The test of MMP

Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, August 5th, 2020 - 123 comments
Categories: election 2020, greens, labour, MMP, national, nz first, winston peters - Tags:

The left’s change of fortune in the last 3 years is still kind of mindblowing. In 2017, the election that many believed the left would lose was twice turned on its head. First by Metiria Turei’s speech announcing the Green Party’s new welfare policy, where she, and they, managed to shift the Overton Window on poverty and welfare in a way that no-one else had managed through the long 30 years of neoliberalism. We owe them a great debt for this.

Turei’s speech was closely followed by the resignation of Andrew Little as leader of the Labour Party, and we are fortunate that Little’s timing and how he managed that process enabled the rise of Jacinda Ardern (imo Little is one of the best men in parliament currently, and like the Greens points the way to post-macho politics).

Forward three years, covid changed everything again. At the start of the year, there was a fair chance of a Labour-led victory but it was by no means certain. This has morphed into an Opposition in disarray and Labour having a high likelihood of being able to govern with no coalition partners.

Two other features of this year’s election are the potential removal of NZ First from parliament, and the increase in ACT’s party vote. I’m not writing off Winston Peters until the final votes are counted, such are his legendary Lazarus powers, but I also have the feeling that this time he has misjudged the electorate, who in the age of covid want a kind of security that doesn’t come from powermongering, divisive politics, but from people being good to each other and the sense of we are in this together.

Peters has long applied the monkeywrench to MMP, using the inherent advantage of centrist parties to play each side off the other and to consolidate his power. Sometimes it’s hard not to admire his gall and mastery of his trade, but this isn’t the MMP that many of us envisaged whereby representation broadened and democractic engagement increased. The Peters’ era MMP is basically FPP with the power to enforce the status quo consolidated into the hands of one man.

It’s not that I don’t see a place for NZ First in parliament, it’s that as the global crises deepen, we desperately need to move on from macho politics and I can’t see that happening as long as Peters remains. I hope this is the year we reject the divine right of kingmakers.

Then there is the prospect of ACT having 5 MPs in opposition. One of the gifts of MMP is that we get to see true colours. Rather than having the hard right hidden within National, better to be able to see what they are doing and what they want to achieve out in the open. Also who will work with them and why. ACT historically had appeared more as liberal libertarians, but this is changing as they actively cultivate gun culture, Trumpian politics, and the racism that comes with both. There are multiple challenges here for the left, but there’s also an opportunity to work with what MPP offers.

Which brings us to the Greens. Long the conscience of the left, if we listen to the polls we apparently don’t need one any more.

Two of the popular narratives about the Green Party, in the mainstream discourse but also in parts of the left, are that the Greens 1) haven’t achieved much in this first term and b) are neoliberal centrists. The right love those narratives, for obvious reasons, harder to see what the left have to gain, especially in the face of some of the most progressive policy in decades.

[tweet https://twitter.com/wekatweets/status/1287164216160354304]

The responses to this policy document from many on the left were strangely muted, as with the earlier welfare policy, the most progressive social security policy I’ve seen in my 50 odd years.

Understandably, because of 2014 and 2017 (and the Morris Dancing legacy), the Greens have been focused on changing the mainstream perception of the party as economically unreliable or too left field. My understanding is that party activists and others close to the party have pushed the Greens to now front foot the more radical progressive policies.

This doesn’t surprise me, because the progressive nature of the Green kaupapa is built into the party and timing is everything. Rather than the Greens being centrist neolibs, they’ve played the hand dealt them and trod a fine line between their values and the pragmatics of parliamentary politics.

As for the idea that the Greens haven’t achieved much, given the number of MPs they have and that they’ve worked outside of Cabinet for three years, I think it’s time to acknowledge that the Greens have really stepped up. The narrative on the left that they haven’t done anything really needs to die now. For those that missed it, here’s the list of what they have done this term.

Two things interest me now. One is the 4.4% of voters who voted Green in 2014, then Labour in 2017, dropping Green MPs from fourteen to eight. What are those 95,000 odd voters thinking now?

The other is does the left actually want MMP? At at time of big shifts of power in parliament, will New Zealand look to the full potential of our electoral system?

123 comments on “The test of MMP ”

  1. Gosman 1

    You claim NZ doesn't want divisive politics in relation to NZ First yet you then imply that ACT has increased it's vote as a result of divisive politics. What is it then? Do NZers want divisive politics or don't they?

    [if you think 3% of the electorate = New Zealand, then sorry, you are too stupid to comment here. Much more likely you are trolling, which you’ve been warned about too many times this year. Double the last ban = two weeks. Bring the good stuff next time Gosman – weka]

    • Red Blooded One 1.1

      Those sentence's aren't mutually inclusive, "NZ doesn't want …" I presume the author means the majority of NZ'rs. "ACT has increased … " means ACT voters have increased because of divisive politics, not the majority of NZ'rs. Please feel free to educate me if you are so much wiser.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.2

      The majority of NZers don't want divisive politics – ACT voters do because when its every person for themselves is when they make their biggest profits by screwing over everyone else.

    • Chris 1.3

      "Do NZers want divisive politics or don't they?"

      Wow! What a question! It really should be given the award for the most ill-thought-out and utterly meaningless question in the history of questions.

      Unfortunately, it isn't a silly question because the answer is that many, many right-wing thinking people do want divisive politics because that's the only way right-wing parties can get traction with voters.

      • weka 1.3.1

        substantially less RW voters want that currently though.

        • Chris 1.3.1.1

          I hope so, but we're yet to see the filth Collins will inevitably produce in the coming weeks and whether RW voters will like it. I suspect many will like it.

  2. Ad 2

    1999: 5.16%

    2002: 7%

    2005: 5.3%

    2008: 6.72%

    2011: 11.02%

    2014: 10.70%

    2017: 6.3%

    Greens would have to try reasonably hard to annoy their loyal base so much that they don't even make it back.

    Over two decades, MMP is alive and well for the Greens.

    • Andre 2.1

      Greens would have to try reasonably hard to annoy …

      As far as I'm concerned, and many of the green voters I hang with, the list that only has three people in the top ten who appear identifiably focused on green issues, along with the appallingly ill-conceived wealth tax (instead of continuing to fight for the much more sensible capital gains tax), come together to have a good go at creating that annoyance.

