The root of the problem

Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, May 21st, 2009 - 58 comments
Categories: economy - Tags:

I reckon New Zealand’s a bit of an economic miracle really. Small country, new country without centuries of infrastructure, middle of nowhere, good only at making dead animals and animal products. Yet we’ve got one of the highest living standards in the world. Not that you would know it from our ‘business leaders’. Always whining the country hasn’t made them rich enough. But maybe we can do better. I’ve worked out the problem.

It’s our business ‘leaders’.

Yesterday, we were ranked dead last in quality of fund management, because our financial institutions aren’t transparent and too inclined to screw their investors.

Same day we ranked 12th in a ‘stress test’ of how well countries are placed to handle recessions. We ranked 7th in our government’s ability to react well. 11th in society’s robustness and adaptability. Our businesses dragged us down – 11th in business, 30th in economic outlook.

Our glorious business leaders spent the last 10 years of record growth pocketing huge profits and whinging for tax cuts. They should have been investing in our economic future. We’re meant to buy this myth that these are the smartest men in the room. Most of them can’t understand something as simple as climate change or that booms don’t last forever. They’re anti-intellectual, greedy, and shallow.

And they’ve got no ideas.

Look at the jobs summit. John Key gets a couple of hundred supposed business geniuses together to solve the recession. The only actual ideas that come out of it: a half-assed version of the unions’ four day week and a cycleway. (Whatever happened to those 40-50 other ideas Key promised were being worked on?)

After the stunning success of the jobs summit, two ‘business leaders’ are holding an entreprenuers’ summit today. Meant to solve the parts of the recession that the jobs summit didn’t. If you want to listen to 15 minutes of drivel, listen to them explain their ideas on 9 to noon yesterday.

The low quality of our managers drag this country down from big company to small. Because of Rob Fyfe, Air New Zealand is suffering loss of brand and customers over a pay rise for 240 staff that’s worth less than Rob Fyfe himself got last year. You’ve got Lane Walker Rudkin where managerial incompetence has led to the business laying off close to 200 workers and cheating them out of their redundancy. Meanwhile the CEO of Lines Company is threatening to lock-out 40 staff because they want a 2% pay rise totalling $26,000. Dude got a $30,000 increase on his $300,000 salary last year.

Of course, the worst businesses are the foreign parasites, the banks. They treat our country like a Chinese bear’s gall bladder. They milk us all they can without actually making us collapse. Billions a year sucked out of our economy in return for inferior quality bank services.

So what do we do about it? Buggered if I know… tax cuts?

58 comments on “The root of the problem ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Pat 1
    21 May 2009 at 1:55 pm

    Attention The Standard: Looks like the crap filter has been turned off again.

  2. jarbury 2
    21 May 2009 at 2:08 pm

    I actually think this is a very good post. If you disagree Pat, please say why you do so.

    It is a point that is not often made, that perhaps it is the business leaders who are dragging us down because they’re so “short-term oriented”.

    That seems like the real definition of right-wing, to be honest: short-termism.

    • felix 2.1
      21 May 2009 at 4:53 pm

      Pat can’t do that, neither can the others. They don’t like Zetitic because the way he/she writes challenges the reader to respond directly to the substance.

      They don’t like this so they’ve settled on a strategy of dismissing everything he/she writes out of hand.

      Sad and transparent, yep, but there you have it.

  3. Bill 3
    21 May 2009 at 2:08 pm

    As for bosses like any noxious weed strangling the environment. Cut them down, pull them out by the roots and burn. Spread the ashes liberally to aid healthy growth of newly planted beneficial seeds.

    Only speaking figuratively of course…

  4. Luke H 4
    21 May 2009 at 2:09 pm

    So what do we do about it? Buggered if I know tax cuts?

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/05/20/1245b04fc5e7

    “The report also says there is no tax incentive for long-term investing.”

    So, er, yes, it looks like tax cuts would be a good idea.

