Why is everything always Jacinda’s fault?

Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, January 10th, 2023 - 57 comments
Categories: labour, Media, national, spin, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

I don’t know if the motivation was to increase social media interaction or just to have a go at the Government but the potentially most ridiculous article of the year has already been posted and we are only 10 days in.

Brook Sabin has posted this article blaming Jacinda Ardern and the Government for, wait for it, lost baggage at Auckland Airport.

He admits that the causes are complex but nevertheless insists that the Government steps in and sorts the situation out.  The last time I checked Auckland Airport was privately owned with Auckland Council being the only public entity shareholder.  If any elected official should step in it should be Auckland mayor Wayne Brown.  This did not stop Brook from blaming the Government while at the same time praising National MP Shane Reti for writing two letters.

As Sabin mentions:

This is a very complex issue that isn’t unique to New Zealand. It involves overseas storms and delays, staff shortages, multiple airlines and an influx of passengers after Covid-19. Auckland Airport is denying fault, saying the airlines and their baggage handlers need to explain. But somebody must take leadership of the issue – because it’s not under control.

Sabin is a self described travel journalist who writes puff pieces on places he has visited.  Before that he was a Political Reporter and played a prominent role in the Donghua Liu attack on David Cunliffe which caused Labour a great deal of damage in the leadup to the 2014 election.  Cunliffe was wrongly blamed for helping Donghua Liu and Labour was pilloried by the press for donations it did not receive.  It subsequently was revealed that at the relevant time National had received a significant donation from Liu and that this was effectively hidden so that it did not appear at the same time that Maurice Williamson was sacked as a Cabinet Minister for helping Liu avoid a prosecution for domestic violence.

As I said previously:

This whole fiasco could have cost Labour the election.  Rob Salmond estimates that it may have cost Labour 2% of the vote and I agree with this.  That is up to three seats and it sucked a lot of momentum out of the campaign.

And you want to know the really funny thing?  There is no evidence of a donation to Labour or of Labour breaking any rules to help Liu.  But there is now pristine evidence of National receiving a donation from Liu and of subsequent action taken by a National Minister to help Liu in a police prosecution that resulted in this Minister being sacked.

New Zealand you got played.

Sabin also excelled himself for his Labour is in Crisis reporting when he claimed that then leader Andrew Little not providing an instant response to the release of the 6,000 page TPP document

From my post at the time:

Andrew Little was said to have a major problem, the release of the TPP was a “six thousand page grenade thrown straight into the Labour Party conference”. The trade deal would “eventually” worth $2.7 billion dollars per year to the New Zealand economy (doncha love it when the media unquestionably adopts the Government spin).  And Labour was set to oppose the deal because it prevented New Zealanders from banning the sale of land to overseas persons.

Little was then attacked for being unable to “give a straight answer” on whether Labour opposed the deal.  Jesus Mary and Joseph.  The text has only just been released.  It is no normal document.  Every single page is full of mind numbing legalese.  It will take months and months for a well researched organisation to properly understand the implications.  Of course Labour will have to take some time to properly consider the implications.

Sabin is the son of former National MP Mike Sabin who resigned nominally for family matters.  Cameron Slater said at the time that allegations against Sabin were  almost too horrible for words.  His father was formerly the Northland MP which National lost to Winston Peters in the subsequent by election.

I half expect Christopher Luxon, if he is not in Te Kuiti or Hawaii, to be filmed with shirt sleeves rolled up sorting out people’s luggage at Auckland Airport next.  And Brook Sabin then reporting on how Luxon showed real leadership.

Of course sons of National MPs are entitled like the rest of us to earn a living.  But national media outlets ought to exercise a modicum of discretion in choosing what articles to run with.  Blaming the Government for problems in a private company that are happening throughout the world in the travel industry is beyond stupid.

57 comments on “Why is everything always Jacinda’s fault? ”

  1. Muttonbird 1

    If you need more baggage staff, here's an idea: pay them more.

    Love this line from Brooke. His National Party of course have been vociferous in attacking all government measures to do exactly that, pay them more.

    • Tiger Mountain 1.1

      The Natzos prospective partner ACT have already committed to freezing Minimum Wage rises for 3 years and repealing FPAs, so paying baggage handlers more is a rather remote possiblity–and a fatuous and deceptive statement from Mr Sabin.

  2. roblogic 2

    Some of the shit they are slinging reminds me of Dirty Politics, but this time it comes with a dose of nasty misogyny and anti-vax Q conspiracy bile.

    Jacinda haters are either irrational nutcases or cynical poisoners of discourse.

    https://twitter.com/jukic_d/status/1611867253825507330?s=46&t=u0_DKaD_eER48xFift3BYA

  3. Mike the Lefty 3

    The "Everything is Jacinda's fault" has taken on the mystical insanity of a medieval witch hunt and it reflects poorly on the National Party that they think it is OK to use this mentality for their own ends. After all, they purport to be a government in waiting comprised of intelligent rational people who surely know there are many things that happen that government cannot control. People that ally themselves to the rabid right loony brigade for political gain are not worthy of running this country, in my opinion.

    • AB 3.1

      reflects poorly on the National Party that they think it is OK to use this mentality for their own ends

      It's a continuum – at the margins, the establishment right (National) morphs into the fringe, conspiracy-constructing, hyper-libertarian, hyper-masculine right. So National probably just do stuff this seamlessly and unconsciously – it comes naturally without any planning or forethought.

  4. Shanreagh 4

    Reminds me of the attacks on the PM for the empty supermarket shelves and shortages during Covid that spurred me on to do a couple of sarcastic responses about her swinging herself on a XXX wheeler driving through the night to reach my supermarket to stock the shelves.

    Turns out she has been having a break and not doing her stint at the Auckland baggage area of Air NZ on the way through driving the XXX wheeler.

    Terrible Mildred, terrible I say.

  5. Westykev 5

    Unless Jacinda is the Minister of Transport she is not even mentioned in the linked article. The "baggage issue" at the Airport does have the potential to impact on our tourism industry and as such a please explain is in order.

    • Patricia Bremner 5.1

      "Please explain" should go to Mayor Brown.

