news journos & on The Nation. Is bias just in the eye of the beholder?

    http://www.3news.co.nz/Key-must-break-up-National-bloke-fest/tabid/1382/articleID/187367/Default.aspx

    eg Patrick Gower claims that not following John Key around while he smiles and waves would be going into the teritory of authoritarian government & its control of the media:

    John Key’s seen everywhere from Tokyo to Greymouth, er, because he’s everywhere from Tokyo to Greymouth. He’s the Prime Minister. He pronounces on everything because he’s asked about everything.

    If the media ignored him, then we really would be heading for Kim Jong Il/Stalin territory… Governing without the media – now that would be a dream.

    Also James Murray on TV3 disagreed with my criticism, that the main political journalists in the MSM, and on TV3 & The Nation are male, by saying:

    Hi Carol – I would just like to point out that in the mainstream media we have Rebecca Wright at TV3. The political editor of the Dominion Post is Tracy Watkins, the political editor of the NZ Herald is Audrey Young. I think Maggie Tait is the political editor for the NZPA and at least two of RNZ’s main political journalists are women, one of whom is the leader of the press gallery I believe. The Nation has several female journalists and a female producer. I think women are quite well represented in political journalism and rightly so.

    I do think the print news media has a reasonable amount of female political news journalists/commentators, but on the main FTA TV news & the news, current affairs shows on the weekends, the main journos seem to me to be male. Partly, it depends on what is the MSM – to me it is the main TV news, and the front pages of the newspapers.

    • Carol 2.1

      Whoops. I wasn’t able to edit the above post because it went through moderation. The last paragraph is my views & not a quote. ie I said:

      I do think the print news media has a reasonable amount of female political news journalists/commentators, but on the main FTA TV news & the news, current affairs shows on the weekends, the main journos seem to me to be male. Partly, it depends on what is the MSM – to me it is the main TV news, and the front pages of the newspapers.

      PS. I don’t see RNZ as MSM, and I do like that it has a few female political journalists.

      • Bill 2.1.1

        I guess bias is, at least to a degree in the eye of the beholder.

        The point I was flagging was that in the name of impartiality, a steady rightwards drift has occurred and continues to occur in our media reports and in the general discourse of society.

        In other words, cries for ‘impartiality’ are part of a smokescreen that allows a right leaning discourse to gain ascendency and become accepted as ‘normal’ or ‘neutral’. And when that happens, ever greater swathes of left leaning thought ‘drop off the radar’ as it were because the thing to be balanced (the centre) has shifted ever more rightward.

        Having viewed a couple of Galloway’s programmes, I can see why the watchdog authority is critical. He expresses an intelligent pro-Palestinian stance and condemns Israeli policies and actions in a forthright manner that we would never see aired on our mainstream TV channels. Our mainstream TV channels offer ‘balanced’, ‘neutral’ and ‘normal’ coverage of the Middle East. Meaning they will, wherever possible, shy away from criticism of Israel and avoid upsetting Israeli sensibilities by reporting favourably and forcibly on Palestinian issues. You might recall the onslaught of apologists demanding and getting airtime to excuse and rationalise the massacre on the aid ship that sought to bust the blockade of Gaza and how news report after news report uncritically regurgitated the Israeli claim that those aboard the aid ship were armed?

        Partiality defended by claiming the need to be impartial in other words.

        • Carol 2.1.1.1

          I do agree with the rightward bias, as I commented below. It just amazed me that Gower seemed unaware of his biases, which took me aback for a bit, and had me wondering how easy it is to judge our own biases.

        • Vicky32 2.1.1.2

          “You might recall the onslaught of apologists demanding and getting airtime to excuse and rationalise the massacre on the aid ship that sought to bust the blockade of Gaza and how news report after news report uncritically regurgitated the Israeli claim that those aboard the aid ship were armed?”
          Sadly, it worked to judge by people I spoke to at the time.. intelligent people! I was very disappointed.
          Deb

  3. Pascal's bookie 3

    Nice post Bill.

    I might’ve posted this link, (or something like it) before, but if you don’t know about Daniel Hallin’s model for how the media excludes deviance, all the while either pretending to be objective or actively believing they are objective, it’s worth a look.

    http://archive.pressthink.org/2009/01/12/atomization.html

    Jay Rosen, whose blog that is, is well worth keeping an eye on as well, re explaining how media biases form, get reinforced and distort.