  5. Kevin Welsh 5
    21 May 2009 at 2:12 pm

    I’m with Zetitic on this one. Although it would be easy to argue that his post is a over simplification, the general guts of it is spot on.

    The managerial class in this society is not above criticism yet the backlash from any sort of criticism gets you labelled as a luddite greenie or a communist.

    The examples given in this post are perfect examples of what is wrong in the country, but in saying that, it is not indicative of all employers. I have worked at my current job now for five years because the people I work for reward hard work and are interested in more than how many hours I put in.

    • Bill 5.1
      21 May 2009 at 2:23 pm

      You having a workplace affair there Kevin? (“..the people I work for….are interested in more than how many hours I put in.” )

  6. Zaphod Beeblebrox 6
    21 May 2009 at 2:22 pm

    You don’t get to be CEO of a large company by taking risks. That is what people who start up companies do. When they become profitable they get bought out by large companies who have no original ideas. Its not actually that good for your economy to have a small number of dominant companies.

    • Pascal's bookie 6.1
      21 May 2009 at 2:32 pm

      Exactly. And as kevin says, the backlash always comes against anyone suggesting that the private sector has a bureaucracy with all the problems that come with that.

      Righties get all het up about taxpayers getting shafted by civil servants, but capture of companies by management scarcely gets a mention, in fact it gets praised as near best practice, because somehow in the prvate sector, bureaucrats acting in their own best interest is somehow supposed to be best for shareholders.

  7. Relic 7
    21 May 2009 at 2:29 pm

    Well, it is “deja vu all over again’ really, yes businesses large and small squandered the dough during the Clark years as they did during the Employment Contracts Act Bolger/Shipley years. Workers fightback ability on the ropes in the 90s, and what did most tinpot bosses do with this rare chance? in these here parts (Far North) they built more baches and bought more toys.

  8. Ben R 8
    21 May 2009 at 2:58 pm

    “Billions a year sucked out of our economy in return for inferior quality bank services.”

    Do you have some evidence of this? How are our bank services inferior?

    • Zetetic 8.1
      21 May 2009 at 7:10 pm

      You think our banks are good Ben R? You’re the only one.

      Creating a housing bubble by piling cheap credit into the market. 0% deposit. Running their mortgage rates just a touch above OCR screwing monetary policy.

      Now, keeping interest rates higher than they need to be.

      Creaming huge profits both ways.

      Internet banking that’s crap compared to other countries. Just getting smart cards now. Visa Electron has been around 10 years overseas.

      • chris 8.1.1
        22 May 2009 at 10:26 am

        Ok this is just retarded. We have a very advanced banking system becuase we’re a first world country the size of Sydney. So we don’t have smart cards, who gives a fuck? We’ve had eftpos longer than anyone because the banks trial things here then launch. Man lay off the marxist bullshit for a second.

  9. tsmithfield 9
    21 May 2009 at 3:18 pm

    Zetitic “They should have been investing in our economic future.”

    They do. Its called paying taxes, providing jobs, and spending in the local economy.

  10. travellerev 10
    21 May 2009 at 3:19 pm

    You forgot to mention that NZ is on the 20th place in the list of 52 police states and that the UN has condemned NZ for introducing tasers and that they have added10 more advises to the list of 8 on how to not become a torturing police state.

  11. travellerev 11
    21 May 2009 at 3:19 pm

    help! purgatory

  12. Ron 12
    21 May 2009 at 3:32 pm

    Please find below Info about progress on Cycleway, other ideas from Jobs Summit, Melissa lee’s qualifications to be an MP, the rest of NACT’s tax relef package, outcomes from the “consultation” process on the Super City, National’s response plan for the recession, information provided to Prime MNinister on CR’s appointment, Bennett’s plan for imporved services, NACT’s plan to deal with fall out from reduced public service:

    Thank you

  13. exbrethren 13
    21 May 2009 at 3:43 pm

    Add to that Peter Talley threatening to close down his Motueka factory if the Tasman DC dares trying to upgrade the water supply and charge him.

