web analytics

Worrisome Centrist Clowns.

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, November 25th, 2018 - 84 comments
Categories: International, liberalism, Media, Politics, racism, useless - Tags: , ,

According to The Guardian, which is promising (if ‘promising’ is the right word) to run a six month “investigative series” on populism, Jeremy Corbyn and UK Labour aren’t a part of the picture.

Which is odd given that The Guardian is working from the definition that Populists tend to frame politics as a battle between the virtuous ‘ordinary’ masses and a nefarious or corrupt elite – and insist that the general will of the people must always triumph”.

See, I’d have thought the politics suggested by UK Labour’s slogan “For the many, not the few” would put Corbyn and UK Labour squarely within that definition.

But not according to The Guardian’s Diplomatic Editor Patrick Wintour. And far be it for me to suggest that excluding the leader of western Europes most popular party in terms of membership might mark a bit of an inauspicious start to a supposed six month investigation, apparently angling to unveil some mystery shrouding a thing that is sitting plain as day and right in front of their noses.

In part one they roll out the “senior centrist political figures”, (also referred to as “centrist heavyweights”) of Clinton, Blair and Renzi to expound on “why we lost and how to fight back”. The first thing that struck me was that I had no idea who Renzi was and had to look him up. The second was that seeking the wisdom and insight of incredibly unpopular political figures who represent a rejected politics, is an odd way to go about exploring the politics of populism. Why not talk to the politicians they think of as populist and explore their campaign platforms and (where relevant) stack that platform against policies they’ve enacted when in office? Or talk to people who voted for them and ask them why they voted for them, or why they voted against representatives of so-called centrism?

Not surprisingly, Clinton was yet again casting around for any reason that might explain her failed Presidential bid as long as it didn’t involve looking at the policies she promoted or her track record as a politician. (She’s still “absolutely dumbfounded” apparently). Which is fine. She’s deluded and is welcome to be deluded if that’s what gets her by.

What’s not fine is that she’s taking the racist and xenophobic bullshit that’s expressed by some populists and endorsing it. According to Clinton, a major reason the politics she represents was rejected was because it’s not racist enough. Her solution is to throw refugees under the bus. As she says in the Guardian interview, Europe’s leaders ought to

send out a stronger signal showing they are “not going to be able to continue to provide refuge and support”.

Paint me cynical, but the woman who has agitated for war in various countries wants to wash her hands of the refugees that result from visiting military aggression on countries. And she’s happy to do that in order to secure power for herself and her political fellow travelers. If you read the linked pieces, you’ll see that Blair basically concurs.

But it gets better. According to Clinton – who of course would never condone fascism or authoritarianism given that she’s a child of “the centre” and so a champion of democracy and freedom to the extent of even delivering those things from bomb bays and missile launch sites if necessarywithin the populace at large there’s

a psychological as much as political yearning to be told what to do, and where to go, and how to live and have their press basically stifled and so be given one version of reality.

Is Clinton suggesting that she and her political cronies should be the ones issuing instructions? It reads to me like that. Essentially she’s adopting and promoting some of the more infantile notions of fascism and then offering herself up as a safe pair of hands.

Laughingly or sickenly depending on your perspective, the Guardian piece then goes on to inform its readers, all or most of whom are presumably suffering from psychological and political yearnings to be subservient, that

All three politicians are concerned about the implications for liberal democracy if debate is infantilised, opponents are delegitimised and opinion is Balkanised, all of which can be hallmarks of rightwing populism.

I could go on, but I won’t. Go and read the pieces for yourself. But be prepared to encounter amazing feats of mental gymnastics that would defy logic and conclusions that only offer up willful blindness by way of illuminating and explaining the blindingly obvious.

Liberalism is collapsing.

From my perspective that’s a very good thing. And whatever your thoughts on that may be, surely you’d agree it’s a bad thing that liberal politicians, the “heavyweights” as the Guardian terms them, are hyping shades of fascism and fear, that they then promise they’ll ride in and save us from – or is it that they’ll save us from ourselves, given our “psychological and political yearning”?

This next paragraph could save the Guardian’s Diplomatic Editor six months of investigative toil and trouble.

It’s the job of a politician to be popular. If they aren’t, they won’t garner votes. If they are merely less unpopular than those they are politically engaged against, then there’s room for genuine politicians to step in and promise to provide meaningful political representation. Some of those who step into that space will be genuine and some will be charlatans. And some of those charlatans will be dangerous.

There’s your populism right there. It’s no mystery.

There’s something extra to be said on the dangerous charlatan front. They are being enabled by idiotic “liberal centrists” who like two of the three monkeys of lore, will neither see nor hear any self-reflective “evil” and an edifice of established news outlets that more or less (and certainly editorially) speak no “evil” of centrist thought, opinion or analysis.

That leaves the whole caboodle blind to the obvious and desperate to simultaneously dismiss and suppress any resurgence of politics to their left while conjuring demons that they might slay to their rightso for example, people aren’t desperately voting against erstwhile powerful politicians who represent the status quo because of disillusion, no. But because racist (Brexit) and/or stupid (Trump) and/or manipulated (by Russia).

Is it perhaps worth reflecting that like voodoo, bad shit tends to happen when shadows and demons are pushed to the extent that they become ever more reified in a collective conscience? If you’re a liberal bent on securing political power, probably not.

Footnote – after scheduling this post I came across an opinion piece in The Guardian by Nesrine Malik that’s echoing some of the sentiments expressed here. It’s better writing than I can manage and worth the read.

84 comments on “Worrisome Centrist Clowns. ”

  1. RedLogix 1

    The center is what works Bill. The history our parents lived through clearly demonstrates the evils of the extremes.

    But then again every radical likes to imagine that ‘their’ version of the one true faith will be the ‘real thing’.

    • Olwyn 1.1

      It seems likely that you and Bill are talking about different conceptions of “the centre”. In a social democracy, the centre presents a point of negotiation between claims springing from left and right. Post Thatcher/Reagan, the centre , as represented by Bill’s two examples, has served as a stand-in for what once was a clearly recognisable left. The role of the centre in the former case is to rein in extremes and come up with workable compromises, while its role in the latter is to ensure that the actual left, the one that would represent the working class, is rendered impotent. Thatcher appreciated this, which is why she regarded Blair as her greatest achievement.

      • RedLogix 1.1.1

        Olwyn,

        Thank you. Much better than I said.

      • Dennis Frank 1.1.2

        Generalising about centrists can be a waste of time, inasmuch as it’s a political space defined by rejection of the left & right, occupied by folks who are as likely to disagree with each other as not. Elitist politicians trying to claim that space will flounder accordingly.

        I took the Guardian test, and it located me close to the division between populist & non-populist (which is no surprise since I’ve been politically centrist for 47 years) – halfway from the vertical centre to the left side, and declared me closest to the president of Mexico. However visually I was actually closer to Obama & Macron on the graph. The analysis seemed designed to keep the Guardian’s definition of populism opaque, and Corbyn’s absence may reflect diagnostic failure. Contradictory signals: garbage in produces garbage out…

        Unlike Bill, I found the Malik piece typical leftist delusional thinking. At least HC is attempting to learn from her failure. Malik isn’t. Excessive immigration is producing an equal and opposite reaction. Populism and political extremism is an unsurprising result when public policy is moronic. I don’t see why that didn’t become obvious to all intelligent observers in 2016.

        • Gabby 1.1.2.1

          Th centre is a political space defined by embracing of the left & right franky.

          • Dennis Frank 1.1.2.1.1

            You mean that cosy feeling generated within when the left arm & right arm enclose simultaneously? Hmm. Okay, I guess neoliberalism delivered it for thirty years sufficiently for most voters, not just centrists…

    • Bill 1.2

      The ‘centre’ is a term that has been claimed by a liberal political establishment keen to promote itself as moderate. Liberalism is anything but moderate.

      My parents lived their initial years under liberalism. Their youth and adult years were lived under social democracy.

      If you think social democracy is “radical”, then by all means defend liberalism and its mouthpieces.

      • Ed 1.2.1

        The control of language has been a key to the neoliberal revolution.
        The extremists are the believers in the free market.
        They are happy to pillage and destroy the planet and dismantle society.

    • AB 1.3

      “The centre is what works”

      The centre is not perpetually fixed in the same place. Sometimes the centre will work, at other times it will be inadequate as a solution to anything important. The triumph of the neoliberal revolution post 1980 has been the skewing of the political spectrum (and its centre) way to the right.

      You could argue that habits of ‘centrism’ work, i.e. listening to others, avoiding overly-purist and absolutist ideas. That I would agree with – but these are the habits and attitudes of civilised people, not a pre-determined place on the political spectrum.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.4

      https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/07/fish-stocks-are-used-up-fisheries-subsidies-must-stop/
      http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/cetaceans/threats/fishstocks/

      Those are the result of centrism. We cannot go on this way as it is totally unsustainable. The centre is what’s wiping out life on Earth.

      So, no, the centre is not what works.

      Reality has a radical Left bias.

      • Dennis Frank 1.4.1

        “So, no, the centre is not what works.” It works for democracy, but I agree it doesn’t for sustainability. “Reality has a radical Left bias.” Now there’s a thought that could be expanded into an interesting essay! However it seems not to refer to the reality I’ve had to endure for 69 years in Aotearoa.