      • Bearded Git 2.1.1

        Andre….I vote Green and I like the wealth tax….what is your gripe with it…too soft?

        • Andre 2.1.1.1

          First, it catches some people on low incomes but happen to live where house price inflation has bumped them up into the zone where it hits. So they will have to go into debt to pay the tax, and taking on debt is a huge psychological issue for a lot of people that have been debt-free and don't have opportunities to increase their income. A capital gains tax works much better in this situation, as it only comes due when something as psychologically important as a home gets converted into a mere financial instrument by being sold (or otherwise changing ownership)

          Its low threshold would significantly complicate annual taxes for a lot of people of relatively modest means. If you already need to use an accountant for your taxes, then sure it's just paying the accountant a bit more for the extra time. But for a lot of people that would be caught, right now their taxes are so simple they don't even need to file a tax return. Sure, that also applies to CGT, but that for most people that would only come around rarely, not annually.

          In terms of the philosophy behind it, it comes across as simply wanting to stick it to rich pricks. In a similar way, TOP's CCT came across as the wet dream of an economist that thinks of everything in terms of a dollar price, and thinks the tax system should force people to maximise the dollar return of everything they do. In both cases, the tax lacks any connection from how society contributed to growing what is being taxed. Presumably it would continue to apply even if the assets it applies to lose value. Whereas a capital gains tax only applies to how someone has benefited from society helping to grow that benefit.

          That kind of tax also disincentivises activities such as ecosystem restoration on farms, because it forces the owners to come up with more active income to pay the tax. A wealth tax makes it much harder to just forego a little bit of lost production and maybe a bit less capital gain, when you're stuck with paying a wealth tax on something that's not earning you the money to pay the tax. Again, a capital gains tax works much better for this since it only comes due when the asset that previously had significant psychological important and other non-monetary value gets turned into a mere financial instrument by being sold.

          • Bearded Git 2.1.1.1.1

            Andre….A couple who have net wealth of $2 million pay no Wealth Tax at all under the Greens plan. That sounds far from onerous to me.

            CGT is massively complicated to implement and because no party will include the family home, will raise far less than the Greens Wealth Tax.

            People who live in residences worth into the millions but have low incomes and limited cash have made massive untaxed capital gains over the last 20 years. I don't have much sympathy with the argument that they should not pay wealth tax. They should take the opportunity to sell the residence and generate cash and then move into a less valuable perhaps smaller residence-often this would be able to be achieved in or near where they live now.

            I don't think the Wealth Tax comes across as sticking it to rich pricks. This seems to be contradicted by your argument that the threshold is too low. In fact it seems to come across to me that you or your family may be affected by the tax yourself-is that why you aren't impressed with it?

            I don't really follow your ecosystem argument. The Greens say the Wealth Tax will raise $7.9 billion in the first year…I am sure some of this would be earmarked for ecosystem work among other Climate Change friendly measures.

            • Andre 2.1.1.1.1.1

              Because I am a dual US/NZ citizen resident in NZ, occasionally I have to pay taxes to the US as well as NZ. That happens when I have a large capital gain, which the US taxes and NZ does not. Because of my retirement savings built up in the US that are still there, I also pay Cullen's Foreign Investment Fund tax which operates effectively as a wealth tax.

              So far in my life I have paid vastly more capital gains tax than FIF tax. Yet the capital gains tax doesn't bother me, because it falls due when the cashflow is there to support it. But the FIF irritates the fuck out of me every time I pay it, because it's levied regardless of cashflow, and it even happens that the FIF tax is due when the fund has actually lost value. From personal experience, the way the FIF wealth tax operates induces decisions that are quite a lot less optimal than would be made under a capital gains tax regime, which also likely results in less tax being ultimately collected.

              You appear to have no idea of how the tax operates, so you're just pulling ignorant reckons out of your arse. As for "just sell up and go somewhere else", suggesting that people leave their life community because a new tax imposes onerous burdens just because they've done well on capital gains – well, fuck you and the horse you rode in on.

              Take the cut of the gains to go back into maintaining society when it's no longer their home and lives we're talking about, but merely the finances resulting from the sale of property that has been moved on from. That's a capital gains tax, that doesn't fuck with people's lives in order to satisfy an ideological urge.

              As for your sly insinuation I'm opposed because I might have to pay the tax, that just reinforces my opinion that those proposing this have no fucking idea of what effects it may have, and are therefore unfit for office. So congratulations, you've nudged me further away from the Greens.

            • solkta 2.1.1.1.1.2

              They should take the opportunity to sell the residence and generate cash and then move into a less valuable perhaps smaller residence

              They don't need to do this as the tax can be deferred until the house is sold. Some councils already allow this with rates.

              I am sure some of this would be earmarked for ecosystem work among other Climate Change friendly measures

              This new tax is intended to pay for the Poverty Action Plan.

              https://www.greens.org.nz/poverty_action_plan

              • Thank you Soltka-helpful contributions from you, unlike Andre above who seems to to be fanatically opposed to a Wealth Tax and never really intended to vote Green.

                I hadn't spotted the ability to defer the WT-the detail is often the key in tax matters (I am a qualified accountant, lapsed.) This further bolsters my support for the WT.

                I would only comment that when $7.9 billion comes in from the Wealth Tax this can be spent on (as you say) poverty alleviating measures that are at the same time climate friendly-they are not mutually exclusive. For instance if houses are insulated this reduces energy costs for someone struggling to make ends meet while also helping the planet.

          • Brigid 2.1.1.1.2

            Andre it pays to refer to the source.

            From the Greens website

            "The net wealth tax will be set at 1% on net wealth over $1 million and 2% on net wealth over $2 million. This is likely to raise around $7.9billion in its first year. No one whose individual net wealth is less than $1 million would pay this tax. We have designed the tax to apply at an individual level, which means that couples who own their assets jointly will only start paying tax if they jointly have over $2 million in net wealth,such as a $2 million house. "

            "Some people, particularly retired people, may have a high value home but only modest income. These people will be able to defer payment of the net wealth tax until the home is sold, just as many councils already allow with rates payments."

            https://www.greens.org.nz/poverty_action_plan

            • Andre 2.1.1.1.2.1

              I've seen the effects on the mental well-being of some people that were debt-free being forced to go back into debt, which is what a deferred tax liability feels like. It can be so severe that anyone proposing something like this obviously has no fucking clue what the effects could be, and are therefore unfit for government.

