Why there should be work and drug test obligations for National MPs

Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, July 16th, 2017 - 52 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, bill english, Dirty Politics, national, national/act government, Politics, same old national - Tags:

Under this Government if you are a beneficiary there are strenuous work obligations and drug test obligations.  The Government seems to take a sadistic pleasure in making people look for non existing jobs or to submit themselves to drug tests that almost invariably showed that they were clean.

It is a shame that these same rules do not apply to National MPs.  If they did it is almost inevitable that the state would save itself the need to pay Todd Barclay’s parliamentary salary.

From Stuff:

It remains unclear whether embattled Clutha-Southland MP Todd Barclay will return to Parliament before retiring at the election in September.

Barclay has been absent from the House and select committees since he announced he would stand down in June over further revelations about his alleged illegal taping of a staff-member.

Parliament is currently in recess but will sit for a further four weeks prior to the election. Barclay is the deputy chair of both the Education and Science and Primary Production select committees.

Senior whip Jami-Lee Ross and Invercargill MP Sarah Dowie are travelling to Queenstown on Tuesday to meet with Barclay.

“We’re talking about local issues, talking about how he’s doing. We know he’s been going into his electorate office and doing work on a regular basis.”

Ross said he would likely be talking to Barclay about whether he was coming back to Parliament or not.

“I don’t know if he’s made a decision yet. I’m sure that will come up in the conversation – we’ll discuss if and when he does come back to Parliament.”

Todd has been elusive ever since the story about the use of the Prime Minister’s fund to pay a former employee compensation for having her rights of privacy breached.  He has not been seen at his office although he has been seen at a local pub.

The young MP, who usually has a busy schedule, hasn’t been spotted at a single public event – even when other National MPs have visited the electorate.

It is understood he was even absent from a National Party fundraiser in Queenstown on Friday, which deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett attended.

Early in July Barclay was spotted taking a phone call outside the Pig and Whistle, in Queenstown. A Stuff reporter approached him for comment and was told several times that he was “not going to be speaking to anybody” and he was “taking a bit of a break” before Barclay disappeared back inside the pub.

And the pressure is on him to return to work.  After all that is what is required of all ordinary workers.  Again from Stuff:

Prime Minister Bill English says he’s expecting MP Todd Barclay back in Parliament next week.

The temperature has been turned up on the National Party’s MP this weekend, with mayors in his Clutha-Southland electorate saying he should either show up to work or quit – and he should front up to a police inquiry.

Despite claims from Barclay and senior Government whip Jami-Lee Ross that Barclay had been hard at work, the only time he’s been seen in public since announcing his resignation was when he was spotted at the Pig and Whistle pub in Queenstown last week.

Prime Minister Bill English and senior Government whip Jami-Lee Ross are sending mixed message on whether Todd Barclay will return to Parliament after recess.

Police want to talk to him about allegations he secretly recorded the phone conversations of his electorate staff member Glenys Dickson, in an ugly falling out.

According to a Stuff source, phone records show Dickson was in constant contact with English as she prepared an employment grievance against Barclay.

She had previously worked for English when he was the local MP, and the two are said to have communicated by phone or text message up to 10 times a day as relations with Barclay deteriorated.

National must be wishing this story would fade.  But this seems unlikely.

52 comments on “Why there should be work and drug test obligations for National MPs ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Kay 1
    16 July 2017 at 9:14 am

    But…but….Nat MPs are fully capable of personal responsibility and don’t need the firm but kind guidance of the State to correct the error of their ways by way of financial sanctions.

    And besides, how will they service their mortgages and overseas trips while they’re being sanctioned??? Won’t someone think of the children?

  2. Ad 2
    16 July 2017 at 9:26 am

    Random drug testing should be in every single workplace. Including Parliament.
    Keep everyone sharp.

    Works in our place.

    • weka 2.1
      16 July 2017 at 9:32 am

      So people at your work place aren’t allowed to smoke cannabis in the weekend or holidays?

