Trump Chicago rally cancelled amid protests

Written By: - Date published: 2:56 pm, March 12th, 2016 - 62 comments
Categories: us politics - Tags: ,

Seems like not everyone in America is going to roll over for Trump:

Trump rally in Chicago abruptly postponed over safety concerns

A Donald Trump rally in Chicago was postponed at the last minute on Friday, on the advice of law enforcement authorities over “safety concerns” as anti-Trump protesters met supporters of the billionaire in an unruly crowd.

Trump subsequently took to the airwaves to tell his side of the story, telling MSNBC: “It’s sad when you can’t have a rally. Whatever happened to freedom of speech?” …

The aftermath is still unfolding, check out The Guardian’s live blog.

62 comments on “Trump Chicago rally cancelled amid protests ”

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  1. joe90 1
    12 March 2016 at 5:27 pm

    The linked Guardian article –

    After the postponement was announced, a Trump campaign statement said: “Mr Trump just arrived in Chicago and after meeting with law enforcement has determined that for the safety of all of the tens of thousands of people that have gathered in and around the arena, tonight’s rally will be postponed to another date.

    Oh look, Trump lied, again.

    9:25 p.m.

    A spokesman for the Chicago Police Department says the agency never recommended that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cancel his campaign rally in the city.

    CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tells The Associated Press that the department never told the Trump campaign there was a security threat at the University of Illinois at Chicago venue. He said the department had sufficient manpower on the scene to handle any situation.

    Guglielmi says the university’s police department also did not recommend that Trump call off the event. He says the decision was made “independently” by the campaign.

    Trump cancelled the rally in Chicago due to what organizers said were safety concerns after protesters packed into the arena where it was to take place.

    Trump afterward told MSNBC in a telephone interview that he canceled the event because he didn’t “want to see people hurt or worse.” He said he thinks he “did the right thing.”

    Guglielmi says Trump never arrived at the Chicago venue.

    http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3cdda4be66f74874adaaa31ba49488e1/latest-trump-says-generals-will-play-their-own-game

    • alwyn 1.1
      12 March 2016 at 7:02 pm

      “Trump lied”.
      What is the “lie” you are talking about.
      The piece you quote says merely that Trump met with law enforcement people and that he decided to postpone the rally. It doesn’t claim that the Police recommended it.
      It is only the Guardian that says he cancelled on the advice of the Police. Trump can hardly be blamed by a false statement by a newspaper that dislikes him.
      Is there something else you are talking about because there is nothing here to justify your claim.

  2. Chooky 2
    12 March 2016 at 5:40 pm

    ‘Chicago Trump rally cancelled amid protests, chaos’

    https://www.rt.com/usa/335316-trump-rally-cancel-violence/

    …whoever cancelled it made a wise decision

    • OneTrack 2.1
      12 March 2016 at 6:36 pm

      Yeah, who knows what some twisted totalitarian leftist is likely to do when somebody says something they don’t approve of. Anything for the cause, Komrade, anything for the cause.

  4. Pasupial 4
    12 March 2016 at 6:01 pm

    “Whatever happened to freedom of speech?”… You’re looking at it.

    There is a long history of violence at Trump events. In the past week alone, an attack on a non-violent protester led to criminal charges against a Trump supporter and Michelle Fields, a reporter for conservative website Breitbart News, was allegedly assaulted by Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager.

    Trump has played a role in encouraging this culture of violence. When the Republican frontrunner appeared in St. Louis earlier on Friday, an event that featured more than 30 arrests, he complained “part of the problem and part of the reason it takes so long [to kick protesters out] is nobody wants to hurt each other anymore.” Trump added “There used to be consequences. There are none anymore. These people are so bad for our country. You have no idea folks, you have no idea.”

    Consequences: Freedom to speak implies; freedom to respond, not; compulsion to listen.

    • OneTrack 4.1
      12 March 2016 at 6:49 pm

      I know you lefties aren’t good at freedom of speech, but the freedom to respond means to respond with an alternative argument ie more speech, not a licence to cause mayhem trying to stop somebody saying something you don’t like. Just sayin.

      • Craig H 4.1.1
        12 March 2016 at 6:57 pm

        Freedom of assembly is also an important right.