              The much better way to deal with this issue is a capital gains tax, and it's a failure on the part of the Greens that they are not continuing to push for the better answer and have instead tried to come up with some sort of back-door workaround that simply reinforces the worst stereotypes about left governments.

              • Brigid

                In what way is the deferred tax on the family home of a retired couple (say) different from the CGT payable on the sale of the home. Why should one be detrimental to ones mental health while the other is not?

                The fact is really that this generic retired couple need not concern themselves about this tax at all. If they choose to tie themselves in knots over it perhaps a person (you) could assure them that actually all is fine and that their perceived debt is just a book entry and is likely to remain so until they shuffle off this mortal coil.

                • Andre

                  Because a deferred tax is a debt that the taxpayer is personally on the hook for, and it keeps building and building, and there's no way to clear it.

                  Whereas a capital gains tax is merely sending a cut of the profits at time of sale to the government, to help maintain the society that made the profit possible.

                  I watched a neighbour in the US get slowly more and more distraught over the size of her deferred property tax bill (basically same as rates here), in a suburb where values had been creeping down for a while. Neither her family nor I nor other neighbours could help her come round to the idea that it wasn't something she should worry about and there was no way it was going to cause her to lose her home, or cause problems for anyone else. Finally her son in desperation went and paid off the accumulated taxes, which she took as an extremely serious affront to her independence. I heard several other similar stories from other people while I was there.

                  So no, rather than see that kind of scenario play out ever again, I'd rather the Greens hardened up and fought for the better answer which is a capital gains tax. It's a big enough issue that I'd rather see the Greens completely out this term, with the risk of them not coming back in 2023, than having even the tiny risk that they somehow get Labour to agree to it in lieu of the capital gains tax Labour stupidly ruled out.

                  It's better to not have anything at all and wait for the chance to implement the good solution, rather than go backwards by implementing something deeply deeply flawed from the beginning. It's not like the Greens have given up trying to fight for other goals they can't get implemented immediately. Or have they just rolled over on everything else that's a little bit hard and I haven't noticed?

                  • joe90

                    My mum spent her final years fretting about interest accruing on a reverse mortgage.

                  • weka

                    Because a deferred tax is a debt that the taxpayer is personally on the hook for, and it keeps building and building, and there's no way to clear it.

                    Whereas a capital gains tax is merely sending a cut of the profits at time of sale to the government, to help maintain the society that made the profit possible.

                    is this primarily a psychological thing? Because if I own a house worth $1.5m and I have to pay a % to the govt when I sell it, I'm not sure there's a huge amount of difference between that % being calculated on the asset that has yearly accrued capital vs a % being calculated yearly on the same asset. If the day I sell I have to pay $x, the same in each case, what's the difference?

                    • Andre

                      Yes, it's a psychological thing. And for those that aren't so income constrained that they need to defer the tax, the annual drain on their finances caused by a wealth tax still constrains their other choices and options.

                      It's also important to note that a wealth tax is simply the government saying "nice place you got there, we'll take a slice of it" regardless of whether anything is happening to improve the situation. It still applies when the asset is decreasing in value or otherwise losing money. Kinda like a mafia racket.

                      Whereas a capital gains tax only applies to the portion by which the owner is better off because of how things have improved in the meantime. Which usually is quite dependent on the government doing things that improve the value of assets.

                      Consider a few hypothetical cases: someone that buys into a Titirangi block for a $1M because they value the bush and put a lot into looking after the bush. Over 10 years, that value goes up to $1.5M, with kinda slow growth because the government isn't investing in the area and it's getting to be a slower and slower commute into town. Under the Greens wealth tax scenario, the tax bill over those 10 years would add up to $25k, averaging a $2.5k average annual drain on the owners finances. Under a capital gains tax regime, say copied from Australia, there would be no annual drain on cashflow, but on the sale at the end of 10 years there would be a capital gains tax bill of $82.5k at the moment the (former) owner has $1.5M cash siting in their pocket.

                      Or the owner could have become a Kelston slumlord and bought 3 properties for $333K each, but over ten years the total value goes from $1M to $2M because of improved transport links and urban revitalisation projects heavily funded by the government. The wealth tax over that 10 years would add up to $50k, but under a capital gains tax scenario, upon cashing up the capital gains tax would be $165k.

                      Or a hypothetical Murupara small farm owner that bought in at $1.6M, but for a variety of reasons (some due to government neglect of rural regions and regulation changes) the value has dropped to $1.4M ten years later. That would also incur $50k of wealth taxes over ten years, adding insult to injury on top of the capital loss. But under a capital gains tax regime, no capital gains tax would be due because what actually happened was a loss.

                      If you really can't get your head around what that difference is in practice, you really should be questioning your understanding and whether you've got the mental tools to assess what might work well and what might be a fuckup.

                    • mikesh

                      Whereas a capital gains tax is merely sending a cut of the profits at time of sale to the government, to help maintain the society that made the profit possible.

                      There are no profits. The sale of property merely transfers the disposition of one's capital from one asset class to another. e.g. from property to cash. this is true even if the value of one's capital has been enhanced through capital gain.

              • mikesh

                Debt is only a problem if one has to repay it. For most persons in this position the debt will be paid from their estate when they pass on, whence it will operate as a form of inheritance tax. Such an arrangement seems desirable since it acts against the growth of the inequality which might result from intergenerational accumulation.

                It should be noted that he same arguments apply to Morgan's CCT. And, incidentally, Morgan is not saying that anybody should maximize his income, but rather he is saying that non-cash benefits which already exist, and which could be deemed quasi incomes, should be taxed.

                The main problem with capital gains taxes, apart from the unfairness of their incidence, is that they are a tax on capital and, since capital is what we employ to earn income, they reduce our capacity to earn and, incidentally, the amount of income tax that we pay.

                The reason for taxation seems to be that a certain proportion of our productive capacity needs to be put to public use, and, since production is usually reflected in income, the most appropriate method of taxation would seem to be income tax.

                Apart from punitive taxes like those on alcohol and tobacco, the only other tax I would advocate would be a land tax. A land tax seems fair because ultimately the land belongs to all of us, and anyone claiming private ownership should be paying for the privilege. A land tax would also incorporate a capital gains tax by default since most capital gains are on land.