        • Draco T Bastard 1.4.1.1

          It works for democracy, but I agree it doesn’t for sustainability.

          If a society is not sustainable then it is, by definition, dysfunctional.

          Our society is not sustainable and that means that it also doesn’t work for democracy.

          Now there’s a thought that could be expanded into an interesting essay! However it seems not to refer to the reality I’ve had to endure for 69 years in Aotearoa.

          Have you noticed all of the people on the Right and Centre that say that we can’t conserve the environment because of economics, that say that its too radical?

          The reality is that our society has always been unsustainable and is therefore radical. It operates radically outside of the constraints that reality sets.

          It is only the ‘Radical Left’ that come even close to saying that we need to live sustainably. And yet living within the constraints that reality sets is seen as radical by the centrists and the right-wing.

          We could shut down all the fossil fuelled power stations. We’d have to change the way we do things and even stop doing some things but we would survive.
          We could put solar power on all the houses. It’d take time but we have the resources to do.

          The only reason why we’re not doing these things is because it would hurt a few peoples profits.

          And that is the most radical thing ever.

          We’re not doing what we need to do because a few people profits would be hurt.

          • Dennis Frank 1.4.1.1.1

            I’m not inclined to disagree with your stance, but framing it as radical left seems a stretch. Few leftists would fall into this category! Raises the question of how to define the left. Everyone avoids that due to tacit recognition that the category `left’ is self-selected and definitions are too prescriptive nowadays.

            “Left-wing politics supports social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. It typically involves a concern for those in society whom its adherents perceive as disadvantaged relative to others (prioritarianism) as well as a belief that there are unjustified inequalities that need to be reduced or abolished (by advocating for social justice). The term left-wing can also refer to “the radical, reforming, or socialist section of a political party or system.” [Wikipedia]

            I agree with all that description, but have never self-identified as a left-winger or leftist, being repelled by the ideological baggage that the label carries that is not included in that definition, plus the historical and cultural consequences and effects. So we must differentiate between praxis and values & beliefs!

            • Draco T Bastard 1.4.1.1.1.1

              Perhaps we need a new scale:

              Reality ———————————– Completely fucken bonkers

              With capitalist society being well over on the right.

              Does have the advantage that we can apply such a measure to any suggestion no matter where it’s from.

              • Dennis Frank

                Yeah, good one. Reality defined as what’s really going on, rather than defined as the consensus reality that is the current social norm. A binary divide between mainstreamers & the cognoscenti.

                Back when everyone split between the straights & those who adopted a lifestyle of getting high, that was the differential too. The consciousness shift got us into the deep reality that all the brainwashed folk were psyched out of.

                But really, there’s more to it than just a shallow end & a deep end (like a swimming pool). In a multicultural society, with postmodernism, the social construction of reality proceeds on a group basis. So we get a multitude of group-defined realities, in which each group has its own belief system, simulating a model of reality. Typically, members even think their model is real, not merely an approximation. The true-believer syndrome.

      • RedLogix 1.4.2

        Mr Steel would suggest otherwise.

        • Draco T Bastard 1.4.2.1

          Mr Steel whomever he is, like the centrists and the right-wing, is obviously in denial of reality and is thus living radically.

  2. Ad 2

    Hilary Clinton’s quote:

    “I think Europe needs to get a handle on migration because that is what lit the flame,” she said. “I admire the very generous and compassionate approaches that were taken particularly by leaders like Angela Merkel, but I think it is fair to say Europe has done its part, and must send a very clear message – ‘we are not going to be able to continue provide refuge and support’ – because if we don’t deal with the migration issue it will continue to roil the body politic.”

    I would have appreciated the sentiment more if the United States had spent the last three decades building nations in the middle east rather than attempting to bomb the middle east back to the stone age. Because in no small part that is the source of the mass migration. Not the only cause, but a big part.

    The United States should disavow its Monroe Doctrine for a start.
    That would be a major step towards global peace.

    If I was feeling particularly dark I would say that Clinton and Blair are seeking to save what remains of social democracy by curbing globalization’s direct impact within immigration.

    I would rather they argued that equation in the open, and properly, rather than in narrow asides to Europe.

    • Bill 2.1

      Clinton and Blair are seeking to save what remains of social democracy

      Save social democracy? Humbly – you need to rethink your approach if that’s what you think.

      Clinton, Blair et al are attempting to stymie social democracy at every turn and save whatever’s left of liberalism.

      One prong of their strategy is this constant push and promotion of fascistic monsters lurking in the shadows.

      • Ad 2.1.1

        30 years after our Structural Adjustment, I have really low expectations.

        It helps.

        • Molly 2.1.1.1

          It really doesn’t help to have low goals alongside that.

          (Would say aspirations – but that word has negative connotations for me).

  3. Siobhan 3

    Interesting piece from Jimmy Dore, around Hillary and her ‘centrist’ stance on immigration and love of wall building, as opposed to dealing with or even acknowledging the reasons for mass migration.

    Though of course, as we all know, Walls are only funny/bad when Trump talks about them. I’m sure Hillarys Wall would be a Progressive Wall, and given she’s a woman there will be some who claim it will be a ‘kinder’ wall……

    • Bill 3.1

      Sometimes (not always) Jimmy Dore just smacks that nail bang on the head.

      I’m thinking politicians must hate the internet’s ability to mine those memory holes 🙂

      Anyway. I laughed out loud at the “Ancient Centrist Proverb”

      If we give right wing racists what they want, they will vote for us instead of other right wing racists

      Thank you for the link.

  4. Pat 4

    Great…now we’ll have days of pointless debate about definitions of ‘left right and centre’ and who’s version is the real deal when the reality is the problem is across the political spectrum and has a single common factor….sadly I doubt even true social democracy will solve it even if we managed to reestablish democracy , for the last thing the establishment wishes is democracy in anything but name.

    What we are witnessing is the desperate attempt of the current hegemony’s to retain control of a rapidly dying environment in the forlorn hope of maintaining what resources that may remain….and to hell with everything else (whether they know it themselves or not)

    If anyone thinks social democracy would truely provide a different result then Id suggest a look at the ‘growth’ stats for the post war period until the advent of Thatcher and co.

    We need a new paradigm, one that is equitable and diminishing in our resource use to an ultimate steady state and we are incapable of such selflessness…..so it will be imposed on us by ‘events’….and maybe as a species we will remain….maybe.

    • Bill 4.1

      I absolutely agree when you point out that social democracy is no solution for environmental crises because still embedded within capitalism and so wedded to growth..

      But if that shift to social democracy can be transformed into a rush so that social democracy is a barely touched stepping stone as we hop, skip or jump to necessary ways of organising society…

      I disagree when you say we aren’t capable of given levels of selflessness. As individuals, we can be incredibly selfless – up to and including giving up our lives for others.

      Collective expressions of selfishness/selflessness (and much else) are determined by systemic factors or dynamics inherent to whatever organisational structures we develop and utilise as societies. And we have the ken and imagination (probably some historical precedents or examples too) to structure our societies in such a way that disincentives impact on selfishness, and incentives impact on cooperation and selflessness.

      • Pat 4.1.1

        Selflessnes at both an individual and community level is far too limited a virtue to overcome pervading human greed.

        Consider the knee jerk reactions of the majority to change and personal impact,…short-termism is not just a governance problem.

        Kalecki’s prediction of social democracy’s outcome was a masterstroke of human psychology.

        • Dennis Frank 4.1.1.1

          “Welfare capitalism thus reaches what we could call the “Kalecki point,” where its viability has been fatally undermined. In that situation, employers become willing to take drastic action to get workers back into line, even at the expense of short-term profitability. This takes many forms, including state-led attacks on unions and the refusal of capitalists to invest, a “capital strike” in which money is moved overseas or simply left in the bank, as a way of breaking the power of the working class.”

          “David Harvey, in his Brief History of Neoliberalism, essentially portrays the right-wing turn of the 1980s as a reactionary resolution of this crisis: a move away from the Kalecki point that entailed a restoration of capitalist class power rather than a leap into socialism.”

          “So the problem isn’t that we can’t win reformist victories for workers. History has shown that we can. The problem is what comes after victory, and we need a theory of socialism and social democracy that prepares our movements for that phase.”

          Leftist intellectual ventures through forest, hunting the unicorn: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/06/social-democracy-polanyi-great-transformation-welfare-state

          • Pat 4.1.1.1.1

            I suspect that some version of Keynes’ idea on international trade may have seen off (or at least considerably delayed) that ‘phase’….unfortunately the Yanks.

            https://theweek.com/articles/626620/how-john-maynard-keynes-most-radical-idea-could-save-world

            And crucially a truer and more equitable standard of living would have been achieved throughout the world….in other words the ‘real’ version of globalisation.

            There would remain however the problem of growth

            • Dennis Frank 4.1.1.1.1.1

              Yeah, I’d definitely favour any kind of equitable globalisation. Trumpism & xenophobia are an unfortunate consequence of the top-down globalisation that we’ve been force-fed due to the left buying into neoliberalism in the eighties. It didn’t have to happen like that. The TINA doctrine had me eye-rolling from the start – the alternatives had always been there in abundance. Yet the left rejected them in favour of collusion with the right.

