The trouble with Facebook

Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, March 24th, 2019 - 79 comments
Categories: Christchurch Attack, facebook, International, internet, making shit up, Media, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, us politics - Tags: ,

So just over a week ago a white supremacist gathered together some guns and then went to a couple of Christchurch mosques and shot innocent Muslims all in the name of some imaginary race war that civilised parts of the world had moved on from many years ago.

And what was really funny was the fucker thought that there was some sort of threat to the white way of life.

His use of social media was calculated.  He had a twitter account that would have been noticed by very few people but which stored photos of guns and magazines with crazy stuff written on them.  He had a manifesto that was emailed to various politicians immediately before the event.  He had a head mounted go pro camera which live broadcast on Facebook sickening video of what he did.

And he intends to continue.  He is apparently lawyerless and hopes to turn the trial in the same charade that Anders Breivik did.

Why has social media, originally intended to let people keep in contact with family and friends and display photos of what we are eating turned so evil?  And what do we do?

From Overseas the New York Post offers this description:

New Zealand’s prime minister on Tuesday called for social media companies to take responsibility for what is published on them — after the slaughter of 50 people in two of the country’s mosques was livestreamed on Facebook and widely shared.

“We cannot simply sit back and accept that these platforms just exist and that what is said on them is not the responsibility of the place where they are published,” Jacinda Ardern said in a speech to Parliament.

“They are the publisher, not just the postman. It cannot be a case of all profit, no responsibility.”

The 38-year-old lawmaker acknowledged that social media didn’t cause the massacre but argued that it did play a role in allowing hate to spread.

“There is no question that ideas and language of division and hate have existed for decades. But the form of distribution, the tools of organization, they are new,” she said.

“Where racism and hatred are given a voice, violence flourishes.”

And this morning David Slack offered this comment:

‘The Wild West’, they call the internet, whenever something happens that’s so depraved, so despicable, we can scarcely believe it. The most you’re likely to get is a shrug.

“I’m sure there’s more that can be done in terms of learning from it” and “we all feel terrible about it”, said someone from Facebook, whose job title is VP public policy, about the murder of 50 people broadcast live on their platform.

The original Wild West no longer exists. In its place came telegraph wires and railway lines and law enforcement and rules and regulations and freeways and burger chains. Most people crave order. 

But not everyone. Some people enjoy chaos and misery and untrammelled hostility, at least from the comfort of a computer desk.

There has been a movement this week among local corporates to review the use of facebook.  From Duncan Grieve at the Spinoff:

A coalition of major New Zealand advertisers is building a coalition to demand change from the tech giants.

New Zealand’s biggest advertisers are working both individually and collectively to try and force change from the tech giants in the wake of the Christchurch terror attacks. At midday on Monday the Association of New Zealand Advertisers (ANZA) and the Commercial Communications Council (CCC) issued a joint statement calling for urgent change to the technology that allowed the Christchurch gunman to livestream his actions for 17 minutes on Friday.

Since then this sentiment has coalesced towards forcing the tech giants to reckon with the consequences of what their platforms allow. Conversations with multiple leaders in communications and marketing across brands and ad agencies suggest that once positions are formalised the next step will be to try and gather international support from a group of major advertisers.

Of course this is not the only example where Facebook poses an existential threat to democracy.  Its ability to circulate fake news is also deeply troubling and the use of fake news by the right arguably affected the result of the last US Presidential election.  Things are that bad that someone has made a living out of pedalling clearly labelled fake news and it seems the faker the news the better.

David Slack is right.  The internet is the wild west.  There is no effective way to review or regulate what is posted and it can be deeply damaging.  Mainstream media has various standards it must adhere to.

So what do we collectively do?  Boycott Facebook until it sorts itself out? Require it to disable live view?  Disable all of our accounts?

One thing I can say is that the status quo should not be an option.

79 comments on “The trouble with Facebook ”

  1. greywarshark 1

    Interesting discussion on Radionz this morning with the editor of Norway’s main newspaper concerning publication on social media and public media of reports about everything.
    Surprisingly to me he made a case for public dissemination of stuff like the manifesto. Thoughtful good points to consider.

    media crime
    https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018687797/lessons-from-norway-on-covering-the-quest-for-justice
    Lessons from Norway on covering the quest for justice
    From Mediawatch, 9:08 am today
    Colin Peacock – mediawatch@radionz.co.nz & @MediawatchNZ

    There’s concern the court case of the man accused of murder in Christchurch could give him unwelcome extra exposure. Espen Egil Hansen – editor of Norway’s paper Aftenposten – has some advice for media here after reporting a similar trial there, and also making Facebook accountable for its actions.

    and
    3MM: Associate Professor Dave Parry
    (Three Minutes Maximum)
    https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018687964/3mm-associate-professor-dave-parry
    The Head of the Department of Computer Science at the Auckland University of Technology looks at what, if anything, can be done around the misuse of social media networks in the wake of the Christchurch terror attack after the alleged gunman live-streamed the massacre on one of the world’s most popular forums.