    • Bill 3.1

      Thanks for the link PB.

      I was off trying to hunt down another link that I know I posted here quite some time that would have complimented that link quite nicely. It was a journalist explaining the internal dynamics of newspaper reporting and how he had been forced to find work with a United Arab Emirates newspaper after being essentially black listed in the UK due to his inability ( read, unwillingness) to pick up on the rules of the game.

      If I find it later, I’ll link it.

  4. Carol 4

    I think a crucial element of news media bias is the context in which a report appears. The 6pm news on TVOne & 3 tends to be most uncritically biased towards the right – sometimes as much by the way it is framed, as by who/what is included. This seems to take place mostly within the donut hole as described in the article that PB linked to: ie the “zone of consensus”. The front pages of the daily newspapers also seem to operate in this zone, with more critical analysis buried deeper in the paper.

    Also, often the headlines and lead-ins at the beginning of the articles, address this zone of consensus, while more deviant views can be reported later in the article.

    In the UK, I think there has been a major rightward shift in the BBC news, since about the time of the Kelly affair under Bliar’s watch. They are no longer the more balanced news reporters they used to be. They are particularly pro Israeli and will be antagonistic to Galloway.

    In NZ, being a bit removed from the Middle East, I think our MSM tends to take a more neutral stance on Israel-Palestine than the UK MSM.

    Framing of news, the images that are presented alongside the reporting etc, also can influence the bias.

    • Colonial Viper 4.1

      Time for the Left Wing to buy a major MSM outlet or three.

      • Bill 4.1.1

        Msm survive on the revenue garnered through advertising. Cover charges are subsidised by that revenue. The people who are advertising are not generally sympathetic to left wing sentiments. So a left wing publication would be much more expensive than current msm.

        That, historically, was what killed left wing publications.

        • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1

          Is there a difficulty? As long as the Left wing audience of the MSM Channel had plenty of discretionary money to spend and were happy, perfect consumers always willing to plonk down for the newest and latest gadget, advertisers would flock.

          Oh yeah, I see the problem.

    • Bill 4.2

      “In the UK, I think there has been a major rightward shift in the BBC news…”

      Maybe so. I don’t willingly watch or listen to BBC reports any more. When I lived in the UK the BBC was widely considered to be reactionary apologistic organisation. Then I came to NZ ( very much pre Blair). And because of the dearth of information pertaining to world events I found myself being forced to tune in to their newscasts if I wanted access to any take on what was happening in the world. Then, thankfully, the internet came along.

  5. Ofcom, the BSA and all their ilk are anachronisms dating back to the time when the only broadcast media able to be received by the masses were a handful of TV and radio signals. Without the bandwidth to accommodate a diversity of voices, broadcasters were – quite rightly – expected to achieve balance within each and every individual program segment.

    Later it was relaxed a little so that if one program portrayed one side, another program must portray the other.

    But in an age of truly mass media, these guardians of what we see, hear (and therefore, for many, think) are an impediment to communication and debate.

    Expecting George Galloway to present a balanced program is so illogical as to border on insane. George Galloway’s raison d’etre is to communicate his opinions to as many as will listen. Just as it is, say, Rush Limbaugh’s. One doesn’t have to agree with those opinions to realise that they belong in the public sphere to be debated, without any censorship.

    George Galloway isn’t a journalist and doesn’t claim to be presenting unbiased news. If there’s anything the BSA-type organisations should be investigating, it’s those who claim to be, but don’t.

    But having said that, I return to my original point – get rid of them; their usefulness has ended.

    • Bill 5.1

      “…broadcasters were – quite rightly – expected to achieve balance within each and every individual program segment.”

      Erm, no. The broadcasters were expected to achieve a perception of balance. And even that supposed striving for a balance is something I disagree with on a very fundamental basis. Here’s an illustrative example of why.

      I comment and post here. And nobody is under any illusions as to my general take on things. My position, although not overtly stated is fairly obvious to one and all. So readers of my comments or posts can appraise or interprate the words that I write through their own political/philosophical filters knowing that what I write is unabashedly non-objective. They don’t have to do a double take due to any dubious claims of objectivity.

      And that is the point of media; the dishonesty of couching unstated subjectivity as objectivity. We used to call it propaganda. But like idiots we marvel at the gullibility of past generations when we view their news reports as though we are somehow more wise to current propaganda than they were in their day.

