Press Council finds against Herald over ponygate reporting

Written By: - Date published: 8:37 am, July 3rd, 2015 - 76 comments
Categories: john key, journalism, making shit up, Media, newspapers, spin - Tags: , ,

The Press Council has now released its decision on the complaints laid against the Herald about Rachel Glucina’s reporting of Amanda Bailey’s story.  The complaint was essentially that Glucina had obtained statements from Bailey by subterfuge by claiming that she was acting in her capacity as a PR consultant and not as a reporter.  Of course the context is Glucina’s close association with John Key and the complete inappropriateness of her advising Bailey in how to handle her complaint about Key’s ponytail pulling antics.

The Council has found that a breach of Principle 10 of the Press Council’s statement of principles.  This principle states:

To fulfil their proper watchdog role, publications must be independent and free of obligations to their news sources. They should avoid any situations that might compromise such independence. Where a story is enabled by sponsorship, gift or financial inducement, that sponsorship, gift or financial inducement should be declared.  Where an author’s link to a subject is deemed to be justified, the relationship of author to subject should be declared.

The decision is very narrow in that the Council has decided that Glucina’s failure to acknowledge that her brother provided PR advice to Amanda Bailey’s employers was a breach of the standard.  The Council did not think that her relationship with John Key was relevant as that relationship was publicly known even though the Council had “some concerns about the amount of comment that is at least implicitly critical of Ms Bailey as against the six short paragraphs setting out her views”.

The decision raises some interesting issues.  Editor Tim Murphy claims that Rachel Glucina does not work in PR, nor does she have PR clients.  The decision noted that Glucina’s linked in page states she does work in PR.

The relevant findings of the Council are in the following passage:

30. There are a few facts which appear to be clear:

• Ms Bailey had made her story public through The Daily Blog without revealing her identity. It is reasonable to assume that at that stage she wished to remain anonymous and that at all times she had concerns about being identified.

• there was no direct contact between Ms Glucina and Ms Bailey before or after the interview. It appears that all contact was through Ms Bailey’s employers. Nor was there any direct contact between Ms Bailey and any representative of the NZ Herald between the conclusion of the interview and the publication of the article.

• there was at the very least some initial confusion over the basis on which Ms Glucina approached Ms Bailey and her employers. While NZ Herald has stated that she is a Herald reporter, does not work in PR and has no PR clients, her Linked-in profile refers to her as director of a PR company and specifies PR work as one of its functions. Linked-in is generally regarded as a platform for the advertising of services.

• It seems very likely that Ms Bailey’s employers, who were already acquainted with Ms Glucina, knew of her PR skills and were comfortable with the idea that she would help produce a media statement that would help counter any possible damage to the reputation of their business. There seems to have been no clear distinction between the journalistic and the PR aspects of the proposed article.

• There was also confusion over the nature of the article Ms Glucina proposed to write. Both Ms Bailey, and her employers, understood that she would prepare a general statement that would be released to all media. Certainly in relaying the content of his conversation with the café owners, Mr Currie acknowledges that they “said they had thought their and the waitress’ words would be issued to all media”.

31. On the basis of these facts, the Press Council cannot rule out the possibility of a genuine misunderstanding in the first instance about the nature of Ms Glucina’s approach and of the article she proposed to write. However once the interview was taking place, the onus was on Ms Glucina as a professional media person to make the position completely clear to all parties, particularly to Ms Bailey, with whom she had had no previous contact, who was in a vulnerable position, and whose interests could well have been in conflict with those of the café owners.

32. Even if Ms Bailey’s employers were aware that she proposed to write an article exclusively for the NZ Herald (and it seems likely they were not) Ms Glucina could not delegate to them her obligation to be sure that she had Ms Bailey’s fully informed consent to the proposed publication, especially in view of the earlier anonymous publication. On the contrary, her obligation was all the greater because she had not been privy to the conversations between Ms Bailey and her employers in setting up the interview.

33. By the time the interview had been concluded, all parties should have been quite clear about the nature of the article that was to be written. They certainly had concerns about the likely content, resulting in a departure from usual journalistic practice in the agreement to submit quotes to them for checking for accuracy. There is an element of subterfuge in Ms Glucina’s failure to ensure that they all knew she proposed to write an exclusive article for the NZ Herald.

So a findings of inappropriate action by Glucina has have been made although on a very narrow and very unsatisfactory basis.  The use of one of Key’s fan club to publish someone’s identity and start the undermining process  should not be acceptable behaviour by our main stream media.

Update:  there is a second decision that finds “there were elements of subterfuge in the NZ Herald’s dealings with Ms Bailey along with a failure to act fairly towards her”.  So there are two distinct findings, one that the principle against subterfuge has been breached and one that the principle of independence has been breached.

76 comments on “Press Council finds against Herald over ponygate reporting ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Tracey 1
    3 July 2015 at 8:41 am

    back of hand. slap. wet bus ticket. it is the lead story on herald front page today? no?

    • Sacha 1.1
      3 July 2015 at 8:46 am

      Consequences? Currie gets a promotion, Glucina gets a better job with another company, cafe owners untouched, PM smiling. Only person who did badly from this is the woman he harrassed. What a shitty unaccountable society we are tolerating.

      • Molly 1.1.1
        3 July 2015 at 8:59 am

        +100

        • Chooky 1.1.1.1
          3 July 2015 at 9:13 am

          +100×1…however Glucina now has her name on the news…and not in a good way !….and the Herald is NOT looking good!…corruption all around!….also jonkey nactional is NOT looking good …cronyism and sexual harassment reminder

      • Sable 1.1.2
        3 July 2015 at 9:17 am

        New Zealand used to be a reasonably fair country. Not perfect but mostly fair. Now its a US style cesspit, where things that once would never have been tolerated have become commonplace. Of course thats the crux of the problem too….low expectations and apathy…..