      • Westykev 5.1.1

        Yes, with the Auckland City Council shareholding of 18% he probably should but a please explain by a government minister carries more weight.

      • Tiger Mountain 5.1.2

        It should, and it would needle “Browny” because his answer to most things is sacking staff and reducing their conditions–which would go down well with an understaffed group that should be paid more!

        Mayor Brown’s attitude to workers is “Daily floggings will continue until morale improves”

  6. Patricia Bremner 6

    Any shortages muddles or staffing issues bring the latest meme. "What's Jacinda going to do about that?"

    This is intended to detract and obscure from what has been achieved.

    It is also "look over there!! Not here thank you" A way of deflecting attention from their own paucity of ideas.

    Some in the National camp believe the fight is won, but others know how these things can turn on a well placed rumour (as you indicated Micky)or an incident or funnelling of a meme such as " They have lost control of the Country".

    The right find Jacinda's success hugely galling, hence the attacks. They will intensify, and there could come a point where people become less apathetic and begin to fight back.

    Any situation of anger or frustration will be used by the right. One thing I know for sure.. they won't throw eggs, except metaphorically.

    Jacinda and her team need to develop strategies to overcome attacks, which will be, as Prince Harry says "Done by collaboration". We know all about that, as the press seem to know in advance what areas are being targeted next.

    We are in the fight of our lives. The climate and the young need us to win this one. So donate. You can be sure the right will have a war chest, not all of it from NZ I would think. Come on Labour and Greens, even if we win, it will be a much smaller team next Parliament. imo

  7. Corey Humm 7

    It's stupid but it's not unique to Ardern.

    Everything is always the leaders fault. It feels good to blame someone sometimes.

    I remember blaming John Key for virtually everything wrong going on in my life and everyone else did too

    I remember an old lady on the news blaming John Key cos she got stuck up a hill during a snow day.

    "Thanks Obama" was so common it was a meme that everyone would blame Obama for everything.

    The leader is always to blame for everything.

    They love you for the first three years, after 4 years they are sick of you and by 5,6,7 years absolutely hate you.

    Arderns govt has been more deeply involved in our personal lives than any previous modern govt. Even non activist labour voters tell me 'its been a long 8 years" because they think this govt is in it's third term, that's how long these 5 years have felt.

    Ardern gets special mention because from social media, to international media, to live streams, to lockdowns, daily press conferences, the terrorist attack, legislating everything from hate speech to rain water to flavors of vape juice and cigarettes no govt has ever felt so actively involved in our personal lives so when we can't get out of our driveway cos of roadworks for six months, or when we can't get an egg it's Arderns fault.

    I will say the airport thing is especially weird but again, the longer you're in the more you're blamed for, the more you're involved with the day to day lives of the public and the less those day to day lives are improving, the more they are gonna resent you and blame you.

    This is why , I wish we'd go back to having boring, unpopular prime ministers who stay in the background doing work 99% of the time and aren't on our screens all day everyday, in photography the more exposure you're subject gets the quicker it burns and that's true with celebrities and polis

    • Muttonbird 7.1

      Funny that because I haven't heard a peep out of the government, its leader, ministers, or MPs since before Christmas. But hardly a day has gone by in that time where we haven't seen some opposition MP publicising themselves.

    • Tiger Mountain 7.2

      As a long time politics participant and news follower I see things a little differently, but I like your post above Corey because it describes a certain group of New Zealanders non thinking ways very well. And as you say other countries populaces as well.

      I don’t give one about the middle class and petit bourgeoisie who got their second tier more generous COVID MSD benefits without having to battle case managers, and got two years of media wailing for their cafes to be opened and travel plans accommodated.
      Am more interested in involving the alienated, non and intermittent voters and new gen voters.

  8. Kat 8

    It's the old death by a thousand cuts trick……and then the slurs and slogans are lit up…..shambolic, wasteful, out of control, communist, iwi lovers, anti business, anti farmer, never had a real job, elitist, out of touch, soft on crime, time for a change……blah blah blah……..

    And then it's….. vote National for a brighter future…….yeah right

  9. tsmithfield 9

    I won't say much about the aricle referred to here, other than it does seem a bit silly.

    However, it probably isn't surprising that Ardern would be the target of the opposition, given that the popularity of Labour seems to have been tied very much to the popularity of Adern since she was elected. Hence, I suspect the logic would be to undermine Labour, first undermine Ardern.

  10. Peter 10

    Ardern only needs to look in a certain direction and some have her the worst dictator in the history of the world.

    People don't want the government to be in charge of anything, so the government is not in charge of everything.

    But suddenly sometimes we want them to be in charge so we can blame them. Crazy.

    This year is going to be a real doozy. The media crap with it being election year is going to be the worst ever. It's going to be a fractured and divisive time but the nonsense from the likes of Sabin need to be called out. Not doing so is conceding there is truth and worth behind what they say.

  11. Tiger Mountain 11

    Well, Brooke Sabin was a little crawler at Taipa Area School in early 00s which my son attended too, and at one point Brooke was student rep to the BOT. My partner was an elected member of the BOT, as was one Detective Mike Sabin who was also Chair.

    Mr Sabin then a serving Police member distinguished himself, I was told by several other community members, by asking for details on parents he was interested in for his law enforcement capacity while on school premises ostensibly on BOT business.

    Sabin senior had several marriages and ex partners in the North. His case related to teenage girls of a current partner which I will not go into further here, suffice it to say he was tried in the Whangārei Court under some attempted secrecy re his appearance, represented by Arthur Fairley of Thompson Wilson. Opinion only is that if Sabin had been tried in Auckland he would likely have got a different result. [lprent: deleted] Anyway…

    The record reveals what a dodge pot junior Natzo “travel writer” Sabin is. It is just another element in manufacturing consent for a National/ACT Govt. that should be challenged as Micky has done.

    [lprent: This is subject to permanent suppression order by Mike Sabin that doesn’t appear to have been lifted. The public explanation of request to enforce the court order is:-

    Section 15 of the order dated 13.04.16 granting permanent name suppression for the applicant (Michael Lewis SABIN) – with the effect of_ Permanent order prohibiting publication of defendant’s name, address or any identifying particulars. Publication of names, addresses, occupations or identifying particulars, of complainants prohibited by s 203 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011. Publication of names, addresses, occupations or identifying particulars, of any complainants under the age of 18 years who appeared as a witness prohibited by s 204 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011.