      • Gangnam Style 4.1.2
        12 March 2016 at 7:49 pm

        Shit stirrer.

      • Ben 4.1.3
        12 March 2016 at 7:59 pm

        So throwing dildos and brown muck is not OK when you lack the intelligence to come up with a coherent arguement then?

        • weka 4.1.3.1
          12 March 2016 at 8:34 pm

          Throwing dildos and brown muck IS a coherent argument when you are talking to protofacists.

          • alwyn 4.1.3.1.1
            12 March 2016 at 9:33 pm

            You are crazy.
            Joyce and Brownlee protofacists?
            Absolutely crazy.

            • AB 4.1.3.1.1.1
              12 March 2016 at 10:10 pm

              If you take fascism to be a seamless alignment of state and corporate power and ‘proto’ to mean early (or very early), then he is not crazy at all. Certainly a lot less crazy than Key calling Working For Families “communism by stealth”.
              Notice he is not suggesting that it will inevitably move beyond ‘proto’. Nor is he suggesting that any of the surface trappings of early 20th century fascism such as mass rallies and strutting about in uniforms are present,(Though Brownlee might fancy the strutting bit).

              Think before you impugn the mental health of others.

            • weka 4.1.3.1.1.2
              12 March 2016 at 10:49 pm

              It was a throwaway line in reponse to OneTrack above who was making stupid generalisations. But it’s also true at a less hyperbolic level as AB points out.

            • adam 4.1.3.1.1.3
              13 March 2016 at 10:06 am

              A play on words, and of course in this case a humorous response from weka, is not an opportunity to personally attack.

              If you had any civility, you would have responded in kind. But, as we see from you all to often, it’s abuse. An instant attack of a women for for being nuts, for expressing an opinion.

              I for one am sick of this type of response, have a look in the mirror and ask your self why you are such a misogynist.

              • alwyn …
                13 March 2016 at 10:17 am

                Yes dear.
                Calling someone a fascist, or even a protofacist is not a humorous response to anyone.
                My views don’t depend in any way on whether someone is male or female. If they make sense I applaud. If they are silly I say so. Perhaps you should try it.
                By the way. I know of no rule that requires you to read anything I say. Why bother if it upsets you so much?

                • adam …
                  13 March 2016 at 10:27 am

                  Poor alwyn, not happy to be called out

                  Demeaning is cool for you – no point in forming an argument when you can just abuse a women ah?

                  Silly billy me, for thinking you could act like an adult.

                • Pasupial …
                  13 March 2016 at 12:02 pm

                  Just Fuck Off with that Shit Alwyn!

                  If you reply to someone’s comment, then yes; your comment will be read and probably responded to by that person (at least if they’ve got time, I don’t always manage it myself). Saying; “I know of no rule that requires you to read anything I say”, is like claiming that when you phone someone to shout abuse down the line at them, they have no need to listen to you. By the time they realize that your words are empty noise, your bile has already coated them.

                  • weka …
                    13 March 2016 at 12:31 pm

                    Let’s also note that I told him what I meant by the comment and he hasn’t replied to that. Because he’s not interested in what people mean, he just wants to be nasty to people he disagrees with politically. Can’t even be honest about it and tries to make out he’s just naming someone’s silly beliefs.

                    I just watched some video analysis of Trump that included quite a few clips of Trump’s nastiness. I though, that sounds like alwyn. The same slurring of the person in demeaning ways and pretending that its politics. It’s not.

                    The reason people are so alarmed by Trump isn’t his politics, it’s that he is deliberately inciting hatred. I don’t know what alwyn’s motivations are, but there is a similar kind of I would hurt you if I could. Trump is scarey because he has a huge amount of power and is actively wielding it to harm people. We’re relatively safe from alwyn but he reminds of the occassional person I’ve known who I wouldn’t trust if I lived in a state with no law and order. They have no inherent morals.

                    • alwyn …
                      13 March 2016 at 11:44 pm

                      @weka
                      I suppose I should simply say that, although you occasionally say something sensible, many of your comments can only be regarded as something that is expressed by a bird-brain.
                      I wonder if Adam would regard this as merely a play on words and a humorous comment? He seems to have a very low standard with respect to foolish statements by his friends.

