Too much too far?

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 23rd, 2021 - 97 comments
Categories: capital gains, climate change, covid-19, economy, health, housing, labour, local government, public transport, science, tax - Tags:

As we lead up to Budget 2021, there’s much more shape to the whole direction of this government. It’s now the most wide-ranging since the fourth Labour government’s 1984-87 term.

  • It’s merged and effectively nationalised all the polytechs.
  • It’s just announced the formation of the New Zealand Health Service, again through massive amalgamation.
  • It’s undertaking de facto local government reform by pushing 3 waters amalgamations and introducing new funding mechanisms.
  • It is undertaking the largest public housing and urban regeneration projects we’ve seen in 50 years.
  • It has effectively taken over Air New Zealand.
  • It’s rolling out a series of public health measures against COVID-19 that will affect every single person in the country.
  • It’s just embedded what is effectively a capital gains tax by extending the Bright Line test to 10 years. And the world did not fall in.
  • It has enabled international flights and hence the tourism economy to start up again.

And of course,

  • It intervened in the New Zealand economy with direct company and worker wage subsidies in the March-March calendar year on a greater scale than most others in the OECD.

Drumroll … coming up:

  • In June we have the utterly massive Climate Change Commission policies that will get rolled out following public input. Electricity will be but one massive consumer and market-shaking issue.
  • A comprehensive re-making of the Resource Management Act which has over 20 years of major precedent built up behind it.

So step back and look at this shape and ambition. Government, just through COVID, has taken a greater place in the direction of the society and the economy of New Zealand than we have seen since 1939. Everything else is an even further expansion (No, I don’t detect any single institutional theory. Or even a specific political theory to it all).

So it certainly is still the case that with each crisis, this state is expanding its role and ambition and power – and of course this power almost never gets given back: crisis and leviathan.

There will continue to be massive stumbles, such as light rail, that they will be rightly chastised for. It’s also possible to see the proposed RNZ-TVNZ merger fall apart as fast as the youth station launch did.

And it’s quite likely once the new set of measures come out that our wellbeing and our poverty levels have gotten worse since Prime Minister Ardern started in 2017.

So looking at the above list it’s hard to quibble with their scale or ambition within government. The left complain that they aren’t doing enough about poverty and housing, the right complain that government is sucking the oxygen out of the capitalist room and we can’t all live off printing money forever. But the great majority just love them.

This brings up a couple of not unreasonable questions when you see the scale of this government’s agenda:

  1. Does the Government and the current New Zealand public sector have the capability to devise good policymaking in so many areas of fundamental significance to the New Zealand economy and society at once?
  2. Does the Government have the political skills to execute these policies well? So far there’s been near-zero disagreements, and Cabient refresh has been mostly through natural attrition.

Perhaps we can sustain this feverish policy pitch from the crisis-gearing we find ourselves cycling within.

Perhaps we have just enough competent Ministers to carry enough of the load, and let the weak ones play with the plastic spoons.

Perhaps.

97 comments on “Too much too far? ”

  1. Sanctuary 1

    Gotta love myself some disaster socialism!!!

    And now throw in what looks like the most comprehensive review of transport funding since WW2 as well.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300283956/government-looks-to-phase-out-fuel-taxes-road-user-charges-under-transport-review

    And of course, the technocrat class warriors will be outraged at the politicians taking back some control of the reserve bank.

    • ghostwhowalksnz 1.1

      We have a system of taxing road users by how much they drive …. fuel taxes and road distance user charges.

      GPS based systems are likely to be 20 years away and unlikely to work at the detail level even then. The public wouldnt live with a 'cloud' centred system ( and yes a private operator) of tracking your car everywhere it goes.

      • woodart 1.1.1

        why not? the public live with private operators tracking where there mobile phones go, and where their eftpos cards get used. modern cars have bluetooth as standard, as soon as you jump in, your phone is talking directly to your car, so cant see technology being a problem .

      • Ed1 1.1.2

        We have road user charges for some vehicles now – distance travelled can be easily determined. It makes sense with electric vehicles increasing. Not charging road user charges is effectively an incentive for such vehicles at present; in future fuel taxes could relate only to emissions targets, and RUC's continue to fund a Transport Fund which could include both rail and roads.

    • millsy 1.2

      National tried to bring this in when it proposed to have our roads run as SOE's back in the 1990’s

  2. Tiger Mountain 2

    NZ has fully integrated neo liberal legislation, structural hegemony and a Parliamentary consensus between main political parties that the Chicago Boys would be proud of.

    So while the Reserve Bank Act, State Sector Act, SOEs, some of the freest in and out flows of capital in the world, largely privatised power generation and supply and massive Govt. “outsourcing” persist, the core issues that have 50% of the population owning just 2% of the wealth will not be solved.

    New Zealand–A Tale of Two Cities–drumroll that.

    • ghostwhowalksnz 2.1

      Reserve Bank Act was amended in 2018 and is not just inflation anymore

      The Bank, acting through the MPC, has the function of formulating a monetary policy directed to the economic objectives of—

      (a)achieving and maintaining stability in the general level of prices over the medium term; and

      (b)supporting maximum sustainable employment.

      And they are directly subject to Minister deciding how they go about Monetary policy from a formal policy remit.

      • Tiger Mountain 2.1.1

        You have been around long enough Ghost, to know that it is the cumulative effect of multiple legislations, and historic deregulations and public asset sales, that allows the monetarists to maintain their 36 year headlock on the economy of this country.

  3. Pat 3

    That extensive list of announcements is exactly that……and thats the easy part.

    e.g.

    "Henare says the next eight to 12 weeks will be spent engaging with Māori leaders and whānau about what shape the authority should take."

    "Roles for DHB chief executives and board members will cease to exist, but what the changes will mean for some of the country’s most vulnerable still remains unclear.

    Little said the “proof of the pudding will be in the eating – we’ve still got to get there’’.

