Who’s the wokester?

Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, February 24th, 2021 - 41 comments
Categories: Judith Collins, national, police, same old national, Simon Bridges - Tags:

It is good to see that National is still in chaos.

Its caucus discipline is still shot and Judith Collins clearly has no control over her MPs.

The latest piece of evidence is Simon Bridges attacking Police Commissioner Andy Coster by describing him as being “wokester” and saying he is soft on crime.

Bridges’ portfolios are Justice, Pike River reentry, water and Maori Crown relations.  Simeon Brown has the responsibility for Police.

So it is pretty surprising that he is delving into personal attacks on the country’s top police officer.

The detail is described by Thomas Manch at Stuff:

National Party MP Simon Bridges has taken aim at “wokester” police Commissioner Andy Coster, claiming he is more concerned with being nice than “actually catching criminals”.

Bridges, the party’s justice spokesman, on Tuesday told reporters the commissioner had put being “nice” above “the law of the land and actually catching criminals”. He first labelled the commissioner a “wokester” on Twitter last week.

“What you see is, right from the top, an agency or police force that’s much less about arrest, much less about catching gangs and criminals despite huge problems in our society at the moment, and much more about being hip and doing things to impress a bunch of other wokesters,” he said.

A National Party spokesman says the stance is not the official party view, and the Government has hit back at Bridges’ claims.

This is not the first time Bridges has had pot shots at Coster.  Last week Bridges tweeted this:

The strategy is weird.  Does National think that there is a benefit in attacking the top Police Officer?

And it reinforces how weak Judith Collins’ leadership is.  Normally disciplinary measures would be taken.  You cannot have MPs trespassing into areas that are outside their responsibility and engaging in risky divisive publicity campaigns that have no official sanction.

All that happens is it makes your caucus look like a bunch of clowns.  Maybe that is the intent.

41 comments on “Who’s the wokester? ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. lprent 1
    24 February 2021 at 8:07 am

    All that happens is it makes your caucus look like a bunch of clowns. Maybe that is the intent.

    Active self-interested destructive fractionalism. The true face of National.

    This was pretty apparent when Cameron Slater was taking potshots at everyone based on leaked information from National MPs – probably including the current National leader. But at least it was outside of the party and not overriding their formal opposition shadow cabinet processes.

    Perhaps National needs to develop a blog that isn’t part of the party apparatus again (ie not kiwiblog). Then they can leak without attribution. They just need to not put it in the hands of a raging idiot.

  2. Macro 2
    24 February 2021 at 8:15 am

    Sleepy Simon needs to wake up to the reality that bigotry and attacks on respected people is a loosing strategy. He only has to look at the recent demise of the village idiot in America to see how his bile and vitriol led him to oblivion.

  3. Heather Tanguay 3
    24 February 2021 at 8:15 am

    Simon is a buffoon, he is always looking to draw attention to himself. Judith is in complete disarray. In fact, National as a whole are meaningless. Watching them in the house, shows they have nothing to offer

    • bwaghorn 3.1
      24 February 2021 at 12:23 pm

      Did you see collins on the am show this morn?

      The garbled jibbering waffle she spouted sounded like some loser from talk back radio .

      Labour are safe as houses from her and simple simon.

      • NZJester 3.1.1
        24 February 2021 at 1:41 pm

        I think you are underestimating just how rabid some of their supporters are. If they told people that grass was blue and that it was a plot by the Green Party to say it was green, there is a core base that would stick by that statement and claim it to be true.

  4. mac1 4
    24 February 2021 at 8:22 am

    First, it makes Bridges look a clown and that helps Collins as Bridges is a possible recidivist National leader.

    Second, there’s always political capital in being tough on crime. Collins is doing that with her call to send the Australian test-refuser home. The trick for them is to be seen as tough but not plain stupid.

    National has to secure its right as ACT threatens on that flank.

    National also faces a further election in 2023 with pundits foreseeing a further collapse of their vote.

    National faces ongoing difficulties with the quality and stability of its MPs, and faces a realistic reappraisal of its party organisation especially as it affects candidate selection and indeed it faces a dilemma that it needs to do all this renewal with the MP products of their flawed organisation as the agents of change.

    National's caucus is also limited in size, in ethnic diversity, age and gender.

    National has a popular and performing PM and government to compete with, notwithstanding doom sayers and a very real housing shortage.

    What we see from National is diversion and the reintroduction of dirty politics with personal attacks upon civil servants who are limited in their ability to respond.

    It’s also destabilising in these Covid times to attack the leader of our law enforcement. Trumpian political behaviour, even- dangerous and disturbing.

    • Anne 4.1
      24 February 2021 at 10:49 am

      @ mac 1.

      You and I are of the same generation and I think you were also politically active in the Labour Party during the Muldoon premiership.