  2. Sabine 2

    good grief, censor ship is strong within the Labour Party. Very very strong.

    the stupid thing about all of this censor ship is that you drive those that you would like to keep under surveillance under ground and those that pose no risk are living in a panopticon.

    Fact is, the video is out there on thousands upon thousands of UBS sticks. there are several hundred of copies out there, and none will carry the fingerprint of the mass murderer who shall not be named.

    at this stage, i would like to know, and maybe you as a Labour Member can answer this to me : When will we have the televised debate/round table with politicians, police, clergy, newspaper opinion makers (hoskins, henry et al, what are their responsibilities in inciting hate), teachers, psychologists and people of the public to discuss how
    a. this could happen without anyone noticing anything
    b. how a white young man of average intelligence, average height, average looks and decent means of finances gets so incited to hate that he believes the only thing good about him is the color of his skin and his decendency and that this gives him a duty and obligation to kill the other.
    c. what we are going to do to prevent this from happening again
    d. what the public at large can do

    what we get is
    a white wash of the biggest proportion. No discussion about white people being terrorists. No that is reserved for non white terrorists only it seems.

    In ten years time, we will have people debating if this even happened, because we refuse to acknowledge that it happened, and it was not a muslim attack on NZ (as we have been told over and over again that it would surely happen to us too) it was a white fellows attack on our Muslim community.

    This censor ship is going a bit far. there are ways to discuss these events without elevating the perpetrator all the while still paying our respects to those killed and injured and their hurt communities. Censor ship is nothing more then a oubliette out of which future myth and legend will arise. Those that enjoy this kind of thing already got their fix and they have it on portable UBS sticks.

    • greywarshark 2.1

      Good points Sabine. I thought that shutting down much, most of the information was wise but not now others point out the likely results.

      • Sabine 2.1.1

        I would really like someone ask Mike Hoskins and that Henry dude and others like them, now that you have read the manifesto, now that you have seen the video, is there anything you would enunciate differently if you could change your words. And will hindsight lead to fore sight?
        I would like clergy to state that those of us who pray do so in good faith, for solace, peace, and growth and not to advocate murder.

        I would like our police to state what they will do to prevent it, what services are offered to the officers that had to attend the site and help remove wounded and dead, and are services offered to the first aid personnel, the hospital staff etc as they to will have most certainly to deal with a lot of psychological trauma.

        and how will we go forward as a group of people, as a nation, as the people of a nation.

        and i fear that our government is refusing to answer these question, and that with this over the board censor ship we will create more harm then prevent it.

        Truth and reconciliation demands transparency. We might not like what we see and hear, but i feel we must.

        • Gabby 2.1.1.1

          I’d like to know which bits Horeskin agrees with.

          • Sabine 2.1.1.1.1

            that is the question is it not? How much racism is in our own ‘real news’ in our newspapers on our radiowaves and it is accepted because …..some opinion maker is making lots of money, advertising is sold, and many people actually agree with it.

            i fear that we are trying to hide this rather, and thus learn nothing.

            • Sam 2.1.1.1.1.1

              Facebook has over a billion active users in every nation on the planet from Vatican City, Auckland and Saudi Arabia, each with vastly different laws. At some point Saudi Arabia is going to want to institutionalise and regulate Facebook as China has done with its great firewall to protect its hardline Wahhabism, which among other things makes it highly illegal to disrespect the Saudi Royal Family and Muhammad. Governed by a council and using bots or human call centres prompts will one day be sent to users explaining that sending certain material with in a certain geography is illegal and maybe punishable with the death sentence or what ever sentence if you ever go to Saudi Arabia.

        • Chris T 2.1.1.2

          That is one weird post.

          What are you actually implying?

    • mickysavage 2.2

      My personal views have hardened about censorship.

      Should his video be prohibited? You bet.

      Should his manifesto? I am still processing this. My gut reaction is that we should not give it credence and that its general availability is injurious to the public good so yes probably.

      Sure the material may still be in existence but this is no reason to try and stop its dissemination.

      And fake news? Shy shouldn’t there be a consequence if Facebook is involved in the systematic spreading of it.

