Third termitis

Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, February 15th, 2015 - 69 comments
Categories: Gerry Brownlee, john key, national, national/act government, rodney hide, same old national, Steven Joyce - Tags: ,

John Key morphing to muldoon

Well that happened quickly.

I have dreamt since day one back in November 2008 that this National Government would revert to form and that people would see it for what its historical mission always destined it to be, a party for big business by the wealthy and supported by the belligerent.  Then we could count down the days to its final denouement.

I have been a keen follower of political history.  I was politically active back in 1975 and witnessed Rob Muldoon take the country by storm and then over the next nine years wreck it.  He was an odious man, the extent of his skills as a chartered accountant meant that he was barely fit to run a small dairy let alone a country but through his aggressiveness and his insistence that he remained fully in control he almost destroyed the country.  But it took nine long years to get rid of him.  And losing the 1981 election because of the Springbok tour when the forces of justice were marginalised by the forces of the state and the insane decision to let the Springboks tour despite international obligations to the contrary taught me a great deal about politics.  Muldoon and National had this keen ability to peer into the darkest areas of a Kiwi’s soul and appeal to their baser instincts.

It looks like we should again start counting down to the end of this National Government.  Two totally unrelated issues will mean, I am sure, that this Government is toast.  And in this term.

The first issue is that of SkyCity.  You can tell how serious the issue was because of the timing of the release of news of the increased cost, December 20 is the graveyard day of graveyard days for the release of any sensitive information.

And when you review the history and the wide boy tactics that SkyCity used to stitch up a deal you really get a sense that a deal was concluded but then knowing they were in a superior position they relitigated it and relitigated it until the concessions flowed.  These guys have perfected the art in various countries of sucking in imbecile politicians with the idea that a Convention Centre or enhanced gambling will deliver to them economic nirvana.  As has been said Convention Centre advocates are like Monorail advocates but with better PR.

SkyCity is that devoid of humanity that it attempted to negotiate a reduction in the minimum gambling age.  Get that?  We can help the corporate bottom line by allowing younger and younger people to become gambling addicts.  Is nothing sacred to them?  If ever you wanted an example of corporate scum this is it.

Every political instinct in National’s collective consciousness should be screaming that providing further support to SkyCity is utterly insane.  If you want to read an utterly rational and compelling argument why the deal should be cancelled then you can do no better than Matthew Hooton’s NBR column where no doubt for legal reasons he toned down the appropriate description of the SkyCity deal as being “close to corruption”.

And as reported by Fran O’Sullivan some money is going to be paid.  From her recent Herald article:

The problem is that Joyce has been letting it be known within the commercial sector that the Government will eventually meet SkyCity somewhere on the cost overruns. This undercuts the Government’s negotiating hand.

Key may prove us wrong.  But it appears that he and Joyce are hopelessly compromised and cannot afford to risk backing out of the deal or paying more money, no matter what the political damage is.

And if any further money is paid then it can be rightfully claimed that this government is selling state houses so that it can pour more money into a convention centre controlled by a casino.  John Armstrong’s previous suggestion that the deal was verging on banana republic stuff could then be redefined with “verging on” being replaced with “is”.

The second issue is the ongoing question on when Key and National knew about Mike Sabin’s issues.  Sabin is gone.  He obviously has personal issues that are best dealt with outside of Parliament but with even hardened National supporters like Cameron Slater saying that the story was almost too horrible for words you know things are not good.

The issue is when did Key learned of Sabin’s problems.  If it was before the last election the question will be why did he not do anything about it.  If it was after the election then the question will be why did he appoint Sabin as chair of the Law and Order committee or allow him to remain there?

Readers will be aware that I have been very cautious to edit comments suggesting a link between Sabin’s personal issues and the prosecution of a prominent New Zealander in an unknown court for unknown offences.  The Speaker’s comments this week threw this into a bit of turmoil however.  Andrew Little’s speech suggesting that Sabin was under police investigation, which had been commented on by the media, was met with a response by the speaker that details had been suppressed by a court.  The disclosure creates unusual legal issues but as pointed out by Andrew Geddis caution should still be exercised.

We then had the fascinating experience of Police Minister Michael Woodhouse claim it was not in the public interest for him to disclose the date he was told of Sabin’s difficulties by the Police.  To complete the sense of absurdity he did not turn up in Parliament to answer questions last Thursday on when his office told Key’s office and Gerry Brownlee fronted the issue instead.  Brownlee claimed that it was not even in the public interest for us to be told when the Police Minister told the PM’s office of Sabin’s difficulties.