        • Peter 1.1.2.1
          3 July 2015 at 10:53 am

          …… low expectations and apathy exactly what NACT want

          • tc 1.1.2.1.1
            3 July 2015 at 3:45 pm

            The sideshow bob line from the simpsons comes to mind:
            ‘…Your guilty conscience may move you to vote Democratic, but deep down you long for a cold-hearted Republican to lower taxes, brutalize criminals, and rule you like a king….’

        • aerobubble 1.1.2.2
          3 July 2015 at 11:02 am

          I disagree. Low expectations and apathy are manufactured as part of the pact media has with the new national socialism, neo-liberalism. Thatcherism is all about denying yourself a decision in the running of the nation as the market will magical deliever it if only you wait. We collectively give up when we buy into the simplistic profit at all cost paradigm. I do not, nor does anyone really have low expectations, its we’re told that the way to be successful is to deny ourselves and thus create a world of low expectations. Take climate change, we can grow bamboo on our lawns, a fast carbon sink that can be buried or used. Waiting for the market, or hands off govt parties to organize themselves, is apathy manufacturing. But can you buy a bamboo plant nope. Not capitalism out there in retail.

      • vaughan little 1.1.3
        3 July 2015 at 1:26 pm

        this kind of thing takes a while to pan out. for instance, a bad smell is gonna follow rachel glucina for the rest of her life.

        plus, i’d say there’s more job security working for the herald than tv3…

  2. Craig Glen Eden 2
    3 July 2015 at 8:44 am

    So they role on doing what they have been doing smearing anyone who has anything to say which is negative about John Key.

    • Naturesong 2.1
      3 July 2015 at 12:53 pm

      FIFY

      So they roll on doing what they have been doing, smearing anyone who points out the negative behaviour of John Key.

  3. repateet 3
    3 July 2015 at 8:51 am

    When Rachel Glucina appears on whatever thing she ends up on with her new employer, will the identity tag along the bottom of whatever she does announce ‘Rachel Glucina, scumbag, weasel, reporter’ ? Or since she is with Mediaworks will that be self-evident?

    • Skinny 3.1
      3 July 2015 at 9:02 am

      Don’t be surprised if Glucina lands a weekly spot on Paul Henry’s show. All it would take is a phone call from the Nats lead snake oil saleman Joyce. Refreshing them on National’s donations policy.

      We showed you the money…it’s all about the money.

    • Chooky 3.2
      3 July 2015 at 9:23 am

      “self-evident”…I would think

      ….and whenever i see her next to David Farrer ….she looks like his sister or mother ….or a mini me with a black dyed hair wig

      • Stephanie Rodgers 3.2.1
        3 July 2015 at 9:47 am

        There are really so many things we can criticise Rachel Glucina for without focusing on her appearance.

        • Chooky 3.2.1.1
          3 July 2015 at 10:47 am

          sorry.!!!!…couldn’t resist…but the female troll deserves it

          ….i would say the same about Slater or Farrer….ugly PR trolls all of them!

          …and does a person’s soul shine through their faces?

          • Naturesong 3.2.1.1.1
            3 July 2015 at 11:20 am

            The real ugliness is on the inside.
            Best to focus on that.

          • Skinny 3.2.1.1.2
            3 July 2015 at 11:33 am

            I seen her at the beach in a bikini, I deliberately got my phone out to take a photo. She wasn’t impressed probably because she had wintered too well. Enjoyed mocking her by saying I hope you don’t mind it’s not every day ya meet
            a celebrity, my girlfriend laughed and muttered loud enough for her to hear “don’t you mean a beached whale”. The exchange of words I can’t repeat, had to interject before a cat fight broke out. Asked my gf what was that all about? She said that bitch took that photo of you at the supper club ( K rd bar an old haunt) between 2 slappers at the bar while I was in the bathroom, and posted it in the trash column of hers.

            Hell have no fury like a woman’s scorn.

            • Chooky 3.2.1.1.2.1
              3 July 2015 at 1:15 pm

              lol Skinny…sounds like a good girlfriend.

              ..i once saw a girlie ‘cat fight’ ….and believe it or not, one grabbed the other’s hair and it went flying ! ….everyone was so astounded they didnt laugh , or at least laugh much ….no one had ever suspected she wore a wig…her long fingernails were definitely fake though…but it wasnt funny when she ripped the others gold earring out of her ear

              • Skinny …
                3 July 2015 at 2:08 pm

                It was a nasty spiteful thing Glucina done by misrepresenting the situation as if I was some sort of ladies man, the bar area was quite small and I was wedged between 2 females innocently queuing for a drink. My gf who grew up in remmers but steered clear of mixing with the silly girls set, was familar to Glucina but chose to ignore her. Anyway the first we knew of the infamous photo in the paper was friends contacting us asking if we had split up. And the odd bit of grief from one or two of her besties accusing me of being a cheating cad.

                • Chooky …
                  3 July 2015 at 5:10 pm

                  yup Skinny …sounds like yer were dealing with a ‘bad woman’ to set you up like that..such women aint ladies ….more evidence against the Herald ‘s PR one…and should one handle such PR ones with kid gloves as if they were ladies?

            • Stephanie Rodgers 3.2.1.1.2.2
              3 July 2015 at 1:30 pm

              Whoever told you that “deliberately missing the point and doubling down on cheap sexist attacks” was a good look for you was lying.

              • Skinny …
                3 July 2015 at 2:22 pm

                OK I was writing the above and just saw your comment. I hope the further details ‘gets the point.’ Which is Glucina purposely manipulates situations to suit her own agenda and mine is an example, all be it not to everyone’s liking…different strokes for different folks I guess.