      • Sabine 2.2.1

        you are deflecting Micky.

        i am not advocating for public viewing, i don’t ever click these types of videos as growing i was shown the results of human depravity and i had my fill of gore.

        i am advocating for a debate, with select people being shown select bits and pieces of the video and the manifesto – or all of it, if the families of the victims agree to it and then to discuss white terrorism.

        As for Facebook and fake news i consider you comment to be intellectually lazy. FB is a tool, like twitter – where the video clip was life streamed i might add – or any other social media plat form. So you are going to ban all of these on which the video was shown? We are going to ban Gab? FB? Messenger? Twitter? Google Email? and all of the other tools that can be used to advocate for murder?
        so we are going to ban certain politicians? certain clergy? certain opinion makers? j

        Or just facebook? Because then it is ideological censor ship and you might want to think about that and what else in the future you would be happy to censor.

        • te reo putake 2.2.1.1

          I think there is provision in the law for academic dissection of banned materials, Sabine. But watching for fun is out. I agree with you that banning the platforms won’t work, but modifying them so they are tuned to avoid harm should be investigated. Oh, and suing the pants off them when they contribute to what is generically called ‘evil’ would be nice, too.

          • Sabine 2.2.1.1.1

            where do i mention fun TRP?

            i don’t say anything about fun.

            Are we really so scared of us as a people that we actually will not allow debate and what happened and how? Are we so needy of safety? Do we really want to fool us in to believing that it wont happen again if we just never ever mention his name?

            truth and reconciliation is apparently only for others.

            suing? whom would you sue? Sky News? Twitter, Google, Microsoft, Go Pro, gun builder, gun seller, ammunition maker, ammunition seller, car manufacturer, airplane maker, residence permit granter, his bank, his land lord, his grocery store? how far would you go in suing ‘contribution to what is generally called evil’ . Maybe start calling it human. Cause the only one on this planet that goes around and is massmurdering humans are humans.

        • mickysavage 2.2.1.2

          Where do I advocate banning Facebook?

          Requiring some sort of accountability and mode of behaviour is entirely different.

          • Sabine 2.2.1.2.1

            let me use a term from the forced birther crowd.
            Trap Laws.
            Some states impose regulations that apply only to abortion clinics, sometimes called TRAP (targeted regulation of abortion providers) laws, which according to Mother Jones and The New Republic impose standards that may be arbitrary or difficult to implement and are aimed at closing abortion clinics. And thus while keeping Roe vs Wade alive will leave you with no access to find an abortion provider as they have been modified and regulated into closure.

            so you modification and you regulate until it becomes useless. You are not banning 🙂 just ‘requiring some sort of accountability. And that serves what purpose and it will achieve what?

            Facebook did remove 1.5 million copies in the first 24 hour. Just think about that number. And Twitter did live stream. And Sky news showed the clip of Telly

            so you actually should rather try to regulate and modification humans. AS thy will still continue to do what you find so objectionable just on a different platform that you as of now would not have hear anything off, that the police might not know anything off and thus you will be able to monitor these people less then before. This is feel good bs that will have no effect what so ever on those that want to terrorise and kill, and it will help non of us to make sense of what happened and how to prevent it in the future.

          • BM 2.2.1.2.2

            Requiring some sort of accountability and mode of behaviour is entirely different.

            How’s this going to work because Facebook will just tell the NZ government to piss off.

            • mickysavage 2.2.1.2.2.1

              Corporations are talking about coordinating with their overseas counterparts to apply pressure.

              We also let Facebook do a whole lot of stuff without understanding exactly what they do or how they do it. The metadata that they hold is extraordinarily powerful. Why wouldn’t we want to regulate them.

              And BM this probably requires an international effort.

          • francesca 2.2.1.2.3

            We prosecute people for watching child /baby porn
            Murder porn, live snuff movies should be no different

            • left_forward 2.2.1.2.3.1

              Excellent point fransesca.

            • KJT 2.2.1.2.3.2

              I agree. But what do we do about the videos that expose State wrongdoing? Such as the Indonesian massacres in West Papua. Or the ones that showed, who was really blowing up trucks on the Venezuelan border.
              There are powerful people who would like to hide them.

              • francesca

                Thats true.
                Something as amorphous as common decency I suppose, and the intention of the filmer.

        • The Al1en 2.2.1.3

          “i am advocating for a debate, with select people being shown select bits and pieces of the video and the manifesto – or all of it, if the families of the victims agree to it and then to discuss white terrorism.”

          Like injecting people with heroin so they can then have a debate about opiate addiction. 🙄

          I don’t think there’s a sane person out there who needs to see that video to have an informed debate about terrorism of any creed or colour.