    Sealord threatening to cut yet more jobs unless workers take reductions in their pay and conditions.

    The bleating of certain commentators would be that well people have to tighten their belts in such bad times. This is horseshit in these cases as both companies are still highly profitable and are just cheating their workforce whilst creaming off more for the CEOs and shareholders.

    These people are crooked.

  14. Tom Semmens 14
    21 May 2009 at 3:43 pm

    What we have to grasp is we have no tradition of entrepreneurship in this country, and our tax and bankruptcy laws show we have no real inclination to create one. I also heard the painful pap from the puffed up “entrepreneurial leadership team” on Natrad. It was cliché ridden rubbish from people who got lucky once by being in the right place at the right time and who clearly are still trying to work out how they got there. Let’s face it – we had a semi-command economy until 1984, when we replaced it with a new elite of financiers and kleptocrats.

    We don’t have a “business class” if by that term you mean a class of people who are prepared to take risks and create wealth with innovative new products and ideas. What we have is old boy’s managerialist elite, who seek rentier incomes by any means so they can ticket clip natural monopolies with little or no risk or innovation – and they are not even very good at that most of the time. It is a decadent and corrupt “business” model more akin to some backward South American dictatorship than an advanced first world liberal democracy (this similarity of decadence is probably the origin of the also similar extremist right wing political views held by business elites here and in places like Chile and Argentina).

    New Zealand SME’s are often criticised for lacking ambition and vision, but the bottom line is the average self-employed Joe on struggle street (i.e. a REAL entrepreneur) knows in his heart he can’t trust the two-bit oligarchs and rentiers not to knobble him through monopoly behaviour. He wants to get enough money to get out before governments ruling in the interests of a parasite class change the business environment in a way to wreck him. Get a house, a boat, a bach and a BMW then flick the business with a sigh of relief that you had made it. Retire early at 55 with five rental properties to keep you going and you’ve achieved the Kiwi dream. Oh and why rental property (apart frrom the tax reasons)? Because who in their right mind in this country would trust our financial class with their money? Everyone knows they’ll rip you off in a trice with poorly regulated finance companies, dodgy insider trading and unethical practices. Better to keep your money where it is literally safe as houses.

    It is a limited dream, but limited dream for good reason. Reasons like a lack of cheap venture capital. Like a lack of Research and Development tax breaks and funding. Reasons like an obsession with rigid neo-liberal dogma that hold tax cuts are the way to do anything and everything. Reasons like a tax system engineered by the acolytes of the oligarchy to ensure that it wildly rewards unearned capital gains and rentier income whilst punishing those who create wealth.

    • SPC 14.1
      21 May 2009 at 5:47 pm

      And the irony is that the farming sector – the most internationally competitive industry we have is as dependent (for a return on their lifes work) on the untaxed capital gain on the rising value of their (land) property business as the landlord of the city who battery farms tenants.

      Only now with Fonterra and with Fast Forward or such is there a prospect of this industry developing via R and D higher profits/incomes for returns independent of land value.

      • RedLogix 14.1.1
        21 May 2009 at 9:06 pm

        Tom,

        A nice perceptive comment. Absolutely agree with your comments about property investment. Any other form of investment in this country runs far too high a risk that you will loose all your money. By contrast, a house and a piece of land is always there, and no matter what goes wrong, you stand a chance of making a recovery.

        I own a number of rentals. I would much prefer to put my money into a more productive vehicle, but unless you an insider, or have privileged access to market information… you will be screwed over. Mum and Dad investors are suckers to be pumped and dumped.

        If you want to gamble with your cash here in NZ, the TAB is a better bet.

        • chris 14.1.1.1
          22 May 2009 at 10:28 am

          Yes tom fantastic comment. entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking are the future. NZ’s boys club corporatism will be the death of us.

