Will English speak up on Trump’s ban?

Written By: - Date published: 6:50 am, January 30th, 2017 - 133 comments
Categories: bill english, human rights, racism, us politics - Tags: , ,

Good to hear that – World leaders decry Trump’s refugee ban

World leaders, human rights groups and activists around the globe have criticised Donald Trump’s order halting all refugee admissions to the US and temporarily barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

What does the PM of our country have to say on the matter? Will Bill English speak up?

This is only the beginning – White House discussing asking foreign visitors for social media info and cell phone contacts

Trump administration officials are discussing the possibility of asking foreign visitors to disclose all websites and social media sites they visit, and to share the contacts in their cell phones. If the foreign visitor declines to share such information, he or she could be denied entry.

133 comments on “Will English speak up on Trump’s ban? ”

  1. joe90 1

    Will Bill English speak up?

    Nah.
    /

    The new US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has pledged to overhaul the world body and warned US allies that she will be “taking names” of countries that do not support Washington.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/27/nikki-haley-united-nations-ambassador-taking-names

  2. One Anonymous Bloke 2

    Will English speak up… and if not, which of his colleagues will show him what personal responsibility looks like?

    Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston said that Trump should be disinvited from addressing the Houses of Parliament when he visits the UK later this year.

  3. North 3

    Well done Metiria Turei ! Delightful to hear her giving Wee Guyon a lesson in common sense on Morning Report around 8.20 this morning re the question posed in this post. This notwithstanding increasingly ‘miffed head prefect’ carry on from him. Link not available but will put it up if/when it is.

    • Carolyn_nth 3.1

      In this interview?:

      The Green Party’s Metiria Turei says the ban by Donald Trump is “grossly unjust” for those people who have been detained, also a “grossly irresponsible” move with no thought at all for the consequnces.

    • Macro 3.2

      This notwithstanding increasingly ‘miffed head prefect’ carry on from him

      Yes! I thought a very poor interview by him – he seemed incapable of waiting for an answer and was speaking over her constantly – even as she was giving the answer to him! I think he thought he “had” her wrt to the Greens working with NZF, and not agreeing with Winston on the support of Trump’s policy. Such simplistic thinking is the ruination of Political thought in NZ. We have a country where the Parliament is formed by a MMP vote. So Parties have to work together to find policies where they can agree, and progress those, and agree to disagree on other matters. Those other matters are then returned to voters to determine where the support lies.
      There are a number of Policies upon which NZF, the Greens, and Labour all agree. The other matters, where disagreement between Parties exist, can be worked through over time and the relative support for them tested, through the ballot box, or public submissions to Select Committees, or other forms of public consultation.
      When will radio interviewers realise that not all questions can be answered with a simple “Yes” or “No” or in one sentence?
      Metiria handled it very well. IMHO.

  4. Cinny 4

    I cant see English speaking up about much, he’s no leader and our country needs a strong principled leader to stand up to Agent Orange, among others, when necessary.

    English is gutless, that’s a given.

    “So we will work with whatever the Trump administration produces. That’s what you have to do when you’re a small country.”
    No Bill, that’s what you would do, not what you ‘have to do’. The outgoing PM seems to prefer doing whatever is easy rather than what is right.

    I can think of a leader, an Alpha that would stand up to Agent Orange if needed.
    Alpha Andy the future PM of NZ, can’t happen soon enough.

    We need a PM who is a leader not a lacky.

  5. Glenn 5

    Teresa May finally said she “disagreed with Trumps travel ban” after being prodded by a few Conservative MPs. Not really condemnation though.
    Which Nat MP will be the first to prod English if he makes no statement . Any?

    Biggest ever demonstration planned to coincide with Trumps visit to UK.
    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/donald-trump-london-protest-demonstration-us-president-theresa-may-a7550591.html

    • Draco T Bastard 5.2

      Which Nat MP will be the first to prod English if he makes no statement . Any?