                  • alwyn …
                    13 March 2016 at 1:06 pm

                    “If you reply to someone’s comment”.
                    That, as written is quite sensible. However if I reply to a comment by someone called “weka” it doesn’t require that “adam” needs to read it, does it?.
                    Unless they were the same person of course.
                    As for weka’s “It was just a throwaway line”.
                    I don’t regard calling anyone a facist, unless they are Mussolini or Hitler and their cohorts as being in any way humorous. Brownlee and Joyce aren’t and shouldn’t be described as such.

                    • adam …
                      13 March 2016 at 8:51 pm

                      Fascism is not just a historical occurrence.

                      Are you really that ignorant alwyn?

                      Do you understand what the definition of fascism is in a political sense?

                      Do you know the differences between ideologies?

                    • alwyn …
                      13 March 2016 at 11:36 pm

                      Yes you stupid idiot, I do no what I am talking about.
                      You clearly don’t have the faintest idea.
                      There is no conceivable way in which Joyce or Brownlee can be classed as a facist..
                      Now piss off you imbecile.

      • adam 4.1.4
        13 March 2016 at 10:18 am

        OneTrack knows no history, and it shows. Read a book, look at the past, have an well rounded opinion formed from expanding your mind. You might just learn what you said is utter dribble.

        May I point out Emma Goldman, and her campaign for women’s control of their own reproduction.

        Mother Jones, and her campaigns with miners.

        The whole anti-war movement – is engaged in free speech.

        Free speech means I get to say what you don’t like. Like your hate speech will destroy society. That if you say racist and demeaning things, I get to say you are a low life. And If what you says provokes violence and mayhem – then I get to call you on it.

        So OneTrack you have displayed you are an ignorant fool. Which is your right under the freedom of speech. I’m just using my freedom to encourage you to put your brain into gear a bit more, or failing that, let me offer you a napkin.

        • Colonial Viper 4.1.4.1
          13 March 2016 at 10:27 am

          The people who attacked the Trump event are not some modern day equivalent of Emma Goldman or Mother Jones.

          Attacking Trump supports the GOP establishment and the leadership prospects of that extreme Tea Partier known as Cruz.

          • adam 4.1.4.1.1
            13 March 2016 at 10:35 am

            In context I was pointing out the left have a longer history on freespeech.

            And If the GOP put up Cruz they are toast.

            Their own supporter base won’t vote in the general election. Look at the polls. Their own internal polling shows it.

            the average republican is a supporter of social security, and many basic provisions like Medicaid.

            Cruz, is a lame duck.

            • Pasupial 4.1.4.1.1.1
              13 March 2016 at 11:28 am

              This is an interesting piece from one of the protestors inside the building (without their words being refracted through the prism of the MSM):

              1. I am safe.

              2. Trump’s supporters are racist, nativist, bigoted thugs. Some of them are just profoundly ignorant and contrarian malcontents. Others are more dangerous.

              3. Don’t believe the Fox News lie. Almost all of the “fights” were started by Trump supporters. I was pretty close to several of them.

              4. There are lots of very angry and racially resentful white conservatives in this country. I know this to be true as an empirical fact. Seeing it first hand and listening to them behind me in line is another matter.

              5. The Chicago police exercised great restraint. They were professionals.

              6. Black conservative shuck and buck artists are everywhere. Several of them tried to earn points for their white masters by fighting Black Lives Matter and other protesters.

              7. I can be hard on America’s young people. Based on what I saw with the black, brown, white, yellow, and red brothers and sisters at the Chicago rally I think we may somehow be okay.

              8. When it was announced that the Trump rally was canceled some of his supporters looked like they were going to cry. Santa Claus ain’t coming to their house this year.

              9. I am unsure if Donald Trump ever intended to show up. He is a manager of optics and he may have just wanted to try to gain sympathy and win over more of the Reagan Democrats “law and order” types.