      News items should be delivered in an unabashed subjective fashion with the bias of the reporter or writer declared up front. But I’m dreaming. Because as the link provided by PB illustrates, the reporters of our news are as hook line and sinkered by the propaganda of the day as their viewers. Further, any reporter who was not hook line and sinkered would not be able to make their way in the world of reporting…at best they would achieve the status of an opinion columnist…a very much relegated source of information in an ‘objective’ news environment.

    • A 5.2

      “Without the bandwidth to accommodate a diversity of voices, broadcasters were – quite rightly – expected to achieve balance within each and every individual program segment.”

      I agree with this, but dissent regarding your inference from it to:

      “But in an age of truly mass media, these guardians of what we see, hear (and therefore, for many, think) are an impediment to communication and debate.”

      There is no real “mass media” in the way there used to be. Because running a network was so expensive, people of divergent political persuasions had to “share” the same networks and, more importantly, newscasts. It simply wasn’t economical to have a rabidly partisan news media, even though the news media were still somewhat biased towards the establishment.

      However, rather than being an impediment to communication and debate, the old broadcast media made it happen, because it compelled divergent viewpoints to meet on the same broadcast in programmes watched by a politically diverse audience. After all, everyone had to share.

      Now it is much more economical to run a network, and so it is possible for different networks to produce “news” that appeals to a particular section of the population and to allow “debate” as long as it is in the comfort zone of the target audience.

      Because we don’t have to share, we don’t have to debate, and for the most part that means there is no debate. New Zealand is a small country, so this is not as apparent, but just go to the US and see what media has become there.

      The internet has just made it worse. There is no real debate, just gangs of ordure flinging chimpanzees.

      • prism 5.2.1

        “The internet has just made it worse. There is no real debate, just gangs of ordure flinging chimpanzees.” Well said there is no filt(h)er used by many contributors to the net. But chimpanzees shouldn’t be used as an analogy, they are simpler, don’t have our theory of morals, and are not quite as malicious as we humans.

  6. Jenny 6

    We can expect the whole right wing establishment and the MSM to bay like wolves if the Labour Party were to enact David Cunliffe’s signaled policies “available to get us from a collision course with nature to a future that is both more just and more sustainable.”

    From a report written by ‘climatejustice’ in a comment to the post, Doing nothing in the face of climate change crisis, by Marty G.

    Cunliffe talks tough on climate change

  7. clandestino 7

    George Galloway is a crazy nut, as is the TV channel he works for. The fact that it’s Press TV, Iran’s international state TV channel, should get alarm bells ringing. For the rest, I give you this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-D5XoNWFSQ

    • Colonial Viper 7.1

      George Galloway nailing the US Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee. He is a political leader who makes the Americans look like rubbish.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC0igiBhu6E

      • Bill 7.1.1

        Which leaves clandestino where? When even a man so nuts as to role play a cat on national TV lays waste to a US Senate Committee hearing?

        Links to that are in the second para of the post btw…not that Mr clandesto troll bothered to link through or even read the post; merely stuck his hands down his pants to contain his rising excitement at the prospect of bagging a prominent leftie as his other hand hit his closet ‘cat fetish favourites’ links.

        • clandestino 7.1.1.1

          You are a presumptuous pussy aren’t you. I watched that testimony live, I agree with most of what he said, and wish he had been able to do it earlier.
          That said, he is no idol of mine, and I consider myself left of centre on most issues. I find his show to be biased and facts that don’t agree are dodged, like everywhere. Not convinced that one good speech a good politician makes either, so why not be sceptical (and if you put it in the context of Oil for Food and his links with the regime, he didn’t really have a choice but to take a staunch stance).
          Talking of bias, why is it that when someone on here challenges the local red flag brigade, they get given sh*t, but those same people can’t seem to take it themselves. Seems a counterproductive way of spreading the word.

          • Bill 7.1.1.1.1

            What fact or contention did you challenge? You just engaged in bullshit. I couldn’t give a flying sideways fuck if a person appeared foolish or whatever on a pop TV show. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic of the post.

            Get your head around the fact that the censure of Galloway is indicative of a dynamic of repression of speech and that that is the context within which Galloway is mentioned here. Nothing more.