    I’m a bit puzzled by the complaint to google. Our site with a number of others is listed. You’d think that I would have had a message requesting removal. But I can’t see that in the email stream. I’ve requested to see the full URL(s).

    The Lumen Database appears to be an interesting project. But it is a little annoying to use as an operator because there isn’t any information about exactly what is an issue.

    There are three links in the search for thestandard.org.nz. I couldn’t see what on the site the two from Jan 03 2020 were referring to. ]

      • Tiger Mountain 11.1.1

        I guess that also rules out quoting a 4.5.2016 Stuff piece that uses terms such as “Prominent man’s trial” with no personally identifying details?

        The NZ National Party top level play for keeps, and can affect millions of working class people as evidenced by the 1991 Employment Contracts Act and the Ruth Richardson Mother of all Budgets. So what compunction should there be in identifying some of these people really–apart from the legal restraint LPrent has drawn our attention to in this case, and potential implications for the Standard operators.

        NZ National selections have had some interesting results. Ex Police member, and ex Northland MP Matt King has had a spin out by the looks of things, and the guy Mr Sabin beat for selection–Mark Tan–was on the front page of the Northland Age last year in a photo identifying him as a brick thrower at Police in the occupation of Parliament. Mr Tan was Principal of Abundant Life Christian School on sabbatical due to an anti Vaccination position. Sorry if such info offends the delicate sensibilities of some readers.

        • lprent 11.1.1.2

          I guess that also rules out quoting a 4.5.2016 Stuff piece that uses terms such as “Prominent man’s trial” with no personally identifying details?

          I can't see how that would violate the conditions of the court order. It doesn't have "defendant’s name, address or any identifying particulars". Nor "names, addresses, occupations or identifying particulars, of complainants". Of course I'd have to look at what you quote.

          So what compunction should there be in identifying some of these people really–apart from the legal restraint …

          Basically I feel that court suppression orders are a public good overall. I have racked my brains and reading about alternatives and haven't come up with anything better in legal intent. I won't go into that today – but I believe that overall gives better legal and societal outcomes.

          So far all of the arguments against the legal intent of suppression orders that I have seen mostly fall into various bounds of of a bucket tag I call prurient salaciousness. The only one that may have some validity is to enable other victims to come forward. But in reality, it usually seems that word gets around and people talk to the police without that.

          However court suppression orders are just a public nuisance in how they operate in that they presume that we're still using some kind of 19th century operation of media. If they come up for review, I'll have no hesitation in spending time pushing for some reform of the operation of suppression orders.

          The current system is ridiculous and just too hard to follow in a modern publication. It presupposes that the publication, each author, each moderator, and each commenter on this site has access to each court like a court reporter within the country to hear or read the suppression order and to know what is suppressed.

          That is because each of these groups are effectively operating with information that comes from the courts or just from rumour. They have publication ability in a public forum (ie this site). They also have absolutely no way of knowing if the information that they are publishing is in violation of a suppression order because there is no online index of what suppression orders are in force.

          I take spending time in court for other peoples stupid decisions that have no justifications about why I should do so extremely seriously. That is a waste of my time.

          I'd prefer spending the time educating the foolish twits like you who'd would want to put me at the risk of wasting my time in court, and do it without even bothering to arguing a case about why breaking a particular suppression order was warranted.

          • Tiger Mountain 11.1.1.2.1

            Thanks for putting the effort in, all points noted.

            And really you have cracked it with “They also have absolutely no way of knowing if the information that they are publishing is in violation of a suppression order because there is no online index of what suppression orders are in force.”

            I must relay that I had no inkling that such a strong order was in place on the S***n case. And none of my political friends up North including NZLP members have ever mentioned it, even though his name still comes up now and then in discussions.

            But nonetheless a reminder to all to think twice before hitting “Submit Comment”.

    • Incognito 11.2

      Your comment is nothing but a character assassination of both father and son Sabin. Still, it is good to know and be reminded who are the National Party shills in the NZ MSM.

  12. Thinker 12

    The title of this article is "Why is everything Jacindas fault?" and the answer lies inside the body of the text.

    Jacindas needs to quickly approach Luxon, front-face him with the media present and ask him if he stands by Sabines comment, and whether voters can count on National raising the minimum wage as a guaranteed policy, if they become the government. Luxon then has to choose between backstabbing one of his MPs or alienating his support base.

    IMHO, Labour's efforts to maintain the moral high ground, while laudable, have a price to pay. Dirty Politics is disgusting and should never be contemplated, but there's a continuum of grey between Sainthood and dirty politics, much of which is tolerated, if not expected, by the voting public.

    Kiwis are proud of the saying "its not winning thst counts, its how you play the game". True, but not helpful when facing an opponent that believes the opposite to be true. I'm reminded of Dame Judi Dench, in "Chronicles of Riddick", whose character said "The best way to fight evil is not with good – you must confront it with another kind of evil."

    • Tiger Mountain 12.1

      Yes, a bit more “arrogant prick” and a little less high ground. The appalling misogynistic abuse directed at the PM shows the Nats & ACT are totally not about playing nice.

    • Anne 12.2

      I'm reminded of Dame Judi Dench, in "Chronicles of Riddick", whose character said "The best way to fight evil is not with good – you must confront it with another kind of evil."

      Brilliant.

      Someone needs to email this message to Labour's leading lights including the prime minister. It does not mean they need to stoop to the same low level, but it does mean they need to respond with much more vigour and double back on them at every opportunity.

      Sweet smiles and lofty expressions don't cut it with Joe and Mary Bloggs.

      Do some research on David Lange! He knew how to do it.

      https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/32901/david-lange-and-the-oxford-union-debate

      • Thinker 12.2.1

        If you like that, you'd love the Irish man Liam Devlin, in "The Eagle Has Landed"…

        "It's alright Father, I'm just teaching him about the Holy Trinity. Do you know it [Chris]? Footwork, Timin' and Hittin'. Learn these, my old uncle used to say, and you'll inherit the earth just as surely as the meek" wink

    • Incognito 12.3

      Just wonderful! Common sense ‘wisdom’ and political strategy from a fictional character in a dystopian SF movie. In other words, let’s turn the sprinklers on them, metaphorically speaking, of course? You are not much of a thinker, are you?