          • Sabine 2.2.1.3.1

            actually when we have discussions about opiate addiction we tend to invite social workers, doctors, police, teacher, psychologists and psychiatrists, neurological specialists, we tend to invite those that have cleaned up their gig, we tend to invite those that still do it and we try to find a. why do people use, b. how to stop it before it becomes full blown use, c. how to help families fighting the use by their relatives, d. how the social impact is measured on he larger scale and above all what to do to mitigate risks of abuse, health risks associated with use and what society can do.

            do you have an issue with such a discussion? but you are right, we can also just pretend it does not exist, let them just die of an overdose, or get apprehended when they burglar a dairy to feed their addiction, or kill someone while high.
            sure, why not. Its the easy way out.

            • The Al1en 2.2.1.3.1.1

              Yet one doesn’t have to be an addict to know heroin addiction leads to unsatisfactory outcomes for most, if not all abusers. There is enough medical/societal data out there to make informed judgement calls that don’t necessitate being a junkie to do so… Just like you don’t have to be an ex smoker to know you don’t need to give a kid a packet of smokes before you talk about the consequences of getting lung cancer.

              I happy to have discussions about terrorism. I am also quite able to have them without seeing the death video. How about you? Noting you seem to have done a fair bit thus far.

              Why do you think the video needs to be seen before the cause/effect of terrorism can be discussed?

      • One Two 2.2.2

        Your personal views are well documented on this site and other media, MS…

        They are your views…

        If you’ve been ‘hardening’ then share your list of subject matter which you reckon should also be censored…

        As a note…your long standing repetitive use of ‘fake news’…which fake news makes your censorship wish list?

    • Incognito 2.4

      … and it was not a muslim attack on NZ (…) it was a white fellows attack on our Muslim community. [my bold]

      It was an attack on NZ, most definitely. The way I see it, currently, is that the terrorist perceived a threat to his way of life, his culture, his society, his identity and it filled him with fear and hatred.

      He could not or did not want to accept that our society and culture are ever so slowly changing into something richer and fuller (and more complex) and he could not or did not want to change with it.

      Change is inevitable, like tectonic movement, and it causes disasters. Over time we can only hope to (in fact, we must) become better at avoiding casualties, but we cannot stop the process.

      To me, the question is how we can become more resilient as people and learn to accept and embrace change rather than fearing and fighting against it. Are bans and censorship, for example, sustainable solutions with positive societal impact or will they be futile and stall our collective growing process?

      • SHG 2.4.1

        It was an attack on NZ, most definitely

        way to erase Muslims from the narrative, coloniser

        • Incognito 2.4.1.1

          You missed the bold word in the quote. It is the exact opposite and the Muslim community is included in NZ society as one of us, as our brothers and sisters, and as equals, as far as I’m concerned.

    • McFlock 2.5

      Yesterday I saw a post on a facebook group already claiming it never happened. It was the second post to that group I reported to admins. That one got pulled down – if it hadn’t I’d have left the group and reported it to facebook and internal affairs.

      This guy actually posted that the video was evidence it never happened, it was too “fake” (whether he has anything upon which to base that judgement is another disturbing rabbit hole, whatever the answer might be).

      So far I’ve seen two types of denialist:
      the one who thinks that the illuminati can orchestrate hundreds of actors and all the media to secretly take part in a plot to disarm the population but still can’t take down a youtube video or fb post exposing the entire conspiracy; and
      actual Nazi/fascist/WS/whogivesafuck apologists who know that the more of the fools in the first set they can convince, the longer they can commit their crimes to desensitise and build their base without a committed opposition from the state.

      I say censor away. We as individuals won’t learn anything new, but the last thing we need is for it to be shared amongst his little, weak, sad, pathetic online buddies. We can discuss in general without quoting the fucker chapter and verse. Most critics have said it’s all the same old shit anyway, with excerpts from previous fuckers. Might as well make this fucker’s work harder to get for the next fucker.

      • Anne 2.5.1

        I say censor away. We as individuals won’t learn anything new, but the last thing we need is for it to be shared amongst his little, weak, sad, pathetic online buddies. We can discuss in general without quoting the fucker chapter and verse. Most critics have said it’s all the same old shit anyway, with excerpts from previous fuckers. Might as well make this fucker’s work harder to get for the next fucker.

        Hear, hear.