  15. serpico 15
    21 May 2009 at 3:55 pm

    The ‘stress test’ is about to rise with the Don Brash inquiry.Oh my.Now the root of the problem is?

    • Zetetic 15.1
      21 May 2009 at 7:16 pm

      Nah. Key has ruled out an inquiry. I say have the thing. Smoke out the National leakers.

      • Pascal's bookie 15.1.1
        21 May 2009 at 9:39 pm

        “Key has ruled out an inquiry.”

        Coverup!

        I/S covers Brash here, this morning:

        http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2009/05/don-brash-versus-laws-of-evidence.html

        stuff updates here:

        http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/2429823/Brash-welcomes-email-investigation

        Mr Broad said continued questioning of the police role could undermine public trust and confidence in the force.

        He ordered a full review of the case, including the recent release of the highly edited file, to be conducted by Auckland assistant commissioner Steve Shortland, with an independent adviser working alongside him.

        The adviser, likely to be a Queen’s Counsel, would be appointed after consultation with Dr Brash.

        So donny darko brooding away wants his enemies outed, whoever they is.

        I think he’s talked himself into believing it was Labour, can’t let it go and will keep muttering away about corruption in the police until he gets some answers he likes. The police can’t have that, so they are going to investigate their investigation. Labour, meanwhile, is quite happy for the unredacted police file to be released.

        Parliamentary Nat’s are quiet mostly. Key is all:

        Speaking to reporters this afternoon Mr Key said he understood Dr Brash’s concerns but a commission in inquiry was a very expensive option that would divert police resources from fighting crime.

        Police had found “gaping holes” in security of the former leader of the opposition.

        “The issue is not that the police want to reach a successful conclusion, it’s that they’ve been unable to provide a successful conclusion,” Mr Key said.

        Speaking before being made aware of Mr Broad’s announcement, Mr Key suggested Dr Brash take his “serious allegations” against police to the Independent Police Conduct Authority.

        I/S looks smart, Brash looks paranoid and bitter, the police look pissed off, Key’s got tranzrail eyes.

  16. Luke H 16
    21 May 2009 at 4:19 pm

    “They should have been investing in our economic future.’

    Telecom wanted* to do that but it was making too much money, so the government demanded that Telecom let Orcon and all of the other competitors get their grubby hands on Telecom’s infrastructure.

    Way to promote investment in infrastructure, Labour.

    * Note: the reason Telecom wanted to invest that money was because they could make a profit. Socialists love to take away the possibilities for making a profit and then blame ‘market failure’ when nobody wants to build railway lines or lay fibre-optic cables.

    • Daveo 16.1
      21 May 2009 at 4:29 pm

      Good old Telecom, the company that made big money deunionising and deskilling its workforce, then hired out their labour to competive contractors to permanently screw wages down. Then, after all that, abused its market dominance to shut out competition and screw the country’s broadband infrastructure. Yeah, great example Luke. It’s clearly all the socialists’ fault.

  17. inpassing 17
    21 May 2009 at 5:25 pm

    Well said that blogger – Zetitic!

    At worst, comparatively, the piece fits snugly into a once fashionable provocation theme. (recall PM Shipley if you will, always bashing ears that one..! )

    At best, it hollers wake-up!

  18. Clarke 18
    21 May 2009 at 6:52 pm

    I think Tom’s got it pretty much right.

    There are plenty of fantastic Kiwi entrepreneurs who are adept at building great businesses. I’ve met them in London, New York, Silicon Valley, Sydney, Singapore …. and only occasionally at home. Most people with the drive and big ambitions want to play on the world stage, and some of them do so in spectacular style.

    But you’ll also find that when they come back to NZ, it’s inevitably for lifestyle reasons – to give the kids a better place to grow up, to make sure they spend time with ailing parents, to escape the rat-race. Many of these people simply aren’t interested in working huge hours to build another empire … they’ve been there, done that, and don’t have anything left to prove.

    If you’re putting lifestyle ahead of income, then New Zealand is the best country on earth. And if you’re hell-bent on building a huge company and changing the world, then in most cases you’ll be overseas.