      My idea is to hold both the Opposition and Government to account or rather, all political parties standing in the General Election and vying for the Treasury benches.

      • Thinker 12.3.1

        Incognito, did you wonder if the fictional character from a scifi, dystopian movie was based on realpolitik, instead of the other way around? Art reflects life.

        For common-sense 'wisdom' and political strategy, I recommend:

        Machiavellis "The Prince", Sun-Tzu's "Art of War", Bing Fa/36 strategies, most of Basil Liddell-Hart's strategic stuff, Winston Churchill's own works and works about him.

        For you personally, Incognito, "How to win friends and influence people" might be helpful, too…

        • Incognito 12.3.1.1

          Fighting evil with evil is realpolitik? You need a bigger coffee table and/or a bigger TV screen, obviously.

          Art makes me feel and think. For just feels, I’d suggest MSM headlines & clickbait, talk back radio, or SM (that stands for Social Media, not that other touchy-feely stuff). That said, when I listen to Chris Luxon speak I feel nothing and my brain switches off until his mouth stops moving – miserable moments in my life that I will never want to get back and relive anyway even if I could. That is not realpolitik but mind-numbing humming noise for braindead zombies.

          You are mistaken, of course, if you want to make friends you should join Facebook and collect your desired FB reacts. Here on TS you come for robust debate that goes beyond wisecracking slogans and bumper stickers that are no substitute for strong decisive leadership & teamwork, a clear vision, and a coherent policy framework.

  13. bwaghorn 13

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/auckland/auckland-top-stories/300781225/mp-wants-faster-payout-of-travel-insurance-claims-amidst-lost-luggage-saga

    So day one has sabin begging for government intervention, day 2 has dr reti wading in, hmmmm couldn't possibly be staged now could it??

  14. Incognito 14

    Isn’t it the Editors who write the headlines? If so, is Stuff’s Travel Editor on holiday and is its Political Editor standing in for her?

  15. Thinker 15

    If you like Chronicles of Riddick quote, you'd love Donald Sutherland as Liam Devlin, the Irish man, in "The Eagle Has Landed"…

    "It's alright Father, I'm just teaching him about the Holy Trinity. Do you know it [Chris]? Footwork, Timin' and Hittin'. Learn these my old uncle used to say and you'll inherit the earth just as surely as the meek."

    wink

  16. tc 16

    The roster finally comes to brooks turn and that's the best he can do.

    Stick to travel buddy and stuff shows its just another dp outlet.

  17. Tiger Mountain 17

    • bwaghorn 17.1

      Excellent!! Right wingers are just like common crooks hate the establishment right up till they need help.

  18. Stuart Munro 18

    I imagine the strategy is to fight a PM with name recognition that Gnat leaders can only dream of – poison the reputation – because Luxon cannot compete on charisma.

    It is a bit tragic though – this level of press bias is how Putin retains power. NZ media should be ashamed of themselves – as they queue for jobs at MacDonalds having lost their undeserved media roles.

  19. Mike the Lefty 19

    Its Jacinda's fault that we have so many of the rabid right still alive. If she had done what they wanted most of them would have been dead by now from COVID, alcohol poisoning, high speed traffic accidents, drownings, or smoking related diseases and we would be largely free from their incessant posturing and self-inflicted martyrdom.

    But I suppose the rabid right's wrath is what you earn by caring about your country enough to try and protect them from harm by diminishing their precious "freedom".

    They don't deserve it.

  20. Peter 21

    All those headlines are the exact stuff of Simeon Brown and David Seymour.

  21. Weasel 22

    Lost baggage is an absolute tragedy for those poor young OEs returning for Lucy and Olliver's big wedding day, but what about Potholegate? Now there's a real problem. Two motorists had their tyres on their double-cab ute damaged and Jacinda is not out their with her shovel. Heavyweight problems like lost baggage and potholes shows what a deep hole Jacinda has lead Aotearoa down.

  22. BAW 23

    Nat voter here.

    Who ever said the public were rational? Legally Jacinda is not responsible. But if the mood of the country turns, then she ends up getting tared with the same brush.

  23. remo.rogermorris 24

    Why?

    Because Ardern is a ruthless and ambitious WEF trojan horse. Representing the international 'rules-based' (deepstate) power elite; Friend of NATO's 'Strategy of tension' social engineers and mandator of big Pharma eugenicists, the needle cultists of empire; determined to force us into a uni-polar, technoc.rat.ic, 'world order'

    Is why.

    [The conspiracy virus has rotten away big parts of your brain. To avoid spreading the disease I warn you that you will be quarantined for at least 1 year if/when you have another episode of your virus-induced stupidity in this site instead of dumping it, if you must, on SM such as Twitter or FB. I doubt it will happen but I hope you will get better soon – Incognito]

    • Incognito 24.1

      Mod note

    • Shanreagh 24.2

      Goodness me, you can surely do better than that remo.

      I find the very best conspiracy theorists have the facility to link in the faked moon landing, the grassy knoll at JFK's assassination, 9/11 being an inside job or was that an outside job and the lizard people of David Icke into the narrative.

      Your post does not mention any of these.

      Poor show really. Though do the needle cultists have the ability to effect shape shifting between lizards and humans? Is that what is being left unsaid? Along with Pizzagate. There used to be a couple of CTs about the Pope but perhaps these have been dropped

      Anyway toodle pip, hope all is well and if not get better soon.

      Heavy sarcasm. No response required.

    • remo.rogermorris 24.3

      Thank you for your concerns regarding my mental health. Although they do fall into a patterned response avoiding all issues except the personal.

      I must confess; the mandating of an experimental mRNA 'gene therapy'; now implicated worldwide in the deaths of thousands, with hundreds of thousands of HARMS; a toxin injected under fear and loathing into the arms of my children and grandchildren – without informed consent; is a particular cross to bear. I consider it a programmed assault by propagandists and eugenicists out of the WEF and WHO/GAVI/Tavistock think tanks; implemented by an idiot Government bent on it's own purposes; so it has certainly been a trial of the extreme.