                • Stephanie Rodgers …
                  3 July 2015 at 3:53 pm

                  Nope … still seems like an excuse to throw around words like “beached whale”, “cat fight”, “bitch”, “slappers” and “trash” to me.

                  Just because you’re claiming another woman said it doesn’t stop all of the above from being boring old sexism.

                  • Chooky …
                    3 July 2015 at 5:18 pm

                    I used the word “cat fight”…not poor wee Skinny…and I stand by it

                    …calling me out as “sexist” then?…am I going to get banned for sexism?

                    [From the policy: “What we’re not prepared to accept are pointless personal attacks, or tone or language that has the effect of excluding others.” The gratuitous use of sexist language can certainly be said to have the effect of excluding others, so, yes, a ban is possible. More likely, however, would be a period in moderation so that future comments can be vetted. That means the moderated person’s comments only get released when a moderator spots them in the spam trap. TRP]

                    • Chooky …
                      3 July 2015 at 6:17 pm

                      @ TRP….well i have been accused of being a “rape apologist” by you and others…..so ?!…when is the ban?

                    • te reo putake []
                      3 July 2015 at 6:45 pm

                      You posted a series of comments on a post that actually were rape apologies, so don’t bother using weasel words like “accused”. If you want to be banned, just say so. If you don’t, I suggest you use the common sense you usually show round here and keep your comments non inflammatory.

                    • Skinny …
                      3 July 2015 at 6:46 pm

                      Now now chook take it on the chin without the sniveling.

                    • Chooky …
                      3 July 2015 at 9:00 pm

                      certainly NOT snivelling….actually like others I defended Julian Assange…..and for that….I like others , who no longer come here ,,,, was branded a “rape apologist”…not once but many times….remember the boycott and picket protest against bullying here?!

  4. OMBE 4
    3 July 2015 at 8:54 am

    Wet bus ticket, ready and waiting……

    • RedLogix 4.1
      3 July 2015 at 9:30 am

      Wet? It’s been soaking for months.

      • mickysavage 4.1.1
        3 July 2015 at 9:33 am

        Yep I wrote this post in a hurry so that the comments could pick the decision apart.

        The Council did find that Glucina had engaged in subterfuge:

        “There is an element of subterfuge in Ms Glucina’s failure to ensure that they all knew she proposed to write an exclusive article for the NZ Herald.”

        I am not sure why this was not subject to a finding. It seems pretty clear.

        • RedLogix 4.1.1.1
          3 July 2015 at 9:52 am

          I’m too busy to have been following this in detail, but my impression is that the Press Council has released a series of pretty weak decisions lately.

          This one presented them with a problem, Glucina had clearly stepped over the line and no-one was going to accept them totally absolving her … so we get this instead which looks like one thing but is really another.

          A can of ceiling white labelled Tut Tut.

          • Anne 4.1.1.1.1
            3 July 2015 at 6:52 pm

            I’m too busy to have been following this in detail, but my impression is that the Press Council has released a series of pretty weak decisions lately.

            Not just lately RedLogix. It’s been going on for a long time. And its not just the Press Council but the BSA as well. Around 2010/11 (can’t quite remember and can’t be bothered looking it up), after having followed the required preliminary procedures that proved unsatisfactory, I laid a formal complaint with the BSA about the handling of “The Hobbit” controversy by a TVNZ Q+A programme. The BSA spuriously dismissed my claims despite the obvious bias and unfairness of the programme concerned. Some time later further revelations confirmed that my complaint had been correct and the BSA judgement had been wrong. It’s wasn’t the first time I have fought lily-livered authoritarian bias either, and since the election of this ‘authoritarian’ government it has further deteriorated.

        • Pascals bookie 4.1.1.2
          3 July 2015 at 9:55 am

          It was:

          “Decision
          39. The Press Council upholds the complaints. It finds there were elements of subterfuge in the NZ Herald’s dealings with Ms Bailey along with a failure to act fairly towards her, but more importantly it notes that it is not exclusively concerned with determining whether there has been a breach of specific principles. It may consider other ethical grounds for complaint, especially in the context of its objective of maintaining the press in accordance with the highest professional standards. In this case, it is of the view that the NZ Herald has generally fallen far short of those standards in its handling of a sensitive issue and its failure to respect the interests of a vulnerable person.
          40. For the sake of completeness, it should be said that the Press Council does not find that there was a sufficient public interest in Ms Bailey’s story to justify the use of subterfuge, or to override any right to privacy. “

  5. Smilin 5
    3 July 2015 at 9:11 am

    Wormy Key wins again, closeted sexist molesting deviant ponytail chain pulling up himself arrogant AND IF YOU touch my daughters hair and ill drop u- how do you like that for your 30% of GDP SUCKING LEGAL BS AT THE TAX PAYERS EXPENSE Key
    You actually remind of the crap teachers use to get away with back in the 60’s and they got away with because of the right to abuse sec 59

  6. Sable 6
    3 July 2015 at 9:15 am

    Not much of a telling off, is it? Its my opinion the MSM in this country seem to do as they please…

  7. ianmac 7
    3 July 2015 at 9:27 am

    Remember that there is OIA request from No Right Turn ? for info, did Key have communication with Glucina at that time? The info is being with-held but an appeal to the Ombudsman is pending.
    Aha! Found it:
    http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2015/06/what-is-prime-minister-trying-to-hide.html

  8. yip 8
    3 July 2015 at 9:37 am

    Glucina Was doing PR…… For the Dirty politics machine, it may work like this , you want PR Glucina writes it, gets paid, Glucina then uses her job at the herald to print it.
    The Herald also pays Glucina.
    Hi fives all round at the wine bar later.