      You will remember the time with clarity and it seems to me Collins is attempting to follow the same set of rules as Muldoon – albeit from the Opposition benches. As PM however, Muldoon had unbridled power and he used it to destroy the careers and even the personal lives of people he deemed to be a threat to him – witness Marilyn Waring. He was a bully and a tyrant who would happily turn on his own if he thought it was to his advantage. He also used the power of the state (eg. the SIS) as his personal tool when it suited him.

      And he got away with it all.

      Judith might not be so lucky. She doesn't hold the reins of power and is limited to what she can actually do, so I expect reintroducing “dirty politics” is her only option. Bridges of course is a clown but she will use him when it is convenient.

      We can look forward to a bumpy three years.

      • mac1 4.1.1
        24 February 2021 at 10:21 pm

        " I think you were also politically active in the Labour Party during the Muldoon premiership."

        I was, and am still. Muldoon bullied and could be very nasty, gratuitously so, as I saw on the campaign trail in the early Seventies. He met his match in Lange who used humour and superior wit to disarm the bully.

  5. RosieLee 5
    24 February 2021 at 8:23 am

    Collins didn't quite throw Bridges under a bus on Nat Radio this morning, but it was certainly a fairsized minivan.

    • Sanctuary 5.1
      24 February 2021 at 9:08 am

      True, but in admitting she couldn't do much to discipline him she revealed she has lost control of the happy clappy mob in her caucus.

  6. Incognito 6
    24 February 2021 at 8:36 am

    Listening to an interview with JC on RNZ this morning, I got the strong impression that it was another poor execution of National’s Law and Order ‘strategy’ and to attract some media attention. JC said that National MPs need to go after Ministers because they “set the agenda”. However, SB was criticising operational matters and decisions. JC and National are right behind SB. Don’t be fooled by JC.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018784897/judith-collins-would-absolutely-bring-back-armed-response-teams

  7. Sanctuary 7
    24 February 2021 at 8:58 am

    "…JC and National are right behind SB. Don’t be fooled by JC…"

    Ummm… Ok.

    Occam's razor informs us that Bridges is a) reflecting the clearly held views of the evangelical culture warriors who form a mighty faction in the rump National caucus and are frantic to whip up a culture war on anything and b) he doesn’t give a shit if in the process of doing so he is white-anting Collins, who spent most of her RNZ interview discussing Bridges comments, caucus message discipline and admitting she has little control over Bridges utterances. She got a minute or two at the fag end of the interview to question the government handling of the Papatoetoe covid cluster – an outbreak almost adjacent to her electorate!

  8. Stuart Munro 8
    24 February 2021 at 9:09 am

    It's likely a reasonably productive line of attack – there is no doubt a core of punitive oldschool cops that resist change (else the Nicki Hager raid wouldn't have happened), and a bunch of folk who are readily alarmed by gang activity.

    Whether it will resonate widely is something else. Further gang problems is a safe prediction, but Simon burnt a lot of capital going troppo on Covid response – he may struggle to get folk agreeing with him, or admitting to agreeing with him.

  9. woodart 9
    24 February 2021 at 9:46 am

    terms like wokester and virtual signalling show just how out of touch many in the beltway are. out here in the real world 95% of people dont know what they mean. simon is in an echo chamber, and the breathless reporters trailing after him ,looking for easy headlines , are pretty much in the same echo chamber.

  10. Stephen D 10
    24 February 2021 at 10:43 am

    Bryan Gould has the answer here. Simon's audience is his own caucus. The internal polling must still be rubbish, and knives being unsheathed and sharpened.

    https://bryangould.com/party-games/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=party-games

    • alwyn 10.1
      24 February 2021 at 2:58 pm

      I'm not sure whether I would consider Bryan Gould to be a very good judge of these matters.

      He was of course the man who had so much faith in his own ability, and popularity, that he thought he could win the vote for leader of the UK Labour Party. In the event he actually got less than one tenth of the vote that the winner, John Smith received. Smith got 91.1% of the vote. Gould got 9%.

      Anyone who could be that far out in his judgement is unlikely to have got any better as he gets older.

      • Incognito 10.1.1
        24 February 2021 at 4:07 pm

        You’ll be the judge of that.

        Sounds like you’ve got nothing but to have a go at the man sad

      • Drowsy M. Kram 10.1.2
        24 February 2021 at 4:37 pm

        Anyone who could be that far out in his judgement is unlikely to have got any better as he gets older.

        Couldn't agree more. One day we will all be but memories, and then not even that.

        In the present we can reward ourselves with thoughts that we're making a positive difference, although some here seem more positive than others wink

        Objectively, Gould is an accomplished individual, with many strings to his bow – right up there with the notable alwyn, I reckon laugh

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

  11. Treetop 11
    24 February 2021 at 11:17 am

    Bridges is treating Coster like Coster holds the ministerial police portfolio. Coster does not have the same power as a government minister.