              • Pat

                it started before neo-liberalism, it started with the Greenback being reserve currency….mind you its no coincidence that the US was the home of neoliberalism.

                Imagine the world without the USD being thus and things start to look very different…as the EU found when they challenged and China and Russia are now attempting.

          • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.1.2

            “So the problem isn’t that we can’t win reformist victories for workers. History has shown that we can. The problem is what comes after victory, and we need a theory of socialism and social democracy that prepares our movements for that phase.”

            True.

            We can’t leave capitalism in place else we end up right back where we started. Present capitalism is no better than what it was in the 19th century and that resulted in WW1 followed by WW2.

            We now seem to be on track for WW3 as the US gets belligerent with pretty much anyone who doesn’t kowtow to them.

        • Bill 4.1.1.2

          Kalecki looked at the political aspects of full employment – ie, he looked at how vying for power within a capitalist framework was likely to play out. It can be said he was right enough.

          But he wasn’t offering a study in “human psychology” so much as a study in “capitalist psychology”.

          Somewhere above or below (depending where this comment lands in the sub-thread), you mention that despite whatever else in terms of the politics around capitalism, the problem of growth will remain. And that’s true, but only for as long as we have a market system determining questions of production and distribution

          But then, elsewhere you’ve written that we need a new paradigm.

          So isn’t market abolition a good starting point from the perspective of ecological crises? I mean, that’s where the imperative for growth resides – in the structure and incentives/disincentives of “the market”. And there is no logical argument I’m aware of that would stand against having highly inclusive democratic decision making processes determine questions of production and distribution.

          Meanwhile, we have a liberal lock-down, or a shift to social democracy (a soft statism) that could encourage us in new directions that take us beyond the limiting dichotomy of market and state.

          • Pat 4.1.1.2.1

            You will have to be more specific with your definition of the term “market” for me to respond to that question.

            The imperative for growth resides in interest.

            “And there is no logical argument I’m aware of that would stand against having highly inclusive democratic decision making processes determine questions of production and distribution.”

            I dont dispute the possibility I do however suggest that the end result will be little different, albeit more equitable on the way…..and the transformation would need to be exceedingly fast…that is only likely to occur by decree which is the antithesis of “highly inclusive democracy.”

            You may note Im not optimistic…..there arnt many Kevin Andersons in the world, maybe if there were.

            • Bill 4.1.1.2.1.1

              When I use the term “the market”, I’m referring to the rules and regulations built around production and distribution (trade) – ie, what we tend to call the “market economy”.

              Loosely and not exclusively then, we’re talking about an economy where the profit motive determines to a large degree what gets produced, how much gets produced, how things get produced (inbuilt obsolescence etc) and how or why things get distributed.

              I agree that “fast” is required in terms of transformation. I’d say that if the politics of the Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s of the world look old hat in about 20 years from now, then we might say that we got up to speed.

              Highly inclusive decision making processes get a bad rap for being cumbersome and what not. Often (I’ve found) that comes from a belief that democracy requires consensus. But consensus isn’t a necessary component of democracy – democratic decisions can be made very fast, and have the advantage of being entirely mutable or adaptable to better fit different scenarios.

              • Pat

                Ok, I wanted clarification because the myth of the market economy could disappear tomorrow and Id be happy, but not trade per se (markets).
                There needs to be a recognition that there is no such thing as a free market for all markets are fettered by differing human attributes/flaws and are therefore as irrational.

                As to a fast democratic transformation (consensual or not) the only method I can perceive of is revolution and history demonstrates that the resulting chaos would take too long to resolve and would likely be as least as damaging if not more so in the intervening period, perhaps a mass awakening that sweeps some radical action into the OECDs parliaments but that seems as likely as unicorns….as has been amply stated our carbon budget for 2 degrees average is all but gone, and even that isnt any guarantee of success.

                What we need is rationing…..how do you think that will go down with our consumer societies?

                • Bill

                  Ok, I wanted clarification because the myth of the market economy could disappear tomorrow and Id be happy, but not trade per se

                  We agree on that front.

                  The concept of the “free market” (as I understand it) is based on the idea that human interaction reduced to transactional “agreements” is neutral, self correcting and a route to human freedom – ie, a crock of shit. Politically, that translates as opposition to state interference in a “natural order” – hence the friction between liberal forms of governance and social democratic ones (the latter being far more weighted towards statism).

                  • Pat

                    and rationing?

                    What do you think would be the electoral response should some political candidate propose an equitable ration (with a sinking lid) of CC emissions , tradable or not?

                    • Bill

                      I think even the most deleterious and stupid ideas can be “sold” on the political stage. I mean, hell, just look at the past 30 or 40 years for any number of examples.

                      I can’t see another option besides a hard sinking cap on fossil. Assuming we’re going to stick with current structures of governance, it’s up to politicians to sell that policy.

                      I’d suggest our problem is that politicians are far from our brightest sparks, haven’t grasped the need for such measures, are beholden to vested interests and not the citizenry they claim to represent, and regardless and otherwise, are ‘permitted’ to skirt it by wanking on about ‘election prospects’ as though we, the electorate, are incapable of understanding stuff politicians might suggest with the full backing of the scientific community and scientific understanding.

                  • Pat

                    I too can see no other practicable option but my gut tells me that even in the most aware (and unequal) OECD countries it would struggle to attract perhaps 10% support…..but Id be overjoyed to be given the option.

          • Pat 4.1.1.2.2

            “But he wasn’t offering a study in “human psychology” so much as a study in “capitalist psychology”.

            This is the great misunderstanding of modern economics. It is a socail science (insomuch as it can be labelled science)…a study of how humans interact.

            As such I should probably elaborate on the imperative for growth…It has its origins in power, or the ability to gain and maintain resources….you tell me me, has anything changed?

            • Bill 4.1.1.2.2.1

              Yes. It was a study of how humans with different allegiances and interests might interact in a very specific context and under particular circumstances wholly contained within that context.

              I don’t ascribe to the notion that an imperative for (economic) growth is an off-shoot of a perceived need to maintain power in the broader sense.

              In a narrow economic sense (as the term is used these days), then yes, growth is the obvious way to protect profit and “market” advantage (or even simply survival), and profit easily and often translates to economic and political power.

              • Pat

                not just in the narrow economic sense…the basis of all power (and the ability to gain and maintain) lies in the strength of numbers….big is better, be it in modern economic terms or historical military terms (and modern military strength is dictated by economic strength)

                “Politics (economics, for they are two sides of the same coin) is war without bloodshed”….brackets mine

                Mao Tse Tung

                • Bill

                  (Disclaimer: my politics are anarchist and so of course I would say what follows.)

                  Illegitimate power is that which is exercised over another or others by force/coercion etc.

                  Separate that out from legitimate power (ie – power that can offer up a clear justification for its existence and exercise), and the argument you offer for all power starts to look shaky.

                  Maybe illegitimate power has traditionally bolstered and extended itself by and in the ways you say. But it’s illegitimate and (I’d say) ought to be subverted, resisted and rendered impotent.

                  Maybe that would be a necessary component of any successful and sorely needed new paradigm?

                  • Pat

                    I would suggest that all power has its origins in illegitimacy…the power of might.
                    Such is the history of empires and colonialism.

                    This is why I dont subscribe to anarchy, its relies on an innate goodwill in humans that is not dominant.

                    • Bill

                      My individual agency is power that is neither illegitimate or a striving for “might”.

                      Anarchy doesn’t rely on innate good will any more than it relies on denying those who would exercise bad will. What I mean by that is that it isn’t a “turn the other cheek” type of a thing.

                    • Dennis Frank

                      Science has been working on this: reciprocal altruism. Reciprocity occurs when expectations of future interaction modify behaviour in the present – thus providing a motive for political relations, via normalcy in cultural contexts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reciprocal_altruism

                      “Trivers (1971) developed the idea that animals might enter into contracts, so that aid given by one animal to another would be reciprocated later in time; this is called reciprocal altruism. Reciprocation could require cognitive awareness of the deal being made, which is probably a large leap for many animals and also difficult to measure. Alternatively, evolution could drive mechanisms by which reciprocation is built into social interactions. In order to be an effective social mechanism, reciprocation must involve some sort of enforcement or penalty, such as social ostracization or physical punishments for animals that fail to reciprocate. This paper is part of a flurry of interest sparked by Hamilton’s 1964 work on the evolution of altruism”. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/reciprocal-altruism

                      That original theoretical basis has been expanded via field observations since. As primates, we combine competition with collaboration. If you factor in intelligent design, the cultural context can be shifted according to plan, to tweak the balance, to optimise the chances of reciprocity governing expectations. Rather than exploitation, which is our default inherited from the patriarchy. Anarchy thus becomes a realistic prospect – via the shadow of the future…

                    • Pat

                      @ Dennis

                      I dont doubt that systems can enhance altruism in societies….what I think is overlooked is the default behaviours of humans under duress….or even at times without it

                    • Bill

                      @ Pat.

                      behaviour under duress..

                      Like the guys in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake who scaled a fence to throw cardboard to those gathered around (for shelter) while a US news anchor stood in the foreground breathlessly reporting about the looting that was taking place?