        This crack-pot (don’t give a hoot what some shrinks say, he’s a crack-pot) has done far more damage than is apparent on the surface. He’s exposed young people to horrific images that could impact on them psychologically for years to come. He’s probably triggered all manner of unpleasant memories in older people that they may now have to struggle with all over again. But most of all he’s unleashed an aggressive hate-virus that could have consequences everywhere. The latter impact has yet to be determined, but the likely-hood of various copy-cat incidents here and overseas I imagine is very high.

        We can’t burn them at the stake anymore so censor them and censor their supporters. 👿

      • Sabine 2.5.2

        would you have applied the same standard to the germans after world war two?

        should we ban any speech of goebbels, goering, hitler, hess, himmler, and all the others? should we ban any footage? should we ban footage of the allies freeing the concentration camps? should we ban the footage of goering at the nuremberg trials? should we have banned Hanna Arendt from witnessing the trials of eichman and her book banality of evil? should we ban footage of stalin? pol pot? mao? all people that have committed unspeakable harm and created unfathomable misery?

        or should we just make an exception this one time to make it easier on us? So that we can pretend again that this kind of stuff won’t happen here? So that we can go back to being perfectly numb in our believe that we are better then this?

        • McFlock 2.5.2.1

          I think to this day some Nazi works are indeed still banned in the region they took root, no?

          And forget after WW2, I suspect that anyone in London distributing copies of mein kampf could well have been hung for treason.

          With distance and time, the impact lessens. But the fucker’s rant is a recruitment piece, make no mistake. Right now the priority is to make sure it recruits nobody else to the fucker’s cause.

    • reason 2.6

      ” at this stage, i would like to know, and maybe you as a Labour Member can answer this to me : When will we have the televised debate/round table with politicians, police, clergy, newspaper opinion makers (hoskins, henry et al, what are their responsibilities in inciting hate), teachers, psychologists and people of the public to discuss how
      a. this could happen without anyone noticing anything
      b. how a white young man of average intelligence, average height, average looks and decent means of finances gets so incited to hate that he believes the only thing good about him is the color of his skin and his decendency and that this gives him a duty and obligation to kill the other.
      c. what we are going to do to prevent this from happening again
      d. what the public at large can do ”

      +100 Sabine … critical thinking plus compassion is whats needed now.

      NZ needs to reclaim its humanity.

      ” Truth and reconciliation demands transparency. We might not like what we see and hear, but i feel we must. “

    • Maggie 2.7

      “the stupid thing about all of this censor ship is that you drive those that you would like to keep under surveillance under ground and those that pose no risk are living in a panopticon.”

      And unfettered free speech makes detecting dangerous people next to impossible as they drown in the multitude alt-right whiners. The Police have said that’s already the case and perhaps even why the shooter didn’t show on the radar.

      I think your fear over censorship is causing you to be a little reactionary. We’re only just a week on from the tragedy and people are still processing how they feel yet you’ve gone and tied to the mast of a sinking nameless ship.

      You’re absolutely right that we need to have those discussions but not just with politicians and clergy and whatnot. Why sit around complaining about things that have no base in reality when we could and should be having those discussions here and at home. This isn’t a censorship issue, it’s a critical thinking and humanity issue.

      • RedLogix 2.7.1

        Perhaps another way to look at it is from a simple psychological perspective.

        One of the most striking aspects of the 9/11 event was how the media replayed in high rotation the same devastating images in the immediate days and weeks after. I’m certainly not the only person to have said this; the effect was to reinforce the direct emotional trauma, driving the sense of horror deeper into our collective cognition.

        My instinct is that Ardern has done the right thing in the immediate aftermath, acknowledge as little as necessary about the horror, and focus on the recovery and healing. Then later we can address the evil from a position of balance and strength.

        • Maggie 2.7.1.1

          Yes. Studies have shown that repeated exposure to media of a traumatic event contributes significantly to the occurrence and degree of PTSD.

    • KJT 2.8

      The problem with silencing the people, we don’t like, empowers those who want to silence us!

    • KJT 2.9

      Exactly.

      Many things available on the internet bother me.

      But so does the platform given to people like Hoskings and Brash on TV.

      As they say. “Sunlight is the best disinfectant”.

      Publicity about Brash’s extreme views, lost him most voters. Without the publicity he may have been Prime minister

  3. Anne 3

    So what do we collectively do? Boycott Facebook until it sorts itself out? Require it to disable live view? Disable all of our accounts?

    Too late. The genie is out of the bottle and can’t be returned.

    Yesterday on O.P. @ 4.3, I outlined my experiences 25 plus years ago and I have avoided sites like Facebook precisely because of them.

    There has been an underbelly of ultra right-wing extremists in NZ dating back to the 1970s and a handful of them were members of the Labour Party. But the powers that be, including the police, didn’t want to know.