            Now. If you have anything cogent to contribute that is relevant to the topic of the post then do so. Otherwise…

          • Colonial Viper 7.1.1.1.2

            they get given sh*t, but those same people can’t seem to take it themselves

            You have to be frakin kiddin, accusing The Standard commentators of dishing out and not being able to receive back. Its actually pretty damn easy when the shit you fire back is typically tepid and insubstantial.

    • Bill 7.2

      You are so right!

      That George Galloway is a nut in your opinion because he has a 1 hour weekly slot on an .’official enemy’s’ internationally broadcast channel that comes out from London does indeed set alarm bells ringing. Just not the ones you might think.

      That he role played as Rula Lenska’s cat in the Big Brother TV programme is hilarious or even cringe worthy but has nothing what-so-ever to do with the veracity of his politics and even less to do with the subject of the post. (hint?)

      • clandestino 7.2.1

        But it must tell you a bit about his judgement, or lack thereof. His senate testimony may well have been heroic, but I defy you to watch more than a couple of his shows and not see he is hopelessly one-eyed and wouldn’t bat an eyelid at Israel being wiped out.

        • Colonial Viper 7.2.1.1

          he is hopelessly one-eyed and wouldn’t bat an eyelid at Israel being wiped out.

          Meh

        • Bill 7.2.1.2

          By ‘one-eyed’ you mean has an opinion; is most assuredly not impartial? Have you even read the post and attempted to get your head around what it’s about?

          As for your assertion that he wouldn’t bat an eyelid if Israel was wiped out…what do you mean by that? That he favours the annihilation of Israelis? Cause if that’s what your saying, then you obviously have no idea of his political history/perspective. None.

    • Lazy Susan 7.3

      George Galloway was summoned to Washington for a dressing down by a Senate Committee and completely outsmarted his accusers. While I don’t always agree with him he’s intelligent, articulate and informed – hardly a crazy nut.

      Press TV and Al Jazeera are invaluable for getting an alternative view on many issues including the Middle East. If your happy to accept the western consensus then just watch BBC, TVNZ/3 but I’d prefer to reach conclusions by viewing issues through a wider lens.

      • Bill 7.3.1

        Well put.

        But your forgetting that in the world of the clandestinos there can be no “I don’t always agree with”…that there is only room for compliance with accepted truths.

      • clandestino 7.3.2

        Agree Susan. Can’t argue with the second paragraph can I? Except to say I don’t watch much and prefer online print (datacap issues).
        And you’re right about Galloway back then, he came off as sincere, and if you look up his in-Parliament stuff it’s good too. But his current gig is, in my opinion, gratuitous Israel/’West’ bashing and doesn’t help anyone, simply adds fuel to the fire.

        • Lazy Susan 7.3.2.1

          I’m glad we see some agreement clandestino. Al Jazeera is available at certain times of the day on Triangle TV and Stratos on Sky to save the datacap.

          One further point about Galloway. Recently, on “The Nation”, Sean Plunket made a number of accusations about him during their piece on the Kia Ora Gaza convoy. Galloway offered to come on the show the following week to be interviewed and answer those accusations. The Nation and Plunket turned him.

          John Key repeatedly turned down requests to be interviewed by Sean Plunket when he was on Morning Report – even the day after the release of the government’s budget. This tells you much about Galloway, The Nation, Plunket and Key – I’ll leave you to connect the dots.

  8. IMHO many of those that accuse the media of having a bias (be it left or right) generally tend to be people of pronounced political views. If the news/report/story doesn’t agree with their world view then the response appears to be the media must be biased agaianst them

    The left says the MSM is a tool of the right. Yet the right says there’s a liberal bias in the media. Now surely both points of view can’t be right?

    Could it be that some of those who fling accusations of bias about do so because they don’t actually recognise they themselves are biased.

    Nah. Sod it. It’s so much easier to blame someone else isn’t it?

    • Carol 8.1

      Well, randominanity, that’s certainly the argument the MSM tends to use to claim they are unbiased. But, if Bill, & PB’s link are correct (ie that the MSM has shifted to the right in recent times, and operate within a narrow zone of consensus), then it will be hard for those who accept that consensus to see their own biases. So those who take this consensus as “objectivity”, will see anything outside that consensus as biased. How can anyone emersed in such a media-supported right-wing zone of consensus ever make a valid judgement about the media’s bias or lack of it?