The claim of public interest is absurd, particularly when it comes to when the Police Minister told Key’s office what was happening.  As Rodney Hide said today in the Herald (yes you read that correctly),

[t]he questions that Government ministers won’t answer are precisely the ones that should be. And how can it be in the public interest not to be told the date of a briefing? Nothing other than political embarrassment can hang on that.

I fear ministers are confusing public interest with their own interest. It’s easy to see why.

To tell us who was briefed, and on what date, would be to tell us who was responsible for such an appalling and unacceptable undermining of Parliament.

But that’s how accountability works. Sure, it’s in ministers’ interest to duck and weave. But that is not the public interest.

And, yes, Sabin is gone. But a problem lingers: on what date were relevant ministers briefed about the police investigation – and why did they take no action?

It’s very uncomfortable. That’s all the more reason why we need answers.

Meanwhile the Herald confirmed from two sources that former minister Tolley and another minister, presumably the Justice Minister who by then would have been Amy Adams, were told in September that an MP was being investigated.  Who knew what when has the potential of being politically explosive.  And no John Armstrong, the issue is not a fizzer.

We live in strange days when Matthew Hooton and the NBR and Rodney Hide are offered up as the voices of sanity on a proudly left wing blog.

Either the SkyCity issue or the Sabin issue have the potential of causing immense damage to National.  The combination of the two should make this Government all but terminal.

69 comments on “Third termitis ”

  1. Murray Rawshark 1

    The whole Sabin business is incredibly Kafkaesque. The convention centre is cargo cult banana republic stuff, as corrupt as the day is long. We have a government regime which is terminally dysfunctional. In the national interest, I can only hope that the suppression order is lifted on Thursday. I am sick and tired of things being done in the NActional interest.

    • sean kearney 1.1

      This country was never much of a democracy. It was set up as the UK’s farm just as Australia was a mega prison. Don’t think anything has changed or will change anytime soon. Its going to take something truly awful like the TPPA before the public wakes up and even then given how demonstrably stupid at least 47% have proven to be I still have my reservations.

      • Naturesong 1.1.1

        We had an upper house from 1852.
        It was not democratic, it’s members being picked at the request of whoever was the PM (think of an upper house with partisan selection like the US Supreme court, but without the public debate).

        Rather than fix it by having the upper house elected, parliament (Labour in govt IIRC) allowed it to lapse in 1950.
        Since then, there have been a number of bills put forward for an upper house, or senate – most suggesting about 30 odd members.

        Personally, I’m in favour of an upper house with veto power only. It’s members elected solely from tribal signatories to the treaty.
        It’d solve the sovereignty argument as well. Job Done.

        Weirdly, whenever I mention it in public, the blood drains from most peoples faces. As if I’d suggested eating a baby.

  2. dv 2

    >> I can only hope that the suppression order is lifted on Thursday

    If the rumours are true about the charges I suspect the order won’t be lifted.

  3. sean kearney 3

    If anything is going to get rid of this toxic government it will be the TPPA. Unlike Japan and France which have balked at the deal in its various forms, I suspect Keys will simply sign us up to corporate governance and all that entails. The corrupt MSM will lie as per usual but once the effects start to be felt by people this party will be history and will stay so for a very long time.

    • Colonial Rawshark 3.1

      You might say that National will sign us up to it, but will Labour vote for it. I’m guessing: YES.

    • Wayne 3.2

      I don’t think TPP will happen without Japan. The US Congress will see that as bottom line.

      It seems to me that all the critical negotiating is now between the US and Japan. With PM Abe back in power, he will deliver something credible. Sure there will be opposition in Japan, but Abe with his new mandate will push through that.

      The US election is now 21 months away. President Obama will see TPP and the equivalent EU deal as a major part of his legacy. I would expect to see deals ready to be ratified by various parliaments by the end of this year.

      And rather than harming National, it will strengthen National. I think it is one of those things that John Key has the ability to sell to middle New Zealand as a big success. Sure the Greens and the left of Labour will oppose it, but the Nats never get any support from those quarters anyway.

      Question; What will Andrew Little and parliamentary Labour do when presented with the deal. It will be fundamentally an up or down vote. Amendments will not be possible. My guess is a “yes” vote, but saying that would have negotiated harder.

      • vto 3.2.1

        Wayne, why does your government let drug-selling businesses into the health-component negotiations of the TPP but refuses to let medical people in?

        Wayne, your lot has it totally arse-upended. Fancy letting mercenary bloody big pharmaceutical companies in on the deal and not our own healthcare workers and doctors?