      That said, what you are attempting to smoke me with ('rotten"conspiracy', 'virus' etc), is called a 'crippled epistemology'. Crippled thinking. This derogatory was designed by Cass SUNSTEIN and Adrian VERMULE in their Obama era 'Conspiracy theory' paper; an administrative assault against the dangerous evidence based 911 truth movements' gaming the media firewall in 07-08. These two apparatchiks of the wokist/deepstate, were engaged to identify strategies for government actions, in response to effective on-line advocacy against Official 911 Narratives. How to attack the investigative independents' who were effective… those finding evidence of the conspiracies Governments are determined to keep. 911, for instance Shanreagh, is most certainly a false flag operation by deepstate. A demolition. Just as John Kennedy was indeed, shot twice from the front. In the throat, and in the face. The fact you cannot understand it, means you are not asking the right questions. Something Leni Riefenstahl understood as 'the submissive void'.

      The Sunstein/Vermule paper strategises different online tactics and means of infiltration by security services, to destabilise groups struggling with the narrative control firewall. 'TheDisinformationProject' in NZ examples one such effort to control the narratives here. Arderns 'ChCh Call', another.

      In this particular, the 'bundling' argument Shanreagh uses; where bona fide and provable Conspiracies (JFK/911), are purposefully 'bundled' with extreme, Flat-earth type limited hangouts; is a method designed to neuter by association. So that anyone newly contending with the impossible 'fire induced' physics of 911 freefall (says it all ) sees that 'lizard people' connotation, ceases immediately – not wanting to be branded. Shapeshifter and lizard people being most popular 'bundlers' but insults vary. Anti-semite and holocaust denier tend to be the final curses.

      It is also reasonable to point out that the term 'conspiracy theorist' itself was weaponised by CIA, in response to mounting evidence CIA were directly responsible (with allies) for murdering their President. A document obtained under FOIA by NYT's in 1976 CIA/1035-960//NURNAD labeled “PSYCH” for “psychological operations” coined the phrase “conspiracy theory” and “conspiracy theorists", to attack anyone who challenged the official narrative from the Warren Commission. It also has a CS indicated on it, which stands for “clandestine services” unit. It also self identified CIA's role 'to guard against the illicit transformation of probability into certainty'; that these are vast conspiracies., run by the intelligence networks and their government enablers. Illicit only because 'they' decide the legality.

      So; while you call me 'conspiracy theorist' for calling the sainted one a WEF trojan Horse, deserving of any blame the past 3 years throws up; be careful. It may be you, are the useful idiots.

      [Goodbye – Permanent ban. You are taking the piss and blatantly ignoring a Moderator warning with a major dump of conspiracy garbage. But what’s most disappointing is that you did not provide a single link to back up your assertions, which is a requirement on this site to enable robust quality debate – Incognito]

  24. Shanreagh 25

    Just to add, with NZ coming up to an election that we hope will be fought on fair grounds the continued spouting of CTs is an absolutely unwanted part of any election just as these conspiracists were an absolute distraction from the work being done to keep us all safe during the pandemic.

  25. RP Mcmurphy 26

    sabin is a shill. shills do what their masters tell them. sabin is a a tory shill and their policy is evryfing is da gubmints folt.

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    It's Black Friday, the end of the weekYou take my hand and hold it gently up against your cheekIt's all in my head, it's all in my mindI see the darkness where you see the lightSong by Tom OdellFriday the 13th, don’t be afraid.No, really, don’t. Everything has felt a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    40 mins ago
  • Weekly Roundup 13-September-2024

    Ooh, Friday the thirteenth. Spooky! Is that why certain zombie ideas have been stalking the landscape this week, like the Mayor’s brainwave for a motorway bridge from Kauri Point to Point Chev? Read on and find out. This roundup, like all our coverage, is brought to you by the Greater ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 hours ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #37 2024

    Open access notables Early knowledge but delays in climate actions: An ecocide case against both transnational oil corporations and national governments, Hauser et al., Environmental Science & Policy: Cast within the wide context of investigating the collusion at play between powerful political-economic actors and decision-makers as monopolists and debates about ‘the modern ...
    15 hours ago
  • What it is

    I liked what Kieran McAnulty had to say about the Treaty Principles bill this morning so much I've written it down and copied it out for you. He was saying that rather than let this piece of ordure spend six months in Select Committee, the Prime Minister could stop making such ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    18 hours ago
  • A government-funded hate campaign

    Cabinet discussed National's constitutionally and historically illiterate "Treaty Principles Bill" this week, and decided to push on with it. The bill will apparently receive a full six month select committee process - unlike practically every other policy this government has pushed, and despite the fact that if the government is ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    20 hours ago
  • How Substack works to take (some) craziness out of America’s elections

    I spoke with Substack co-founder yesterday, just before the Trump-Harris debate, about how Substack is doing its thing during the US elections. He talks in particular about how Substack’s focus on paid subscriptions rather than ads has made political debate on the platform calmer, simpler, deeper and more satisfying ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    21 hours ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    22 hours ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    22 hours ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    22 hours ago
  • David Seymour is such a loser

    For paid subscribersNot content with siphoning off $230,000,000 of taxpayers money for his hobby projects - and telling everyone his passion is education and early childcare - an intersection painfully coincidental to the interests of wealthy private families like Sean Plunkett’s1 backers, the Wright Family, Seymour is back in the ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    22 hours ago
  • Cross-party consensus: there’s no pipeline without good faith

    There’s been a lot of talk recently about a cross-party agreement to develop a pipeline for infrastructure, including transport. Last month, outgoing CRL boss Sean Sweeney talked about the importance of securing an enduring infrastructure programme. He outlined the high costs of the relentless political flip-flopping of priorities, which drives ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    1 day ago
  • Voters love this climate policy they’ve never heard of