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ministers-put-cart-before-horse-on-maori-health

    • Treetop 3.1

      Too many chiefs making decisions at the DHBs causes disunity.

      A health consumer needs the service, needs access to it within a reasonable time frame and a standard of treatment to give the best out come.

      • Pat 3.1.1

        Am inclined to agree with that however the point is that Ad's list of 'achievements' is in fact little more than a list of announcements….announcements oft repeated, without strategy and often discarded and reinvented…..think light rail, housing etc.

        With regard to the latest health announcement there is a real sense that it is a last minute brain explosion with little background investigation/planning that will be created as we go along…..another 'building the plane as we fly it', an absurd( not to mention impossible) notion.

        4 years, many announcements, little action.

        • Treetop 3.1.1.1

          4 years, many announcements, little action.

          I could not sum it up any better. Covid has been a distraction and costly and it will need to be managed long term. Action to fix what is absolutely essential can no longer be delayed.

          Labour needs to just do it. They have the numbers and when it comes to being re elected, they will or will not be re elected on the good they do for the worst situations.

          • ghostwhowalksnz 3.1.1.1.1

            Of the 8 bullet points in the very good summary from Advantage which ones havent been done ?

            Are you really keeping awake at night over Council 3 waters, which is clearly a work in progess

        • Incognito 3.1.1.2

          Having met with kaupapa service providers to brief them on the reforms, Little said “there’s a sense they see an opportunity, and it’s incumbent on all of us to turn that into something meaningful’’.

          https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ministers-put-cart-before-horse-on-maori-health

          Government through Andrew Little, with a little help from EY, is providing the playing field AKA framework and the details will have to be filled in still by, with, and for stakeholders. TINA [no pun].

          • Pat 3.1.1.2.1

            Well I guess we can say at least he didnt announce a(nother) review.

            One wonders why they want the job if they dont actually want to do anything (and yes there are obvious explanations)

            By the time they actually implement anything they will have been in power for nigh on 7 years….and we wonder why there's disengagement?

            • greywarshark 3.1.1.2.1.1

              Thanks Pat for link directions.

              Reading the above as to why EY's (Ernest Young?) TINA will be the way to go:

              'Upton Sinclair USA – back in the day but still sharp –

              "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.'

              • Incognito

                Ernst & Young

                What do you take TINA to mean in my comment? Hint: it does not necessarily refer to EY.

                • greywarshark

                  Well I am not up in the acronym language, but I thought EY meant Ernst and Young and I thought they were financial managers, and might be the chosen go-to advisors to a govt that probably doesn't now try to plan anything for itself with a department that takes responsibility.

                  So if that is the case then govt will tend to take whatever they have paid for from the management/economic advisors as gospel, And the firm will follow the line they have always followed which pays them well. And they align themselves with big business and the world financial system with a capitalistic bent. And citizens are just human units with certain financial implications, and to require a change in the outlook of the management firm would be in line with Sinclair's concept. So then there is likely to be no change in our policy direction which will continue as before, and no countervailing position can hold, so therefore TINA or There Is No Alternative, to be countenanced or expected.

                  That's what I had in mind, but perhaps jumping to conclusions. You could have meant that though the framework will be set using the normal advisors, or retaining past systems, TINA, there will be input into the methods used within the frameworks.

                  Long-winded, but I seem to be too far from your line of thinking so put down mine in full. If I am thinking like this probably others are too. Perhaps you can tell me where I am wrong in my approach and lack of understanding.

                  • Incognito

                    Yes, Ernst & Young, which you had almost correct @ 3.1.1.2.1.1 😉 In fact, you’ve used the acronym before here on TS 🙂

                    I’d call them business consultants, in this context, not financial managers (too much hassle). They’ve been all over Health in NZ, particularly with regard to CDHB. IMHO, these consultants should be removed as far as possible from influencing major policy making because otherwise we may well end up with BAU, literally. That begs the question who can and will drive this major restructuring? Andrew Little and Government? No, a recipe for disaster, IMO. MoH? No! You cannot perform major surgery on yourself. So, are we back at/with EY, or PwC?

                    My comment was clear enough, I thought, and was aimed to stimulate thinking and debate about who (“the stakeholders”) and how they fill in the details. As such, there’s no right or wrong approach or lack of understanding; there are starting points for thinking and debating – I would not be so arrogant as to presume having the only correct answer(s) and only correct approach and I’ll leave that to others here to make such foolish claims …

                    • greywarshark

                      You mentioned stakeholders and I tend to think in this context they aren't the ordinary citizens no matter what we are supposed to believe. I see those who use this word as part of their regular vocabulary as deserving the stakeholder treatment along with garlic and a cross. So am rather blighted and bent in my objectivity in this. So how would we get a broad cross-section of people who have some idea of objectivity and the need for rationing, or alternative treatments? Labour did a sweep around the country making an attempt to get opinion, people's priorities, get the mood – in the 90's? Maybe another one with some options starting off, If we had a limited budget, how would we divide the health needs priorities? And bring in – do we want to give young children a start in life with reasonably good health, or concentrate on smoothing the pillow for older people, and help them extend their lives to 100? Let's have people face up to things.

                    • Incognito []

                      Ordinary citizens are the primary and ultimate stakeholders in anything and everything Government does (or does not). Government is made up of our representatives, who govern on behalf of all of us, for us, and by us, not even for just the voters or the voters who voted for them or their blimmen parties.

                      This is why I get immensely irritated when the consultation process is merely lip service, or rushed, when citizens have to bend over backwards to get access to information and get fobbed off when they claim their rights to know about governance decisions that directly and indirectly affect them, when concealed lobby groups get priority access over and above ordinary citizens and steamroll the democratic process in their favour. Above all, it irks me when ordinary citizens are ignored and excluded because the opinions and feelings of people with higher social status are deemed more important, especially when they have deep pockets to donate and/or invest in pet projects.