  9. Tracey 9
    3 July 2015 at 9:58 am

    surely glucina has a clear and unequivocal to ligation to make clear at the beginning who she is and what she intends doing with the info. in her journalist role. IF there is any misunderstanding it can only be because glucina failed to make her position clear?

    • Charles 9.1
      3 July 2015 at 10:53 am

      I would argue that if a company functions as an intermediary, and that a company knows who it’s staff are (common enough), and are aquainted with a journalist who is related to one of their staff, and that a journalist calls them after a particular event of importance, the journalist’s position has been stated unless they say otherwise. Give it the, “what would a reasonable person believe”, test:

      Think of someone you know, aquaintence or not. You know what they do for living, yes? When I ask you what they do for a living, you can tell me. So that person calls you and says, “I want to talk to your employee about that thing that happened, can you set something up?”.

      “Talk to my employee? Why, what business is it of yours? Oh right yeah, you’re a journalist. Ok good I’ll do it.”

      Employer calls up employee, “Oh hai employee, hey you wanna come do a conference call/over to my place to meet a friend? You do? Excellent. Bai.”

      Later at that meeting, employee spots the subterfuge:
      “Hey, aren’t you that journalist?”
      “No no, I’m just a friend of the interme… I mean… your employer.”
      “Hey employer,” says employee, “why u no tell me about journalist?”
      “Slipped my mind. Do we not usually get together for little chats like this for no reason? Can you come back later for pics?”

      This is what the Press Council ask us to believe happened.

      So, when your “friend” calls you, is it likely your friend asked in their role as journalist to the company they work at, from which they are well known to the public as a journalist/columnist; or a PR person for a unknown company that has no track record? Did your friend ask you, during business hours, to get the BBQ out for steaks ‘n’ chardonnay on Saturday, Oh, and bring that interesting trouble-maker with you… or would a reasonable person know what was being asked?

      Contrary to Mike Hoskings polishing of the employers as unwitting meat in the sandwhich, turns out the employers were extension of the Herald grub team. They are called intermediaries for a reason. Everyone knew.

  10. weka 10
    3 July 2015 at 10:04 am

    “surely glucina has a clear and unequivocal to ligation to make clear at the beginning who she is and what she intends doing with the info”

    I wish she had a clear and unequivocal ligation 😈

    (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun, no harm actually intended)

  11. T Chris 11
    3 July 2015 at 10:22 am

    I think the Unite union hassling Amanda Bailey are just as bad to be fair

    [lprent: You asserted a fact. Link to a credible source or retract or leave permanently. You have a day before I ban you permanently as being a particularly stupid old-style troll. I’ll keep an eye on spam..

    As a point to consider for others wanting to follow the same kind of idiotic stupidity, I really don’t like idiots trolling PR lines for arseholes. I’m generally going to go over the top when I see it. Don’t just spin a line if you want to use it. Explain it, and link to something if you are asserting. This provides amusement for other commentators as they tear your argument apart. It might still be a flamewar, but at least it is one with some brains in play.

    The only mention I have seen for that particular story was Cameron Slater lying through his teeth as usual. And as usual it was repeated by a pile of thick-headed half-wits like yourself grunting it like brain-damaged parrots trying to speak while pulling your dicks with excitement at your own cleaverness. ]

    • Anne 11.1
      3 July 2015 at 10:40 am

      To be fair T Chris you’re being your usual a******e self. Amanda Bailey went to her union seeking help after she had her reputation smeared by the actions of Rachel Glucina and the Herald.

    • Old Mickey 11.2
      3 July 2015 at 11:57 am

      Certainly serial litigator-bankrupt-blackmailer McCready was as bad if not worse !

      [lprent: Why exactly? Link? Do you want to get the same moderating treatment that Chris just got above? In this case you probably aren’t just repeating someone lying. However you need to explain why. ]

      • T Chris 11.2.1
        3 July 2015 at 1:16 pm

        There seems to be different rules for some posters on here when it comes to posting links

        [lprent: The rule is in the policy. If you assert something as a fact then you are expected to substantiate it. If you clearly state that it is your opinion, then you do not. This is the essential legal difference between defamatory statements and free expression. People tend to be very clear on this site when they are expressing their opinions or quoting facts.

        But this idiot really are a lazy idiot who is clearly incapable of reading comments carefully enough to distinguish the difference. Since, we don’t want to be sued because of ignorant lazy and stupid fuckwits like this one lying on our site, so we exclude those who are more interested sucking on their own dick for their “facts” than working on checking them.

        A day later, I haven’t received substantiation (just some pathetic pinhead logic in email) or a retraction. So the ban is permanent. Another fool excluded. ]

      • Old Mickey 11.2.2
        6 July 2015 at 11:38 am

        In m y opinion, and after reading a number of links and quotes such as:

        http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/mccready-told-to-push-off-with-ponytail-pulling-case/

        “”It is to be remembered Ms Bailey is not a party to these proceedings and that these proceedings have been brought without her knowledge or consent”.”
        And according to mcGready the tribunal had misunderstood confusion over the process and determined his actions were “frivolous and intended to harass the victim Amanda Bailey”.

        I believe that McGready’s was as bad as the herald reporter’s. Neither appear to me, to have Amanda best interest at heart, just their own self serving actions.

        • lprent 11.2.2.1
          6 July 2015 at 12:44 pm

          I wouldn’t disagree about McCready. I wasn’t exactly impressed with his actions myself, and Ms Bailey was pretty clear on that subject. The various approaches by unions and lawyers don’t appear to have received the same treatment.

          But around here it does pay to be quite clear about what is your opinion and what it is being asserted as fact (and therefore may need to substantiate). For me when I am moderating, it is the line between what is mere opinion and what I can spend a Slater load of time in court for.