                PS: I am not actually advocating either a wealth tax or Morgan's CCT, but merely pointing out the fallacies in your arguments.

            • Bearded Git 2.1.1.1.2.2

              Brigid-thank you too. See my post to Soltka above.

      • froggleblocks 2.1.2

        Yeah, the wealth tax is an embarrassment. It's simply cemented the idea in the general electorate that the Greens are far-left whack-jobs in favour of taxation policies that have been implemented in a dozen European countries and then repealed in 8 of them due to not working (the latest being France in 2017).

        • Bearded Git 2.1.2.1

          Froggle….see my post above…..the problem is Labour has no plans to meaningfully redistribute wealth at all that I have seen. Feel free to disabuse me of this position.

          The Green’s Wealth Tax may need a little fine tuning but it is a great first step.

          • froggleblocks 2.1.2.1.1

            TOP's UBI policy is far better.

            Greens should have just copied that instead of this hare-brained scheme.

            • Andre 2.1.2.1.1.1

              Yes on the UBI, but TOP's comprehensive capital tax is even worse in its effects than the Greens' wealth tax.

              • mikesh

                Worse? How so? Since wealth would almost certainly include capital wealth it actually suffers from the same problem as capital gains tax. i.e. Capital is what one employs to earn income and, therefor, taxing it reduces one's capacity for earning income. It is far more logical to tax the yield on capital rather than to tax capita itself.

                Gareth Morgan's CCT on the other hand seems very fair since it taxes a non-cash benefit which should be treated as income. The only problem as far as I can see is that it bases the tax on the home owner's equity in the property rather than on the full value of the property.

      • left_forward 2.1.3

        I am a sometimes Green voter and I particularly like their blend of environmental and social justice policies – I'm very tempted to go with them this time.

        • Andre 2.1.3.1

          If the Greens' current mix of people and policies fit you better right now than they have at other times, and they fit you better than any of the other parties, then sure, for you voting Green makes a lot of sense. If you can honestly say their current offering is a good fit for your values and priorities, I'm happy for you, because feeling like an existing party is a good fit for me is an incredibly rare thing.

          For me, it appears the current Green lineup of people is weak on the issues that matter to me, while possibly going overboard in areas off my priority radar, combined with some policies that are so ill-conceived it calls into question their fitness be in office.

          So yeah, I'm facing a real conundrum as to whether the Greens or Labour are going to be the least nasty smelly dead rat to choke down and vote for.

          • Bearded Git 2.1.3.1.1

            In that case Andre if you are looking for a left-leaning government (however slightly) the obvious vote is Green to make sure this happens.

            National can win this election by only getting 39% if the NZF and Greens votes totalling around 9% are wasted with neither reaching 5%.

            • Andre 2.1.3.1.1.1

              I don't want a left-leaning government that ends up embodying the worst stereotypes of dumb left ideas. I'll take centrism over that, and hope that the further left options come to their senses during a time-out.

    • weka 2.2

      wanting the Greens in a 6% holding pattern is kind of like thinking Peters should be kingmaker. It's essentially a BAU position, one that serves Labourites who want Labour a bit more to the left but not too much. Won't save us from climate change though. Nor provide the wide relief from poverty that is desperately needed. Nor solve the housing crisis.

      Not really the full potential of MMP.

      • Ad 2.2.1

        The Green caucus should try Norman Vincent Peale if they're keen on realising their potential. And they could start with deciding if they want to be in government, or just in Confidence and Supply. Say it out loud James.

        Because right now it really is a popularity contest. No matter what we might wish, this simply isn't a policy election.

      • bwaghorn 2.2.2

        I like the greens at 6-7% . I see them as nzs idealistic conscience. But sorry I dont want them with to much power .

        That said I'm seriously considering voting for them if it looks like labour will romp home.

        The only worry for voting for either is I haven't picked a winner in the last 6 elections and am possible the kiss of death to political parties.

  3. observer 3

    I definitely want MMP. Unfortunately NZ's version of it hasn't evolved as expected (or hoped?).

    Leaving aside the Maori electorates, we've had various parties relying on an electorate MP, at different stages (NZF 99, UF, ACT, Jim Anderton), as well as a constant focus on possible electorate lifeboats for all other parties bar Labour and National. This election is no different, sadly.

    The threshold has to be lowered (say, 3%). Then we could get beyond the all-consuming tactics commentary ("deal? rule out?" etc), and focus on what the parties actually stand for.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.1

      Leaving aside the Maori electorates,

      No, don't – they really are a spanner in the works of our democracy.

      The threshold has to be lowered (say, 3%).

      I'd prefer 0.8% and getting rid of the electorates as well.

      • Incognito 3.1.1

        I’d prefer 0.8% and getting rid of the electorates as well.

        I utterly and completely agree with this!!

      • Phil 3.1.2

        I'd prefer 0.8%

        Yeah, I'm in this camp as well. If you can garner enough votes to hold 1/120th of the house, you absolutely have a right to be there.

      • Andre 3.1.3

        Definitely 0.83% threshold for a party to get representation.

        But there's a good argument for retaining a degree of local representation by way of electorates. Without electorate MPs, it's quite easy for local issues that nonetheless need to be resolved by the national government to never make it onto the radar. Waitakere Ranges being an example of an issue that might never get properly dealt with without electorate MPs.

        I'm uncomfortable with electorate MPs being more than 50% of the house, tho.

        • Draco T Bastard 3.1.3.1

          But there's a good argument for retaining a degree of local representation by way of electorates.

          Not really.

          Without electorate MPs, it's quite easy for local issues that nonetheless need to be resolved by the national government to never make it onto the radar.

          That's what we have local government for. Now, it may be that local government needs to have better way to get parliament's attention and have them take action but MPs shouldn't be sticking their nose directly into local issues.

          That said, the Greens have electorate offices here and there despite being primarily a list party and are quite happy for people to stop in and talk about issues. Nothing stopping the other parties from doing the same thing.

          I'm uncomfortable with electorate MPs being more than 50% of the house, tho.

          Yeah, if we're not going to get rid of electorates then having the electorates being equal to or even less than the list seats is the next best thing.