                      Aotearoa-New Zealand is a long way away from being a truly egalitarian society and the New Zealand Labour Party should remember who they are and what they stand for, because they sometimes give the impression of having forgotten their roots and need a kind reminder:

                      https://www.labour.org.nz/history
                      https://www.labour.org.nz/party_info

                      I’ve said enough under this good OP and don’t wish to get on the wrong side of Ad again.

      • Incognito 3.1.2

        Too many chiefs making decisions at the DHBs causes disunity.

        Yeah, nah.

        Systems and processes are decided by highly paid EY consultants.

    • greywarshark 3.2

      Will it be a plum pudding as in:

      Little Jack Horner
      Sat in the corner,
      Eating his Christmas pie;
      He put in his thumb,
      And pulled out a plum,
      And said, "What a good boy am I!"

      And how many people are going to have a go at that pudding – will there be enough plums left to bring us good health.

  4. Treetop 4

    Historical and current harm caused by government departments and organisations is a big issue for me. Whether it be ACC, a police matter, a MSD matter, a prison/court matter, a hospital/DHB matter, religion based or boarding at a school.

    The Royal Commission into State and Faith Based Care has spent the 56 million allocated and the process is ongoing. The cost involved to see what the impact is on those who were harmed and the failure of the government department or organisation to stop the harm and prevent further harm needs to have a budget to cover the process.

    • greywarshark 4.1

      I think much of the cost could be driven home to the humungous monetary payments to the various leaders, arbiters etc running these intensive delving projects into wrongs. Perhaps they have to be bribed to set aside much of their comfortable lives during the arduous period of the hearings. But some of the figures that get quoted for the good services of some Judge, QC, etc. are eye-watering.

      It is sad that the spending of a relatively small amount of money on assisting a lot of people at the right time, usually parents and children to get a good start in life, cannot be countenanced. But the devastation caused by lack of reasonable care for both good living conditions coupled with good guidance will eventually become blatantly obvious so that it can't be brushed aside longer. Then the millions can pour out, drawn from a fatter purse for the upper-class who are seen to be more deserving of it than the poor. Ever the rich get rich, and the poor get children theme.

      But now the 'ever' cannot be relied on, NZ's fertility rate is down, and I think I saw recently that the UKs is down to 0.6 rather than the 2.1 replacement rate. 0.6 is probably wrong, it may be 1.6 but I've looked up enough 'unfortunate' stats and news for today.

  5. Sabine 5

    you forgot to mention all these successes that are here for everyone to see on the street level that is NZ.

    • warehouses people by the thousands in slum motels
    • oversaw what probably was the biggest increase in housing values in one month Feb 2021 (my little property literally gained an extra 100.000 grand) lol.
    • babies on waiting lists for cleft palate surgery
    • women to be discharged into emergency housing a day after giving birth
    • small businesses not provided with any help – be that legal, or monetary to either keep a business or get out of a lease
    • large tracts of land in NZ still sold to overseas interests transforming pastoral farm land to 'pine tracts'
    • no increases in benefits other then the Covid increase that only happened cause Covid
    • whole towns still depending on what ever tourism there is cause Government has no ideas, no will and only is able to send ministers to people telling them that they are to small, of no real importance to dear Leader and please pivot to something else.
    • , the Wage subsidy was 80% of min wage taxed. And after the first full lock down you needed a 40 % drop to even just apply for it. So many businesses only got it once and then died.
    • no mentioning of the creeping high unemployment numbers for people who are Female and people of colour.
    • toddlers going to kindergarten without food and without shoes – cause that is so Kiwi!

    However here are some real snippets from the guys that are supposedly all doing these awesome things to people like them. Like 1.5 billion for Air NZ but

    'You're going to have to have some very hard conversations': Tourism Minister says 'bleeding' tourism businesses shouldn't expect more Government support

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/300227138/youre-going-to-have-to-have-some-very-hard-conversations-tourism-minister-says-bleeding-tourism-businesses-shouldnt-expect-more-government-support

    Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last week flatly rejected a plea by 59 organizations, including trade unions, charities and poverty action groups, to lift the level of welfare payments before Christmas in order to address mass unemployment and impoverishment.

    https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2011/S00154/new-zealand-government-rejects-calls-to-increase-welfare-payments.htm

    New Zealanders react after Finance Minister Grant Robertson says tenants will 'go looking elsewhere' if landlords hike rents

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/03/new-zealanders-react-after-finance-minister-grant-robertson-says-tenants-will-go-looking-elsewhere-if-landlords-hike-rents.html

    NZ has money for the richest man on the planet for some really dumb TV

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2021/04/nz-government-giving-amazon-over-100m-boost-for-lord-of-the-rings-filming.html

    Our sick hospitals: Cramped, leaky, outdated buildings and equipment on the brink of breakdown

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/our-sick-hospitals-cramped-leaky-outdated-buildings-and-equipment-on-the-brink-of-breakdown/KUXBEB7S6PTS3SE47CCZ23PSE4/

    • Treetop 5.1

      The actual number of people living in motels will show the extent of the housing failure for those in emergency housing. I heard yesterday morning on News Hub 23,000 living in motels in the last year.

      There needs to be a budget figure just for emergency housing and the actual number who require emergency housing would be more as the criteria at MSD to get emergency housing has barriers. Winter is not to far off and a winter being homeless is something no one in NZ should be subjected to.

      Thank you for raising the atmosphere of emergency motel housing, I was not brave enough to say it.

      • Sabine 5.1.1

        the number so far that we have is up to a Million Dollar every night, and for some beds the Government is happy to shell out 400 NZD per night. Never mind that for that money you could start looking at paying the rents for these people outright.

        Or hey, they could build a town somewhere and drop these 23.000 people there and pay them a wage for the next three years. Heck , that might even work, at least it would be a better plan then what these overpaid over fed doodas are coming up with now.