        What frikkin’ planet are you on Wayne?

      • dv 3.2.2

        Wayne.
        Do you think Key will tell the truth about TPP?

      • Tautoko Mangō Mata 3.2.3

        Repetition of misleading information, Wayne.

        Here is an excerpt of a Prof Jane Kelsey’s press release:

        “Key must stop misleading NZers that Parliament has power over the TPPA
        Tuesday, 1 October 2013, 8:59 am
        Press Release: Jane Kelsey

        1 October 2013

        Key must stop misleading NZers that Parliament has power over the TPPA

        ‘The government seems intent on misleading New Zealanders that Parliament will have the final say about the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement’, said Professor Jane Kelsey.

        The Prime Minister claimed again on TV3s Firstline this morning that Parliament gets to debate and ratify the treaty once it is agreed.

        ‘This mistruth has been repeated so many times by Ministers and National MPs that it has to a deliberate attempt to defuse growing concerns about the secrecy of these negotiations and anti-democratic nature of the agreement’.

        The Cabinet Manual says, in unequivocal terms: ‘7.112: In New Zealand, the power to take treaty action rests with the Executive.’

        In practice, that means the Cabinet. Cabinet decides whether to enter into negotiations, the negotiating mandate and any revisions to it, and what trade-offs are made to conclude a deal.

        Cabinet then approves the signing of the text agreed to by the Minister.

        The Cabinet Manual confirms that by signing an agreement the executive is indicating an intention for New Zealand to be bound to that text.

        This constitutes a good-faith obligation under international law. Parliament does not get to see the text until after it is signed.

        The text is then tabled in Parliament and referred to a select committee. But the committee cannot change the text. Nor can Parliament.

        Even if a parliamentary majority voted against the TPPA, Cabinet still has the power to ratify it – and would be expected to under international law.”

        • vto 3.2.3.1

          You may know TMM… if the TPPA required that elections be discarded from our system, can the executive really bind the nation to that?

          What if it didn’t cancel our votes completely but significantly diminished its power in other ways?

          • Tautoko Mangō Mata 3.2.3.1.1

            …like having corporations threatening to sue if we decide to make a law to protect the environment (like the Lone Pine threat because Quebec want a moratorium on fracking)?

            • vto 3.2.3.1.1.1

              Exactly. It reduces what laws we can make. Our vote is diminished significantly. Consitutional.

              How on earth can Key and cronies have such an enormous power? They don’t.

              • Tautoko Mangō Mata

                ..because we have a snake oil salesman peddling (see Wayne’s comment about TPPA: “I think it is one of those things that John Key has the ability to sell to middle New Zealand as a big success.”
                Unfortunately this government have either intimidated or belittled any academics with views that oppose the NAct agenda and it has been hard for them to get their information out to the public who are largely unaware and distracted by the everyday struggle to make ends meet.

        • Wayne 3.2.3.2

          If you read my comment again, you will see that is what I was saying. I essence I agree with Jane.

          However the implementation of TPP will require changes to domestic law (copyright periods, etc), so ratifying by the government (Cabinet) will not be enough. But as Jane notes it is an up or down vote.

          • millsy 3.2.3.2.1

            So you do admit that the TPPA will see changes in our law, that will leave most New Zealander’s worse off, in terms in access to creative content, access to education and health care, having to pay more for utilities, even having their pay and conditions slashed.

            We will have a US style health system by lunchtime I suppose? You nats have always had a beef with NZer enjoying access to affordable healthcare..

            I hope Labour grows a backbone and votes against the TPPA.

      • Olwyn 3.2.4

        Your comment raises more questions than it answers Wayne. Sure there will be opposition in Japan, but Abe with his new mandate will push through that. you say, and …I think it is one of those things that John Key has the ability to sell to middle New Zealand as a big success. Sure the Greens and the left of Labour will oppose it, but…

        So, both in Japan and here, the successful completion of the TPP rests on politicians’ ability to dupe and dominate, and not on any inherent or certain good that will be brought about by this agreement. So, who and what exactly is this agreement good for then, and why are bulldozing and subterfuge so necessary to its completion?

        It looks so me positively terrifying from a have-nots point of view, since corporate privilege would seem to finally lock out any chance they may have for improvement. It is no doubt good for those who close the deal, since they will then be regarded as trustworthy international players, with the attendant invitations and appointments. But the main good sought seems to be confirmed club membership, conditional on the abandonment of meaningful sovereignty. This is where the biggest questions lie. At what point do the club’s dues become more costly to our society than exclusion from it, and how much bargaining power at that level do we really have? It looks as if the only bottom line NZ currently has is, keep enough of the middle class happy to avoid insurrection.