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The Inflation Reduction Act is the Biden administration’s signature climate law and the largest U.S. government investment in reducing climate pollution to date. Among climate advocates, the policy is well-known and celebrated, but beyond that, only a minority of Americans ...
    1 day ago
  • ACC wants to administer inflation at more than double the RBNZ’s target rate

    ACC levies are set to rise at more than double the inflation rate targeted by the RBNZ. Photo: Lynn GrievesonKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 12:The state-owned monopoly for accident insurance wants ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Harris vs Trump

    We’ve been selected to rock your asses 'til midnightThis is my term, I've shaved off my perm, but it's alrightI solemnly swear to uphold the ConstitutionGot a rock 'n' roll problem? Well we got a solutionLet us be who we am, and let us kick out the jams, yeahKick out ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Treaty Bill “a political stunt”

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon appears to have given ACT Leader David Seymour more than he has been admitting in the proposals to go forward with a Treaty Principles Bill.All along, Luxon has maintained that the Government is proceeding with the Bill to honour the coalition agreement.But that is quite specific.It ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • An average 219 NZers migrated each day in July

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 11:Annual migration of New Zealanders rose to a record-high 80,963 in the year to the end of July, which is more than double its pre-Covid levels.Two ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • What you’re wanting to win more than anything is The Narrative

    Hubris is sitting down on election day 2016 to watch that pig Trump get his ass handed to him, and watching the New York Times needle hover for a while over Hillary and then move across to Trump where it remains all night to your gathering horror and dismay. You're ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • National’s automated lie machine

    The government has a problem: lots of people want information from it all the time. Information about benefits, about superannuation, ACC coverage and healthcare, taxes, jury service, immigration - and that's just the routine stuff. Responding to all of those queries takes a lot of time and costs a lot ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Christopher Luxon: A Man of “Faith” and “Compassion” Speaks on the Treaty Pr...

    Synopsis: Today - we explore two different realities. One where National lost. And another - which is the one we are living with here. Note: the footnote on increased fees/taxes may be of interest to some readers.Article open.Subscribe nowIt’s an alternate timeline.Yesterday as news broke that the central North Island ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Member’s Day

    Today is a Member's Day. First up is the third reading of Dan Bidois' Fair Trading (Gift Card Expiry) Amendment Bill, which will be followed by the committee stage of Deborah Russell's Family Proceedings (Dissolution for Family Violence) Amendment Bill. This will be followed by the second readings of Katie ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Northern Expressway Boondoggle

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has been soaring high with his hubris of getting on and building motorways but some uncomfortable realities are starting to creep in. Back in July he announced that the government was pushing on with a Northland Expressway using an “accelerated delivery strategy” The Coalition Government is ...
    2 days ago
  • Never Enough

    However much I'm falling downNever enoughHowever much I'm falling outNever, never enough!Whatever smile I smile the mostNever enoughHowever I smile I smile the mostSongwriters: Robert James Smith / Simon Gallup / Boris Williams / Porl ThompsonToday in Nick’s Kōrero:A death in the Emergency Department at Rotorua Hospital.A sad homecoming and ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Question Two of The Kākā Project of 2026 for 2050 (TKP 26/50)

    Kia ora.Last month I proposed restarting The Kākā Project work done before the 2023 election as The Kākā Project of 2026 for 2050 (TKP 26/50), aiming to be up and running before the 2025 Local Government elections, and then in a finalised form by the 2026 General Elections.A couple of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Why is God Obsessed with Spanking?

    Hi,If you’ve read Webworm for a while, you’ll be aware that I’ve spent a lot of time writing about horrific, corrupt megachurches and the shitty men who lead them.And in all of this writing, I think some people have this idea that I hate Christians or Christianity. As I explain ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Inside the public service

    In 2023, there were 63,117 full-time public servants earning, on average, $97,200 a year each. All up, that is a cost to the Government of $6.1 billion a year. It’s little wonder, then, that the public service has become a political whipping boy castigated by the Prime Minister and members ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • New Models Show Stronger Atlantic Hurricanes, and More of Them

    This is a re-post from This is Not Cool Here’s an example of some of the best kind of climate reporting, especially in that it relates to impacts that will directly affect the audience. WFLA in Tampa conducted a study in collaboration with the Department of Energy, analyzing trends in ...
    3 days ago
  • Where ever do they find these people?

    A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, is how Winston Churchill described the Soviet Union in 1939.  How might the great man have described the 2024 government of New Zealand, do we think? I can't imagine he would have thought them all that mysterious or enigmatic. I think ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Motorway madness

    How mad is National's obsession with roads? One of their pet projects - a truck highway to Whangārei - is going to eat 10% of our total infrastructure budget for the next 25 years: Official advice from the Infrastructure Commission shows the government could be set to spend 10 ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Our transport planning system is fundamentally broken

    Ever since Wayne Brown became mayor (nearly two years ago now) he’s been wanting to progress an “integrated transport plan” with the government – which sounded a lot like the previous Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) with just a different name. It seems like a fair bit of work progressed ...
    3 days ago
  • Thou Shalt Not Steal

    And they taught usWhoa-oh, black woman, thou shalt not stealI said, hey, yeah, black man, thou shalt not stealWe're gonna civilise your black barbaric livesAnd we teach you how to kneelBut your history couldn't hide the genocideThe hypocrisy to us was realFor your Jesus said you're supposed to giveThe oppressed ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • How mismanagement, not wind and solar energy, causes blackouts

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections In February 2021, several severe storms swept across the United States, culminating with one that the Weather Channel unofficially named Winter Storm Uri. In Texas, Uri knocked out power to over 4.5 million homes and 10 million people. Hundreds of Texans died as a ...
    3 days ago
  • The ‘Infra Boys’ Highway to Budget Hell

    Chris Bishop has enthusiastically dubbed himself and Simeon Brown “the Infra Boys”, but they need to take note of the sums around their roading dreams. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Media Link: “AVFA” on the politics of desperation.