              10. There was lots of hippie-punching rhetoric and behavior to be had at the Chicago Trump rally.

              http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/3/12/1500117/-My-Experience-at-Donald-Trump-s-No-Show-Rally-In-Chicago-With-Video

              I mainly go to Daily Kos for the comics; Tom Tomorrow, K Chronicles etc. But it’s been fascinating reading while the candidate campaign has been going on. Another piece there quotes this Mario Savio speech:

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJKbDz4EZio

              Trump rallies are modern day cross burnings. They are modern day Nuremberg rallies. Seeing these young people going right into the belly of the beast has made me feel something in my middle-aged gut. These young people, they’re right. They’re amazing. They are taking the blows for the rest of us. I’m glad to see young liberals are joining them. I have tremendous respect for what they are doing. They are showing amazing courage and idealism. I couldn’t imagine attending any political rally for any reason, much less a Trump rally. Even to peacefully protest it.

              http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/03/12/1499600/-They-are-throwing-their-bodies-on-the-gears

          • weka 4.1.4.1.2
            13 March 2016 at 12:34 pm

            “Attacking Trump supports the GOP establishment and the leadership prospects of that extreme Tea Partier known as Cruz.”

            I suspect that some of the protestors don’t actually care about that as much as they care about the incitement of hatred that is going on that already directly affects them.

  5. Colonial Viper 5
    12 March 2016 at 7:27 pm

    Wouldn’t be surprised if the Republican establishment helped set up this protest action against Trump. There will be more dirty tricks against him to come.

  6. millsy 6
    12 March 2016 at 8:00 pm

    Trump is a godsend to the GOP — they can portray him as an extremist and make themselves more moderate when they are nothing of the sort.

    Us lefties can pat ourselves on the backs for keeping Trump out of power, then President Cruz can then sell off the Post Office, Amtrak and the TVA, launch a progrom against homosexuals in the teaching profession and the public service, ban any mention of evolution whatsoever and launch a constitutional amendment banning abortion.

    Cool.

    • Andre 6.1
      12 March 2016 at 8:27 pm

      Well yes, that was the plan for Rubio. To make it happen the Republican establishment were falling all over themselves telling everybody what a nasty oily PoS Cruz was too. Gonna be interesting watching them walk that back.

  7. joe90 7
    12 March 2016 at 9:02 pm

    Rachel Maddow on violence at Trump rallies.

    (my bold)

    This is a classic strong man political tactic that we are used to seeing in other countries but not our own. Certainly not in the last 50 years or so, in which political events are generated to bring violence at the edges into the center. So that violence at these events, which may start organically, is in effect spot lit and encouraged to the point where it becomes something that is legitimately out of control of anyone. And then the spectacle of political violence is itself seen as something that is a problem that needs to be solved by this strongman character who incited the initial event in the first place.

    It’s political science in way. It’s not something that we’re used to seeing in American politics. But trying to gin up political violence for its electoral utility is inarguably what we are seeing here. I know the Trump campaign will not say that is what they’re doing. But when you look at the way that Mr. Trump has been talking about the organic existence of both protesters against him and violence toward those protesters at his event, when you look at the way that he has encouraged it in an escalating way leading to this inevitable event tonight in Chicago, I think that it is impossible to say that this is an accident.

    http://mediamatters.org/video/2016/03/11/rachel-maddow-it-is-impossible-to-call-violence/209204

    • emergency mike 7.1
      13 March 2016 at 2:58 am

      Nailed it. Such a sickening sense of deja vu from all this.

    • miravox 7.2
      13 March 2016 at 6:34 am

      “So that violence at these events, which may start organically”,

      The thing is – it doesn’t start organically. It’s sitting in people’s heads waiting for someone to say it’s ok to release it.

      Cruz and Rubio are very scary because you know exactly were they stand – and they stand at the worst end of Drumpf’s rhetoric. But they express it differently, which is why they don’t have the similar violence at their rallies (imo).

      He doesn’t approve after the fact, Drumpf gives permission for people to act out on that they already have festering in their heads.

      It’s leadership that allows this to be expressed openly. This is leadership of the worst kind.

      We’ve seen it happen in less violent forms all around the world when the dog whistlers strike a chord.

  8. Steve Wrathall 8
    12 March 2016 at 9:29 pm

    Indulging in brownshirt tactics and showing they are opposed to free speech. These numpties are playing right into Trump’s hands.

    • joe90 8.1
      12 March 2016 at 9:36 pm

      Of course they did, Stevie.

      A message from UIC Police Chief Kevin Booker:

      The University of Illinois at Chicago worked with all appropriate agencies to address the security concerns associated with an event of this nature including the Secret Service, Chicago Police Department and Illinois State Police as well as campaign and protest organizers.