    • Incognito 3.1

      If everybody would boycott FB and close their accounts, FB would be gone.

      If FB would close all our accounts and go, we would …

      • Anne 3.1.1

        If FB would close all our accounts and go, we would …

        start up another one with a different name.

      • KJT 3.1.2

        I understand the powers that be, said that about the printing press. Which also started as a money making enterprise.
        Used by Thomas Paine, Wilberforce and Emmeline Pankhurst, as well as Hitler.

  4. Pat 5

    “Why has social media, originally intended to let people keep in contact with family and friends and display photos of what we are eating turned so evil? And what do we do?”

    Im not sure that that was ever the intention of social media….my limited knowledge of its origins was as a site to ‘rate’ the attractiveness of uni students and the driver to expand its use were purely commercial…not much of social benefit there id suggest.

    • bwaghorn 5.1

      Face book is what you want it to be .
      I get little snippets of friends past and present lives.
      I get updates on the local dog trial results.
      I get to laugh at silly videos and watch awesome people on people are awesome. ( most a crazy )
      I delete and block anything I dont like .

      • Pat 5.1.1

        I wouldnt disagree with that to any great degree ( although I have great concerns about its business model and the social impacts) but the point I was making is its origins were hardly altruistic so it cannot have “turned evil”…..it was always of dubious intent.

        • Sabine 5.1.1.1

          i think it works as intended.

          it is what people make it.

          • Maggie 5.1.1.1.1

            It really doesn’t work as intended. Even with heavy filtering and blocking there is no way to prevent accidental exposure to stuff that could be traumatic. I had my own experience with that when the feed autoplayed a disgusting video of a kitten being tortured. I was physically sick and had nightmares for two weeks, I couldn’t stand to hear cat’s meow without remembering the screams of that poor kitten even though I’d only seen a couple of seconds of the video. I didn’t consent to that video and although I had previously set my account to not autoplay an update to the app undid those settings.

            Facebook is a public arena and as such we need to ensure that the material publicly posted on there isn’t traumatic. Many younger people using facebook may not have the common sense to not watch or read the dodgy shit.

            I keep wondering how the conversation around free speech would go if instead of it being about some dickheads manifestos it was about some pedophile posting My Little Pony memes on facebook to educate others on how to have safe sex with children.

      • Sabine 5.1.2

        and report the shit that just vile.

        for once i agree with you.

    • KJT 5.2

      We can say the same thing about newspapers, books, TV and any communication medium.

      • Pat 5.2.1

        Im not sure that that is the case….the origins of those aforementioned wernt in ‘Rating the attractiveness” of uni students….I’d suggest their origins were somewhat more serious and of purpose

        • KJT 5.2.1.1

          Don’t think that is the point.
          Equally. “Great art was the dirty post cards of it’s day”.

          Or. From another Veiw, “propagating religion to the savages”

          • Pat 5.2.1.1.1

            lol…maybe, but then again maybe not

          • Pat 5.2.1.1.2

            reflecting , your argument holds water in specific cases but I would suggest it fails in the broad sweep…. as is usually the case it depends on intent.

  5. Sabine 6

    Interesting how we don’t advocate for boycott or censor ship of twitter where the life stream was also shown. And which as a social media tool is also responsible for a fair amount of ‘fake news’ – on either side of the aisle. And Sky News who should the video on telly broadcast to anyone and who only got ‘5 days of air’ to make up for their naughtinessness.

    • Cinny 6.1

      Sabine, I just posted a link on OM. Clip is just over 10mins long, first story up.

      Christchurch in context: Media as accessory to the crime? | The Listening Post

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVpt8HPZBQ8

      • Kat 6.1.1

        Cinny, that episode highlights why I try and call out the fish wrap aka the herald every time they publish some blatantly biased political propaganda by the usual poodles who we are now all hopefully aware of.

        The “white redemption” angle is interesting and needs further investigation. The media versus the media, screening by the media, at a media outlet near you could be the bleeding edge journalism of the times.

        I would have to think that Jacinda Ardern’s response was purely her humanity on display and not some act to be part of an organised “white redemption” by media. The media, including farcebook, wittingly or unwittingly, have been using the Goebbels playbook for over half a century.

      • patricia bremner 6.1.2

        Cinny this is selective reporting, where items that told stories about the victims and their families were ignored, and one or two iconic pictures of Jacinda were presented to prove their point. White redemption?

        There are many shades of fake news and this is one meant to question Jacinda’s honesty and sincerity. It was made to look as if she hogged the limelight!! The truth was an overseas photographer took the picture and flashed it round the world.