    • froggleblocks 3.2

      The sudden emergence of the Advance/Public party with their conspiracy theory ideas might be of note to those who think the threshold should be reduced to 0.83%

      • Incognito 3.2.1

        If in a Democracy 0.83% of the voters give that party their vote then that party should represent them in Parliament. If you don’t like that, keep the threshold high enough so that anything but mainstream views make it into Parliament AKA BAU.

        • froggleblocks 3.2.1.1

          Having a bunch of fringe nutjobs that take up space and get generous salaries while doing nothing to help New Zealanders is not a great strategy if you want the public to take Parliament seriously.

          We'd certainly end up with at least one religious party in Parliament too, despite all of the ones to date being founded by criminals and/or hypocrits. I guess maybe the next ones won't be?

          • Draco T Bastard 3.2.1.1.1

            Having a bunch of fringe nutjobs that take up space and get generous salaries while doing nothing to help New Zealanders is not a great strategy if you want the public to take Parliament seriously.

            That, too, is part of democracy. If they do really badly then, hopefully, the people who voted them in won't do so again.

            People must be allowed to make mistakes so that they can learn from them

            And, who knows, maybe one of those fringe people might come up with a solution that works and does wonders for society. If we don't listen, we'll never know.

            We'd certainly end up with at least one religious party in Parliament too, despite all of the ones to date being founded by criminals and/or hypocrits. I guess maybe the next ones won't be?

            My preference is that if those elected are criminals then the law gets applied to them appropriately. And, really, considering what National has just been caught doing with people's private health data how many do you think aren't criminals?

          • Andre 3.2.1.1.2

            We've had plenty of fringe nutjobs make it into parliament. They've all been weeded back out by the electorate pretty darn quick, ACT excepted (unfortunately).

            • froggleblocks 3.2.1.1.2.1

              I wouldn't regard any of the minor parties that have made it into Parliament to be nutjobs. Some individual MPs perhaps.

              But we've never had parties actively peddling in conspiracy theories in the house.

              • Draco T Bastard

                But we've never had parties actively peddling in conspiracy theories in the house.

                People who parrot that line are, basically, ignorant.

                12 crazy conspiracy theories that actually turned out to be true

                In fact, wasn't the Winebox Inquiry pretty much a conspiracy theory until Winston got in and got an investigation going?

                Perhaps we need more people in government doing so.

                And, yes, I know that many such theories are dangerous but simply writing them off as you just did can also be. After all, the people actually carrying out a conspiracy don't want people looking for a reason.

                • froggleblocks

                  These people are saying COVID-19 is a "plandemic" and spread by 5G towers.

                  Whatever historical conspiracies turned out to be true is rather irrelevant to the people we are talking about here.

          • gsays 3.2.1.1.3

            We'd certainly end up with at least one religious party in Parliament too,

            Looking at the line-up, The Nats qualify as a religous party.

            …despite all of the ones to date being founded by criminals and/or hypocrits. I guess maybe the next ones won't be?

            I suppose it all depends on your view of CCP as to whether The Crushed Collins Crew tick that box.

        • observer 3.2.1.2

          I can't think of a single democracy where such an electoral system has worked well, but happy to consider examples.

          Observable practice is more useful than theory in this kind of debate. There are certainly many worse systems than ours.

          • Draco T Bastard 3.2.1.2.1

            Observable practice is more useful than theory in this kind of debate.

            Observed practice can be used to make changes and thus make it work. I can point to where representative democracy hasn't worked too well and then it got changed to work better. I can point to where its definitely not working but the people in power refuse to change it.

            There are certainly many worse systems than ours.

            Yes there are but that should not be an excuse used to prevent making ours even better.

    • Ed1 3.3

      I believe the threshold should be lower, and I have also argued for "coat-tailing' to be removed. This could perhaps be done by applying the threshold to the allocation of any list seats – so if the threshold remained at 5%, ACT would get no MPs in addition to its electorate seat unless they reached 5%. If we believe there should be a threshold, why not apply it consistently?

      • greywarshark 3.3.1

        Makes sense Ed1. Then it would be safer to decrease threshhold to 4% – I wouldn't like to go low.er Parliament isn't a place for apprentice politicians to learn what they need to know, get practicality not fervent ideas, better that they get clued up beforehand.

    • mikesh 3.4

      I would lower the threshold to zero, and at the same time get rid of overhangs. A zero threshold would eliminate the problem of coat tails.

  4. The responses to this policy document from many on the left were strangely muted…

    The doc was released right about the time Jan Logie's inability to say what a woman is and enthusiasm for sex self-ID was breaking on Twitter, so I got the email with the policy doc and a couple of others asking for donations but was busy thinking "Fuck you, fuck off and stop asking me to fund your bullshit," so paid it no attention. I'm still going to vote for them, but it's going to be a while before I can face reading their policy docs.

    • weka 4.1

      hard to gauge how much of an issue this is for the left generally, but I agree it is a problem, and there is a strong dissonance between some of their positions.

      • Psycho Milt 4.1.1

        I suspect that, as usual, I'm an outlier and most on the left would have no problem with Logie's anti-feminist gibberish if they were even aware of it.

        • weka 4.1.1.1

          I was meaning most are unaware. Whether NZ would follow a similar pattern as the UK once the issues start to be meaningfully debated I don't know.

        • solkta 4.1.1.2

          Oh, so you are the expert on what is and is not feminism now? Good onya.

          • Psycho Milt 4.1.1.2.1

            I claim no particular expertise, beyond the mundane ability to define the terms man and woman, something which appears to be beyond Jan Logie.

            • solkta 4.1.1.2.1.1

              If you have no such expertise then why would you claim that a feminist is anti-feminist? Full of shit much.

              • No expertise is required to figure out that a policy that would harm women is anti-feminist.

                Also: the implication that only alleged 'experts' are capable of understanding simple concepts makes no sense unless the aim is obfuscation.

    • solkta 4.2

      You are not going to read a policy doc re welfare because bigoted views of transgender people? Good onya.

      Doesn't make sense aside from the stupidity since transgender issues have been running a long time for the Greens. I'm sure it no a first for twitter.

      • Psycho Milt 4.2.1

        Trans-gender people are irrelevant to my comment. Some of them support sex self-ID, some don't. My dispute is with the Green Party.

        • solkta 4.2.1.1

          Trans-gender people are irrelevant to my concern.