      The vast majority of attendees at today’s events exercised their Constitutional rights of free speech and free assembly peacefully.

      The abrupt announcement of the cancellation of the event created challenges in managing an orderly exit from the Pavilion, which nonetheless, was accomplished with no injuries or arrests.

      https://www.facebook.com/uic.edu/?fref=ts

    • emergency mike 8.2
      13 March 2016 at 3:11 am

      How about the people who repeat Trump’s spin lines on blogs? Are they playing into Trumps’s hands Steve?

      • North 8.2.1
        13 March 2016 at 11:22 am

        Brilliant how seamlessly Wrathall (ACT) aligns with Trump. Pathological though. Like we always suspected re ACT.

  9. Psycho Milt 9
    13 March 2016 at 6:36 am

    Going out to fight your political opponents in the streets isn’t standing up for democracy, it’s just getting into fights in the street. Nett result is most likely extra votes for a politician perceived as a strong man who’ll put a stop to that sort of carry-on. In this contest, that’s Trump. These idiots would have been better off staying home.

    • miravox 9.1
      13 March 2016 at 7:40 am

      ” Nett result is most likely extra votes for a politician perceived as a strong man “

      Sometimes it works out that way, sometimes it doesn’t. Immediate thought is the anti-apartheid demos in NZ. The news at the time was vile, but in the end the people who didn’t like disruption could see the hardliners had got out of hand. Short story is that wasn’t good for the political establishment’s longevity.

      • Pasupial 9.1.1
        13 March 2016 at 11:54 am

        Psychomilt
        I see your and Joe90’s (quoting Rachael Maddow at comment 7 above) point about this conflict being engineered to serve Trump’s purposes. But there is no evidence (beyond the serial liar Trump’s word) that the protesters were there to; “[go] out to fight your political opponents in the streets”. Perhaps the protesters should have exercised Ghandi-esque passive resistance when confronted by the violence from Trump’s goons, but they didn’t seem to have the practice or discipline (yet).

        It is very easy to take a detached perspective from the other side of the world and talk about ideal actions. On the ground, if you were in Chicago and thought that; “Trump rallies are modern day cross burnings. They are modern day Nuremberg rallies”, then you might be driven to action no matter how flawed:

        There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part! You can’t even passively take part! And you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels…upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop! And you’ve got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!

        http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/03/12/1499600/-They-are-throwing-their-bodies-on-the-gears

  10. ropata 10
    13 March 2016 at 11:34 am

    Trump is scaring the shit out of a lot of people, and enjoying it. The colossal fool is lighting a fire that he won’t be able to control.

    Violence and vulgarity: Admit it. You saw those two words in the title and knew this post was going to be about… https://t.co/ha167VmVJw— PZ Myers (@pzmyers) March 12, 2016

    • weka 10.1
      13 March 2016 at 1:12 pm

      I’m guessing he doesn’t care.

    • Colonial Viper 10.2
      13 March 2016 at 1:18 pm

      Just remember that this is a world that the Lefty liberals and the warmongering corporate loving Democrats have also played their part in creating.

      Where Trump has access to a massive undercurrent of anger and cultural alienation consisting of millions of Americans who have been ignored and left behind by the power elite.

      • weka 10.2.1
        13 March 2016 at 1:21 pm

        Where do you fit into that CV?

        • Colonial Viper 10.2.1.1
          13 March 2016 at 1:32 pm

          Just a nobody commentator on the other side of the world from the US. Where do you fit into it, weka?

          • weka 10.2.1.1.1
            13 March 2016 at 2:03 pm

            I think you are using false binaries in your analysis in an attempt to undermine the left. You also have a more grounded and nuanced analysis of class, but I haven’t heard it in a while, or it’s getting drowned out by the divide and damn sloganeering.

            As for where I stand, let’s just say that unlike some Labour critics I’ve never voted Labour.

            (edited)

            • Colonial Viper 10.2.1.1.1.1
              13 March 2016 at 2:15 pm

              Stating that the Left is stuck in the 19th/20th century, and that the establishment Left is now an integral part of the power elite, is hardly undermining it.

              It’s just pointing out the obvious.