    In this podcast Selwyn Manning and I talk about what appears to be a particular type of end-game in the long transition to systemic realignment in international affairs, in which the move to a new multipolar order with different characteristics … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • The cost of flying blind

    Just over two years ago, when worries about immediate mass-death from covid had waned, and people started to talk about covid becoming "endemic", I asked various government agencies what work they'd done on the costs of that - and particularly, on the cost of Long Covid. The answer was that ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Seymour vs The Clergy

    For paid subscribers“Aotearoa is not as malleable as they think,” Lynette wrote last week on Homage to Simeon Brown:In my heart/mind, that phrase ricocheted over the next days, translating out to “We are not so malleable.”It gave me comfort. I always felt that we were given an advantage in New ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Unstoppable Minister McKee

    All smiles, I know what it takes to fool this townI'll do it 'til the sun goes downAnd all through the nighttimeOh, yeahOh, yeah, I'll tell you what you wanna hearLeave my sunglasses on while I shed a tearIt's never the right timeYeah, yeahSong by SiaLast night there was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Could outdoor dining revitalise Queen Street?

    This is a guest post by Ben van Bruggen of The Urban Room,.An earlier version of this post appeared on LinkedIn. All images are by Ben. Have you noticed that there’s almost nowhere on Queen Street that invites you to stop, sit outside and enjoy a coffee, let alone ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    4 days ago
  • Hipkins challenges long-held Labour view Government must stay below 30% of GDP

    Hipkins says when considering tax settings and the size of government, the big question mark is over what happens with the balance between the size of the working-age population and the growing number of Kiwis over the age of 65. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Your invite to Webworm Chat (a bit like Reddit)

    Hi,One of the things I love the most about Webworm is, well, you. The community that’s gathered around this lil’ newsletter isn’t something I ever expected when I started writing it four years ago — now the comments section is one of my favourite places on the internet. The comments ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Seymour’s Treaty bill making Nats nervous

    A delay in reappointing a top civil servant may indicate a growing nervousness within the National Party about the potential consequences of David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill. Dave Samuels is waiting for reappointment as the Chief Executive of Te Puni Kokiri, but POLITIK understands that what should have been a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #36

    A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 1, 2024 thru Sat, September 7, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is about how peopele are not born stupid but can be fooled ...
    5 days ago
  • Time for a Change

    You act as thoughYou are a blind manWho's crying, crying 'boutAll the virgins that are dyingIn your habitual dreams, you knowSeems you need more sleepBut like a parrot in a flaming treeI know it's pretty hard to seeI'm beginning to wonderIf it's time for a changeSong: Phil JuddThe next line ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Six.

    The “double shocks” in post Cold War international affairs. The end of the Cold War fundamentally altered the global geostrategic context. In particular, the end of the nuclear “balance of terror” between the USA and USSR, coupled with the relaxation … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Buried deep

    Here's a bike on Manchester St, Feilding. I took this photo on Friday night after a very nice dinner at the very nice Vietnamese restaurant, Saigon, on Manchester Street.I thought to myself, Manchester Street? Bicycle? This could be the very spot.To recap from an earlier edition: on a February night ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies, Excerpt Five.

    Military politics as a distinct “partial regime.” Notwithstanding their peripheral status, national defense offers the raison d’être of the combat function, which their relative vulnerability makes apparent, so military forces in small peripheral democracies must be very conscious of events … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago
  • Leadership for Dummies

    If you’re going somewhere, do you maybe take a bit of an interest in the place? Read up a bit on the history, current events, places to see - that sort of thing? Presumably, if you’re taking a trip somewhere, it’s for a reason. But what if you’re going somewhere ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Home again

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Dead even tie for hottest August ever

    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:The month of August was 1.49˚C warmer than pre-industrial levels, tying with 2023 for the warmest August ever, according ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 7

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the debate about how to responde to climate disinformation; and special guest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Have We an Infrastructure Deficit?

    An Infrastructure New Zealand report says we are keeping up with infrastructure better than we might have thought from the grumbling. But the challenge of providing for the future remains.I was astonished to learn that the quantity of our infrastructure has been keeping up with economic growth. Your paper almost ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago
  • Councils reject racism

    Last month, National passed a racist law requiring local councils to remove their Māori wards, or hold a referendum on them at the 2025 local body election. The final councils voted today, and the verdict is in: an overwhelming rejection. Only two councils out of 45 supported National's racist agenda ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • Homage to Simeon Brown

    Open to all - happy weekend ahead, friends.Today I just want to be petty. It’s the way I imagine this chap is -Not only as a political persona. But his real-deal inner personality, in all its glory - appears to be pure pettiness & populist driven.Sometimes I wonder if Simeon ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    7 days ago
  • Government of deceit

    When National cut health spending and imposed a commissioner on Te Whatu Ora, they claimed that it was necessary because the organisation was bloated and inefficient, with "14 layers of management between the CEO and the patient". But it turns out they were simply lying: Health Minister Shane Reti’s ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • The professionals actually think and act like our Government has no fiscal crisis at all

    Treasury staff at work: The demand for a new 12-year Government bond was so strong, Treasury decided to double the amount of bonds it sold. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 6-September-2024

    Welcome to another Friday and another roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. As always, this and every post is brought to you by the Greater Auckland crew. If you like our work and you’d like to see more of it, we invite you to join our regular ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies; Excerpt Four.

    Internal versus external security. Regardless of who rules, large countries can afford to separate external and internal security functions (even if internal control functions predominate under authoritarian regimes). In fact, given the logic of power concentration and institutional centralization of … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • A Hole In The River

    There's a hole in the river where her memory liesFrom the land of the living to the air and skyShe was coming to see him, but something changed her mindDrove her down to the riverThere is no returnSongwriters: Neil Finn/Eddie RaynerThe king is dead; long live the queen!Yesterday was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bright Blue His Jacket Ain’t But I Love This Fellow: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power E...

    My conclusion last week was that The Rings of Power season two represented a major improvement in the series. The writing’s just so much better, and honestly, its major problems are less the result of the current episodes and more creatures arising from season one plot-holes. I found episode three ...
    1 week ago
  • Who should we thank for the defeat of the Nazis

    As a child in the 1950s, I thought the British had won the Second World War because that’s what all our comics said. Later on, the films and comics told me that the Americans won the war. In my late teens, I found out that the Soviet Union ...
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #36 2024

    Open access notables Diurnal Temperature Range Trends Differ Below and Above the Melting Point, Pithan & Schatt, Geophysical Research Letters: The globally averaged diurnal temperature range (DTR) has shrunk since the mid-20th century, and climate models project further shrinking. Observations indicate a slowdown or reversal of this trend in recent decades. ...
    1 week ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm

    Photo by Jenny Bess on UnsplashCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with special guests:5.00 pm - 5.10 pm - Bernard and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Media Link: Discussing the NZSIS Security Threat Report.