          Chris T, who I banned above was giving me a self-serving solipsistic argument in emails that relied more on his misconceptions about unions (and presumably lawyers) than reality. An arrogant and stupid fuckwit like that is far too dangerous to have around.

  12. adam 12
    3 July 2015 at 10:22 am

    Well done Boomer on this.

    He really was a good terrier, sinking his teeth in – over at the daily blog he has a piece – well worth a read.

    Amanda, not sure your reading this. But well done to you – your bravery in the face of all this macho b.s has been outstanding.

    You get my full respect, and gratitude. If you ever feel down, just remember your a awesome human being, that people with no morals tried to destroy – they failed, you’re just to brilliant.

  13. Aaron 13
    3 July 2015 at 10:29 am

    Anytime the Herald has to publish an article about how it failed to meet basic journalistic standards is a good time as far as I’m concerned.

  14. Heartbleeding Liberal 14
    3 July 2015 at 10:42 am

    This story was interesting, it entered the public sphere with a bang and fizzled out shortly thereafter. I thought that this one was going to stick.

    • repateet 14.1
      3 July 2015 at 11:28 am

      Slater and Farrar aren’t interested in the story, big surprise. Transpose the situation to have implications about the leader of the lLabour party would they be in to it? Too damned right.
      Mind you Slater’s onto important things today like his company beanies. Won’t be needed top keep any brains warm.

  15. Charles 15
    3 July 2015 at 11:12 am

    Apparently, there are no processes up at the Herald newsroom. Anyone can wander in, type something up, press send and, boom, next day it’s on the front page. Every morning, it’s a complete surprise to the Editor what is reported and what isn’t. They pick up the paper and have to immediately check facts, verify sources and methods and order of events, themselves, to avoid legal problems and begin retracting statments. That’s their job. The only time they do anything. Running around after their staff. Yeah right, Press Council,

  16. McFlock 16
    3 July 2015 at 11:52 am

    I liked this bit of the first decision(my italics) :

    36. It seems that by early evening Mr Currie had spoken to the café owners (or one of them) and had explained the situation. However he did not speak to Ms Bailey, nor is there any evidence that he attempted to obtain contact details for her. Once again, clarification of the basis on which the story was to be published was not a task that could be delegated, or at least not without direct authority from Ms Bailey. While the Press Council does not consider Ms Glucina’s history as a journalist to be particularly relevant to this case, it was known to the NZ Herald and should have resulted in special care to ensure that the highest ethical standards were maintained.

    That sounds awfully like she’s been before the press council before and found to have been dodgy so badly or often that the Herald should have known to watch her like a hawk. And this is the person mediaworks has headhunted…

  17. Hugh Robb 17
    3 July 2015 at 11:54 am

    Just more abuse directed at the victim. J.K. assailed this woman. lk a crime. It is a crimminal matter and J.K. should be charged. No one should be above the law.J.tk. is guilty of male assaults female. AND he admitted it!

  18. Tanz 18
    3 July 2015 at 2:57 pm

    Bill Clinton did far worse and got away with it, but then he is a Democrat. Colin Craig did less and is now being cut loose by his party, the party he founded and personally put money into. Is that fair? And there is no proof, one word against the other and a bit of a silly poem. Can any of us afford to throw metaphorical stones?

    • weka 18.1
      3 July 2015 at 4:21 pm

      What did Clinton do that was worse?

      • adam 18.1.1
        3 July 2015 at 6:40 pm

        Monica was a willing participant. Hillary was the wounded party – not you or me Tanz.

        • Tanz 18.1.1.1
          4 July 2015 at 12:23 pm

          Yes, but as a President, you are supposed to have very high moral standards. Colin Craig got ripped to shreds by the leftie biased media, and he is just the leader of a party that isn’t even in Parliament (though he got close), he’s had to pay her twenty grand out for her credit cards and say goodbye to that (going by the Herald) and it’s all hearsay. One of them is lying. Yep, John Key pulled a few ponytails, a bit weird, but not up there with the real scandals!!

  19. Tanz 19
    3 July 2015 at 2:59 pm

    Oh, am I now in moderation again? Free speech…

    [lprent: Don’t get too paranoid. We don’t use moderation manually much any more, those are almost all automatic processes. Get worried if you see yourself going to spam.

    Besides “Free speech” here is completely dependent on your behaviour rather than the strange and queer ideas that you and everyone else (apart from me of course) has. But I’m just as tolerant of my fellow authors as I am of most commenters. 😈

    The behaviours that we find don’t add any benefit to the site are outlined in the policy. I haven’t seen you indulge in them for a *long* time. ]

  20. Tanz 20
    4 July 2015 at 12:25 pm

    No, because I don’t indulge in commenting here very much, you get shot down for mere opinion if it goes against the grain.

    • Anne 20.1
      4 July 2015 at 3:41 pm

      Its not because of going against the grain Tanz, its because you talk nonsense much of the time. Like your … ripped to shreds by the leftie biased media @ 18.1.1.1. Now that is a seriously wonky judgement call. Much of the MSM have been living in JonKey’s pocket for the past 8 years so to call them “lefties” is inviting ridicule.

  21. Tanz 21
    4 July 2015 at 7:02 pm

    John Key himself is far more to the left than the right.