        Labour, can't won't will not.

        • Treetop 5.1.1.1

          You raise a good solution about bridging the short fall in rent.

          What is stopping the government from doing this?

          It is to simple for the government to introduce an emergency payment to top up the rent. This is not the accommodation supplement or temporary additional support. It is a payment so a person does not need to live in a motel. Put another way a person gets the AS, TAS and the emergency shortfall so as to not need a motel.

          I do not like market rent settings as landlords are often so greedy. Building state housing and calling it state housing is what needs to happen. Just like NZ Health.

          • Sabine 5.1.1.1.1

            Why an emergency payment?

            Scrap the emergency housing, transitional housing and accomodation benefit and start paying the rent that you think as government is fair.

            Say – single person, no child – 1 bedroom/bathroom/kitchen-ette/storage space, inclusive balcony for drying clothes. (aka a flat 🙂 ) 25 – 30 sqm and pay no more then say 800 per month for it.

            single person with child – same, but add an extra half room to it – say 5 – 6 sqm for the spud – say 30 – 35 sqm and pay no more then 1000 per month for it.

            Soon you will have landlords that would be very happy to receive rent directly from the government and would build for it too – heck they do that all over europe – so there must be money in it.

            At least some could think about this because what we are doing now is madness. Nothing more nothing less. And those caught in it, specially the kids, will pay for this madness forever in terms of phobias, abuse, Post traumatic Stress illness, etc etc etc, which again then will be a cost to society.

            IT appears that 'rule for the Greater common good' has been abandoned by the Labour Party of today.

            • Treetop 5.1.1.1.1.1

              Why an emergency payment?

              AS and TAS is available and when insufficient to pay the rent people are becoming homeless. An emergency payment on top of AS and TAS would then give a more accurate figure on how much the shortfall is for the rent in comparison to a night in a motel. I would also encourage people to have MSD pay their rent directly to the landlord or their agent. The old special benefit calculation prior to TAS could also be another way of ensuring the rent does not exceed the benefit and other costs (food, energy, clothing, transport) to have an allowable sum.

              • Sabine

                The whole benefit system needs to be overhauled, atm we have emergency payments galore, have no idea how many people actually depend on it really, and could build a town with our homeless population. Do away with it and start paying rent. And then add to that enough benefit that one can eat and pay electricity. I know, a novelty, but worth a try.

                • Treetop

                  As I recall it from last week 2b owed to MSD in loans.

                  Some people have exhausted being able to borrow from MSD to set up a rental, (bond and advance rent). Add that to the list. Immediate action to ensure rent can be paid is urgent to avoid requiring a motel.

    • Foreign Waka 5.2

      Thank you for keeping us informed. If only……I honestly feel that the labor party is disingenuous and has its own agenda. I have no clue what their vision is, but it looks like we are going backwards, pretending to care and a lot of social engineering.

  6. Stuart Munro 6

    It's early days, but rediscovering the fact that people expect the government to govern is a very healthy trend. Who knew? The samfs who have made such a bollocks of so much of the public sector are being wound back a bit – and that's a gradual win for ordinary folk. And for the Labour party, who, if they can get back to something approaching good governance, will retain power to build on this constructive base for quite some time.

    Some tasks will not be easy however. Moving to a better carbon position equitably, and without y2k style charlatanry like hydrogen, will present significant challenges. Media reform, agricultural reform, and meaningful action on the housing and finance dynamic that imposes massive deadweight costs to our prosperity have been left in the too hard basket too long.

  7. ghostwhowalksnz 7

    Air NZ has been 'effectively' controlled by the government since it was rescued nealy 20 years ago, it went down to the recent level of 52% of shares which is 'control' under every meaning of the term

    Recent news was about increased loans to the company, which arent control most big companys are 'geared' in this way and covid has increased that for travel related business.

    The Government is extending its loan facility to Air New Zealand by $600 million as the airline defers its planned capital raise to later in the year.

    The $900m Crown loan facility made available to Air New Zealand in March last year has been extended to a debt facility of up to $1.5 billion (an additional $600m) available to August 27, 2023 (an extra 16 months).

    • Treetop 7.1

      NZ needs a national airline.

      How big do you think the airline should be and do you think the government should own a bigger share?

      Air NZ could be next on the list for a major restructure as it would go broke without government money being pumped into it.

      Carbon fuels would be reduced. International air travel is the biggest casualty of Covid. The various mutations have me thinking long term about the viability of huge numbers travelling on international flights.

      • Sabine 7.1.1

        We don't 'need' a national airline, we need airplanes to land here. And for that we need an airport, which we have.

        So really the question is not need but want. Do we want an airline that most people of this country can't afford in the first place. Or do we want an international Airport that can be used by other Companies?

        Really how many in t his country can actually afford to fly Air NZ – and i am not talking of members of political parties that have their airplane use paid for by us the tax payers. These guys have long ago lost the notion of paying for their own pleasure.

        • Incognito 7.1.1.1

          The airline [Air New Zealand] is a strategic asset for the Government, given its key role in supporting international tourism and export industries, and the domestic travel network.

          https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/124788560/air-new-zealand-capital-raising-delayed

          • Sabine 7.1.1.1.1

            yeah, i know. Wants, needs, must haves….priorities. The government has its set of those and the people have another. 🙂

            oh, so tourism is ok then? well, also, we have an airport, so planes from all over the world can land those tourists, and take those NZ tourists with them. Still no need for an airplane that every few years despite a 52% majority government stake needs a billion dollar injection here or there, disguised as loans or not.
            Export Industries will use those planes that are the cheapest. Air NZ is not cheap.
            Domestic Travle network? would that be the one Air NZ is not happy to all the time cause no profit?

            Priorities.