      • tricledrown 3.2.5

        Wayne their will be no benefit to New Zealand as Agricultural trade will be overlooked completely because rural electorates hold the balance of power in Japan and the US.
        This will allow the TPP to go ahead.

        • rawshark-yeshe 3.2.5.1

          Our GM free days will be gone and Monsanto will be able to sue us for disallowing their GM and Roundup saturated and poisoned fruit and veg into our soils and food chain in Aotearoa.

          We will be powerless and be destroyed if we allow this to trickle in.

          Where is the Marilyn Waring of 2015 please ?? We need a brave and honest heroine or hero to call this madness for what it is is.

  4. freedom 4

    Some days, I imagine the information shared on The Standard is a shiny orb of reality floating across the nation, being seen by every Tom, Beck, and Mary with a newspaper. I picture their solidarity stirring, as their gaze tracks up from the coffee clouds to read “SkyCity is that devoid of humanity that it attempted to negotiate a reduction in the minimum gambling age.”

    I know they would likely have the same questions, if instead of comments on the PM’s hair, they read “Andrew Little’s speech suggesting that Sabin was under police investigation…was met with a response by the speaker that details had been suppressed by a court. ”

    Then that bubble bursts and the sting in the eyes reminds me how the MSM are staffed by people who sold out the fourth estate a long long time ago.

    So I grab the link and share it wherever I can 🙂

  5. Jay 5

    This is wishful thinking, I doubt the government will be damaged by either issue. Will be interesting to see the next poll though. They’ve come through far worse without a scratch.

    In my opinion the reason many on the left hate Key is the same reason kiwis used to hate Shane Warne – he’s just too good.

    Didn’t Dotcom say that Key could shoot kittens and people would still love him? Something like that anyway.

    Unless something major happens (like Key dying for example), I can’t see National losing the next election either. Once he leaves politics though it’ll be game on again.

    I wonder is there another John Key waiting in the wings in any of the parties? Maybe Nash? We’re all only human, and the cult of personality will always reign supreme.

    I know this will make most who read this blog gnash their teeth, but the fact is it’s basically impossible to compete with Key – love him or hate him, he’s just too bloody good.

  6. wyndham 6

    The NACT sycophant Peter Dunne is also showing unease these days and is obviously seeing which way the wind blows. I wonder who he will find it “reasonable” to support over the next couple of years!

  7. tc 7

    Yes mickey interesting times but Rortney is all about rortney and positioning himself for a comeback imo after the shafting he got from key and co when he delivered for them by slamming through supershity.

    State housing sell offs is a bigger stinker than yet another dodgy nat mp, theres been so many now. A clear broken election promise and further abdication of state responsibility to the vulnerable and wealth transfer from state to private.

    I look forward to a royal commission on SCF when they go if possible as the stench will enrage many who lost money with bryers, hotchin, graham, etc to tatoo on who got taken in a lest we forget manner.

    Skycity and sabin are serious issues, but in true DP style its all about those higher standards they set and slither under cheered on by the msm puppets so the sheeple expect corruption and they dont dissapoint.

    • Murray Rawshark 7.1

      So much that they do stinks to high heaven, it’s hard to know which is worst. The selloff of state housing is a blatantly dishonest asset sale, once more lining their mates’ pockets.

      Sky City is cargo cult banana republic corruption.

      The TPPA is a weak signing away of any sovereignty we have left, but FJK and co think it’ll get them let into the secret big boys’ room and they really want to see what happens in there.

      Spying on us 24 hours a day on behalf of the US and A is vile and disgusting.

      Protecting an extremely sus ex-poaka thug and keeping him in a poaka oversight role is almost unbelievable. The problem isn’t just another dodgy NAct MP, it’s how they circled the wagons.

      Sending our troops to give a smidgen of credibility to another imperial adventure is obscene.

      The attack on free speech and intellectual freedom when Eleanor Catton spoke out was worthy of Idi Amin.

      This is by far the worst government I can remember, and they get away with it because Key puts something to sleep in the Kiwi psyche.

      • Colonial Rawshark 7.1.1

        Yeah and Labour puts something to sleep in the Kiwi psyche as well.

        • Murray Rawshark 7.1.1.1

          At the very last, they don’t wake up whatever it is that Key has put to sleep. The rules of parliament are designed to prevent it happening, yet they insist on playing by those rules.