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  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #20 2024
    Open access notables Publicly expressed climate scepticism is greatest in regions with high CO2 emissions, Pearson et al., Climatic Change: We analysed a recently released corpus of climate-related tweets to examine the macro-level factors associated with public declarations of climate change scepticism. Analyses of over 2 million geo-located tweets in the U.S. showed that climate ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 hours ago

  • The thrilling possibilities of charter schools
    You can be all negative about these charter schools if you want, but I’m here to accentuate the positive. You can get all worked up, if you want to, by the contradiction of Luxon saying We’re going to make sure that every school in the country is teaching exactly the same ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 hours ago

  • This Unreasonable Government.
    Losing The Room: One can only speculate about what has persuaded the Coalition Government that it will pay no electoral price for unreasonably pushing ahead with policies that are so clearly against the national interest. They seem quite oblivious to the risk that by doing so they will convince an increasing ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 hours ago

  • Supreme Court weighs in on name suppression
    Name suppression decisions can be tough sometimes. No matter your views on free speech, you have to be hard-hearted not to be torn by the tug of the competing arguments. I think you can feel the Supreme Court wrestling with that in M v The King. The case for ...
    Media Law JournalBy Steven
    7 hours ago

  • Is This A “Merchants” Government?
    The Merchants of Menace: The Coalition Government has convinced itself that the “Brahmins’” emollient functions have become much too irksome and expensive. Those who see themselves as the best hope of rebuilding New Zealand’s ailing capitalist system, appear to have convinced themselves that a little bit of blunt trauma is what their mollycoddled ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 hours ago

  • This is what corruption looks like
    When National first proposed its Muldoonist "fast-track" law, they were warned that it would inevitably lead to corruption. And that is exactly what has happened, with Resources Minister Shane Jones taking secret meetings with potential applicants: On Tuesday, in a Newsroom story, questions were raised about a dinner Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 hours ago

  • Take that, Vladimir – and be warned: we have plenty more sanctions (at least, we hope so) in our ...
    Buzz from the Beehive One day – hopefully – we will push that Russian rascal, Vladimir Putin, beyond breaking point.  Perhaps it will happen today, when he learns that Foreign Minister Winston Peters is again tightening the thumbscrews. Peters announced further sanctions, this time on 28 individuals and 14 entities ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 hours ago

  • More Harm Than Good.
    How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought New Zealand to the brink of economic and cultural chaos.TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition Government’s failure to retain, and build upon, the public ...
    Bowalley Road
    8 hours ago

  • The Ombudsman fails again
    In 2020, the Operation Burnham inquiry reported back, finding that NZDF had lied to Ministers and the New Zealand public about its actions in Afghanistan. The inquiry saw a large number of documents declassified and released, which raised another problem: whether they had also lied to the Ombudsman in his ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    8 hours ago

  • No Time To Think: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    “Members of Parliament don’t work for us, they represent us, an entirely different thing. As with so much that has turned out badly, the re-organising of MPs’ responsibilities began with the Fourth Labour Government. That’s when they began to be treated like employees – public servants – whose diaries had ...
    Bowalley Road
    8 hours ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Lobbying for Waikato’s Medical School causing problems for the Govt
    It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a third medical school in New Zealand, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    8 hours ago

  • Picking Sides.
    Time To Choose: Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into AUKUS’s  “Pillar 2” – or they are going to China.HAD ZHENG HE’S FLEET sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks ...
    Bowalley Road
    9 hours ago

  • Universities offer course in self-serving cowardice
    Henry Ergas writes –  When in Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, a college president is accused of being a hypocrite, the novel’s narrator retorts that the description is grossly unfair. After all, the man is still far from the stage of moral development at which the charge ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago

  • The teacher trainee challenge
    David Farrar writes –  Radio NZ reports: The Education Review Office says too many new teachers feel poorly prepared for their jobs. In a report published on Monday, the review office said 60 percent of the principals it interviewed said their new teachers were not ready. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    10 hours ago

  • Words and (in)actions
    New Zealand’s economic performance and the PM’s vision   Michael Reddell writes –  When I wrote yesterday morning’s post, highlighting how poorly both New Zealand and its Anglo peer countries have been doing in respect of productivity in recent times (ie, in the case of New ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago

  • What do you hope for/fear from the budget?
    Hi all,Firstly - thank you! You guys are awesome. The response I’ve received to last night’s mail has been quite overwhelming. It’s a ghastly day outside, but there are no clouds in here.In case you didn’t read my email and are wondering what on earth I’m talking about you can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    11 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on ACT’s charter schools experiment
    If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this week’s announcement of a huge spend up on charter schools has settled the matter. While jobs and public services continue to be cut in the ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    13 hours ago

  • Drought fuels wildfire concerns as Canada braces for another intense summer
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gaye Taylor As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate. No longer quenched by winter, nor quelled by the ...
    Skeptical Science
    14 hours ago

  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus and pick ‘n’ mix for Thursday, May 16
    Half of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd’s directors and its chair resigned en masse last night in protest at Christchurch City Council’s demand to front-load dividends File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The chair of Christchurch City Council’s investment company and four of its independent directors resigned in protest last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    16 hours ago

  • Controversial proposal could threaten coalition
    The University of Waikato has reworded an advertisement that begins the tender process for its new $300 million-plus medical school even though the Government still needs to approve it. However, even the reworded ad contains an architect’s visualisations of what the school might look like. ACT leader David Seymour told ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    18 hours ago

  • Of Rings of Power Annatar, Dramatic Irony, and Disguises
    As a follow-up to the Rings of Power trailer discussion, I thought I needed to add something. There has been some online mockery about the use of the same actor for both the Halbrand and Annatar incarnations of Sauron. The reasoning is that Halbrand with a shave and a new ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 day ago

  • The future of Nick's Kōrero.
    This isn’t quite as dramatic as the title might suggest. I’m not going anywhere, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about.Let’s start with a typical day.Most days I send out a newsletter in the morning. If I’ve written a lot the previous evening it might be ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago

  • The PM promises tax relief in the Budget – but will it be enough to satisfy the Taxpayers’ Union...
    Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when  the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago

  • Fucking useless
    Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago

  • Setting things straight.
    Seeing that, in order to discredit the figures and achieve moral superiority while attempting to deflect attention away from the military assault on Rafa, Israel supporters in NZ have seized on reports that casualty numbers in Gaza may be inflated … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 day ago

  • Far too light a sentence
    David Farrar writes – Newstalk ZB report: The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?” Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Unwinding Labour’s Agenda
    Muriel Newman writes –  Former US President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” The fight for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Sequel to “Real reason Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Chhour”
    Why Courts should have said Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Karen Chhour Gary Judd writes – In the High Court, Justice Isacs declined to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal to compel Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, to appear before it to be ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • The Govt’s Fast-Track is being demolished by submissions to Parliament
    Bryce Edwards writes –  The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the proposed legislation. Twenty-seven thousand submissions have been made to Parliament ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • A generation is leaving at a rate of one A320-load per day
    An average of 166 New Zealand citizens left the country every day during the March quarter, up 54% from a year ago.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy and housing market is sinking into a longer recession through the winter after a slump in business and consumer confidence in ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • NZUP RORS back to life
    The government has made it abundantly clear they’re addicted to the smell of new asphalt. On Tuesday they introduced a new term to the country’s roading lexicon, the Roads of Regional Significance (RoRS), a little brother for the Roads of National (Party) Significance (RoNS). Driving ahead with Roads of Regional ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    2 days ago

  • School Is Out.
    School is outAnd I walk the empty hallwaysI walk aloneAlone as alwaysThere's so many lucky penniesLying on the floorBut where the hell are all the lucky peopleI can't see them any moreYesterday morning, I’d just sent out my newsletter on Tama Potaka, and I was struggling to make the coffee. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • How Are You Doing?
    Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • The Rings of Power: Season Two Teaser Trailer
    I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • At a glance – What ended the Little ice Age?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Talking Reo with the PM
    “The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Waitangi Tribunal’s authority in Chhour case is upheld – but bill’s introduction to Parliament...
    Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour.  The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Australia jails another whistleblower
    In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Some “scrutiny”!
    Back in February I blogged about another secret OIA "consultation" by the Ministry of Justice. This one was on Aotearoa's commitment in its Open Government Partnership Action Plan to "strengthen scrutiny of Official Information Act exemption clauses in legislation" (AKA secrecy clauses). Their consultation paper on the issue focused on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • TVNZ is loss-making, serves no public service due to bias, and should be liquidated
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  According to the respected Pew Research Centre, “In seven of eight [European] countries surveyed, the most trusted news outlet asked about is the public news organization in each country”. For example, “in Sweden, an overwhelming majority (90%) say they trust the public broadcaster SVT”. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • The conflicted Covid Chair
    David Farrar writes –  Kata MacNamara reports:    Details of Tony Blakely’s involvement in the New Zealand Government’s response to the pandemic raise serious questions about the work of the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry over which he presides. It has long been clear that Blakely, a ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Attacking the smartest and most resilient people in the room is never a good idea
    Chris Trotter writes – Are you a Brahmin or a Merchant? Or, are you merely one of those whose lives are profoundly influenced by the decisions of Brahmins and Merchants? Those are the questions that are currently shaping the politics of New Zealand and the entire West. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A fortune-telling failure, surely, if the tarot cards can’t see a bulldozer coming
    RNZ reports –  It’s supposed to be a haven of healing and spiritual awakening but residents of the Kawai Purapura community say they’ve been hurt and deceived. It’s the successor to the former Centrepoint commune, and has been on the bush block opposite Albany shopping centre since 2008. It ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • The climate battleground heats up
    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. Usually we have a video chat to go with this wrap, but were unable to do one this week. We’ll be back next week.Several reports ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Bernard’ s Dawn Chorus & Pick ‘n’ Mix for Tuesday, May 14
    The Transport Minister has set a hard 'fiscal envelope' of $6.54 billion for transport capital spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy is settling into a state of suspended animation as the Government’s funding freezes and job cuts chill confidence and combine with stubbornly high interest rates to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on why anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitic
    To be precise, the term “anti- Zionism” refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land of Israel, and to (b)the subjugation of Palestinians by the Israeli state. By contrast, the term “anti-Semitism” means bigotry and racism directed at Jewish people, ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Climate change is making hurricanes more destructive
    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Because hurricanes are one of the big-ticket weather disasters that humanity has to face, climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. With the official start to the hurricane ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Wayne Brown’s PT Plan
    Yesterday the Mayor released what he calls his “plan to save public transport” which is part of his final proposal for the Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP). This comes following consultation on the draft version that occurred in March which showed, once again, that people want more done on transport, especially ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Potaka's Private Universe.
    And it's a pleasure that I have knownAnd it's a treasure that I have gainedAotearoa’s coalition government is fragile. It’s held together by the obsequious sycophancy of Christopher Luxon, who willingly contorts his party into the fringe positions of his junior coalition partners and is unwilling to contradict them. The ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Our slow regional councils
    The Select Committee hearing submissions on the fast-track consenting legislation is starting to become a beat-up of regional councils. The inflexibility and slow workings of the Councils were prominent in two submissions yesterday. One, from the Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, simply said that the Waikato Regional Council’s planning decisions were ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law after all
    Back in April, the High Court surprised everyone by ruling that Ministers are above the law, at least as far as the Waitangi Tribunal is concerned. The reason for this ruling was "comity" - the idea that the different branches of government shouldn't interfere with each other's functions. Which makes ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • NZTA takes the wheel after govt gives it the road map for regional roads (and puts a speed governor ...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Tolling was mentioned when Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the government was re-introducing the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme, with 15 “crucial” projects to support economic growth and regional development across New Zealand. All RoNS would be four-laned, grade-separated highways, and all funding, financing, and ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Change in Catalonia?
    or the past 14 years, ever since the Spanish government cheated on an autonomy deal, Catalonia has reliably given pro-independence parties a majority of seats in their regional parliament. But now that seems to be over. Catalans went to the polls yesterday, and stripped the Catalan parties of their majority. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Having an enrolment date is not depriving anyone of a vote
    David Farrar writes –  Radio NZ report: Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the Electoral Commission should make sure the system ran smoothly and “taking away the right of thousands of people to vote” was not the answer. “Thousands of people enroled and voted on the day. If ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Perhaps house prices don’t always go up
    Don Brash writes –  There was a rather revealing headline in the Herald on Sunday today (12 May). It read “One in 8 Auckland homes on market were bought during boom, may now sell for loss”. The first line of text noted that “New data shows one in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Can’t read, can’t write, can’t comprehend – and won’t think…?
    Mike Grimshaw writes –  At a time when universities are understandably nervous regarding the establishment of the University Advisory Group (UAG) and the Science System Advisory Group (SSAG) it may seem strange – or even fool-hardy – to state that there are long-standing issues in the tertiary sector ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Time for some perspective
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  A lack of perspective can make something quite large or important seem small or irrelevant. Against a backdrop of high-profile, negative statistics it is easy to overlook the positive. For instance, the fact that 64 percent of Maori are employed is rarely reported. For ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Will NZ Herald’s ‘poor journalism’ cost lives?
    Earlier this year, the Herald ran a series of articles amounting to a sustained campaign against raised pedestrian crossings, by reporter Bernard Orsman. A key part of that campaign concerned the raised crossings being installed as part of the Pt Chevalier to Westmere project, with at least 10 articles over ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to May 19 and beyond
    TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 19 include:PM Christopher Luxon is expected to hold his weekly post-cabinet news conference at 4:00pm on Monday.Parliament is not sitting this week. It resumes next week for a two-week sitting session up to and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Webworm Popup Photos!
    Hi,Thanks to all the beautiful Worms who came to the LA Webworm popup on Saturday.It was a way to celebrate the online store we launched last week — and it was super special.As I talk about a lot, I really value our community here — and it was a BLAST ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #19
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 5, 2024 thru Sat, May 11, 2024. (Unfortunate) Story of the week "Grief that stops at despair is an ending that I and many others, most notably ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • The Gods Must Be Woke.
    Last night the largest solar storm in decades resulted in Aurorae being seen across Aotearoa, causing many to ask why?Why was the sky pink? What was all this stuff about the power grid? Have we, as so many have wondered since the election, reached the end of days?I had a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • More road
    We have been on the road in England, squeezing down narrow lanes, flying up the M6, loving hedgerows and villages and cathedrals, liking the 21st century less.There have been moments when it’s felt like a movie trope. The pub in Exford, lovely seventeenth century bar, almost more dogs than people, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Seeing the Aurora Australis
    There’s a solar-storm on at the moment, and since the South Island is having a day and night with clear skies, that means Aurorae. I have just got back from a midnight visit to Tunnel Beach – southwards-looking over the Sea, and without the light pollution. Quite a few others ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago

  • Welcome to the current welfare mess
    Michael Bassett writes – I’m not sure that it’s much comfort to anyone to know that the post-Covid surge in violent crimes, gang activity, ram raids, random shootings, thuggery and stabbings is occurring in other countries as well as New Zealand. These days, wagging school, out-of-control welfare and ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • A shovel-ready autopsy
    Oliver Hartwich writes –  Cast your mind back to mid-December. A new Prime Minister had just been sworn in, the new Government started its 100-day programme, and Christmas was only days away.Amid all the haste, a report landed that would have deserved our attention.I am talking about the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Why we almost blacked out and how to fix it
    TL;DR: An unseasonally early icy blast at the same time as some long-overdue maintenance almost caused Aotearoa-NZ’s electricity system to black out this week. That’s because a quadropoly of gentailers1 have prioritised paying dividends from their rising profits and adding debt over investing in 1.5 GigaWatts of new wind farms ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • What Is Instagram Trying To Sell Us?
    Hi,Before we crack into today’s Webworm, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Israel is pushing into Rafah. Over 100,000 Palestinians are now attempting to flee the one place that was deemed “safe”.Trouble is, the place they’re fleeing to is already destroyed. Total annihilation is the end goal here.“Israel is ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • Precious Little Excitement: Warner Brothers, Peter Jackson, and Gollum
    Back in February 2023, I made the cardinal mistake of getting my hopes up. Warner Brothers declared that fresh Middle-earth movies were in the works: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/02/24/it-never-rains-but-it-pours-warner-brothers-and-impending-tolkien-adaptations/ My assumption, based on which rights were available, and what had already been done, was that this was a stab at either the Angmar ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Do We Need a Population Census?
    ‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago

  • No, the govt will not be cutting back on every budget – and the Defence vote is among those to be ...
    Buzz from the Beehive Reporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • The Treasury and productivity
    Late last week The Treasury released a new 40 page report on “The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections” (productivity forecasts and projections that is, rather than any possible fiscal implications – the latter will, I guess, be articulated in the Budget documents). In short, if (as it has) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • The Controller and Auditor-General’s role
    Peter Dunne writes –  I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • More harm than good
    How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos   Chris Trotter writes –  TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Real reason Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Chhour
    And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction?   Gary Judd writes –  Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • New Zealand and Tuvalu reaffirm close relationship
    New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says.  “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019.  “It is my pleasure ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago

  • New Zealand calls for calm, constructive dialogue in New Caledonia
    New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.  “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.  “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago

  • New Zealand welcomes Samoa Head of State
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago

  • Island Direct eligible for SuperGold Card funding
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • Further sanctions against Russia
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago

  • One year on from Loafers Lodge
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