      • fender 2.1.1
        16 July 2017 at 12:01 pm

        That would be a shame. I tend to find low level users more innovative, more creative, show more attention to detail and are more inclined to have an agile mind capable of seeing things from many perspectives.

        • weka 2.1.1.1
          16 July 2017 at 12:11 pm

          Yep. It’s the major failing with work place drug testing. It’s not testing for impairment, it’s testing for out of work use. I can see why some workplaces might want to make sure their employees aren’t using daily or high use, but afaik that can’t be tested for.

      • James 2.1.2
        16 July 2017 at 12:07 pm

        This might come as a surprise but they aren’t allowed to by law already.

        • weka 2.1.2.1
          16 July 2017 at 12:09 pm

          I wasn’t talking about legality. The law doesn’t actually stop large numbers of people from using cannabis, in case you hadn’t noticed 😉

        • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2.2
          16 July 2017 at 2:51 pm

          Smoking marijuana or taking other recreational drugs is not illegal.

        • Matthew Whitehead 2.1.2.3
          16 July 2017 at 4:05 pm

          Unless there’s an actual safety concern though, (eg. operating dangerous equiment or heavy vehicles) it should be none of your employer’s concern what you do when you’re not at work. If you’re getting high at work or your personal habits are creating a performance issue, those things can and do deserve to be managed directly, (and they already can be) but the issue is that drug tests mostly don’t tell if you’re high now, they tell if you’ve been high within the last few weeks/months.

      • Ad 2.1.3
        16 July 2017 at 3:28 pm

        they want a stoner operating a digger next to them?

        Nope.

        • weka 2.1.3.1
          16 July 2017 at 3:30 pm

          Someone who smokes the odd joint on the weekend isn’t a stoner.

          • fender 2.1.3.1.1
            16 July 2017 at 3:36 pm

            They are to the chardonnay, pinot swilling people who feel their hobby is better than yours.

          • Ad 2.1.3.1.2
            16 July 2017 at 4:58 pm

            In our workplace that’s just a dumb excuse and will have you disciplined for traces, and by that I mean likely removed from site. Margin of error in our workplace is too small.

            Arguably the margin of error is too small in parliament as well: they write legislation.

            • Incognito 2.1.3.1.2.1
              16 July 2017 at 5:09 pm

              And crap legislation it often is …

            • weka 2.1.3.1.2.2
              16 July 2017 at 5:10 pm

              So you really are saying that none of the employees are allowed to smoke cannabis ever, even on their holiday. Nothing to do with being a stoner. Given that testing doesn’t show impairment, and your workplace operates machinery, I can see why. But I can’t see why that should apply to every workplace in NZ. (I’m not arguing the legalities here)

              • Ad …
                16 July 2017 at 5:18 pm

                Where would like to draw the line?
                One joint? Ten a day?

                And the work areas:
                Mining?
                Forestry?
                Fishing?
                Farming?
                Construction?
                Driving?
                Trucking?

                Ask any employer in those areas if they will allow it.
                It will be pretty blunt.
                And no, no-one from Director down is exempt from random testing.

                Tourist guiding?
                Nurses and surgeons?
                Would be interesting to know how many joints they can do just before they hold a scalpel over you.

                Law?

                Anything else requiring judgement?

                You can have all the rights you like on recreational drugs until you take it to your job.

                I think you will find that the insurers – particularly ACC – take a pretty dim view of anything that impedes judgement. I can certainly tell you that Workplace Health and Safety people do.

                • gsays …
                  16 July 2017 at 5:24 pm

                  Without being specific, what sort of workplace are you referring to Ad?

                  Personally speaking and from experience, inattention is a far greater hazard on the road or workplace than someone using cannabis occasionally. ( 3-4 times a week, not at work.)

                  • Ad …
                    16 July 2017 at 5:28 pm

                    I’m in major construction.

                    • gsays …
                      16 July 2017 at 8:53 pm

                      Cheers.
                      I must admit I find it hard to believe that the directors/management aren’t immune from testing, as they are the ones that ‘generate’ the random testing.
                      In my experience,( hospo and factory work) it is used when management want to be rid of certain worker(s). Results ignored when it suits management.