                      When the shit hits the fan, our better selves tend to come to the fore. And if in the general scheme of things we have “nothing”, we’re far more likely to give a stranger the shirt off our back than that they’d receive a penny from well heeled types.

                  • Pat

                    ” What I mean by that is that it isn’t a “turn the other cheek” type of a thing.”

                    I understand that, but would note that history is littered with communities that practised such….until they came in contact with the contrary view.

                    I suspect Churchill was considering such when he described democracy as the worst form of gov. etc….there is at least opportunity for reform in the tyranny of the masses.

                    None of which solves the problem

                    • Bill

                      I don’t have the time to search out the piece right now, but there was a longish anthropological piece on African societies (somewhere on this site) that suggested many African societies embraced what we, from our western perspective, might call anarchism.

                      Of course, they were largely obliterated when colonisation at the point of a gun infected the continent and spread.

                      But who were the foot-soldiers who carried the colonist’s guns? Unless the thought is that they just naturally assumed their position as enablers of colonialism, then there’s always the potential for a collective shift away from where we are now.

                      Maybe it begins with a growing sense of disdain for authority and for those who would prefer we remain shackled to the status quo? – Just a throw away thought on a dreich Sunday afternoon that’s in need of a ray of sun or somesuch.

                    • Dennis Frank

                      Re “default behaviours of humans under duress….or even at times without it”. Yeah, the dark side of the human coin. But predation or evil or whatever on that side is the motivation, can be displaced by cultural indoctrination. Which is presumably how civilisation developed (even if only skin-deep).

                      The gift economy has been explored in various books in recent times. More widespread than most would assume in various ethnicities. “A gift economy, gift culture, or gift exchange is a mode of exchange where valuables are not traded or sold, but rather given without an explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards.” [Wikipedia]
                      https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2012/jul/30/charles-eisenstein-gift-economy

                  • Pat

                    Not sure if this is the piece you mean .

                    https://thisisafrica.me/dont-need-world-jarawa-peoples-fight-self-determination/

                    “We don’t need your world,” one of the Jarawa boldly states.”

                    “It is a small group of politicians and locals, he says, who want to wipe them out. Why? Well, Jarawa territory includes beautiful beaches and reserves, and the government has economic plans to build the largest port on the Indian Ocean there.”

                    That same desire for resources….and the desires of the Jarawa??

                    Not only is the weather pattern stuck so is human action

                    • Dennis Frank

                      Excellent report! This paragraph conveys the moral of the story:

                      “In literally every debate about communism or anarchism in the Western world, we run into the same repeated sentiment: “It works only in theory or in small scale, but practically impossible for large societies, without becoming authoritarian nightmares”. But the existence of these indigenous egalitarian democratic syndicates with “citizens” numbering in the millions, and the fact that they have functioned very well for longer than anyone can remember, is clear evidence to the contrary.”

                      And though “we know nothing of their evolutionary history”, that will change, now that labs are sequencing ancient DNA rapidly. “Well-preserved ancient DNA has until recently been hard to find in most parts of Africa because of the hot climate, which accelerates chemical reactions that degrade DNA. But in 2015, the ancient DNA revolution finally arrived in Africa”, according to Professor of Genetics David Reich of Harvard.

                    • Pat

                      Yes an excellent report…sadly somewhat undermined by the example of the other article.

                      If only.

        • Nic the NZer 4.1.1.3

          Kalecki’s article was titled the political aspects of full employment, not the political aspects of social democracy (which he didn’t discuss). As Dennis Frank points out the counter to full employment happened in the eighties and we are living in an economy where the term (at least with the original meaning) no longer occurs.

          • Bill 4.1.1.3.1

            Oops. My bad. Deleted my comment when I realised yours wasn’t in response to anything I’d said.

          • Pat 4.1.1.3.2

            indeed it was titled thus…do you wish to claim that Keynes’ theory to which it was a response was not the economic model adopted and promoted by the social democrats of the day?…or even Corbyn today?

  5. Adrian Thornton 5

    Here is a good interview that does some neat unpacking around The Guardians role as faithful watchdog of the liberal centrist status quo…Corbyn/UK Labour not being included in their “investigative series” on populism, that is beautiful, it only shows how threatened by the Left The Guardian really are, and how irrelevant and undefendable their obsolete position is becoming for them daily.

    ‘Crashing The Guardian’s neoliberal party: Rise of new left media w/ The Canary’s Kerry-Anne Mendoza’

  6. OnceWasTim 6

    And yet, there seems to be only one place on Earth where a clown with fascist tendencies is promoting an entire population of centrist clowns.

    Please discuss avoiding the word ‘trivial’

  7. UncookedSelachimorpha 7

    “Centrism” these days seems to require blind adherence to free market and pro-privatisation philosophies. If H.Clinton and Blair’s behaviour – and the whole neoliberal nightmare we have had since the 1980s is centrism – then to hell with it. Being centrist sounds pleasantly moderate – but in fact it is a radical right-wing view that is these days sold as a reasonable, middle ground.

    The Canary has a good piece on Hilary’s recent comments:

    Hillary Clinton’s latest comments have to be the final nail in the ‘centrist’ coffin

  8. Ad 8

    A curious breaking agreement between Mexico and the United States on immigrants.

    The Trump administration has won the support of leftist president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador for a plan that could end a system — decried by President Trump as “catch and release” — that has generally allowed those seeking refuge to wait on safer U.S. soil while their cases are processed. “No ‘Releasing’ into the U.S….All will stay in Mexico,” Trump tweeted Saturday evening.

    Obrador, having recently taken out a good section of the Mexican Carlos Slim cartel with the cancellation of a great half-constructed airport, is no centrist clown.

    López Obrador is a left-wing populist who has pledged to stand up to Trump and root out corruption in Mexico. He has recognized that dealing with the migrant crisis will require cooperation. Obrador saw it as an opportunity to negotiate with Trump from the outset.

    https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/24/trump-mexico-migrants-asylum-border-shutdown-1012701

    Pretty easy to run a counterfactual and check the number of US states in the south that the Democrats would have won easily if they had taken the same path as Obrador. Texas would have been easy, as would Florida, as would a full Senate majority.

    Squeezing refugees down to a trickle has sure helped New Zealand keep a very stable political order – maybe the rest of the world is seeing it.

  9. Ad 9

    The other non-centrist-clown to worry about is Jeremy Corbyn.
    Brexit is the immigration issue par excellence.

    Roughly two thirds of constituencies represented by Labour MPs voted leave.
    But Labour Party members overwhelmingly support remain.

    Corbyn’s own speech and policy positions on Brexit according to the Wikipedia listings of the references are slipperier than a greased dog.

    And to a degree that’s fair enough in Opposition. Despite all appeals to have a second vote, Corbyn is staying well clear of such things.

    But staying still and watching the others shuffle it through is fine, so long as the current government doesn’t pull of the miracle and make it happen. Getting through transition without really clear policy and simply chipping in the House would make the 2022 election a long, long drag into the future for Labour.

    May appears to be miraculously implementing a plan, and the centre is holding, and the dogs of whatever have not been loosed upon the world.

    Brexit is a massive anti-immigration and anti-global-movement plan. And with today’s EU agreement to the plan, it is working. Fascism has not broken out. Chaos has not appeared. The only people rioting are the French, and its about good old fashioned tax.

    Corbyn that non-worrisome-clown has kept his policy wickets undisturbed for another day; simply lifted his bat and decided to just let that Brexit ball through.

    • Adrian Thornton 9.1

      @Ad, “Corbyn that non-worrisome-clown has kept his policy wickets undisturbed for another day; simply lifted his bat and decided to just let that Brexit ball through.”

      Yes it seems that Corbyn and co are turning out to be supremely good political tacticians, this obvious strength along with his incredible ability to not react in the negative to even the most outrageous provocation, and all the while according to Farage of all people “He looked comfortable in his skin, he seemed to be enjoying himself”must be causing some sleepless and worrisome nights to his many enemies…on the right and centre.

      • Ad 9.1.1

        Oh sure, potato potaeto.

        It just means Corbyn’s positioning on immigration has the same effect as that of Clinton, Blair, Clark, Ardern, Trudeau, Howard, Mulroney, Harper, et al that have been going for a fair old while.

  10. Ad 10

    The other non-worrisome-clowns on immigration is that triumvirate of the points-based immigration system, known as Canada-Australia-New Zealand.

    You get a quick summary here:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-29594642

    Canada was the first to make a points-based system way back in 1967. Remarkably integrated society, and has kept many of the social democrat features that the US failed in. You get a good sense of the comparison in the book Reflections of a Siamese Twin by John Ralston Saul.

    https://quillandquire.com/review/reflections-of-a-siamese-twin/

    But just to focus on us non-worrisome centrists down here in New Zealand, we lead the world in resisting the world’s all-comers.

    Until 1986, New Zealand operated a ‘Country-of-origin’ immigration system which gave preference to migrants from specific countries. The points system that replaced this in 1991 initially allowed all people who gained or exceeded the points target to gain residence status and there was no attempt to link labour market demand to the specific skills of the migrants. From 1995, changes were progressively made, which among other things increased the focus on labour demand. From 2001 there has been a Cabinet- approved target for the number of immigrants to be granted residence.