        There is a meme being presented at home and abroad that Ms Ardern is positioning herself for political reasons. This is being amplified by right wing press worldwide.

        Meanwhile 1.5 billion Muslims are praising her and New Zealand for the support aroha and consideration, saying all she has done is humble and caring, even putting her picture up on Dubai’s tallest building. While here pictures of the lost are posted daily, and stories of survival are told.

        It just shows how themes/memes are decided and pictures and prose are chosen to present them…. sometimes selectively regardless of the actual truth.

  6. I don’t use social media like FB,… never have , never will. That’s kept me from all this, but it just seems to me that simple guidelines of decency need to be observed by these platforms . What happened was not ‘decent’. It is of interest only to Police and pathologists and the like.

    There comes a time when absolutist views need to be laid aside for the common good and decency of people and society,… so thus it seems there needs to be a policing of lewd, objectionable content. Now we run into the whole issue of censorship and what constitutes objectionable material.

    It just seems a no brainer to me if these social media outlets wish to exist they must draw up a framework of what constitutes objectionable material and exercise simple self policing. Easier said than done when someone posts something more or less in real time,… but done it must be.

    The wild west is great for its wide open freedoms but we are actually not talking that. We are talking the same sort of atrocity’s that happened to the Native Americans and other hapless people that should not have happened and should have been policed. Well its the same for FB and co. This is where govts should have a moral conscience and demand those platforms draw up a proper and fit for purpose foundation that matches and befits one of a decent civilized society.

    Then there is the ‘time factor’ .

    Such as archaeology , an example being the battle of Towton,.. or , the battle of Visby on the island of Gotland. Excavations of mass graves of the combatants. They were real people too. The difference is that those political conditions that caused those wars are long past by many century’s. It no longer has any effect on the memory’s of present living generations.

    That is completely different from recent memory or real time coverage. It is at that point that decency, and empathy for victims is paramount and this perhaps should form the foundation for censorship. To prevent horror and panic , grief , terror and copycat crimes.

    Yes , I do believe these social media platforms owe it to us all to be policing their material vigilantly and cease hiding behind the defense of being simply ‘ amoral’ as a justification as to their stance.

    • WeTheBleeple 7.1

      Thank you for your awesome post. (and others!)

      The time factor is something I was considering last night. I think at least several generation so no martyrs or families or descendants are traumatized by his name/manifesto etc again.

      I also really liked what Anne had to say re: young minds. Nobody should have to be subject to deliberately poisonous memes, especially the vulnerable.

  7. One Two 8

    The answer to any perceived problems, is with those who use private company media platforms … and believe said platform should conform to [billions of individual moral standards]

    Take responsibility…walk away…own your involvement in creating the platforms…

    FB was designed as a data capture…that is the start and end of why the platforms exist…monetizing the plarforms is a side discussion…

    As for the premise that these platforms were developed outside of ‘evil intent’… all major platforms are part of the wider ‘security complex’…

    Google – ‘Don’t be evil’

    • Thing is , most people know inherently what is basically wrong and objectionable from what isn’t. For those who would seek to justify what is obviously wrong to most are a minority. Therefore these social media platforms need to be responsible and vigilant.

      No one would want to see images of their loved ones brutal deaths sprayed across the global media in such a tacky and disgusting manner.

      • One Two 8.1.1

        Wk..I enjoy reading your comments here…

        Thing is, censorship is already happening with online platforms, search engines and retailers…

        And it is happening on subject matter which many, including on this site feel empowered to insult, abuse and belittle others over…it would follow that a percentage of those folks would support more censorship..possibly outright banning of material and debate…

        Pause to think about example of topics I am likely referring to…

        So in expecting digital platforms to be ‘responsible and vigilant’…well…they’re already doing it on subjects which should absolutely be public domain…

        And that’s the core problem…who should decide what is/is not up for discussion in the modern day, public square of the digital world…

        ‘Most people’…’the herd’…’herd mentality’…

        Pass.

        • WILD KATIPO 8.1.1.1

          I just reckon that the old saying… ‘ do unto others as you would want done unto you’ applies here regards censorship… as in , … ” No one would want to see images of their loved ones brutal deaths sprayed across the global media in such a tacky and disgusting manner ”.

          I think its a simple thing , really.

          I really don’t think we need to have great screeds of pontificating pages on the whys and wherefores of the limitations of free speech etc, … its just plain old fashioned decency that should be our guides.

          In fact , … the MSM in NZ already practices that. When I was at TV3 there was one chap I spoke to who covered the CHCH earthquakes and said as a cameraman,… ”If I had panned the camera just a little further on there were several body’s”,… Well,… that cameraman was acting in decency towards the family’s of those who had lost loved ones.