      They’re waiting for the focus groups. After all, they probably see nothing wrong with what Trump and his administration are doing.

      • Incognito 5.2.1

        Snap!

      • TheExtremist 5.2.2

        “After all, they probably see nothing wrong with what Trump and his administration are doing.”

        Na, I don’t think there is any politician in New Zealand who would agree with what Trump is doing. Maybe you’re more pessimistic than me but I can’t see anyone standing for what Trump stands for… though I do remember one former Labour Party candidate who was quite keen on him…

        • Draco T Bastard 5.2.2.1

          I think that there are politicians in NZ who agree with Trump and what he’s done – they’re just not telling anyone about it.

    • Siobhan 5.3

      Well I wouldn’t hold your breath….who could forget Keys powerful condemnation of the deportation of NZ born Australians..

      “For a start off, seeing will be believing, but if you look at the plight of New Zealanders in Australia, the sense we’ve been getting from the Australian Government is there’s some movement happening on that issue.

      “He thought Turnbull was a “reasonable, sensitive guy” who would consider all issues.”

      Or maybe Nationals stand on Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers…

  6. Carolyn_nth 6

    Susan Devoy speaks:

    The Prime Minister should make it clear Muslim New Zealanders will not face similar actions to US President Trump’s travel ban on Muslim countries, the Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy says.

    • Morrissey 6.1

      Ha! English never lifted a finger to help New Zealanders being persecuted and imprisoned illegally by Australia. Do you think he’ll suddenly develop a backbone now?

      • Johan 6.1.1

        Bill who??? At least the Canadian leadership have some balls, despite living next door and being very much in the firing line, with impending re-negotiations of NAFTA.

      • Richard McGrath 6.1.2

        You mean those Kiwi-born non-citizens of Australia who broke the law over there and now find their residence status being revoked and deportation imminent, pending appeals (which many of them win and then resettle in Australia)?

  7. Anne 7

    Good for Angela Merkel:

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/29/merkel-explains-geneva-refugee-convention-to-trump-in-phone-call

    And from the Aussie political trollop:

    Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, said the government would continue to work closely with the Trump administration to implement “strong border policies”. She said: “We share a common view on many issues so we will continue to work very closely with the Trump administration,” adding: “The very best days of the Australia-US relationship lie ahead.”

    • Macro 7.1

      hmmm – conveniently overlooking the nice little arrangement she and Peter had managed to put together for the US to take the Manus Island folk off their dirty little hands.

      • Richard McGrath 7.1.1

        So you think the thousand or so detainees on Manus shouldn’t have been allowed to settle in the USA?

        • Macro 7.1.1.1

          Under the UNHCR to which Australia – as well as the USA are signatories – it is Australia’s responsibility to grant them the asylum they seek.

          Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution in other countries. Human rights are universal. They are basic freedoms and protections that everyone is entitled to.

          It is not illegal for people to flee persecution in their homeland or to cross borders without documents or passports in order to seek asylum. It is not a crime under Australian law to arrive here by boat without a valid visa and ask for protection.

          People have been fleeing persecution in their homelands for centuries, such as during the fall of the Roman Empire, during World War I and II and during the Vietnam War.

          More recently, religious, ethnic and political conflicts in Asia, Africa and the Middle East have left people with no choice but to flee persecution.

          The fact that almost all of these asylum seekers have now been classified refugees means that they were genuine asylum seekers in the first place.
          The banning order by Trump was contrary to the agreement from Obama to take these few people and settle them. However, it now seems that anything is possible under the chump and what he signed doesn’t really mean anything because apparently despite banning the entry of all refugees the 1000 or so from Australia are ok!
          https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jan/29/donald-trump-malcolm-turnbull-phone-call-immigration-ban-muslim
          I think for the poor unfortunate people who fled from one horror to the next they may now be thinking of fleeing again. And I see one already has.