    New Zealand took on one of the lowest numbers and percentages of refugees in the modern world. But we also had massive info and outflow. Yet we remain a peaceful and integrated and exceedingly calm society. Abominably selfish for 30 years of pretty consistent policy, but it appears not to have turned us into a fascist state. Compared to the rest of the world’s conditions, we have nothing caused by immigration that is worrisome at all.

    • Bill 10.1

      Ad. Perhaps you’re missing the point? You seem to be saying that populism and immigration are related – they aren’t.

      The likes of Clinton et al (the “centrists”) won’t or can’t face up to their rejection by the electorate and cast around for factors that are external to the policies they’ve foisted on us to explain their rejection.

      The Brexit vote didn’t fall the way it did because “half” the people in the UK are racist or xenophobic. It was a vote against complacent political elites. Same goes for Trump’s election.

      But as I wrote at the end of the post, if Blair and Clinton and mainstream media outlets persist in their effort to give substance to shadows, we’ll all eventually reap from the shit they’re sowing.

      The politics of the left would kill that prospect stone dead.

      But guess what politics the centrists are most keen to quash and downplay as they puff up the spectre of fascistic tosh in the hope that electorates they hold in contempt will run back to them and their despised, failed and rejected politics for want of safety?

      If you are one of these people who would stomp on a fascist, then would it not be consistent for you to stomp on the handmaids of fascism rather than excuse and defend them?

      On the other hand, if it’s just that you want to run immigration lines, then fine. Though doing that on a more appropriate post would be nice.

      • Ad 10.1.1

        The left is dying in Europe because of immigration policies.
        These are not shadows. It would be great if Brexit was an anti-elite vote. Then the elites would be losing. The elites are entrenched and will be even more so, but there’s still so many that want to continue to plow ahead because they weight immigration higher than elitism in their weightings.

        Not because they are more or less centrist or radical.

        Immigration policies.

        It’s not me “running immigration lines”. Immigration policy is the very source and centre of your post.

        Go to any central or local election in Germany, Hungary, Poland, Britain, Netherlands, France, United States: immigration killed the left of all shades time and again. Only the centre survived in power.

        Whereas in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada, we were picker than hell on immigration, and more of the bones of social democracy survived here than anywhere else other than Scandinavia – and even there it’s being eaten alive by immigration policies.

        And Dunedin – whitest city in New Zealand – has been the primary beneficiary of our own immigration policies, and it’s continued to also be the most left-voting city by a country mile. Bill, you’re soaking in it.

        We taught Clinton everything she knew and it’s worked.

        • Bill 10.1.1.1

          The left is dying in Europe because of immigration policies.

          Yeah Ad, it’s like you think Blair and Clinton and the parties they’re from and the policies they would pursue are left. That’s the only explanation I can figure for that piece of nonsense you wrote.

          Podemos, UK Labour, SNP, progressive inroads to “Clinton’s” Democratic Party etc….the left is very much in the ascendancy, but I know this will be a pointless exchange given your perception is all up the wop on this stuff. We’ve had this exchange before. We both know how it goes. Maybe someone else will attempt to engage with you on these political differences you refuse to acknowledge.

          Clinton encouraging and attempting to create an environment for xenophobia and fascistic tosh while offering succour to xenophobes and racists in the political arena into the bargain because she can’t/won’t accept that the dustbin of history is where her and her ilk are headed – that’s what the post is built around – not immigration.

          • Ad 10.1.1.1.1

            It’s not the argument I need to worry about.

            It’s the electoral facts. They tend to win.

    • Antoine 10.2

      > New Zealand took on one of the lowest numbers and percentages of refugees in the modern world. But we also had massive info and outflow. Yet we remain a peaceful and integrated and exceedingly calm society. Abominably selfish for 30 years of pretty consistent policy, but it appears not to have turned us into a fascist state. Compared to the rest of the world’s conditions, we have nothing caused by immigration that is worrisome at all.

      And yet, here we are with a pro-refugee Govt, threatening to raise refugee quotas and thereby kill the goose that laid the golden eggs.

      A.

  11. Incognito 11

    Populism thrives on globalism and immigration or rather the emotions these trigger. People are fearful that their material possessions and assets will diminish or be taken away. They are fearful of losing their national, cultural, religious and, by logical extension, their personal/individual identity. The fear for their security, financial, emotional, psychological.

    Populism takes advantage of all these negative factors and promises increased security and preservation or restoration of lost ‘values’ through protectionism and focussing on a common ‘enemy’ often through racist propaganda.

    MSM and Social Media are perfect to stoke the fears and feelings of insecurity; Social Media were designed to ‘get up close’ and make emotional connections. Populists have cottoned on to that and are exploiting to its full potential.

    There is no moral or other justification for populism than the fact that it wins votes in the current environment. Ignore or resist this and find out at your own detriment (peril). The likes of Clinton are no fools but they don’t offer an alternative, just a ‘softer’ and ‘kinder’ form of populism.

    The political centre may be where elections are won or lost but true change and progress (or regress) come from the extreme and radical margins. But once populism takes hold radical voices will be silenced, one way or another, and we will worse off for it.

    • DJ Ward 11.1

      I like your last paragraph.

      To me it’s the flaw of democracy.
      The majority can oppress the minority.
      A person can have a radical idea that is absolutely correct, or wrong.
      The populace processes the radical idea with debate and these days science.
      Just like testing a medicine it takes time to accept it.
      The barrier becomes false beliefs, culture, greed, fears, propaganda.

      The populace protects itself from radicals by not giving them power. Which is a good idea 99% of the time. However if the idea works, and it is correct the populism adopts it. Legalising prostitution, allowing divorce, funding Plunket, making an area a protected reserve etc etc. The radical idea is normalised because it’s correct.

      Worse of for it.
      The radical try’s to change the status quo. So society has no change to its fate if the radicals idea is not accepted.

      It is up the the radical to have ideas that are benificial to the populace in some way, not one benificial just to the ideology of the radical.

      The evolution of ideas.

      So democracy has a fault in that the majority can oppress the minority, populism vs the radical.
      When the populace looses the voice of radicals it’s because idealism, or theology, etc acts like a dictator over ideas, a version of a Radical.

      Democracy is faulty but also petty good overall. It picks good radical ideas more than it picks bad radical ideas.

      Then you have individual politicians, the human factor that can ruin things for decades. Thank the sky fairies we didn’t get Clinton.

      • Dennis Frank 11.1.1

        Yes, I agree with Incognito in respect of the ideal situation, and with you in respect of reality. Public policy has to be based on what works in the real world. I’d prefer it if human nature were considerably better than it is, but have never gone along with the leftist notion that if you harangue people sufficiently they will morph into leftists.

        Well, left-wingers call it education, but we all know they really mean being politically correct like them. I’m not saying people can’t evolve into better people. They can and do. Otherwise prisoner rehabilitation would be a waste of time. But fewer people do so than we’d like, and much more slowly than we’d like.

        So our collective political praxis ought to be on methods of applying radical ideas in the political process, and learning from which methods get traction in which cultural contexts. Political scientists could help if their discipline were to incorporate methodology rather than just analysis & commentary.

  12. Sanctuary 12

    The problem with the “centrist” politics of the type represented by Clinton, Blair and the Guardian is the only people who are clamouring for it are the liberal political elites, for whom the Guardian acts as a house journal. The “centre” is constantly represented by a motley assembly of now largely reviled yesterday’s men and women who no longer have much of a constituency in the wider public. The “centre” says it is moderate, but what does that even stand for in terms of policy? Clintonian/Blairite “moderate centrism” is a type of politics that is 20 years out of date. If you ask me, a massive program of state house building is moderate. Free education is a moderate policy proposal. A fully funded health system is a moderate policy proposal. A proper, progressive income tax scheme is moderate politics. Those ideas though are NOT moderate to to “centrists” like our very own Grant Robertson, who claim the cloak of “centrism” whilst rejecting anything that is even mildly social democratic

    And there is the rub. The centrism of Clinton, Blair (and Robertson) is actually a RADICAL centrism, a political managerialism that involves defending the neoliberal consensus as the “political centre” in an increasingly untenable rearguard action on behalf of the liberal elites and the institutions that are largely run by and for those liberal elites.

    The clamour for political change is currently being satisfied by the popular right because the institutional political vehicles of the left are currently completely infested and colonised by this radical centrism of the the unsustainable status quo. The reality is “centrism” is another word for old style conservatism, radical centrism is an aggressive defence of that conservative privilege, conservatism is now reactionary populism, and only the far right is currently offering the desperate a truly revolutionary path out of their dire circumstances. Where the social democratic left’s political vehicles have failed to reject the radical centrism of Clintonian and Blarite politics they’ve been wiped out – the fate of the Western European and Scandinavian social democratic parties should be a waring to NZ Labour (although it won’t, such is the intellectual sterility of modern NZ politics).

    This is why Corbynism is important for the social democratic left. In it’s rejection of the radical centre in favour of an actual centrist position of moderate social democratic reform, it has revitalised the main political vehicle of the left for resisting neoliberalism and the far right.

    • Dennis Frank 12.1

      “Radical centrism (also called the radical center/centre or radical middle) is a political ideology that arose in the Western nations in the late 20th century. At first it was defined in a variety of ways, but at the beginning of the 21st century a number of political science texts gave it a more developed cast.”