    The people who loudly proclaim we need to have bigger and better businesses have lost sight of the main goal – we’re here because of the truly fantastic lifestyle, and the company is just a means to an end. And lowering company taxes (or some other piece of right-wing nonsense) won’t make a blind bit of difference to that.

    • Zetetic 18.1
      21 May 2009 at 7:22 pm

      Yeah those wonderful entrepreneurs. What was their big idea when 100 of them got together for a day? Make New Zealand a ‘no-moan zone’.

      If you gave a room full of 12 year olds an hour and the best idea they came up with was ‘Make NZ a no moan zone’ you would have to conclude they were a bunch of morons.

      • chris 18.1.1
        22 May 2009 at 10:31 am

        Got a better idea? Nationalise the country perhaps? Honestly it’s people like you that make me embarrased to be a labour supporter. You’re so naieve about how the corporate and innovative world works that you demonise it automatically rather than realising that it is thanks to this world that we have our living standards and our public services. Don’t bite the hand that feeds too hard or it will slap you.

        Oh and i’m not apologising for a crappy summit, but it is entrepreneurs who create wealth.

        • Clarke 18.1.1.1
          22 May 2009 at 12:30 pm

          Really? Like those “financial entrepreneurs” with their “innovative products” at Lehmann Brothers?

          • chris 18.1.1.1.1
            22 May 2009 at 4:59 pm

            well no because they wern’t entrepreneurs creating new businesses and licensing innovative products and actually creating wealth. they worked for a bank. i’m sure you can see the difference?

  19. Lew 19
    21 May 2009 at 7:23 pm

    And the lead idea out of this entrepreneurship summit? A cottage industry of possum-skin gloves (audio).

    The moment of zen for me is right at the start, where Greg Howard gushes about how good it is to be around `people who think like me’ – that is, those who don’t dismiss ideas as obviously idiotic; people I would call `uncritical to a fault’.

    Now, don’t get me wrong – I think it’s a wonderful idea if it will work, but I see no evidence that it will, or consideration given to the possibility it might not. The business model, as far as I can see, runs like so:

    1. Government bans 1080 to ensure there are plenty of possums and place a $5 bounty on each one.
    2. Entrepreneurs train and employ unemployed rural Māori to trap possums.
    3. ???? (a)
    4. Turn possum skins into gloves.
    5. ???? (b)
    6. Profit! ($500 million of it, apparently)

    The reason I use the double-underpants-gnome business model here is that there are (at least) two vulnerable points in the model, which even I can see. They are the supply point for raw material and the demand point for finished product. As follows:

    a. Possums, being wild, are not in steady permanent supply. Local populations of possums in easily-accessible locations will quickly be hunted out and populations of possums in less-viable locations will become the quarry. Eventually possum numbers will diminish to the point where the business model is no longer viable because there are too few possums, or because they’re in locations which are too marginal. Or, and this is a worse possibility, possum cartels will emerge, cultivating and maintaining populations of possums within a location so as to maintain a steady supply of skins. The NZ bush will be entirely dependent on trappers (that is, entirely dependent on the market) for control of possums, and that means when the market fails, the bush dies – to a worse extent than currently since 1080 does a pretty good job of getting rid of possums. There’s also the consideration that only possum skins of a certain weight, colour or whatever according to seasonal and regional variations will be harvested. I assume the bloke has already figured this out, though, since he already sells these products.

    b. A high-value, niche product of this sort doesn’t sell itself, and frankly, if there was that much demand for alternative fibres, would we not have seen some of it already? All in all, I can’t help but think it’s a bit too easy to talk about $100-500 million.

    I can see one entrepreneurial aspect of this scheme, though – Greg Howard has convinced a bunch of canny Atlases to back a call which will massively expand his business model (and his company’s products) above all their own, and win a swag of free publicity into the bargain. Well done that man.