            • Incognito 7.1.1.1.1.1

              A strategic asset is a priority until a National Government flogs it off to the highest bidder for an instant and one-off ‘profit’. Then all prices and fares will go up even further and essential and non-essential services will go down further, over time. That’s what you’re advocating, isn’t it? Your ‘priority’ is a race to the bottom 🙁

              • Sabine

                Oh my gosh, you should ask Labour if they want National to sell it off again, now that they again fed 1.5 billions into it.

                Not me. I am not one of these overpriced dudes that can't decide if they want tourism or not, if they want a greener world or not, if they want equity or user pays.

                But personally i don't give a flying poo about what National does, cause at the end of the day they are as predictable in their educated idiocy as is Labour.

                • Drowsy M. Kram

                  But personally i don't give a flying poo about what National does, cause at the end of the day they are as predictable in their educated idiocy as is Labour.

                  Gawd Sabine, bit grim. Governed by idiots – no hope then, you reckon?

                  The Best and Worst Places to Be as Global Vaccinations Take Off
                  A lightning-fast vaccination drive has propelled Israel toward the top of Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking, transforming everyday life to put the country alongside New Zealand [#1] and Taiwan as one of the best places to be in the coronavirus era.

                  Fwiw I believe civilisation is on course for a collapse which will make te pandemic, tragic though it is, look like a storm in in a teacup. But I genuinely hope that my belief prove to be unfounded.

                  • Sabine

                    yes, no hope.

                    time to radically change 'hope' into something else then hoping that the same idiots will finally change their ways and do better this time – they haven't last time, they will not this time, and it is the poorest that pay for the educated idiots in expensive suits.

                  • Sabine

                    Vietnam is really good too.

                    I see that people really don't like pointing out how well the 'emerging' country of Vietnam did.

                    Latest Updates

                    • As of April 22, 2021, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health confirmed a total of 2,812 cases of COVID-19. However, 2,490 of the affected patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals. Vietnam has also recorded 35 deaths due to the pandemic. The latest cases were all imported and quarantined on arrival.

                    read on it, follow the threat all the way down. OR would that maybe confuse your worldview? btw, Vietnam landlocked for the most part, 90 odd milliom people etc etc etc.

                    and then compare that to us, 5 million, with a vast body of water to save us, only accesible by plane or boat, in permanent lockdown and we have achieved this

                    New Zealand 2,600 cases 2,494 recovered 26dead

                    https://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/vietnam-business-operations-and-the-coronavirus-updates.html/

                • Incognito

                  But personally i don't give a flying poo about what National does, cause at the end of the day they are as predictable in their educated idiocy as is Labour.

                  You had me fooled, as I thought you do care. Comment after comment here; that’s not the hallmark of someone who does not care. I know the feeling of shouting in the desert without anybody there to hear my screams; it used to eat away at me. My advice: stop it before it’s too late.

              • Kiwijoker

                The word you are looking for is “ aeroplane “ which begs the question. Wherefore art thou?

              • Kiwijoker

                Ingognito, get with the narrative, Air NZ will be flogged off to Mom? and Pop investors !

                • Sabine

                  at 52% currently, we already paid for it under Helen Clark,

                  2001 http://tvnz.co.nz/content/54694/2556418/article.html

                  Air NZ needs a massive injection of money and so the government must either allow a foreign airline to take a bigger stake or stump up itself.

                  Monday's Cabinet meeting has been briefed by Finance Minister Michael Cullen on options for the future structure of the airline and expects to make a final decision at its next meeting in a week.

                  The options are outlined in a report by the investment bank Cameron and Company, which looks at the competing proposals from Singapore Airlines and Qantas.

                  Clark is unhappy that the government has been forced into a difficult situation and says using taxpayers money to help the airline is out of the question.

                  "Air New Zealand's financial issues are not of the Government's making," she says.

                  Air New Zealand flew into trouble when it paid more for Ansett Australia than it was worth. Shortly afterwards structural cracks were found in Ansett planes and the airline was grounded.

                  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/government-lobs-1bn-at-air-nz-bailout/XRN3NXRS5NI25JTDS2KJT3SLJA/

                  Its shape and terms were yet to be determined, although Dr Cullen's preference was a pro-rata rights issue for all shareholders.

                  He said the extra money was approved after a recommendation from the Government's negotiators, Cameron and Co. It was not sought by the airline.

                  By setting a share price of 27c yesterday for the second instalment of its rescue package, the Government will end up owning 82 per cent of the national carrier.

                  Singapore Airlines will own 4.5 per cent (compared with 25 per cent before the rescue deal) and Brierley Investments will own 5.5 per cent (down from 30.3 per cent).

                  selling assets under national

                  bailout by Jacinda Ardern 1.5 billion and counting.

                  selling assets under national again?

                  This is like a stupid game of musical chairs where no one seems to learn a single thing.

            • Foreign Waka 7.1.1.1.1.2

              Most supplies to NZ are shipped and do not land via plane. In some cases, where medical emergencies exists yes, but mostly not. We need the money to be pumped into i.e. our Ambulance fleet and staff. They are – for goodness sake! – running on volunteers. We have enough with some 3 times a week flight routes between cities. Reduce the air pollution and fuel getting dumped into the sea before landing.

          • Treetop 7.1.1.1.2

            Is NZ domestic air travel making a profit?

            • Sabine 7.1.1.1.2.1

              from 2016

              https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1605/S00344/air-nz-must-put-away-axe-and-revive-regional-routes.htm

              “The taxpayer propped up Air NZ when it was going belly up; now’s the time for the airline and the government to do the decent thing,” says New Zealand First Leader and Northland Member of Parliament Rt Hon Winston Peters.

              “Last year Air NZ cut a group of regional flights; the Hamilton-Auckland flights were chopped this year and now they’ve rescheduled Kerikeri’s first morning flight to Auckland for a later inconvenient time which is not acceptable.

              “The Minister of Transport has to show some moral fortitude and tell our national carrier, Air NZ, to step up to the mark.