                • weka …
                  16 July 2017 at 5:24 pm

                  I don’t think people should be smoking on the day they are working. I thought that was clear from my comments.

                  • Ad …
                    16 July 2017 at 5:29 pm

                    The fatty buildup matters; you start drawing on those fat reserves, you release it. You seen how many cops are on the road on Sunday morning?

                    • weka …
                      16 July 2017 at 5:33 pm

                      yes, I understand how THC is stored in the body. I’m just not sure why someone who has a smoke on Saturday night and who works in a job where that doesn’t matter should be penalised. Unless you think all cannabis use is wrong. Maybe you could clarify.

                      “You seen how many cops are on the road on Sunday morning?”

                      You’re not being very cogent. What have cops got to do with workplace drug testing?

                    • Ad …
                      16 July 2017 at 7:21 pm

                      You tell me which job classes should be exempt from drug testing. The post said Parliamentarians should be tested.

                      Cops are out on Sunday morning to catch drivers who still have too much in their system from Saturday morning.

                      I’m sure people who don’t work can smoke as much dope as they like. They can call it a “right” if it makes them feel better. Over to them.

                      Meantime, the rest of us have to work.

                      You don’t have a right to smoke dope at work in this country, and that should never change.

                • McFlock …
                  16 July 2017 at 7:18 pm

                  So what’s actually the problem with impairment testing rather than substance testing?

                  That would address any issues caused by all drugs currently tested for, the ones we have no test for, fatigue, debilitating illnesses, and idiots.

    • marty mars 2.2
      16 July 2017 at 9:35 am

      You work from home don’t you?

      Why just at work. Obviously before any sport or driving or activity with childen. Maybe at the door to the house and if you don’t pass your door doesn’t open your car won’t start calls just to emergency. That would help ‘mothers little helper’ scenarios and secret drinkers.

      • Ad 2.2.1
        16 July 2017 at 5:02 pm

        Young people are already on a 0% alcohol tolerance for driving.
        Makes perfect sense: you’re operating heavy machinery at speed with everyone else vulnerable to your judgement. It’s the law and it makes sense.

        They should apply 0% tolerance to marijuana as well while driving.

    • Psycho Milt 2.3
      16 July 2017 at 5:49 pm

      Random drug testing should be in every single workplace.

      After they’ve developed random drug testing that can test for impairment, maybe. Until then, it’s just bullshit.

    • mary_a 2.4
      16 July 2017 at 5:52 pm

      Absolutely Ad (2) With you 100% there. Given the responsibility of important decision and law making involved, it’s imperative Parliamentarians are subject to substance testing.

  3. dukeofurl 3
    16 July 2017 at 9:31 am

    Remember all the kerfuffle about Hone Harawiras poor attendance at parliament ?

    Wasnt that being led by the usual noisemakers Hooton Farrar and Slater ? I thought they succeeded in having no show no pay provisions bought in.

    http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/wagging-mps-to-be-held-accountable-2014012810

    “The Prime Minister has called out Mana Party leader Hone Harawira as one of the MPs “taking the mickey” by not showing up in the House.”

    “Parliament has adopted a roll call and absentees will need to report to their party whip or the Speaker to explain themselves, while serial waggers will face being publicly outed in a weekly journal.

    The changes come into play from today, which is the first sitting day of Parliament for the year.

    Minister Jo Goodhew, who once sat on a governance group for school truancy, says the change is entirely appropriate.

    “Just choosing to not be in Wellington because you can’t be bothered this week is not okay,” says Ms Goodhew.

    As usual its different rules when the Tories do it.

  4. Sabine 4
    16 July 2017 at 10:42 am

    drug testing inclusive alcohol consumption should be mandatory for all members of parliament, their staff, any contractors working government jobs, and sub contractors etc etc etc.

    what would Mrs. Bennett – she who would be nothing without taxpayers largesse paying for her livestyle – say? Oh yeah, just wanting to make sure we don’t waste taxpayers money.
    Same for the lying piece of housing welfare fraud that is currently masquerading as PM. Drug test him every day. Make his life as miserable as they make it for people who have lost their jobs, their health and have to basically give up their humanity and dignity for a literal hand out that is too little to live on but too much to die of at the same time. The pox on all their houses. May they receive what they give.