    L

    (Edit: I’ve given the impression I’m totally down on this idea – I’m not. This could be very good for some people in some regions of the country, and especially for rural unemployed Māori, and in that regard I think it’s great. I just don’t think it’s a recession-beater. It’s a cottage industry. We already have thousands of those.)

    • Zetetic 19.1
      21 May 2009 at 7:31 pm

      Lew’s right.

      Last time we tried to seriously control possum numbers/have a major possum fur industry with bounties possum farming was exactly what happened.

      Then the market for high-end fur basically disappeared. I haven’t read that people are back into wearing the fur of dead animals.

      Most people don’t view possums as pests like we do.

  20. vto 20
    21 May 2009 at 7:43 pm

    ” We’re meant to buy this myth that these are the smartest men in the room. Most of them can’t understand something as simple as climate change or that booms don’t last forever. They’re anti-intellectual, greedy, and shallow.”

    Wrong on every count

    pathetic

  21. bobo 21
    21 May 2009 at 7:59 pm

    The best our so called entrepreneurs can come up with is a “no moan zone ” poster?? is it an in house joke?

    • Zetetic 21.1
      21 May 2009 at 9:37 pm

      Sounds like a bloody joke.

      But no that was one of their top of ideas. They think if we’re a nation of moaners. If we stop we’ll be like Australia. By which I guess they mean we’ll have mineral wealth and better weather.

  22. jason rika 22
    21 May 2009 at 8:08 pm

    hey Ben R. Check out westpac. Lost 10 million in transaction cock-up. Pretty good example of incompetent bank if you ask me.

    • vto 22.1
      21 May 2009 at 8:11 pm

      really jason? how much you lost in the last year due to being too smacked? Compared to your income? Shall we compareo?

    • Bill 22.2
      21 May 2009 at 9:28 pm

      If only the law is changed so that recipients don’t have to disappear overseas….49 more wespac fuck-ups and $500 000 000 hits the money-go-round!

    • Clarke 22.3
      22 May 2009 at 9:31 am

      Yeah, those Westpac types got it completely around the wrong way – taxpayers are meant to shower banks with unearned money, not the other way round!

      Note to Westpac: bailouts run *from* taxpayers *to* banks. Must try harder.

  23. gingercrush 23
    21 May 2009 at 8:47 pm

    There are already people collecting possum fur and they’ve been doing it for a while. My own father did it last season and will be doing it again this year. In regards to the fur. They’re not fussy whatsoever. No longer do you need to skin up the possums you just pluck the fur. It is already used in the making of clothing. Already there exists companies that pay people. There was a country calendar episode a while back that directly looked at this issue. Making gloves could I guess potentially work though it likely would flood the market. Meaning those people who already have jobs getting possum furs and those companies that are already making that fur into clothing and other goods will see their prices lower.

  24. gingercrush 24
    21 May 2009 at 8:57 pm

    The funniest thing is I suggested possums a few months back here on this blog.

  25. Swampy 25
    21 May 2009 at 9:13 pm

    You forgot to mention the electricity companies (mostly state owned).

  26. Nick 26
    21 May 2009 at 9:53 pm

    Hell, this is the funniest line of comments I have read for a long while, cant fault Zetitic and just great to read the possum story…if it was’nt so sad you would laugh too loudly. Shows the acolytes of the right for what they are, complete pillocks….

    • Clarke 26.1
      22 May 2009 at 9:37 am

      You’re right, Nick … although Zetetic has had to work pretty hard on this – after all, it’s New Zealand’s A Team of Entrepreneurship we’re talking about here! It’s pretty difficult coming up with insightful criticism of such a group of high achievers – it’s not like making fun of a bunch of clueless muppets at all. That would be much easier.

  27. Tim Ellis 27
    22 May 2009 at 10:37 am

    What an extraordinary post, and even more extraordinary comments.