          I would love to live in a country where, if someone committing vile and disgusting acts were uncovered in government ranks, the opposition stood one by one and spoke about it in detail, each new member carrying on from the one the Speaker had removed. They could then stand with concerned people outside Parliament, rather than helping spread the rot inside it. (The vile and disgusting acts could be, for example, getting Whalespew to attack public servants. It need not even be so bad as what we are all thinking.)

          • rawshark-yeshe 7.1.1.1.1

            this would be a grand thing, but innocent until proven guilty. but once that someone or someones had pleaded guilty already ? A grand activism indeed.

            • Murray Rawshark 7.1.1.1.1.1

              With the example I gave, Whalespew was never charged. Nor were any of the NAct MPs.
              With a possible other example, my understanding is that when someone is remanded for a disputed facts hearing, they have already pleaded guilty.

              • rawshark-yeshe

                Yes MurrayR, I agree with you.

                Just as an example, a disputed facts hearing would in open court, even if suppression orders remain in place ?

                Perhaps we could meet for a coffee later this week ?

                • Murray Rawshark

                  I don’t know what reasons a judge can use to close their court, but I’m assuming that saving a NAct government from embarrassment would rate highly as motivation.

                  As far as coffee goes, that would depend very much on what part of the world you’re in. I’ll be in Te Tai Tokerau.

                  • rawshark-yeshe

                    Ah, I was thinking more south around Waitemata and Waitakere ? Maybe I can just imagine having a coffee with you and look forward to reading what you might be able to say.

                    And yes, that would be high motivation, wouldn’t it ? Let’s see if that could ever happen in lil’ ol’ NZ.

  8. The premise of this article is that the people have power and once they see through the lies and deceptions of the state they can exercise it.
    The problem is that because the NACTs run NZ in the NACTional interest, they have taken control of the media, the bureaucracy and the judiciary.
    Which means they have also taken control of the elections.
    This leaves those who firmly believe that capitalism can be reformed by people exercising their power to elect social democratic governments stalemated.
    This is no surprise to Marxists who understand that the state is that of the ruling class and must do what is necessary to defend that class rule.
    Dirty Politics was the crunch point.
    It was THE election issue which was turned against the left ideologically committed to parliamentary politics that preferred to fight itself than fight ‘dirty’ and do deals to win seats.
    That proved more than anything that social democracy was more scared of the socialist left than of the pro-imperialist right.
    That marked the death of social democracy.
    Parliamentary democracy is now powerless in a growing economic and military confrontation between the declining US and the rising China where both regimes are run governed by the plutocratic 1%.
    This power struggle sucks all nations into its orbit eliminating any remaining national sovereignty for social democracy to contest.
    Its sheer economic power backed by the media and the internet eliminates any attempt to resist it unless on its own terms – class war – where the left continues to shoot itself in the foot.
    It forces the left to rethink how to fight, how to use parliament as a forum to mobilise opposition, rather than as a vehicle for ‘humanising’ capitalism.
    The left in NZ needs to look to what is happening in Europe as the EU begins to fracture over the bankrupt PIGS.
    The attempt by Syriza to negotiate a deal that can avoid intensifying austerity for Greek workers is doomed, and Greek workers will draw this lesson sooner or later.
    They will see the need to repudiate the debt and leave the EU.
    The fate of Syriza will prove that small states like NZ must break out of the imperialist death struggle as independent socialist republics, or submit to neverending terror, mindless wage slavery and ecological disaster.

  9. swordfish 9

    You may well be right, Mickey.

    The detailed breakdowns of leadership polls over the last few years suggest to me that Key’s/National’s popularity revolves not so much around public perceptions of honesty as around perceptions of basic competence.

    Despite the assumptions of some on the Left that Key’s image had remained entirely untarnished up until the Dirty Politics scandal erupted, his honesty ratings had, in fact, been slowly but steadily eroding for quite some time – down more than 20 percentage points since 2009.

    And yet the Nats remained high in the polls. Why ? I think because a section of Nat voters were holding their noses and pragmatically*** placing perceived economic / leadership competence above concerns about dishonesty.

    *** (to use a somewhat generous construction)

    • Colonial Rawshark 9.1

      I think you are on to something here. And not just “competence” mate, but relative competence.

      Also worth asking – competence at what exactly – is the electorate perceiving.

      • tricledrown 9.1.1

        Their back pockets wallets bank accounts house values buying power.
        They are satisfied with National and National are able through honest John your average likeable (rogue trader) imagery!
        Keep that 2 to 3% of voters who turn out on election day in Nationals back pocket.
        To make any lasting change the left have to unify agree where they disagree, Then work together to get say only 10% of the non voters to turn out.
        Having 2 to 3 opposition parties that can’t work together is a huge advantage to National.