              Plenty of Sanders and Trump supporters get it, for instance.

              • Chooky …
                13 March 2016 at 2:42 pm

                +100 CV

                The fact that Trump is hated by the Republican establishment and he is anti TPPA should give one pause for thought… and imo means he deserves some consideration, despite his other drawbacks

                “Donald Trump said today he would not ratify the TPPA if he become President later this year, as he said (quote) “12 countries are lining up to destroy themselves signing TPPA ” according to RNZ this morning.
                We don’t like Trump but he is right there on TPPA.”

                – See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/03/12/what-bernie-sanders-and-donald-trump-have-in-common/#sthash.I2fy5e3C.dpuf

                Trump is also against what USA has been doing in the Middle East

                ‘World would be a better place with Saddam, Gaddafi still in power – Trump’

                https://www.rt.com/usa/319681-trump-saddam-gaddafi-better/

                • Kiwiri …
                  13 March 2016 at 2:51 pm

                  Sanders has also just said he won’t send TPP to Congress and will fight any effort to pass TPP:

                  http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/03/12/sanders-accepts-challenge-kill-tpp-if-elected-nothing-clinton-so-far

                  • TheBlackKitten …
                    13 March 2016 at 3:48 pm

                    Sanders is also the only other candidate to touch on the subject of China and how the states is losing jobs because they can’t compete with the slave labour rates of China. He does not talk about it very much but he is the only other one apart from Trump to actually speak about it. All the rest just ignore it and yet it’s not only a huge issue for the states but for the whole western world that are loosing millions of jobs because of countries that will work their people in similar conditions to those of Victorian England.
                    Isn’t it funny that the only candidates that speak of China are the only two with no backing from the rich corporations?

                • Colonial Viper …
                  13 March 2016 at 2:52 pm

                  Thanks for the updates, Chooky and Kiwiri.

              • weka …
                13 March 2016 at 2:57 pm

                It’s how you are saying it and that you don’t say anything else that’s the problem. The false binary plays into the hands of people like Trump.

                I’m not sure if I would believe you if you are saying you don’t want to undermine the left.

                • ropata …
                  13 March 2016 at 4:35 pm

                  Does that mean we should all support Hillary? Vomit.

                  Honestly, she’s probably just as bad as Trump, at least he hasn’t actually committed any war crimes (yet)

                  • weka …
                    13 March 2016 at 5:25 pm

                    I don’t buy the war crimes argument. The guy is trying to incite a civil war at home. Probably better for the world than fucking over another country, but he’s not less damaging, his targets are just different.

  11. TheBlackKitten 11
    13 March 2016 at 3:33 pm

    Sorry, but I am suspicious, although to many people Trump may be a racist insane bigot you do have to wonder why the rich in the states hate him so much and don’t want him to be the nominee. I can guarantee that their motives will be to do more with money than the safety of people or worrying that the republicans will loose to Hilliary with Trump.
    I think they are shit scared because he is going to do something about China and its about to cost the corporations billions which by the way, I think would be a good thing. Anyone here who disputes that then must support the slave labour laws that the Chinese force on their peasents that makes their economy so powerful and steals the jobs from ours. Trump has a lot of faults but his views on China are not one of them.
    I am suspicious of these sudden attacks at his rallies as they were not occurring four weeks ago. Don’t put it past the corporations to set this up by winding people up with Trumps racists slogans and the fact that he is doing so well in the primaries. I think people need to think further about Trump and ask themselves why is it that the 1 percent rich in America are starting to panic about his popularity. I bet my bottom dollar it has something to do with all the billions they will loose if they loose their acces to the chap slave labour of China.