          • Richard McGrath 7.1.1.1.1

            Why did these asylum seekers not claim refuge in Indonesia, from where almost all of them set off in boats?

            • Macro 7.1.1.1.1.1

              Maybe because …

              The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) remains concerned by the lack of legal frameworks in South East Asian countries for the protection of asylum seekers. Although Indonesia is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it has not signed the Refugees Convention.

              As the fourth most populous country in the world, with a population of 240 million, Indonesia is focused on managing its diverse ethnic and cultural groups. Asylum seekers do not figure prominently in the national discourse.

              Yet Indonesia is a porous archipelago and important transit country (p 57) for those applying for protection. Asylum seekers from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Burma move through Indonesia by air, land and sea seeking protection.

              It is not possible to be granted asylum or refugee status under Indonesia law, nor has the government established a system for providing protection to refugees.

              http://www.asyluminsight.com/indonesia/#.WI8BcfNZ87A

    • Steve Wrathall 7.2

      So we should emulate Germany-where muslim migrants commit mass rape attacks on women, and then the govt & press try to hush it up?

      • KJT 7.2.1

        I have several Muslim migrants working with me.

        They are about as dangerous as your average Presbyterian.

        Like most people they just want to fit in, contribute to New Zealand,and have a decent life for themselves and their kids.

        It is shameful that we allow wealthy economic refugees from the USA, UK and China to escape from the mess, of their own making, while we refuse asylum to, a reasonable number,of victims of the middle Eastern wars we help to wage.

      • The Fairy Godmother 7.2.2

        How many Muslims do you know personally? I suspect none. Totally agree with KJT and Carolyn _nth. I have met and worked with many Muslim people and have found them to be good decent people as indeed most New Zealanders are. I would be more afraid of extremist Christians out to stop women having access to birth control and abortion – sending us back to the bad old days bare foot and pregnant. Looking at what is happening in the US this is not an impossibility.

        • Steve Wrathall 7.2.2.1

          Of course muslims can be adorable, hardworking etc when they are a small minority living in an overwhelmingly non-muslim country. But when they are the majority on a country of part thereof then you get the ghettoisation, sharia patrols, sharia courts, FGM, honour killings, pedophile grooming gangs, de-facto sharia blasphemy restrictions by the MSM, and the moderates are irrelevant.
          Current US muslims will be the greatest beneficiaries of Trumps’s policy. It allows them the freedom to be as liberal as they like, unlike in the hellholes they came from, and increasingly the islamised dish cities of Europe.

          • Morrissey 7.2.2.1.1

            I doubt that hardly anyone other than I bothered to look at this loon’s Paul Holmes-style rant….

            …ghettoisation, sharia patrols, sharia courts, FGM, honour killings…

            [SNIP]

            Eighty years ago people like Steve Wrathall wrote fevered letters to the editor denouncing Jewish refugees in similar unhinged fashion.

            • Steve Wrathall 7.2.2.1.1.1

              So you are denying that islamic immigration to Europe has produced all of these? London Mayor Sadiq Khan say that terror attacks are now “part and parcel of living in a city”. This is horrifying that islam is trying to get us to accept indemic violence as normal.

          • McFlock 7.2.2.1.2

            Whereas you’re in the minority, and you’re not adorable at all.

      • Macro 7.2.3

        In fact, Germany’s rape culture is deeply rooted in our collective psyche.

        Sexual assaults and even rape happen every year at big events like Oktoberfest. “The way to the toilet alone is like running the gauntlet: within 50 feet, you can be sure to tally three hugs from drunken strangers, two pats on the ass, someone looking up your dirndl, and some beer purposely splashed right down your cleavage,” wrote Karoline Beisel and Beate Wild in 2011, in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. An average of ten reported rapes take place each year at Oktoberfest. The estimated number of unreported cases is 200.

        https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/rape-culture-germany-cologne-new-years-2016-876
        I think you will find the same culture exists here.