          FIFY

          You just said above that gender is a simple binary. You could be honest and just say that you don't believe transgender people exist. You know, just like how homosexuality didn't used to exist. It was just a disorder.

          • Psycho Milt 4.2.1.1.1

            I can't imagine myself saying something as stupid as "gender is a simple binary" and your fantasies about beliefs I supposedly hold are your own business.

          • weka 4.2.1.1.2

            I don't want to get into moderator mode here, but there is an expectation under my posts and on TS generally that we don't make shit up about other people's beliefs or arguments. I can't see anything PM has said that even comes close to what you just asserted. You're welcome to make the arguments, but not at the expense of functional debate or by inflammatory comments.

            Also worth bearing in mind that I will do my best to protect trans people's as well as women's right to debate here, including space to comment free from harassment. I am also committed to not letting TS become the shit show that is the GCF/TA war on twitter. All sides will need to up their game and fit into the debate culture at TS.

  5. Phil 5

    duplicate post

  6. Louis 6

    Well, Im seeing a number of traditional Labour voters on twitter saying they will vote Greens this time and Im in favour of MMP, wouldn't want a FPP type of system.

    • weka 6.1

      Would it bother you if Labour governed alone?

      • Louis 6.1.1

        I dont think they will.

      • Yes, as it would mean centre right voters had come onboard. We need a good outrigger for balance.

        • weka 6.1.2.1

          the danger being that Labour is pulled towards the centre?

        • Chris 6.1.2.2

          If centre right voters have come onboard wouldn't that mean that the centre had shifted to the left, which is a good thing?

      • McFlock 6.1.3

        I think it would "okay", but might lack a bit of policy spark. The Greens bring original ideas to the table – even if the policies might not be implemented, it's good to have that perspective in mind, I think.

        • Sabine 6.1.3.1

          quite costly to keep people employed for their 'original ideas' and nothing much else.

          • McFlock 6.1.3.1.1

            Yup.

            Then management fires the people who have the original ideas, and wonders why their organisation becomes ossified and lethargic in changing circumstances.

            Case in point: The NZ National Party. Fresh out of original ideas since at least 2011.

      • Novacastrian 6.1.4

        Labour should govern by themselves

      • Barfly 6.1.5

        I believe that if the Greens make it back to parliament they will get a coalition deal with Labour even if Labour has the numbers to govern alone NZ 1st I believe would be offered same – it would be Very smart politics

        • Louis 6.1.5.1

          That's what I think too Barfly.

        • solkta 6.1.5.2

          I think that is likely too but Labour would still need to give the Greens significant policy concessions. The worst scenario for the Greens would be to be in coalition without the Winston handbrake and still not achieve enough. I can see the membership saying no thanks to a stingy offer.

  7. Dennis Frank 7

    I pointed out at the time that Turei's virtue-signalling would have seemed worthy of respect if she had done it at the start of her parliamentary career, rather than waiting until the end of it. Ambushing the Greens with it struck me as poor political judgment then, and still does. How else could you read the result?

    The Overton Window is an approach to identifying the ideas that define the spectrum of acceptability of governmental policies. Politicians can only act within the acceptable range. Shifting the Overton Window involves proponents of policies outside the window persuading the public to expand the window. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window

    I haven't noticed anyone here providing evidence that validates the claim that her signal did actually produce support from voters/public. Therefore I believe it was not only politically inept, it didn't even work according to plan!

    Two of the popular narratives about the Green Party, in the mainstream discourse but also in parts of the left, are that the Greens 1) haven’t achieved much in this first term and b) are neoliberal centrists. The right love those narratives

    because they are bullshit. Rightists believe that bullshit works in politics even more than leftists.

    My understanding is that party activists and others close to the party have pushed the Greens to now front foot the more radical progressive policies.

    If so, the strategy is sensible marketing – with the proviso that market research to validate the strategy has actually been done. Has it? Or is it yet more virtue-signalling? Radical progressive policies that fit the situation we're in and provide a viable path toward a resilient, sustainable Aotearoa would get my support. But if marketing them fails to lift the Greens over the threshold then realisation that something extra is required over & above them will be necessary.

    Your question to leftists about whether they want MMP seems designed to measure the dinosaur ratio. Fair enough. So far, no leftist dinosaurs have answered no…

    • weka 7.1

      afaik the GP caucus knew about the speech beforehand, can't see how that is an ambush.

      I haven't noticed anyone here providing evidence that validates the claim that her signal did actually produce support from voters/public.

      I didn't claim that (although there is the 15% poll after her speech). I'm saying that the national debate on welfare shifted. This is pretty obvious to beneficiaries. I see it in how the MSM covers the issues, but also in policy development (the GP obviously, but also Labour). There is more recognition of the issues with WINZ, and less bludger memery. The debate has shifted from the deserving poor (child poverty) to the problems with poverty generally and the need to find solutions for everyone.

    • Warren Doney 7.2

      There was a massive Jump in polling when Metiria announced what she had done. You didn't look that up? As it all came from Labour, it's almost certain that's what triggered Andrew Little to resign, and then along came Jacinda.

      Labelling something as "virtue signalling" signifies a lack of virtue nowadays.

    • solkta 7.3

      Rightists believe that bullshit works in politics

      Yes, that is why they say virtue-signalling all the time.

      • greywarshark 7.3.1

        They despise the term because it rubs them raw that they don't have any virtue themselves to signal, and that they never even try or want to have any virtue. So it's 'Shut up everybody else we are sick of your virtue-signalling'.

        • solkta 7.3.1.1

          I think a lot of right wing people don't really understand what virtue is. The only way they can understand why someone would do something altruistic is by trying to define what that individual might gain for themselves – with the only possible answer that they raise their standing among their peers. Others are just joining in the bullshit.

  8. mosa 8

    " Two things interest me now. One is the 4.4% of voters who voted Green in 2014, then Labour in 2017, dropping Green MPs from fourteen to eight. What are those 95,000 odd voters thinking now "

    Well if they are intelligent and well informed regarding the policy they would want to see implemented they will vote Green.

    No one else can deliver these initiatives around social policy , climate and the environment.

    There was a lot of policy detail to consider but for me their animal welfare policy hit the mark.

    If Labour are to capture a high party vote therefore have a strong majority in the next parliament where they govern alone then i am sure that Green party supporters ( and some Labour lefties ) will want to ensure a Green voice is represented in parliament and Labour will want a constructive relationship.