    I was interviewed by Mike Hosking at NewstalkZB and a few other media outlets about the NZSIS Security Threat Report released recently. I have long advocated for more transparency, accountability and oversight of the NZ Intelligence Community, and although the … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • How do I make this better for people who drive Ford Rangers?

    Home, home again to a long warm embrace. Plenty of reasons to be glad to be back.But also, reasons for dejection.You, yes you, Simeon Brown, you odious little oik, you bible thumping petrol-pandering ratfucker weasel. You would be Reason Number One. Well, maybe first among equals with Seymour and Of-Seymour ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • A missed opportunity

    The government introduced a pretty big piece of constitutional legislation today: the Parliament Bill. But rather than the contentious constitutional change (four year terms) pushed by Labour, this merely consolidates the existing legislation covering Parliament - currently scattered across four different Acts - into one piece of legislation. While I ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Nicola Willis Seeks New Sidekick To Help Fix NZ’s Economy

    Synopsis:Nicola Willis is seeking a new Treasury Boss after Dr Caralee McLiesh’s tenure ends this month. She didn’t listen to McLiesh. Will she listen to the new one?And why is Atlas Network’s Taxpayers Union chiming in?Please consider subscribing or supporting my work. Thanks, Tui.About CaraleeAt the beginning of July, Newsroom ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Inflation alive and kicking in our land of the long white monopolies

    The golden days of profit continue for the the Foodstuffs (Pak’n’Save and New World) and Woolworths supermarket duopoly. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 5:The Groceries Commissioner has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The thermodynamics of electric vs. internal combustion cars

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler I love thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is like your mom: it may not tell you what you can do, but it damn well tells you what you can’t do. I’ve written a few previous posts that include thermodynamics, like one on air capture of ...
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Three.

    The notion of geopolitical  “periphery.” The concept of periphery used here refers strictly to what can be called the geopolitical periphery. Being on the geopolitical periphery is an analytic virtue because it makes for more visible policy reform in response … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • Venus Hum

    Fill me up with soundThe world sings with me a million smiles an hourI can see me dancing on my radioI can hear you singing in the blades of grassYellow dandelions on my way to schoolBig Beautiful Sky!Song: Venus Hum.Good morning, all you lovely people, and welcome to the 700th ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • I Went to a Creed Concert

    Note: The audio attached to this Webworm compliments today’s newsletter. I collected it as I met people attending a Creed concert. Their opinions may differ to mine. Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago
  • Government migration policy backfires; thousands of unemployed nurses

    The country has imported literally thousands of nurses over the past few months yet whether they are being employed as nurses is another matter. Just what is going on with HealthNZ and it nurses is, at best, opaque, in that it will not release anything but broad general statistics and ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • A Time For Unity.

    Emotional Response: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addresses mourners at the tangi of King Tuheitia on Turangawaewae Marae on Saturday, 31 August 2024.THE DEATH OF KING TUHEITIA could hardly have come at a worse time for Maoridom. The power of the Kingitanga to unify te iwi Māori was demonstrated powerfully at January’s ...
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again

    National's tax cut policies relied on stealing revenue from the ETS (previously used to fund emissions reduction) to fund tax cuts to landlords. So how's that going? Badly. Today's auction failed again, with zero units (of a possible 7.6 million) sold. Which means they have a $456 million hole in ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Two.

    A question of size. Small size generally means large vulnerability. The perception of threat is broader and often more immediate for small countries. The feeling of comparative weakness, of exposure to risk, and of potential intimidation by larger powers often … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago

  • New Bill to crack down on youth vaping

    The coalition Government has introduced legislation to tackle youth vaping, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2) is aimed at preventing youth vaping.  “While vaping has contributed to a significant fall in our smoking rates, the rise in youth vaping ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Interest in agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review welcomed

    Regulation Minister David Seymour, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard have welcomed interest in the agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review. The review by the Ministry for Regulation is looking at how to speed up the process to get farmers and growers access to the safe, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Bill to allow online charity lotteries passes first reading

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government is moving at pace to ensure lotteries for charitable purposes are allowed to operate online permanently. Charities fundraising online, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust and local hospices will continue to do ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Tax exempt threshold changes to benefit startups

    Technology companies are among the startups which will benefit from increases to current thresholds of exempt employee share schemes, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Revenue Minister Simon Watts say. Tax exempt thresholds for the schemes are increasing as part of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2024-25, Emergency ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Getting the healthcare you need, when you need it

    The path to faster cancer treatment, an increase in immunisation rates, shorter stays in emergency departments and quick assessment and treatments when you are sick has been laid out today. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has revealed details of how the ambitious health targets the Government has set will be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Targeted supports to accelerate reading

    The coalition Government is delivering targeted and structured literacy supports to accelerate learning for struggling readers. From Term 1 2025, $33 million of funding for Reading Recovery and Early Literacy Support will be reprioritised to interventions which align with structured approaches to teaching. “Structured literacy will change the way children ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Survivors invited to Abuse in Care national apology

    With two months until the national apology to survivors of abuse in care, expressions of interest have opened for survivors wanting to attend. “The Prime Minister will deliver a national apology on Tuesday 12 November in Parliament. It will be a very significant day for survivors, their families, whānau and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Rangatahi inspire at Ngā Manu Kōrero final

    Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini kē - My success is not mine alone but is the from the strength of the many. Aotearoa New Zealand’s top young speakers are an inspiration for all New Zealanders to learn more about the depth and beauty conveyed ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Driving structured literacy in schools

    The coalition Government is driving confidence in reading and writing in the first years of schooling. “From the first time children step into the classroom, we’re equipping them and teachers with the tools they need to be brilliant in literacy. “From 1 October, schools and kura with Years 0-3 will receive ...
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