    In saying the above I would like to see Bridges and Coster debate some of the issues Bridges has.

  12. Hanswurst 12
    24 February 2021 at 11:19 am

    That photo always looks as though Willis is operating Bridges like a glove puppet.

  13. Tiger Mountain 13
    24 February 2021 at 11:24 am

    Heh, a top tory MP attacks the appointed leader of a division of the state forces!–excellent class unity there Simon.

    Mrs Collins ran the traditional stay on message strategy–“Labour weak on crime”–ignoring the evidence RNZ put to her, such as a gang leader copping a 10 year sentence days prior.

    National is still in disarray, but time is running out for this unprecedented majority MMP Govt. to start delivering for working class New Zealanders.

  14. EE 14
    24 February 2021 at 11:49 am

    A change from Benefit-bashing to Cop-clouting.
    Who says the National Party are short on ideas?

  15. gsays 15
    24 February 2021 at 11:59 am

    I caught a news clip about this on the tele.

    Bridges could barely contain his glee at seeing the press wanting to talk to him.

    He has achieved his aim, his utterings made a news cycle, got a blog post written about him and the leader of his caucus talking about him.

    • Incognito 15.1
      24 February 2021 at 12:55 pm

      Chris Bishop is giving him a run for his money; he even made it to the Privileges Committee. Now that’s the kinda talent they’re looking for in National: dirty, sly, cheap & lazy but just under the line of getting officially reprimanded AKA ‘pretty legal’.

  16. Craig H 16
    24 February 2021 at 3:55 pm

    Policing by consent is not ‘woke’ — it is fundamental to a democratic society – The Conversation

    Policing by consent was the creed of Sir Robert Peel when he set up the Met in 1829, so Bridges might be a bit late with his complaints about that…

  17. greywarshark 17
    25 February 2021 at 6:25 pm

    Here is Simon being the forthright moral defender – Simon Bridges – the one to look to in the Party that stands for moral rectitude – the Gnashional Party! Here he is questioning our Commissioner of Police Andrew Coster as he probes for newsmaking crumbs in the iron hand of justice of the police as they attempt to consider effectiveness in serving our goddess of justice – Laura Norda.

    Feb.25/2021 https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/437153/gang-crackdown-simon-bridges-police-commissioner-andrew-coster-face-off-at-select-committee

    Has Bridges a similarity to Joseph McCarthy I wondered? Had a look on Google to get some background. These paragraphs about Joseph McCarthy do remind me of Bridges; short on integrity, a chancer who can inflate what he has dramatising as he goes.

    At the start of 1950, Joseph McCarthy’s political future did not look promising. McCarthy had been elected senator from Wisconsin in 1946, after switching his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican and running as a decorated Marine veteran with the nickname Tail Gunner Joe. Even then, he had a reputation as a scofflaw. He had exaggerated his war record. He first ran for Senate (and lost) while he was still in uniform, which was against Army regulations, and he ran his second Senate campaign while he was a sitting judge, a violation of his oath. Questions had been raised about whether he had dodged his taxes and where his campaign funds had come from.

    When McCarthy got to Washington, he became known as a tool of business interests, accepting a loan from Pepsi-Cola in exchange for working to end sugar rationing (he paid it back), and money from a construction company in exchange for opposing funding for public housing (which he eventually voted for). He plainly had no ethical or ideological compass, and most of his colleagues regarded him as a troublemaker, a loudmouth, and a fellow entirely lacking in senatorial politesse.

    https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/08/03/joseph-mccarthy-and-the-force-of-political-falsehoods

    and

    McCarthy sleazy? He certainly wasn't top drawer: Sleazy, repugnant politics – Opinion – Sarasota Herald-Tribune …
    http://www.heraldtribune.com › opinion › sleazy-repugnant-…

    A woman was the first and strongest critic and analyst of McCarthy's communist scare tactics!
    https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/senator-who-stood-joseph-mccarthy-when-no-one-else-would-180970279/
    22/01/2020 — But Joe McCarthy turned politics itself into a lie by stringing together insinuation, hearsay, labeling and outright defamation.

  18. Tricledrown 18
    25 February 2021 at 6:58 pm

    Bridges a former police prosecutor tries to dish a far more competent leader who was a police prosecutor and was previously a police officer.

    Bridges was most likely a career prosecutor who is a very average politician who seems to have self destructive tendencies .

    Collins has nothing to fear here except every time Simple Soimon opens his mouth National loose support.Time to send off to Borisville like he wanted.

    • aom 18.1
      26 February 2021 at 12:47 pm

      Bridges and Coster were both Crown Prosecutors, not Police Prosecutors. There is a significant difference.

  19. Morrissey 19
    25 February 2021 at 11:23 pm

    Woke versus Moke.