    • mickysavage 9.2

      Agreed Swordfish. The main reason the tories are doing so badly in Australia is that Abbott has none of the attributes of Key despite them both having the same world view. Key’s public persona is much more cleverly designed.

      Dirty politics had some of us incensed, but we were anti National in any event. Their supporters appeared to be prepared to put up with the behaviour as long as Key kept delivering. For his party backers this was the usual mix of smaller state, privatisation and tax cuts. For ordinary people it was as basic as a job and confidence that the country was heading in the right direction.

      For different reasons these two issues have the potential to upset these groups in a way that dirty politics was never able to.

      Interesting times …

  10. newsense 10

    Also the way that a party is exempt from the official infomation act, due to ‘a loophole’.

  11. adam 11

    It is funny how all the Tories end up looking like Rob.

    I think unlike what some have said, this is the left’s obsession with Key. Nope. This is the lefts obsession with good governance.

    This is a government, of two or three ministers and a PM. The rest of the Tory scum seem to be going to parliament, to eat their lunch. And we are seeing the wheels come off those ministers who do any work in this government.

    Gerry Brownlee is looking more and more, like the guy you wheel out, when there is not another guy you can wheel out. Even he looks like he’s not buying his own propaganda. After the security breach, his creditability is almost zero. Can he lie straight, mmmm?

    Joyce is another one who is looking more and more incompetent as we progress slowly into a third term. Novapay – still a mess…

    Any replacements for the Tories? Nope – they all look pretty wish-washy or ideological crackpots.

  12. Mooloo magic 12

    People who have voted National for the last 3 or 4 elections seem to give unconditional loyalty and trust to the Key government. They have become like the three monkeys, see no evil, speak no evil and hear no evil.
    Dirty Politic did not impact on their blind loyalty to this corrupt regime and I fear despite the Sky City fiasco and the sheer stupidity of the National party to allow a candidate and sitting MP’s name to go on the voting papers knowing full well he was under investigation for a heinous crime. The fact that the PM appointed him as chairman of the law and Order Select committee demonstrates where Key and his party’s moral code is; which should concern all Kiwi’s.
    Dirty politics, Judith Collins controversy, Sabin scandal and the Sky city fiscal should have even the most loyal of National supporters questioning their loyalty. Unfortunately National supporters seemed to have taken their led from the PM and his lack of a moral compass plus their inability to think for themselves as they all seem to be influenced by talking heads like Hosking, Henry, Williams, Gower etc

    • tc 12.1

      Loyal Nat supporters would vote in any donkey with a blue ribbon, it’s the non voters and swingers who change govt loyal Nat voters always go blue.

      The course is set with State housing sell off, TPPA, sky city, Sabin and the albatross that is Collins and her antics exposed in DP amongst others like novo pay, charter schools, rising power prices etc.

      If little can keep his caucus and crew on message with each assigned an issue, not scare the horses with CGT and others then I can’t see the swingers and non voters allowing the NACT wrecking crew a 4th term.

      A narrative of wilful selling out and corruption needs to be built up, the NACT will do as they do to assist.

  13. hoom 13

    I don’t see how these scandals are really any different than the *innumerable* previous ones dating back to before he was leader of the NACTS.

    Sure the media makes some noise now, but in a couple of weeks they will be ‘Report cleared… PM tired of questions…’ and thats the last they’ll say until after the next election/in passing during the *next* scandal.

  14. Draco T Bastard 14

    Every political instinct in National’s collective consciousness should be screaming that providing further support to SkyCity is utterly insane.

    Well, it looks like National have been having more <a href=""backroom talks with SkyCity:

    SkyCity has agreed to change its plans for a controversial Auckland convention centre to meet the original budgets, preventing the need for a taxpayer top-up.

    After submitting plans for a more expensive design than that agreed with the Government in 2013, the casino operator will now pare back its plans.

    “I welcome SkyCity’s agreement with the Government’s approach,” Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce said in a statement.

    More indications of the corruption that business and this government engage in.

    • hoom 14.1

      Now the Media can be quiet about it.

      In a couple of years when it turns out to be unprofitable “Its the fault of the people that we have this crappy white elephant.
      If only we’d given that extra $100M then we’d have had a proper world class convention centre & all would be Fine.
      Now that we are stuck with this sub-quality albatross we definitely need to be providing an operating subsidy”

  15. whateva next? 15

    “We live in strange days when Matthew Hooton and the NBR and Rodney Hide are offered up as the voices of sanity on a proudly left wing blog.”
    Indeed, Thatcher’s reign also ended when a critical mass from within the ranks felt enough dis-ease about what was happening.