        • Psycho Milt 7.2.3.1

          Yep, rape culture in Germany and NZ is pretty similar (actually, I suspect NZ is worse, but maybe that’s just because I know it better). Both pale in comparison with rape culture in Muslim countries, though. There’s a reason why Sheikh Hilali gave that “uncovered meat” sermon – where he comes from, that’s the norm.

          • Macro 7.2.3.1.1

            Yep, rape culture in Germany and NZ is pretty similar (actually, I suspect NZ is worse,

            My youngest daughter is working in High Schools right now on a programme trying to address this issue.

            Agreed the domination of women world wide is an issue across almost all cultures, if not all. I just don’t think it should be a reason to reject one ethnicity or cultural group from travel, or seeking refuge.

            • Psycho Milt 7.2.3.1.1.1

              Yes. Steve’s argument “Muslim migrants in Germany molested some women, therefore we need to prevent Muslims entering the country” is a non sequitur, unless he accidentally left out some additional premises that would make it coherent. I suspect he didn’t though.

      • North 7.2.4

        We could try you saving us from your reflections of ‘lovey-dovey’ for a US president with unmistakeably psychotic tendencies, Wrathall. Always the barely considered, angry, high-pitched scream from you !

      • lprent 7.2.5

        I work with several immigrants of the muslim faith (and damn near every other faith including jewish). The most obnoxious and probably the most dangerous one around is me – a much older kiwi of no discernible faith.

        However, Steve, I tend to think the ignorant shithead bigots like you are mostly a danger to yourselves. So eaten up by hate and envy that your personality appears to be hollowed out. A mere shadow of a person. A wraith without any apparent social responsibility….

        • In Vino 7.2.5.1

          I sometimes think you deliberately over-severe, but this time I find you a deeply, humane, understanding person.

  8. Sutton's li'l helper 8

    He’ll be waiting for the polling/focus group results to come in on the subject.

  9. michelle 9

    English needs to get some guts but he won’t even the person that said these words his mate John had none himself

  10. Steve Wrathall 10

    Where is the Labour/Green outrage at the banning of Israelis from 16 countries-incl 6/7 on Trump’s list? Can I visit Mecca?

    • Morrissey 10.1

      Moron, go away. You’re out of your depth.

      • HDCAFriendlyTroll 10.1.1

        You poor boy. Sit down. Here, have a cuppa.

      • Steve Wrathall 10.1.2

        Right, so when it is pointed out, the long-standing muslim discrimination against those who don’t follow the ROP, then you are all silent. But when a nation finally pushes back and decides to protect its citizens-outrage.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 10.1.2.1

          A simple Google search is all it takes to shatter your lie about silence. Kim Kardashian got the stats right. What’s your excuse?

          Are all your arguments this crap?

          • HDCAFriendlyTroll 10.1.2.1.1

            I tried googling “Kim Kardashian stats” but all I got was
            “Kim Kardashian Height Weight Body Statistics / Measurements. Kim Kardashian Height -159 cm, Weight -65 kg, Measurements -38-26.5-41, Bra Size -34D, “

              • HDCAFriendlyTroll

                Wow, I never would have taken you for a Kardashian fan, OAB.

                Anyway, her stats may be correct but her argument is wrong.

                When a terrorist commits a terrorist act on American soil it has far more ramifications than some hillbilly shooting someone in a bar. The two just can’t be compared. It’s the same false argument put forth by those who go on about the number of people killed in Iraq.

                Or, short version – it’s not a numbers game.

                • One Anonymous Bloke

                  When a US drone commits a terrorist act on Yemeni soil it has far more ramifications than some hillbilly shooting someone in a bar too.

                  Short version, violence begets violence, and still not a single one of the terrorist attacks on US soil would have been prevented by this right wing clusterfuck.

                  And you have the face to bring up false comparisons. Pfft.