    If senior businessmen are so stupid, and anti-intellectual, and don’t have the capacity to think in the long-term, then why doesn’t everybody do it? If it’s such an easy step, then how is it that all of the people complaining about the stupidity of senior executive management (none of whom appear to have any experience of senior executive management), don’t take the leap themselves?

    There is a very high proportion of industry that is owned and managed by the State. Is this a better model? Can anybody produce evidence that SOEs perform more effectively, produce better quality products and services than their privately-owned counterparts, treat their staff with more respect, deliver better returns to shareholders, and have a greater regard for the needs of consumers?

  28. randal 28
    22 May 2009 at 1:31 pm

    actually we are damm lucky to have any industry at all
    without the first labour government and their aggressive policy of import substitution there would be nothing here at all except the sheepocracy
    erkkkkk!

  29. Clarke 29
    22 May 2009 at 1:43 pm

    Tim Ellis:

    f it’s such an easy step, then how is it that all of the people complaining about the stupidity of senior executive management (none of whom appear to have any experience of senior executive management), don’t take the leap themselves?

    Many of us have – and still do – run companies, employ people, and occupy senior management positions. Many of us have very direct experience of executive management – and it should be a salutary lesson that not every company director supports a right-wing government that is undermining the very qualities that make this such a fantastic country.

    As a company director and as someone who has occupied very senior positions in public companies here and overseas, I care much more about the equality of my society than the size of executive bonus cheques. I care much more about the very real world of child poverty and families that have to make decisions between paying the electricity bill and putting food on the table than any notional discussions about GDP growth or productivity statistics.

    As a company director I am appalled by the cynical looting of the country. I do not approve of the current government that condones $4 billion of electricity overcharging by stating that the offending monopolies don’t have to pay it back. I am deeply offended by the very idea that $4 billion has been taken out of the pockets of New Zealanders – money that could have put food on the table, and bought winter clothes, and paid mortgages – and used it to enrich (in the case of Contact) predominantly overseas shareholders.

    I dislike intensely the idea that the OECD productivity figures are about to improve in New Zealand, solely because we are making more people unemployed.

    The way I run my company and employ my staff and work in my industry bears no resemblance to the caricatures you’re providing. I am not a member of the Business Roundtable, and amongst a very wide range of business contacts stretching over some decades I have never met a single person who is.

    I do not want a personal tax cut – I want a fairer New Zealand.

    So you can take your comments about our alleged lack of “experience of senior executive management” and – in the vernacular – blow it out your ass.

    • chris 29.1
      22 May 2009 at 5:01 pm

      Great comment, if only people here could realise that not all business people want to give sir rog head this blog would be a better place.

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    Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 hours ago

  • New Zealand has never been closed for business
    1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    8 hours ago

  • Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago

  • Melissa Lee and the media: ending the quest
    Chris Trotter writes –  MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    12 hours ago

  • The Hoon around the week to April 19
    TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago

  • The ‘Humpty Dumpty’ end result of dismantling our environmental protections
    Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago

  • Nicola's Salad Days.
    I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    13 hours ago

  • Study sees climate change baking in 19% lower global income by 2050
    TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago

  • Weekly Roundup 19-April-2024
    It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Simms on some lessons from Texas. AT’s ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    15 hours ago

  • Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  The data is from February this ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    16 hours ago

  • Clearing up confusion (or trying to)
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    18 hours ago

  • How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log iPhone Without Computer
    How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    19 hours ago

  • How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
    Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
    Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
    Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago

  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 day ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    2 days ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 days ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
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  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
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  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
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    13 hours ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
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  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
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  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
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  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
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  • Government backing mussel spat project
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  • Government focused on getting people into work
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    2 days ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
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  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
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  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
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  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
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    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
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    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
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  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
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    3 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
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  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
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    4 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
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  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
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    4 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
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  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
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  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
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  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
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    4 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
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    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
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    5 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
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  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
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    1 week ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
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  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
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  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
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  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
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    1 week ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
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    1 week ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
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    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
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    1 week ago

  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
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