  16. les 16

    I wonder how much the govt will be stumping up for promotion and marketing for the centre and for how long!

  17. lynne27 17

    What National needs is a few more leaders. That is why we are so popular. New leaders bring new ideas.

  18. emergency mike 18

    The comments in Hide’s Herald article are worth a look.

    5% ‘Who cares, nothing to see here.’
    95% ‘So sick of these pricks, where’s my pitchfork?’

  19. Stuart Munro 19

    Actually this government (and using the term is frankly charitable), this miserable troupe of hebephrenic buffoons is more like it, had late stage terminal third termitis last year. But the MSM and rightwing dirty tricks crew, with some assistance from leftwing fratricides, made just enough trouble to shove the ambulant corpse over the line.

    This is no credibility to the Key government – their economic chops are entirely fraudulent and their values don’t amount to a hill of beans. No outfit so desperately useless it could make Brownlee leader of the house will ever have any credibility – they’re short on talent, vision, and a whole lot of competence.

    Superficially Key is much better than Abbot – but that’s because he’s a deeply superficial character – and like the Chesire cat, pretty soon all that’ll be left is the smirk.

  20. fisiani 20

    It looks like we should again start counting down to the end of this National Government.
    Ok . I’ll play that game. 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 20266………

    If National are really so terrible why are they polling above 50%? Wishful thinking is not reality.

    • lynne27 20.1

      But Stuart, You were saying this 5 years ago. When is it going to happen?

      • Stuart Munro 20.1.1

        Polling is, shall we say, not a hard currency Fisi.

        Ha – I was saying something similar about Shipley – and I wasn’t very impressed by Helen Clark either. But really – this government has decoupled from its societal function: enriching cronies and making sleazy deals with the likes of the Ca$ino are epiphenomena to the business of governing, and this is what Key is getting woefully wrong. The $100 billion in debt may look like a profit stream to an ignorant banker like Key – but it’s $5 billion a year out of our desperately underfunded social supports. I know a lot of folk who just aren’t making it any more – post-grads most of them, stable long-term folk who used to be middle class.

        The fishing industry is typical – NZ and Japan have essentially the same littoral area and thus similar temperate marine resources. Why is NZ’s fishing industry 1% the size of Japan’s? Why does it employ just 1% of Japan’s fisheries employment numbers? And why are our fisheries ministers both blissfully ignorant and entirely complacent about such matters? Were they dropped on their heads as children? Where is the governance? Most of the Gnats seem to think they’re there to collect the super – they certainly haven’t earned any.

      • Chch_chiquita 20.1.2

        I think it will happen when enough people, mainly from what is still considered to be the middle class, will start feeling the pressure.

        • Sabine 20.1.2.1

          It will happen when those with paper value understand and realize that they don’t have enough cash value and paper value to buy something else elsewhere.

          Most peeps would have voted for NO CHANGE….lol, but now they are slowly but surely come around to see that their kids are not in full term 40 hours a week contracts – not even on minimum wage, that their kids will never pay back their student loans on 0 – hour contracts, that their kids don’t earn enough to even buy Mum and Pop’s home from them …lest alone buy the house from their neighbors.

          Eventually the right will be as sick of John Key as many on the left were sick of Helen Clark.

          re: Fisiani….that guy is just really bad at sarcasm, irony and comedy.

          • Stuart Munro 20.1.2.1.1

            The paper boom in house prices has concealed the failures of local governments to manage development sustainably. But the resulting increased rates rakeoff doesn’t refelect improved services – if anything they’re declining. It works for the speculators but hobbles the productive and the socially responsible. Reform, when it comes, will be dramatic.

            • Colonial Rawshark 20.1.2.1.1.1

              The paper boom in house prices has concealed the failures of local governments to manage development sustainably

              It’s actually a bit worse than that. The failure of local and central government to handle the housing availability, affordability and financing issue has helped to fuel the boom in house prices. Speculators win while society as a whole loses.