    I am out of the closet and voting GREEN on or near September 19th.

  9. Stuart Munro 9

    It's become a tradition, in the brief period we have 'enjoyed' MMP, that smaller parties are monstered by their coalition partners, and have little or nothing to show their supporters when the election rolls around. We saw it happen to the Alliance, and this term it has been the Greens that have been stymied at every turn.

    Now of course, since the advent of neoliberalism, voters have been being conditioned to accept failure, and to lower their expectations, as the powerful monied forces shit all over the governance processes specifically designed by centuries of constitutional monarchies to constrain abuses of power by this very group. I, however, will not accept failure.

    The question before us is whether we should entrust our franchise once again to a party that has fallen short of our expectations, and gives every indication of intending to do so again, in the hope that, somehow, this time it will be different.

    I am not encouraged, and, absent some kind of recognition from the Greens of their failures, they will not be getting my support this time around.

    • greywarshark 9.1

      It seems that since the collapse of Communist Russia, the USA does not feel as constrained to back up its presentation of itself as being a superior country by keeping to certain values that previously earned it respect.

      Is it not possible that if MMP and the Greens were not in that Labour would completely go right wing as it has leaned towards already? How have other Green Parties got in in bifurcating democracies – UK? Other 5 Eyes?

      Hasn't the Green Party been the burr under the saddle that has kept the small 'l' labour trying for 'honest' to its Labour label?

      • Stuart Munro 9.1.1

        It would be difficult to tell, without being a party to those discussions and even non-verbal interactions, that mark the accommodations of interest in the tottering Els Castells – like edifices of power of the coalition.

        Voters necessarily judge these performances by highly personal heuristics – adherence to ecological principles, progress in specific policy areas, lack of conspicuous failures and so forth.

        Shall we say that, in the suddenly unwontedly well-funded environment of the covid stimulus, the third-best alternatives the Greens typically obtained in opposition are not great achievements. The freshwater restoration should not have been kicked down the road for a generation like some National roading promise, but implemented.

        If this is the best they can achieve in fiscally ideal conditions, what will they do as conditions revert to some kind of normal?

        The riroriro (grey warblers) are singing in the bush near my house – the traditional admonishment to cease procrastinating and begin planting. Will we be saying to the Greens in years to come “Where were you when the riroriro sang?”

        • greywarshark 9.1.1.1

          I was intrigued by Els Castells – looked up. Human tower.

          https://www.thelocal.es/20190729/els-castells-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-human-towers-of-catalonia

          A poetic finish to your comment!

          • Stuart Munro 9.1.1.1.1

            Have to throw something in there or it would be unrelievedly negative.

            Yet, you are probably aware of a great story about deciding to act, Xenophon's Anabasis. In somewhat trying circumstances, the young Xenophon concluded that, if he relied upon business as usual (BAU), he and his companions were going to perish. He resolved to act, and convinced his colleagues to do likewise.

            Unhappily, the once in a lifetime opportunity to redress the erosion of freshwater quality, which has been accelerating with the recent enthusiasm for intensive dairy farming, has been squandered, with nitrate levels being set so high that even the worst affected regions in the country – South Canterbury for example – need take no action at all. It is such a reversal of the lesson of Anabasis (that sometimes one must act), that one might almost believe that David Parker's design was based on a misreading of the title of the popular novel (also based on Anabasis) by Douglas Adams – Watership Down.

    • weka 9.2

      absent some kind of recognition from the Greens of their failures,

      Could you be more specific about what they are?

      • Stuart Munro 9.2.1

        1080, a nitrate level 8x higher than any sensible country top the list for me. But there are cultural issues within DoC that need to be addressed – non-integrated pest management approaches that burn through a chunk of funding, attack but fail to control a designated species (undaria and introduced birds for example) without community consent or any sustainable long term plan. There are conversations that need to be had – and the Bomber Harris approach cannot be mistaken for environmental wisdom.

  10. Corey Humm 10

    Out of 8 soon to be 9 MMP elections Winston has only held the balance of power in two elections (96 and 17) 2005 labour could have gotten to 61 with the Maori party , progressives and greens and perhaps done a deal with Dunne that had him in cabinet but not the greens. So I dont get why people always act like Winston decides every election, hell the greens could have given NZf the middle finger in 2017 and demanded a list of policies from national and a cabinet seat, the nats are more likely to bend imo as they have no real ideology other than power. It would have destroyed the greens but it was possible meaning that Winston didnt have the ultimate power last election that everyone makes out.

    Hear me out because I'm probably gonna vote green again but I have some real issues with the party this term.

    If the greens can promise not to give the nats their questions under any circumstances they will have my party vote, a lot of us labour voters at least 1% voted green last election out of fear the greens would die, I wager the voters who went to labour from the greens were always labour voters they just didn't like labour at the time, the questions thing and Chloes people making such a big deal about Auckland (shes wasted in Auckland she should be touring the country getting the party and weed vote out) I dunno how many lab will party vote green, I probably will regardless but I wanna hear that they will not give the nats an inch. I like the old radical greens that had a left wing libertarian tinge that was fearful of govt and corporates, I dont like the obsession the new greens have with political correctness and as an LGBT member I think their obsession with LGBT rights is insincere sure they mean well but it comes off as pandering and their members blatant hatred of straight white men does more harm than good to the rainbow community and the left, most of us LGBT dont even vote Green, ohhh and green activists turning pride into such a divisive issue and telling og LGBT rights activists they were facists and scum because they disagreed over whether gay officers could march in their own communities event was an awful period in the LGBT community and many of us if not most of blame the greens and their mates in PAPA. LGBT soldiers cops doctors etc should be able to march in uniform, pride is not left nor is it right and the parade was destroyed by that group. The fact we have LGBT soldiers and cops is something some people thought would never happen. Ugh.

    But I reckon we have to swallow some dead rats and party vote green anyway. It'll be hard to form govts in future without the Bourgeoise socialists on bikes brigade. I insult them so much because I voted for them and will end up voting for them again so I'm just truly disappointed. I don't want them to be anti LGBT or pro hate speech but they need to sort their messaging out. They have great policies but they need to get out of the Welly bubble and the uni bubble and widen their base, hopefully a spell on opposition under a majority Labour govt allows them to refresh and recharge and hold labour to account. I still hate them though. Deeply conflicted. Love the policies

    • Warren Doney 10.1

      I agree we have to broaden our base – I looked for policy on senior affairs the other day and couldn't find any.