              “Since April last year Air NZ stopped all its services to Kaitaia, Whakatane and Westport.

              “As well as this, flights between Whangarei and Wellington, Taupo and Wellington and Palmerston North to Nelson were cut. Whangarei also had its early morning flight to Auckland rescheduled from 7am to 7.55am.

              “Places like Oamaru are crying out to have their air services revived and Invercargill people would love to have cheaper fares to make it more attractive for them to fly.

              “Air NZ has a major slice of the inbound international business which is booming, so now is a good time for them to revive domestic routes.

              sometimes i miss that old codger. Winston Peters that is.

              • Treetop

                I miss Peters on some issues as well. No doubt a position could be established for Peters at Air NZ to save the airline.

                Now what would that be?

                • Sabine

                  Why would he want to do that, so that Labour has a scape goat again?

                  Nah, i hope he comes back as a mentor to youth, they could do well learning from him.

              • ghostwhowalksnz

                Why are you concerned …you said you or others cant afford to fly

                ". Whangarei also had its early morning flight to Auckland rescheduled from 7am to 7.55am."

                Calamity Jane

                • woodart

                  when I read foolish comments like NZ doesnt need a national airline,I do wonder what planet these commentors come from, obviously one that either has a national spaceline, or a planet close to a transport hub. because ,living out at the edge(of the universe,the planet, the island ,etc). you need your own transport. to expect others to have your travel interests in mind is naive. to expect quantas or singapore air to NOT downgrade trips to NZ flies in the face of reality.

                  • Kiwijoker

                    Got it in one, Woodart, just as ANZ can cancel regional services on a whim, will other airlines view Nz altruistically?

                  • Treetop

                    Were NZ to lose the control of Air NZ, planes bringing in essential goods, the run way at Ohakea in the Manawatu would be gold. As well Woodbourne near Blenheim could be used.

                    A national airline fit for purpose must remain in the control of the government.

          • Patricia Bremner 7.1.1.1.3

            The airline brings in Medications.

        • greywarshark 7.1.1.2

          Sabine There is an old song that love and marriage go together. That no longer applies. But when it comes to airlines and airports, it would not be to our advantage to have airports and just rely on foreign airlines for our air travel which will continue for a while. Though we need to start using sea travel again, perhaps cruise ships as passenger transport between countries. We have done away with most of our own shipping lines, relying on foreign vessels to come here. That makes us vulnerable to their decisions about routes and profitability. It is all part of going for the cheapest instead of working to have a robust economy based on our own productivity, employment and investment with foreigners providing benchmarks for costs and effectiveness.

  8. Incognito 8

    Great post on a great topic, thanks.

    I have a few more questions:

    • Does Government have the mandate for all of those far-reaching policy decisions?
    • Has Government and/or will it consult with all of the stakeholders?
    • Is it advantageous for New Zealand-Aotearoa that the Opposition is a shambolic shambles?
    • Is the major stakeholder (i.e. the people of New Zealand-Aotearoa) ready for and ok with all of those proposed changes and all at more or less at the same time?
    • Is the Government cynically opportunist or just politically pragmatic?
    • Should tribalism trump constructive criticism and robust debate?
    • Drowsy M. Kram 8.1
      • Is the Government cynically opportunist or just politically pragmatic?

      Or a visionary Government? Too hard for status quo beneficiaries, or just too risky?

      Mariana Mazzucato calls for a return to mission-oriented public-sector procurement and leadership in the common interest
      We need top-down direction to catalyse innovation and investment across the economy. And the Apollo era’s examples of government leadership, bold public-interest contracts, and public-sector dynamism offer a valuable template. Unless we use it, building back better will never be more than a slogan.

    • Stuart Munro 8.2
      • Is it advantageous for New Zealand-Aotearoa that the Opposition is a shambolic shambles?

      I think that, until they get to the point of developing coherent policy positions based in public interest, it is. Carping, ill-natured, inconsistent and hypocritical criticism contributes little of value – better they do it badly. Anything real is noted, but the rest doesn't get them anywhere.

    • Ad 8.3
      1. 1. See manifesto of 2017
      1. Yes. Ad infinitum.
      2. Yes
      3. Yes. Opinion polls say majority afore them.
      4. Neither. Visionary and exceedingly interventionist.
      5. No.

      Next.

      • Incognito 8.3.1

        Thanks Ad. My questions were not directed to you necessarily – if they were, I would have made that clear – but to stimulate more general debate here, which will hopefully be a prelude and feed into a much wider and deeper public debate.

        1. See manifesto of 2017 – Nothing in there or in the 2020-Election Campaign about abolishment of DHBs, which will require major new legislation. So, no mandate 🙁
        2. Yes. Ad infinitum. – No consultation on the Simpson Report, which was over-ruled anyway. Will be interesting to see what level of public consultation and scrutiny the Health reforms will enjoy. My guess is that EY will be the main ‘consultant’ and the public will be taken for granted, as usual.
        3. Yes – 😀
        4. Yes. Opinion polls say majority afore them. – I haven’t seen any polls on the Health reforms but feedback appears to be predominantly positive. The feel-good factor is high with his one but, of course, there is little detail, as usual, just lovely rhetoric, so far. I’d suggest that at present Kiwis are suffering from change fatigue and simply can’t be bothered with all the stuff that is erupting from Government. Kiwis don’t have the emotional and intellectual ‘bandwidth’ to deal with so many big changes all at the same time while battling the fallout of Covid-19.
        5. Neither. Visionary and exceedingly interventionist. – Visionary sounds great and even better if you can take the people with you. If the sheople follow blindly, without informed consent, it becomes a Stalinist exercise. At this stage, I’d call it cynical pragmatism.
        6. No. – Please, somebody tell National 😀
  9. mosa 9

    Dear Jacinda Adern

    Work place relations is a front for those in this " let the market decide " model of economics and well intentioned but do nothing neo liberal governments like the current Social Democrat administration.