      “The radical in the term refers to a willingness on the part of most radical centrists to call for fundamental reform of institutions. The centrism refers to a belief that genuine solutions require realism and pragmatism, not just idealism and emotion. One radical centrist text defines radical centrism as “idealism without illusions”, a phrase originally from John F. Kennedy. Radical centrists typically borrow ideas from the left, the right, and elsewhere, often melding them together.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_centrism

      • Sanctuary 12.1.1

        Great, you can use wikipedia.

        In this case, it’s entry is worse than useless so I guess you’ve run out of anything useful to add.

  13. CHCOff 13

    Is very difficult for the ‘powers that be’ to understand that centralisation and Laissez-faire financial classes are not very compatible when it comes to societal governance being imbued with competence.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • The big question for Labour: Will Hipkins have any more success than Ardern did with the top priorit...
    Chris  Hipkins,  after  he became prime minister, committed  to defeating the  cost-of- living crisis. He  proceeded to make a  bonfire of policies  that were at  the  heart of Jacinda Ardern’s administration.  But, as   Richard Prebble pointed out this week, “the government has not just U-turned, it has repudiated the ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    13 hours ago
  • Reality check.
    There are some wellness, crystal-gazing, holistic spiritual guidance types in my disaster-hit coastal community who insist that the power of positive thinking will overcome the physical and material damages incurred by the community. They object to restrictions on road travel … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    14 hours ago
  • High Performance Instability in the Financial Sector
    Evaluating the recent crashes of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and Credit Suisse in Switzerland plus two other banks (perhaps more by the time you read this) needs to begin with a review of the inevitable instability in the financial sector. The financial sector is inherently unstable, like military ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    14 hours ago
  • The week in review
    1. We see here new police minister Ginny Andersen. Which larger than life NZ political figure was her great-uncle?a. Rob Muldoonb. Bill Andersenc. Richard John Seddond. Norman Kirk2. We see here archival footage of Ginny Andersen coming out of her electorate office to ask ex-tobacco lobbyist Chris Bishop if he ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    16 hours ago
  • Nash splashes out with a $900,000 investment in the blue economy (or is it more corporate welfare?)
    Buzz from the Beehive Stuart Nash, speaking as Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, one of his remaining portfolios after he was dropped down the Hipkins Government batting order, has drawn attention to the blue economy and its potential. Nash says the government is investing in the blue economy, or – ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    17 hours ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to March 24
    Photo by Josh Mills on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:The runs on Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank on the west coast of the United States that forced the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    20 hours ago
  • Weekly Roundup 24-March-2023
    Roundup is back! We skipped last week’s Friday post due to a shortage of person-power – did you notice? Lots going on out there… Our header image this week shows a green street that just happens to be Queen St, by @chamfy from Twitter. This week (and last) in ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    21 hours ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Keen-Minshull visit
    After threatening Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of consequences if he dared to bar her entry, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has been given her visa, regardless. This will enable her to hold rallies in Auckland and Wellington this weekend, and spread her messages of hostility against an already marginalised trans community. Neo-Nazis may, ...
    21 hours ago
  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  NZ needs to distance itself from Australia’s anti-China nucl...
    * Bryce Edwards writes – The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    21 hours ago
  • Wayne Brown's #Auxit moment
    Boomers voted him in, but Brown’s Trumpish moments might spook Aucklanders worried about what a change to National nationally might mean. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has become our version of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, except without any of the insatiable appetite for media appearances. He ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: NZ needs to distance itself from Australia’s anti-China nuclear submarines
    The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as part of its Aukus pact with the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    22 hours ago
  • Posie Parker vs Transgender Rights.
    Recently you might have heard of a person called Posie Parker and her visit to Aotearoa. Perhaps you’re not quite sure what it’s all about. So let’s start with who this person is, why their visit is controversial, and what on earth a TERF is.Posie Parker is the super villain ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Select Committee told slow down; you’re moving too fast
    The chair of Parliament’s Select Committee looking at the Government’s resource management legislation wants the bills sent back for more public consultation. The proposal would effectively kill any chance of the bills making it into law before the election. Green MP, Eugenie Sage, stressing that she was speaking as ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #12 2023
    Open access notables  The United States experienced some historical low temperature records during the just-concluded winter. It's a reminder that climate and weather are quite noisy; with regard to our warming climate,, as with a road ascending a mountain range we may steadily change our conditions but with lots of ...
    1 day ago
  • What becomes of the broken hearted? Nanny State will step in to comfort them
    Buzz from the Beehive The Nanny State has scored some wins (or claimed them) in the past day or two but it faltered when it came to protecting Kiwi citizens from being savaged by one woman armed with a sharp tongue. The wins are recorded by triumphant ministers on the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Acceptance, decency, road food.
    Sometimes you see your friends making the case so well on social media you think: just copy and share.On acceptance and decency, from Michèle A’CourtA notable thing about anti-trans people is they way they talk about transgender women and men as though they are strangers “over there” when in fact ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change: More Labour sabotage
    Not that long ago, things were looking pretty good for climate change policy in Aotearoa. We finally had an ETS, and while it was full of pork and subsidies, it was delivering high and ever-rising carbon prices, sending a clear message to polluters to clean up or shut down. And ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Is bundling restricting electricity competition?
    Comparing (and switching) electricity providers has become easier, but bundling power up with broadband and/or gas makes it more challenging. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā TL;DR: The new Consumer Advocacy Council set up as a result of the Labour Government’s Electricity Price Review in 2019 has called on either ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Westland Milk puts heat on competitors as global dairy demand  remains softer for longer
    Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products  has  put the heat on dairy giant Fonterra with  a $120m profit turnaround in 2022, driven by record sales. Westland paid its suppliers a 10c premium above the forecast Fonterra price per kilo, contributing $535m to the West Coast and Canterbury economies. The dairy ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago
  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    * Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public office and becoming lobbyists and ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago
  • A miracle pill for our transport ills
    This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen It originally appeared here.   A friend calls you and asks for your help. They tell you that while out and about nearby, they slipped over and landed arms-first. Now their wrist is swollen, hurting like ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • The Surprising Power of Floating Wind Turbines
    Floating offshore wind turbines offer incredible opportunities to capture powerful winds far out at sea. By unlocking this wind energy potential, they could be a key weapon in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But how developed are these climate fighting clean energy giants? And why do I ...
    2 days ago
  • The next Maori challenge
    Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Secret “war-crime” warrants by International Criminal Court is mischief-making
    The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
    3 days ago
  • How to answer Drunk Uncle Kevin's Climate Crisis reckons
    Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • National’s Luxon may be glum about his poll ratings but has he found a winner in promising to rai...
    National Party leader Christopher Luxon may  be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but  he could be tapping  into  a rich political vein in  describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining,  with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: More Labour foot-dragging
    Yesterday the IPCC released the final part of its Sixth Assessment Report, warning us that we have very little time left in which to act to prevent catastrophic climate change, but pointing out that it is a problem that we can solve, with existing technology, and that anything we do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Te Pāti Māori Are Revolutionaries – Not Reformists.
    Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
    3 days ago
  • When does history become “ancient”, on Tinetti’s watch as Minister of Education – and what o...
    Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Climate Catastrophe, but first rugby.
    Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • What the US and European bank rescues mean for us
    Always a bailout: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Government would fully guarantee all savers in all smaller US banks if needed. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the dip’ and ‘holding on for dear life’. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Who will drain Wellington’s lobbying swamp?
    Wealthy vested interests have an oversized influence on political decisions in New Zealand. Partly that’s due to their use of corporate lobbyists. Fortunately, the influence lobbyists can have on decisions made by politicians is currently under scrutiny in Guyon Espiner’s in-depth series published by RNZ. Two of Espiner’s research exposés ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • It’s Raining Congestion
    Yesterday afternoon it rained and traffic around the region ground to a halt, once again highlighting why it is so important that our city gets on with improving the alternatives to driving. For additional irony, this happened on the same day the IPCC synthesis report landed, putting the focus on ...
    3 days ago
  • Checking The Left: The Dreadful Logic Of Fascism.
    The Beginning: Anti-Co-Governance agitator, Julian Batchelor, addresses the Dargaville stop of his travelling roadshow across New Zealand . Fascism almost always starts small. Sadly, it doesn’t always stay that way. Especially when the Left helps it to grow.THERE IS A DREADFUL LOGIC to the growth of fascism. To begin with, it ...
    3 days ago
  • Good Friends and Terrible Food
    Hi,From an incredibly rainy day in Los Angeles, I just wanted to check in. I guess this is the day Trump may or may not end up in cuffs? I’m attempting a somewhat slower, less frenzied week. I’ve had Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new record on non-stop, and it’s been a ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • At a glance – What evidence is there for the hockey stick?
    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 ...
    4 days ago
  • Carry right on up there, Corporal Espiner
    RNZ has been shining their torch into corners where lobbyists lurk and asking such questions as: Do we like the look of this?and Is this as democratic as it could be?These are most certainly questions worth asking, and every bit as valid as, say:Are we shortchanged democratically by the way ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • This smells
    RNZ has continued its look at the role of lobbyists by taking a closer look at the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Andrew Kirton. He used to work for liquor companies, opposing (among other things) a container refund scheme which would have required them to take responsibility for their own ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Major issues on the table in Mahuta’s  talks in Beijing with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has left for Beijing for the first ministerial visit to China since 2019. Mahuta is  to  meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang  where she  might have to call on all the  diplomatic skills  at  her  command. Almost certainly she  will  face  questions  on what  role ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • Inside TOP's Teal Card and political strategy