          Why cant these social media outlets do the same?

  8. Lets face it. The internet has provided a platform for disassoctiave behavior whereby individuals can mass communicate, unite in ideas and yet be detached from any direct consequences because there is no direct , traceable physical action. Hence the advent of the online troll.

    These types can feel safe from any real repercussions from their toxic , radical and even murderous viewpoints . The internet has spawned a whole generation of these types who prior to that , – would not have even dared to express their toxic anti social opinions , – barring the mass congregations of them in public halls, places and the like in former times. Thus they are even more the cowards. The internet has given them a safe place, barring the few who cross the lines where they can be easily traced or those with high public profiles who do the same.

    Even groups like ISIS used the internet extensively for their recruiting. So also do the white supremacists or any other radicalized groups.

    FB and their ilk are benefactors of these trollish geeks and nerds and sociopaths and hater patrons. Therefore those same platforms have a responsibility to deny objectionable material the same as any other broadcaster, – despite patronage from the fringes . The fact that they are privately owned does not let them off the hook under any circumstances.

    It is time for them to disassociate themselves and deny access from the peddlers of hate.

    As humanly run organizations they are still liable to and subject to the universal and very , very real laws of morals, values and good conscience just like the rest of us.

    Our common law is based upon much of this. And out of this springs far more intricate and precise legislation’s. It should not be avoided by those same country’s who wish to set themselves up as the leaders of freedom of speech.

    From such laws is the structure of humanity based upon. If they wish to participate in human society and profit from their business, – then they must adhere to those laws. They are not above those laws and there are absolutely no exceptions.

    Just subservience to which all of us who are law abiding are more than happy to adhere to.

    It is summed up here :

    ———————————

    1 Corinthians 13:4-8 New International Version (NIV)

    ———————————

    4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

    5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

    6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

    7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

    8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

    That’s All I Have To Say About That- Forrest Gump Quote – YouTube
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otm4RusESNU

  9. Sabine 10

    We can set the tone of the debate or others.

    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rush-limbaugh-new-zealand-mosque-shooting_n_5c906f58e4b0d50544ff1406

    He said:

    The shooter says he’s not a conservative, not a Christian and that he identifies as an eco-fascist, which would make him a supporter of the Green New Deal. He adds that he disagrees with Trump on politics.

    Limbaugh didn’t go so far as to endorse the theory, but gave it plenty of airtime and told his listeners: “You can’t immediately discount this. The left is this insane. They are this crazy.”

    but moderating, regulating, disappearing, not naming, etc will only help the likes of Rush Limbough and others like him to use the myth created to advance his own cause of misery.

    • reason 10.1

      Sabine is calling for us to be mature, compassionate and rational adults … true world leaders. …. ” Limbaugh didn’t go so far as to endorse the theory, but gave it plenty of airtime and told his listeners: “You can’t immediately discount this. The left is this insane. They are this crazy.”

      but moderating, regulating, disappearing, not naming, etc will only help the likes of Rush Limbough and others like him to use the myth created to advance his own cause of misery. ” … BM was pushing this very shit here on TS … disrespectfully and disgracefully the day after 100 Muslim NZers were targeted and murdered he was trying to blame ‘lefties / greenies ‘ …… maybe wayne mapps rhetoric of ‘ the green taliban’ had unhinged him….. and people like james / pukish etc

      The truth needs to be spread …. not Govt censorship …. we need to be informed …. so we are not so easy to manipulate …. into wars and other anti humane injustices

      Here’s the truth ………….

      https://twitter.com/hashtag/50lives?src=hash

      https://twitter.com/KhaledBeydoun/status/1107041541938401281

  10. Maggie 11

    The problem isn’t just Facebook, it’s the media in general.

    This study highlights the disparity in media coverage and asks why some terrorist acts get more coverage than others. If you follow the link you can download the report for free. It makes for sobering reading.

    Terrorist attacks BY Muslims receive 357% more press attention
    https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2928138

  11. SHG 12

    I’m not yet convinced that this guy is actually a white supremacist. His manifesto has too many trolly in-jokes for me to quickly assume that he’s anything other than an amoral Internet attention whore.

    The manifesto reminds me of this scene.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GN6saiVN7w

  12. Infused 13

    The internet should never be regulated.

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 ...
    1 hour 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    6 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
    7 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
    10 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
    10 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
    10 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
    11 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
    12 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
    13 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
    15 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    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 2024-03-19T07:50:32+00:00