    Implementing some important changes highlighted in this link that would make a real difference and signal a move away from the repression of the ECA passed in May of 1991 and its subsequent amendments with the ERA in the year 2000.

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2021/04/23/dear-jacinda-ardern-end-workplace-exploitation-and-abuse-now/

    • RedBaronCV 9.1

      Yep – nothing on re-empowering the paid workforce too negotiate on it's own behalf.

  10. Pat 10

    “I have asked the review panel to consider what local government does, how it does it, and how it pays for it. From there, they will explore what local government’s future looks like, including:

    • roles, functions and partnerships
    • representation and governance
    • funding and financing.

    “I am expecting them to report back to me on their findings in April 2023,” Nanaia Mahuta says."

    https://www.interest.co.nz/node/110086

    • Sabine 10.1

      hahahahahahahahah

      how long has she been part of government?

      hahahahahahahaha

      • greywarshark 10.1.1

        Don't ridicule too soon Sabine. Ms Mahuta is making some thoughtful moves and give her some time, she may surprise you.

        • Sabine 10.1.1.1

          i have the higest respect for Ms. Mahuta, she is probably atm my favorite out of the lot. I would vote f or her.

          But three years to figure out how local government works for someone who spend all her times in politics is a bit of a cop out considering that we have elections in that time.

          So yeah, that gave me a giggle. But then consultants and the likes need to be paid. Ms. Mahuta knows full well how local and regional government works. Greasing all hands and charging it to the tax payer and rate payer.

          • Incognito 10.1.1.1.1

            i have the higest respect for Ms. Mahuta, she is probably atm my favorite out of the lot. I would vote f or her.

            Nah, you wouldn’t; they’re all the same, Labour & National and all of their MPs, peas in a pod, as you keep telling us, ad nauseam. Keep it simple, keep it negative, don’t waver. \sarc

            But three years to figure out how local government works for someone who spend all her times in politics is a bit of a cop out considering that we have elections in that time.

            Ms. Mahuta knows full well how local and regional government works.

            Do you overcharge your customers? April 2023 is two, not three years!?

            You obviously also have problems with reading comprehension. Did you overlook this part in the quoted text @ 10?

            From there, they will explore what local government’s future looks like, including: …

            You obviously didn’t do your homework either and didn’t read the link @ 10. From that link:

            Announcing the review today Nanaia Mahuta says it will focus on how our system of local democracy needs to evolve over the next 30 years.

            Oh dear, oh dear, this is not a laughing matter, but wilful ignorance and incompetence in full sight 🙁

      • Incognito 10.1.2

        Mahuta joined the Labour Party at the request of retiring Western Maori MP Koro Wētere and after hearing Helen Clark speak in Auckland.[6] She contested Te Tai Hauāuru (the replacement seat for Western Maori) in the 1996 elections but lost to New Zealand First's Tuku Morgan. However, with a list ranking of 8, Mahuta was elected as one of the first New Zealand list MPs. Mahuta was aged 26 years and 52 days when she was elected (twelve days younger than Deborah Morris) and was the youngest member of the New Zealand House of Representatives until the election of Darren Hughes in 2002.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanaia_Mahuta

        A formidable woman and a future PM, IMO, as I’ve suggested before here on TS. I hope this will not elicit more hysterical laughter from you 🙁

        • Sabine 10.1.2.1

          hahahahahahahahahahahah

          good grief, i know the women. that is why i laughed, please see my comment above and do grow some laughing bone somewhere.

    • Foreign Waka 10.2

      Yep, that says it all. We now have a review panel (how many and who are they – I want to know as my tax dollar pays for it) that will explain to us what the Local Governments act says. Great, did I mention snout in the trough?

      https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0084/latest/DLM174258.html

      • Pat 10.2.1

        Chair

        • Jim Palmer, recently retired as the Chief Executive of the Waimakariri District Council. Mr Palmer has leadership roles in the Greater Christchurch Partnership and the Canterbury Interim Regional Skills Leadership Group. Mr Palmer has had a wide range of prior governance experience on various groups including Co-chair of Canterbury Covid Recovery Oversight Group and Chair of the Canterbury Chief Executives Forum.

        Panel members

        • John Ombler, QSO, has been a senior public servant who has held a wide range of leadership roles, most recently as Deputy State Services Commissioner, Controller of the All-of-Government COVID-19 response and Deputy Chief Executive of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. He was also the Acting CEO of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (2014 to 2016), and held General Manager and Conservator roles at the Department of Conservation (1989-2007).

        • Antoine Coffin, a director/consultant at Te Onewa Consultants, which works with private and public sector clients in strategic planning, RMA decision-making, infrastructure and building relationships with tangata whenua. Mr Coffin has 25 years’ experience in Māori resource management, cultural heritage planning, community engagement and facilitation, and has worked across multiple sectors in regional and local government, corporate organisations and museums.

        • Gael Surgenor, General Manager of Community and Social Innovation at Auckland Council (including leading the Southern Initiative, a place-based approach to wellbeing) and a member of the South Auckland Social Wellbeing Board and Chair of the Auckland Co-Design Lab Governance Group Collaboration of Auckland Council and ten government agencies.

        • Penny Hulse, currently a board member of Kainga Ora, Auckland Museum and Aktive (regional sport body), as well as a trustee of the Community Waitakere Trust. Ms Hulse was the Deputy Mayor of Auckland Council (2010 to 2016) and retired as a Councillor in 2019 after a 27-year period in roles for Waitakere City Council and Auckland Council.

        • Foreign waka 10.2.1.1

          Thank you very much, it gives me a bit more confidence looking at the team.

          Still, why has this not been published and with it the cost to the taxpayer searching for answers to potentially redesign the Local Governments act?