    • North 10.2

      So Wrathall it’s not the ongoing illegal settlement construction, the continued blockade of Gaza, and the biennial kill-fest of Palestinian children which has Zionist Israel unwelcome all around the world ? You’re a troublingly troubled thing Wrathall. Grab some clippers and take it out on your hedge.

  11. Incognito 11

    National-ACT are vulnerable; one the one hand they’ve allowed immigration levels to skyrocket and on the other hand they only allow entry to 750 international refugees each year.

    A strong clear signal from our political leadership is desired to reaffirm our values to ourselves, to our nation, rather than to some plonker in DC. Given that Bill English will be a no-show at Waitangi I don’t think he’ll have the guts to stand up and speak up & out.

  12. Skeptic 12

    Looking at this question objectively, Bill is damned if he does speak out against Trump and damned if he doesn’t. Historically National has been fairly progressive on human rights issues – not always but overall – and fairly sympathetic on immigration policy – so English may follow tradition. On the other hand, he may have recognized that Trump is a vindictive bastard and won’t want to jeopardize any future trade deals, so will probably keep quiet and swallow home grown outrage. Interesting what?

    • Carolyn_nth 12.1

      Good luck with the: any (positive for NZ) trade deals that would be done whether Bling presents himself as a doormat or stands up for what’s right!

    • Draco T Bastard 12.2

      Historically National has been fairly progressive on human rights issues – not always but overall

      No they haven’t.

      and fairly sympathetic on immigration policy

      They love immigration. It brings in more people so that more people can be taxed allowing them to lower taxes on the rich thus boosting profits.

  13. Infused 13

    Why does he need to? Trump was elected on doing this and he’s doing it. No onexception in us govt will give two shits what bill thinks.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 13.1

      Do you care what he thinks? I pick you as more follow the leader and open and close the camp gate sort of fellow.

      • Infused 13.1.1

        I dont really care about the us at all. It’s not my country.

        • Draco T Bastard 13.1.1.1

          So, you’d have no problem if NZ cut all ties with them because of their atrocious behaviour?

          • Infused 13.1.1.1.1

            America can do what it wants with its border. Stop being so entitled

            • Draco T Bastard 13.1.1.1.1.1

              True but I tend to think that nations should have a valid reason for doing so and the US doesn’t for the ban that they’ve just enacted.

              And, of course, this is just the latest in a centuries long list of atrocities by the US.

  14. Steve Wrathall 14

    And when Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller were banned from the UK for speaking out against jihad terror-where was the outrage? Islam and its dhimmi tools have no problem with travel bans for those who they disapprove of.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 14.1

      Were they banned because of where they were born? Um, no.

      Blow harder.

    • Muttonbird 14.2

      Googling it they were stopped from speaking to the EDL, presumably under the new laws clamping down on hate speech. Most western counties introduced these types of laws, didn’t they?

      • Steve Wrathall 14.2.1

        “Hate speech” being a euphemism for criticism of jihadist terror. Right throughout Europe rights of free speech are being stripped away as their “leaders” kowtow to sharia blasphemy laws. Is it any wonder that America is charting a different course?

        • Muttonbird 14.2.1.1

          No, extremist speech from both your friends in the EDL and from jihadist muslim clerics are treated the same (you are in fact the same just from different sides of the battle). Rantings from you, and jihadists, are not in the public good so the are stopped.

          • Steve Wrathall 14.2.1.1.1

            When have the EDL or any other so-called “far right” group ever said “slay the muslims wherever you find them”

            • In Vino 14.2.1.1.1.1

              By supporting dumb discrimination against all Muslims you yourself are coming pretty close to the ‘Slay them all’ meme. You think the world would be a better place if all Muslims were slain, don’t you? Or will you now back-peddle? (I am sure it is all their fault…)

  15. Sacha 15

    So, our PM kind of dislikes the policy but he won’t be telling Chump that any time soon.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/323357/english-on-trump-order-'we-don't-agree-with-it

  16. Whispering Kate 16

    I heard something hilarious today about the wall separating the US from Mexico which Trump has sanctioned. The comment went like this, why he is at it why doesn’t he continue and build a wall to surround the US including a separation from Canada to protect the rest of us all from the danger within their country which is threatening us all by having this lunatic President in control.