    TL;DR: The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and not just in his Ilam electorate where students make up more than a quarter of the voters and where Manji is confident ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Make Your Empties Go Another Round.
    When I was a kid New Zealand was actually pretty green. We didn’t really have plastic. The fruit and veges came in a cardboard box, the meat was wrapped in paper, milk came in a glass bottle, and even rubbish sacks were made of paper. Today if you sit down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on how similar Vladimir Putin is to George W. Bush
    Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – Syd Holland, Richard Prebble, Juduth Collins, Chris Hipkins – or by far lesser lights like Keith Allen, Frank Gill, Ben Couch, Allen McCready, Clem Simich, ...
    4 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER:  Te Pāti Māori’s uncompromising threat to the status quo
    Chris Trotter writes – The Crown is a fickle friend. Any political movement deemed to be colourful but inconsequential is generally permitted to go about its business unmolested. The Crown’s media, RNZ and TVNZ, may even “celebrate” its existence (presumably as proof of Democracy’s broad-minded acceptance of diversity). ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Shining a bright light on lobbyists in politics
    Four out of the five people who have held the top role of Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff since 2017 have been lobbyists. That’s a fact that should worry anyone who believes vested interests shouldn’t have a place at the centre of decision making. Chris Hipkins’ newly appointed Chief of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Auckland Council Draft Budget – an unnecessary backwards step
    Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. You can read the consultation document here, and provide feedback here. Auckland Council is currently consulting on what is one of its most important ever Annual Plans – the ‘budget’ of what it will spend money on between July ...
    4 days ago
  • Talking’ Posey Parker Blues
    by Molten Moira from Motueka If you want to be a woman let me tell you what to do Get a piece of paper and a biro tooWrite down your new identification And boom! You’re now a woman of this nationSpelled W O M A Na real trans woman that isAs opposed ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    4 days ago
  • More Māori words make it into the OED, and polytech boss (with rules on words like “students”) ...
    Buzz from the Beehive   New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti is hosting the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers for three days from today, welcoming Education Ministers and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, and from Australia. Here’s hoping they have brought translators with them – or ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Social intercourse with haters and Nazis: an etiquette guide
    Let’s say you’ve come all the way from His Majesty’s United Kingdom to share with the folk of Australia and New Zealand your antipathy towards certain other human beings. And let’s say you call yourself a women’s rights activist.And let’s say 99 out of 100 people who listen to you ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • The Greens, Labour, and coalition enforcement
    James Shaw gave the Green party's annual "state of the planet" address over the weekend, in which he expressed frustration with Labour for not doing enough on climate change. His solution is to elect more Green MPs, so they have more power within any government arrangement, and can hold Labour ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • This sounds familiar…
    RNZ this morning has the first story another investigative series by Guyon Espiner, this time into political lobbying. The first story focuses on lobbying by government agencies, specifically transpower, Pharmac, and assorted universities, and how they use lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence on the Ministers who oversee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Letter to the NZ Herald: NCEA pseudoscience – “Mauri is present in all matter”
    Nick Matzke writes –   Dear NZ Herald, I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. I teach evolutionary biology, but I also have long experience in science education and (especially) political attempts to insert pseudoscience into science curricula in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • So what would be the point of a Green vote again?
    James Shaw has again said the Greens would be better ‘in the tent’ with Labour than out, despite Labour’s policy bonfire last week torching much of what the Government was doing to reduce emissions. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Green Party has never been more popular than in some ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Gas stoves pose health risks. Are gas furnaces and other appliances safe to use?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Poor air quality is a long-standing problem in Los Angeles, where the first major outbreak of smog during World War II was so intense that some residents thought the city had been attacked by chemical weapons. Cars were eventually discovered ...
    5 days ago
  • Genetic Heritage and Co Governance
    Yesterday I was reading an excellent newsletter from David Slack, and I started writing a comment “Sounds like some excellent genetic heritage…” and then I stopped.There was something about the phrase genetic heritage that stopped me in tracks. Is that a phrase I want to be saying? It’s kind of ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Radical Uncertainty
    Brian Easton writes – Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s Middle East strategy, 20 years after the Iraq War
    This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. While it strongly opposed the US-led invasion, New Zealand’s then Labour-led government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark did deploy military engineers to try to help rebuild Iraq in mid-2003. With violence soaring, their 12-month deployment ended without being renewed ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • The motorways are finished
    After seventy years, Auckland’s motorway network is finally finished. In July 1953 the first section of motorway in Auckland was opened between Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and Mt Wellington Highway. The final stage opens to traffic this week with the completion of the motorway part of the Northern Corridor Improvements project. Aucklanders ...
    5 days ago
  • Kicking National’s tyres
    National’s appointment of Todd McClay as Agriculture spokesperson clearly signals that the party is in trouble with the farming vote. McClay was not an obvious choice, but he does have a record as a political scrapper. The party needs that because sources say it has been shedding farming votes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • As long as there is cricket, the world is somehow okay.
    Rays of white light come flooding into my lounge, into my face from over the top of my neighbour’s hedge. I have to look away as the window of the conservatory is awash in light, as if you were driving towards the sun after a rain shower and suddenly blinded. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • So much of what was there remains
    The columnists in Private Eye take pen names, so I have not the least idea who any of them are. But I greatly appreciate their expert insight, especially MD, who writes the medical column, offering informed and often damning critique of the UK health system and the politicians who keep ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 12, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 18, 2023. Story of the Week Guest post: What 13,500 citations reveal about the IPCC’s climate science report   IPCC WG1 AR6 SPM Report Cover - Changing ...
    6 days ago
  • Financial capability services are being bucked up, but Stuart Nash shouldn’t have to see if they c...
    Buzz from the Beehive  The building of financial capability was brought into our considerations when Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced she had dipped into the government’s coffers for $3 million for “providers” to help people and families access community-based Building Financial Capability services. That wording suggests some ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • Things that make you go Hmmmm.
    Do you ever come across something that makes you go Hmmmm?You mean like the song?No, I wasn’t thinking of the song, but I am now - thanks for that. I was thinking of things you read or hear that make you stop and go Hmmmm.Yeah, I know what you mean, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • The hoon for the week that was to March 19
    By the end of the week, the dramas over Stuart Nash overshadowed Hipkins’ policy bonfire. File photo: Lynn GrieveasonTLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and the political economy covered on The Kākā included:PM Chris Hipkins’ announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but ...
    The KakaBy Peter Bale
    1 week ago
  • Saving Stuart Nash: Explaining Chris Hipkins' unexpected political calculation
    When word went out that Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would be making an announcement about Stuart Nash on the tiles at parliament at 2:45pm yesterday, the assumption was that it was over. That we had reached tipping point for Nash’s time as minister. But by 3pm - when, coincidentally, the ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    1 week ago
  • Radical Uncertainty
    Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go on to attack physics by citing Newton.So ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • Jump onto the weekly hoon on Riverside at 5pm
    Photo by Walker Fenton on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on Riverside (we’ve moved from Zoom) for our chat about the week’s news with ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Dream of Florian Neame: Accepted
    In a nice bit of news, my 2550-word deindustrial science-fiction piece, The Dream of Florian Neame, has been accepted for publication at New Maps Magazine (https://www.new-maps.com/). I have published there before, of course, with Of Tin and Tintagel coming out last year. While I still await the ...
    1 week ago
  • Snakes and leaders
    And so this is Friday, and what have we learned?It was a week with all the usual luggage: minister brags and then he quits, Hollywood red carpet is full of twits. And all the while, hanging over the trivial stuff: existential dread, and portents of doom.Depending on who you read ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • This station is Karanga-a-Hape, Chur!
    When I changed the name of this newsletter from The Daily Read to Nick’s Kōrero I was a bit worried whether people would know what Kōrero meant or not. I added a definition when I announced the change and kind of assumed people who weren’t familiar with it would get ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Greens don’t shy from promoting a candidate’s queerness but are quiet about govt announcement on...
    There was a time when a political party’s publicity people would counsel against promoting a candidate as queer. No matter which of two dictionary meanings the voting public might choose to apply – the old meaning of odd, strange, weird, or aberrant, or the more recent meaning of gay, homosexual ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to March 17
    Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:PM Chris Hipkins announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but which blew up ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Slow consenting could create $16b climate liability by 2050
    Even though concern over the climate change threat is becoming more mainstream, our governments continue to opt out of the difficult decisions at the expense of time, and cost for future generations. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Now we have a climate liability number to measure the potential failure of the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • THOMAS CRANMER: Challenging progressivism in New Zealand’s culture wars
    Thomas Cranmer writes  Like it or not, the culture wars have entered New Zealand politics and look set to broaden and intensify. The culture wars are often viewed as an exclusively American phenomenon, but the reality is that they are becoming increasingly prominent in countries around the world, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges.  Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • New project set to supercharge ocean economy in Nelson Tasman
    A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • National’s education policy: where’s the funding?
    After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment.  “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Free programme to help older entrepreneurs and inventors
    People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government target increased to keep powering up the Māori economy