  20. millsy 20
    26 February 2021 at 11:26 am

    According to National, anything short of summary beatings and executions by police officers is soft and woke.

    • Peter 20.1
      26 February 2021 at 11:57 am

      They want authoritarian, ruthless approaches.

      If it's suggested however that people should have to wear masks or they are dictated to be worn at certain times in certain places to to stop or slow a pandemic, they are wimps. The cries pour out about Stalinesque methods.

      Bridges is trying to be outspoken (like Trump), knowing he'll have a receptive thick audience (like Trump).

  21. Sanctuary 21
    26 February 2021 at 12:02 pm

    Bridge's behaviour is extraordinary. He is in open rebellion, refusing direction from his leader who appears utterly powerless to discipline him. He seems to have decided to give a full airing to his sense of grievance – In Simonland he was on track to be PM by now and he now appears to have a fully developed stabbed-in-the-back storyline.

    National's unity is utterly shattered right now – Labour had exactly the same issues (but with horse traded identity politics candidates), it is what happens when politically inept but ideologically suitable candidates are parachuted into safe electorate seats for purely party reasons and an electoral rout leaves you with a pile of incumbent has-beens and a bunch of bad politicians. It is even worse for the Nats, because they've also largely eviscerated their liberal faction and have no diversity to speak of.

    The general state of the powerlessness in the right is making for some unedifying reading, David Farrar is another once respect smooth "liberal" neocon Nat who has been reduced to a constant quivering rage and bulging blood vessels, nowadays using large number of exclaimation marks and Slater-esque contortions of the truth in increasingly frantic attempts to whip up a culture war for his distinctly crank readership. Brash and Hide and co write some cringeworthy stuff re-fighting the 1980s and 90s and of course you've got the likes of the increasingly bewildered Prebble waving his fist at clouds.

  22. georgecom 22
    26 February 2021 at 7:53 pm

    Around the time of the gun buy back scheme I heard a number of people complaining how the police should go after gangs and their guns. Well I am pleased to report that the police are regularly taking guns off criminals, fairly often alongside drugs and ill gotten assets as well. those who were required to turn in their guns got paid and gangs and other criminal elements have had their guns and other assets seized. Anyone who tries to claim otherwise simply needs to take their hand off it.

    Of some more realistic concern however might be an over cautious police response to high speed chases. Failure to stop should be more than a fine and police should be empowered to chase fleeing vehicles. Of course, where a serious risk is presented to the public and the police themselves a chase should be called off.

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    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    23 hours ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    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
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    5 days ago

  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    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. Did global warming stop in ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago

  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    Turning Point: “What has turned me away from the mainstream news media is the very strong message that its been sending out for the last few years.” “And what message might that be?” “That the people who own it, the people who run it, and the people who provide its content, really don’t ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
    No – nothing about that in PM Luxon’s nine-point plan to improve the lives of New Zealanders. But beyond our shores Jamie Dimon, the long-serving head of global bank J.P. Morgan Chase, reckons that the chances of a goldilocks soft landing for the economy are “a lot lower” than the ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago

  • Sad tales from the left
    Michael Bassett writes –  Have you noticed the odd way in which the media are handling the government’s crackdown on surplus employees in the Public Service? Very few reporters mention the crazy way in which State Service numbers rocketed ahead by more than 16,000 during Labour’s six years, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • In Whose Best Interests?
    On The Spot: The question Q+A host, Jack Tame, put to the Workplace & Safety Minister, Act’s Brooke van Velden, was disarmingly simple: “Are income tax cuts right now in the best interests of lowering inflation?”JACK TAME has tested another MP on his Sunday morning current affairs show, Q+A. Minister for Workplace ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Don’t Question, Don’t Complain.
    It has to start somewhereIt has to start sometimeWhat better place than here?What better time than now?So it turns out that I owe you all an apology.It seems that all of the terrible things this government is doing, impacting the lives of many, aren’t necessarily ‘bad’ per se. Those things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Auckland faces 25% water inflation shock
    Three Waters became a focus of anti-Government protests under Labour, but its dumping by the new Government hasn’t solved councils’ funding problems and will eventually hit the back pockets of everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 8:06 am today are:The Government ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Small accomplishments and large ironies
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume VII
    In order to catch up to the actual progress of the D&D campaign, I present you with another couple of sessions. These were actually held back to back, on a Monday and Tuesday evening. Session XV Alas, Goatslayer had another lycanthropic transformation… though this time, he ran off into the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Accelerating the Growth Rate?
    There is a constant theme from the economic commentariat that New Zealand needs to lift its economic growth rate, coupled with policies which they are certain will attain that objective. Their prescriptions are usually characterised by two features. First, they tend to be in their advocate’s self-interest. Second, they are ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
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