    The irony of it all for me is that the citizens of the US have a bigger chance of home grown terrorists on a daily basis, mass murdering on university /school/church locations of its own citizens. With so many mentally unwell citizens carrying weapons and all the veterans from 3 or more tours of duty in the Middle East suffering PST running amok with weapons – hey I don’t think the Muslim community are going to be much of a threat. They need to look within their country and stop being so paranoid.

    I think old Trumpy may have a sudden heart attack some time this first term, even the Republicans deep state won’t put up with this behaviour for much longer.

  17. joe90 17

    Governor of Washington declares Trump to be an enemy of the United States.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b02nVAZf6uU

    • Richard McGrath 17.1

      What a surprise, lefty governor upset by result of democratic election spits the dummy.

  18. Richard McGrath 19

    Trump’s ban on immigration from some Muslim nations is discriminatory. It should have been more inclusive and included applicants from all the remaining Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 19.1

      How the Libertarian mask slips to reveal fascist bigotry. Are you looking forward to the shiny buttons on your uniform?

      • Richard McGrath 19.1.1

        Another knee-jerk accusation of “fascism” – reminds me of Rick from The Young Ones years ago. The Saudis and Qataris should certainly be on Trump’s shit list, as sponsors of terrorism, and Pakistanis as cradle of the Taliban.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 19.1.1.1

          There it is again.

          Pays lip service to the individual. Drools at the first racial stereotype he meets.

          • Richard McGrath 19.1.1.1.1

            What race?

            • One Anonymous Bloke 19.1.1.1.1.1

              Several are affected by your racial profiling . Polish the shiny buttons on your uniform then get ready to open and close the gates for the trucks.

    • lprent 19.2

      I saw an article in a US website that pointed out that he’d appeared to have missed out the muslim countries that Trump’s business has business links to.

  19. Daveosaurus 20

    And the massacres have begun: http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/88902102/shots-fired-in-canadian-mosque I wonder how many of the local anti-Semites – or Islamophobes, as the disease presents itself these days – are getting all excited at the thought of all of those dead bodies.

    • HDCAFriendlyTroll 20.1

      None. Unlike the Palestinians who celebrated the murder of 3000 civilians on 9/11.

      Barbarianism is barbarianism, no matter what the justification.

      • Sacha 20.1.1

        “Unlike the Palestinians who celebrated”

        You’re seriously trotting out that lie? Get back to the sewerblogs.

        • Muttonbird 20.1.1.1

          Not sure HDPATroll realises he as a right wing extremist is closer to muslim extremism than he is to civilised society.

          • HDCAFriendlyTroll 20.1.1.1.1

            Congratulations. You win nutbar comment of the day.

            • Muttonbird 20.1.1.1.1.1

              Don’t think so. You lot like to promote division and intolerance just like islamic extremists do.

        • HDCAFriendlyTroll 20.1.1.2

          http://www.snopes.com/rumors/cnn.asp

          Origins: No, CNN did not air decade-old footage of Palestinians dancing in the streets. Eason Jordan, CNN’s Chief News Executive, confirmed that the video used on CNN was in fact shot on Tuesday, 11 September 2001, in East Jerusalem by a Reuters TV crew, not during the Persian Gulf conflict of 1990-91 — a fact proved by its inclusion of comments from a Palestinian praising Osama Bin Laden (whose name was unlikely to have come up ten years earlier in connection with the invasion and liberation of Kuwait) as well as the appearance in the video of post-1991 automobiles. The person who made the claim quoted above has since recanted.