      In fact, people who are aware of their own position/bias/subjectivity, are more likely to be able to assess where the MSM is at. The problem is with people who think they are being objectivity (as Bill has pretty much said). Galloway, I would imagine, knows exacty his position, and the difference between his views & the way they hare portrayed by the MSM.

      So it’s necessary tol look at some systematic ways news is reported. For instance, why is John Key mostly treated uncritically by the TV news & front pages of the dailies? Why was Matt McCarten always treated negatively in coverage of the Mana bi-election? Why aren’t the MSM hounding Pansy Wong in the same way they hounded Chris Carter or Tito Phillip Field? Why isn’t the MSM giving a lot of critical coverage of the undemocratic processes of the Key government: CERRA, unprecedented use of urgency etc? Why in comparison was much made of the media of the Clark government Electoral Finance Law, while there’s only a meek acceptance of the key government Electoral Finance Law? Why is it that anything but uncritical coverage of Israel in the US & UK media, is criticised for being anti-Israel? or worse, anti-semetic?

      Claiming the media gets criticised by both the right and the left so must be objective, is a very superficial argument: at best such a claim is misguided, at worst it operates as a smoke screen to obscure media bias.

      In order to support a claim that the media is objective, it’s necessary to present more substantial evidence: eg of numerous examples of systematic, unbiased/objective reporting on some significant, and possibly controversial news issues.

    • Bill 8.2

      Here you go randominanity. A random but (hopefully) illustrative inanity

      The Heretical Broccoli Haters

      Objective : broccoli is a vegetable.
      Objective : broccoli contains races of iron

      Subjective : broccoli tastes nice
      Subjective : broccoli tastes horrid

      Less subjective ; broccoli is good for you

      Imagine that the assertions ‘broccoli tastes nice’ and ‘broccoli is good for you’ are presented as fact. We have subjectivity masquerading as objectivity and the beginnings of an orthodoxy.

      And if we want to imagine that orthodoxy operating on a larger social scale, then various broccoli experts, commissars and high priests ( lets assume a patriarchy, why not?) would need structures to – how should we say? – propagate and nurture the environment that allows their beliefs to be passed off as fact. And if you are comfortable with broccoli, you might variously consider it as quaint, weird or even heretical that people could hold notions that broccoli neither tastes nice and can be bad for you.

      With enough riding on the maintenance of a widespread acceptance of ‘the facts’ surrounding broccoli, broccoli allergies would not be allowed to enter into the debate. The existence of such a condition would be denied in all manner of ways because to admit otherwise would be to question the assumptions on which orthodoxy and power are built. Meanwhile any people who admitted to not liking the taste of broccoli would be marginalised in all manner of ways. Again, because acknowledgement of them or the veracity of their views would constitute a challenge to the orthodoxy that forms the bedrock upon which the power of the incumbent authorities is based.

      So, okay. It’s absurd to imagine swathes of people getting hung up on the merits or otherwise of broccoli. Nobody actually derives power from how broccoli is perceived. But people do derive power from how political matters are perceived. And it’s much the same dynamic, but with much stronger emotional responses (because there is more at stake), that applies to politics as would do to our imaginary broccoli-centric empire.

      Lines of communication/ information, the various media, naturally reflect back to us an image of the world and reinforce a world view that is bound by parameters of correct or acceptable thought as defined by dominant interests. And by drawing enough people into that view, dissenting views (even those that are factually verifiable) are kept out of the picture and beyond the bounds of general contemplation.

      Simple.

  9. look I just choose not to accept that anyone who comes from a particular political angle (be it left or right) has a leg to stand on when accusing others of bias.

    Their very belief system means their assumptions are flawed.

    By the way if you think the average journalist is bound by parameters set by dominant interests then I suspect you haven’t actually met many of them. From what I’ve experienced, and I know a fair few, they tend to be a deeply sceptical bunch who don’t take things at face value. Particularly from your so-called dominant interests.

    I’m not saying the media is perfect but it’s nowhere near the manipulated menagerie some around here make it out to be.

    • felix 9.1

      randominanity, it’s ok to say you didn’t understand the analogy.

      It’s pretty clear you didn’t. Bill is talking about the structure of the house and you think he’s discussing the wallpaper.

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  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    10 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    13 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    15 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    16 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    18 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – 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. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    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
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  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
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