    • gsays 4.1
      16 July 2017 at 8:44 pm

      Heaven forbid Sabine.
      Nandor Tanzcos passed a comment along the lines of senior MPs being drunk in charge of the country.
      A comment that resonated with me.
      Witness Muldoon calling snap election and Bolger and Peters negotiating over a single malt.
      It caused howls of outrage and he ended up apologising.

  5. Keith 5
    16 July 2017 at 11:17 am

    Another National Party tax payer benny bludger.

    He doesn’t turn up to work so why isn’t his pay stopped, him forced to repay it and an investigation held as to why this bludger is ripping us off??

    Come on National, one rule for all!

  6. dukeofurl 6
    16 July 2017 at 11:55 am

    apparently they can have their pay docked

    “Lazy MPs will have their attendance recorded – and made public – from today.[jan 2014]
    Parliament has adopted a roll call to show how many MPs – who earn at least $147,800 a year – turn up for debates, select committees and other business.
    And as well as being named and shamed, those who skip more than three sitting days will have their wages immediately docked by 0.2 per cent. For a backbencher this would be $295.
    MPs also face suspension if the Speaker judges their absences “grossly disorderly conduct.”

    Wouldnt mind betting Barclay can flout these ‘rules’ as well and continue to be paid

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9655173/MPs-attendance-records-revealed

  7. James 7
    16 July 2017 at 12:06 pm

    What a great idea. Of course it would have to apply to the greens and labour as well.

    Which party do you think would have the highest “fail” rate.

    • mickysavage 7.1
      16 July 2017 at 12:50 pm

      National by a mile.

      • Red 7.1.1
        16 July 2017 at 2:57 pm

        Well labour has hardly any MPs and less after September so I guess that makes sense

      • Ad 7.1.2
        16 July 2017 at 5:20 pm

        To be in parliament and have to listen to Bill English pretent to be a leader of anything I’d have to have coke in my asthma ventilator.

    • Matthew Whitehead 7.2
      16 July 2017 at 4:09 pm

      I would stack Green attendance up against any other party, for sure, they do a very good job at not only being on-premises but actually being in the debating chamber, even for evening debates.

      I imagine the worst parties are National and UF, judging from parliamentary footage.

  8. mosa 8
    16 July 2017 at 12:18 pm

    $3000 a week plus other perks is not bad when you can engage in illegal activity and your employer will cover it up and use somebody else’s money to pay compensation to keep it from hurting you publicly and the best one , not having to co’operate with a police investigation in other words your above the law as well !!!! oh and come back to work when you feel like it.

    Shit where do you sign up for a job like that ?
    The National party must be swamped with greedy criminals wanting to apply for such a promising safe career.

    This is the real John Key legacy.

    • Incognito 8.1
      16 July 2017 at 12:33 pm

      Shit where do you sign up for a job like that ?

      Let’s put it this way: you won’t find jobs like that on Seek.

    • mosa 8.2
      16 July 2017 at 2:33 pm

      Oh wait its already filled with greedy criminals my mistake.

  9. Cinny 9
    16 July 2017 at 7:05 pm

    Dodgy Todd, this story is far from over.

    Todd is AWOL, but did have the time to have a go at the Clutha District Council…

    Barclay was also critical of the council for not sending a representative to a meeting h

    We had organised with Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism Minister Paula Bennett in late June in Queenstown. Barclay was not at that meeting himself.

    So he is back in Parliament next week, will he front up to media? Will he attend question time the following week?

    Will media grow a pair and ask Bill about it tomorrow?

    Will Newshub grow a pair, it’s a sad state of affairs when a tv sports presenter is allowed to comment on politics and endorse the national party while stroking his own ego on morning TV.

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    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago

  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    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
    6 days ago

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    7 days ago

  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    7 days ago

  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    7 days ago

  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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