  20. Sabine 21

    considering that the double dipper from Dipton has neither convictions nor a moral compass i would suggest that he will be missing in action and as Kellyanne Conway requested, he will keep his mouth shut. 🙂 Cause only Trump praise is acceptable.
    Cause he will make America Great Again! one deported person after another. So Great.
    Can ya’ll feel the Greatness? I mean this greatness is tremendous. So tremendous that our PM would never ever say anything other then nothing.

  21. Richard McGrath 22

    Oh look, another shooting at a mosque, this time in Quebec, with the shooters apparently telling the victims that Allah is great…

  22. McFlock 23

    Maybe we could all wait for actual facts to come out before leaping to conclusions about the latest piece of shittiness killing innocent people in the world?

    • joe90 24.1

      Had green card holders, people with valid visas and refugees who had already gone through the vetting process been detained at airports, you’d have a point.

      They weren’t so you don’t.
      /

    • Morrissey 24.2

      True enough, old Hopey-Changey was responsible, either directly or by turning a blind eye, for massive violations of human rights in Yemen, Iraq, Gaza, the Occupied West Bank, Syria, Honduras, Venezuela and many other places. He carried on, in other words, a long U.S. presidential tradition.

      But Trump is something else again. He is the closest thing we’ve seen to a North American fascist dictator.

  23. NZJester 25

    All the countries he has not banned in the middle east are ones he has financial links to. The thing is they are also all the ones that the majority of the terrorists came from that committed the 9/11 attacks etc. The countries on his ban list are ones he has no financial links to and are not the country of origin of most of the known terrorists.
    So his assertion that it will make the US safer by keeping terrorists out is shown for the hollow lie it is.

  24. Sacha 26

    Andrew Little easily goes beyond timid Billy: http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/01/andrew-little-nz-must-say-no-to-donald-trump-s-poisonous-prejudice.html

    “New Zealand must say no to this poisonous prejudice by doing two things. First, we can demonstrate our humanity and rejection of Trump’s policy by increasing the number of refugees we embrace each year to 1500.

    Second, our Prime Minister Bill English can honour our tradition of standing up to bullies by publicly condemning Trump’s Muslim ban. He wouldn’t be sticking his neck out. Plenty of world leaders have already spoken up.”

    Yet Blinglish is not really much of a leader, is he ..

  25. Pat 27

    “If a relatively tame event like the election of an unpopular president can send people into this kind of tailspin, what are they going to do the day their paychecks suddenly turn out to be worth only half as much in terms of goods and services as before—a kind of event that’s already become tolerably common elsewhere, and could quite easily happen in this country as the dollar loses its reserve currency status?”

    perspective….its a bitch

    http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.co.nz/2017/01/how-great-fall-can-be.html

  26. Cinny 28

    English is weak, Jack Tame interviewed him this morning, all he could do was say he would not do such a thing here. Bloody embarrassing not having a strong leader.

    https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/why-youre-not-prepared-take-stronger-stance-jack-tame-puts-bill-english-spot-over-trumps-travel-ban?auto=5303064130001

    • Fisiani 28.1

      That was not a weak interview at all. That was a very reasonable and calm response to a histrionic Tane. Bill did not take the bait. He was being the leader. Angry just mouthed off again. Take off the blinkers. Bill’s job was to reassure NZ and I note that you agree that he was successful. That’s called leadership.

    • Richard McGrath 28.2

      Not sure about you, but I don’t need a “strong leader” to tell me what to do and think.

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    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 hour ago
  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 hours ago
  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    11 hours ago
  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    15 hours ago
  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    15 hours ago
  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    17 hours ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    17 hours ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    18 hours ago
  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    18 hours ago
  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    20 hours ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    1 day ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    2 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    2 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    3 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    3 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    3 days ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    3 days ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    3 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    4 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    4 days ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    5 days ago
  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    6 days ago
  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    6 days ago
  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    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
    6 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, ...
    6 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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 ...
    7 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
    7 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 ...
    7 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week ago

  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
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