          • woodart 10.2.1.1.1

            the list of people on committee has been published. took me two minutes to find it. you could have done the same ,instead of expecting others to do your work. less moaning about others lack of work and more of your own maybe?

            • Incognito 10.2.1.1.1.1

              heartyes

            • Foreign waka 10.2.1.1.1.2

              Really? You know how much I work? You have absolutely no idea. Making assumptions and being a bully does not qualify. Ah yes, deflection on how much this will cost the taxpayer. We still live in a democracy, I just asked another question. Dear or dear.

              • Incognito

                Before you start accusing others here of being a bully, you might want to re-read the comments @ 10 and 10.2.1.1.1, and before you jump to your incorrect conclusions; do you have a problem with reading plain English?

                In addition, if you had read the link in the comment @ 10, you would have seen the whole list of committee members and more. It could have saved others here doing the donkeywork for you because you’re either too lazy or too incompetent to do the work yourself.

                As to the cost to the Taxpayer, if you read things before you ask your lazy questions, you would realise that this is impossible to answer at this time because the findings of the committee will be reported back to the Minister, Nanaia Mahuta, in April 2023, as was quoted verbatim @ 10.

                Dear oh dear 🙁

                • Sabine

                  Not everyone speaks English perfectly, even those for whom it is the first language.

                  The list of people involved is nice and interesing and nothing more.

                  Yes, people should have a right to know what something costs that is involving a whole heep of people who chances are would like to get paid or will get paid nice sums for their involvement.

                  If i were to ask you to do something for me you would not only tell me when you expect that project to be finished – in this case 2023, you would not only tell me who will be involved in making in it happen – see comment at @10 but you would also have to tell me what you want me to pay you for that project and the people involved in it. If you were to tell me that this can only be divulged once you consider the project to be done, i would drop you as a project manager and find someone who seems to be a bit more on the transparent side – specifically when it involves the spending of money t hat is provided for by the working public to he treasury via their tax contributions. Or is that an inconvenient truth, that we – the people – pay for all these shenanigans.

                  But this 'can you speak English properly" crap should stop. Just saying, it comes across as a bit of elitists and frankly seems unbecoming of you.

                  Disclaimer: i voted for Nanaia Mahuta as the leader of the Labour Party many years ago (2014), and currently she is about the only member of the Party that i have some respect for.

                  Also. all errors, grammar, spelling, punctuation are mine as English is neither my first nor my second language.

                  • Incognito

                    I’m on record here that once upon a time, English was my third language. Now, it’s my second one. Nobody is expecting perfection; that’s a strawman. However, when you want to engage in debate here, it pays to read the comments properly, especially before you start attacking others here.

                    You should also click on the handy links provided in comments, because they’re part of what the commenter wishes to convey and provide support for their opinion/comment; sometimes they’re all the commenter conveys. Specifically, in addition to the list of members of the review committee, there’s also a handy link to The Terms of Reference. Demanding to know how much the review is going to cost, all up, is also open-ended, IMO, because the ToF include “initial scoping work”, and another strawman although there might be an initial budget allocated for it. Only the Taxpayers’ Onion would ‘do’ something with that info and label it “shenanigans”, which would enrich their limited vocabulary beyond their wildest imagination (which is rather limited, anyway).

                    Lazy and incompetent commenters who don’t read comments, don’t want to do any research themselves, and who have a go at others here do waste our collective time. They never self-correct and/or self-moderate, never apologise, but they dig in, double down, and whine a lot. That crap should stop!

  11. RedBaronCV 11

    Nothing on any immigration, temporary visa or tourist reset. Judging by the events of the last week that has all gone back to BAU.

    Temp work visas being issued to eligible parties if they happen to be in Aus, temp worker visa's of over a year(oxymoron if ever there was one) able to bring in family members (raising false hopes), no resets for tourism numbers or for the climate impacts.

    Both these couldn't make it clearer that Labour just doesn't care about local unemployed, or local homeless – just going to stick a few more stresses on the system. New ways of organising the labour market despite some communities working on this, the climate and social costs of tourism borne by communities – yeah nah they just don't care or won't take action.

    And I'd say that there is less than zero chance of sorting out the rip off markets of companies in the electricity and telecomms market.

    Further inroads into people’s privacy and no will to stop it. Police facial recognition not being stopped. Photo’s of kids taken without any reason.

    Honestly there are times when I feel like shouting "just do something " for the people who vote for you. I’m over being patient. Maybe voting for some pack of weirds might get more attention.

  12. Incognito 12

    While we’re buried under an avalanche of major policy changes imposed by Government and battling a pandemic, transparency and accountability have been put on the back burner.

    The promised review of the Official Information Act (OIA) is one of eight projects deferred by an overloaded Ministry of Justice policy team, documents show.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/124553308/official-information-act-review-deferred-because-of-justice-ministry-policy-work-overload

    The NZ Media are also fighting for survival and relevance, good reporting has been decimated over the years, and by recent lay-offs; the Fourth Estate is a shambolic bunch of nepotists and backslappers with their own ‘patches’ and paraphernalia.

    A perfect storm is brewing …

  13. Anne 13

    …the Fourth Estate is a shambolic bunch of nepotists and backslappers with their own ‘patches’ and paraphernalia.

    Spot on. And guess who is Mr Big? He even looks the part. devil

  14. UncookedSelachimorpha 14

    Wealth inequality ignored

    Poverty ignored

    I'm not so interested in the other stuff.

    • Patricia Bremner 14.1

      The emphasis on Education, Health, Public Policy pleases me.
      They are not “Leaving it to the Market”

      Those who are sour and anti remain so., no surprise there.
      Thanks for this thought provoking post Ad.

  15. RosieLee 15

    Go the bus drivers. And message – join your union. Needed now more than ever.

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    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. ...
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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 ...
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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 ...
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    4 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 ...
    5 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 ...
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 days 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 ...
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    7 days 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
  • Under New Management
    1. 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. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 days 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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

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