    A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Continued progress on reducing poverty in challenging times
    77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Speech at Fiji Investment and Trade Business Forum
    Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government investments boost and diversify local economies in lower South Island
    $2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government future-proofs EV charging
    Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • World-leading family harm prevention campaign supports young NZers
    Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention. Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. “Over 1,200 young kiwis told ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • First Chief Clinical Advisor welcomed into Coroners Court
    Hon Rino Tirikatene, Minister for Courts, welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s appointment of Dr Garry Clearwater as New Zealand’s first Chief Clinical Advisor working with the Coroners Court. “This appointment is significant for the Coroners Court and New Zealand’s wider coronial system.” Minister Tirikatene said. Through Budget 2022, the Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Next steps for affected properties post Cyclone and floods
    The Government via the Cyclone Taskforce is working with local government and insurance companies to build a picture of high-risk areas following Cyclone Gabrielle and January floods. “The Taskforce, led by Sir Brian Roche, has been working with insurance companies to undertake an assessment of high-risk areas so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New appointment to Māori Land Court bench
    E te huia kaimanawa, ko Ngāpuhi e whakahari ana i tau aupikinga ki te tihi o te maunga. Ko te Ao Māori hoki e whakanui ana i a koe te whakaihu waka o te reo Māori i roto i te Ao Ture. (To the prized treasure, it is Ngāpuhi who ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government focus on jobs sees record number of New Zealanders move from Benefits into work
    113,400 exits into work in the year to June 2022 Young people are moving off Benefit faster than after the Global Financial Crisis Two reports released today by the Ministry of Social Development show the Government’s investment in the COVID-19 response helped drive record numbers of people off Benefits and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Vertical farming partnership has upward momentum
    The Government’s priority to keep New Zealand at the cutting edge of food production and lift our sustainability credentials continues by backing the next steps of a hi-tech vertical farming venture that uses up to 95 per cent less water, is climate resilient, and pesticide-free. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Conference of Pacific Education Ministers – Keynote Address
    E nga mana, e nga iwi, e nga reo, e nga hau e wha, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou kātoa. Warm Pacific greetings to all. It is an honour to host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers here in Tāmaki Makaurau. Aotearoa is delighted to be hosting you ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New $13m renal unit supports Taranaki patients
    The new renal unit at Taranaki Base Hospital has been officially opened by the Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall this afternoon. Te Huhi Raupō received around $13 million in government funding as part of Project Maunga Stage 2, the redevelopment of the Taranaki Base Hospital campus. “It’s an honour ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Second Poseidon aircraft on home soil
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the country’s second P-8A Poseidon aircraft alongside personnel at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base at Ohakea today. “With two of the four P-8A Poseidons now on home soil this marks another significant milestone in the Government’s historic investment in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Further humanitarian aid for Türkiye and Syria
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide further humanitarian support to those seriously affected by last month’s deadly earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, says Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. “The 6 February earthquakes have had devastating consequences, with almost 18 million people affected. More than 53,000 people have died and tens of thousands more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Community voice to help shape immigration policy
    Migrant communities across New Zealand are represented in the new Migrant Community Reference Group that will help shape immigration policy going forward, Immigration Minister Michael Wood announced today.  “Since becoming Minister, a reoccurring message I have heard from migrants is the feeling their voice has often been missing around policy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • State Highway 3 project to deliver safer journeys, better travel connections for Taranaki
    Construction has begun on major works that will deliver significant safety improvements on State Highway 3 from Waitara to Bell Block, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan announced today. “This is an important route for communities, freight and visitors to Taranaki but too many people have lost their lives or ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Ginny Andersen appointed as Minister of Police
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has today appointed Ginny Andersen as Minister of Police. “Ginny Andersen has a strong and relevant background in this important portfolio,” Chris Hipkins said. “Ginny Andersen worked for the Police as a non-sworn staff member for around 10 years and has more recently been chair of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government confirms vital roading reconnections
    Six further bailey bridge sites confirmed Four additional bridge sites under consideration 91 per cent of damaged state highways reopened Recovery Dashboards for impacted regions released The Government has responded quickly to restore lifeline routes after Cyclone Gabrielle and can today confirm that an additional six bailey bridges will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Foreign Minister Mahuta to meet with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for China tomorrow, where she will meet with her counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, in Beijing. This will be the first visit by a New Zealand Minister to China since 2019, and follows the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions between New Zealand and China. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Education Ministers from across the Pacific gather in Aotearoa
    Education Ministers from across the Pacific will gather in Tāmaki Makaurau this week to share their collective knowledge and strategic vision, for the benefit of ākonga across the region. New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti will host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers (CPEM) for three days from today, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • State Highway 5 reopens between Napier and Taupō following Cyclone Gabrielle
    A vital transport link for communities and local businesses has been restored following Cyclone Gabrielle with the reopening of State Highway 5 (SH5) between Napier and Taupō, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan says. SH5 reopened to all traffic between 7am and 7pm from today, with closure points at SH2 (Kaimata ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Special Lotto draw raises $11.7 million for Cyclone Gabrielle recovery
    Internal Affairs Minister Barbara Edmonds has thanked generous New Zealanders who took part in the special Lotto draw for communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. Held on Saturday night, the draw raised $11.7 million with half of all ticket sales going towards recovery efforts. “In a time of need, New Zealanders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government delivers a $3 million funding boost for Building Financial Capability services
    The Government has announced funding of $3 million for providers to help people, and whānau access community-based Building Financial Capability services. “Demand for Financial Capability Services is growing as people face cost of living pressures. Those pressures are increasing further in areas affected by flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle,” Minister for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao – new Chair and member
    Minister of Education, Hon Jan Tinetti, has announced appointments to the Board of Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao. Tracey Bridges is joining the Board as the new Chair and Dr Therese Arseneau will be a new member. Current members Dr Linda Sissons CNZM and Daniel Wilson have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Scholarships honouring Ngarimu VC and the 28th (Māori) Battalion announced
    Fifteen ākonga Māori from across Aotearoa have been awarded the prestigious Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships and Awards for 2023, Associate Education Minister and Ngarimu Board Chair, Kelvin Davis announced today.  The recipients include doctoral, masters’ and undergraduate students. Three vocational training students and five wharekura students, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Appointment of Judge of the Court of Appeal and Judge of the High Court
    High Court Judge Jillian Maree Mallon has been appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal, and District Court Judge Andrew John Becroft QSO has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Mallon graduated from Otago University in 1988 with an LLB (Hons), and with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • NZ still well placed to meet global challenges
    The economy has continued to show its resilience despite today’s GDP figures showing a modest decline in the December quarter, leaving the Government well positioned to help New Zealanders face cost of living pressures in a challenging global environment. “The economy had grown strongly in the two quarters before this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Western Ring Route Complete
    Aucklanders now have more ways to get around as Transport Minister Michael Wood opened the direct State Highway 1 (SH1) to State Highway 18 (SH18) underpass today, marking the completion of the 48-kilometre Western Ring Route (WRR). “The Government is upgrading New Zealand’s transport system to make it safer, more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Briefings to Incoming Ministers
    This section contains briefings received by incoming ministers following changes to Cabinet in January. Some information may have been withheld in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982. Where information has been withheld that is indicated within the document. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Teaming up for a stronger, more resilient Fiji
    Aotearoa New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta reaffirmed her commitment to working together with the new Government of Fiji on issues of shared importance, including on the prioritisation of climate change and sustainability, at a meeting today, in Nadi. Fiji and Aotearoa New Zealand’s close relationship is underpinned by the Duavata ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Investment in blue highway a lifeline for regional economies and cyclone recovery
    The Government is delivering a coastal shipping lifeline for businesses, residents and the primary sector in the cyclone-stricken regions of Hawkes Bay and Tairāwhiti, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan announced today. The Rangitata vessel has been chartered for an emergency coastal shipping route between Gisborne and Napier, with potential for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Next steps developing clean energy for NZ
    The Government will progress to the next stage of the NZ Battery Project, looking at the viability of pumped hydro as well as an alternative, multi-technology approach as part of the Government’s long term-plan to build a resilient, affordable, secure and decarbonised energy system in New Zealand, Energy and Resources ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Statement from the Prime Minister on Stuart Nash
    This morning I was made aware of a media interview in which Minister Stuart Nash criticised a decision of the Court and said he had contacted the Police Commissioner to suggest the Police appeal the decision. The phone call took place in 2021 when he was not the Police Minister. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • CPTPP Trade Ministers coming to Auckland
    The Government’s sharp focus on trade continues with Aotearoa New Zealand set to host Trade Ministers and delegations from 10 Asia Pacific economies at a meeting of Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Commission members in July, Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor announced today. “New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Govt approves $25 million extension for cyclone-affected businesses
    $25 million boost to support more businesses with clean-up in cyclone affected regions, taking total business support to more than $50 million Demand for grants has been strong, with estimates showing applications will exceed the initial $25 million business support package Grants of up to a maximum of $40,000 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-03-24T18:36:18+00:00