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • LOGAN SAVORY: The planned blessing that has irked councillors
    “I’m struggling to understand why we are having a blessing to bless this site considering it is a scrap metal yard… It just doesn’t make sense to me.” Logan Savory writes- When’s a blessing appropriate and when isn’t it? Some Invercargill City Councillors have questioned whether blessings might ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    55 mins ago
  • Surely it won't happen
    I have prepared a bad news sandwich. That is to say, I'm going to try and make this more agreeable by placing on the top and underneath some cheering things.So let's start with a daughter update, the one who is now half a world away but also never farther out ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    9 hours ago
  • Let Them Eat Sausage Rolls: Hipkins Tries to Kill Labour Again
    Sometimes you despair. You really do. Fresh off leading Labour to its ugliest election result since 1990,* Chris Hipkins has decided to misdiagnose matters, because the Government he led cannot possibly have been wrong about anything. *In 2011 and 2014, people were willing to save Labour’s electorate ...
    18 hours ago
  • Clued Up: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    “But, that’s the thing, mate, isn’t it? We showed ourselves to be nothing more useful than a bunch of angry old men, shaking our fists at the sky. Were we really that angry at Labour and the Greens? Or was it just the inescapable fact of our own growing irrelevancy ...
    23 hours ago
  • JERRY COYNE: A powerful University dean in New Zealand touts merging higher education with indigeno...
    Jerry Coyne writes –  This article from New Zealand’s Newsroom site was written by Julie Rowland,  the deputy dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland as well as a geologist and the Director of the Ngā Ara Whetū | Centre for Climate, Biodiversity & Society. In other ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.
    Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.For the last couple of weeks its felt as though all the good things in our beautiful land are under attack.These isles in the southern Pacific. The home of the Māori people. A land of easy going friendliness, openness, and she’ll be right. A ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Speaking for the future
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.MondayYou cannot be seriousOne might think, god, people who are seeing all this must be regretting their vote.But one might be mistaken.There are people whose chief priority is not wanting to be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • How Should We Organise a Modern Economy?
    Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. The Cold War included a conflict about ideas; many were economic. Alan Bollard’s latest book Economists in the Cold War focuses on the contribution of ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    2 days ago
  • Willis fails a taxing app-titude test but govt supporters will cheer moves on Te Pukenga and the Hum...
    Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Defence has returned from Noumea to announce New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and (wearing another ministerial hat) to condemn malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government. A bigger cheer from people who voted for the Luxon ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • ELIZABETH RATA: In defence of the liberal university and against indigenisation
    The suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere. Elizabeth Rata writes –  Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the skewed media coverage of Gaza
    Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...
    2 days ago
  • “Your Circus, Your Clowns.”
    It must have been a hard first couple of weeks for National voters, since the coalition was announced. Seeing their party make so many concessions to New Zealand First and ACT that there seems little remains of their own policies, other than the dwindling dream of tax cuts and the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 8-December-2023
    It’s Friday again and Christmas is fast approaching. Here’s some of the stories that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered some of the recent talk around the costs, benefits and challenges with the City Rail Link. On Thursday Matt looked at how ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • End-of-week escapism
    Amsterdam to Hong Kong William McCartney16,000 kilometres41 days18 trains13 countries11 currencies6 long-distance taxis4 taxi apps4 buses3 sim cards2 ferries1 tram0 medical events (surprisingly)Episode 4Whether the Sofia-Istanbul Express really qualifies to be called an express is debatable, but it’s another one of those likeably old and slow trains tha… ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 8
    Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro arrives for the State Opening of Parliament (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)TL;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:New Finance Minister Nicola Willis set herself a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand’s Witchcraft Laws: 1840/1858-1961/1962
    Sometimes one gets morbidly curious about the oddities of one’s own legal system. Sometimes one writes entire essays on New Zealand’s experience with Blasphemous Libel: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/blasphemous-libel-new-zealand-politics/ And sometimes one follows up the exact historical status of witchcraft law in New Zealand. As one does, of course. ...
    3 days ago
  • No surprises
    Don’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #49 2023
    113 articles in 48 journals by 674 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Diversity of Lagged Relationships in Global Means of Surface Temperatures and Radiative Budgets for CMIP6 piControl Simulations, Tsuchida et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0045.1 Do abrupt cryosphere events in High Mountain Asia indicate earlier tipping ...
    3 days ago
  • Phone calls at Kia Kaha primary
    It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...
    It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news  out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Xmas  good  cheer  for the dairy industry  as Fonterra lifts its forecast
    The big dairy co-op Fonterra  had  some Christmas  cheer to offer  its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for  the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast  midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • MICHAEL BASSETT: Modern Maori myths
    Michael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28
    Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the irony
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
    It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
    3 days ago
  • Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
    Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • The Prime Minister's Dream.
    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    4 days ago
  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    4 days ago
  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    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 ...
    5 days ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    5 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    6 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    6 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    6 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    6 days ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    6 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    1 week ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    1 week ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-12-10T01:34:16+00:00