  12. Terry Milovich 12
    16 March 2016 at 1:30 am

    I just wonder who the first one to throw the stone. I mean, the supporters of Trump’s ideas can sometimes lose their temper very quickly but it might have been the opposition’s fault as well. It must have been really tough there though, since safety concerns usually means something big

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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    16 hours ago

  • Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
     Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    16 hours ago

  • Business confidence sliding into winter of discontent
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    18 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the coalition’s awful, not good, very bad poll results
    Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    19 hours ago

  • New HOP readers for future payment options
    Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    20 hours ago

  • 2024 Reading Summary: April (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 day ago

  • At a glance – Clearing up misconceptions regarding 'hide the decline'
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Road photos
    Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
    The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    1 day ago

  • NZDF is still hostile to oversight
    Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago

  • Winding Back The Hands Of History’s Clock.
    Holding On To The Present: The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 day ago

  • Sweet Moderation? What Christopher Luxon Could Learn From The Germans.
    Stuck In The Middle With You: As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • A clear warning
    The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Poll results and Waitangi Tribunal report go unmentioned on the Beehive website – where racing tru...
    Buzz  from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example.  This shows National down ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Listening To The Traffic.
    It Takes A Train To Cry: Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Comity Be Damned! The State’s Legislative Arm Is Flexing Its Constitutional Muscles.
    Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Ending The Quest.
    Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Will political polarisation intensify to the point where ‘normal’ government becomes impossible,...
    Chris Trotter writes –  New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Tuesday, April 30
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:30am on Tuesday, May 30:Scoop: NZ 'close to the tipping point' of measles epidemic, health experts warn NZ Herald Benjamin PlummerHealth: 'Absurd and totally unacceptable': Man has to wait a year for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Worst poll result for a new Government in MMP history
    Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Pinning down climate change's role in extreme weather
    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Serving at Seymour's pleasure.
    Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Webworm LA Pop-Up
    Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • “Feel good” school is out
    Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • 6 Months in, surely our Report Card is “Ignored all warnings: recommend dismissal ASAP”?
    Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy. Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    2 days ago

  • Bread, and how it gets buttered
    Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago

  • Justice for Gaza?
    The New York Times reports that the International Criminal Court is about to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over their genocide in Gaza: Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • If there has been any fiddling with Pharmac’s funding, we can count on Paula to figure out the fis...
    Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • FastTrackWatch – The case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Monday, April 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on Iran killing its rappers, and searching for the invisible Dr. Reti
    span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Auckland Rail Electrification 10 years old
    Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Coalition's dirge of austerity and uncertainty is driving the economy into a deeper recession
    Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Disability Funding or Tax Cuts.
    You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Of the Goodness of Tolkien’s Eru
    April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    3 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Pastor Who Abused People, Blames People
    Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago

  • Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
    The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Winston remembers Gettysburg.
    Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • 25
    She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8.  The universe was ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Is Antarctica gaining land ice?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Policing protests.
    Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago

  • Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
    Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: FastTrackWatch – The Case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago

  • Luxon gets out his butcher’s knife – briefly
    Peter Dunne writes –  The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • More tax for less
    Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Real News vs Fake News.
    We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Another way to roll
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Simon Clark: The climate lies you'll hear this year
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Cutting the Public Service
    It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago

  • Luxon’s demoted ministers might take comfort from the British politician who bounced back after th...
    Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:  we live in a troubled ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • This is how I roll over
    1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • The Waitangi Tribunal is not “a roving Commission”…
    …it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition   NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes –  The High Court ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Is Oranga Tamariki guilty of neglect?
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same? Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Three Strikes saw lower reoffending
    David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Luxon’s ruthless show of strength is perfect for our angry era
    Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 'Lacks attention to detail and is creating double-standards.'
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • One Night Only!
    Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • What did Melissa Lee do?
    It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2024
    Open access notables Ice acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment: In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Wa...
    Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Who’s Going Up The Media Mountain?
    Mr Bombastic: Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • “That's how I roll”
    It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • “Comity” versus the rule of law
    In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Aotearoa: a live lab for failed Right-wing socio-economic zombie experiments once more…
    Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder. In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    1 week ago

  • Water is at the heart of farmers’ struggle to survive in Benin
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére Sosou Market gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • At a time of media turmoil, Melissa had nothing to proclaim as Minister – and now she has been dem...
    Buzz from the Beehive   Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
    New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
    Good evening –   Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago

  • Accelerating airport security lines
    From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago

  • Community hui to talk about kina barrens
    People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
    Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago

  • Mining resurgence a welcome sign
    There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago

  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
    The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government to boost public EV charging network
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure.  The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Residential Property Managers Bill to not progress
    The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Independent review into disability support services
    The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Justice Minister updates UN on law & order plan
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Ending emergency housing motels in Rotorua
    The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Trade Minister travels to Riyadh, OECD, and Dubai
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