      As someone on the other side of the pride debate, Green policy on it didn't really register as I just saw it as doing the right thing. The police could easily have compromised on the uniform issue – they were already printing T-shirts for friends and family. I saw the parade and sponsorship as something captured by big business in any case. I felt many in the community wanted to sweep the problems under the carpet because they were not personally affected by them, and I was really disappointed in the lack of solidarity.

    • solkta 10.2

      It would have destroyed the greens but it was possible meaning that Winston didnt have the ultimate power last election that everyone makes out.

      Right, so the Greens could have shot themselves in the head and thrown away thirty years of member effort and you think that was an option?

      Chloes people making such a big deal about Auckland (shes wasted in Auckland she should be touring the country getting the party and weed vote out)

      Her and Golriz work hard touring universities as well as general events around the country. Will be in Northland in a few weeks.

      but I wanna hear that they will not give the nats an inch.

      They have said that they won't be part of a Nact lead gummint. They will however work with any party on specific legislation. They achieved that insulation stuff in the early Key years for example.

      I think their obsession with LGBT rights is insincere

      There is a large group of LGBT people in the party. They have a party "network" and push their issues hard. Support for these policies is high in the party in a large part because members know people affected directly.

      their members blatant hatred of straight white men

      There are a lot of straight white men in the party. They would be the majority group.

  11. DS 11

    Metiria Turei's speech did not move the Overton Window. It did two things:

    (1) Tear up the agreement with Labour (the Greens basically decided that, prior promises be damned, this was their shot at eating into Labour's support). Combined with the Greens subsequently giving their parliamentary question quota to the Nats, this showed that the Green's cannot be trusted, so far as Labour is concerned.

    (2) Severely alienate the vast majority of the electorate. I was doorknocking for Labour the weekend after Turei's speech (this was prior to Little quitting). The response I kept getting? "I was angry at Labour before, so I was going to vote Green, but now they've done this I don't know who to vote for." And that's the polite way of putting it – Turei made the Greens radioactive outside their core.

  12. gsays 12

    Thanks Weka, great post.

    It has helped shift a few opinions and drop a few grudges.

    Time is overdue for a generational shift in parliament. This is so brilliantly contrasted by the Ardern/Collins mismatch.

    Collins politics, style and policies are very much last century. It reminds me of Dylan Moran arguing with a woman.

    Trigger warning: he is smoking in this clip.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ79wJ0tkhg

    I figure The Greens are the best way to have this evolution in government continue.

    • greywarshark 12.1

      Yes Green minds seem able to take on the complexities of the 21st century – and can anyone in the world really handle all the fast-moving hailstones hitting at different places round the world? Look out duckie the sky is falling. But the Greens have to watch that some don't get too concerned about being bathed in the white light of purity. The field is so wide to tackle that they need to get two or three teams that handle different things and don't speak up in strange tongues that upset the others' efforts and the plan for the whole.

      • gsays 12.1.1

        It is that white light of purity that was fairly off putting for me.

        I do realise it exists in other political parties, but it is particularly white and extremely pure in some Green circles.

  13. Reading all of the above I am surprised anyone wants elections at all.

    "left/ right", centrist (?) wtf?.

    Meaningless code words.

    If we are to have a functional democracy then a return to ffp is not on.

    mmp or preferential voting.

    Regardless of our wishes, parliamentarians will vote in favour of what THEY want.

    Our mmp rules need a very good hard look, especially at thresholds (way too high), and Maori seats, lower thresholds could ease problematic questions here.

    Better still, no electorates and a preferential voting system. The country would have voted , not assorted electorates based on colonial thinking.

    Is that too radical a thought for this blog?

    " These are my favourite egotistical hopefuls in order of preference, you have to vote for at least one. "

    That would be the instruction on the ballot paper.

    It would at least be more reflective of the national electorate than the current system

    • lprent 13.1

      …not assorted electorates based on colonial thinking.

      Not sure how you’d get to that statement. To me, that just sounds like some fool with a doctrinaire rigidity who doesn’t know how to think and hasn’t bothered to dig into the reasons for different voting sytsems.

      Electorates are local thinking. Damn good thing too. They help a lot in building a more representative democracy that doesn’t just kowtow to large voting blocs.

      Otherwise politics in NZ would be almost entirely orientated towards Auckland (~1.6 million in a population of 5 million). Exclusively urban (~87% of the population live in urban areas). North Island (~3.7 million out of 5 million). etc etc. These are all issues to do with the tyranny of the majority as expressed in political parties trying to maximise their core votes.

      There is a pretty good case to say that the representation of Maori inside parliament would be even lower than their proportion of the population than it is right now if your half-baked ideas ever came to fruition. As it is for every other ethnic or societal group that isn’t European kiwi.

      Not to mention that given the recent level of immigration into NZ over the last hundred years, the early settler families representation, both Maori and elsewhere has been diluted by families of recent immigrants who arguably have less of a stack in our country and society.

      The problem with idiots with rate limited brains like yourself is that they don’t bother to think through what type of democracy we run. It isn’t a pure numbers game – because if we wanted that then everything would be done by referendum. Instead we have a representative democracy because it means that we get closer to all groups in society having a reasonable chance of representatives in parliament to argue their thoughts.

      As it is, party politics of the type that is implicit in a PV or even a MMP system gives quite a lot of power to political parties. In effect giving power to those people who can cooperate together in a party system – and implicitly excluding the large proportion of individuals who simply can’t cooperate – and therefore couldn’t be elected to representation.

      Now I’m overstating the case for effect. But that is mostly to point out just how naive your ideas are. Perhaps you should go and read some material on voting systems to see the exclusion constraints that are implicit in each decision. It’d be easier for the rest of us if we didn’t have to explain some basics yet again.

  14. Chess Player 14

    I like MMP, as otherwise democracy is a bit like two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.

    I'll also probably reluctantly vote for the Greens again this time.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    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 ...
    4 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    7 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    8 hours ago
  • 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
    13 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
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    6 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
    11 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
    13 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
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T10:31:20+00:00